Chapter 986: Lightning Splits The Sky; An Ancient Beast Awakening From Slumber (II)

Even then, some hesitated. The Society stood closest to the Sunken Sea of all major forces, and many feared the upper echelons would step in to control access. But those concerns were soon dispelled. After the three eight-star demon hunters led a team to clear the demonic beasts, they withdrew entirely and showed no intention of interfering further. Thus, those with ambition now rushed in without check. Cultivators from every corner of the Northern Sea began making their way toward the Sunken Sea, drawn by the same promise.

Finally, three months later, hundreds of towering waterspouts rose from the Sunken Sea, spiraling upward as though to tear open the sky itself. They stood only for a moment before collapsing, but what they left behind was far more unsettling. Across the expanse of the ocean, countless vortices churned into existence, drawing in a massive amount of natural spirit energy. Some claimed these vortices were the entrances to the pocket world. Others said they were trials or traps. No one knew for certain, but no one waited to find out from others.

At the edge of the Sunken Sea, Ding Yi and Devil's Cloud stood upon drifting clouds. They watched countless streaks of light shoot across the sky, plunging into the black waters below, each one racing toward those swirling gateways. Seen from afar, it resembled a fleeting swarm of mayflies.

"These people aren't fools. They know better than to approach from the sky," Devil's Cloud said with a faint smile as he watched the streams of light plunge toward the sea.

Ding Yi gave a dismissive snort. "The Void-Scorching Wind is not a secret anymore. Anyone rushing in without preparation is simply throwing their life away."

Devil's Cloud did not disagree. For cultivators at their level, even setting foot in the Sunken Sea had taken years of preparation, careful planning, and the gathering of reliable allies. Compared to that, the scene before them felt almost absurd. And as expected, chaos was quick to unfold.

Some of the rogue cultivators who had charged in soon began to panic. Some barely made it into the water before turning back in fear, while others fled in disarray after a brief struggle. The black murky seawater gnawed relentlessly at mana barriers and protective treasures alike, corroding them at a far faster rate than they had imagined.

Qi Refinement cultivators could not even last ten li before their defenses collapsed. Initiates fared only slightly better, barely managing a hundred li at most, and that was only for those who understood their limits. Those who misjudged themselves were simply swallowed whole by the sea. Only a handful of Adepts who were actually prepared managed to press further, and even they did not get far. Before they could reach the vortices, they were swept up by Void-Scorching Wind.

After just a few days of such occurrences, the spectacle of countless lights flashing across the sea was nowhere to be seen. What remained were only trembling survivors and cautious observers.

During this time, Devil's Cloud, who was also skilled in formations, noticed something. "Their deaths are producing a huge amount of death energy. It's being drawn into those vortices and making them stronger. Looks like there's some kind of formation designed to gather that energy specifically. That might be why the higher-ups didn't stop low-tier cultivators from approaching. They're basically using lives to feed the sea's death energy..."

After observing for a while, Devil's Cloud shook his head regretfully. "Too bad the destruction of Three Pillar Gorge changed the terrain. Part of the death energy is being pulled toward the Heaven of Northern Yama now, which is slowing the formation and growth of these vortices."

Ding Yi shrugged. "That's nothing to do with us. The Sunken Sea has built up death energy over who knows how many thousands of years. It's not going to be drained anytime soon. There's more than enough for us to go in and search for treasures."

Devil's Cloud hesitated. "Then... when do we enter?"

By now, even Sages were entering. If they delayed any further, whatever lay within might be taken before they even arrived. Thinking of that, Ding Yi's expression darkened at once. "Let's go get Azure Yang!"

***

"They're here again?"

Inside the Starry Palace, Luo Chen flicked away the ashes left behind by the burned transmission talisman. He remained calm and unmoved, as if the urgency of others seemed to be of no concern to him in the slightest.

He was completely naked, and smeared with dark sludge. Meanwhile, within him, true fire raged and scorched every part of his body. The pain was far beyond what an ordinary person could endure. Anyone else would have fainted long ago, yet he remained still, as though he did not feel it at all. He even had spare energy to follow the adjustments he had made to Myriad Path Convergence in recent days, directing the true fire to refine specific areas of his body. These refinements seemed minor on the surface, but he understood their value. No matter how minor they were, if they were made consistently, they would eventually result in a fundamental improvement.

Time passed by quickly as he was immersed in this relentless process. While he focused on refining his body, the upheaval caused by the anomaly in the Sunken Sea only grew stronger, despite the deaths of countless low-tier cultivators. Powerful figures, some known and some mysterious, arrived from every corner, and even Demon Emperors began to force their way in from the Demon Sea.

At the same time, unrest began to surface within the Society. The three eight-star demon hunters had vanished, and rumors naturally said they had entered the pocket world. Blood Hermit, who had been running around not long ago, had also disappeared altogether. More importantly, the decades-long war between the righteous and devilish forces came to an abrupt halt after the signs appeared. There were rumors that Mad Hermit had appeared at the headquarters of the Blue Sea Alliance and was responsible for halting the war.

Yet none of this had anything to do with Luo Chen.

***

A year later, Ding Yi returned to the shores of Surging Lake. Nothing seemed to have changed. The same water was still covered under the veil of mist, as if time had never touched it.

But Ding Yi's expression darkened with anger. He ignored the guards who tried to stop him and rose into the air with a yellow gourd in hand. With a slapping motion, he struck the gourd and shouted, "Azure Yang, you've gone back on your word time and again. You owe me an explanation today!"

Golden sand poured out from the gourd and surged toward the formation of Surging Lake. Yet before it could reach its target, a strong wind swept in and scattered it. Ding Yi only snorted and simply drew it back under control. The dispersed sand surged together again and compacted into the shape of a hundred-zhang creature that looked very much like a sandworm.

Meanwhile, the mist-shrouded waters below churned, and a massive flood dragon rose slowly. He lashed out with his tail the moment he emerged, cutting through the air with the force of a hurricane. The sandworm met it head-on. Though the strike shattered it again into countless grains, it managed to reform instantly, coiling back to entangle the black flood dragon. Another strange wind swept through, trying once more to disperse the sand, but Ding Yi did not stand still. He struck the gourd again, producing a second sandworm that surged forward to join the fray.

Within the haze, Heavenjade was floating with her Nine Winds Plantain Fan in hand. Her expression shifted when she saw this; she retreated and swung her fan rapidly. But Ding Yi's face turned ruthless as he moved forward, forcing his way into the formation. "You two can't stop me. Tell Azure Yang to come out and face me!"

Before the echo his voice had fully faded, a sharp sword cry cut through the air.

A chilling killing intent could be felt from above. Ding Yi's expression tightened as he looked up. Is this the killing strike of the Surging Lake formation?

He had a premonition that he could not resist that sword if it fell. This was not the power of an Adept, which meant that only the killing formation that covered the whole Surging Lake could unleash a strike of this power.

I got ahead of myself today. I should've brought Devil's Cloud. He felt a hint of regret as he pulled back from Surging Lake. After landing on the shore, he shot a cold look toward the island at the center. "Azure Yang, if you're not coming, don't expect us to wait for you!"

With that, he turned to leave, intending to head straight for the Sunken Sea with Devil's Cloud.

But suddenly, lightning flashed across the clear sky.

Ding Yi stopped in his tracks and turned around. His eyes widened as he looked toward the lake. The clouds were rolling in, building up over the whole stretch of Surging Lake. The normally placid surface swelled violently, and waves rose as though the entire lake were boiling. At the same time, immense natural spirit energy poured in from both the islands and the lakebed, rushing toward the central island like rivers pouring into the sea.

"What in the..."

He stood there frozen for a brief moment. Then, just as suddenly, the clouds spread outward again, covering the lake as before, as if nothing had happened. But Ding Yi's tense muscles did not relax. Even with the formation blocking his perception, he could feel a tremendous turbulence.

Most of all, within the unseen depths of Surging Lake, he could feel a terrifying presence... as if an ancient beast was slowly awakening from its millennial slumber.

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