Chapter 126: Fragments of Water and Fire, A Formidable Foe Approaches!
Chapter 126: Fragments of Water and Fire, A Formidable Enemy Arrives!
Chapter 126: Inheritance Emerges, The Desolate Blood Cauldron!
On the deck.
"According to this wooden talisman."
"Now, throughout the East Sea, inheritances are emerging everywhere. Only by seizing these inheritances—or even slaying other inheritors to continuously elevate one's own standing—can one eventually gain the opportunity to enter the secret realm route."
"First, it is the struggle for the East Sea!"
"Only the hegemon of the East Sea struggle is qualified... to participate in the struggle among the prodigies of the various seas."
Bai Xuan looked up.
The East Sea is vast; its population likely exceeds tens of millions, if not more. Not to mention the entire Turbulent Void Sea and the various seas beyond—how many powerhouses have emerged in the last two hundred years? It is beyond anyone's estimation!
To carve out an invincible path within this endless ocean?
Bai Xuan's gaze was calm, yet deep within him, a fighting spirit stirred.
Within the underwater volcano, streaks of spiritual light emerged, and the terrifying momentum of heaven and earth condensed, clearing everything in the vicinity!
Around the volcano, dense swarms of blood-qi were gathering, belonging to a species of strange fish known as the Molten Dragon Fish.
"You possess the aptitude! Then come and accept the inheritance."
"After this volcano erupts, its immense spiritual light will recover. I fear it must constantly resist the strange miasma of the sea and purify the surrounding fish."
Rumble!
A few fishermen were struggling to steer their small boat to fish when they saw light surging into the sky not far away, whipping up ten-thousand-fold waves.
The volcano was clearly influenced by the momentum of heaven and earth and was currently recovering. If they did not move away, it would erupt instantly, and even the *Swallow Sea* would be affected.
He was the leader of the Star-Hunting Pirates in this sea area, named Liu Yuan!
Previously, when Luan Shan was slain by Bai Xuan, he had been promoted by Duan Haiyuan and cast into this sea area to take charge of the military forces here.
Inside the erupting volcanic crater, a massive phantom of a winged lizard appeared, its head and tail connected, with a pot-belly and wings wrapped around to protect its abdomen!
This phantom's spiritual light was extremely powerful; with every breath, it drew upon the entire volcano to connect with itself.
...
Whenever a giant molten fish approached, its strange miasma would be purged, leaving it pure.
"Such a powerful inheritance... The inheritances in this sea usually have spiritual light no more than a few hundred meters high."
Bai Xuan's eyes narrowed as he issued orders.
Setting aside the inheritance in the sea, the dragon fish alone were a massive treasure. If he were to consume them all, it would be enough to increase his blood-qi by another river!
Above the fleet, bearing the banner of the Blood-Stained Lone Star, a grandmaster stood on the flagship, his blood-qi surging, reaching the level of four rivers.
If these giant waves crashed down, they would all die in the surf; there was no escaping!
But in a moment, when the giant waves descended, they suddenly stopped, as if frozen in mid-air.
However, at this moment, the phantom had not yet fully solidified and seemed to be in the process of awakening. If one were to go and seize it before the inheritance fully appeared, it would trigger a total eruption of the submarine volcano, destroying everything within dozens of miles!
"Although this thing has an extremely formidable foundation, if it continues to consume itself like this for hundreds of years, it will eventually vanish."
On an island, beams of light shot into the sky, evolving into a massive, coiled giant snake.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do!
With the Longevity Dao Tree at his side, he had walked step by step, and in just a year and a half, he had become one of the few powerhouses in the East Sea.
At this moment.
The blood-qi of these dragon fish had been cleansed by the volcanic light, becoming even purer; there was no need to process them further.
Across the entire East Sea, mighty and terrifying lights were erupting everywhere. These were ancient inheritances awakening; their power was so explosive that even a Grandmaster would tremble!
In the Qianshan Island sea area.
"Oh no, I am finished!"
However, the *Swallow Sea* had already retreated far away and was unaffected.
At this moment, at least tens of thousands of Molten Dragon Fish were swimming about, their internal strange miasma rapidly being cleared away, becoming translucent and radiant. As they devoured the volcanic light, their own blood-qi grew rapidly!
"Good! Very good, even without calculating the potential inheritance inside, the sheer vastness of this dragon fish blood-qi is worth three months of tribute for the Qianshan Army!"
Liu Yuan looked up, his eyes filled with desire.
"Advance, harvest the dragon fish first!"
Bai Xuan shouted.
Within the giant wave, a sound rang out, clashing like metal striking metal.
Bai Xuan scanned the area, seeing it clearly, and felt joy in his heart.
Not far away, a fleet was rapidly approaching the island.
The struggle for the seas is for the prodigy hegemons, and he can go as well!
On the island, there were originally dozens of fishermen, all of them panicked; they had never seen such a sight.
Rumble!
In the distance, about ten miles away in the sea, fire erupted from the water, and a volcano was emitting a faint rumbling sound. Streaks of spiritual light were slowly recovering, and the entire volcano was trembling!
"Change course! Stay away from the volcano!"
A phantom of a fish fin appeared in the water, fully several hundred meters high, all silver-white, as if made of metal!
With a splash, a fisherman was swept away by the spiritual light, pulled into the deep sea, and swallowed in one gulp by the giant fish phantom!
Thousands of miles away.
"What is this?"
Boom!
The volcano finally erupted, lava churning as flames rose, shooting straight into the sky! The entire sea surface began to boil.
The few fishermen were filled with utter horror and dread.
"So, this immortal fate only appears once every two hundred years! Usually, it lies dormant; even with the ability to gaze upon the sea, if one does not discern it carefully, it cannot be seen. However, I am quite fortunate to have encountered an inheritance here."
Bai Xuan saw it clearly.
He was a man who knew current affairs, so he immediately sent a ship full of gifts to the Whale Hunter. Although it cost a lot, it bought him a chance to breathe.
"But this beam of light actually pierces the sky and evolves into a giant snake?"
The giant snake phantom in the clouds had scales like thousands of sword blades, sharp and unparalleled, with terrifying green eyes looking down, domineering and tyrannical!
His fleet had sailed all the way here, and looking from afar, on this vast sea, a beam of light might appear every hundred miles or so.
But those lights could not compare to this beam at all!
"If I obtain the inheritance within this beam of light, my strength will likely advance by leaps and bounds, and it is not impossible to even... surpass the Whale Hunter!"
Liu Yuan was consumed by desire.
He was also a four-river grandmaster; how could he surrender so easily? He was only dormant for the moment because his strength was insufficient.
If he could rival the Whale Hunter, he would immediately lead his army to Qianshan Island and sweep through everything!
"The Whale Hunter's name—I don't know where it is."
Liu Yuan scanned the ranking board vigilantly.
He had no way to judge; his gaze merely swept over the name "Bai Xuan" and passed over it without paying much attention.
A moment later.
On this small island, blood and fire had already been ignited!
"No, you will face retribution!"
"Save me! Please, let me go..."
The dozens of fishermen were filled with fear, even madness, but in an instant, they were slaughtered by the Star-Hunting Pirates. Blood flowed, and the stench of carnage filled the air.
The first thing the Star-Hunting Pirates did upon arrival was slaughter!
Deep within the island.
Liu Yuan and his men stood under the inheritance beam, watching as the small hill split open to reveal a massive cavern.
In an instant, two vertical pupils opened within the cave, flashing with green light, terrifying and intense!
"This feeling... if I move, I will be pulverized, leaving no bones behind!"
Liu Yuan felt a shiver run down his spine, cold sweat soaking his back.
His four rivers of blood-qi were unable to resist that green gaze; it was absolutely terrifying and impossible to withstand in the slightest!
But this only made him crave it more!
"If I can obtain this inheritance..."
At this moment, a rumbling sound echoed from the cave.
"I am the spirit of the Heavenly Snake inheritance. This is the place of the 'Heavenly Snake God-Swallowing Technique.' Are you willing to accept the inheritance?"
The pair of green vertical pupils spoke, their voice like thunder!
"Yes!"
Liu Yuan was resolute.
He had already come this far; was he to turn back now? He had checked various ancient books and knew that these inheritances carried danger, but if successful, one's strength would be greatly enhanced!
"Very well."
The massive cavern moved with a roar, and in an instant, it swallowed Liu Yuan and his men whole.
After they were all swallowed...
"Let's play with these people for a while; their aptitude is average, but the one in the lead might be converted into a Snake-Foot Dao soldier."
"Still want to obtain the inheritance?"
The green vertical pupils were cold and extremely cruel.
Liu Yuan and the others did not know.
These inheritance spirits were created by their original masters and placed here; over the long passage of time, their temperaments had become extremely strange and terrifying.
For them, if someone had the aptitude, they would be inherited directly without hesitation.
If they were asked to wait or inquire, it often meant they were being toyed with, or even cruelly killed!
A grim fate awaited them!
At this moment.
Across the entire vast sea, spiritual lights were recovering everywhere; islands were splitting open, and thousands of rays of auspicious light emerged from the sea.
"Kill!"
On a vast stretch of ocean, two fleets were locked in a desperate battle. A hundred warships were fighting, and several grandmasters were in the air, clashing.
Below them was a massive, deep cave dwelling with layers of golden light, representing an extremely powerful inheritance!
This was a great era; the entire East Sea had awakened!
...
On Qianshan Island.
"There is an anomaly deep within the island!"
Bai Yuannian and others rushed over to see a terrifying spiritual light, like an ocean, surging deep within the island, exactly where the master of Qianshan Island lived in seclusion.
The light was held back and not released, undulating like an ocean, as if breathing. Every moment, it was continuously strengthening, as if a terrifying existence was gradually awakening!
"This inheritance... is too powerful; it hasn't truly awakened yet!"
Bai Yuannian's expression changed in shock.
Ever since the scroll appeared in the sky, he had repeatedly consulted the family archives and now understood much.
This situation meant that the inheritance here had been dormant for too long and was of such a terrifying level that it needed time to build up speed; it could not fully erupt in an instant.
"Seal off the surroundings, and do not allow anyone to pass."
Bai Yuannian said gravely.
The terror of this inheritance meant that once it was born, it would attract the prying eyes of all the powerhouses in the surrounding sea, and even the name of the Whale Hunter would not be enough to suppress it!
After many Bai family members went to act on the blockade, he looked up at the solidified ranking board in the sky.
"Bai Xuan..."
His gaze was complex as he looked at one of the names—a name that was currently inconspicuous and motionless.
On the island.
"That Hegemony Ranking actually has someone with the same name as Brother Xuan."
Bai Xia was observing the list and marveling.
When the list first appeared, it shocked Qianshan Island, and everyone's hearts trembled, knowing the great trend had arrived. But now, more than ten days had passed, and many people's mindsets had stabilized; they enjoyed watching the list for entertainment.
Duan Haiyuan, the Ten Divine Spears, the Three Saints of Starry Heaven, the Master of Xuanzhi Temple... all such existences had their names on it!
"Brother Xuan seems to have gone out to sea without even telling me."
"Why doesn't the name of our Qianshan Army's top expert, the Whale Hunter, appear on this Heavenly Ranking?"
"Could it be that this list only displays real names?"
Bai Xia was still studying the list, his mind unable to turn the corner.
Elsewhere on the island.
"Is Bai Xuan still lying dormant?"
Bai Ehou looked up with a faint sense of expectation.
He knew Bai Xuan's strength was absolutely terrifying and formidable, second only to the Grandmasters whose blood-qi was like the sea; he would not fail easily.
Once he made his move, it would surely be earth-shattering!
...
In the vast sea.
Rumble!
After the volcano erupted, it slowly calmed down. In the crater, a massive lizard phantom was coiled; the lizard had wings on its flanks that were incredibly vast, protecting its abdomen.
Over a dozen days had passed, and while major battles were erupting all over the sea, it was very peaceful here.
The *Swallow Sea* was casting its nets, continuously catching the surrounding Molten Dragon Fish!
Splash!
Many sailors were working hard to pull the fishing nets, and soon they opened them, releasing a large number of bright red, flowing fish onto the deck—some even faintly spitting flames.
Each of these dragon fish possessed scorching and surging blood-qi, and some even had small horns on their foreheads, their blood-qi being more than ten times stronger than ordinary dragon fish.
Sizzle!
A horned dragon fish leaped up, spitting fire and lunging at a young sailor.
That was not actual fire, but fire condensed from blood-qi, which was several times stronger than ordinary fire, enough to roast and pierce through a person!
The young sailor could not dodge in time, but then a blade-light flashed with a *clang*, slicing the flames apart. The dragon fish was sliced in half, the flames dissipated, and the blood-qi collapsed with a roar. As it fell to the ground, the carcass even twitched a few times.
The flowing blood even had a faint fiery glow.
*Swish!*
Wanyong Blade was sheathed.
"So many Molten Dragon Fish, and the quality is so good; even in the Villa, I have never seen such things. If this continues, I fear my blood-qi will break through."
The blood-qi of these Molten Dragon Fish was terrifying. One was enough to suppress an ordinary Snake-Bone Fish; they were born by devouring the heat of the submarine volcano, and their blood-qi was immense. Once they left the volcano, their blood-qi would rapidly decay.
"Hurry up and process them."
Bai Rongxuan was now the boatswain, directing the many sailors to quickly process the Molten Dragon Fish.
On the *Swallow Sea*, the sailors naturally consumed these pure dragon fish themselves, and their blood-qi grew extremely rapidly.
Now, Bai Rongxuan's blood-qi had reached a very thick level, and before long, he might be able to strike at the third blood-qi boundary.
Those youths had been constantly nourished during this time, and almost all of them had broken through the first level of blood-qi, becoming true martial artists.
Some were even not far from the second level.
"Must practice martial arts! Must keep working hard!"
A youth was training bitterly; his name was Bai Luo, only a collateral member, but he practiced very hard and ranked first among the many young sailors!
Boom!
He slashed out with his blade, and his blood-qi flashed, breaking through to condense into faint green scales!
"Amazing! Brother Luo, your blood-qi cultivation is invincible; I'm afraid you're not far from Brother Rongxuan."
Many young sailors were full of envy.
"Finally reached the second level!"
Bai Luo was also thrilled.
His martial arts talent was not bad, and he was extremely diligent. Now, he had become a late bloomer, stronger than many of the old sailors.
However, his green scales were tinged with a faint red.
A moment later.
"Your blood-qi has become somewhat muddled; it would be best to eat fewer dragon fish from now on."
Yi Yuan's figure appeared suddenly, saying in a dry voice.
"Human bodies have limited digestive capacity; you cannot consume blood-qi indefinitely and transform it into your own strength."
"If you keep eating, you will go mad or even explode and die."
He served as the ship's third mate and would patrol the deck, reminding these sailors at any time.
In his view, although Bai Luo was fast, his foundation was unstable; it would take several months to truly stabilize.
"Yes!"
Bai Luo was startled and quickly replied.
He respected and feared this third mate; the man's movements were strange, not like a living person, but his archery skills were incomparably terrifying.
He felt a sudden urge and couldn't help but ask, "But the Captain consumes them every day, almost endlessly..."
In recent days, Bai Xuan had been consuming a thousand catties of dragon fish meat every day—he had swallowed over ten thousand catties in total!
"Is your Captain even human? You kids cannot look at him with your own standards."
Yi Yuan's dry voice said, "Some people are no longer geniuses; they are monsters!"
...
In the Captain's cabin.
"That meal was truly satisfying."
Bai Xuan exhaled a river of blood-qi, which rumbled and vibrated, instantly sweeping away a vat of molten fish meat.
*Splash!*
He swallowed it into his belly, and with a slight circulation, it was instantly digested, turning into rolling blood-qi that surged throughout his body.
His current digestion and eating capacity were beyond what a mortal could imagine; he could consume more than a hundred people's worth of food by himself.
In just this half month, his blood-qi had made terrifying progress!
"Breakthrough it is."
Bai Xuan's gaze was calm.
Boom!
In just a moment, another river of blood-qi appeared around Bai Xuan. Three rivers of blood-qi flowed, mighty and strong!
"From going to the Forging Villa until now, it is time to break through."
Bai Xuan felt very calm; this was a natural progression, and to him, it was even a bit slow!
If those aged grandmasters saw this scene, they would be terrified, almost scared to death.
Breaking through a river of blood-qi in just over a month?
However, this was normal for Bai Xuan. His blood-qi was in its prime, only increasing and never declining, and his digestive capacity was terrifying to the extreme. As long as he had enough blood-qi to nourish himself, he could continuously break through!
"The remaining dragon fish are not enough to break through to the next river."
Bai Xuan stood up tall.
"It is time to enter the sea and explore this ancient inheritance!"
Bai Xuan's eyes were filled with anticipation.
The winged lizard phantom coiled in the sea had finally stabilized; it was incomparably powerful and seemed to be condensed from blood-qi. It appeared to have been fixed by some means, and the terror of its blood-qi, connected to the volcano, far exceeded the ten-river level!
...
In the water.
*Plop!*
Bai Xuan's figure moved like a sharp arrow into the water, rapidly approaching the volcano, arriving in just a moment.
The surrounding Molten Dragon Fish had been mostly harvested, leaving only the massive winged lizard phantom sitting in the volcanic crater.
*Swish!*
As Bai Xuan approached, the massive winged lizard phantom suddenly opened its eyes.
In those eyes were also vertical pupils, amber-colored, cold and terrifying!
Boom!
After this giant volcanic lizard opened its eyes, a blood-qi pressure like a mountain and sea appeared, scorching hot!
On the sea surface.
On the *Swallow Sea*.
"Look, the water below is boiling!"
A young sailor suddenly exclaimed.
Looking down from the *Swallow Sea*, within a radius of about a thousand meters, the seawater was boiling, just like a volcanic eruption!
In the sea.
The immense, scorching blood-qi pressure naturally did not affect Bai Xuan.
He carried the *Subduing Sea Spear* on his back, suspended in the water, his expression calm as he looked directly at the lizard phantom.
He could feel... the other party possessed intelligence!
The winged volcanic lizard phantom looked at Bai Xuan for a moment, and finally, a rumbling sound echoed.
"Strange, strange. By all logic, you have no aptitude, but I can feel... you are connected to the momentum of heaven and earth, connected at every moment, and you are in a state of unity between heaven and man at all times!"
The massive winged lizard phantom's cold, amber vertical pupils showed a hint of bewilderment.
"Since that is the case, are you willing to try?"
Its voice was very cautious.
Facing Bai Xuan, this massive phantom was also somewhat uncertain.
"I am willing. What kind of inheritance do you have here?"
Bai Xuan raised an eyebrow slightly.
He knew that inheritances were everywhere in the sea, all different; perhaps this lizard was not suitable for him, who knows.
"I am the spirit of the Cauldron Inheritance. This is the place of the 'Desolate Blood Treasure Cauldron' inheritance."
At this moment.
The massive winged lizard stood up from the volcanic crater. With a roar, it spread its wings, revealing its pot-belly.
It was actually a cauldron, spraying endless flames and merging with the phantom.
This cauldron was the true form of this winged lizard!
(End of chapter)