"Splash..."

In the exquisitely wrought stone halls, the sounds of clear, violent water echoed ceaselessly. At this moment, Qing You had emerged from human form, reverting to the true essence of the "Prison Fire Dark Spring." Thousands of tiny water jets continuously sprang from the surface, rising and falling like fountains, a truly magnificent spectacle.

Inside the "Prison Fire Dark Spring" was a sphere of water condensed from the "Grand Void Divine Water."

"Hiss!"

Opposite Qing You, Nie Kong sat cross-legged, occasionally flicking out a wisp of Chaotic Divine Power to bombard the "Grand Void Divine Water." Nearly every collision caused fine, azure wisps to vibrate out from the divine water, spreading like a spiderweb within the body of the "Prison Fire Dark Spring."

After touring Gui Xian's cavern, Nie Kong had nothing pressing to do and decided to use this spare time to help Qing You refine the "Grand Void Divine Water."

Having personally experienced the might of the "Grand Void Divine Water" just yesterday morning, Nie Kong understood its profound mystery. The "Prison Fire Dark Spring" had a predominantly hot nature, whereas the "Grand Void Divine Water" was inherently cold; the hot and cold, yin and yang, complemented each other perfectly.

Once Qing You absorbed the "Grand Void Divine Water," he might truly achieve a breakthrough to the Spirit God realm in one go.

With the aid of Nie Kong's Chaotic Divine Power, Qing You's speed in refining the divine water increased dramatically.

However, the "Grand Void Divine Water" was, after all, a treasure on the same level as the "Chaotic Sky Fire"; completely refining it would still require a considerable amount of time; it could not be achieved overnight.

"Senior, good news, excellent news!" Gui Xian suddenly rushed in, brimming with excitement.

"Is that word from the 'Abyssal Deep Sea'?"

Nie Kong's eyes lit up, and his figure flickered, instantly appearing before Gui Xian. Since achieving the Spirit God realm, Nie Kong's desire to return to the Heaven Spirit Continent had grown more urgent. Primarily, he was worried about Hua Mei and the little one gestating inside the Dragon Charm Immortal’s belly—that was his first child, and he always wished to witness its birth firsthand.

Yu Longyue was the key to Nie Kong's return to the Heaven Spirit Continent.

"It is."

Gui Xian nodded his small head repeatedly. "Senior, I just received the reply from the Grand Divine Officer stating that the Sea King has agreed to grant you an audience. He instructed me to take you to the 'Abyssal Deep Sea' immediately."

Agreed to grant an audience...

The wording sounded quite peculiar.

Nie Kong frowned slightly, but considering the situation of the Sea Clan, his mind quickly settled. The Divine Void Realm was a place where the strong reigned supreme, but among the Sea Clan, things were slightly different. The first Sea King was the "Sea Dragon Divine Venerable," one of the five Great Divine Venerables of the current "Grand Venerable Spirit Realm."

Successive Sea Kings were inherited from the descendants of the "Sea Dragon Divine Venerable." Therefore, the Sea King's cultivation might not necessarily be high; perhaps they had passed the first or second Spirit Tribulation, perhaps they were still only Ninth Rank experts, or possibly even possessing only Eighth Rank strength. Regardless, the Sea King's status within the Sea Clan was exceptionally revered.

Even Sea Clan Spirit Gods had to be exceedingly respectful when meeting the Sea King.

Nie Kong was currently impersonating a Sea Clan Spirit God, so Gui Xian's use of the term "audience" when relaying the Sea King's decree was understandable.

"Good. Brother Gui, let us depart at once."

"........."

The Abyssal Deep Sea, said to be the deepest region of the Immortal Zither Sea, had reached the very center of the landmass known as the Divine Void Realm—hence the name "Abyssal Deep."

Though deep underwater, the Abyssal Deep Sea was not perpetually dim.

In the broad and lengthy trench, the seawater was isolated by a layer of pale blue hemispherical shield. Inside, there were flowers, trees, streams, and lakes—everything imaginable. The ground was inlaid with countless massive, multicolored gemstones, reflecting the vast space in a breathtaking, dreamlike manner.

"Buzz!"

In a grand hall at the southern end of the trench, a fierce, resonant tremor suddenly erupted. The countless lines etched into the ground burst forth with brilliant, dazzling luminescence.

This was, in fact, a teleportation formation.

In the blink of an eye, three figures materialized simultaneously from thin air. They were Nie Kong, Tai Yan, and Gui Xian. As for Qing You and the little ones like the Gourd, Nie Kong had already stored them away.

"Brother Gui, is this the Abyssal Deep Sea?" Nie Kong asked with a smile, feeling quite amazed internally.

Compared to the illusion formation in his Spirit Residence Medicine Pagoda, this Sea Clan teleportation formation seemed utterly childish. According to Gui Xian's introduction, such a formation could transport over a hundred people at once. After the catastrophe ten thousand years ago, the Heaven Spirit Continent had to start anew, yet the Divine Void Realm continued to develop.

"Not yet," Gui Xian shook his head and chuckled. "This exterior is the 'Heavenly Dragon Trench,' the largest and longest trench in our Immortal Zither Sea. At the absolute center of this trench lies the 'Abyssal Deep Sea,' where the Sea King resides. We are still several hundred miles away. With our cultivation, we can reach it swiftly."

As they spoke, the three exited the hall.

Before their gaze stretched rolling hills and abundant vegetation—a sea of green. Faintly visible roads wound through the forests, and the luminous gemstones were scattered everywhere, intensely captivating.

The sky here manifested a pale blue hue, like a massive, flattened ellipsoid shield forcibly propping up this enormous space. Even straining his sight to the utmost, Nie Kong could not glimpse the sidewalls of this "Heavenly Dragon Trench," illustrating just how vast the trench was.

Guided by Gui Xian, Nie Kong and Tai Yan proceeded along the path as if strolling leisurely. With every step, they effortlessly covered hundreds of meters. After several miles, small clusters of houses began appearing by the roadside, and they occasionally spotted one or two figures of Sea Clan members on the road.

As Nie Kong and his companion advanced, the number of houses and pedestrians increased, and they frequently sensed the aura of Ninth Rank experts among them.

After about fifteen minutes, a colossal city appeared.

The buildings were dense, the streets formed a grid, and they were teeming with people coming and going. Save for the absence of city walls, the Sea Clan settlement was virtually indistinguishable from human cities.

The quantity of Ninth Rank experts integrated within this city was astonishingly high. Within Nie Kong's visible range, there were at least a dozen. If all the Ninth Rank experts in the entire city were tallied, the number might reach several hundreds.

Sensing Nie Kong's surprise, Gui Xian smiled. "Senior, the 'Heavenly Dragon Trench' is exceptionally suitable for the cultivation of our Sea Clan experts. At least seventy percent of the Ninth Rank Illusion Masters in the entire Immortal Zither Sea are gathered here. So, while the numbers look large, there is still a considerable gap when compared to the total human population of the Divine Void Realm."

"No wonder," Nie Kong chuckled, suddenly pointing forward with his right hand. "Brother Gui, is that perhaps the 'Abyssal Deep Sea'?" The direction he pointed toward was the center of the city, where there seemed to be a circular, sunken valley.

From afar, a conical mass of azure energy radiated from the concave valley, soaring straight into the high sky, faintly connecting with the dome-like shield atop the trench. What struck Nie Kong most profoundly was the terrifying intensity of that energy—even Spirit Gods like Marquis Wu or Zhuang Yu could never destroy it.

"That is the spot. Senior, let us proceed."