Chapter 621

Chapter 621: East Sea Dragon Palace

Li Hui took out all the talismans he could use to increase his speed and rushed towards his destination as quickly as possible, praying that the Crystal Palace mentioned by Prime Minister Turtle wouldn’t encounter any changes.

In the Heavenly Realm, one’s life was as thin as paper; in a moment, one could lose their life.

Fortunately, he was now close to the destination, having reached the edge of a deep abyss in just three hours. Li Hui recited words towards the abyss and waited for half a stick of incense. Suddenly, a green light floated up from within the chasm.

"Great! Follow me," Li Hui exclaimed in overwhelming joy. After experiencing a series of setbacks recently, he was relieved that nothing went wrong at this crucial moment. He led everyone onto the green light, and they quickly vanished without a trace.

"Huh?" Shortly after their departure, three figures descended from the sky—Lu Jia San, Jiang Yi, and Ouyang Xiao Yi.

Jiang Yi held a black peony and smiled, "This is interesting. This kid dares to venture into the Heavenly Realm just to enter the East Sea Dragon Palace. Ah! The East Sea Dragon Palace is a sorrowful place; countless predecessors have perished inside. After two thousand years of unraveling its mysteries, they were just a step away from success, only to end up making wedding clothes for others! Let those Departed Immortals…"

"Less talk, this is his territory," Lu Jia San’s expression was as serious as water, his eyes glowing with red light as he fixed his gaze on the abyss for a long time.

"Why are you staring so long?" Jiang Yi asked impatiently.

"It seems we have to risk entering the East Sea Dragon Palace," Lu Jia San frowned and said. "This future cultivator, who has taken on the form of a Biyan, has stepped onto the Qian Er San waterway that no one has ever traversed before, just missing alignment with the Minghuang Palace."

"What? Such a thing exists?" Jiang Yi set the black peony aside and asked, "Should we call for people? If anything goes wrong, the three of us can’t handle that guy."

Ouyang Xiao Yi suddenly said, "In this situation, we need at least twenty people, but they can’t be of the Ding Tian level; they must be of the Jia and Yi levels. It would be best to awaken a few with earth-level skills."

Lu Jia San shook his head. "Twenty people are not enough. We need at least fifty, along with three earth-level experts to back us. I have a feeling this lower realm cultivator has touched upon unimaginable opportunities. Could it be that remnants from that era still exist? Otherwise, he wouldn’t have progressed so smoothly."

"All right, all right! I can’t wait to enter the Dragon Palace!" Jiang Yi exclaimed excitedly as he took a black peony petal and started chewing it.

Meanwhile, Li Hui was unaware of how complex the Crystal Palace had become. Leading his followers, he glided along the green light for the duration of a tea brewing, and they softly landed in a luxurious palace, albeit with some unusual circumstances.

This palace straddled the line between reality and illusion; at first glance, it seemed real, but after a few steps, Li Hui realized it barely qualified as ruins.

The area was spacious in all directions, but how was he to transition from the real to the ethereal? Li Hui thought to himself, "Prime Minister Turtle said he left behind shrimp soldiers and crab generals; nearly all of them aren’t real. Only one shrimp soldier is special—it’s the gateway to the Crystal Palace."

"Boom…" Countless images swarmed forth, and Tianyi shouted, "Ah! So many ancient water beings, but they don’t seem real."

Before she finished speaking, a crab general approached. When it attacked, it was merciless, forcing mid-stage Myriad Forms cultivators to retreat continuously. Their bodies seemed like bubbles, yet their strikes could convert illusion into reality.

Li Hui commanded, "Engage in all-out war; find a special shrimp soldier that differs from the others."

"Yes!" The Hongfa cultivators sprang into action, activating spirit treasures to eliminate shrimp soldiers and crab generals, yet these phantoms of water beings kept appearing endlessly.

This was when the advantage of having many people became apparent; none of the followers were incompetent. They quickly grasped the strengths and weaknesses of the shrimp soldiers and crab generals.

Shrimp soldiers were comparable to mid-stage Bosa, while crab generals were equivalent to mid-stage Myriad Forms; their weapons were inadequate compared to spirit treasures, and the same few attack patterns repeated even as they swarmed.

"Kill!"

The cultivators formed a circle, coordinating their attacks rapidly.

After half an hour of fighting, a cultivator suddenly called out, "My lord, I found a shrimp soldier over here. He doesn’t seem as rigid as the others; he can dodge attacks a step ahead, as if he possesses considerable intelligence."

Li Hui looked closely and joyfully said, "Yes, that’s him."

As if in response to his words, the flickering light of the demon talisman flew toward the shrimp soldier’s forehead. A multitude of talismans burst forth from the demon talisman, swirling like many water spirits, gradually bewilding the shrimp soldier’s gaze.

Li Hui approached, slapped the shrimp soldier on the shoulder, and exclaimed, "Shrimp Ball, are you not awake yet? Your great-great-grandfather was raised by me."

With just this one statement, the plump shrimp soldier trembled and regained clarity, quickly bowing and greeting, "Grandpa Turtle, you’re back."

"Ha ha, look closely! I’m not Prime Minister Turtle; he’s still in the lower realm. Hurry up and lead the way; I need to enter the palace to retrieve Li Gui."

"Ah! Surely it’s the immortal who saved Grandpa Turtle; otherwise, Grandpa Turtle would never have revealed the secret phrase." Shrimp Ball, with his plump red shrimp head, greeted with a comically exaggerated movement.

"Enough of this immortal talk. The other credentials are in the talismans on you; there’s no need to be so overly cautious about testing me."

"All the credentials match, but saying there’s no immortal present is incorrect; there’s currently an immortal residing in the Crystal Palace of the Minghuang Palace."

"What did you say?" Li Hui grabbed Shrimp Ball in shock, "Are you saying there’s an immortal in this Crystal Palace?"

"Lord, spare me! I… I didn’t say anything wrong! There really is an immortal present; the aura is too terrifying, and I dare not reveal a trace. However, over the years, I stealthily blended into the Minghuang Palace to gather intelligence. This immortal formerly belonged to the Third Prince of the West Sea Dragon Palace and practiced both Taoism and Buddhism. He also served as one of the Eight Celestial Dragons, but he is not the master of our East Sea Dragon Palace, so there are areas he cannot access."

"A Dark Immortal? There’s a Dark Immortal here?" Li Hui took a deep breath, thinking of how close he was to such an entity, his heart began to race, and he hastily instructed Shrimp Ball, "What are you waiting for? Quickly take me to the places this Third Prince cannot go. With my strength, fighting against a Dark Immortal would be like the old man consuming arsenic—it would be seeking death!"

"Yes, yes…” Shrimp Ball nodded eagerly, stepping forcefully onto the ground, and everyone suddenly felt lighter, their bodies suspended between reality and illusion, gliding along.

"Pfft!"

Once the group stood still, they found the surroundings filled with crystal clusters resembling a forest, corals like trees, and dazzling brilliance everywhere. The incessant glow surged, revealing mountains of rare treasures in heaps; above them, clouds gathered and colors blended with radiant hues—a scene of untold luxury and splendor.

Li Hui scanned the area and recognized it as merely the glimmers of past years; none of it was real treasure. The true vault was located elsewhere, organized from the ruins by Prime Minister Turtle.

Shrimp Ball said, "To gather treasures here is somewhat troublesome; we need to clear away more powerful water beast phantoms and be cautious of the immortal projections."

Ahead appeared an ancient grand door, and everyone stood before it, feeling minuscule. The door began to open slowly, while shadows flickered behind them.