Chapter 678: But It's True

A thunderous croak suddenly reverberated through the endless depths of the Ruins of Return.

"

Guuuuu.

"

The Ruins of Return were vast, and the comparatively few sea demons living there were quite dispersed. Naturally, that meant most of them did not hear the croak. However, the merfolk were highly sensitive to this call.

Soon after, a merfolk singer, a young mermaid, arrived and saw the spirit beast responsible for the thunderous croak.

It was a Golden Toad, and it was sitting upright on a high platform.

The platform had been built specifically for sacred ceremonies and rituals. Whenever the Hallowed Mother issued a decree, a Golden Toad would descend upon this spot.

"It's the Golden Toad Envoy!" the young mermaid exclaimed, breaking into song.

This was the customary reaction of all merfolk upon encountering the Hallowed Mother's envoy.

The shrill, resonant song of the merfolk pierced through the clouds and the sea, quickly drawing large numbers of sea demons from all over the Ruins of Return. They gathered around the Golden Toad, holding an impromptu assembly.

As the young mermaid prepared to receive the Hallowed Mother's decree, someone suddenly yelled, "That Golden Toad is a fake!"

The young mermaid turned her head to look and called out in surprise, "Princess?"

Indeed, it was the merfolk's princess, Baozhu Liange.

"Just earlier, the real Golden Toad came to Merfolk Island and told me it had been captured!" Princess Liange said loudly as she ascended the platform. "The Ruins of Return Cult captured the real Golden Toad and forged this fake one! They used the fake one to issue false orders of war, causing many of our sea demon kin to die needlessly! This is all part of the Sea Master's scheme!"

As the community of sea demons stood in confusion, there was a loud whoosh, then a massive Golden Toad landed on the seabed with a loud rumble. Its golden skin shone brilliantly as it stood next to the fake toad, flames of fury burning in its large eyes.

The two Golden Toads looked identical, as if one of them was a reflection.

Princess Liange said loudly, "Feed them spirit plants and see what treasures they produce. That will tell you which one is real and which is fake."

As the sea demons prepared to test them, someone shouted, "There's no need!"

The crowd of sea demons quickly parted to make a path for the people that were approaching.

They were none other than the Merfolk Queen and Sea Master. The two led the way, each accompanied by a group of people. The group behind the Merfolk Queen was, of course, her bodyguards, while the Sea Master was accompanied by his subordinates from the Ruins of Return Cult—each one fierce and menacing, with bloodthirsty expressions.

Meanwhile, the Merfolk Queen's expression was cold and aloof, while Sea Master's face was dark with suppressed fury... as if he had returned home to find his subordinates dead and his treasures stolen.

"This matter was not Sea Master's doing but the scheme of human cultivators seeking to stir chaos in the South Sea," the Merfolk Queen said, glancing at Princess Liange with a brief gaze of approval.

She then turned and pointed at the fake Golden Toad.

Swish.

A beam of light shot over. That Golden Toad let out an agonizing croak, and its glowing golden skin fell off. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a grotesque, pus-covered toad demon.

The toad demon had remained calm up to just a moment ago, but now that its true form had been exposed, it shrieked in terror. "

Guaaah!!!

"

Then the toad demon turned to the Sea Master for help.

The Sea Master said nothing, merely glancing at it.

Boom!!!

The toad demon exploded, dying on the spot. Its foul pus went splattering in all directions, and the crowd of sea demons quickly stepped aside to avoid the mess.

The Sea Master commented quietly, "To think it dared to impersonate the Hallowed Mother's envoy."

"The Hallowed Mother will not let her children sacrifice their lives in vain. Let's hope this never happens again!" the Merfolk Queen said loudly.

The crowd of sea demons erupted in cheers.

After all, there was no demon that wanted to throw away their life. Even though there was a tremendous number of sea demons, they paid a steep price whenever they tried to set foot on land. The last battle had dyed the vast sea red with blood.

Right then, the ground suddenly trembled. A terrifying underwater vortex rose in the distance, rampaging beneath the Ruins of Return and leaving nothing untouched in its path.

"Stop!" the Sea Master yelled.

He leaped up and unleashed a wave of dark qi that halted the vortex in its tracks, revealing a figure inside it—Changfeng.

The Sea Master sealed off the area with a sound barrier to prevent others from overhearing. Then he asked, "You are... the Demon King of the Great Marshes?"

"Yep, that's me," Demon King Changfeng answered with a sinister smirk. "We fought and bled at the Buddhist Cloud Monastery for you, and now you want to swallow up our treasure? I've never even heard of something so absurd."

"Didn't I send a letter to explain? By the time I returned, everything was over. Even the underlings I'd left to guard my home were killed," Sea Master said angrily.

He was enraged too.

Everything had been proceeding smoothly according to the plan, but then that old bugger Wuchao called me over just to scold me and forbid me from continuing with the plan. Then when I returned home, I found the corpses of my shrimp soldier and crab general, along with the blood of demons from the Far West.

It all fell apart in an instant—the chicken has flown the coop, and the eggs are all broken. There's nothing left.

And now, someone has even come to fight me.

"

Hah!

" Changfeng sneered. "If you were me, would you believe the crap that's coming out of your mouth?"

"I wouldn't believe it... but it's the truth!"

The Sea Master's tone carried a mix of feelings. He felt equal parts helpless, angry, and aggrieved. Those accounted for ninety percent of his feelings. As for the last ten percent, that was a great desire to kill. If he were to find out who was responsible for ruining everything for him, he would tear them to pieces without hesitation.

...

"

Ah-choo!

"

Chu Liang sat cross-legged on the deck of the ship in the face of the wind. He sneezed, but he wasn't bothered and calmly shut his eyes again, resuming his meditation.

The reveal of the real Golden Told in the Ruins of Return had, of course, been coordinated by him and Princess Liange. If human cultivators got directly involved in the sea demons' affairs, it would only complicate matters. So, the best solution was to let the Golden Toad return to the ruins and take advantage of the decree-receiving ritual to reveal the truth.

The official story would be that the Ruins of Return Cult was to blame for scheming and needlessly sending the sea demons to their deaths. There absolutely could be no mention of the attempt to resurrect the Hallowed Mother. This way, the war could finally be put to an end.

If the resurrection of the Hallowed Mother were mentioned, it might appeal to the sea demons' faith and devotion to the Hallowed Mother instead, turning the gathering into a pre-war rally.

In any case, Chu Liang was certain that even the Sea Master wouldn't dare make the resurrection attempt publicly known, making the sea demons a target of attacks.

With the South Sea temporarily at peace, Chu Liang's group could be at ease as they sailed home aboard the Lianglong, leaving quietly with their accomplishments a secret.

However, Chu Liang received a shocking piece of news through the Circle of Immortal Friends. The Demon King of the Verdant Foxhills and the Demon King of the Great Marshes had attacked the Buddhist Cloud Monastery, dealing major damage.

No wonder the Dharma Lotus Platform, which guards the South Sea, left then. So that was the reason.

Chu Liang gradually figured out how the trade between the two demon factions had gone down. In exchange for the Sea-Devouring Demonic Urn, the land demons of the Far West gave the sea demons the Azure Wave Lamp and their support in the siege on the Buddhist Cloud Monastery.

The Sea-Devouring Demonic Urn contains the Great Dao of Devouring... Could the demons of the Far West be attempting to resurrect the Demon God?

But didn't they say that the Demon God's not dead yet?

Could it be that the demons were just... bluffing to make it look like they still have power?

But what benefit is there in spreading false news and becoming the target of everyone's ire?

Or perhaps they want the enchanted tool for an entirely different reason...

After thinking about it for a while, Chu Liang decided it was best to just focus on his own affairs for now.

He took a spirit plant from a jade box, consumed it, and circulated his qi briefly. Then he exhaled.

Done. I broke through.

After days of accumulating cultivation energy, Chu Liang was finally able to break through to the fifth level of the Realm of the Five Elements. He just needed to accumulate more cultivation energy for a bit longer, then he would be able to advance to the pinnacle of the fifth realm.

Forming a transcendent body was a major hurdle that cultivators normally struggled with at this stage. However, Chu Liang had already cultivated the Mystical Winged Divine Dragon Transcendent Form to near perfection. When the moment arrived, he would break through to the sixth realm in an instant.

In other words, it was like he had already defeated the final boss in a game stage and was now killing mobs to farm experience points. It was just a matter of time before he would clear the stage.

After his breakthrough, Chu Liang sank his divine sense into the White Pagoda. There were three new golden imprints in cells—a shrimp soldier, a crab general, and a cat demon. It was time for Chu Liang to have a happy reward session with three rewards.

Excited, he eagerly approached and refined the golden imprint of the demon with a shrimp head.

Boom.

A burst of light floated out, and Chu Liang caught it in his hand. A stream of information flowed into his mind.

[Crimson Devil Helmet: A powerful helmet that is the culmination of mystical ability and aesthetics. When worn, the helmet enhances the wearer's divine sense, increasing their scanning range tenfold and boosting their ability to see through things. Recommended for exploration, combat, and surveillance. Not recommended for improper use.]

The item in Chu Liang's hands was an unusually shaped helmet.

Chu Liang muttered in disbelief, "Culmination of mystical ability and aesthetics..."

The helmet resembled a freshly severed shrimp head that had been hollowed out, with the shell repurposed into a helmet. If a shrimp's head were the size of a human's, it would look like some kind of devilish creature—undoubtedly terrifying.

Chu Liang tried it on, enclosing his whole head in the shell. The two golden orbs on the helmet rose vertically, flooding his mind with spiritual energy. He could feel that his divine sense was indeed enhanced significantly.

Whoosh.

In an instant, the White Pagoda appeared much clearer in his mind.

The Large-Headed Dolls, which were shrouded in smoke... Tuntun, who had fallen asleep and turned into a cocoon... the seemingly endless iron prison in the dark... and Chu Liang himself, now transformed into a shrimp-headed man—all of these images were transmitted into his mind through his divine sense. If he were scanning the world outside, the range would likely expand even further.

Not bad. Their sense of aesthetics is rather ahead of their time, but the effects are excellent.

"

Hm?

"

As Chu Liang scanned the White Pagoda space with his enhanced divine sense, he discovered a tiny detail he had never noticed before. There was a small black on one of the White Pagoda's walls.

Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a tiny hole in the wall—tinier than the tip of an embroidery needle. Yet, that hole certainly was there, and it seemed to lead outside.

Ever since he first saw the White Pagoda, Chu Liang had regarded it as a mysterious and formidable artifact, likely on par with the top ten legendary artifacts listed in the

Catalog of the Mortal World's Ten Thousand Treasures

.

There's something that managed to pierce through this...?

That sure is hard to believe.