Innate Immortal Seed

Chapter 508: Chapter 488: A Body Full of Treasures (2)

After dealing with these trivial matters, he got down to business: taking stock of Ao Zhe’s posthumous effects.

A Tier Four Great Demon, and a Dragon Beast of extraordinary birth at that. In comparison, even the Earth Spirit Milk was merely an appetizer.

’A Tier Four Dragon Soul has many uses. It can serve as the Artifact Spirit when Refining a Magical Treasure, and a Top-Grade Magical Treasure created this way has a significant chance of ascending to a Spiritual Treasure. It can also be the main soul for a Tier Four Array Banner, the core of a Tier Four Puppet, or even be utilized through all sorts of strange and rare Secret Techniques.’

Bai Zichen took out the Banner Flag. A corner was already torn, and a Dragon Claw was sticking out past the flag’s surface.

’But no matter how useful you are, I can only Soul Search you... Otherwise, my mind will never be at ease.’

The Star Constellation Sea was still a complete enigma to him. All he knew was that its leader was called the Dragon Monarch and held immense sway among the Outer Sea Demon Clan.

He was completely in the dark about its specific structure, how many Transformed Great Demons it had, the number of Demon Race members under its command, and which maritime powers were truly close to it.

And most importantly, what was the exact status of that Divinity Transformation Elder Dragon? Was there any possibility of it taking action on behalf of the Star Constellation Sea?

He knew nothing about any of this.

On the contrary, although the Star Constellation Sea was constrained by their Demon Race status and couldn’t openly reveal themselves or infiltrate the mainland without the help of Human Race Cultivators...

They had already locked onto the owner of the Holy Beast Essence Blood and had arranged for Demon Cave Cultivators to attack Bai Zichen back in the Liang Country.

Even a successor of the Profound Nether Lineage like Li Hansi had his identity discovered by the Star Constellation Sea early on.

His survival was likely because he had long since passed their tests, confirming that the Holy Beast Essence Blood was not on his person.

Furthermore, since he was in an Immortal City of the Five Thunders Sect, the Star Constellation Sea was wary and unwilling to pay too great a price.

In any case, without the Holy Beast Essence Blood, a few remnants of the Fish Dragon Sect at the Core Formation Stage might be a major threat to sects like the Youlong Sect.

But to the Star Constellation Sea, they were truly not worth a second glance.

At most, they would send someone to keep an eye out for any anomalies—for instance, if he became linked to the Holy Beast Essence Blood or succeeded in reaching the Nascent Soul Stage—only then would it be reported to their superiors.

This massive information gap weighed heavily on Bai Zichen’s heart.

Even if it meant wasting a Tier Four Dragon Soul Primordial Spirit, he had no choice. As long as he could glean some crucial information from the Soul Search, it would be worth it.

He activated the Taiwu Soul Searching and Soul Cutting Technique, becoming completely immersed in the process.

His expression shifted constantly—now grave, now lighthearted; at times his brow was furrowed, at others he had a look of sudden realization.

He was reliving the life journey of his Soul Search target, and in this process, his emotions were synchronized with the one being searched.

This was the only way to bypass all the Forbidden restrictions in the Sea of Consciousness and recreate the scenes.

After a long while, the miniature Black Dragon shrieked in agony as wisps of green smoke rose from it. Both it and the Banner Flag were reduced to ashes.

’What a coincidence. I killed Ao Zhe, the only one in the Star Constellation Sea who had any real connection to the Divinity Transformation Elder Dragon...’

Bai Zichen felt a headache coming on. It turned out that being fellow Dragon Beasts didn’t mean they were as close as family.

The Old Dragon was the only Divinity Transformation Demon Lord currently in the Outer Sea. The Star Constellation Sea had risen to prominence so quickly precisely because it had borrowed this name.

But in reality, many of the Dragon Beasts, including the Dragon Monarch, had no connection to the Old Dragon.

This was understandable, though. Besides the Dragon Monarch, the Star Constellation Sea had a total of four Transformed Great Demons.

Among them, Ao Zhe’s birth was the noblest and his bloodline the purest. It was only natural that a matter like being an envoy to the Qingqiu Death Sea would fall to him.

After all, the Demon Race placed the greatest importance on bloodline and birth, and this was even more true for the Qingqiu Death Sea.

Just by introducing himself as a descendant of the Black Sea Demon Monarch, he could garner a measure of respect from the Qingqiu Death Sea.

That Divinity Transformation Elder Dragon presided over the Water Eye. Not even the Outer Sea Demon Clan knew how many years it had lived; in any case, as far back as Ao Zhe could remember, his Ancestor had never left the Water Eye.

As one of the Old Dragon’s few descendants, a sliver of his Ancestor’s Divine Thought was attached to his Reverse Scale.

That was why, when he activated his Bloodline Secret Technique, he was able to summon a strike from his Ancestor.

’From the scenes in the Soul Search, the Dragon Monarch can’t even get an audience with the Divinity Transformation Elder Dragon. He’s just borrowing a powerful figure’s name.’

This was undoubtedly good news. The Divinity Transformation Elder Dragon didn’t consider the Star Constellation Sea as its own force at all.

As long as there was no concrete evidence linking Ao Zhe’s death to him, it wouldn’t be a major issue.

It was also possible that while the Divinity Transformation Demon Lord, who had lived for an unknown number of ages, might protect its descendants, it might not be willing to pay a price of several hundred years for it.

Even for someone of its Direct Lineage, it might not be worth the cost.

’One more thing... after centuries of accumulation, the Dragon Monarch has already broken through to the Tier Four Peak. He’s just a hair’s breadth away from Tier Five...’

There was a scene in Ao Zhe’s memory, presumably from when he was leaving the Star Constellation Sea after a meeting with the Dragon Monarch.

It allowed Bai Zichen to see this Master of Star Constellation Sea, the one who had single-handedly annihilated the Fish Dragon Sect and become a great worry in his heart.

He had an average build, was even slightly stooped, and his features were plain and regular. At first glance, he looked exactly like a common Loose Cultivator one might see walking through the Market.

He wore a Magical Robe made of plain hemp cloth, and the sharp, deep-set wrinkles at the corners of his eyes added a touch of maturity to his youthful face.

Even someone as proud and untamable as Ao Zhe followed him step for step, not daring to overstep in the slightest.

This scene had images but no sound, just like the one where Ao Zhe went to the Water Eye to pay respects to his Ancestor after passing his Transformed Thunder Tribulation.

Upon entering the center of the Water Eye, what came into view was an Old Dragon so long that its head and tail seemed to connect, stretching for an unknown number of miles. The moment its pupils opened, the entire scene dissolved into static. Not only was there no sound, but the image itself failed.

’This must be the limitation of the Taiwu Soul Searching and Soul Cutting Technique. Even when reading indirectly as a third party, it automatically blocks information related to Cultivators of too high a Realm. For a Cultivator at the Peak of Nascent Soul, it just cut off the sound.’

The Star Constellation Sea had the Dragon Monarch at the Peak of Nascent Soul, four other Nascent Soul Great Demons, and a million Demon Beasts under its command that could be used for Array Formation.

On the mainland, its strength was comparable to some Super Major Sects.

In terms of basic combat power, it was even far superior.

No Sect could match the Star Constellation Sea’s endless supply of Low-Tier Demon Beasts to serve as cannon fodder, charging into battle formations without fear of death.

But against the vast backdrop of the Outer Sea, this seemed somewhat insufficient, as they needed to station Great Demons everywhere to maintain control.

Ao Zhe’s memory also contained a scene of paying respects to a senior from the Qingqiu Death Sea.

Similarly, after a flash of white light, the few figures faintly visible in the scene became mere shifting lights and shadows, with no further information to be gained.

Overall, he hadn’t obtained a great deal of information from this Soul Search, but at least there wasn’t any useless clutter.

At the very least, he had clarified the relationship between the Divinity Transformation Elder Dragon and the Star Constellation Sea and gotten a clear picture of the latter’s overall strength.

More importantly, he now knew that the Dragon Monarch was already at the Tier Four Peak, just one step away from Divinity Transformation.

Having reached this point, the Dragon Monarch could no longer advance in the Nascent Soul Stage. His only option was to seek that slim hope of a breakthrough.

’The only thing standing in the Dragon Monarch’s way now is the Holy Beast Essence Blood. I’m afraid it won’t be long before his patience runs out and he personally comes to the mainland to kill...’

Bai Zichen was already mentally prepared for this.

With the Soul Search complete, he continued to inspect the rest of his spoils.

The Coiling Dragon Black Gold Spear, a Low-Grade Spiritual Treasure capable of emitting Black Flame.

Although Bai Zichen had no use for an offensive weapon of this level, a free attack-type Spiritual Treasure was still a good thing, even if he just kept it to trade with other Nascent Soul True Monarchs for other Spiritual Treasures.

The Artifact Spirit seemed to have been knocked unconscious by the Star River Sword Array, as it didn’t react at all when he infused True Essence into it. He casually stuck it into his Realm.

The real main event was, of course, that Void Spiritual Treasure.

The Exquisite Primordial Pagoda, a Top-Grade Spiritual Treasure!

It was unclear whether the Void Spiritual Treasure was impressed by his power or if it had been taught a harsh enough lesson by his Flying Swords on its way out, making it understand that there was always a higher heaven.

He sent a sliver of Divine Thought to begin communicating with the Artifact Spirit. The Spiritual nature of such a Top-Grade Spiritual Treasure was already astounding, on par with his own Tier Four Flying Swords.

Of course, his Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword had to be excluded from that group of Tier Four Flying Swords; otherwise, there would be no point in comparison.

’You are a Void Spiritual Treasure, only one step away from becoming a Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure... If you follow me, I can consider giving you the chance to enjoy Heaven and Earth’s Great Power when I reach Divinity Transformation.’

Bai Zichen casually made an empty promise.

If a Cultivator’s ultimate dream was Longevity and Vision, to sit and watch the mountains and rivers change over eons...

Then for every Spiritual Treasure, ascending to a Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure was the highest aspiration their relatively simple minds could hold.

Spiritual Treasures were naturally much stronger than Magical Treasures, but the main difference lay in their Spiritual nature.

A Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure, on the other hand, undergoes a revolutionary leap in its very nature. Barring any accidents, it is nearly impossible for one to be annihilated in the long river of history.