Tongues waggled all over the North Sea, as certain things couldn’t be kept secret. Countless plankton, regular marine life, and monster spirits that hadn’t yet achieved human form filled the sea waters. Therefore, what happened in the monster spirit palace naturally spread throughout the entirety of the North Sea in only a few days.
The treasury has been raided and the dragon vein seized, and on top of that, Prince Beigong Chonglou had been kidnapped! Not only that, two of the three aether dao immortals defending the palace had been taken as well! The last of the three had lost three aether dao fruit, which plummeted his cultivation to new lows.
It didn’t take much for people to connect the happenings to the trouble that the human cultivators had started trouble at the palace entrance. The famous plaque that read ‘North Sea, Home of Worms’, had been the talk of town for a while.
Arcane dao immortal Bing Xuan communicated with the entire plankton population in the North Sea and attempted to locate the perpetrators with their network, but came up empty handed.
It was as if the interlopers had vanished into thin air! There were absolutely no tracks or traces of any presence or energy left of them in the North Sea.
“Who are they, just who are they?!” Furious growls rang throughout the imperial sea.
……
Within a patch of completely isolated space, a door seemed to creak open and a few figures snuck in from the outside.
Thump!
A solidly trussed-up man fell to the ground.
“Who is it?!” Sprawled out on the ground and enjoying doing nothing at all, the little fox jumped up and warily considered the strangers that had barged in.
Whoosh!
Flickers of light flashed across the figures as their shapeshifting talismans deactivated, revealing their true appearances.
The little fox sighed in relief. She hadn’t entered the palace with Lu Yun and the others, but had stayed behind in a special pocket of space that Lu Yun had created with the Formation Orb. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go, but that his shapeshifting talisman wouldn’t work on her.
Her illusions were unrivalled, but some unique powerhouses could still see through them and she was a marquis who’d been personally appointed by the North Sea emperor, after all. The gig would’ve been up the moment she set foot into the palace.
“Beigong Chonglou? So you guys did it!” The little fox jumped into Qing Han’s arms and fiercely nuzzled the human’s chest.
Qing Han smiled wryly. Though the monster spirit ancestor still called the disguised girl ‘Ugly Thing’, she’d grown increasingly attached to him, much to Lu Yun’s deep-seated irritation.
Knocked unconscious by Su Xiaoxiao’s powerful Far-Reaching Captivating Fragrance, Beichong Chonglou, the two peak aether dao immortals, and eighteen monster kings had been easy pickings.
Barring the prince, Lu Yun had killed them all to convert them into his Infernum. Being the enemy of the six troublemakers, Beigong Chonglou had no right to join the ranks of his ghostly army.
The group had made a close escape moments ago, taking advantage of Bing Xuan being overcome by fury to slip out of the palace with shapeshifting talismans.
“Mmfff hmm hmmph!”
Lu Yun had secured Beigong Chonglou with the Skydragon Tendon, and the Silence Talisman on his mouth prevented him from making any sounds beyond muffled grunts.
The prince’s eyes went wide with fear when he saw his kidnappers for who they really were. Jing Dichen bent down and peeled off the Silence Talisman.
“What do you think you’re doing?!” Beigong Chonglou screamed. “I’m the first prince of the North Sea. If you lay a finger on me, my royal father will hunt you to the ends of the sea!”
“You ate my little sister, Beigong Chonglou.” Jing Dichen’s deep blue eyes hardened. “Therefore, I’m going to eat you.”
“No, no, don’t eat me… I, I...”
The little princess had become an ever-present nightmare in Beigong Chonglou’s mind. He’d been terrified of the retaliation from the Unsullied Sea, but hadn’t expected that their reckoning would come so soon.
“Don’t eat him,” Lu Yun interjected.
“That’s right. That’s so right!” Beigong Chonglou agreed vehemently. “Don’t eat me. I’m the first prince of the North Sea and its future emperor. I can give you all the crystals and treasures in the seas if you just let me go!”
“Crystals? Treasures?” Jing Dichen scoffed. “We’ve emptied your vault. Not even a hair is left in the North Sea treasury.”
Beigong Chonglou’s eyes went round as he cast a pleading look at Lu Yun. Jing Dichen and the other five turned to Lu Yun as well. They knew there was just as much bad blood between him and the North Sea court.
“It would be too merciful to just eat him.” Lu Yun grinned savagely. “I’m going to refine various items soon, and need to offer up souls and flesh in exchange for power. Beigong Chonglou is a peerless immortal. If I sacrifice him....”
“Soul sacrifice!” The six troublemakers shuddered at the mention of this great taboo. Whoever dared attempt that cruel ritual would become an enemy of the entire world of immortals!
A soul sacrifice offered up the flesh and soul of a living being as tribute to a mysterious entity in exchange for power. The victim would undergo endless pain and torment until their soul scattered, forever deprived of the chance to reincarnate.
Back in Yuying’s tomb outside of Dusk City, Lu Yun had almost been sacrificed by the Exalted Immortal Sect. In the end, one of its members had sacrificed the rest of his senior brothers to escape from Yuying.
Lu Yun wanted to refine the Divine Seaward Iron into various treasures and equipment, but neither hellfire nor the three immortal fires could melt the material. Thus, he’d turned to soul sacrifice in a moment of inspiration.
He would use Beigong Chonglou to enhance the power of his fire, melting the Divine Seaward Iron!
“Alright!” the Deaf Prince shouted when he heard Lu Yun’s transmission. “Let’s sacrifice the little bastard!”
The others agreed as well. It would be far too merciful to just eat the prince; sacrificing his soul was the right and proper punishment!
Color drained from Beigong Chonglou’s face, leaving his gaze empty. At this moment, he wouldn’t hesitate for a split second to commit suicide or self-detonate. However, he was bound by the Dragon Restraints, an ancient treasure that Huangqing had refined from the Skydragon Tendon. It not only restrained his body, but also his consciousness and inner energy.
……
Revenge had been well served. Meanwhile, a message came from Dusk Province saying that Pill Fairy Yuying had begun refining a Soul Restoring Pill. A great burden was finally lifted from the hearts of the profligate alliance.
As a result, Beicang Qiong even made the final push and ascended to the perceived void realm, observing the void with his nascent spirit and creating an original void method.
“Time to divvy up the spoils!”
Everyone perked up at those words.
They’d raided the vault of the North Sea court, which housed valuables from the last ten thousand years of monster court rule and seventy thousand years of draconic rule, even going back as far as when the ancient divines were in power!
Their riches now rivaled those of any top faction in the world. Even the nine heavenly courts might pale in comparison.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Lu Yun laid down supreme-grade treasures, assorted valuables, pills, talismans, and completed formation disks.
“Senior brother Lu, you...” The six troublemakers gaped. They hadn’t done anything of substance during this escapade, and thus hadn’t expected Lu Yun to be the first to offer up his gains.