Marquis of the North Sea Mansion.
"What? Shenrong Chong is dead?" Baili Changfeng was startled. He immediately looked at the servant who had come to report.
"Just half an hour ago, Tianbao Mountain sent word... Shenrong Chong was indeed slain by Young Master Lei Zhan," the gray-robed servant said respectfully.
"Did Tianbao Mountain's informants find out whether Daoist Lei Zhan used a treasure or some rare object... or whether he killed him on his own?" Baili Changfeng asked.
The Three Realms were filled with countless magic treasures and rare objects. It was entirely possible that a cultivator might enter an ancient God-Devil ruin and obtain powerful treasures or strange items.
Those treasures were mighty. Even if they could only be used once, an ordinary mortal might still be able to use one to slay an Earth Immortal or Loose Immortal.
So there was an enormous difference between having a treasure and not having one.
If Lei Zhan had relied on outside help, Baili Changfeng still considered him worth befriending, but naturally he wouldn't value him as highly as if he had won on his own.
Thinking this, Baili Changfeng shook his head slightly. "Give me the information Tianbao Mountain sent."
"Yes." The gray-robed servant respectfully took out a bamboo slip. "The information from Tianbao Mountain is all here."
Baili Changfeng waved a hand lightly. After the servant left, he opened the bamboo slip.
A moment later,
a trace of undisguised shock appeared in Baili Changfeng's eyes. "He apparently used a powerful divine ability, a secret technique that instantly left Shenrong Chong unable to fight back. In the end, Shenrong Chong could only wait to be slaughtered?"
"To leave a God-Devil Body Refining cultivator at the late Myriad Phenomena stage completely unable to fight back!"
Baili Changfeng lifted the bamboo slip and tapped it lightly against his palm. "Daoist Lei Zhan truly is worthy of being Immortal Juhua's disciple. It seems there'll be quite a show soon. Shenrong Chong's father, an Earth Immortal, is on good terms with my father, the Marquis, but I wonder if he'll have the guts to personally provoke Immortal Juhua, a Loose Immortal of a million years."
It was understandable for Shenrong Chong, at the late Myriad Phenomena stage, to seek out Lei Zhan over a grievance between juniors. But if a Return-to-Void Earth Immortal personally intervened and used his power to bully a Purple Mansion cultivator, it would be much harder to brush aside.
After all, the reputation of an Immortal who had lived for millions of years wasn't made of clay. Immortal Juhua had carved out his renown with blade and sword!
The North Dark Sea.
A Dragon-Head Warship cut through the clouds, flying swiftly across the high sky.
Lei Zhan sat cross-legged aboard the Dragon-Head Warship, surrounded by a profound aura of the Dao.
"Whoosh..."
Suddenly, streams of azure water appeared in the sky. They surged like a tide, waves crashing as they swirled around Lei Zhan.
The waves swelled higher and higher, soon rising into a series of towering breakers that completely engulfed the Dragon-Head Great Ship.
Beneath the seemingly endless waves, all heaven and earth seemed to turn to water. The enormous Dragon-Head Warship looked tiny amid the breakers, like a lone boat rocking in a storm-tossed sea.
Lei Zhan paid it no mind, letting the Dragon-Head Great Ship sail through the waves. He felt closer than ever to the azure seawater that had appeared out of nowhere.
The comfort of that closeness intoxicated him.
The mysterious aura of the Dao grew ever stronger, until it completely enveloped Lei Zhan.
In general, the closer one came to comprehending the Dao, the harder it became. Even if Lei Zhan wanted to fully comprehend the Dao of the Azure Sea, that last bottleneck might have held him back for a very long time.
But just now, less than half a day after leaving that stretch of sea, he had gazed down at the endless, churning waves beneath the Dragon-Head Warship. Inspiration had struck, and the final trace of the bottleneck in his understanding of the Dao of the Azure Sea had quietly vanished.
"At last, I've comprehended my first complete Dao." Lei Zhan slowly opened his eyes, unable to hide his delight. "If I blend my understanding of the Dao of the Azure Sea into the Great Dao of the Spear, it'll greatly increase my strength."
The Great Dao of the Spear, like the Dao of the Sword and the Dao of the Saber, was a Dao of technique. It could channel every insight through the spear. Naturally, blending one's understanding of other Daos into it would make its power astonishing.
Whoosh.
Lei Zhan's mind stirred. He pressed his index and middle fingers together like a sword, and his entire arm seemed to become a long spear of astonishing power.
Suddenly, endless waves appeared in the surrounding space, surging and sweeping across heaven and earth. Every drop of seawater seemed to hold terrifying power, and the world around him seemed to freeze.
Once a cultivator mastered a complete Dao, he could fully wield the Dao's power and bring the surrounding space under his control. Compared to the Domain Realm of the Dao, this granted far more complete control over space and let him unleash even more terrifying power.
"Go!" Lei Zhan suddenly swung his arm.
His arm lashed out, and a howling gale erupted across the world. An azure spear-light streaked across the sky, cleaving through layer upon layer of clouds. A mark lingered in the space around him, slow to fade.
"With my strength now, if I had enough resources, I could break through to the Primordial Spirit Daoist level even on the Qi Refining Path." Lei Zhan smiled faintly.
Ordinary cultivators at the Myriad Phenomena stage would attempt to become Primordial Spirit Daoists once they had comprehended the Domain Realm of the Dao. Those from great clans and powerful factions would generally choose to break through as soon as they comprehended a complete Dao at the Myriad Phenomena stage.
Those who comprehended several Daos at the Myriad Phenomena stage yet delayed their breakthrough had other plans.
But as far as Lei Zhan knew, no cultivator in this era had made that choice. The God-Devil Era had only just ended, and the Great Xia Emperor had no plans to hold an Immortal Destiny Assembly. Naturally, no cultivator would be fool enough to remain at the Myriad Phenomena stage indefinitely.
Lei Zhan shook his head, setting those thoughts aside. "Now that I've comprehended my first Dao belonging to the water element, I've also gained a little insight into other 'water' Daos by extension."
"The most urgent thing now is to get enough resources to break through to the Myriad Phenomena stage on the Qi Refining Path, and to clear the third floor of the War God Hall."
"Then..." Lei Zhan thought of the man whose head he had smashed with the Star-Plucking Hand. "If Shenrong Chong's father is as protective and reckless as his son, and mad enough not to fear my master, Immortal Juhua, then I may be in danger."
The information Baili Changfeng had given him included details about Shenrong Chong's father. What Lei Zhan hadn't expected was that this Myriad Phenomena True Person would come knocking in person.
"Shenrong Chong sought revenge for his younger brother, Shenrong Shui, who took part in the trial seven years ago. But the one who had been buying information from Tianbao Mountain for a long time was their father, Shenrong Pingshan, a Return-to-Void Earth Immortal of the Shenrong Clan," Lei Zhan murmured. "A Return-to-Void Earth Immortal..."
"Forget it. Worrying won't change anything. Let's see just how many treasures the scion of a great clan carries." Lei Zhan shook his head lightly. Then he flipped his hand, and a wrist-guard-shaped storage treasure appeared in his palm.
"A Human-Grade Magic Treasure." After a quick inspection, Lei Zhan felt a flicker of anticipation. "Shenrong Chong never used the Qi Refining Path's techniques. He didn't use them at all, from start to finish. I expect they were inferior to his God-Devil Body Refining methods. Still, this is only a Human-Grade Magic Treasure, so it should be much easier to handle."
Cultivators generally didn't bother changing their storage treasures unless necessary. So even a Myriad Phenomena True Person using a Human-Grade Magic Treasure was nothing unusual.
And any precious treasures they obtained were usually kept on their person.
Most importantly, one was safest with one's belongings close at hand. Of course, if one happened to die while out and about, those treasures would be of no use to oneself anymore. So cultivators usually carried all their treasures with them.
Lei Zhan's mind stirred. His powerful elemental energy immediately refined the storage treasure in his hand.
"Hm? He's carrying nearly three thousand pounds of Essence Liquid alone?" Lei Zhan turned his hand over, and a jade bottle appeared in his palm.
"These thirty-six flying swords..." Lei Zhan sensed the set of swords floating inside the storage treasure. "They share the same origin. Their power... This should be a set of Earth-Grade High-Quality flying sword treasures!"
Lei Zhan probed the storage treasure with his Divine Sense. The treasure itself, only a Human-Grade High-Quality item, looked quite ordinary, but the treasures inside were extremely valuable.
"He's got a whole stack of Small Teleportation Dao Talismans. No wonder he teleported straight over to pick a fight with me."
"These Spirit Pills... They should restore elemental energy."
"Dao Talismans... Their power is terrifying. They're probably on the Primordial Spirit Daoist level."
Lei Zhan continued his search. Shenrong Chong's storage treasure held a vast array of items, many with different functions that would take time to identify.
After a long while,
Lei Zhan stood up, a faint smile on his lips.
"Well. Shenrong Chong really is the son of a great clan, with a Return-to-Void Earth Immortal for a father. These treasures... Even that so-called True Person Ying I killed earlier can't compare."
After a rough count, some of the treasures in the storage treasure were beyond Lei Zhan's ability to identify. Even so, his initial estimate put their value at no less than two thousand pounds of Essence Liquid. Add the three thousand pounds it held, and that made a full five thousand pounds.
"Five thousand pounds of Essence Liquid could buy several lower-grade Heaven-Grade Magic Treasures." Lei Zhan sighed. "Once I've killed a few more demons, it won't take long to gather the resources I need to break through to the Myriad Phenomena True Person level."
I said I'd add two extra chapters for the second-round recommendation. This is the second one.
Unless something unexpected happens, this is probably the last time?
Thanks to Eagle Eye 112 for the 500 Qidian coins.