Chapter 662: Settling Scores
Chapter 662: Settling Scores
"To me, whether that place is an ancient mystic realm or an Immortal Abode Rare Treasure, there isn't much difference now. . ."
Fang Xi smiled faintly.
"Fellow Daoist is of noble character, what are your plans for the future?"
Mo Yinqiu asked.
Though 'Qing Hezi' had a bounty on him, it was issued by the Dragon Taming Sect.
Now that the Dragon Taming Sect is destroyed, those formerly wanted by it are heroes!
Well. . . the cultivation world doesn't care much for that, but at least no one will come looking for trouble with Qing Hezi anymore.
Even if Qing Hezi brazenly returned to the Xuanming Abyss to establish a sect, theoretically there would be no issue.
Fang Xi showed a hint of interest. He guessed that the Ink Gate still wanted to return to their previous cooperative state.
Although after the Dragon Taming Sect's destruction, no one openly sought the Ink Gate.
But in reality. . . after discovering that the Immortal Abode Rare Treasure had already been secretly explored by the Ink Gate, the attention the Ink Gate received was even greater than before!
Not only various Return to Void sects, but even the Starry Sky Sect might be paying attention!
Fang Xi coming to meet this person now was taking a certain risk.
'But, I'm actually a person of noble character? '
He touched his cheek, his expression a little strange.
"Speaking of which, Fellow Daoist Mo has been in the Xuanming Abyss all this time. Do you know the whereabouts of that Return to Void old dragon and the True Armored Whale?"
Fang Xi asked again. He was naturally coveting the 'Dragon Saliva Incense' within the True Armored Whale.
And that Return to Void old dragon was an enemy, so he naturally needed to know its movements.
"During the battle where the Dragon Taming Sect was destroyed, that Return to Void old dragon was heavily wounded. No matter where it fled, it would have been captured and killed by human cultivators. . . It was also cunning, directly fleeing into the Xuanming Abyss and hiding itself using the complex terrain here. I fear it's in the Eye of the Xuanming Sea! " Mo Yinqiu replied solemnly.
The Xuanming Abyss has three great natural disasters — the Erratic Winds, Xuanming Rain, and the Black Tide!
As for its four dangerous lands, they are Ghost Gate Reef, Misty Sea, Eye of the Sea. . . and the Abyss!
Even the Xuanming Abyss is just a branch of a massive fissure in the Starry Sky Domain. Therefore, by following the Abyss deep inside, it's possible to enter the core of this great fissure.
In terms of danger, even Void Amalgamation cultivators wouldn't dare to venture rashly.
"Eye of the Sea. . ."
Fang Xi fell silent.
From that Eye of the Sea, countless Xuanming Heavy Water flowed out, and it was connected to an unknown space.
There were even rumors that the Great Kun and the True Armored Whale, the overlords of the Xuanming Abyss, also came from within it.
Therefore, the danger of the Eye of the Sea far surpassed that of the Misty Sea and Ghost Gate Reef.
"As for that 'True Armored Whale'. . . it was also scared by cultivators, and now only dares to roam in the deep parts of the Xuanming Abyss. . ."
In the current Xuanming Abyss, there might even be one or two human Return to Void cultivators!
The 'Dragon Saliva Spiritual Incense' within the True Armored Whale can dispel inner demons, and is somewhat useful for Divine Transformation Perfected cultivators to overcome the inner demon tribulation when breaking through to Return to Void.
If a Return to Void cultivator saw it, they would definitely not hesitate to kill the whale and take the incense.
If Fang Xi were that True Armored Whale, he would certainly only dare to hide in the Eye of the Sea, or even right beside that massive Kun.
'Things in the world can't always go as one wishes. . . '
'I'm over a thousand years old now, having experienced much tribulation and tempered my heart in the mortal world. . . the Return to Void inner demon tribulation shouldn't be much, and besides. . . Dragon Saliva Spiritual Incense isn't the only spiritual item that helps with inner demon tribulations. . . '
'I'll first explore the Eye of the Sea for a while, three years. . . at most three years, I will leave the Xuanming Abyss and go to another place rich in cultivation resources to seek advancement. '
With this thought, Fang Xi cupped his hands to Mo Yinqiu and bid him farewell, transforming into a streak of light and leaving the bio-mimetic spirit beast.
What Fang Xi didn't see was a deep look flashing across Mo Yinqiu's face as he watched Fang Xi leave.
After struggling for a moment, Mo Yinqiu sighed and took out a purple dragon scale from his inner pocket, injecting spiritual power into it.
A faint crack immediately appeared on the dragon scale!
...
Within the Xuanming Abyss.
Endless Xuanming Heavy Water churned.
As Fang Xi fled deeper into the Xuanming Abyss, he pondered how to find that Return to Void old dragon and settle his grievances.
The Dragon Taming Sect had always exploited his remaining labor, and back then, they even snatched his Hunyuan Heavenly Luo Umbrella and ordered a fifth-grade flood dragon to monitor him. The enmity was truly not small.
Now that the Dragon Taming Sect Master was dead, the debt would naturally fall to that Return to Void old dragon.
Thinking this, after flying tens of thousands of miles, his expression suddenly changed!
Inside the Mountain Sea Pearl, a spiritual root of the Ancestor Demon Tree descended, rummaging through a pile of spiritual treasures and artifacts, and found a broken umbrella canopy.
This umbrella canopy was only palm-sized, but it contained an Artifact Spirit.
At this moment, streaks of five-colored patterns appeared on the umbrella canopy, then transformed into a primordial qi.
This was a fragment of the Hunyuan Heavenly Luo Umbrella that Fang Xi had seized from a Divine Transformation cultivator of the Black Water Sect back then. Within this fragment, there was still the Hunyuan Heavenly Luo Umbrella's Artifact Spirit!
"The main body of the Hunyuan Heavenly Luo Umbrella is approaching? !"
Fang Xi's escape light did not stop, his expression unchanged, but a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes: "Isn't that Hunyuan Heavenly Luo Umbrella in the hands of the Return to Void old dragon? Mo Yinqiu. . ."
He barely needed to think much; he immediately suspected Mo Yinqiu.
After all, before this, he had always visited fellow Daoists under the identity of the Wang Family Ancestor.
Only in the Xuanming Abyss did he revert to his 'Qing Hezi' identity.
The result was that immediately after meeting this person, the Return to Void old dragon came attacking!
If not for him controlling the Hunyuan Heavenly Luo Umbrella's Artifact Spirit, he might not have been able to detect the movements of a Return to Void cultivator in advance!
'It must have heard that I was looking for it, so it decided to strike first? Information obtained from Mo Yinqiu? '
'Thus, it seems the Ink Gate's fate is quite tragic. . . '
The Ink Gate was unwilling to abandon the mystic realm and did not leave the Xuanming Abyss. Then it encountered this Return to Void old dragon, and it's highly possible that it was even captured and made its familiar!
Fang Xi, in an instant, clarified the cause and effect. He formed a hand seal with one hand and chanted softly.
The next instant, beneath his long robe, a layer of four-colored immortal light condensed, but did not radiate outwards; it was precisely the 'Four Sacred Beast Armor'!
Not long after, Fang Xi's escape light suddenly stopped.
"Hmm? You can actually discover this old man?"
In the Xuanming Abyss ahead, the sea mist instantly dispersed, revealing a ferocious flood dragon's head.
It had finely fragmented, purple-jade-like dragon scales, bifurcated dragon horns on its head, and two long white whiskers hanging from its dragon head.
At this moment, an extremely ancient voice emanated from the flood dragon's head.
"Just a sudden premonition. . ."
Fang Xi released his Divine Consciousness and saw a purple jade flood dragon over two thousand zhang long spanning the sea of clouds, with a black line on its back, appearing extremely hideous and terrifying.
More importantly, its aura was somewhat weak!
This Return to Void old dragon had previously broken through to the mid-Return to Void stage, and its strength was considerable even among Return to Void cultivators.
However, it was later besieged by numerous Return to Void cultivators and gravely wounded. Fortunately, it was adjacent to the Xuanming Abyss, and flood dragons inherently possess some water control abilities and had comprehended some divine abilities to manipulate Xuanming Heavy Water, allowing it to narrowly escape death in the Xuanming Abyss!
But its injuries were naturally difficult to recover from.
By chance, it had controlled many cultivators of the Ink Gate within the Xuanming Abyss, having them search for cultivator Nascent Souls for it!
A cultivator's Nascent Soul was an unparalleled spiritual elixir for demon beasts, capable of not only increasing cultivation but also healing injuries.
Given this Return to Void old dragon's aura, if it consumed four or five more Divine Transformation cultivators' Nascent Souls, it would likely recover as before.
"Qing Hezi. . . you killed this old man's descendants, today you shall repay with your Nascent Soul!"
This purple jade flood dragon roared, its dragon whiskers undulating. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth within tens of thousands of miles was completely drawn in, carrying a terrifying pressure, transforming into a dragon claw that struck down!
Five-colored spiritual energy of heaven and earth converged in this claw, bearing an unstoppable momentum!
Fang Xi even felt that the omnipresent spiritual energy of heaven and earth was pressing in on him from all directions, forcing him to meet this dragon claw head-on!
He transformed, a phantom of a dragon-whale vaguely appearing behind him, his body shrouded in a layer of white light, turning into streaks of white bone.
The giant white bone hand clenched its five fingers into a fist, meeting the dragon claw.
—Dragon Whale Great Might Bone Demonic God!
Reputed to possess the greatest might among numerous demonic gods!
Bang!
The demonic god roared, the dragon-whale parted the void.
This illusory white bone fist, surprisingly, transformed into two streaks of light with the dragon claw, intertwining in mid-air, various colors of light flickering incessantly.
Then came another clear ringing sound, countless spiritual energies of heaven and earth scattered, turning into fine spiritual rain that fell.
The purple jade flood dragon's eyes flickered: "You concealed your cultivation, late-Divine Transformation stage? No wonder this old man's descendants perished. . ."
Fang Xi unleashed his full power, the breath-concealing secret art he obtained from the Profound Turtle clan became useless. This Return to Void old dragon immediately saw through some of his true capabilities.
This old dragon was extremely cautious before making a move, and must have known that there were no reinforcements for Fang Xi within tens of thousands of miles.
It just hadn't expected that this 'Qing Hezi' had actually concealed his cultivation, and was a late-Divine Transformation stage Demonic Cultivator!
No! An ordinary late-Divine Transformation stage Demonic Cultivator couldn't withstand its claw!
"Who exactly are you?"
The purple jade flood dragon couldn't help but become extremely cautious.
As it spoke, behind Fang Xi, three streaks of purple light shattered the void and appeared, forming a treasure resembling a dragon claw, which clawed down!
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Behind Fang Xi, layer upon layer of demonic qi shields shattered completely, and four-colored immortal light emerged.
Qilin, Phoenix, True Dragon, Black Tortoise. . .
The Four Great True Spirits roared in unison, finally transforming into an exquisitely refined armor.
—Four Sacred Beast Armor!
Clang!
On that dragon claw treasure, three claws suddenly sprang out.
A terrifying sound echoed through the void. Fang Xi's robes behind him tore apart, producing a metallic clanging sound.
He grunted, and his Divine Consciousness saw three purple-jade-like flood dragon claws inserted side by side into the Four Sacred Beast Armor on his back!
Such a sneak attack treasure, even a Return to Void cultivator would suffer a heavy loss if they were not careful.
"You actually. . ."
The purple jade flood dragon's dragon eyes widened: "Know my demon race's secret arts, and can even cultivate them? !"
Fang Xi clenched his jaw fiercely, forming hand seals.
In an instant, all the demonic qi on his body dissipated, turning into a ball of green-yellow light.
Streaks of verdant green and withered yellow light flickered behind him, condensing into the shape of an ancient wooden wheel.
A pitch-black wooden seal appeared in Fang Xi's hand. He chanted softly, and purple dragon script symbols emerged around his body, a hint of verdant green flashing in his eyes.
The lifespan of this Return to Void old dragon clearly appeared in his sight.
"Five hundred years! As expected of a demon beast, and of the flood dragon race. Its lifespan is indeed quite long, and it might have even used some longevity secret arts and pills. . ."
But Fang Xi was filled with killing intent now; he didn't care.
As long as its lifespan didn't exceed his own, it could be killed!
Swish!
On the Life and Death Seal, a phantom of a demonic tree appeared.
Its branches and crown gently swayed, and countless purple dragon script symbols merged into the 'Withered Glory Mystic Light', transforming into a 'Supreme North Star Life-Ending Divine Light'!
"Supreme North Star. . . ordain your demise!"
Fang Xi's expression was detached, like a high and mighty deity deciding the fate of mortals.
At this moment, his lifespan drastically depleted. Five thousand years vanished in an instant.
And that purple jade flood dragon suddenly felt a great terror descend, a strong premonition of imminent death flashing in its heart, revealing a strong sense of regret: 'I was careless. I didn't expect a mere Divine Transformation cultivator to actually. . . '
It roared, its body exploding, turning into dozens of purple flood dragons, each about a hundred zhang long. Some used water escape techniques to flee into the Xuanming Abyss, some broke through the void to escape, some used blood escape arts, some conjured a Hunyuan Heavenly Luo Umbrella for defense, and a few even ferociously charged at Fang Xi, with an aura of mutual destruction.
Such a diversified escape method truly opened Fang Xi's eyes.
This Return to Void old dragon, having escaped the pursuit of numerous human Return to Void cultivators, indeed had some impressive escape abilities!
Alas. . .
The Supreme North Star Life-Ending Divine Light completely ignored concealment and escape, directly locking onto the enemy's true spirit!
Even cultivation of a Second Primordial Spirit or other substitution secret arts would be utterly useless!
Swish!
An inexplicable profound light swept across the void.
The movements of the dozens of flood dragons suddenly froze.
Then. . .
A purple light flashed, and one after another, the flood dragons exploded. Only a two-thousand-zhang-long flood dragon corpse plummeted with a crash, smashing into the Xuanming Sea!
The Return to Void old dragon — dead!
"Fortunately, it was already quite old, with only five hundred years of lifespan remaining. Otherwise, if it were in its prime. . . its lifespan would be hard to say."
Fang Xi murmured, and the Mountain Sea Pearl transformed into a massive streak of light. He formed hand seals.
Streaks of black roots emerged from the light portal, like tentacles, entangling the enormous flood dragon corpse, then immediately shrinking back into the Mountain Sea Pearl.
He quickly cleaned up the battlefield, eliminating all traces of aura and spiritual power that might expose his identity, then transformed into a streak of light and vanished into the horizon. . .
...
Several hours later.
At the bottom of the Xuanming Abyss.
The Mountain Sea Pearl lay quietly on a patch of sand, like a lost pearl in the vast ocean.
Inside the immortal abode.
Fang Xi looked at the flood dragon corpse coiled in a circle before him, still exuding a terrifying aura, and a hint of pleasant surprise appeared on his face: "This time, I've truly struck it rich. . ."
"Just this complete corpse of a sixth-grade flood dragon alone, who knows how much it's worth. . ."
"Not to mention, there's also the Dragon Taming Sect's treasure it treasured, and. . . that Hunyuan Heavenly Luo Umbrella!"
This umbrella, after all, had a connection with Fang Xi, and had returned to his side.
"The Hunyuan Heavenly Luo Umbrella specializes in dissolving Five Elements spell attacks. Standing under the umbrella, one feels somewhat impervious to all magic. . . Most crucially, it can even neutralize lightning tribulations!"
Based on this final effect alone, the 'Hunyuan Heavenly Luo Umbrella' was a priceless treasure, nearly bankrupting the Dragon Taming Sect back then.
Fang Xi stroked the umbrella's surface, and a wisp of spiritual power entered it, discovering the spiritual power imprint left by the old dragon.
It had already refined this Hunyuan Heavenly Luo Umbrella, and the imprint it left was extremely stubborn.
To slowly refine it might require decades of arduous effort!
Fortunately, Fang Xi still had a partial umbrella canopy and an Artifact Spirit. As long as he integrated these two, refining the spiritual power imprint would be a simple matter.
"That Divine Transformation cultivator from the Black Water Sect back then intentionally held back the Artifact Spirit, wanting to scheme against the Dragon Taming Sect. . . but unexpectedly, it ended up harming himself."
"Fortunately, his plan ultimately succeeded, even if it was completed by me."
Fang Xi did not immediately refine this six-grade Return to Void Numinous Treasure. Instead, he released his Divine Consciousness, searching inch by inch over the purple jade flood dragon's body.
Finally, on the purple jade flood dragon's front right claw, he found something amiss.
"This circle of dragon scales is slightly larger. . ."
Fang Xi raised his front claw, gripped a dragon scale, and terrifying immense strength instantly erupted.
His physical body was originally quite excellent, with a very good foundation, and after undergoing tempering with numerous demon beast essences through the 'Myriad Demon Armor', his achievements in Body Cultivation were extraordinary.
At this moment, with full power unleashed, vague phantoms of the Four Great True Spirits appeared around him, accompanied by the roars of myriad beasts!
Puff!
If this Return to Void old dragon were still alive, Fang Xi might have had some trouble pulling out its scales, but this old dragon was already dead, its body a lifeless object.
With a slight effort, he immediately pulled out a purple dragon scale.
Beneath the dragon scale was not sinew or flesh, but a ring of cold, hard metal, covered in complex and mysterious patterns.
Seeing this, Fang Xi's eyes lit up. He immediately pulled off the surrounding dragon scales and saw an iron ring, slipped onto the dragon claw.
This was naturally not a shackle, but the old dragon's storage bracelet!
"The defense is quite tight. . ."
He briefly probed it with his Divine Consciousness, feeling a strong defense, and couldn't help but smile faintly.
When it came to breaking open storage bags and storage bracelets. . . he already had extensive experience.
After all, Fang Xi's Divine Consciousness had always far surpassed others of his rank, and he was also a Grandmaster of formations.
And storage bags generally relied on Divine Consciousness restrictions.
He was extremely proficient in both, and had plenty of practical experience, so he broke through them very quickly.
Feeling the resistance now, he immediately began to attempt analysis.
"A demon beast's Divine Consciousness is considered a weakness. This Return to Void flood dragon's Divine Consciousness power seems to be inferior to mine. . ."
A thought gradually emerged in Fang Xi's mind.
Not long after, with the aid of 'Taiyi', he calculated several weaknesses. His Divine Consciousness transformed into a sharp cone, stabbing fiercely at a weak point in the restriction.
Clatter!
A crisp sound came from the iron ring, as if something had shattered.
Fang Xi's expression brightened, and he waved his hand.
This iron ring no longer offered any resistance. It emitted a circle of dark light, its size continuously shrinking, finally landing in his palm.
Fang Xi's Divine Consciousness probed inside and saw mountains of various Spirit Stones and materials. . .
"The accumulated wealth of a Return to Void sect. . . truly extraordinary."
He sighed with emotion.
His gaze swept over numerous pills and treasures. Fang Xi's eyes lit up, and an item appeared in his hand: a blood-colored wooden token, with clouds of mist swirling around it, and a vague figure faintly appearing within.
This figure was surprisingly familiar to Fang Xi – it was 'Mo Yinqiu'!
"This Ink Gate Master, as expected, became that Return to Void old dragon's human familiar. . . how tragic can it be?"
Fang Xi murmured.
However, now that he controlled this person's Blood Soul Token, it meant he held this person's life in his palm. Theoretically, he could completely manipulate this person, and even through this person, control the entire Ink Gate to work for him!
But Fang Xi knew that doing so carried great hidden dangers!
After all, how 'Qing Hezi' obtained the Blood Soul Token from the Return to Void old dragon would be impossible to explain!
If it was revealed that Qing Hezi could kill a Return to Void cultivator while at Divine Transformation, that reputation would be too great, and highly inappropriate.
Furthermore, Mo Yinqiu had betrayed him!
"Although it was under duress. . . given this person's hatred for the Dragon Taming Sect, he wouldn't normally stoop to being its minion. . . but alas, some things, once done, are done."
Fang Xi always judged based on actions, not intentions.
Regardless of Mo Yinqiu's feelings, he had ultimately betrayed him.
Therefore. . .
Splash!
Above the Xuanming Sea, Fang Xi's figure appeared. He cast a spell formula onto the Blood Soul Token.
Within this token lay a portion of Mo Yinqiu's essence blood and soul, allowing him to easily determine his life or death.
And finding his main body based on its aura was a trivial matter.
The Blood Soul Token hummed, transforming into a blood-colored sphere of light, and immediately flew forward.
Fang Xi followed closely.
Several hours later, the light sphere stopped above a certain part of the sea.
Fang Xi's eyes flashed with light. Although he couldn't see anything, he vaguely sensed traces of a formation.
"It seems this is the Ink Gate's old lair in the Xuanming Abyss?"
He murmured.
Crack!
Fang Xi suddenly tightened his five fingers slightly, crushing the Blood Soul Token in his hand.
A restriction appeared, and the soul within shrieked, then turned to ash. . .
Within a secret abode beneath the sea.
"That Qing Hezi. . . he must have perished, right?"
Mo Yinqiu's hand held a fragmented puppet material, and he sighed: "Fellow Daoist. . . it's not that I wanted to kill you, but I had no other choice. . ."
His luck had been bad back then. He encountered that Return to Void old dragon in the Xuanming Abyss and was subsequently controlled.
Though he held the sect's greater good in his heart, there was great terror between life and death!
Mo Yinqiu struggled for a long time, but ultimately agreed to be the Return to Void old dragon's human familiar, collecting human cultivator Nascent Souls to heal its injuries.
Now, there was no turning back.
Suddenly!
Mo Yinqiu clutched his head, his face contorting with intense pain and shock: "Master. . . why?"
But the next moment, his soul was directly annihilated, dissipating between heaven and earth. . .
The Ink Gate Master. . . dead!
Within the secret chamber, a light flashed, and Fang Xi's figure appeared.
He looked at Mo Yinqiu, who died with eyes wide open, sighed, and flicked a finger.
A fireball fell, reducing him to ash.
A moment later, a storage bag flew out, landing in his hand.
Straightaway, his figure vanished, and he reappeared outside the secret chamber.
The Ink Gate remnants, acting as wicked accomplices, were naturally best to be utterly annihilated.
As long as they were enemies, their roots had to be eradicated; no mercy could be shown.
A formation had risen at some unknown point, enveloping this sea area.
Streaks of azure light continuously flickered, those were concentrated to the extreme 'Taiyi Azure Wood Divine Light', resembling countless arrows, constantly falling from mid-air, taking the lives of the Ink Gate cultivators. . .
Beneath this divine light, even Nascent Soul cultivators were but a single arrow's affair!
Not long after, this sea area regained its tranquility, with only a streak of azure escape light flickering, rapidly vanishing into the distance. . .
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