Chapter 55 Boji, why are you kissing me?!
With a soft "pop," her soft lips touched the cool turtle shell.
"Little pervert, what do you want to do?" Zhong Jiuli held Jiaojiao in her hand, a mischievous smile in her eyes.
"Why are you kissing him, you little brat?!" Jiao Jiao yelled at the top of her lungs.
Bai was speechless. He grabbed Jiao Jiao, who was kicking wildly, and shoved her into his arms. "Jiao Jiao, you go in first. Don't peek."
Jiaojiao obediently crawled into her clothes, covered her eyes with her little paws, and said loudly, "Jiaojiao didn't see anything. She didn't see Yezai being a hooligan, nor did she see Yezai rushing into Sister Zhong's arms."
"Jiaojiao, shut your mouth." Bai said through gritted teeth, enunciating each word clearly.
At this moment, Bai felt nothing but deep regret.
She shouldn't have brought this guy to Dongzhou; he's always either undermining her or ruining her plans.
Zhong Jiuli watched the man and the tortoise sparring with amusement, then reached out and brushed her hand across Bai Ye's eyes. Where her fingertips touched, the brilliance in his eyes, dyed a brilliant gold by the true fire of the sun, gradually faded, returning to the pitch-black of inky jade.
“They’re so conspicuous on the seabed, like two little lanterns.” Zhong Jiuli’s voice carried a hint of amusement. The golden fire that had been swirling in her eyes had long since disappeared, leaving only endless tenderness.
Bai lowered his head and responded sullenly, "Yeah."
"Are you shy?" Zhong Jiuli asked gently.
"No." Bai shook her head, feeling somewhat annoyed that she had given her first kiss to Jiao Jiao. How could she not be annoyed?
Zhong Jiuli saw right through her thoughts and reached out to rub Bai Ye's neck to coax her, "Be good, we should go find Liu Xianyue and the others."
Bai Ye couldn't care less about her frustration now. She took out a communication jade talisman and said, "Then I'll contact her and ask where she is."
"I already contacted them when you climbed the tree. There are restrictions here, so the communication jade talisman cannot be used."
Zhong Jiuli discovered that Bai Ye's cultivation level was not suppressed. It seemed that this place only suppressed the cultivation levels of high-level cultivators.
Bai also put away the communication jade talisman, his playful expression vanished, and he analyzed seriously: "I have already observed from the top of the tree."
She pointed east, "There's a dragon palace in that abyss, dense coral forests to the west, and dragon bones ahead. We haven't seen anyone in this area we're in."
"There might be someone on the dragon bone, but Jiaojiao wants to go to the Dragon Palace. Why don't we go and look for her there?"
“Then let’s go to the Dragon Palace.” Zhong Jiuli made the decision decisively.
Hand in hand, the two headed towards the Dragon Palace located in the abyss. This underwater world was incredibly vast, and even with the help of the water-repelling pearl, which allowed them to travel at a speed far exceeding that of ordinary people, it still took them quite some time to reach the abyss.
As you get closer, the entire Dragon Palace gradually becomes clear, with many figures the size of ants moving among the palace complex.
“I knew you would come here,” Liu Xianyue’s voice came from the side.
Bai steadied himself, looked around, and saw her emerge from behind a dragon blood coral that was tens of feet tall.
Liu Xianyue walked across the water, her skirt unfurling like flower petals. The flowing water shimmered with a hazy glow, and the fiery red floral decoration between her brows appeared even more vibrant in the water.
"Sister Liu~" Jiao Jiao also peeked out from Bai Ye's arms to greet her.
"Oh, our little darling is so good!" Liu Xianyue smiled and patted Jiaojiao's little head.
"Liu Erhong, I'm so glad you're alright." Bai Ye greeted her happily. "Where are A-Lian and the others? Are they with you?"
Liu Xianyue gestured towards the direction where the dragon blood coral was, "Those little girls are working hard to dig for spiritual herbs."
Bai looked over and saw the group of people whose figures were hidden by the seaweed. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief, as long as the three of them were alright.
Although she said that her safety couldn't be guaranteed once they were inside, she must have hoped they would return alive since she had brought them here.
"Why are you all here?" Bai asked curiously, as this place was not close to where they had landed.
Liu Xianyue brushed her long hair, which was ruffled by the water, and laughed, "We landed right here. As for you, we've been looking for you for a long time but haven't been able to find you. We can only wait here at the entrance."
As she spoke, she turned to Zhong Jiuli, "Your complexion is much better than before, so your injury... has it healed?"
Zhong Jiuli nodded slightly, a faint smile in her eyes, "Yes, Da Bai picked a hibiscus fruit and felt much better after taking it."
Her previous injuries had not fully healed, and Bai could not tell. However, someone with a similar cultivation level would be able to sense that her aura was weaker than when she was at her peak.
Now, it's finally all healed.
Bai Ye's eyes widened suddenly upon hearing this. "Has your injury from before still not healed?"
Zhong Jiuli chuckled and pinched her cheek gently. "Worried about your sister? Even if I'm injured, I can still make sure you're safe and sound."
"Hey, that's not it. If you had told me earlier that your injury hadn't healed, I definitely would have found you the best and best elixirs." After saying that, Bai Ye started rummaging through his storage ring.
Zhong Jiuli quickly pressed down on her fidgeting hands, "It's alright, didn't you hear Liu Erhong say? It's already alright."
A-Lian returned carrying a dragon's beard grass. Upon seeing Bai Ye, she excitedly exclaimed, "Big Bai, you're here just in time! Help me pack my things up!"
"And ours too." The Chu sisters also swam back, carrying large handfuls of spiritual herbs.
Bai helped the three of them pack the medicinal herbs and teased, "Why are you three only picking up low-grade medicinal herbs? Have you ever been to the Dragon Palace?"
"We haven't had a chance yet. This place is full of precious medicinal herbs; we can't possibly pick them all." Ah Lian sounded rather greedy.
The Chu sisters nodded in agreement, wishing their storage bags were smaller. These two sisters, from impoverished backgrounds, were like little mice that had fallen into a rice jar when faced with these underwater medicinal herbs; they couldn't bear to give up a single one.
"Let's go, let's head towards the Dragon Palace, there must be even better treasures there." Bai waved his hand, and the halo of the Water-Repelling Pearl enveloped everyone as they headed towards the Dragon Palace.
Bai Ye looked at A-Lian, whose arms were also bulging with herbs, and asked with a smile, "Comrade A-Lian, didn't you come to see the island lord? How come you're so engrossed in gathering herbs?"
"Oh right." A-Lian covered her face, feeling rather embarrassed. It was all because there were so many medicinal herbs in the sea that she had almost forgotten why she came here.
As they spoke, the group entered the Dragon Palace without incident. Passing through the palace gates felt like passing through an invisible barrier; the ever-present seawater vanished instantly.
Bai also put away the water-repelling pearl. The dense water spiritual energy almost overwhelmed them, and the concentration of spiritual energy here reached an astonishing level.
It's obvious that this place must also have a spirit-gathering formation engraved on it.
"Wow, this Dragon Palace is actually made entirely of sea crystals!" Ah Lian exclaimed in surprise.
Bai looked around. The entire Dragon Palace resembled a giant crystal palace, with every inch of its walls and pillars carved from translucent sea crystals. The pale blue crystals shimmered dreamlike under the light.
Enormous moonshells, each the size of a millstone, are embedded in the dome, radiating a soft white glow. The light falls on the sea crystal walls, like a sky full of stars fallen into the depths of the ocean.
"So beautiful, you can't tell how beautiful it is from the outside at all," Bai murmured softly.
Jiaojiao poked her little head out from her arms and pointed deep into the Dragon Palace, saying, "Yezai, let's go in. There's a really nice smell inside."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked towards the depths of the palace.
"Let's go!" Bai grabbed Zhong Jiuli's wrist and rushed inside first. The Chu sisters and A-Lian and the others followed closely behind.
After passing through several palaces, the ground was littered with the corpses of cultivators lying haphazardly, and the air was thick with the stench of blood, indicating an extremely fierce battle.
The sounds of fighting ahead grew even more intense, and the screams of cultivators could be heard from time to time.
The group quickened their pace in unison, and after passing through another palace gate, an extremely large crystal lotus platform appeared before them.
The Red Serpent Immortal and the cultivators of Lianyun Water Village were all in a bloodthirsty frenzy. The lotus platform was covered in bloodstains, and strands of blood spread and seeped along the crystal-clear patterns, giving this lotus platform, which should have been incomparably sacred, an eerie feeling.
At the very center of the lotus platform stood a large bronze cauldron. Nine lifelike dragons were carved on the cauldron, each dragon extremely expressive, with gemstones inlaid in their eyes gleaming red.
At this moment, the lid of the cauldron opened wide, and a golden dragon pearl the size of a fist floated on it, radiating an astonishing pressure.
"It's Dragon Ball!" Jiao Jiao peeked out from Bai Ye's clothes, drooling as she muttered softly.
Bai quickly pressed her back down, saying, "Don't stick your head out, it's too dangerous here."
Just as she lowered her head, a whooshing sound rang out.
A hidden weapon, glowing with a ghostly blue light, hurtled towards Bai Ye at the forefront. A group of cultivators who had just rushed into the hall launched their attack the moment they saw the group.
"Watch out." Just as Zhong Jiuli raised her hand, Bai Ye's heavy sword was already drawn. With a "clang," the hidden weapon struck the blade heavily, sparks flying everywhere.
The moment the hidden weapon hit the ground, it corroded a deep, charred pit into the hard sea crystal ground, making it extremely poisonous.
"Tsk! They're cultivating immortality and still using poison! Villains always have so many tricks up their sleeves." Bai muttered to herself. Well, she thought using poison was acceptable, since this poison was indeed potent.
When I fought the leader of the White Sand Gang before, his full-force attack only left a slight scratch on the sea crystal, but this poison can easily corrode the sea crystal.
These chaotic thoughts flashed through his mind quickly, and Bai Ye's figure had already plunged into the crowd.
With each swing of the heavy sword, a cultivator perished beneath its blade.
Limbs and severed bodies flew everywhere in the arena. This brutal fighting style terrified the attackers, who turned their attention to the others.
However, they soon regretted their decision.
With a wave of her hand, Liu Xianyue caused a red lotus to bloom, and karmic fire swept across the area. Dozens of cultivators didn't even have time to scream before they were reduced to ashes.
Bai flicked the blood off his sword, looked at the battlefield that had been cleared in an instant, and couldn't help but chuckle, "These people really know how to pick their opponents. Do they think my sister Liu is easy to bully?"
Liu Xianyue rolled her eyes in annoyance upon hearing this, "Stop talking nonsense and go grab the Dragon Ball."
Bai grinned and reached out to pull up the dazed Zhong Jiuli. "Sister Liu, you stay down here and protect the three of them. Zhong Daya and I will be right back."
Before she finished speaking, she had already rushed towards the lotus platform like an arrow released from a bow.
"Wait!" Zhong Jiuli called out to stop her, but the impatient little tiger had already pulled her onto the lotus platform.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Bai Ye stopped and turned to look at Zhong Jiuli.
“This lotus platform is a bit strange. Look at the state of those people; something seems off,” Zhong Jiuli said in a low voice.
The two were standing at the edge of the lotus platform, and no cultivators had noticed their arrival yet.
Bai also looked at the fighting crowd in the center of the lotus platform. The cultivators' eyes were bloodshot, and they looked like madmen. They had lost all order in their fighting and were only fighting on instinct.
Even some of the old men we had seen before were lying on the ground, lifeless, their fate unknown.
Only one person was exceptionally brave. The Crimson Serpent True Man's blood-red robes became even more vivid, and he had transformed into a blood demon. With each swing of his hands, which were entirely composed of blood, the blood of cultivators burst forth from their bodies, turning into blood arrows that pierced into his body.
As he continued to devour, his aura rose steadily, breaking through the Nascent Soul realm and reaching the terrifying Divine Transformation stage.
"Why does it feel like he's possessed by a demon?" Bai muttered to himself.
Zhong Jiuli's gaze fell on the golden dragon pearl, and she keenly noticed that the blood splattered on the lotus platform was silently flowing into the reddened pupils of the nine dragon-shaped reliefs.
The more blood that falls on the field, the brighter the red light of the longan becomes.
"This is... a blood sacrifice rebirth?" Zhong Jiuli's voice was somewhat hesitant.
"Rebirth?" Upon hearing this, Bai Ye's mind immediately went blank. "You mean that the giant dragon outside, which is just a skeleton, wants to come back to life?"
She scratched her head, looking at the cultivators in the arena, "Are these ugly and deformed people even good enough to fill a tooth gap?"
Zhong Jiuli glanced at the cultivators lying on the ground and said, "I'm afraid that the Hidden Dragon Abyss has already devoured countless cultivators, and these are just the last batch of sacrifices."
"This matter is of utmost importance, and we must stop it. Whoever can use such a vicious technique is no benevolent person. If it succeeds, the entire Kyushu Continent may face a catastrophe." As she spoke, she suddenly grabbed Bai Ye's wrist and threw her downwards.
"Zhong Daya, are you trying to leave me alone again?" Bai was also thrown backward, and before she could regain her balance, she crashed heavily into an invisible barrier.
By the time she landed, the man had already plunged into the frenzied crowd.
Below the lotus platform, Liu Xianyue sensed something was wrong and was about to rush up to help. Bai hurriedly shouted, "Don't come up! This place is for entering, not exiting. Liu Erhong, watch over them. I'm going to help Zhong Daya."
After she finished speaking, she drew her sword and charged toward the center of the lotus platform.
The Crimson Serpent Master in the center of the crowd seemed to still retain his senses. When he saw Bai Ye's figure, he grinned and pounced on her, saying, "Good, you little bastard, I'll kill you."
Before he finished speaking, his body instantly transformed into a monstrous wave of blood that swept over the area. Countless ferocious, roaring faces emerged from the viscous blood, and a stench assaulted the senses.
Zhong Jiuli, who was fighting in the crowd, noticed this scene. She raised her hand and tapped in the air. Points of silver light intertwined in the air to form a silver chain, forcibly imprisoning Chi Lian Zhenren in place.
"Big White".
"Break!" Bai Ye shouted, raising his sword and sending a hundred-foot-long sword light soaring into the sky, tearing the solidified blood waves in mid-air to shreds.
Blood rained down from the sky, instantly intensifying the stench of blood on the lotus platform.
"Hahaha...you can't kill me!" A chilling laugh came from all directions, and the splattered blood droplets began to writhe and merge wildly, converging towards the center.
"If I can't kill you with one sword, I'll cut you a hundred times, a thousand times!" A fierce glint flashed in Bai Ye's eyes, and a dark lightning bolt flashed across the heavy sword in his hand. Wherever the sword passed, thunder rumbled in the air.
With a "crackling" sound, the body of the Crimson Serpent Immortal exploded into pieces once again.
"It's useless, it's useless, you little bastard, you can't hurt me at all." The voice of the Crimson Serpent Master became more and more ferocious, as if thousands of dead souls were roaring at the same time.
Bai looked around, but Old Deng's voice came from all directions, making it difficult for her to find her target.
"You little bastard, you can't even find my true form, yet you dare to try and hurt me."
The next instant, streaks of blood-red arrows pierced the air, aiming straight for Bai Ye's vital points.
Zhong Jiuli caught a glimpse of this scene out of the corner of her eye, and a silver light shot out from her fingertip. The light formed a dazzling star map in the air, which happened to block Bai Ye's way.
The moment the blood arrow struck the star map, it produced a crisp sound like metal clashing, and the shattered blood arrow turned back into blood droplets and fell back to the ground.
Just as Zhong Jiuli was helping Bai Ye, the pool of blood beneath her feet churned violently, and a blood python as thick as a water bucket suddenly raised its head and sprang up. The python's head bore the ferocious face of the Crimson Serpent Immortal, and it was about to bite Zhong Jiuli's leg.
"Zhong Daya!" Bai shouted angrily, and the heavy sword flew out of his hand, its dark blade wreathed in dazzling golden flames.
Just as the Crimson Serpent Master opened his massive maw, his head was pierced by this sword, and the entire blood python exploded into a cloud of blood mist.
Bai Ye leaped to Zhong Jiuli's side, grabbed her arm, and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
Zhong Jiuli's gaze fell on Bai Ye's reddened eyes. "Your eyes... no, we've also been affected by this lotus platform."
Bai then realized that an uncontrollable killing intent was surging in her heart. For a moment, she even forgot why she came here and only wanted to kill everyone on the lotus platform.
She shook her head, trying to shake the strange murderous intent from her mind. The next moment, a golden flame ignited in her eyes, burning away the violent killing intent.
They both saw the golden flame in each other's eyes and knew that the hibiscus fruit must have been working.
"That was close!" Bai patted his chest. If they hadn't eaten the Fusang fruit, they probably would have really fallen into a frenzy of killing.
This is an endless cycle of slaughter, with the Dragon Ball as bait and the cultivators on the lotus platform as sacrifices.
"It must be destroyed." Zhong Jiuli looked at the dragon ball that had begun to emit an eerie red light. "I'll hold these people off. You go and destroy it. Can you do that?"
Bai grinned and summoned back Dahei with his fingers spread wide. "Don't worry, I've got it covered!"
She radiated a dazzling golden light, stomped her feet on the ground, causing the crystal lotus platform to make a soft "crack" sound, and transformed into a golden meteor, shooting towards the large cauldron in the center.
"You little bastard, you little bastard, you little bastard." The voice of the Crimson Serpent Master came from all directions, and countless blood arrows came flying through the air, each one precisely blocking Bai Ye's dodge route.
Bai Ye watched as the blood arrows shot towards him, but he neither dodged nor avoided them, and went straight for the cauldron.
Since Zhong Jiuli said she would stop those people, Bai Ye would unconditionally believe her.
Just as the blood arrow was about to hit Bai Ye, a shower of silver light fell like the first snowflakes. The tiny specks of light fell with an extremely gentle touch, yet with an extremely domineering force, freezing the entire space in place.
Whether it was the blood arrows controlled by True Immortal Chi Lian or the spiritual light emanating from the hands of those mad cultivators, at this moment, everyone was frozen into a sculpture.
Bai Ye turned to look at Zhong Jiuli, a smile playing on her lips. She raised her hand and gave a thumbs-up, mouthing, "Zhong Daya, well done."
Zhong Jiuli's eyes flickered slightly, a smile flashing across her face. She pursed her lips and responded silently, "No fooling around, concentrate."
Bai blinked, then turned his head and the smile on his face vanished completely as he quickly approached the cauldron.
However, when she was still a hundred feet away from the cauldron, a terrifying pressure forced her to stop.
The oppressive force was tangible, like an ancient divine mountain pressing down on her. The golden flames flowing around her were forcibly forced back into her body, and fine beads of blood appeared on her exposed skin.
My legs trembled involuntarily; it felt no different from swimming upstream in a tsunami.
Worse still, the blood droplets that appeared on her body were drawn towards the dragon pearl above the cauldron.
"Is my blood so delicious? I'll eat you up in a minute." Bai gritted his teeth and approached the cauldron step by step.
As the distance closed, Bai began spitting out blood beads from her mouth and nose. It was unclear whether her blood was particularly nourishing, but after the dragon ball absorbed her blood beads, its light became even more intense.
Before she could even get close to the cauldron, the entire crystal lotus platform began to tremble violently. The blood threads that had seeped into the lotus platform began to writhe like living things, converging towards the central cauldron like a tide.
The Crimson Serpent Immortal let out a shrill scream as the blood he had transformed into surged into the cauldron, and the lotus platform, which had been soaked in blood, became pure and flawless once more.
"Roar!" A dragon's roar resounded, and the dragon pattern on the cauldron opened its scarlet eyes. With its mouth wide open, nine scarlet blood pillars gushed out and all flowed into the suspended dragon pearl.
"Hey, what are you doing? Wait for me! I'm not here yet! Don't start eating yet!" Bai shouted anxiously at the sudden turn of events.
Her response was a chorus of dragon roars. The nine bronze dragon patterns on the cauldron came to life at the same time, breaking free from the cauldron's constraints and stretching their bodies in the air.
Despite being a body cast in bronze, it was incredibly soft and lifelike at this moment, as if it were a real living being of flesh and blood.
Bai Ye stared at the nine menacing bronze dragon patterns before him, his throat feeling dry.
"Um..." Bai chuckled awkwardly and took a half-step back, his grip on his sword tightening. "You guys must be blind, right? You can't see me, can you?"
"Roar!" The nine bronze dragons roared simultaneously, pouncing on her from different angles.
Bai also swung his sword, and the moment the blade collided with the bronze dragon, a tremendous force struck, instantly tearing open the tiger's mouth.
"Sister Green, help me!" Bai also decisively called for help. If you can't beat someone, call for help. It's the self-cultivation of a protagonist.
"All you do is give me trouble!" Little Green grumbled as it emerged from Bai Ye's body, its tender green shoots swaying gently in the air.
The seemingly soft buds effortlessly bound all the bronze dragons. The bronze dragon patterns that were just moments before were now like little mudfish, rolled and flattened by Little Green.
Bai stared in disbelief as Xiao Lü skillfully twisted the nine dragon patterns into a braid, a tiny crack appearing at the tip of the tender shoot, and then swallowed the braided dragon pattern in one gulp.
"Sister Green, how come you eat everything?" Bai muttered softly.
Little Green didn't even bother to glance at her; its tender green leaves were already reaching out towards the floating dragon ball.
The moment the two made contact.
A blinding golden light burst forth like a blazing sun, and Bai felt a sharp pain in his eyes. Within the golden light, he could faintly hear Little Green smacking its lips in satisfaction, and then the world plunged into pure white.
When the golden light faded, the enormous crystal lotus platform was completely empty. Bloodstains, corpses, the cultivators who had been howling madly just moments before, the few people watching from below the platform, and the cultivators searching for treasure in the side hall of the Dragon Palace—all had vanished without a trace.
Only an empty dragon palace remains.
At the same time, the majestic dragon skeleton outside the Dragon Palace suddenly emitted a faint sound, and its half-closed dragon eyes slowly opened slightly.
It gazed at the empty Dragon Palace below, a hint of a smile flashing in its eyes.
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