Chapter 1342: The Primordial Black Dragon

Main Body Volume

Time flew by, and soon True Lord Fu Hai retrieved two more skeletons of sixth-tier black dragons. By this point, Chen Mobai had mentally prepared himself for not obtaining the primordial black dragon's skeleton. Although True Lord Fu Hai exaggerated his exhaustion, it was generally within Chen Mobai's expectations, and he noted that the True Lord was indeed somewhat tired.

"Fellow Daoist Chen..." Seeing True Lord Fu Hai about to give up, Chen Mobai immediately said, "Let's try one last retrieval. If we don't get anything this time, we'll stop."

Hearing this, True Lord Fu Hai, who had initially intended to retrieve nothing more, looked again at Zhao Nansheng, who was suspended by the Kun's mouth, gritted his teeth, and cast his fishing line once more.

"Fellow Daoist," he said, pointing to the map of the sea eye he had drawn, "there are still these caverns remaining, whose full extent my cultivation level cannot explore. You pick one."

Since it was agreed to be the last retrieval, True Lord Fu Hai ceded the right of choice to Chen Mobai. Over the years, all the caverns True Lord Fu Hai had identified as containing objects had been retrieved, proving that the primordial black dragon was indeed not among them. Now, it was a matter of chance.

Chen Mobai didn't know if his Sage's Path would be effective on seventh-tier spiritual objects, but he still held onto hope, pointing to the deepest, darkest cavern. "Let's go with this one," he said.

True Lord Fu Hai nodded, thinking, "It's finally going to end." However, at this moment, he was a bit worried that Chen Mobai wouldn't let him and his disciple leave. But now, he could only pray that the Azure Emperor of the Eastern Desolation was truly a man of his word.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, the transparent fishing line, infused with the power of the Great Dao, was accurately cast into the sea eye once more, flying towards the cavern Chen Mobai had indicated. True Lord Fu Hai had only ascertained the location of this cavern, not fully exploring it before due to the need to resist the sea eye's suction. He had originally thought that with the radiance of the Ocean-Stabilizing Pearl covering him, he could easily extend the line into it, but upon entering, he found the fishing line moved like it was plunged into mud, extremely slowly. Later on, every few meters of progress required considerable Great Dao power.

True Lord Fu Hai was slightly startled, thinking that even if there was no primordial black dragon skeleton inside, there must be extraordinary heavenly treasures. He felt a bit of regret, knowing that if this object were retrieved, it wouldn't be his. But under the watchful eyes of Chen Mobai and Spirit Venerable, True Lord Fu Hai couldn't tamper with anything. Moreover, Chen Mobai had explicitly stated earlier that for Zhao Nansheng to live, a primordial black dragon skeleton needed to be retrieved in exchange. Thinking of this, True Lord Fu Hai could only close his eyes, fully concentrating on controlling the fishing line and guiding it deeper into the cavern.

Half a day quickly passed.

Just as Chen Mobai thought they would return empty-handed, the fishing line in True Lord Fu Hai's hand suddenly tightened. The True Lord's Divine Soul radiance flared brightly, and he opened his eyes with a hint of joy. "Fellow Daoists," he exclaimed, "it's another black dragon skeleton! But this one is heavier than all the previous ones combined. I need your help to pull it up."

Hearing this, Chen Mobai's expression also showed surprise and delight. However, since he hadn't yet reached the Void Refinement stage and didn't fully trust True Lord Fu Hai, he had Spirit Venerable assist instead.

Spirit Venerable's Heavenly Peng Divine Soul activated the Dao of Wind, enveloping True Lord Fu Hai entirely and pulling him towards the surface of the sea. Seeing this, Qing Nü immediately poured forth the radiance of the Ocean-Stabilizing Pearl, ensuring that True Lord Fu Hai, who was moving, remained within its protective range.

With a creaking sound, the fishing line began to show signs of breaking. Seeing this, Chen Mobai's expression changed. Just as he was trying to think of a solution, Spirit Venerable acted again. Golden light flew from her palm, wrapping around True Lord Fu Hai's fishing line as if coating it with a layer of adhesive, not only solidifying it further but also making its binding much tougher. Fortunately, the fishing line was made of a sixth-tier material found by True Lord Fu Hai in the sea eye. Although his refining technique was crude, it could barely withstand the immense force.

As the object from the depths of the sea eye was retrieved, the seabed where Chen Mobai and his companions stood began to tremble. The little flood dragon, whose cultivation was sealed, immediately scurried to Chen Mobai's feet, deeply afraid of being swept into the sea eye by the aftershocks. It had no confidence that it could ascend to the sixth-tier in a life-or-death crisis, as True Lord Fu Hai had.

After the fishing line was tautened by the blessings of the two Great Daos, it made a sound like a zither string, which reminded Chen Mobai of the Nine Calamities Heavenly Phoenix Zither and various other methods for making zither strings.

"Huh?" Just at this moment, Qing Nü, beside him, suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Chen Mobai immediately asked with concern.

"For some reason," Qing Nü transmitted to Chen Mobai, "the embryonic essence qi within me has been stirred."

Embryonic essence qi! Chen Mobai had almost forgotten that Qing Nü possessed such a substance within her. Previously, due to ample preparation, Qing Nü's transformation into a Divine Soul cultivator was very smooth, and she hadn't needed to use this.

"Was it stirred by the sea eye," Chen Mobai asked again, "or by the object we just retrieved?" Qing Nü, however, shook her head, indicating she wasn't sure either.

Embryonic essence qi is the planetary origin of Earthstar. It is said that all life on the planet, including humans, originated from it. This is somewhat similar to the legend in the Heavenly River Realm where the Mother of Waters opened the sea eye and created all things. Both are powers of creation.

Could it be that the deepest part of the sea eye is the origin of the Heavenly River Realm?

Thinking of this, Chen Mobai took Qing Nü's hand, wanting to listen to the fluctuations within her. But the "Sound of Empty Valley" spell, even though he had cultivated it to its highest level, could not affect the sea eye, a natural spiritual aperture. Chen Mobai could only activate the "Five Tones of Regulation," but only gained a slight understanding. But he perceived that this embryonic essence qi had come alive, instinctively wanting to merge into Qing Nü's Divine Soul, seemingly urging her to enter the sea eye to obtain a greater fortune. Given Chen Mobai's cautious nature, he naturally wouldn't let Qing Nü do that. Moreover, this matter was somewhat unusual. He first acted to seal this embryonic essence qi, intending to study it after the object from the sea eye was retrieved and its true nature was revealed. After all, with Qing Nü's current cultivation, she could refine this embryonic essence qi at any time; there was no rush at this moment.

While they were dealing with the embryonic essence qi, True Lord Fu Hai and Spirit Venerable finally pulled up the fishing line. A black, lifelike true dragon, seemingly carved from black crystal, emerged from the depths of the sea eye. This black dragon was full of majesty, with prominent horns and an immortal body, as if still alive. What most caught Chen Mobai's attention was that this black dragon had seven claws. If one claw represented one tier, was this a seventh-tier being? That must be the primordial black dragon. It was actually retrieved. At this thought, Chen Mobai couldn't help but be overjoyed.

But at this moment, the Ocean-Stabilizing Pearl in Qing Nü's hand suddenly erupted with the most dazzling cerulean radiance, pouring towards the primordial black dragon's skeleton. At the same time, all the black dragon skeletons retrieved earlier involuntarily shattered, transforming into ethereal blue Great Dao spiritual light. Guided by the radiance of the Ocean-Stabilizing Pearl, this light surged towards the black dragon like countless threads. Chen Mobai perceived that these spiritual lights were all pure crystals of the Water Dao, some even reaching the innate level.

As these Great Dao spiritual lights poured in, the black dragon's scales began to light up, one by one. The little flood dragon immediately plopped down, unable to bear the bloodline suppression, and directly knelt. In the surrounding Xuan Jiao tombs, all the skeletons burst from the ground, transforming into the same Great Dao spiritual light. However, some of these skeletons were only fourth-tier during their lives, so they emitted only a faint, firefly-like glow. Only the fifth-tier skeletons emitted a wisp of bright light. After these Great Dao spiritual lights poured in, a terrifying aura that made the endless ocean tremble rose from the black dragon's skeleton. Its originally dull dragon eyes now glowed with a cerulean luster.

This scene made Chen Mobai's face drain of color, thinking, "This dead dragon isn't going to come back to life, is it?"

"Oh no, husband," Qing Nü exclaimed, her face paling, "this pearl seems to have a top-level program set that activates at this moment..."

Although the Ocean-Stabilizing Pearl in her hand had lost its sentience, its instinct from millions of years still allowed it to break free from restraints. All its power erupted upon encountering the primordial black dragon's skeleton, transforming into an overwhelming cerulean radiance. It drew the boundless power of the Profound Sea, pouring it into the black dragon's glabella, seemingly intending to enter its Zifu sea of consciousness and revive it. This was the very purpose of the pearl since its creation; even after numerous refinements and losing its sentience, it would still obey this purpose.

Seeing this scene, Chen Mobai immediately brought out the Primal Chaos Bell, intending to stop it. But the power unleashed by the Ocean-Stabilizing Pearl at this moment was truly terrifying, almost at its peak. With the advantage of the Profound Sea's geography, the Primal Chaos Bell found it difficult to suppress. Helpless, Chen Mobai could only wave his sleeve, open his Dharma Realm, and draw the pearl in, letting the Primal Chaos Bell suppress it within the Dharma Realm.

Without the pearl, the sea eye's suction immediately surged, causing even them, Divine Soul cultivators, to become unstable and gradually be pulled towards the sea eye. Seeing this, Spirit Venerable immediately activated her Kun-whale avatar, expanding its size to the maximum to block the sea eye, and then used the Dao of Wind to pull Chen Mobai and the others to her side. True Lord Fu Hai also seized this opportunity, withdrew the fishing line from the black dragon's skeleton, changed direction to rescue Zhao Nansheng to his side, then, without looking back, he cast a Divine Soul escape art, and the master and disciple vanished instantly, making their escape.

"Should we pursue them?" Spirit Venerable asked Chen Mobai beside her, seeing this scene. Her Dao of Wind, if she wished, could enable her to soar ninety thousand miles at an incredible speed. Although True Lord Fu Hai's escape art was fast, it was still within her pursuit range.

"Never mind," Chen Mobai replied. "Since I promised, let's let them go." Chen Mobai had said before that as long as the primordial black dragon's skeleton was retrieved, he wouldn't kill Zhao Nansheng. The lifelike black dragon before them now was clearly it. He was a man of his word. Moreover, with Zhao Nansheng by True Lord Fu Hai's side, and without the Primal Chaos Demonic Talisman being exposed, he could locate this Void Refinement cultivator, killing two birds with one stone.

After the Kun-whale avatar blocked the sea eye, temporarily alleviating the suction, Chen Mobai seized this opportunity, waved his sleeve again, opened his Dharma Realm, and collected everything present. The primordial black dragon's skeleton was naturally not forgotten. However, after taking it into his Dharma Realm, Chen Mobai found that his Dharma Realm felt overwhelmed, and his divine sense began to deplete rapidly. His expression changed drastically. He had Spirit Venerable take him away from the sea eye, retreating to the underwater medicinal field, and immediately expelled the primordial black dragon's skeleton from his Dharma Realm. As expected, without it, the Dharma Realm felt a great burden lifted.

"This black dragon, during its life, clearly entered the Dao Integration realm," Spirit Venerable commented, looking at the black dragon's skeleton, which now possessed a terrifyingly majestic aura after absorbing the innate Water Dao spiritual light. "It's a pity it ultimately couldn't withstand the impact of the Great Dao and perished." If the Ocean-Stabilizing Pearl still had sentience and could enter this skeleton's Zifu sea of consciousness, it might truly be able to revive it. Unfortunately, Chen Mobai had been very decisive.

"Perhaps," Chen Mobai mused, "the primordial black dragon leaving its inner core in the Xuan Jiao Royal Court in the first place was in preparation for its Dao Integration failure..." Following Spirit Venerable's analysis, Chen Mobai realized this point, his expression dawning. Recalling that the Heavenly River Realm's Six Paths of Reincarnation were about to be restructured and the Dao of Life and Death was to be re-evolved, he considered that for an existence with seventh-tier power, it was indeed possible to seize this opportunity to reverse life and death, returning from the history of their past demise.

Hearing what he said, even Spirit Venerable looked aghast. Did the primordial black dragon actually have such a grand plan to reverse life and death? Is this the power of the seventh tier, the Dao Integration realm!

"Primordial Ancestor, wuwuwu!" The little flood dragon beside them, hearing Chen Mobai's words, suddenly had an emotional breakdown and wept loudly at the black dragon skeleton before it. Even it, the king of the Xuan Jiao clan, was unaware of this grand plan. But if it were realized, then their clan, let alone in the Heavenly River Realm, could even strut freely in the Spirit Void Immortal Realm. Unfortunately, everything had now come to naught.

Besides blaming their ancestors, the successive actions of their father and son, two generations of dragon kings, in giving away the Ocean-Stabilizing Pearl and the sea eye's profound foundation, were also the main reasons for this. Thinking of this, even the adaptable little flood dragon couldn't hold back its emotional defenses. It cried loudly, wanting to swim to the primordial black dragon's body, but it was still bound by the Void Divine Chains and stopped moving halfway.

The cold restraints brought the little flood dragon back to reality. It immediately stopped crying, circled around, and returned to Chen Mobai's side.

"Your Majesty, please don't blame me," the little flood dragon said, "my emotions have always been quite developed since childhood, and I often act on impulse..."

Hearing the little flood dragon's belated explanation, Chen Mobai expressed his understanding. After all, it was just one step away from becoming the most well-connected scion in the Heavenly River Realm. This enormous disappointment, in analogy, was like him being expelled from the Purple Heaven Palace. It was certainly difficult to accept. But no matter how painful, one could only accept it.