Chapter 668: I Have More

The ethereal, distant song echoed clearly across the vast, rolling sea. As the melody reached the ears, it sent a shiver down one's spine.

But Old Wang wasn't one to tolerate such theatrics. He bellowed, "What demon hides in the shadows? Show yourself!"

Though the Demon-Slaying Sword had been bought by Chu Liang, it now rested in Wang Xuanling's hands, and Chu Liang had no objections.

The reasoning was simple: the most powerful weapon could only unleash its full strength in the hands of the most powerful person.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

As the grand peak master of the Mount Shu Sect, Wang Xuanling had fought across the land of the nine provinces for over a century. Aside from Di Nufeng, no one dared bare their fangs at him, and the reasoning certainly wasn't out of respect for some old man.

Wang Xuanling raised the Demon-Slaying Sword and slashed through the air. Instantly, storm clouds churned, shattering the demonic aura that had blanketed the sky. A mighty surge of sword qi shot toward the source of the song, cutting through mist and wind, clearing a hundred miles of sky in the blink of an eye.

They caught a faint glimpse of a figure standing atop a distant reef, singing at the top of their lungs.

But neither of them bothered to spare another glance.

As the song ceased, two glowing red orbs emerged on the misty sea ahead—like enormous lanterns or fallen stars.

As the orbs drew closer, their forms gradually took shape, revealing a wall covered in jagged scales, towering like a fortress.

No...

Chu Liang extended his divine sense, and at last, the creature's true form was revealed.

It was an enormous head! A colossal whale with a smooth, rounded head loomed toward them. Its body was covered in jagged scales, making it look grotesque and terrifying.

On the whale's back stood a shadowy figure, wielding a massive black banner. With each swing of the banner, ink-colored dragon spirits unfurled, stirring the sea into a deafening roar.

"That's the Cloudcrest Dragon Banner!" Wang Xuanling immediately recognized it. "No wonder there is such an abnormal disturbance in the South Sea!"

Chu Liang had heard of this treasure. It was ranked ninety-fourth in the Catalog of the Mortal World's Ten Thousand Treasures. Its low rank was due to its lack of combat effectiveness. Instead, its power lay in its ability to stir seas and overturn rivers.

The current seaquake and massive tsunami were clear testaments to its power.

Yet, this artifact should have been kept with the Sea King Sect. How had it fallen into the hands of these unknown sea demons?

As Chu Liang pondered, the figure atop the whale swung the banner in their direction.

Rumble.

The sea and sky merged as a massive wave engulfed them. Wang Xuanling swung the Demon-Slaying Sword, effortlessly slicing through the watery veil.

"I'll slay that scoundrel myself!" Wang Xuanling roared.

Unable to suppress his rage, he prepared to charge forward with the legendary sword in hand.

But Chu Liang's sharp eyes caught a glimmer of gold within the waves, carrying a trace of dragon breath. It was heading straight toward them.

Upon sensing the tiny creature's dragon breath, he realized it was coming toward them.

He raised his hand and used it to scoop up the tiny creature. It was a lively golden loach.

Wang Xuanling immediately recognized it. "That's Ziyang's spirit pet. It's excellent at tracking people underwater."

"Oh?" Chu Liang's eyes lit up. "If Senior Brother Xu left it behind, perhaps it's meant to guide us."

He tossed the loach forward, and sure enough, it transformed into a streak of golden light, darting ahead.

Wang Xuanling glanced at the massive whale in the distance and snorted. "Ziyang's safety comes first. I'll let the beast live for now."

With no time to waste, the two followed the golden light, diving deep into the sea without hesitation.

After a short descent, they encountered a massive whirlpool spinning rapidly ahead. It was dark and unfathomable, even to their divine senses.

The golden loach zipped straight into the vortex. It seemed Xu Ziyang had already ventured inside, leaving the loach behind to guide them.

Boom, boom!

Without hesitation, they moved forward. A deafening roar echoed in their ears as they passed through the barrier of a hidden realm, landing on the ground with a heavy thud.

Chu Liang quickly regained his balance, his eyes wide with amazement and shock as he took in the scene before him. "This is..."

Wang Xuanling said seriously, "The Ruins of Return!"

...

At this moment, the two men stood on a desolate, gray land, facing rows of crumbling city walls and buildings. Although no dust had accumulated there, the extent of the damage indicated countless years of neglect. It felt as though half of the wall would disintegrate into ashes with the slightest touch.

As their divine sense stretched ahead, the cluster of buildings seemed endless, resembling an expansive city. Even the capital of Yu, the largest city in the nine provinces, could not compare to it.

"The entrance to the legendary Ruins of Return is said to lie deep within the South Sea, yet it opened here. Could all this chaos be the work of the Ruins of Return Cult?" Wang Xuanling muttered to himself as he strode forward with his sword in hand. "I don't know much about them, but if anyone could stir up such turmoil in the South Sea, it would have to be them."

Wang Xuanling and Chu Liang surged forward once more, following the golden loach.

The golden loach, now away from the water, seemed less sharp and less nimble. Still, it continued on, flying for a long stretch before finally stopping.

A strange building appeared ahead.

It was a three-story pavilion. What made it strange was that the surrounding area was filled with ancient ruins and crumbling walls, yet this carved tower remained intact and elegant, even exuding a sense of grandeur.

The golden loach circled the pavilion from a distance several times, appearing hesitant to draw closer, as if it sensed some hidden danger lurking within.

Wang Xuanling and Chu Liang hid behind the crumbling walls as they carefully observed the tower. The pavilion doors were tightly sealed, and their divine sense failed to penetrate, leaving them completely unaware of what lay inside.

"I wonder if Ziyang is imprisoned inside. If we can't find an entrance, I'll just go inside with my sword and cleave through whatever stands in my way," Wang Xuanling said after he had observed the surroundings.

"Senior Uncle, let's not rush. Let's observe a bit longer," Chu Liang patiently advised. "If Senior Brother Xu has truly fallen into enemy hands, we must be cautious not to alert them."

As Chu Liang and Wang Xuanling observed the area, a black cloud drifted across the sky. They quickly concealed their presence and took cover, watching carefully.

When the black cloud descended, it morphed into a group of four or five figures, all dressed in black. At the forefront stood a middle-aged man, his expression cold and devoid of emotion. Faint traces of sinister divine light flickered in his eyes.

Chu Liang felt a sense of familiarity upon seeing the man.

The man stepped forward and knocked on the pavilion door.

Knock, knock, knock.

After a few knocks, the door creaked open, and two demonic creatures stepped out.

One was completely dressed in red, wearing red armor, with a large, grotesque head and bulging eyes. The other appeared human but lacked hands, with pincers where his arms should be.

It turned out to be a shrimp and a crab. As they opened the door, they asked in strange, distorted voices, "Who goes there?"

The man in black said nothing, raising his hand to unfurl a scroll with a rustling sound.

Upon seeing the scroll, the two demonic creatures immediately prostrated themselves, chanting, "Praise be to the Hallowed Mother."

After bowing in reverence, they rose and said, "You must be Sect Leader Yuan? The Sea Master has been expecting you."

With that, they led the group inside.

Wang Xuanling frowned as he watched. "Those people seem to be diabolical cultivators. Could they be involved in this matter as well?"

"That man is Immortal Yuan Lu, the leader of the West Sea Diabolical Forces," Chu Liang replied.

That day, when he was inside the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams, he had seen Immortal Yuan Lu's true face, which was identical to that of the middle-aged man before him. However, this person still did not appear to possess the power of a cultivator at the eighth realm, suggesting this was another avatar.

People from the diabolical sect were known for their cunning and caution, rarely appearing in their true form. Only those who relied on exceptionally powerful weapons, like the sect leader of the Dark King Sect, would be confident that no one could capture them and thus be bold enough to reveal their true form.

Otherwise, they would end up like the Violet Gold Marquess, splitting into half upon meeting someone.

After a moment of thought, Chu Liang said, "Senior Uncle, I have a way for the two of us to sneak inside."

"What way?" Wang Xuanling asked eagerly.

The members of the Mount Shu Sect trusted Chu Liang completely. If he said he could do something, they believed he could.

Chu Liang took out a black Aura-Concealing Robe and retrieved Xuan Yinzi's Dark King Command Token. "You can disguise yourself as Xuan Yinzi, the former sect leader of the diabolical sect. He was connected to the Ruins of Return Cult. I obtained a similar scroll from him. Since he has been missing for decades, no one should recognize him if he appears."

...

Wang Xuanling naturally knew that Di Nufeng and Chu Liang had killed Xuan Yinzi.

Chu Liang had advised his teacher to keep this a secret. But to Di Nufeng, killing without showing off would be pointless like wearing fine clothes at night. She was fine not telling others that they managed to kill the former sect leader of the Dark King Sect, but she couldn't keep it from Wang Xuanling.

The very day it happened, Di Nufeng specially went to the Jade Sword Peak to ask Wang Xuanling if he could give his position of grand peak master to her if she managed to kill the leader of the Dark King Sect.

Wang Xuanling thought she was just saying some nonsense and replied impatiently, "Sure."

Then, Di Nufeng presented the results of her achievement.

Wang Xuanling argued with her for a while about whether killing the former sect leader counted.

Di Nufeng firmly insisted, "Isn't defeating the former sect leader just as impressive as the current one? Are children from a previous wife any different from those of the current one?"

After much debate, news of her killing Xuan Yinzi did not spread. However, rumors began to circulate widely across Mount Shu that Wang Xuanling had a former wife and a child—one that wasn't even his biological child.

...

Wang Xuanling put on the black robe and took the token. Then, he glanced at Chu Liang and asked, "If you're giving me this disguise, what will you wear?"

"It's fine," Chu Liang replied smoothly, pulling out another set of clothes and the Violet Gold Marquess' token with a smile. "I have more."