Chapter 521 - 453: [Attending the Banquet Alone!]

Time flew by.

Another half a month had passed since the last Abyss Task.

Long Chen’s cultivation had risen to the Quasi-Emperor Seventh Layer, while the Wu Dao inside Miasma Abyss had stepped into the Quasi-Emperor Fourth Layer Heaven.

Of course, Long Chen was unaware of this information.

The Wu Dao Incarnation he was monitoring had ’recuperated’ for half a month, only stepping out of the City Lord’s Mansion after another Abyss Task was issued.

OMMM—

Before the Dao Celestial Stele, amidst the awestruck gazes of the onlookers, Wu Dao once again calmly and indifferently accepted the Abyss Task it had issued.

How could they not be in awe?

Slaying a Quasi-Emperor as a Great Venerable!

To have exceeded the requirements of four consecutive Abyss Tasks—you could count the number of people in the Seven Days Pass who had achieved such a feat on one hand!

And now, Wu Dao had accepted his fifth mission with a blank expression. Anyone who knew the rules of the Abyss Tasks understood.

This mission would definitely be beyond the border, deep within the territory of the Mountain and Sea Emperor Clan.

One wrong step, and it would be a plunge into a bottomless abyss!

For a moment, many of the soldiers in Miasma Abyss City looked at Wu Dao, wanting to speak but hesitating. They wished to persuade him to abandon the mission.

Giving up would result in a demotion, but with Wu Dao’s ferocity, it wouldn’t take him long to get promoted back. The Abyss Task would also refresh and reset; there was no need to recklessly risk his life.

They didn’t know about the grudge between Long Chen and Wu Dao. From a soldier’s perspective, Wu Dao’s illustrious battle record was worthy of their respect.

"City Lord..."

A vice city lord’s lips moved.

But before he could speak, Wu Dao had already accepted the Abyss Task, and the specific details of the mission materialized on the Dao Celestial Stele—

Eradicate the Thunder Sea Fortress established on the front lines by the Qilin Emperor Clan!

"The Qilin Emperor Clan!"

"That’s one of the top ten Emperor Clans of the Mountain and Sea! And the Thunder Sea Fortress is guarded by their strongest branch, the Thunder Qilin Clan!"

"And... Lei Huan, the commander of the Thunder Sea Fortress, is a Quasi-Ancestor King of the Second Realm. With his foundation, his combat power in the same realm is no less than that of a Son of Revival."

"A Great Venerable... is that enough?"

The moment they saw the mission details, the various Kings of Miasma Abyss City gathered before the Dao Celestial Stele couldn’t help but tremble in fear. For a Great Venerable to undertake such a mission was a complete death wish!

"What did you want to say?"

Wu Dao indifferently retracted his Battle Merit Order and glanced back calmly at the Vice Celestial King who had been about to speak.

"Sigh... I wish the Celestial King great fortune in battle."

Seeing that Wu Dao showed no trace of fear, the Vice Celestial King knew that persuasion was useless. He sighed to himself and could only offer his blessing.

"I’ll take you up on that."

The corner of Wu Dao’s mouth twitched into a slight smile as he patted the Vice Celestial King’s shoulder. Then, under the somber, farewell gazes of the crowd, he took a step forward and walked out of Miasma Abyss City with complete composure.

Finally, he glanced one last time in the direction of Sansheng City.

Rolling his neck and stretching slightly, he left the Three Lives Battlefield alone, advancing at full speed toward the Thunder Sea Fortress on the border!

Only someone with a death wish would accept a suicidal mission like this, so of course, there would be no one to accompany or assist him.

Beyond the border meant a one-in-ten chance of survival.

For a Great Venerable to cross the line, it meant certain death with no chance of survival!

This was a truth proven with blood, and no one would ever doubt it.

The Heaven-Sinking Main City Military Department had even issued several military orders to stop Wu Dao’s suicidal actions. After all, if a fierce general like him were to die in battle, it would be a considerable loss.

But Wu Dao chose to ignore them.

Once he completed the mission, this minor transgression wouldn’t even be considered defying a military order.

Just as Wu Dao was leaving Miasma Abyss City.

"He’s left for the Thunder Sea Fortress."

Within the Three Lives Main City, Long Chen received the intelligence report from Miasma Abyss City, and murderous intent instantly flared in his eyes!

After getting fully armed, he took out a temporary puppet with the same strength as him and sent it to a nearby battlefield to spar with a Military Lord of the same level, creating an alibi.

After that, he took out a top-tier Concealment Emperor Talisman, hid all traces of his aura, and slipped out of the Three Lives Pass City without a sound.

After leaving the Garrison City, Long Chen immediately contacted a group of powerful Death Warriors trained by the Rising Dragon Celestial Dynasty, ordering them to head to the Thunder Sea Fortress at top speed.

Every aspect was covered, absolutely watertight!

He would leave Wu Dao with no chance of getting lucky!

’For a mere Great Venerable to warrant a death trap of this scale, you should be proud.’

After doing all this, Long Chen took a deep breath. He no longer held back his speed and traversed toward the Thunder Sea Fortress with all his might. He had to arrive before Wu Dao and get everything set up.

At the same time Long Chen made his move.

Inside the Ten Days Pass Mountain and Sea City, a certain elder received a brief intelligence report from a mole.

"Thunder Sea Fortress. The target is on the move. However, the Three Lives Army Master is acting strangely. He went to the Sealing Demon Pass to spar with someone."

The report clearly revealed the whereabouts of both Wu Dao and Long Chen.

"Sparring? Heh!"

The Chaotic Human Shadow sneered.

The Mountain and Sea’s tentacles reached throughout the various Common Lord Powers and Shanhai Pass. He had long known through his intelligence channels that Long Chen was setting up a trap to kill the Primordial Heavenly King.

Long Chen’s actions were nothing but a transparent ploy to him.

’If you aren’t exposed to take the blame, wouldn’t that expose us instead, you foolish child?’

The Chaotic Human Shadow smiled indifferently and contacted the personnel stationed in Shanhai Pass and the Mountain and Sea Realm:

"Assemble at the Thunder Sea Fortress immediately. ’Cooperate’ fully with our good partner. Do not expose yourselves unless absolutely necessary."

The Mountain and Sea had been cultivating its influence in Hongyuan for hundreds of thousands of years.

Their chess pieces in the Seven Days Pass were not insignificant.

Taking down the target with minimal losses was, naturally, the best outcome.

And even if they were exposed, it wouldn’t matter. They would just pin the blame on the Rising Dragon World!

Even if Long Chen had ten thousand mouths, he wouldn’t be able to explain away colluding with the Mountain and Sea and harming his own kind. This was because his intent to harm the Primordial Heavenly King was an ironclad fact, making him incredibly easy to frame.

To make sure the blame stuck to Long Chen, the Chaotic Human Shadow contacted another subordinate, preparing to notify the Seven Days Pass Commander’s Law Enforcement Team at the right moment to rush to the Thunder Sea Fortress and watch a good show.

DONG— DONG— DONG DONG DONG—

「At the same time.」

While Wu Dao was en route to the Thunder Sea Fortress, his Heart Lake Alarm Bell began to ring incessantly, like a monk chanting scriptures, until it finally became as urgent as a thunderstorm!

This meant that on the path of fate ahead, something extremely perilous was awaiting him.

’Don’t tell me that little bastard brought the entire foundation of the Rising Dragon Celestial Dynasty to kill me?’

Such an intense sense of crisis even made Wu Dao a little surprised.

However, given Long Chen’s cautious and thorough personality, even if he didn’t bring their entire foundation, he definitely wouldn’t be coming alone!

’The Mountain and Sea side will probably make a move too.’

Wu Dao’s thoughts churned. He thought about how the Mountain and Sea hadn’t targeted him at all recently, which was very abnormal—like the calm before a storm.

He hadn’t forgotten the way those three young female dragons from the Candle Dragon Race were practically drooling over him. The moment they got a chance, the Mountain and Sea side would surely set up a death trap!

’Heh, it’s been a while since I’ve felt this kind of thrill.’

Wu Dao gave a ferocious grin, suppressing the boiling, frantic emotions in his heart. Without any pause, he charged alone, straight into the net!

By now, he no longer needed to be as timid and cautious as before. Anyone who tried to hunt him in the Seven Days Pass would find their teeth shattered, no matter how hard they were!

RUMBLE—

After crossing the vast, misty barrier, Wu Dao left the final pass of the Seven Days Pass far behind him. Ahead, at the end of the parallel lines of spacetime, a violent Thunder Sea of many colors churned, erupting with billions upon billions of world-ending Thunderbolts.

The Thunder Qilin Clan!

Their status within the Qilin Race was identical to the status of the Candle Dragon Race within the True Dragon Race.

The reason was simple.

The Qilins of this clan were born with a Lifebound Divine Technique that allowed them to control the strongest Celestial Thunder of the Thunder Dao—a single technique worth several from other Emperor Clans!

Below the Four Great Primordial Races, only the five great Emperor Clans—the True Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, and Phoenix—could reliably suppress the Thunder Qilin Clan. Every Emperor’s Son from the Thunder Qilin Clan was equivalent to a Son of Revival from Hongyuan!

Wu Dao’s mission target, Lei Huan, the Marshal stationed at the Thunder Sea Fortress, was a member of the younger generation at the Quasi-Ancestor King Second Realm!

A Celestial Pride who wasn’t on the same level wouldn’t even be qualified to hunt him, even if they were at the Fourth Heaven!

But...

Wu Dao’s target was not Lei Huan.

For the him of today, dealing with Lei Huan was merely a matter of convenience. Long Chen was his main objective for this trip!

OMMM— CRACKLE!

The moment he stepped into the Thunder Sea, the spatiotemporal magnetic field fell into complete disarray.

Within his senses, there was only the brilliant Celestial Thunder that filled every inch of space. It originated from the heavens and earth, raging with endless, violent power.

And also, the moment he entered the Thunder Sea, Wu Dao clearly felt the indescribable aura of the Primordial Path of Hongyuan completely vanish, as if he had entered a pocket of an Exotic Realm.

More importantly, the communication function of his Battle Merit Order was also severed.

It was like a cell phone entering an area with no signal; only the basic function of recording battle merits was still operational.

Wu Dao was not surprised by this.

By crossing the border, strictly speaking, he had already entered the Mountain and Sea Realm. The surveillance of the Primordial Path of Hongyuan was being eroded and defiled by the fortune of the Exotic Realm, causing it to lose much of its suppressive power.

’Their defenses really are tight.’

As his Bitter Dust Robe concealed his information and he traversed deeper into the Thunder Sea, Wu Dao also discovered the Shanhai Pass Cities hidden along the way within the sea of lightning.

Inside the Garrison Cities, the Thunder Qilin soldiers bathed in lightning were like individual Thunder Gods. Any random one you pulled out would have a Venerable Cultivation, making them incredibly powerful.

At the same time, the Thunder Sea was also filled with all sorts of Grand Arrays.

If he hadn’t concealed his aura, he would have been detected by the Qilin Race the moment he entered, and the mission would have ended in failure before it even began.

’Something’s not right.’

After traversing some distance through the Celestial Thunder Sea, Wu Dao’s eyes narrowed. From the sea of thunderbolts ahead, which was the size of a Little Cosmos, he felt an intense, bone-chilling killing intent!

In the Ten Directions of that Thunderbolt-shrouded Little Cosmos, there were also powerful, deliberately concealed Life Magnetic Fields. They all belonged to the Human Race; anyone with half a brain could tell they were from the Rising Dragon Celestial Dynasty!

’They really went all out.’

At the same time, Wu Dao also detected the faint, almost imperceptible magnetic field information of Long Chen. But he was hidden too well, making it impossible to pinpoint his location. Wu Dao couldn’t tell what kind of precious Supreme Treasure he was using.

Wu Dao’s original plan had been to hide first. Then, after Long Chen arrived, he would sneak up on him, dispense with the chatter, and go straight for a ruthless, fatal blow.

But that little bastard was hidden a little too well.

He couldn’t guarantee a one-hit kill.

He could only use himself as bait to lure him out.

This was risky.

Because Wu Dao couldn’t confirm whether the Mountain and Sea had also gotten involved and laid a Heaven and Earth Net for him at the Thunder Sea Fortress.

However, it didn’t matter much.

However many came, that’s how many he would kill!

At this thought, Wu Dao’s gaze turned grim and cold. He released a tiny sliver of his aura and took a step, entering the strange Little Cosmos fortress covered by the golden Celestial Thunder Sea!

Due to the pull of karma and fate, even a single trace of an aura was enough!

OMMM~

In the Little Cosmos filled with golden Celestial Thunder, Long Chen, who had been lying in wait for a long time, opened his eyes. He had sensed an utterly repulsive aura.

He’s here!