Chapter 0697: Umbra Cave's Unforeseen Event

In the depths of the Umbra Cave.

Pang Qianyuan was emitting innumerable rays of light from atop his golden lotus. The resplendent light was able to part even the primal chaos as he stood confidently within the void, exuding a sense of sublime power that even caused the worldly natural energy to quiver in subservience before him.

The Astral Sage College's innumerable Dukes might be able to devastate the world itself, but in this location, every single stray undulation of energy was more than sufficient to wipe out all of their attacks.

Pang Qianyuan gloomily stared at the massive void tear. The black river water continued to flow inside it, releasing an intense sense of coldness.

"Ichythian King, I’m truly surprised that you have managed to confound even my senses after all these years and laid down so many traps in my college." Pang Qianyuan's voice reverberated throughout the void and into the other world, tunneling through the void tear and into the gigantic, black river.

"Heh." The inky river water continued to toss and turn. Then a gigantic silhouette appeared, causing the river to part. A titanic, black fish had appeared on the surface. Atop its head was a single blood-red scale that was surrounded by rings of blood light. One could see the figure of an individual appear within the blood light.

They were garbed in blood-red robes with abnormally large sleeves. Atop the robes was a black fish that seemed to have a life of its own. It was swimming freely through the surface of the robes.

The figure raised their head. He had the visage of a young man with a certain sort of feminine beauty. Additionally, his eyes were unique—they resembled the grayish-white eyes of a fish. At first glance, one would be mesmerized by them. And if one were to focus upon them, they would discover that they possessed a terrifying enchanting power that would cause one to lose themselves.

Between this figure's eyebrows was a blood red scale that glinted with a strange light. This was the Ichythian King's human form. In a way, it had left behind the horrifying physique that the Others possessed, almost becoming indistinguishable from a human in certain ways.

The Ichythian King's grayish-white fish eyes pierced through the void tear, focusing upon Pang Qianyuan. A smile formed on his face as he steadily enunciated every word robotically. "Pang Qianyuan, subversion is our specialty. Many individuals from your college have entered the Umbra Cave, so finding an opportunity was not too difficult. Some of the Violet Vibrance mentors in your college have very ambitious hearts, ones that surpass others. Perhaps it's not so much that I have bewitched them, but rather they reached out to me! After all, they see greater potential with me."

Pang Qianyuan remained emotionless. Shen Jinxiao's betrayal had been quite unexpected. Even though the Ichythian King was a King Stage powerhouse, he would not be able to penetrate a Duke's heart so easily. Shen Jinxiao had hidden his thoughts very deeply, and he had never discovered the apathy and reckless ambition that was within him.

"Gong Yuan and you also have a relationship, it seems? The seamless cooperation between the two of you during this coronation ceremony has been unparalleled."

Pang Qianyuan continued, seemingly answering himself, "No, Gong Yuan does not have the ability to do that. It must have been the person behind him. Being able to keep such a massive conspiracy under wraps and completely sealing this information off from even my senses must mean that this is the case… Looking at the situation, it seems like the end goal is the Astral Sage College after all. Are you trying to destroy the Tree of Resonant Power to unseal the Umbra Cave? These actions seem pretty familiar. I suppose it must be the lunatics from the Origin Reversion Institute. Who would have expected that even their tendrils would have extended to the desolate East Divine Continent? Could it be that they are unable to influence any more matters within the inner divine continent?"

When faced with Pang Qianyuan's monologue, the Ichythian King only continued to grin without a word.

Pang Qianyuan lightly sighed. Although his expression remained emotionless, his heart sank quite considerably. “The Origin Reversion Institute... that group of madmen…”

As a King, although he lived in the outer divine continent, he was very aware of the unfathomable Origin Reversion Institute. Even after countless years, the behemoth known as the Academic Federation was unable to gain any sort of meaningful advantage over them. He was well aware of their superiority in forces and the terrifying might they had at their disposal.

The fact that they had extended their tendrils towards the Xia Kingdom heralded terrible news for them.

"The Origin Reversion Institute seems to have become more active in the East Divine Continent in recent years. What are they trying to do?" Pang Qianyuan frowned as he pondered over this question.

Still, there was no answer to be found for now. The current situation didn't allow for it either.

The college was at a crossroads of survival. He could not afford to remain here.

Pang Qianyuan's gaze was a little regretful as he continued to watch his Dragon Elephant Formation continue to work its magic. The void tear had already shown signs of mending, and if he had more time, he truly could have managed to seal up the crack. If that became a reality, the problem known as the Umbra Cave would be resolved, no longer requiring the college's suppression.

It was a pity he didn't have the time.

Continuing to face off against the Ichythian King in a stalemate would result in the Tree of Resonant Power getting incinerated. Without its suppression, the Umbra Cave would be left unsealed.

Retreating now would also mean that he had gained nothing after being cooped up for all these years. However, there was no other option—he had to make a hard decision immediately.

Su Xin's side simply could not stave off the Origin Reversion Institute.

With such a thought, Pang Qianyuan waved his hands, and the Dragon Elephant Formation slowly dissipated. Trumpeting roars echoed throughout the void.

"Pang Qianyuan, are you planning to leave?" The Ichythian King smiled when he saw this.

The Principal remained unaffected, completely ignoring the Ichythian King as the golden lotus below him began to radiate with wondrous light, zooming away with him on top.

"Unfortunately, I don't want you to leave." The Ichythian King smiled and then opened his mouth. Stygian water gushed out of his mouth like a torrent. It then transformed into countless pitch-black fish scales that penetrated the void, eventually forming a gigantic hand that tried to grab Pang Qianyuan.

Pang Qianyuan lifted his hand in response, and the Dragon Bone Holy Grail appeared. Light swirled around the mouth of the cup before it emitted a suction force that devoured the entire gigantic hand whole.

"Ichythian King, I might not be able to kill you, but trying to restrain me is a fool's dream," Pang Qianyuan coldly replied.

The Ichythian King continued to smirk as he raised his hands. One could see the river of evil beneath him churn violently like a gigantic dragon boat. It cruised through the void tear, surging towards the Umbra Cave.

Upon seeing this, Pang Qianyuan immediately threw the Dragon Bone Holy Grail in its direction. The grail swelled into the size of a huge mountain, asserting a coercive aura that directly blocked the void tear, preventing the river of evil from spreading into the Umbra Cave.

"There is no rush. We'll continue our struggle once I deal with the matters outside. Then we can have a proper battle," Pang Qianyuan coolly replied.

The Dragon Bone Holy Grail could restrain the Ichythian King even when he wasn't here in person, and escaping would be no easy task.

"Hehe."

The Ichythian King gurgled with laughter before he faintly taunted, "Pang Qianyuan, do you really think that after plotting for so long, we'd let you go so easily to disrupt our plans? Huh?"

Pang Qianyuan’s eyes shrank and a sense of unrest arose within his heart. He continued retreating as quickly as he could without missing a beat.

At the very moment he did so, a grayish-white energy appeared atop the black river. It brought along with it an acrid smell of decay. In the end, countless corpse hands sprouted from the river, appearing underneath the Dragon Bone Holy Grail and forcibly heaving it away from its location.

This caused Pang Qianyuan to feel a noticeable sense of shock and unrest.

He then stopped as a wall of corpses suddenly manifested behind him, blocking off the entire world and sealing off his path of retreat.

As he studied the corpses, he sucked in a deep breath and his voice became a little raspy.

"Is this the Cadaverous King?" As the grayish-white energy continued to seep through the world, it suddenly stopped and condensed in a single location. A white-robed figure, countless meters tall, took form atop the river of evil.

His entire body was made of bones, and a single hand grasped a dilapidated soul-calling flag[1] . The grayish-white energy filled the void right behind him, and there seemed to be countless corpses struggling and moaning from within the fog.

When Pang Qianyuan saw the figure, an indescribably ugly expression appeared on his face and the feeling of anxiety within him reached a peak.

"The tiny Xia Kingdom actually attracted two of the Four Pestilence Kings who are the subordinates of the Saturnine Hydra Emperor?

"Just what are you guys plotting?"

1. The flag looks like this https://cf.shopee.tw/file/6f96e6a8e2e5514ad1a1f4f51c138a10 ☜