A Dharma Body Suppresses a Daluo!

Boom!

The Blackwater Dragon King's entire dragon head was stomped into the seabed.

At the outskirts of Guixu, countless underwater mountain ranges collapsed.

The three thousand Blackwater Dragon Army fell completely silent.

Dragon-Suppressing Pass also fell silent.

Everyone stared blankly at the scene.

The Blackwater Dragon King.

A Daluo Golden Immortal.

The lord of the Blackwater Dragon Palace.

Had actually been stomped into the seabed twice in succession by a single Dharma body of the Emperor.

Ao Lie's dragon body stiffened as he watched.

He had always known the Emperor was terrifying.

But only today did he truly understand that merely being punished with gate duty back then had already been immense mercy.

Han Jue's eyes were filled with fervor.

"This is the Emperor's Dharma body..."

"One Dharma body suppresses a Daluo!"

Lan Shuang was equally shaken.

She knew the Emperor was powerful.

But she had not expected that, against someone like the Blackwater Dragon King, the Emperor still had not revealed his true body.

From beginning to end, it had only been a single Dharma body.

What did that mean?

It meant the Blackwater Dragon King was simply unworthy of forcing the Emperor out of seclusion.

Deep within Guixu.

Lu Chen was not as relaxed as they imagined.

Those two kicks had looked imposing, but they had actually consumed enormous power.

The Guixu Dharma Body was, after all, merely a Dharma body.

It could draw upon the formation and the Guixu Womb Membrane to unleash formidable combat strength, but it could not contend head-on with a Daluo Golden Immortal for long.

If the Blackwater Dragon King continued to go mad, Lu Chen would have no choice but to increase his power.

And increasing his power would expose more of his true body's aura.

He did not want to reach that point.

Fortunately, the Blackwater Dragon King had clearly been stunned senseless by those two kicks.

Deep beneath the seabed.

The Blackwater Dragon King struggled to raise his dragon head.

One of his dragon horns had broken off, the dragon scales on his forehead were shattered, and the contempt in his eyes was gone.

In its place was deep wariness.

He stared at the Guixu Dharma Body in the sky, his voice hoarse.

"Just what realm are you in?"

Everyone at Dragon-Suppressing Pass pricked up their ears.

Lan Shuang also held her breath.

They wanted to know the answer as well.

Just what realm was the Emperor in?

Daluo?

Quasi-Saint?

Or some even more ancient level?

Deep within Guixu, Lu Chen fell silent.

Realm?

His true body was indeed powerful, but his circumstances were special.

The Black Tortoise had an extremely ancient origin, possessed a powerful physical body, and had slumbered in Guixu for countless years.

If he were truly classified according to the cultivation realms of the Primordial World, even he could not say exactly which tier he belonged to.

Besides, he did not want to reveal his background to others.

So Lu Chen considered it for a moment and casually replied.

"The Seclusion Realm."

The Blackwater Dragon King froze.

Ao Lie froze.

Lan Shuang, Han Jue, Lady Mingzhu, and every living being at Dragon-Suppressing Pass froze as well.

The Seclusion Realm?

What kind of realm was that?

Deep within Guixu, Lu Chen added solemnly.

"I only wish to cultivate in seclusion, yet you insist on coming here to disturb me. Truly hateful."

Blackwater Dragon King: "..."

At Dragon-Suppressing Pass, Lan Shuang's pupils contracted slightly.

The Seclusion Realm.

He only wished to cultivate in seclusion.

So that was it.

Did the Emperor mean that he had already stepped beyond the conventional divisions of cultivation and no longer defined himself by titles such as Daluo or Quasi-Saint?

The so-called Seclusion Realm was not an ordinary realm.

It represented a path beyond the Great Tribulation, untouched by cause and effect, devoted solely to cultivating oneself.

The more Lan Shuang thought about it, the more shaken she became.

The Blackwater Dragon King had clearly misunderstood as well.

He stared at Lu Chen's Dharma body, uncertainty flashing through his eyes.

This Black Tortoise had truly concealed himself deeply.

Could a Daluo Golden Immortal be stomped into such a state by a mere Dharma body?

Even an ordinary Quasi-Saint should not have been so inscrutable.

The Seclusion Realm.

Could it be an ancient designation from before the Beast Tribulation?

The more the Blackwater Dragon King thought about it, the more wary he became.

He suddenly realized that he could not continue fighting today.

If he kept pressing, he might force out this Black Tortoise True Form.

At that point, he might not be able to leave Guixu alive.

The Blackwater Dragon King slowly withdrew the Blackwater Dragon Pearl.

The three thousand Blackwater Dragon Army stopped fighting as well.

At Dragon-Suppressing Pass, all the beings of Guixu grew tense.

The Blackwater Dragon King said gravely, "I will remember what happened today."

"Since Guixu is unwilling to join the conflict among the three clans, then keep your people in line."

"If another Northern Sea faction provokes the Dragon Clan in Guixu's name, I will not let the matter rest."

Lu Chen breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

As long as he left, that was fine.

Lu Chen did not want to keep fighting either.

But he could not appear weak.

Thus, the Guixu Dharma Body spoke indifferently.

"Guixu does not cause trouble."

"But neither does it fear trouble."

"Get lost."

The final word fell.

The Blackwater Dragon King's expression darkened.

But in the end, he did not attack again.

He led the three thousand dragon soldiers slowly out of Guixu's outskirts.

Before leaving, however, he looked at Ao Lie.

"Ao Lie, return with me."

Outside Dragon-Suppressing Pass, Ao Lie's dragon body stiffened slightly.

Everyone looked toward him.

After a long silence, Ao Lie said softly, "Father, I trespassed into Guixu. My punishment has not yet ended."

The Blackwater Dragon King's dragon eyes turned cold.

"You wish to remain here?"

Ao Lie raised his head.

"Your son is willing to complete the thousand-year punishment."

The Blackwater Dragon King's anger surged.

But he glanced at the Guixu Dharma Body and ultimately suppressed his rage.

"Fine."

"If you wish to remain, then remain."

"I hope you remember that Dragon Clan blood flows through you."

Ao Lie lowered his head.

"Your son remembers."

The Blackwater Dragon King snorted coldly and departed with his army.

Lu Chen watched the scene, somewhat surprised.

Ao Lie had actually chosen to stay voluntarily?

The system's voice rang out.

"Detected that Ao Lie has voluntarily chosen to remain at Dragon-Suppressing Pass. Please choose."

"First, allow Ao Lie to return to the Dragon Clan and ease relations with the Blackwater Dragon Palace. Reward: favor from the Blackwater Dragon Palace."

"Second, expel Ao Lie from Guixu and sever karma with the Dragon Clan. Reward: one Tribulation-Evasion Talisman."

"Third, allow Ao Lie to continue guarding the outer gate and establish the beginnings of a Dragon Clan intelligence network. Reward: stabilized fortune for Guixu's outer gate."

Lu Chen thought it over.

Ao Lie staying would indeed be useful.

He was familiar with the Dragon Clan.

He could also deter outside aquatic clans.

Besides, the little dragon had been fairly obedient these past years.

"Third."

"Since you are willing to accept the punishment, then continue guarding the gate."

Ao Lie lowered his head.

"Thank you, Emperor."

This time, there was far less resistance in his tone.

The Blackwater Dragon Army withdrew completely.

At Dragon-Suppressing Pass, the various Guixu clans finally erupted in cheers as thunderous as mountains and seas.

"The Emperor has won!"

"One Dharma body drove back the Blackwater Dragon King!"

"Guixu held back the Dragon Clan!"

Lan Shuang stood atop the pass wall and slowly exhaled.

She knew that from this day onward, Guixu had truly established itself.

The myriad clans of the Northern Sea would all know.

The Dragon Clan could not breach Dragon-Suppressing Pass.

And the name of the Mysterious Abyss Emperor would spread throughout the Northern Sea.

The Blackwater Dragon Army had retreated.

When the three thousand dragon soldiers came, their black tide had surged into the heavens, their dragon might suppressing the Northern Sea.

When they left, however, they were terrifyingly silent.

Every Dragon Clan elite had lowered his head.

Even though the Blackwater Dragon King still maintained the pressure of a Daluo, and even though the Blackwater Dragon Pearl still floated before his dragon head, everyone knew that the Blackwater Dragon Palace had lost this battle.

And it had lost terribly.

The three thousand Blackwater Dragon Army had entered the formation and been suppressed on three fronts by Return Ruins Heavy Water, Black Tortoise Soul Suppression, and the Cause-and-Effect Book of Illumination and Sin.

The Golden Immortal dragon generals had been jointly suppressed by the Cold Sand Clan and the Realm Guard.

The three Taiyi elders had failed to break through Dragon-Suppressing Pass.

In the end, even the Blackwater Dragon King had personally intervened, only to be stomped into the seabed by a single dharma body of the Mysterious Abyss Emperor.

What chilled the Dragon Clan members most was that the Emperor's true body had never appeared from beginning to end.

One dharma body.

One formation.

That was enough to drive back the Blackwater Dragon King.

What did that mean?

It meant that Master of Guixu's true strength far exceeded their imagination.

The Blackwater Dragon King remained silent all the way.

His massive true dragon body cut through the Northern Sea, dragon blood still seeping from between his shattered scales.

The injuries were not fatal.

But for a Daluo Golden Immortal, being stomped into the seabed by a mere dharma body was far harder to accept than any physical wound.

Ao Zheng followed behind the dragon army, hesitating several times before holding his tongue.

He desperately wanted to ask about Ao Lie.

He also wanted to ask his father what he thought of Guixu.

But seeing the Blackwater Dragon King's face dark as water, he ultimately did not dare speak.

Only when the Blackwater Dragon Palace came into distant view did the Blackwater Dragon King stop.

"Whoever dares spread a single word of what happened today, I will personally tear out his dragon sinews."

The three thousand dragon soldiers all lowered their heads.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The Blackwater Dragon King turned and looked at the three Taiyi elders accompanying the army.

"What do you make of this?"

The elder holding the Blackwater Long Halberd was silent for a long while before saying in a low voice, "The realm of that Guixu Black Tortoise is very strange."

"How is it strange?"

"His dharma body could draw upon the power of the Ruins Sea Eye, which means he has almost merged into one with Guixu."

"But if it were merely the advantage of the terrain, he should not have been able to suppress Your Majesty."

Another Dragon Clan elder took over.

"That dharma body did not carry an especially fierce offensive aura, yet it was terrifyingly heavy."

"That power did not feel like mere mana. It felt more as though heaven and earth themselves had pressed down upon us."

The third elder spoke even more quietly.

"And there was that phrase, Seclusion Realm."

The currents outside the great hall suddenly went still.

The Blackwater Dragon King's gaze was profound.

Seclusion Realm.

He had been thinking about those three words all the way back.

In the Primordial World's hierarchy of cultivation, from low to high, the immortal path consisted of Celestial Immortal, True Immortal, Mysterious Immortal, Golden Immortal, Taiyi, and Great Principle, followed by Quasi-Saint and Saint.

Yet that Black Tortoise claimed to be in the Seclusion Realm.

Ordinary cultivators would naturally take it as a joke.

But after personally enduring those two kicks, the Blackwater Dragon King could not laugh at all.

The other party had answered far too calmly.

So calmly that it was as though he had merely stated a fact.

It was not arrogance.

Nor was it deliberate mystification.

It was more like the casual remark of an ancient existence who had lost interest in the realm titles used by the outside world.

"Before the Beast Tribulation, some ancient divine beings cultivated by methods different from those of today."

The Blackwater Dragon King slowly spoke.

"They did not call themselves Great Principle or Quasi-Saint. They named themselves according to their own Great Dao."

"This Black Tortoise has slept in Guixu for countless years. Perhaps he follows such an ancient path."

Ao Zheng's heart jolted.

"Father, do you mean that the Seclusion Realm is an ancient path?"

The Blackwater Dragon King did not deny it.

"At the very least, I cannot see through it."

For a Daluo Golden Immortal to utter the words "cannot see through it" was already enough to explain everything.

Ao Zheng swallowed.

He suddenly felt that merely having one dragon claw severed back then had been exceedingly fortunate.

The Blackwater Dragon King turned to look in Guixu's direction.

"Pass down my order."

"Those of the Blackwater Dragon Palace are not to approach Guixu for the time being."

"Ao Lie's matter will be set aside for now."

"Also, seal off news of today's battle."

One elder hesitated. "Your Majesty, I fear this matter cannot be contained."

The Blackwater Dragon King fell silent.

It truly could not be contained.

Three thousand dragon soldiers had mobilized; the various Northern Sea races had long since seen them.

The battle at Guixu Dragon-Suppressing Pass had caused far too great a commotion.

Even if the Blackwater Dragon Palace said nothing, those minor Northern Sea clans would spread the news.

The Blackwater Dragon King said coldly, "Suppress it for as long as you can."

"The Dragon-Han War is imminent. The main lineage has no time to divide its attention."

"There is no need to alarm His Majesty the Ancestral Dragon about Guixu for now."

The three elders answered in unison, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Ao Zheng kept his head lowered, yet the unease in his heart only grew stronger.

He always felt that the matter of Guixu was no longer something the Blackwater Dragon Palace could suppress.