Chapter 714 - 284: Dragon’s Roar

"Understood!" Chen Qing agreed, a thought flickering through his mind as he quickly followed.

This was his first opportunity to enter the Third Layer of the Black Water Abyss Prison.

The three soon arrived at the Third Layer.

On the second level, the Evil Qi during an outbreak was dense enough to be almost tangible, but one could still make things out. The Third Layer, however, was a realm of absolute, heart-stopping silence.

Here, the Evil Qi was no longer a flowing gas but a viscous, inky blackness so thick it couldn’t be dispersed.

The air was filled with a suffocating, oppressive feeling.

Chen Qing didn’t dare to be careless. He pushed his Dragon Elephant Wisdom Vajra Body to its absolute limit. His qi and blood surged through him, and a Dark Gold Luster faintly shimmered beneath his skin. Only then could he barely resist the insidious, chilling Evil Qi that seeped in from all directions.

And that was even with the subtle protection of the Master of the Seven Sufferings’s Buddha’s Light.

Meanwhile, Elder Gong Nansong at his side relied on the vast and pure True Essence circulating around his body, forming an invisible barrier that constantly pushed away the encroaching Evil Qi.

In such dense Evil Qi, sight was almost completely useless.

Before long, the three arrived before an unusually thick stone prison door.

The stone door was covered in countless, densely packed Buddhist runes, which were currently emitting a faint golden glow.

Master of the Seven Sufferings formed a Buddha Seal with his hands and silently chanted True Words. The runes on the stone door lit up one by one, and then, with a heavy GRINDING sound, the stone door slowly swung inward.

Inside the door was the same dead, dark silence. There was no sound at all, as if it were completely empty.

"Amitabha Buddha."

Master of the Seven Sufferings softly recited the Buddha’s name, then stepped inside without the slightest hesitation.

The instant he stepped into the stone cell—

BOOM!

The entire stone cell seemed to erupt in a cataclysmic explosion. A Power, incomparably savage, tyrannical, and ferocious, slammed toward the doorway like a beast suddenly awakened, carrying with it an aura of utter destruction!

Chen Qing felt a loud RING in his ears, as if a Thunder Shock had exploded in his mind. He was momentarily deafened, his thoughts wiped blank. The sudden, terrifying pressure even caused the qi and blood in his body to roil violently.

The faint golden light around Master of the Seven Sufferings suddenly blazed with a dazzling brilliance, like a rising sun, and a highly condensed barrier of Buddha’s Light appeared before him.

The ferocious Power, strong enough to shatter mountains and split stone, slammed into the barrier of Buddha’s Light, creating a dull, thunderous boom. Ripples spread across the golden light, but the barrier remained Immovable, neutralizing the entire impact.

Chen Qing’s brow furrowed, and he was shaken to the core. ’Shouldn’t everyone locked in the Black Water Abyss Prison be bound by a Secret Technique, their Cultivation completely lost? How can this person still possess such terrifying strength? Is there something special about him?’

"Old bald donkey! What tricks are you trying to pull now?!" A coarse, hoarse voice like grinding metal rang out, filled with irrepressible fury and hostility.

Chen Qing followed the sound, focusing his vision to peer into the darkness.

By the Buddha’s Light radiating from Master of the Seven Sufferings, he finally made out the figure within the stone cell.

It was an incredibly burly giant of a man!

He was a full eight feet tall, his head nearly touching the low ceiling of the cell.

His entire body was a mass of bulging, knotted muscles, as if cast from bronze and iron, exuding a sense of explosive power.

His disheveled hair hid part of his face, revealing only a pair of eyes that glinted with a terrifying light in the darkness.

He wore only a tattered tunic. His exposed, bronze-colored skin was covered with a crisscrossing network of scars. His arms were especially notable, the muscles gnarled like old tree roots. Deep grooves around his wrists and ankles clearly indicated that he had worn custom-made manacles for years.

"Amitabha Buddha!"

Facing this terrifying display, Master of the Seven Sufferings’s expression remained unchanged. He smiled faintly. "Donor Wu, you may leave."

Hearing this, a flash of disbelief crossed Wu Sanyuan’s eyes. "Really?! Old bald donkey, don’t you lie to me!"

"A monk does not tell lies," Master of the Seven Sufferings said, his tone serene.

Wu Sanyuan stared intently at the Master of the Seven Sufferings, as if trying to judge the truth of his words.

After a moment, he took a great stride and walked out of the stone cell that had imprisoned him for untold years.

The moment he stepped out of the cell, despite being on the oppressive Third Layer, he still took a deep, greedy breath, as if trying to suck all the air of freedom into his very lungs. His massive frame trembled slightly with excitement.

"Donor Gong, you may take him away now," Master of the Seven Sufferings said to Gong Nansong.

"Very well."

Gong Nansong nodded slightly, looked at Wu Sanyuan, and said in a complicated tone, "Brother Wu, it’s been many years. Please, come with me."

Wu Sanyuan glanced at Gong Nansong and let out a cold snort, seemingly unimpressed by him, but he started walking nonetheless.

The two of them, one in front of the other, began walking toward the upper levels of the Black Water Abyss Prison.

Master of the Seven Sufferings and Chen Qing followed behind.

Chen Qing stared at the back of the man moving like an iron tower before him, his mind filled with questions.

’Who exactly is this Wu Sanyuan?’

’Why was he imprisoned here?’

’And now that he’s being released, what is the Sect Leader’s deeper meaning?’

He turned to the serene Master of the Seven Sufferings beside him and asked, "Master of the Seven Sufferings, this Wu Sanyuan... who exactly is he? Why was he imprisoned here, and how can he still possess such strength? It seems ordinary confinement Secret Techniques have no effect on him."

Master of the Seven Sufferings placed his palms together, softly recited the Buddha’s name, and slowly explained, "Amitabha Buddha. This man is known as the ’Heaven-Supporting Powerhouse,’ one of the foremost experts from Black Dragon Island. He hails from the Covered Race of the sea Realm. Members of this race are born with incredibly powerful Flesh Bodies; their qi and blood are like dragons, and they are strong enough to lift great cauldrons. They possess an extremely high resistance to many of the confinement Secret Techniques that target True Essence. Because of this, ordinary methods cannot completely seal his Cultivation. It required the endless Evil Qi of this Third Layer of the Black Water Abyss Prison, supplemented by this old monk’s Buddhist Curse Seal, just to suppress him over the long term."

"The Covered Race?" This was the first time Chen Qing had ever heard of such a people.

"Indeed," Master of the Seven Sufferings said slowly. "This race has lived in the deep-sea regions for generations. However, due to their unique bloodline, procreation is extremely difficult. Compounding this, they were once involved in that great turmoil in the sea Realm... It is said they are now on the verge of extinction. This Wu Sanyuan is likely one of the few remaining—perhaps even the only—pure-blooded descendant left."

Chen Qing’s heart lurched at his words.