While moving underwater, the thirteen innate experts from Qinghu Island encountered two demonic beasts. One fled quickly, while the other, a fish-like demonic beast attempting a sneak attack, was personally slain by Gu Yong. Teng Qingshan did not know the name of this beast... but it seemed its strength was not overwhelming.
“There is quite a difference between demonic beasts,” Teng Qingshan mused inwardly.
Like the un-transformed Red Scale Beast, the Black Iron Centipede, or the ordinary Iron Arm Monkey, whose strength was comparable to experts on the Earth Ranking, perhaps even slightly stronger.
But the transformed Red Scale Beast, the towering Iron Arm Monkey, and that fish-like demonic beast should be comparable to the ‘Innately Void Core, Innately Solid Core’ levels.
As for the Iron Arm Monkey King and the Iron Wire Saber Snake, they were comparable to human experts at the Innately Golden Core level.
As for the Purple Light Flood Dragon, it was stronger than the Innately Golden Core. Perhaps only the top figures on the Heaven Ranking could contend with the Purple Light Flood Dragon.
...
Some beasts are naturally stronger in physical constitution than humans. In the same environment of dense heaven and earth spiritual energy, just as experts can arise among humans, so too can they among beasts—demonic beasts! When these demonic beasts gain intelligence, they can reach incredible realms. Of course—
There is still a difference between demonic beasts and humans. Humans have peerless existences like Yu the Great, the Qinling Heavenly Emperor, the Shakya Ancestor, and the Sword Poet Li Taibai. While there are terrifying powerhouses among the demonic beasts, they are still slightly inferior to Yu the Great and the others.
“Island Master, what is that ahead!”
After advancing underwater for over half an hour, the thirteen innate experts of Qinghu Island suddenly spotted the structure of a building underwater! Because it was pitch black, they could only rely on the halo of their innate True Essence to see. Even with their halos overlapping, the thirteen experts of Qinghu Island could only see about ten zhang ahead.
Within ten zhang.
A structure about two zhang high but of unknown length appeared in their view. The surface of this structure was entirely covered in mud and aquatic weeds.
“Let me see.” Zhao Danchen moved forward and flicked his hand.
Instantly, a fan-like sweep of golden innate True Essence shot out, striking the surface of the structure, and then exploding fiercely!
“Rumble~~~” A deep sound echoed continuously.
The mud on the surface of this underwater structure was violently shaken and thrown off by the explosive force of the innate True Essence, instantly clouding the surrounding waters. But within this murky water, the thirteen innate experts of Qinghu Island approached the surface of the structure and looked closely—
“What material is this? Greenish-blue walls?”
The thirteen innate experts of Qinghu Island were stunned speechless.
“Truly incredible! Under the immense pressure at the bottom of this lake, after who knows how many years. These walls show not a single scratch.”
“Island Master, look, these walls seem to be a single piece! Not built from individual blocks.”
“How is that possible!”
“The wall we can see is nearly ten zhang wide. Yet the entire wall is one piece! Greenish-blue walls? Not stone, not steel... what on earth is this?”
“This, this must be Yu the Great’s palace, it must be!”
Just a single wall stunned the thirteen innate experts; in the entire Nine Provinces, they had never seen such a material.
“Quick, let’s search for the palace gate.” The thirteen innate experts immediately moved along the wall. After they left, Teng Qingshan also arrived beside the wall.
“Yu the Great’s palace?” Teng Qingshan carefully examined the wall and even touched it—smooth and cold.
“It feels as smooth as ‘tiles’ from my previous life. The strangest thing is… the entire surface is seamless. Not a single crack.” Teng Qingshan’s gaze swept over the top of the underwater palace, “And Zhao Danchen’s innate True Essence didn’t even leave a small pit on the ceiling.”
Teng Qingshan found it unbelievable.
“Master once said that the demonic monk Xiang Fanchen was unrivaled under heaven. But compared to Yu the Great and the others, there is still a gap! Yu the Great and them could unify the world single-handedly.” Teng Qingshan remembered clearly, “Unifying the world by one person’s strength… what kind of methods did Yu the Great and they possess to create such an incredible palace!”
“If this palace is indeed Yu the Great’s palace, it is too terrifying!”
Yu the Great was a figure from several thousand years ago.
That meant…
This palace had existed at the bottom of the water for thousands of years, and its walls showed no damage. Even in his previous life’s modern society, such a thing would be impossible!
“This palace could never have been built just by relying on manpower,” Teng Qingshan was quite certain. “Could it be… that Yu the Great built it alone?” He truly did not understand the methods of the ancient ‘Yu the Great’; however, destroying a massive mountain with five axe swings was indeed the work of a divine being.
At this moment, the thirteen from Qinghu Island had already walked seventy zhang away.
Teng Qingshan immediately followed.
...
Moving around the palace, as time passed, the thirteen innate experts of Qinghu Island were also astonished to discover how vast this underwater palace was!
“The palace gate!”
“Island Master, the palace gate is ahead!”
The experts of Qinghu Island grew somewhat excited. Teng Qingshan watched the palace gate from afar. The people of Qinghu Island needed to get close to see it clearly, but Teng Qingshan could see it perfectly clearly even from several dozen zhang away… The palace gate was thirty zhang wide, and in front of the gate stood a tall, square object resembling a stele.
“Hmm…” Zhao Danchen arrived before this ‘stele’ and wiped his right hand across it.
Buzz—The mud scattered entirely.
The stele, made of the greenish-blue material, was revealed, bearing four large characters—‘Heavenly Flood Palace’!
“Heavenly Flood Palace?” Gu Yong, who had also approached, looked confusedly at the four characters.
“Island Master,” Zhao Danchen smiled, “Yu the Great and the others reached the Supreme Realm, breaking through the Void and achieving self-perfection. This Heavenly Flood Palace must have been created by Yu the Great! Apart from the four supreme figures in history, no one could borrow the power of heaven and earth to create such a palace. Even Yu the Great… probably poured great effort into creating it.”
Teng Qingshan listened closely from a distance.
“Supreme Realm? Breaking the Void? Self-perfection?” Teng Qingshan harbored doubts.
The Void Realm was currently the highest level in the Nine Provinces.
Of course, without the four supreme figures like Yu the Great and the Qinling Heavenly Emperor, the Void Realm would be the peak.
“Alas, I cannot even reach the Void Realm, let alone the supreme level of Yu the Great and them,” Gu Yong sighed wistfully. “Slicing down a mountain thousands of zhang high with five axe swings. Stopping a surging river hundreds of zhang wide with a single palm strike! Armies numbering in the thousands were child’s play before them! To unify the world meant they could unify the world… absolute invincibility.”
Zhao Danchen also lamented, “The ‘Void’ in the Void Realm refers to the void of space, and also the void of nothingness. The body is perfectly rounded, the spirit enters the void… Inside the body is a rounded whole, a vacuum, infinitely perfect. And the infinite world outside is also a void, boundless… When life is perfected, the void is broken, reaching the Supreme Realm.”
“It’s easy to talk about it. But achieving it is too difficult,” Gu Yong shook his head and sighed.
“We can’t even touch the edge of the Void Realm, let alone the level of Yu the Great and them,” Zhao Danchen also lamented; that realm was truly too distant.
...
Teng Qingshan firmly remembered these few sentences.
“Let’s go in.”
Gu Yong and the other thirteen immediately moved toward the palace gate.
“Buzz~~~” The moment the thirteen approached the palace gate, the entire gate suddenly emitted golden light.
“Stop,” Gu Yong shouted sternly. The thirteen stood outside the palace gate, not daring to enter.
“Roar~~” A deep roar echoed from within Yu the Great’s palace, a sound that shook the very soul upon entering the ears. Hearing this roar, the thirteen innate experts of Qinghu Island all retreated several zhang, clustering together and staring at the gate of the Heavenly Flood Palace.
A golden tortoise, about three zhang long, appeared at the gate.
“Golden Dragon Turtle?” Several among the thirteen experts of Qinghu Island could not help but cry out.
“Dragon Turtle? Golden Dragon Turtle?” Teng Qingshan also stared wide-eyed at the tortoise, which was only three zhang long. According to the records:
Dragon Turtle: The demonic beast with the strongest defense known; immensely powerful! Mature Dragon Turtles are usually green and often tens of zhang long, resembling a small mountain; an expert at the Innately Golden Core level could barely fight one. But once a green Dragon Turtle transforms into a Golden Dragon Turtle! Its body shrinks drastically, becoming a three or four zhang long golden tortoise… If encountered, there is only one word—flee!
“Golden Dragon Turtle?” Teng Qingshan was secretly delighted. “Hmph, these bastards from Qinghu Island, do they think Yu the Great’s palace is so easy to enter? This Golden Dragon Turtle is likely comparable to a human Void Realm expert!”
...
The Island Master of Qinghu Island, ‘Gu Yong,’ stepped forward, bowed slightly, and said, “Senior Dragon Turtle, we have obtained Yu the Great’s treasure map and have come to claim the treasure under the mandate of Yu the Great’s will. We request Senior Dragon Turtle to allow us entry.” As he spoke, he took out the black iron treasure map from his embrace and pointed towards the palace.
Demonic beasts possess extremely high intelligence; this one must have existed for countless years to transform into a Golden Dragon Turtle.
It was likely that this Dragon Turtle existed when Yu the Great was alive.
Therefore, forcing entry was impossible; they could only try persuasion. Perhaps the Golden Dragon Turtle would truly grant passage.
The Golden Dragon Turtle, however, let out a low growl and suddenly opened its mouth—
“Boom!”
A powerful stream of air erupted from its mouth, instantly shooting three visible clusters of air like lightning toward the thirteen experts of Qinghu Island. It must be known that this Golden Dragon Turtle possessed infinite strength and unparalleled defense, relying primarily on its physical body. An ordinary human exhaling could stir paper. But the breath expelled by this Golden Dragon Turtle could shatter giant rocks.
Of course, expelling these air clusters was clearly only a warning!
The Golden Dragon Turtle was too lazy to fight.
“Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!”
Water surged as the three air clusters flew toward them.
“Dodge,” Gu Yong shouted, but the air clusters were too fast. Two innate experts failed to evade in time.
“Thump!” “Thump!”
Both men used sabers to block the air clusters. They were thrown in two different directions. Among them, Elder Lian, dressed in grey robes, was thrown toward Teng Qingshan’s direction.
“Boom!” The grey-robed Elder Lian was blasted back a full fifty zhang.
“This Golden Dragon Turtle can injure me just by exhaling?” Elder Lian found it incredible; after all, he was also an expert at the Innately Solid Core level. Suddenly, Elder Lian felt the water flow behind him surge violently, and his heart trembled. He tried to dodge while turning his head.
Splat!
An afterimage pierced directly into his skull!
“Ah!” A piercing shriek rang out.
Before Elder Lian died, all he saw were a pair of fierce eyes filled with murderous intent.
Teng Qingshan withdrew his hand from Elder Lian’s body.
“The first one, Innately Solid Core!”
Teng Qingshan immediately retreated quietly. In absolute darkness, without using innate True Essence, Teng Qingshan was completely undetectable—the most terrifying assassin!
...
Hearing the piercing scream, Gu Yong and the others were greatly alarmed.
“We should retreat first,” Gu Yong shouted sternly; they dared not confront the Golden Dragon Turtle head-on.
The Golden Dragon Turtle’s pair of green eyes swept over the group and then tilted its head back, letting out a high-pitched roar.
“Roar~~~” The roar spread outwards.
Instantly—
“Roar!” “Roar!” “Roar!”...
Only successive roars echoed from within Yu the Great’s palace, responding to the Golden Dragon Turtle’s call. Hearing these roars, the faces of Gu Yong and the other twelve innate experts changed drastically.
“Heavens, how is this Yu the Great’s palace… this is a lair of demonic beasts!” the purple-robed woman’s eyes widened.