Mountain Venerable and Sea Immortal

Since the beginning of creation, humans, demons, monsters, immortals, and gods have all been subject to the cyclical laws of cause and effect.

On the golden sand beach, turbulent spiritual energy swirled sand and gravel, tearing the gray mist on the sea surface to shreds. The five directions of energy intertwined like strings, making it impossible to distinguish right from wrong. Only the gazes that met were filled with undisguised wariness, competitiveness, and an uncontrollable greed.

Lie Cang, a steward of the Burning Heaven Sect, was engulfed in raging flames, his crimson robe billowing wildly in the heat. His gaze swept fiercely over the Blood Fiend Sect members, while he remained wary of the Azure Cloud Sect and Water Moon Pavilion members beside him. He shouted sternly, "The spiritual veins at the mouth of the Guixu Sea have been showing unusual activity for some time now. Our Burning Heaven Sect has been guarding this place for a long time, yet you've been reaping the benefits without lifting a finger. How shameless of you!"

Shen Qinghan, the young leader of the Qingyun Sect, held his sword horizontally across his chest, his fierce sword intent pointing straight to the sky, and coldly retorted: "This place is the public land of the East Sea. When did it become the private property of your Burning Heaven Sect? When treasures are born, the capable should always claim them. The Burning Heaven Sect is far too arrogant."

Su Wanli, the leader of Shuiyue Pavilion, slightly furrowed her brows and gently waved her jade-like hand. Warm, watery spiritual energy spread out, attempting to soothe the tense and hostile atmosphere around her. She softly advised, "Fellow cultivators, please calm down. Guixu Sea Mouth connects to the Outer Sea. This disturbance of spiritual energy is extraordinary. If we rashly engage in battle, we may arouse the evil spirits of the Outer Sea and cause a great disaster."

Such admonitions, however, proved utterly powerless in the face of such an immense opportunity readily available. Mo Tu, the evil cultivator leading the Blood Fiend Sect, chuckled hoarsely, black winds surging around him, his bone-corroding aura relentlessly eroding the surrounding spiritual energy. His sinister gaze swept over the crowd: "No need for hypocritical words of righteousness. Today, whoever has the ability can take this treasure. Those who obstruct the Blood Fiend Sect will only face death!"

Before the words were even finished, the evil cultivator had already launched the first attack. He curled his five fingers into claws, and the dark evil energy condensed into a ferocious giant claw, which, accompanied by a foul wind, went straight for the spiritual vein node in the center of the beach. Clearly, he had already figured out the precise location where the treasure would be born.

"presumptuous!"

Lin Yan roared in a deep voice, and the unique, vast spiritual energy of Laoshan Mountain erupted from his body, like a towering mountain blocking his way, forcefully stopping the ferocious ghost claw. He knew that the evil cultivators of the Blood Fiend Sect were vicious and ruthless. If they were allowed to touch the spiritual veins, it would surely trigger the ferocious energy of the Outer Sea, plunging the entire Guixu Sea Mouth into catastrophe. Yun Xi, Ye Qing, Chen Dagang, and Yi Azhu immediately moved, flanking Lin Yan, simultaneously activating their spiritual energy to form a defensive formation, standing shoulder to shoulder with him.

In an instant, the spiritual energy on the beach exploded, with raging flames, azure sword energy, water moon spiritual waves, blood-fiend yin wind, and Laoshan righteous energy colliding violently. The violent shockwave swept in all directions, and the flat beach was instantly plowed into several deep trenches, while the calm sea surface was also churned up with towering waves.

Amidst the chaotic fighting, Lin Yan's doubts grew stronger—such a tremendous commotion had erupted at Guixu Sea Mouth, with the five major sects all gathered there, yet the Laoshan Sect, as the leader of the righteous path of the East Sea, only had a few members present, and the sect had yet to provide support. This situation was far too abnormal.

While circulating his spiritual power to deflect the fiery blades raining down from the Burning Heaven Sect disciples, he turned his head and lowered his voice to Yun Xi beside him, saying, "Our Laoshan Sect controls the East Sea territory. The Guixu Sea Mouth is experiencing such a great disturbance, yet the sect has not noticed anything and has not sent a single soldier. This is no accident. Someone must be interfering and cutting off Laoshan's external spiritual communications."

Yunxi forced back a Blood Fiend Cultivator who was standing close by with a backhand sword strike. Upon hearing this, her expression changed slightly, and she immediately realized, "No wonder! When the incident occurred in Wanghai Fishing Village, the sect's communication was already delayed. Now that the five major sects have gathered, Laoshan only has a few of us. It seems that since the incident in the fishing village, someone has set up a barrier array to isolate spiritual communication, completely obscuring the main peak. Even when we sent Shen Yue and Su Lingyue back to the mountain to report, they were probably blocked by the barrier array, and the message couldn't be transmitted back at all!"

Lin Yan's eyes turned cold, and he instantly saw through the entire conspiracy. The other party was clearly wary of the Laoshan Sect's dominant position in the East China Sea, and deliberately blocked all communication channels, making Laoshan an outsider, unable to intervene in the struggle for the secret treasure at the Guixu Sea Mouth, watching other sects fight between good and evil, while they themselves reaped the benefits.

Just as the situation was completely out of control and the fighting among the five forces intensified, Lin Yan suddenly felt a burning pain in his chest. The inkstone given to him by his master, which had been kept in his storage ring, broke free of the ring on its own and slowly floated in mid-air.

Suddenly, the inkstone burst forth with a dazzling, deep blue spiritual light, which shot straight into the sky, like a pillar of light piercing through the gray mist on the sea surface. The raging fire, malevolent energy, and chaotic sword energy raging around it were instantly suppressed and dissipated by this spiritual light.

Everyone present was stunned by this sudden phenomenon. They stopped what they were doing and stared intently at the inkstone in mid-air, their eyes filled with shock and greed.

"What is this? It contains such abundant spiritual energy from the Nether Sea!" Lie Cang, the steward of the Burning Heaven Sect, exclaimed in shock, his eyes bloodshot as he stared intently at the ancient inkstone, wishing he could snatch it into his hands immediately.

Lin Yan was also deeply shocked. He had never imagined that this magical inkstone would contain such astonishing spiritual energy. Within the inkwell of the Ink Jade Abyss Inkstone, the dried surface spontaneously seeped forth a deep blue abyssal liquid, which slowly circulated and condensed into a profound and ancient rune. The instant the rune lit up, the entire surface of the Guixu Sea estuary exploded with a deafening roar!

The once calm sea surface was instantly engulfed by a monstrous spiritual tide. Amidst the surging tide, a pure white, ethereal pearl, shrouded in chaotic, pure energy, slowly emerged from the depths of the Nether Sea. This pearl was a supreme treasure nurtured for millennia in the outer Nether Sea, containing endless pure Nether Sea spiritual energy. It could stabilize the spiritual veins of the sea, suppress evil spirits, and aid cultivators in tempering their foundations and breaking through cultivation bottlenecks. It was truly a supreme treasure of the sea!

The truth is now clear—this Sea-Stabilizing Pearl is inherently connected to the Inkstone; the inkstone is the pearl's container, and the pearl is the inkstone's spiritual core. The faint aura previously indicated by the spirit turtle was precisely the spiritual connection between the ancient inkstone and the pearl. The violent collision of the five spiritual energies just now activated the underground spiritual veins at the mouth of the Guixu Sea, completely revitalizing the Inkstone and causing it to break free of its seal, thus revealing the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl hidden deep within the Sea!

"It's the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl! The legendary treasure of the Sea has actually appeared in the world!" Su Wanli of Shuiyue Pavilion murmured in disbelief, her elegant face filled with disbelief.

Mo Tu of the Blood Fiend Sect went completely mad, his eyes bloodshot, and he roared as he lunged at the precious pearl and ancient inkstone: "The treasure is mine! No one can take it from me!"

The members of the Burning Heaven Sect and the Azure Cloud Sect instantly came to their senses. They no longer cared about the distinction between good and evil or the bonds of camaraderie. They all activated their strongest techniques and rushed towards the inkstone and the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl in mid-air like madmen.

Lin Yan's eyes sharpened like blades as he raised his hand to grab the inkstone in mid-air. He could clearly feel an inseparable blood bond between himself and this inkstone, and the precious pearl that emerged from it. He shouted in a deep voice, his voice echoing throughout the entire Golden Beach: "This treasure is connected to the spiritual veins of the East Sea and has a profound connection with my Laoshan Sect. Anyone who dares to recklessly seize it today will be making an enemy of the entire Laoshan Sect!"

But as soon as he finished speaking, several ghostly black shadows flashed through the remaining gray mist on the sea surface. An aura far colder and more eerie than that of the Blood Fiend Sect quietly enveloped the entire Guixu Sea Mouth like a tide...