Journey to the head

The Nascent Soul and Golden Core guards on the treasure ship roared anxiously, unleashing all their skills, causing the deep ocean to tremble and the waves to surge. Layer upon layer of wild beasts were mercilessly slaughtered, and the turbid blood obscured all light.

Even Li Sheng exerted all his strength, activating the spell "Burning Weapon" to shoot out all the magical artifacts he carried, creating small bursts of fire on the seabed.

However, after a long battle, everyone's strength was gradually waning, and if this continued, they might really be in danger of being worn down.

Lu Qian frowned slightly, seemingly ready to abandon the treasure ship. With a flick of his wrist, he produced a precious spirit lamp containing five-colored light.

Just as they were about to try to force open a gap with two consecutive beams of five-colored divine light and the Blood and Flesh Curse technique, and then lead their men to abandon ship and flee, suddenly a loud bang was heard, and the thick layer of city wall made of wild beasts in front of them was smashed open, and a few rays of light poured in.

Upon closer inspection, a colossal octopus, a thousand feet long, was wielding its eight tentacles, which were wrapped with weapons such as giant golden hammers and whips. It was swinging wildly with immense force, carving out a space.

This giant octopus possessed the cultivation of a Nascent Soul cultivator. Its body, which was constantly changing its vibrant colors, was covered in wounds, revealing its white muscles. One of its eyeballs had burst open, and blood, like a column of smoke, was gushing from the eye socket, which was still filled with fragments of tissue.

The most eye-catching feature is the large, crooked flag stuck on the top of the octopus's head.

"Pearl City Coral Water Palace Military Commander".

One of the Nascent Soul guards exclaimed, "This octopus is the commander of the water palace here!"

Behind it, a group of brightly colored flower-shelled shrimp soldiers stretched out their front claws, and high-temperature, high-pressure air bullets were being ejected from their claws. A team of black-shelled crab generals waved their pincers, trying their best to kill the wild beasts that rushed in from under the tentacles of the octopus captain.

They were already covered in wounds and at their last gasp. Not far from them, a small group of sea warriors riding giant seahorses and wielding spears were trapped in a horde of wild beasts and were desperately calling for help.

However, the octopus captain and his men recklessly broke through the encirclement, paying no heed to the dangers. In the blink of an eye, these sea cavalrymen were torn to pieces by the wild beasts.

Lu Qian suddenly realized that the sea of ​​blood that the treasure ship had initially seen was actually the octopus captain leading the Water Palace troops in a fierce battle with the wild beasts, which attracted an even more terrifying tide of wild beasts that surrounded the treasure ship as well.

Octopus Captain was ultimately defeated and led his remaining troops in a breakout attempt, only to run into Lu Qian and his group, who were also desperately trying to escape.

Without hesitation, Lu Qian unleashed a five-colored radiance from the Treasure Lamp, illuminating the entire sea area with a five-colored rainbow that tore apart the wall of wild beasts before him.

"Captain Octopus, we are from the Sea Abyss Pavilion!" he shouted. "Let's fight our way out!"

The two sides met up, and the octopus captain's one eye was filled with the joy of escaping death. With the help of the Sea Abyss Pavilion, their escape was finally within reach!

"Friends of Haiyuan Pavilion, protect me!" it roared. Lu Qian and the others mustered their remaining strength and, piloting the treasure ship, fought alongside the shrimp soldiers and crab generals of the Water Palace to protect the octopus captain as they continued to advance.

A few breaths later, a series of gurgling sounds came out, like water boiling and gushing, and an undercurrent shooting out. A stream of ink-like liquid shot out from the giant mouth of the octopus captain!

In the blink of an eye, the entire sea area turned dark. Not only was light and sight blocked, but even divine sense was completely cut off, leaving no sense of direction or orientation.

This massive tide of wild beasts immediately lost its way. The layers upon layers of beasts, packed tightly together, descended into chaos, pushing and shoving each other. Many beasts were crushed into mincemeat by their own kind. Then the riot escalated. The less intelligent beasts, angered by the mindless charging of their own kind, began to attack and kill each other, plunging the beast tide into utter chaos.

The Octopus Captain was exhausted and could only be dragged away by the remnants of the Water Palace's troops. The people of the Sea Abyss Pavilion still needed it to guide them through the pitch-black ink, so they dared not harbor any evil intentions. Taking advantage of the chaos of the beast tide, they unleashed their last bit of power, found a direction, and swiftly charged into the enemy's treasure ship. Finally, after a few moments, the view cleared, and they broke free from the tide of wild beasts!
No one spoke, and they continued on their way under the command of the Octopus Captain, leaving the roars and howls of the wild beasts behind. After a while, their vision cleared, and they finally broke out of the Octopus Captain's ink-covered area. Their vision returned, and they saw coral reefs and the glow of various colored pearls shimmering underwater.

Looking back into the distance, one can still vaguely see a large, dark cloud-like shadow, which is the still swirling and rolling tide of wild beasts. Thinking about it now sends chills down one's spine.

Although the individual creatures weren't particularly strong, their sheer numbers and the unique environment of the deep sea allowed them to exhaust Lu Qian and his group. The ocean was indeed fraught with danger, far from a safe haven.

The group dared not linger, but instead chose a direction and rushed towards another dragon waterway until they had completely shaken off the tide of wild beasts and could no longer see it, only then did they feel slightly relieved.

"Friends from Haiyuan Pavilion, thank you for saving our lives." The octopus captain shrunk his body to half the size of a human, wrapped himself around a crab general, and expressed his gratitude to Lu Qian and the others. "The waterway ahead is relatively safe, so we can rest there for a while."

Lu Qian cupped his hands in greeting: "Greetings, Captain. We chose this place to escort the treasure ship. This Dragon Clan waterway should be quite safe. How come we haven't seen any Dragon Clan leaders along the way, and your water palace has been besieged by wild beasts? Where are all the Dragon Clan members stationed here?"

Captain Octopus sighed: "Just a month ago, the Dragon Lords of the various water palaces were summoned and returned to the Dragon Clan's sacred land in the outer seas of the Starry Sky, leaving only us to guard the water palaces."

"But the dragon's might is gone. Wild beasts and sea monsters have sensed something amiss and have begun to slowly probe and infiltrate the waterways. Today, they have even gathered together to destroy my water palace and slaughter my sea race."

It lamented, "The deaths and injuries of my people are one thing, but what is even more heartbreaking is that this waterway was opened and established by generations of Dragon Kings and their sea ancestors through countless hardships and heavy casualties. Now, in just one month, this waterway has already disappeared!"

Lu Qian also sighed a few times, following its lead, lamenting the pioneering efforts of the sea race's predecessors, praising the great significance of the dragon race's waterways, expressing great regret for the departure of the Dragon King and the disappearance of the waterways, and expressing serious concern about the turmoil in the ocean.

Then he praised the octopus captain and the group of shrimp soldiers and crab generals for their bravery in fighting their way out of such a horde of wild beasts; they were truly the best of the sea creatures he had ever seen.

The octopus captain's round head visibly turned red. Having just escaped death, it felt that the human in front of it was truly its confidant.

Then Lu Qian said indignantly, "The Dragon Lord abandoned the Water Palace and the waterways so easily. What important matter could the Dragon Clan's sacred land have that could be more important than the foundation of their rule in the Star Sea?"

Captain Octopus shook his head: "How could we possibly know about such a major event? He only left us with orders to guard the Water Palace before hastily setting off."

It looked around with its single eye, and seeing that the others were still far away, it lowered its voice and said mysteriously, "Even if he doesn't say it, we can guess. All of this is probably related to the legendary Dragon Palace."

It shook its head and said in an aria-like tone: "The Dragon Palace appears only once every thousand years. Those who enter the Dragon Palace attain immortality. These dragon lords must have gone to the Dragon Palace."

Seeing that the large black-armored crab beneath it was also lost in its own thoughts, even its steps were unsteady, it was clear that what it was saying was not a secret. Most of the sea creatures knew this legend, so it easily told Lu Qian.

Lu Qian feigned surprise, but his heart was filled with doubts.

Is this really the Dragon Palace? But only two types of people can enter the Dragon Palace. One type is pure-blooded high-level dragons at the Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Primordial Spirit levels. The second type is the holders of forty Dragon Palace Ascension Tokens. Each person can only enter the Dragon Palace once in their lifetime. Considering the current rarity of pure-blooded high-level dragons, these two types combined should not exceed one hundred people.

Why do we need so many dragons to go there?
Not to mention that Lu Qian and the others are currently located in the inner sea of ​​the Starry Sea. To put it bluntly, the water dragon lords here are all misfits, mixed blood, or even molted dragons evolved from the scaled race. They have no right to enter the Dragon Palace.

Why go to such lengths to recall all the dragons, even at the cost of destroying the dragon waterways that have been cultivated for tens of thousands of years, thus shaking the foundation of the dragons' rule over the Star Sea?
With one year to go before the Dragon Palace opens, the dragons are making a huge move, gathering at the sacred site.
Lu Qian's heart was filled with gloom, but his face remained impassive as he chatted and laughed with the octopus captain. Unfortunately, given its status, it truly didn't know much more, and he couldn't extract any further information.

The group moved to another dragon waterway, where the octopus captain invited Lu Qian and the others to visit the water palace. According to the octopus captain, the porcupine captain here was its close friend.

However, the relationship between humans and dragons/sea creatures was complicated, and the two Nascent Soul guards were hesitant to enter the water palace directly. Lu Qian also didn't want to waste any more breath on the Octopus Captain. So the Octopus Captain could only reluctantly take Lu Qian's hand and leave with his remaining troops, leaving Lu Qian with his hands covered in slime.

The group stopped on a huge reef in the waterway to rest and recuperate. After recovering, they inspected the treasure ship and repaired some of the damage.

Then, referring to the nautical chart again, they set off again towards the Tianquan Continent.

The remaining journey was far from smooth sailing. The treasure ship frequently encountered wild beasts and sea monsters intruding into the waterways. Fortunately, the few times they encountered were small groups of wild beasts, which Lu Qian could kill without lifting a finger. But this situation also proved that what the Octopus Captain had said was true, because with the departure of the dragon clan leaders from various water palaces, wild beasts and sea monsters had begun to enter the waterways again.

If things continue like this, by the time the Dragon Palace Cave opens a year later, the waterways here will probably be completely abandoned, and it's unknown how long it will take to restore them.

Knowing that the losses would be so enormous, what exactly did the Dragon Clan want to do?
The treasure ship sped forward, and after several days, it finally arrived on the Tianquan Continent.

The two Nascent Soul guards thanked Lu Qian profusely. If it weren't for Yunshan's rescue, losing their lives would be a minor matter. The fact that the treasure ship wasn't here and damaged the reputation of Haiyuan Pavilion would be a huge deal. Even grinding them to dust wouldn't be enough!
Therefore, Lu Qian saved not only the lives of the guards, but also the reputation of Haiyuan Pavilion.

"Once we return to the pavilion, we will certainly report your merits to the higher-ups, who will surely reward you handsomely," a Nascent Soul cultivator said with a smile. "We certainly don't lack other treasures, but if the higher-ups could offer a Sea Abyss Gold Token as a reward, that would be even better—"

His eyes widened, and he stopped speaking abruptly.

The reason was that Lu Qian had a shining gold plaque in his hand, made entirely of pure gold, inlaid with gemstones, densely woven with runes, and engraved with the two large characters "Haiyuan"!

"Tian Yuanzi already has the Sea Abyss Gold Token?!" Another Nascent Soul cultivator was also stunned. He cautiously reached out his hand, "Could I borrow it for a look?"

Lu Qian handed over the gold medal, and the two Nascent Soul cultivators huddled together, examining it from all angles. They were surprised to see the words "Bao Ji" engraved on the back in smaller characters.

"This is a gold medal issued by Master Baoji!"

Before Lu Qian could ask any more questions, the two had already handed the gold medal back, their expressions suddenly becoming very respectful.

"There are two gems above the words 'Haiyuan' on this gold medal, so it is a Grade D gold medal."

"This time we will report your achievements, and it is very likely that you will be promoted to a Class C gold medal."

"Tian Yuanzi, then you will be able to make greater use of the power of Haiyuan Pavilion."

After parting ways with them, Lu Qian, Xiang Kong, and Li Sheng flew straight towards Zhanran Prefecture and Kuquan County. Except for a few stops along the way to rest and check their direction, the three of them did not stop for a moment and wanted to reach their destination as soon as possible.

Yueling School, Wanglin Mountain.

In just two days, the three of them arrived at the border of Kuquan County, but upon seeing it, they were immediately shocked.

The border of Bitter Spring County was already heavily fortified, with guards every three or ten steps and sentries every ten, and cultivators standing solemnly at their posts. At regular intervals, an elite-class or commander-class airship hovered in mid-air, creating the impression that Bitter Spring County was completely surrounded.

"Seniors, we cannot enter Kuquan County at the moment. Please forgive us."

Upon seeing Lu Qian and Xiang Kong, these junior cultivators dared not be negligent. They hurriedly invited Lu Qian to board the floating ship and served him tea, bowing and apologizing to him.

Lu Qian didn't make things difficult for them. He simply said that he had important business to attend to in the county and asked them to summon a person in charge to meet him.

The junior cultivators nodded vigorously, like chickens pecking at rice, and immediately reported their findings. Before they had even finished their tea, a Nascent Soul Spirit Lord rushed over.

"Fellow Daoists, may I ask what brings you to Bitter Spring County?"

Lu Qian put down his teacup: "Fellow Daoist, you are very courteous. I have some connections with the Yue Ling Sect, the county magistrate of this place. I happened to be passing by today and wanted to pay a visit to the Yue Ling Sect. But I didn't know why this county was sealed off?"

Unexpectedly, the Nascent Soul cultivator's expression changed immediately upon hearing Lu Qian's words.

"Fellow Daoist, don't try to fool me. You are a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, what kind of relationship could you possibly have with the Yue Ling Sect, a Golden Core sect?"

Lu Qian's voice also turned serious: "Years ago, when I passed through Kuquan County, I was warmly received by the Yueling Sect. What's wrong with me saying that we have some friendship? Why won't you let me into Kuquan County? Did you do something to the Yueling Sect?"

The Nascent Soul cultivator scrutinized Lu Qian carefully, then gave a bitter smile: "Fellow Daoist, you really don't know? It's not that we did anything to the Yueling Sect, it's that ten days ago, apart from the sect leader meeting Yue Zi, the entire Yueling Sect was wiped out overnight! We are currently searching for the murderer!"

Lu Qian and the others were shocked. The Yueling Sect had been wiped out overnight?

Ten days ago, that was the day Li Sheng's opportunity disappeared!
Lu Qian hurriedly asked, "Seeing that Yuezi survived, does he not know who the murderer is?"

The Nascent Soul cultivator shook his head: "He's gone mad. He keeps repeating the same sentence over and over again."

"What are you saying? Is my statue any good?" (End of Chapter)