Could it be someone at the Dao Realm!

The sea surface trembled incessantly, waves rolling endlessly. Though these were mere aftershocks, they were terrifying beyond measure. Those who had survived the Black Water King Serpent’s attack finally recovered their senses. They watched the massive, azure sword energy battling the Black Water King Serpent and were utterly shocked. This was nothing like a mere fight between a human and a monstrous beast.

It was a clash between the King of the Seas and a King of the Seas!

On either side, the Black Water King Serpent stretched dozens of zhang long.

And that great sword was just as long, dozens of zhang too.

“Water Sovereign Sword, First Form—Sword Like a Mountain!” Just as the Black Water King Serpent sought to regroup and fight to the death, that clear, melodious voice rang out once more. Countless seawater gathered, the sword energy condensing like mountains and peaks, then descended mightily upon the Black Water King Serpent—a colossal mountain made of seawater. The Black Water King Serpent had prepared countless defenses, but it never imagined that what struck was not mere sword energy, but an actual mountain. This colossal serpent was struck heavily by the gigantic sea-mountain, sinking downward with a resounding thump. Unbeknownst to it, the ground below had long since frozen into thick layers of ice. Bang! With a massive crash, the ice shattered into dust under the immense impact, while the Black Water King Serpent’s entire body was nearly crushed flat, like a biscuit, beneath the massive landmass.

The Black Water King Serpent finally knew fear. It was certain it could not defeat this terrifying opponent—therefore, it had to flee. It dashed rapidly toward the distance, intending to escape immediately.

“Water Sovereign Sword, Second Form—White Emperor Slash!” The immense, azure longsword reappeared. This sword forged of seawater struck directly at the fleeing Black Water King Serpent. How immense this blade was, how incredibly fast its speed—the Black Water King Serpent couldn't react at all before it was sliced cleanly in half by the giant azure longsword. Bang! The two massive sections of the serpent’s body plummeted toward the sea surface, but the water swiftly froze, catching the colossal remains.

The Black Water King Serpent, which had stirred up such a storm, was dead, and the sea gradually calmed.

The cultivators who remained alive stood suspended in the air on their swords, neither daring to approach nor daring to stray far.

They truly wished to see who it was that had accomplished such a terrifying feat, slaying the Black Water King Serpent outright. Then, a figure walked onto the ice covering the sea—a man in green robes wearing a conical hat. Eh, wasn't that Lu Bei? They naturally recognized him as Lu Bei, the one who had boarded the ship last, a person who claimed to hail from a minor immortal sect in the Jin Kingdom.

This person surely did not come from a minor sect in the Jin Kingdom; how could a minor sect possess such a powerful figure? However, judging by the cultivation method he used—the Water Sovereign Sword Dao! What kind of sword path was this? Perhaps he was from another nation. There were hundreds of nations across the continent, and other nations certainly possessed their own unique secret arts. Thus, the appearance of a completely unfamiliar cultivation method was not entirely abnormal. Because the Water Sovereign Sword Dao was unknown, no one recognized it.

Lu Yuan had used the Water Sovereign Sword Dao for so long, yet this was the first time he had ever spoken its name aloud. It was no wonder others couldn't identify it.

Lu Yuan let out a long breath. In truth, all of this traced back to when he suffered the Black Water King Serpent’s spiraling attack. Thrown an unknown distance by that spiraling black water column, he realized brute force wouldn't work against the serpent. Then, a thought struck him: this was the sea. If he were in the sea, what would happen if he employed the Water Sovereign Sword Dao?

As soon as he thought of it, he began to test.

The moment he initiated the Water Sovereign Sword Dao, he discovered that within this environment, various water-elemental energies incessantly poured into his sword intent, becoming his to command. This was far stronger than his usual attacks. Consequently, he chose this method of fighting, directly confronting the Black Water King Serpent. Very well, it was now concluded.

Lu Yuan approached the Black Water King Serpent. This creature was a trove of treasures; the most precious among them was undoubtedly the serpentine-shaped cockscomb. His Spirit Nurturing Sword flashed swiftly, severing the cockscomb and grasping it in his hand. The cockscomb wasn't large. At this size, increasing the chance of breaking through to the Dao Realm by ten percent would be easy. If the Black Water King Serpent could have grown much larger, and the cockscomb had grown significantly more, there might have been a thirty or even forty percent chance. But if the serpent had been even stronger, it could have instantly killed him, leaving him no chance to seize the cockscomb.

Now that he possessed the Dao Law Elixir and this serpentine cockscomb, his hopes of reaching the Dao Realm had increased considerably.

Right, he had forgotten one important matter.

Lu Yuan produced a memory stone and activated it using a unique technique from the Hua Shan Sect. Instantly, the memory stone extracted the entire essence, spirit, and soul of the Black Water King Serpent. These memory stones served a very great purpose. Simply put, the highest-tier cultivation methods in the Jin Kingdom all contained a stage called Dragon Transformation in their later stages.

For instance, the Last Sun Heart Method culminated in a Fire Dragon transformation, the Cloud Mist Scripture transformed into a Mist Dragon, and the Cloud Dragon Ten Changes resulted in a Cloud Dragon.

Once Dragon Transformation was achieved, one’s magical power could undergo incredible shifts, becoming immensely powerful.

Achieving Dragon Transformation was far from easy. Though Lu Yuan found the first nine changes of the Cloud Dragon Ten Changes extremely difficult—mastering only six so far—the tenth change, the Cloud Dragon Transformation, was actually harder than the previous nine. At this point, one needed to simulate a dragon. This Black Water King Serpent was in the process of transforming into a Flood Dragon (Jiao), which resembled a dragon. By using the memory stone to record the essence, spirit, and soul morphology of this serpent, he could mimic it for reference.

Next was the inner core. A king of sea beasts like this naturally possessed an inner core. Lu Yuan soon found one, about half the size of a fist, perfectly crystalline. Such inner cores were potent aids for increasing magical power, a treasure of considerable value.

The Black Water King Serpent’s blood also had many uses. It could be sold for money, but he decided to keep some. Lu Yuan waved his hand, producing a bottle-shaped spatial artifact, and began filling it with the serpent’s blood and tendons. These were half-Jiao tendons—highly versatile and could fetch a high price.

Other than that, there weren't many other significant items, but Lu Yuan still sliced off some meat. He had eaten all sorts of meat, and snake meat was no exception, but he had never tasted flesh from a Black Water King Serpent. Finally, it was resolved. Lu Yuan had defeated this serpent single-handedly and took all the spoils.

On the remainder of the journey, no more sea beasts approached. With the true overlord of the region, the Black Water King Serpent, defeated, the remaining beasts, despite their low intelligence, sensed that this group was exceptionally dangerous and dared not come near. Counting heads, only eleven remained; a full five had perished under the Black Water King Serpent’s assault.

Since the Light-Breaking Submersible Wheel had been sunk, everyone traveled by flying on their swords. Gradually, the Small Spirit Soul Mountain grew larger, and the light emanating from it became more blinding as they neared. It truly appeared to be a mountain teeming with spiritual treasures. At this point, everyone grew more cautious, fearing another powerful sea beast might emerge. But upon finally landing on the island, everything remained safe. It seemed the Black Water King Serpent had been the final obstacle. All eleven rushed onto the Small Spirit Soul Mountain. This small hill was covered on its exterior by a layer of Small Spirit Soul Stones, with Great Spirit Soul Stones mixed in, all emitting a terrifyingly dense radiance.

Finally, someone managed to clear an inner section, only to find that inside it was just ordinary rock, leading to some disappointment.

However, they weren't overly disappointed; the surface layer alone represented an astronomical quantity.

Represented by Yan Bei and Zhou Tanran, negotiations began with Lu Yuan regarding the division of the spoils from the Small Spirit Soul Mountain. On the journey here, Zhou Tanran, Yan Bei, and the others had contributed significantly, but in the crucial battle against the Black Water King Serpent, Lu Yuan had done far too much. Many of them had been saved by Lu Yuan from the serpent’s attack, and they felt a deep sense of gratitude.

After the final accounting, Lu Yuan took seventy-five percent, while Yan Bei, Zhou Tanran, and the other ten shared the remaining twenty-five percent.

Lu Yuan was satisfied with this result. After all, one shouldn't be too greedy; the others had contributed substantial effort. Taking seventy-five percent was enough. With this quantity of Spirit Soul Stones, reaching the tenth level of Longevity Realm should present no difficulty.

Yan Bei, Zhou Tanran, and the others were also relieved. While twenty-five percent was slightly less, most of them had been saved by Lu Yuan; they wouldn't have passed the Black Water King Serpent trial without him. Furthermore, they had witnessed Lu Yuan’s strength; killing them would have been effortless for him—in the vast, boundless sea, destroying bodies and erasing evidence was simple.

This negotiation resulted in mutual satisfaction.

Naturally, the division began immediately—which section belonged to whom. Those ten people, sharing twenty-five percent, each received a substantial amount. Every one of them felt the trip had been immensely worthwhile. Especially those at the seventh and eighth levels of Longevity Realm; with so many Spirit Soul Stones, advancing one level seemed guaranteed. As for Yan Bei and Zhou Tanran, while these stones might not grant them an immediate level-up, they would hasten their progress toward the Dao Realm.

As for Lu Yuan, taking seventy-five percent alone meant he had made an unparalleled profit.

He used his largest spatial artifact to contain them, employing the Collection Art with great difficulty just to store all the Spirit Soul Stones. He had never imagined that storing Spirit Soul Stones could exhaust him, but this was a sweet exhaustion, one he accepted willingly, even unto death.

This location was safe enough now. He could essentially focus on breaking through to the tenth level of Longevity Realm. Lu Yuan let out a long sigh and began meditating.