Chapter 1249: Purple Cloud Palace Descends, Deep Sea Giant Beast

According to Chen Mobai's program settings, this indicated that the Purple Cloud Palace had descended upon another demon-infected planet. The Turtle Treasure could now be used for teleportation. Without hesitation, Chen Mobai first bade farewell to Song Qingyi, then exited the realm gate.

He hoped this descent of the Purple Cloud Palace was to the planet where the Spirit Venerable resided. After all, even if he obtained the coordinates from the Demon Market platform, with his Incarnation stage cultivation, reaching it would take decades of travel. This was true even if he could directly teleport to the core of the Xuanyang Galaxy where Song Qingyi was. What if a Void Refinement cultivator became interested in the Spirit Venerable before then? Their speed would certainly surpass Chen Mobai's. Even if he couldn't interfere in battles between Void Refinement cultivators, he might be able to use the Purple Cloud Palace to assist the Spirit Venerable. With this thought, Chen Mobai immediately initiated the Turtle Treasure's teleportation function.

Amidst a flash of silver light, he arrived at the Purple Cloud Palace. The familiar bluestone floor, the neatly arranged meditation cushions, and the empty Green Lotus Stone Platform all gave Chen Mobai an inexplicable sense of security. After bowing to the Green Lotus Stone Platform, Chen Mobai, as was his custom, attempted the Green Lotus Seal. Feeling the immense and surging power of the Grand Dao from the Purple Cloud Palace, he turned around with a sense of peace and stepped out of the threshold.

This time, the Purple Cloud Palace had descended upon a planet almost entirely covered by water. As far as the eye could see, the water glistened. Fish with lustrous scales and abundant spiritual energy swam on the surface. Massive, shadowy figures lurked in the depths, occasionally surfacing to open their huge mouths and swallow entire schools of fish.

Chen Mobai briefly sensed the planet's spiritual energy and found it remarkably vibrant. It seemed the entire planet was a powerful sixth-tier water spiritual vein, and the void was permeated with fourth-tier spiritual energy. After the Purple Cloud Palace pierced through the Heaven-Earth Embryonic Membrane, Chen Mobai felt the planet's void begin to subtly distort, then ripple outwards from the palace like waves.

"This is..." Chen Mobai hesitated at first, but after observing for a while, he understood the reason. The planet was covered by a layer of void energy, resembling a Dharma Realm. Under the immense power of the Purple Cloud Palace, this energy began to dissipate, no longer able to conceal or obscure. It seemed he had indeed arrived at the planet where the True Spirit of Kunpeng resided. Seeing this, Chen Mobai's heart was filled with excitement.

When the Spirit Venerable was in the Immortal Sect, his Northern Darkness Grotto-Heaven already encompassed the entire sea, and he had long since refined the Heaven-Earth Embryonic Membrane, being only half a step away from ascending to a Dharma Realm. Judging by the current situation, his mastery over the void had advanced even further, seamlessly merging with the planet's spiritual vein origin. This was truly a Dharma Realm that only a sixth-tier cultivator could achieve. Indeed, he had diligently cultivated virtue, and heaven had surely blessed him. No sooner had he received news of the Spirit Venerable than the Purple Cloud Palace arrived directly at this location. He was a person of great destiny.

Despite his excitement, Chen Mobai remained cautious. He unleashed his Void Illusions, using the void energy scattered by the Purple Cloud Palace as a guide, and headed towards the planet's spiritual vein nexus. If the Spirit Venerable was indeed on this planet, he would undoubtedly be at the most vibrant part of the spiritual vein. However, he soon realized he couldn't locate the spiritual vein nexus. An inexplicable force on the planet interfered with a cultivator's perception, making everything appear hazy and indistinct, like being in a misty autumn forest.

After some thought, Chen Mobai understood that this was likely the Dharma Realm's power shrouding the entire planet, deploying these illusory forces to obscure visual perception and prevent anyone from finding the Dharma Realm Lord's true body. Chen Mobai had no solution for this, as his current form was a phantom clone created by Void Illusions, preventing him from using many of his main body's techniques. He could only deploy more Void Illusions to investigate all directions across the planet.

Meanwhile, the Purple Cloud Palace slowly came to a halt in the planet's mid-air. Chen Mobai had initially expected it to sink to the seabed or even land directly on the water's surface. After the Purple Cloud Palace stopped, the Three Thousand Grand Daos began to materialize from nothingness, forming flights of steps that extended towards the sea surface and even into the deep ocean.

Chen Mobai clearly saw a fish, with scales as white as jade, happen to swim by just as the steps formed. Upon contact with the Grand Dao, it began to tremble as if electrocuted, and faint glimmers of intelligence appeared in its previously clear, innocent eyes. This was a serendipitous encounter; that particular step perfectly aligned with the Grand Dao suited for it, enlightening the fish and activating its bloodline. If the Purple Cloud Dao Venerable were still alive, this fish might even have been able to enter the palace and claim a meditation cushion.

Chen Mobai soon discovered that it wasn't just one fish receiving such an opportunity. Another long, slender fish, with scales as black as ink, also had its spiritual essence awakened on a different step. Its body glowed with profound spiritual light, like a dark vortex in the deep sea that had absorbed all light. These two fish, one black and one white, subtly moved Chen Mobai, granting him a deeper understanding of the Grand Dao of Yin-Yang.

Just as he considered enlightening them further to foster good karma, a violent roar of tsunamis began to erupt. It was as if the entire ocean was being upturned. Terrifyingly massive sea beasts, almost comparable to mountains, awoke from the deepest parts of the ocean and, drawn by the Grand Dao, began to surge towards the Purple Cloud Palace. Their ascent from the deep sea to the surface triggered an unprecedented, terrifying tsunami across the planet.

Chen Mobai remained unfazed by this. After all, within the Purple Cloud Palace, even mighty cultivators of the Pure Yang realm dared not act presumptuously. Moreover, while these deep-sea behemoths appeared terrifying and stirred immense water spiritual energy, Chen Mobai's Echoes from the Valley allowed him to discern that they were merely at the fourth-tier. These deep-sea behemoths might have lived for an extremely long time, containing energy no less than that of Incarnation stage cultivators. However, they likely lacked cultivation knowledge and high intelligence, thus being stuck at a crucial stage of transformation. Yet, as he listened with Echoes from the Valley, Chen Mobai discovered that these deep-sea behemoths were actually circulating their vast vital essence to maintain their physical integrity under low-pressure conditions. Furthermore, while their methods of circulation varied slightly among individuals, the underlying principles and frameworks were consistent.

This suggested someone had taught them. Chen Mobai thought of the Spirit Venerable, who had also spent thousands of years on Diyuan Star, enlightening sea creatures one by one, eventually establishing the Sea Realm as his kingdom. So, had he repeated this process on this planet as well?

As Chen Mobai pondered, the distant water surface began to fluctuate violently. With successive waves rising ever higher, an enormous creature slowly emerged. This was a creature resembling a colossal octopus. After its head surfaced, dozens of tentacles, thick as adult whales, rose explosively and slapped the water, creating even more horrifying sounds and massive waves. On the surface, it appeared like a black island materializing out of thin air.

But this was only the beginning. Accompanied by deafening roars, a three-headed serpent-dragon-like creature also surfaced, its central head opening a gaping maw to let out a bellow. A massive black and green turtle, resembling a landmass, also rose. And a strange fish with transparent wings but scales as thick as steel appeared. Their appearance intensified the tsunami, spreading outwards and churning up waves hundreds of meters high. The spiritual energy of the heavens and earth on this planet continuously converged towards this location due to these terrifying creatures. Amidst dense dark clouds, thunder echoed across the sky.

Chen Mobai couldn't help but be slightly astonished by this sight. These creatures were clearly native to this planet. Their vital essence and energy probably surpassed even that of ordinary Incarnation stage cultivators. If they possessed cultivation techniques of the Indestructible Way of Gods and Demons suited to their body types, they could easily enter the realm of an immortal body. However, it would likely be extremely difficult, even for the Spirit Venerable, to achieve this. After all, the Spirit Venerable's deepest understanding was of his own Kunpeng form. Even the cultivation methods tailored for Water Immortals only allowed body tempering up to the fourth-tier. In the Immortal Sect, Water Immortals achieved Incarnation and cultivated their Nascent Souls with the aid of the Six Imperium Sutra. Therefore, Chen Mobai observed that while these deep-sea behemoths had some methods for circulating vital essence and tempering their physiques, they were all very rudimentary.

Nevertheless, it seemed their opportunity had arrived. If these deep-sea behemoths could use this chance to enter the Purple Cloud Palace and complete their cultivation paths, they might break through their limitations and achieve immortal bodies. They might even dual cultivate body and soul, like the Spirit Venerable, and form their Nascent Souls. This was probably why Teacher Zixiao left behind the Purple Cloud Palace: to provide all beings in the world a gateway to transcendence. Thinking of this, Chen Mobai was deeply moved by his teacher's magnanimity. He couldn't help but turn again and, on behalf of all beings in the cosmos, bowed towards the Green Lotus Stone Platform.

As the Purple Cloud Palace's three thousand steps gradually formed, more and more deep-sea behemoths surfaced. Some, with lower intelligence, couldn't contain themselves while waiting and directly lunged at weaker creatures nearby, biting them with their sharp teeth. Once fighting began, it quickly spread. In response, the most powerful deep-sea behemoths held their ground. If any creature dared to trespass, they would unceremoniously swallow it whole. Soon, a large area of the formerly clear water was stained red with blood. Chen Mobai once again felt the truth of how fortune and disaster are intertwined. Had the Purple Cloud Palace not descended, these deceased creatures, who once reigned in the deep sea, might have lived for a long time. But now, drawn out, they became food for other, more powerful behemoths.

Chen Mobai secretly sighed, his heart filled with doubt: why hadn't the Spirit Venerable appeared yet? It was known that the Purple Cloud Palace had descended more than once on Diyuan Star, so the Spirit Venerable should have been thoroughly familiar with such situations. Theoretically, when the Purple Cloud Palace appeared in the outer void, he should have calculated its landing spot and been waiting immediately. Yet, he still hadn't appeared. Even if he were in secluded cultivation, deep in meditation, he should have sensed it when the Purple Cloud Palace pierced into his Dharma Realm. Now, not only was the encompassing Dharma Realm dispelled by the Purple Cloud Palace, but the awakening of the planet's behemoths had also caused colossal tidal waves to sweep across the globe. Unless he was dead, the Spirit Venerable should have been alerted.

Chen Mobai waited a few more days, watching as the three thousand Grand Dao steps neared completion, yet there was still no sign of the Spirit Venerable. An ominous premonition immediately flashed through his mind. There were only a few possibilities for this situation. One was that the Spirit Venerable was severely injured and immobilized, or even dead. The other was that he had encountered a powerful enemy and couldn't escape. Regardless of the possibility, none of them were good news.

Considering this, Chen Mobai could no longer afford to be cautious. When his Void Illusions failed to find any trace, he immediately summoned his second Nascent Soul. A luminous pearl rose from behind his head, instantly transforming into a flash of fire that ignited from the highest steps before the Purple Cloud Palace. The second Nascent Soul proceeded directly from the Purple Cloud Palace, activating the Heaven-Connecting Blessings and Earth-Responding Spirits of the Phoenix Facing the Sun Diagram, intending to use this secret art to locate the core of the planet's spiritual vein nexus.

However, after a Realm Grotto-Heaven ascended to become a Dharma Realm, it transcended the mundane. The Heaven-Connecting Blessings and Earth-Responding Spirits, which had always been effective, as well as the Echoes from the Valley and the Vast Sky Mirror's Illumination, could not find any trace. It was as if the planet's core had vanished into thin air. Chen Mobai now understood how helpless and frustrated opponents facing his own Dharma Realm must feel, because even he, who had also cultivated a Dharma Realm, found himself powerless.

However, considering that the Spirit Venerable's situation might be dire, Chen Mobai persisted in his efforts. Soon, he realized something. His second Nascent Soul instantly returned to the front of the Purple Cloud Palace and appeared before the giant octopus that had first surfaced. The octopus's eyes flickered with curiosity upon seeing the second Nascent Soul suddenly materialize before it.

"There's something I wish to inquire about." Chen Mobai politely transmitted his message directly via divine sense. He had prepared for the giant octopus not to understand, merely trying on the off chance it might. To his surprise, the creature responded: "Greetings... fellow Daoist..." Although the message transmitted via divine sense was halting and unfamiliar, Chen Mobai was certain it was the language and narrative style of Diyuan Star. The Spirit Venerable was indeed spreading his teachings here!

At this moment, Chen Mobai was absolutely certain. He waved his hand through the air, and the surrounding water vapor condensed in his palm, forming the true body and two Nascent Souls of the Spirit Venerable. He then asked the behemoths before him if they recognized this figure.

"Master!" After Chen Mobai materialized the form with water vapor, all the surrounding behemoths chanted the title before the Spirit Venerable's Heavenly Peng Nascent Soul, their eyes filled with reverence.

Chen Mobai asked, "I am a compatriot of the Spirit Venerable. May I ask, fellow Daoists, if you know where the Spirit Venerable is now?"