Chapter 305 |
May.
Zhenlong Divine Palace.
Deep within the Jade Sea, it lay on the ocean floor, tens of thousands of meters below the surface.
In the depths of that lightless abyss, a massive circular archway rose in silence, radiating a soft white fluorescence that lit the surrounding seabed for several li.
The archway was a striking composition: the upper half formed from a giant pearlescent scallop shell, its inner surface fracturing the white glow into scattered motes of light; the lower half a dense tangle of dark-red coral, deceptively soft in appearance yet laced with toxins and hard as stone.
The archway rose a thousand meters tall and spread seven to eight hundred meters wide, backing onto a vast shadow. Within that gloom, the faint outline of a three-story white palace trimmed in gold—ancient, exquisite—stood in silence.
A long jade staircase swept upward to the palace entrance. Fish-headed, human-bodied believers in long robes climbed it slowly, prostrating themselves with every step. White jade pillars engraved with silver patterns flanked the staircase on both sides, pale-scaled flood dragons coiled around each one.
They were the guards and overseers of this place.
As the dense throng of believers continued to kowtow, a faint vibration rippled through the seawater far above.
A massive bubble plunged downward through the water.
Inside rode a giant dark-green sea turtle bearing a pavilion on its back—Venerable Diyun. Behind him, Lin Hui, the giant-beast Mistborn, and over a dozen other Mist Gods with immense auras fixed their gazes on the ancient, magnificent palace below.
"This is my Zhenlong Divine Palace. The others are already inside. The eldest laid spatial divine arts throughout it—the interior is far larger than the exterior suggests," Venerable Diyun explained.
"I have long heard of the Zhenlong Divine Palace's wonders. To finally see it with my own eyes is a privilege," said an old man from among the assembled gods. He had white hair, white brows, and the lower body of a white deer; he smiled and dipped his head.
"The four of us joined forces with survival as our only real foundation," Venerable Diyun said with a laugh, notably cordial toward the old man.
Among the peripheral Mist Gods who had come seeking refuge, the old man who called himself Fan Yuntian carried the deepest and most unsettling aura of the group. After Lin Hui bestowed the secret art, he was the only one whose aura had barely changed. Venerable Diyun had spent years in these waters and knew the territories of every Mist God now sheltering here—Fan Yuntian was the single exception to everything he knew.
Soon the bubble dispersed, and the group descended one by one to the foot of the divine palace's staircase.
Tap.
Lin Hui touched down without a sound. The moment his feet met the floor, a faint transparent halo pulsed outward from beneath him and vanished.
At the sight of the Mist Gods' arrival, the fish-headed believers who had been prostrating themselves—or readying to do so—pressed their heads to the ground and did not dare raise them.
For creatures as weak as these, even a Mist God's idle gaze carried crushing weight. To draw the wrath of an exalted being was to invite ruin from a single glance.
Just like Lin Hui in the past.
"Honored guests, forgive us—we should have come to meet you sooner."
Swish.
A bright, eager female voice drifted through the palace's main gates, and three figures appeared in an instant, each trailing a halo as blinding as the sun—the natural auras of Mist Gods radiating outward from beneath their feet.
Lin Hui looked them over.
Leading the three was a red-haired woman wreathed entirely in gold-red flames. Her form was otherwise human, save for a gorgeous gold-red tail feather sweeping from behind her—she was the one who had just spoken.
"I am Venerable Huangque Shanli. Dao Master Lin may call me Huangque," the fiery-haired woman said, smiling brightly.
Behind her stood a woman of gentle bearing, cradling a black jade instrument shaped like a pipa. Her figure was striking—full at the chest, with long pale legs and a waist that curved gracefully into generous hips; her skin was luminous. Only her head was that of a white bird, something between a crane and a falcon.
"I am Venerable Shenyin Yuanjiu. Dao Master may call me Shenyin." Despite the bird head, her voice was clear and unexpectedly melodious.
The third was a pitch-black, massively built giant bearing three bull heads, standing over four meters tall. He wore heavy black-and-gold armor, nine black ox tails sweeping behind him.
"I am Venerable Leiming Jiuxuan. Dao Master may call me Leiming."
Of the three, his aura was clearly the most fearsome. The halo beneath his feet spread the fastest and burned the brightest.
Diyun introduced them in turn. Leiming was the eldest of the four, Shenyin the second, Huangque the third, and Diyun himself the fourth. Together, they had discovered this ancient palace and claimed it, forming the Zhenlong Divine Palace faction to resist the encroaching Sea Cry.
By traditional Mist God classification, only Leiming, the eldest, possessed powerful Divine Force. The other three wielded intermediate-tier Divine Force.
A stark contrast to the Sea Cry Association, which counted six entities of powerful Divine Force among its ranks—known in these outer waters as the Six Pillars of the Deep Sea. With Sea Cry's enhancement layered atop that foundation, their combined strength had climbed to heights that defied imagination.
From what Diyun had told him, Lin Hui could now see why they had been so anxious—the moment word spread that his secret art could offset their greatest weakness, they had all come running.
Sure enough, in the face of survival, even Mist Gods proved to be no different from humans.
Sighing inwardly, he pulled his mind-spirit back and regarded the three Mist Gods.
"Your reputations have long preceded you. It is fortunate, for all of us, that we finally meet today. As for the secret art—"
"Dao Master, there is no rush. Let us speak inside." Leiming's three bull heads spoke in unison, giving his words a reverberant, overlapping quality—boisterous and earnest at once.
"Very well." Lin Hui nodded with a smile. The eldest's manner told him all he needed to know—this alliance was as good as sealed.
Following the three Venerables into the divine palace, Diyun shrank himself down to roughly human height and lumbered in after them.
They passed through the great archway and into the shadows beyond. Lin Hui felt his vision flare—and the narrow, dark passage gave way in an instant to an immense, brightly lit white hall.
Massive white jade pillars, each over ten meters across, rose along both sides of the hall and disappeared into a ceiling hundreds of meters overhead. That ceiling stirred with a slow-swirling white-gold mist, faint golden motes drifting lazily within its glow.
The air carried a faint incense—not floral, but deep and woody. Underfoot, smooth fan-shaped tiles of pearl shell covered the floor, their joints packed and sealed with black pearl powder.
At the front of the hall, a band of human-sized seahorses waited in formation, playing an assortment of strangely shaped instruments. The music they produced was soft and undulating, like the steady motion of ocean waves.
Amid a low hum, jade tables and chairs rose from the floor at the hall's center. Lin Hui and the assembled Mist Gods took their seats, the four Venerables occupying the places of honor, while fish-headed, human-bodied maids moved through the hall, serving dishes and wine.
"Dao Master, Diyun has told me something of your Clear Wind Dao's secret art—but I would hear it from you directly. What exactly does it do?" After settling into his seat, Leiming fixed all six eyes on Lin Hui, his tone unhurried. He was nothing like the other Mist Gods, who had rushed to join the moment they arrived.
At the question, every eye in the hall—all three Venerables, every assembled Mist God—turned to Lin Hui.
Lin Hui settled back in his seat and smiled faintly. "My Dao encompasses five techniques in total—four law seals, and one secret art…"
He walked them through each of the four law seals—how to obtain them and the conditions they required—then described the Eye of Life's abilities in detail.
The law seals drew a measured response: the gods exchanged glances, mildly interested. Their combat, after all, centered almost entirely on Divine Force; physical enhancement held little appeal, and mind-spirit reinforcement suited them even less. What Mist Gods truly depended on was the fusion of Divine Force, divine fire, and divine office into a divine seat, from which a divine kingdom could be opened. So long as the divine kingdom endured, so did they.
Of the four law seals, only the Clear Source Law Seal drew more than passing interest from most of them.
None of that, however, came close to what the Eye of Life offered. Upon first comprehending it, one gained a full recovery charge. From there, time and sustained cultivation would build additional charges—up to a staggering ninety-nine.
What a secret art.
Those who had not yet obtained it felt a new urgency settle over them. Those who already had it sat quietly attuned to its deep currents, struck once more by the sheer reach of Lin Hui's talent and comprehension.
"Dao Master Lin, you would truly impart the Eye of Life to us—free of charge?" the second Venerable, Shenyin, asked gently.
"Naturally," Lin Hui said earnestly. "We face a common enemy. Whatever conflicts lie in the past are trifles. Standing together against what comes—that is the only path worth taking. The Eye of Life is the least of what I would offer; if I had more to give, I would give that too."
His display of selflessness and principle earned quiet nods from the assembled Mist Gods.
"Then… we ask that Dao Master Lin impart the art." Leiming rose to his feet and offered a bow from across the hall.
"There is no need for formality." Lin Hui raised a hand. "Only one thing bears mentioning: the art carries an inherent restriction. To activate it, one must join the Clear Wind Dao and sincerely accept that bond from the heart. Without that sincerity, the art will not function—" Leiming cut him off with a wave of one massive hand.
"No hindrance at all. The Dao Master created this art—it is only fitting we accept the terms." He showed not the slightest concern.
"The Venerable sees clearly what matters. I respect that greatly," Lin Hui said with a smile.
"Then I will go first." Leiming stepped away from his seat into the open center of the hall. "Please, Dao Master—impart the art."
Lin Hui raised his hand without hesitation, extending a finger toward the giant from a distance.
Chi.
A small, semi-transparent white halo shot forward and found the center of Leiming's forehead with precision. Its presence was so faint that no one could mistake it for an attack; Leiming held himself perfectly still and received the inheritance of the Eye of Life.
What he had not anticipated was that the tap delivered not just the Eye of Life—but the Clear Wind Dao's Righteous Body Law Seal along with it.