Aboard the Dharma Boat, a peculiar light rippled within Qu Qirong’s beautiful eyes. “How beautiful!”
Deng Tianyu also couldn’t help but sigh in admiration, “Indeed, it’s as beautiful as a poem or painting!”
Just this scene alone was enough to make the trip to West Rime Lake worthwhile, not to mention witnessing this Stone Gate that only appeared once in a hundred years.
Suddenly, Yingying the little fox tugged at Deng Tianyu’s clothes, pointing towards mid-air and letting out a call: “Squeak!”
She felt a familiar aura over there!
Deng Tianyu and Qu Qirong looked over. Within the numerous streaks of light, one intertwined strand of red and black was exceptionally dazzling.
That woven streak of red and black radiance was none other than the two he had released.
“Aunt Rong, that intertwined red and black light is from the two we set free,” said Deng Tianyu, observing the mid-air spectacle.
Qu Qirong asked with curiosity, “How can Tianyu recognize them?”
After all, there were countless thousands of spirit cods before them, in every color imaginable.
For her, finding those two again would be like searching for a needle in the ocean!
“It’s because a trace of my Spring Vitality Sword Intent still remains within their bodies.”
Deng Tianyu smiled slightly as he explained.
Earlier, when he released those two little fellows, they had been injured, so he had used his Spring Vitality Sword Intent to help heal them.
“So that’s how it is!” Qu Qirong smiled sweetly.
Watching the beautiful scene before her, feeling the warmth of her Tianyu’s fingertips, she had already decided that, upon returning, she would add this image to the Cloud Carved Stone Album.
At that moment, in mid-air, countless spirit cods were streaking towards the Stone Gate.
“Buzz… Buzz… Buzz!”
But in the next instant, the Spiritual Qi Tide, continuous like ocean waves, surged violently. Unending ripples of energy swept outward.
With every surge, numerous spirit cods were thrown back, tumbling down into the lake.
For the cultivators around West Rime Lake, such a pure Spiritual Qi Tide was a stroke of fortune.
But for these spirit cods, it was a trial, a barrier to overcome in their quest to become Spirit Cod Kings.
They didn’t know how many layers of spiritual energy barriers lay before them. They only knew to keep charging towards the Stone Gate without stopping.
Even if they exhausted their last shred of strength, their last wisp of spiritual energy, they had to leap from the water with all their might.
Because they knew that losing this chance meant waiting another hundred years.
Unlike other spirit beasts, their lifespans were exceedingly short. Without becoming a Spirit Cod King, they simply wouldn’t live to see the next opportunity.
Thus, almost every last spirit cod strained every fiber of their being, charging towards the Stone Gate, desperate to cross and transform into a Spirit Cod King.
“Buzz… Buzz… Buzz!”
Regrettably, the spiritual energy ripples surging from the Stone Gate were incessant. Breaking through one was met by a second strike; breaking the second, another followed immediately.
For a time, not a single spirit cod could cross this insurmountable chasm.
Watching this, Qu Qirong furrowed her elegant brows. Unable to help herself, she asked, “Tianyu, among so many spirit cods, how many do you think will actually cross the Stone Gate?”
“Perhaps fewer than the fingers on one hand,” Deng Tianyu replied softly, his gaze falling upon the five most dazzling streams of light.
Among those five most brilliant colors, two belonged to the red-black spirit cods he had released.
Just then, nearly a hundred figures, unable to suppress the greed in their hearts, suddenly bolted towards the location of the Stone Gate.
Their aim was perfectly clear: to seize the Stone Gate for themselves.
Such an ultimate treasure—if it were in their grasp, their future benefits would be immeasurable!
Deng Tianyu paid no heed to their actions. Instead, he looked up at the sky.
Where his gaze fell, the void twisted without warning. A figure stood suspended in the air.
It was a dignified man clad in an ornate City Lord’s robe.
Deng Tianyu and Qu Qirong’s expressions grew focused as they both recognized him.
The City Lord of West Rime City—Li Xun!
“Buzz!”
A sweeping wave of immense True Essence surged out, instantly enveloping the entirety of West Rime Lake.
In a flash, those nearly one hundred figures froze mid-motion, restrained in place by an overwhelmingly domineering force.
“Imperial Sovereign Realm… Li Xun?!”
The moment they realized their bodies were paralyzed, their faces paled drastically. Looking at that figure, their pupils abruptly constricted.
Immediately, they began using their emergency trump cards, attempting to break free from this power’s hold.
The highest cultivation among them was merely at the Third Heaven of the King-Sealing Realm. Faced with the Domain of an Imperial Sovereign Realm expert, resistance was futile.
Within an Imperial Sovereign’s Domain, the Domain’s master was a supreme sovereign.
And West Rime City’s City Lord, Li Xun, wasn’t just any Imperial Sovereign. He was a long-established veteran within the realm.
Li Xun’s icy gaze swept over these people. His voice was chillingly cold: “Those who covet this Stone Gate shall die!”
As his words fell, he fiercely clenched his outstretched hand!
“Boom… Boom…”
Muffled detonations reverberated. Blood splattered across the sky. The hundred-odd experts paid the price for their greed, dying beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Deng Tianyu and Qu Qirong exchanged a look, instantly understanding the intent behind this thunderous action.
The Stone Gate’s allure was too great, and the number of cultivators present was vast. Only absolute force, used decisively, could crush the burgeoning greed in the crowd’s hearts.
As for why Li Xun protected the Stone Gate, the answer was quite simple.
West Rime City fell under his jurisdiction. Whether it was the Stone Gate or the spirit cods, all belonged to the city, not any outside faction.
Allowing outsiders to snatch it would be akin to a slap in his face.
Moreover, these spirit cods possessed the ability to purify the world’s spiritual energy of impurities, enriching the ambient spiritual energy across all of West Rime City.
If one or two Spirit Cod Kings were to be born from these shoals, the effect would undoubtedly become even more pronounced.
For both public duty and personal pride, he would let no one lay a finger on anything within West Rime Lake.
“Heh heh, seems sometimes it pays not to be too greedy.”
“That was close. I felt tempted just now too. Lucky I didn’t act on it, or else I’d have passed on right there.”
Seeing Li Xun’s decisive attack, some cultivators couldn’t help but remark, their expressions full of schadenfreude.
Others, who had been about to step forward hoping for a share, silently retreated after witnessing the terror of an Imperial Sovereign expert.
An Imperial Sovereign expert was not someone they could afford to provoke.
Especially Li Xun, notorious for his overbearing nature!
“This Stone Gate belongs to West Rime Lake. It is the treasure of the Spirit Cod Clan within.”
“Should anyone still harbor greed and make a move to steal it, don’t blame This Seat for showing no mercy!”
Li Xun’s sharp, cold gaze swept over every person present, causing many cultivators with ill intentions to lower their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.
“City Lord Li is truly domineering, isn’t he?”
Suddenly, a sinister, hoarse voice of mockery echoed through the world.
Immediately after, a ghost-like figure in a black robe appeared, the terrifying pressure of an Imperial Sovereign crashing down instantly.
Many cultivators with slightly lower realms saw their faces drain of color while their bodies stiffened, unable to budge.
To Deng Tianyu, who had comprehended Sword Intent and cultivated the Yin-Yang Dao Art, the pressure of an Imperial Sovereign posed little threat.
However, it could affect Aunt Rong, so he condensed his Sword Intent and Yin-Yang Fish, forming a protective screen of light to shield her.
As for Yingying the little fox, she remained entirely unaffected. She merely blinked her black-button fox eyes, continuing to munch on snacks merrily.
As she indulged in her treats, she watched the scene of slaughter before her, perfectly fulfilling the role of an onlooker enjoying the spectacle.
