novelraw Chapter 84 : Going Underwater
Chapter 84 : Going Underwater
"We have Nascent Soul stage demon beasts too." Chu Sang immediately released Hong Niang and Xiao Bai to join the battle!
Both were Nascent Soul stage demon beasts. One had troublesome spider silk, while the other possessed a domain. Trapping a few demon kings wouldn't be a problem.
Seeing this, Mu Chihuai also released his fire phoenix. Although the fire phoenix hadn't yet reached the Nascent Soul stage, it still had a trace of bloodline left by an ancient divine phoenix, which was also a great suppression for demon beasts.
The round little fire phoenix flew up shakily, looking quite difficult.
Chu Sang's eyes widened, "So... so fat."
As expected of a rich young master, Sixth Senior Brother's food was too good.
Mu Chihuai was embarrassed, "...I'll have it go on a diet soon!"
Simultaneously, thousands of green vines burst from the ground, intertwining to form a semicircular protective shield, enveloping the cultivators present. It could barely withstand the attacks of those fierce demon kings outside.
Hearing the "boom boom boom!" of frantic impacts, Changsheng clenched her fist to her chest, controlling the urge to flee underground, "Little Junior Sister, I can't hold on for long, wuwu."
The others also felt their hearts sink. They took out various trump card magical treasures, preparing for a fierce battle.
"You all do your best to hold off these demon kings outside. Leave the weakest one to me. Any objections?" Chu Sang pointed at the young lord of the demon race. Among those present, she had the lowest cultivation, yet she was the most calm.
"We can only hold them off for half an hour at most." Tantai Ming said coldly.
Outside were all Nascent Soul stage demon beasts, while most of them present were only at the Golden Core stage. The difference in cultivation levels was too great. Killing them was impossible; they could only stall for time.
It was also fortunate that this group was mostly disciples from major sects and families, with many treasures in hand, allowing them to barely resist.
If they were ordinary rogue cultivators, they would have been trampled by these demon beasts long ago.
"Half an hour?" Tantai Ming thought she found the time too short, but Chu Sang grinned, looking disdainfully at the smug young lord of the demon race, arrogantly saying, "For this kind of trash, one incense stick's time is enough."
Hearing this, the young lord of the demon race's face twisted again. It was the first time he had been insulted like this. His voice seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, "You're seeking death!"
His hand transformed into a claw, striking through the air directly at her vital point in the chest.
Chu Sang's smile faded instantly. With lightning speed, she threw out a Golden Armor Talisman, withstanding this fatal attack.
In the moment they passed each other, her expression suddenly turned fierce. Her wrist flipped, and the long sword, condensing vast spiritual power, swung out a sharp Sword Intent!
The young lord of the demon race's face changed drastically. He hadn't expected her to have comprehended Sword Intent. Even though he dodged quickly, he was still caught by the unpredictable sword energy, immediately gaining several wounds, his robe stained with blood.
"...You have some skill." His face was gloomy.
"You flatter me."
Chu Sang continued to use her long sword to teach him a harsh lesson.
Originally, the young lord of the demon race hadn't taken her seriously at all. But Chu Sang's unpredictable methods in this bout, as well as her strength that, despite being at early Golden Core stage, was not inferior to a half-step Nascent Soul, actually made him feel flustered.
He originally didn't want to waste time and energy on these lowly human cultivators, but now, he had no choice but to take her seriously.
"You forced me to this. Die!" His demonic power suddenly surged several times, his form becoming blurry and indistinct, seemingly shifting between human and beast form.
Nine huge silver-white fox tails appeared out of thin air, as if they had their own consciousness, frantically attacking Chu Sang!
The current Demon Emperor of the demon realm is from the Nine-Tailed Fox clan of Qingqiu, which confirmed Chu Sang's guess—as expected of the harem-attracting female protagonist, she had hooked up with the young lord of the demon race so quickly.
The good news was that this young lord of the demon race indeed came for the demon bone. She had come to the right place.
The effects of the heaven-grade pill had fully taken effect, healing wounds quickly. The young lord had recovered his true Nascent Soul stage strength.
His golden vertical pupils seemed to dance with dark flames. His smile was somewhat hideous as he stepped towards Chu Sang with terrifying pressure, closing in step by step, "I can't deny, you're indeed formidable for a Golden Core stage. Your methods are numerous, truly eye-opening."
"But you're still just an early Golden Core stage after all. To kill me, you're still a bit short." He sneered.
The young lord of the demon race narrowed his eyes coldly, staring intently at the young woman before him who was dodging somewhat awkwardly. Even ordinary Golden Armor Talismans could hardly withstand a full-force attack from a Nascent Soul stage. Having held out for so long, she now had several wounds, her dodging speed no longer as agile as at the start.
He couldn't help but feel greatly pleased!
Now she was alone, with no one else free to help her. No matter how many tricks a Golden Core stage had, they were still just a small Golden Core stage. He was at least at the early Nascent Soul stage. Their strengths were not even on the same level!
She would undoubtedly die!
"A bit short...?" She silently repeated twice, then suddenly looked up at him, her gaze burning, "You're right. Early Golden Core stage strength indeed isn't enough. But what if I were to rise a bit higher?"
"What?"
The young lord of the demon race belatedly realized she wanted to break through during battle. He couldn't help but sneer inwardly.
Her current early Golden Core stage strength was comparable to a half-step Nascent Soul. If she could rise to mid Golden Core stage, she could indeed have the power to fight him.
But did she think advancing was such a simple matter, that she could just rise whenever she wanted?
The sneer on his face hadn't even fallen when it suddenly froze.
He saw the young woman's spiritual power suddenly surge, her pressure growing wildly. The breakthrough light that only appeared during breakthroughs actually appeared around her—
She really wanted to forcibly break through at this time?!
The moment of breakthrough is when a cultivator is most vulnerable. Who doesn't find a safe cave dwelling undisturbed to close up for months, or even years, when breaking through normally?
Yet she actually wanted to break through directly during battle. It was hard to say if she was bold or simply seeking death!
The young lord of the demon race's face changed drastically. He didn't even have time to think about how she could control her breakthrough so freely, but he absolutely couldn't let her succeed. He immediately moved to stop her, but a formation bounced him back several meters.
The formation couldn't trap him for long, but this bit of time was enough for her.
The spiritual energy in the secret realm was far more abundant than in the outside world. Chu Sang directly set up a spirit-gathering formation under her feet, forming a human-shaped vortex. Vast spiritual energy from several miles around frantically surged towards her.
Chu Sang advanced to mid Golden Core stage in one go. A flash of fire-red light passed through her bright eyes. She expelled a breath of turbid air, gripped her long sword tightly, and the sword light blazed brilliantly. Several sword lights struck him fiercely, sending him flying dozens of meters!
"Boom!" The collapsed stone wall's debris pierced into his flesh all over his body, causing his face to twist in pain. He immediately spat out a mouthful of blood, unable to believe it.
Mid Golden Core stage?
Was this really just mid Golden Core stage?!
Whose mid Golden Core stage could make a Nascent Soul stage cough blood??!
Seeing the young woman thrust her sword at him again, the young lord of the demon race finally panicked. He momentarily forgot about Qin Xixue, abandoning her without care. He quickly crushed a magical tool and fled, severely injured.
"A step too slow, he actually escaped." The young lord of the demon race had many life-saving treasures. Trying to kill him wasn't a simple matter.
Not to mention that behind him was the entire demon race and the legendary, unfathomably powerful Demon King. If she really killed the young lord of the demon race, she would have to spend the rest of her life on the run.
Chu Sang didn't pursue to kill him. The power within her body was abundant and boiling, frantically wanting to fight to consolidate her cultivation. She then raised her sword to join the battlefield in front, knocking away a demon king trying to sneak attack Mu Chihuai from behind, then joining forces with Tantai Ming to kill it.
As the young lord of the demon race fled with severe injuries, the originally excited and frenzied demon kings gradually regained their senses. Seeing how troublesome these cultivators were, they immediately chose to flee as well.
Half a day later, this chaotic battle finally ended. The cultivators collapsed on the ground, panting heavily, fortunately without much loss of manpower.
With the crisis resolved, next came the judgment of the "fugitive."
"That demon cultivator's strength was not low. He must have a certain status in the demon race. How did you end up with him?" Lou Qing questioned.
Everyone else had been swept into the secret realm storm. Only Qin Xixue had fallen behind alone. When they returned, they found her mingling with that demon cultivator. It was clear that the two had been together all this time... Who would believe nothing had developed between them?
Qin Xixue's face turned slightly pale. She clutched her handkerchief tightly, hurriedly explaining, "It was that demon race who coerced me. It wasn't my intention!"
Qiu Xiude, who usually played without using his brain, didn't believe this nonsense. He coldly rebuked, "I clearly saw you laughing and talking with that demon cultivator just now. You two were even embracing. This is fucking coercion? Do you think I'm stupid?"
Tantai Ming came over and whispered in Chu Sang's ear, "Wasn't this guy quite stupid before? He was played like a fool by their sect's little junior sister. How did his brain suddenly come online?"
Chu Sang quite agreed, "Yeah, yeah, the child finally grew a brain. It wasn't easy."
The two had no awareness of talking bad about people in front of others. Qiu Xiude glared at them angrily, "You two are the ones without brains!"
Sword cultivators tend to like being straightforward. Mo Qingchen didn't even think of beating around the bush with Qin Xixue. He coldly questioned her point-blank, "What's your relationship with that demon cultivator?"
Disciples of Immortal Sects are absolutely not allowed to associate privately with demons and devils. Especially in recent years, with relations between the demon race, devil race, and the cultivation world becoming increasingly tense, no one dared guarantee that their sect wouldn't have a traitor leaking information.
Given Mo Qingchen's goodwill towards Qin Xixue, he wasn't about to forget his identity as the head disciple and cover up these messy affairs for her.
"I, I have no relationship with that demon cultivator. It was that demon cultivator who insisted on kidnapping me. I did that only to stall him..." Qin Xixue finally panicked. She bit her lip, her eyes showing stubbornness and unwillingness. Her eyes reddened, about to shed tears, "That demon race deeply hates human cultivators. If I hadn't pretended to have feelings to stall him, I would probably have been killed by now. Did I do something wrong?"
She was just trying to save her life. What did she do wrong?
Why did these people have to pressure and push her so hard?
Even Mo Qingchen, who usually indulged her, had turned cold. It must be because of Chu Sang that he no longer cared for her as before.
Mo Qingchen didn't believe her quibbling at all. "I will report this matter truthfully to the sect. As for whether you will be punished, that's not up to me."
The secret realm would close in less than three days. They had trained enough during this period. Plus, with the mess on Qin Xixue's side, the others from Tianyan Sect weren't in the mood to continue training. They left the secret realm early that day.
As the time for the secret realm to close drew nearer, many cultivators and disciples from other sects also left successively.
Chu Sang led her senior brothers and sisters to wander around the Myriad Stars Sea for two more days, but they still couldn't find any trace of the demon bone.
Tantai Ming had a sudden realization, "Could the bone be under the sea?"
He turned his head to look at her, eager to try, "Little Junior Sister, why don't we go underwater to look?"
"No one has been underwater before. Not to mention that cultivators' actions would be limited underwater, it's far more dangerous than on the sea surface," Su Chen'an shook his head. "Rashly going in is inadvisable."
The cautious Mu Chihuai and Changsheng also expressed agreement. It was too dangerous underwater. Who knows if they'd be able to come out once they went in.
"We've searched everywhere nearby and haven't found the demon bone. Why not take a risk and try underwater? We might make an unexpected discovery?" Ling Yu looked like a gentle, peaceful nice guy, but he was actually a true radical adventurer.
This statement gained the unanimous approval of Chu Sang, Tantai Ming, and Wen Renyue.
4:3.
The minority follows the majority.
"Alright." Su Chen'an sighed. "I really can't do anything with you all."
He rummaged through his storage bag and took out several small jade-green beads. "These are water-avoiding pearls. Put them in your mouth, and they can ensure you can breathe freely underwater."
"Fifth Senior Brother, Sixth Senior Brother, Fifth Senior Sister, it's indeed too dangerous underwater. You three stay on shore. The four of us will go down to explore. If anything happens, we'll contact you." Chu Sang also took out the spider silk cloth and distributed it to the other three. "This is cloth woven by Hong Niang using spider silk. It's impervious to water and fire. Put it on when we go into the sea later. It can reduce the impact of water currents."
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"I think I smell the scent of the demon bone~" Xiao Bai had successfully broken through to Nascent Soul after receiving several drops of demon blood from Mu Changqing earlier, making it particularly sensitive to the demon bone's aura. After entering the sea, it quickly detected the demon bone's aura and led the way in front.
The four followed behind, diving deeper.
The sea surface above was boundless, and the underwater realm was even more unfathomably deep.
As they swam deeper, the light grew dimmer, gradually obscuring the surrounding scenery. Due to the water currents, the others' voices also became muffled, instinctively making one feel nervous and flustered.
Ordinary spirit fire couldn't burn for long underwater. Chu Sang directly summoned the heavenly flame to illuminate the surroundings, ensuring the three senior brothers and sisters didn't get separated as they continued to dive deeper.
They kept going deeper and deeper, the surrounding scenery changing constantly.
They encountered several huge sea beasts with strange appearances, taking quite some effort to slay them.
"How much longer until we reach it?" Tantai Ming asked indistinctly. This sea strait was too deep. It felt like they had been swimming for several hours, yet still couldn't see the bottom.
"This is my first time here too. I'm not sure." Chu Sang shook her head.
"We're swimming too slowly. At this rate, by the time the secret realm closes, we might not even have reached it." Wen Renyue was impatient. She directly caught four sea beasts that looked remarkably like seahorses to serve as mounts, one for each person.