Chapter 700

Chapter 700: Xuan Water Puppet

After hearing Lan Shan’s words, everyone furrowed their brows and remained silent for a long time.

Those from the Demonic Path are always ruthless. For them, not gaining any advantage means suffering a loss. If they truly lost three Eighth-rank treasures in one go, they would definitely go mad with anger.

Especially this time, it was obvious that the Righteous Path had acted unfairly first. They had clearly agreed to set aside their grudges and face the demons together, but the Righteous Path secretly dealt a vicious blow, causing them heavy losses. They could never swallow this indignation.

Of course, the Demonic Path’s revenge usually takes the form of brutal killings of the Righteous Path’s disciples. The Righteous Path, on their side, is not intimidated. Over the years, they’ve both been evenly matched; neither party is afraid of the other.

The crucial problem, however, is that this betrayal will severely damage the trust between both sides. Future collaborations will undoubtedly face enormous issues.

One must understand that although the Human Tribe is strong, they are not the rulers of this world. There are various challenges and even crises outside.

Whether it’s the threat from nearby demons or the occasional invasion of extramundane heavenly demons, they need to join forces to confront these challenges.

It is precisely because of the significant external enemies that both the Righteous and Demonic Paths can maintain relative peace, rarely engaging in extremely brutal wars.

However, if this betrayal stands, the Demonic Path would undoubtedly become furiously angry. It would be difficult to ally with the Righteous Path again in the future, which would lead to immense trouble when facing external threats.

The people present were all visionaries and immediately thought of the serious drawbacks.

This time, they can ambush the Demonic Path, but who knows if the Demonic Path will take revenge when they battle the extramundane heavenly demons next time.

After all, it was the Righteous Path that broke the pact first. Any form of retaliation is possible.

Thinking of this, everyone’s brows tightened, feeling extremely gloomy.

The bet has been made, and with their statuses as Semi-Immortals, it is clear they cannot cancel it. But if it continues and they lose, it would mean enormous trouble, unless they can compensate the other party!

In that case, they would have to compensate five Eighth-rank treasures all at once. Even though there are four sects here, they all feel a twinge of pain.

"Alas, this is really troublesome. But the plan has been made, and the disciples who will execute it have already entered. At this point, we cannot get in touch. Even if we wanted to stop, we can’t!" sighed Blue Ancestor from the Ximen family clan.

"Let’s take it one step at a time!" Master Tianlong said with a bitter smile. "Perhaps this time, Fang Lie might survive!"

"If he survives, we would be at a loss!" Purple Ancestor said with a bitter smile. "Not only would the costs be wasted, but we would also lose a good opportunity to profit from the bet, and it would drive Fang Lie mad. I don’t know how we can appease that kid!"

"Such a headache!" Immortal Lan Shan replied with a wry grin. "I don’t even know whether to hope for the plan’s success or failure!"

Hearing this, the Semi-Immortal Realms all displayed helpless smiles.

While the five Semi-Immortals were in distress, Fang Lie crossed the Dragon Gate and officially arrived in the Dragon Palace.

The Dragon Gate is actually a special teleportation entrance to a Secret Realm. Normally, it would directly transport the demons who crossed it to the welcoming square, where representatives sent by each Dragon King would take over.

However, the Dragon Gate has become unstable for various reasons, causing those who enter to be randomly teleported.

Those with good luck directly appear next to a treasure from heaven and earth; those with average luck find themselves in a safe place; and those with slightly worse luck end up in dangerous areas. The unluckiest ones materialize directly in the immortal restrictions, turning to ashes even with late-stage Thunder Tribulation cultivation.

This is the first trial of the Dragon Palace Deadly Area, a test of luck unrelated to cultivation.

The thousands of water beads and divine symbols outside illustrate the cruelty of the Dragon Palace Deadly Area.

The Dragon Gate had just closed for a short while when the sound of divine symbols cracking echoed. In the blink of an eye, two to three hundred divine symbols shattered, meaning there were two to three hundred people whose luck was too poor and were directly transported into the restrictions, facing instant destruction.

Even so, the Semi-Immortals and the Demon King still wore gratified smiles because this was the best outcome in the history of the Dragon Palace Deadly Area. In past instances, nearly one-tenth of the people would die.

This time, the number of casualties was significantly lower, so they were already satisfied.

As for Fang Lie, he was sent to a place of ruins. Looking around, he saw shattered jade, broken corals, and other debris.

Noticing there was no immediate danger, Fang Lie let out a sigh of relief and began to channel his Magic to clear the water around him.

The Dragon Palace was built for the Dragon Clan, water element Divine Beasts, so the entire structure existed underwater. This wasn’t ordinary water but Spiritual Water saturated with dense energy.

Just this Spiritual Water alone could be transported out as a spirit spring for refining low-grade spirit pills, making it incredibly valuable.

Observing the surrounding ruins, the tiles were carved from precious jade while pillars shimmered with gold and silver. Massive coral decorations that would be considered treasures in the mortal world served as mere construction materials here.

This opulence explained why the Dragon Clan boasted of being the wealthiest beings under heaven. Their riches defied imagination.

Fang Lie, having grown up in poverty, instinctively cursed at such extravagance: "Damned filthy rich scoundrels!"

Though he spat insults, envy gnawed at him. Seeing precious refining materials used as floor tiles made him itch to steal them all, while silently condemning the cultivators who’d wrecked this place.

Originally, the Dragon Palace had merely been sealed rather than destroyed when its owners departed. Countless valuable items remained – though the Dragon Clan likely considered them worthless trash.

Later generations of cultivators saw things differently. Even common palace plants became treasured items – rare spiritual herbs that were ordinary when first planted, but after millennia of growth transformed into priceless ten-thousand-year spirit herbs.

Greed sparked countless battles. Waves of treasure-hunting cultivators clashed until the glorious Dragon Palace lay in ruins – hence its current name.

Grumbling about his ancestors’ stupidity, Fang Lie inspected shattered jade and coral fragments.

These proved to be at least third-rank refined materials. Though lacking offensive capabilities, their durability matched Fourth-tier Magical Items. Such materials had merely formed servants’ quarters before being shattered by overwhelming force.

From the fragments emanated lingering Sword Energy – residual terror from a strike so powerful it retained potency after millennia. Only a sword cultivator rivaling the Sword God could leave such marks.

Abandoning further study, Fang Lie ascended 100 zhang upwards. The palace’s immortal restrictions prevented climbing higher without fatal consequences.

From this vantage point, he spotted a faint shadow to the left. Activating his Twin Eyes of Heaven and Earth revealed the shadow’s true form – a massive Xuan Water Puppet!

These Dragon Palace guardians possessed bodies of Xuan Water and wielded powerful water element Dao magic. Their core divine patterns granted at least Sixth-rank Great Demon combat power, with strongest specimens reaching Semi-Immortal levels.

Amplified by the Spiritual Water environment, their attacks gained terrifying potency. Their self-repairing bodies rendered them nearly immortal unless their hidden core divine symbols were destroyed. Even then, they’d reconstitute within days as their true souls resided in the palace’s heart – much like Fang Lie’s Nirvana Fire Seed.

Spotting this guardian, Fang Lie excitedly unleashed three hundred clones. Stationary Xuan Water Puppets often guarded remaining treasures among the ruins.

At five li distance, the puppet reacted. Through watery distortion, its hundred-zhang bulk resembled an obese giant.

It pivoted violently, unleashing an invisible shockwave. Dozens of forward clones flew backward, ribs shattered as if struck by mountains. Only Fang Lie’s Healing Art prevented heavy injuries.

Any being capable of wounding clones with 60,000-li Qi Seas in one strike… this foe possessed at least Ninth-Rank power!