Lu Ya City, Thousand Islands Sea:
Whoosh!
Three beams of black light pierced through the clouds, moving at an extreme speed, and instantly arrived above the island.
Buzz!
Three black-cloaked men stopped in the sky. Strong winds blew, but they did not attract any attention as they were too high up. Countless clouds hid them, making everything appear normal.
Naturally, the three black-cloaked men were Gu Hai, Chang Ming, and Shangguan Hen.
“Your Reverence, this is the place,” Chang Ming said as he looked down.
Gu Hai lowered his head and studied the island below.
“After the Heavenly Go Pavilion discovered Ao Shun, they did not cause any trouble for him. On the contrary, they even sent people to serve him, changing the Manifold Deity Palace’s name to Ao Shun Palace. One year ago, Your Reverence sent people to bring an invitation to Ao Shun, but Ao Shun rejected Your Reverence?” Chang Ming said, feeling confused.
“Ao Shun said that he had made a breakthrough recently and needed to cultivate by the sea. Borderless Heavenly Capital is inland, so he did not intend to come over yet,” Gu Hai said.
“Your Reverence, something is not quite right,” Shangguan Hen said with a slight frown.
“Oh?” Gu Hai said, feeling uneasy.
Shangguan Hen stared at the surrounding sea. d.f21895
“Your Reverence, look. Is there something in the sea?” Shangguan Hen narrowed his eyes.
Gu Hai looked down. The sea was calm, even somewhat clear. However, that allowed the party to see into its depths and vaguely make out a huge white dragon hiding at the bottom of the sea.
“Let’s go down and check it out,” Gu Hai said.
Whoosh!
The three turned into beams of light shooting into the sea.
Boom!
The three moved quickly in the water and soon reached the place Shangguan Hen indicated.
“Don’t move!” Shangguan Hen’s expression changed. Then, he waved, encasing the three in a bubble.
“What is this?” Chang Ming asked.
“This will prevent our auras from leaking, allowing us to hide in the seawater without being discovered. This is a divine technique,” Shangguan Hen explained.
Chang Ming nodded.
The bubble encasing the three approached a valley in the sea bed.
This undersea valley had nearly one hundred gigantic dragon skeletons piled on rocks. The dragon skeletons lay prone and should be something dead, but their eyes gave off a faint dark-blue light, making them seem alive.
Creak! Creak! Creak! Creak! Creak! All at once, a skeleton dragon swam over.
One of the skeletons suddenly spoke. “It’s fine. Little Lin has not sent word. He is still talking with Ao Shun.”
“Will that little fellow Ao Shun flee?” another skeleton dragon asked.
“Don’t worry. The Heavenly Go Pavilion has laid countless ritual arrays on Lu Ya Island over the past few years. He cannot escape. Furthermore, there’s still us,” another skeleton dragon said seriously.
“Ao Shun? I hear from Little Lin that Ao Shun’s Ao Clan bloodline is the purest. Even his father, Ao Tianhuang, cannot compare to him? His is very close to the ancestor dragon.”
“Pure is the best. Prime requires a pure bloodline to suppress the aura of the ancient souls.”
The skeleton dragons spoke in low voices.
“Ao Sheng? He dug up the dragon burial mound?” Shangguan Hen’s expression suddenly changed.
“The dragon burial mound?” Gu Hai echoed in bewilderment.
“He really dares to? To think that he dared to dig up his ancestral tomb? No wonder Your Reverence said that Ao Sheng’s strength reached the Upper Heavenly Palace Realm. So, this is the reason. This is why. The Nether Realm Dragon Burial Mound is where the many generations of the dragon race are buried. It is a restricted area of the dragon race. To think that he dared to dig it up? He consumed the mortal souls of the dragon race experts? Even forged the dragon bones into his puppets? Ao Sheng is truly ruthless!” Shangguan Hen said, appalled.
“These dragon bones are the ancestors of the dragon race?” Gu Hai said.
“Yes. Your Reverence, you have to be careful. Those who can be interred in the dragon burial mound have reached the Upper Heavenly Palace Realm. Even if they have died, the energy in the burial mound allows the bones to possess the power of a peak Middle Heavenly Palace Realm or even an early-stage Upper Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator. Moreover, we do not know how many mortal souls Ao Sheng has consumed or how many skeletons he has forged,” Shangguan Hen warned with a sullen expression.
“These one hundred skeleton dragons are here to capture Ao Shun?” Gu Hai’s face sank.
Just as Gu Hai showed a grave expression, a skeleton dragon in the distance swam over.
“Elder, I just saw a group of yakshas hiding at that side of the sea. They seem to be targeting this island. They might be here for Ao Shun too,” that skeleton dragon said.
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[TL Note: Yakshas are a broad class of malevolent demons in Buddhism and some other religions. Given the context of the story, where Di Shitian works for the Spirit Mountain Holy Land, a Buddhist faction, it is most likely drawing reference from the Buddhist version. One version says yakshas are people who reincarnated into that form due to the sins of their past lives. Then, they repented in the new life and served as guardians for buddhas. Over time, some of them were even worshiped as minor deities. Here is the Wikipedia entry on them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaksha.]
“Yakshas? Why are Di Shitian’s subordinates here?” the leader of the skeleton dragons said.
As the skeleton dragons spoke, Gu Hai frowned slightly.
“Your Reverence, it looks like Ao Shun’s place is not very peaceful, either,” Chang Ming said with a smile.
“Since that is the case, let’s help Ao Shun deal with this bunch first,” Gu Hai sneered.
“Bones? We are skilled with bones too!” Gu Hai said coldly.
Gu Hai stepped forward and stomped.
Boom!
The cliffsides of the underwater valley suddenly changed color. From the initial color of the submerged stone, they slowly turned into the eerie white of bones.
“What’s going on?” The skeleton dragons’ faces sank.
“Bone sea!” Gu Hai shouted coldly.
Bone spikes erupted all over the valley, forming a vast bone web surrounding the dragons.
Boom!
“Bastard!”
“How audacious!”
The dragons exclaimed in outrage.
Shing! Shing! Shing!
Countless bone spikes firmly trapped the skeleton dragons.
“Get rid of the bone spikes!” the dragons roared.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
Cracks immediately appeared in the bone spikes. It looked like the skeletons would soon escape.
“Roar! I don’t care who you are. Since you provoked us today, you must die!” the skeleton dragon leader yelled.
“Treasure, please turn around!” At some point in time, a golden calabash had appeared in Gu Hai’s hand.
A beam of golden light immediately flew out of the calabash’s opening, illuminating the entire sea region with piercing light.
Shing!
The golden light left quickly and returned quickly, disappearing into the calabash in the blink of an eye.
As the one hundred skeleton dragons struggled, their heads flew off and went rolling on the seabed.
Shangguan Hen and Chang Ming looked at Gu Hai with some horror. Initially, they had anticipated an intense battle. Unexpectedly, one hundred heads were already on the ground.
After the dragon heads landed, the blue light in their eyes vanished. Clearly, they had been destroyed.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
The bone spikes retracted.
“Let’s go. We’ll go check out those yakshas,” Gu Hai said indifferently.
——
Ao Shun Palace:
Ao Shun looked coldly at Elder Lin. “Uncle Lin, is Shi Zhenzi telling the truth?”
Elder Lin showed an awkward expression.
“The dragon burial mound? How bold! To think that Ao Sheng dared to dig up the dragon burial mound? Was it Long Shenwu? Ao Sheng does not have that capability,” Ao Shun raged.
Elder Lin said softly, “Crown Prince Ao Shun, don’t be angry. This is just Shi Zhenzi’s one-sided claim. Furthermore, wasn’t the dragon burial mound established so that the dragon race could rise again after it declined? Now—”
“What nonsense!” Ao Shun glared.
“Those are the ancestors of my Ao Clan! There are also the elders who reached the Upper Heavenly Palace Realm. To think that you dared to dig up the dragon burial mound?! Uncle Lin, you disappoint me! Also, that unfilial Ao Sheng! Watch how I deal with him!” Ao Shun snarled.
“In that case, Crown Prince Ao Shun, you had better return with me to confront Ao Sheng,” Elder Lin said bitterly.
“Wait, go back? Haha! Didn’t Elder Lin forget to mention that Ao Sheng and Long Shenwu have headed west and are not in the Northern Sea Dragon Palace?” Shi Zhenzi suddenly laughed.
“Huh? You have spies in my Northern Sea Dragon Palace?” Elder Lin’s expression changed.
“Crown Prince Ao Shun, if you want to meet Ao Sheng, you might as well follow me. I know where he is,” Shi Zhenzi said with a smile.
“How audacious! Shi Zhenzi, Crown Prince Ao Shun will only come with me!” Elder Lin suddenly yelled in anger.
The two started arguing in Ao Shun Palace, both wanting Ao Shun to go with them.
“Go with you?” Ao Shun narrowed his eyes.
“That’s right. Crown Prince Ao Shun, come with me. The Northern Sea Dragon Palace needs you to manage it,” Elder Lin said anxiously.
“Crown Prince Ao Shun, come with me. I can bring you to Ao Sheng,” Shi Zhenzi cried out.
As uncertainty shadowed Ao Shun’s eyes, an authoritative voice came from outside the palace hall. “There’s no need for you two to bicker over this. Ao Shun will come with me!”
“Who is it?!” Elder Lin and Shi Zhenzi looked out of the palace, their faces sinking.
“Halt!” the guards outside the palace hall shouted furiously.
However, Ao Shun’s eyes lit up, and he immediately walked out of the palace hall.
Shi Zhenzi and Elder Lin followed.
Three black-cloaked men stood in the plaza outside the palace hall. The three were hooded, hiding their appearance. Then, the man in the middle pulled back his hood.
“Gu Hai, it’s you?” Elder Lin glared.
“Gu Hai?” Shi Zhenzi frowned slightly.
“Royal Emperor Gu? No, Imperial Emperor Gu, why are you here?” Ao Shun calmed down.
“I came this time to ask for help. Will Crown Prince Ao Shun come with me and lend me a hand?” Gu Hai asked with a smile.
“No!” Shi Zhenzi and Elder Lin yelled simultaneously.
“Imperial Emperor Gu is too polite. Ao Shun is obligated to agree,” Ao Shun immediately answered.
Whether it was due to Ao Tianhuang telling Ao Shun to walk closely with Gu Hai or the Han Nation losing their crown prince to save him at the Solar Divine Palace, he had no reason to refuse when Gu Hai came asking for help.
“That is good. This matter cannot be delayed. Crown Prince Ao Shun, let’s go,” Gu Hai said with a smile.
“You are not allowed to go!” Elder Lin glared.
Shi Zhenzi’s face sank. “Crown Prince Ao Shun, you cannot go!”
Ao Shun looked coldly at the two. “It is not your place to interfere with where I’m going. Humph!”
“Ritual array! Heavenly Go Pavilion disciples, activate the ritual array! Ao Shun is trying to leave! Hurry! Hurry!” Elder Lin suddenly roared anxiously.
However, the guards in the surroundings seemed flustered.
“Elder Lin, our Go Dao ritual array’s activation mechanism has disappeared!” one of the guards said anxiously.
“Huh?” Elder Lin’s face stiffened.
How could a regular Go Dao ritual array hide from Gu Hai?
“The Heavenly Go Pavilion? Hah! So, you have been lying to me all the while? To think that you are conspiring with the Wu Imperial Dynasty? Humph!” Ao Shun snarled while glowering.
“No, you cannot go! If you go, it will be over for those young dragons of my Northern Sea Dragon Palace. They cannot suppress the ancient souls and are about to go crazy. Ancient elders, quickly come out! Ao Shun is about to flee!” Elder Lin suddenly called out frantically.
However, not a single skeleton dragon flew out of the sea.
“Hah! You came prepared? Skeleton dragons? It looks like they are unreliable. Leave it to me. Yaksha King, capture Ao Shun for me!” Shi Zhenzi roared.
A cool breeze blew, and the sea remained quiet. No one came out.
Shi Zhenzi: “…”
Elder Lin: “…”
Ao Shun: “…”
Gu Hai looked at Ao Shun. “Let’s go. Time is somewhat tight. Let’s not delay anymore.”
