sonovelo Chapter 678: But Its True
Chapter 678: But Its True
Chapter 678: But It's True
A thunderous croak suddenly reverberated through the endless depths of the Ruins of Return.
"Guuuuu."
The Ruins of Return were vast, and the comparatively few sea demons living there were quite dispersed. Naturally, that meant most of them did not hear the croak. However, the merfolk were highly sensitive to this call.
Soon after, a merfolk singer, a young mermaid, arrived and saw the spirit beast responsible for the thunderous croak.
It was a Golden Toad, and it was sitting upright on a high platform.
The platform had been built specifically for sacred ceremonies and rituals. Whenever the Hallowed Mother issued a decree, a Golden Toad would descend upon this spot.
"It's the Golden Toad Envoy!" the young mermaid exclaimed, breaking into song.
This was the customary reaction of all merfolk upon encountering the Hallowed Mother's envoy.
The shrill, resonant song of the merfolk pierced through the clouds and the sea, quickly drawing large numbers of sea demons from all over the Ruins of Return. They gathered around the Golden Toad, holding an impromptu assembly.
As the young mermaid prepared to receive the Hallowed Mother's decree, someone suddenly yelled, "That Golden Toad is a fake!"
The young mermaid turned her head to look and called out in surprise, "Princess?"
Indeed, it was the merfolk's princess, Baozhu Liange.
"Just earlier, the real Golden Toad came to Merfolk Island and told me it had been captured!" Princess Liange said loudly as she ascended the platform. "The Ruins of Return Cult captured the real Golden Toad and forged this fake one! They used the fake one to issue false orders of war, causing many of our sea demon kin to die needlessly! This is all part of the Sea Master's scheme!"
As the community of sea demons stood in confusion, there was a loud whoosh, then a massive Golden Toad landed on the seabed with a loud rumble. Its golden skin shone brilliantly as it stood next to the fake toad, flames of fury burning in its large eyes.
The two Golden Toads looked identical, as if one of them was a reflection.
Princess Liange said loudly, "Feed them spirit plants and see what treasures they produce. That will tell you which one is real and which is fake."
As the sea demons prepared to test them, someone shouted, "There's no need!"
The crowd of sea demons quickly parted to make a path for the people that were approaching.
They were none other than the Merfolk Queen and Sea Master. The two led the way, each accompanied by a group of people. The group behind the Merfolk Queen was, of course, her bodyguards, while the Sea Master was accompanied by his subordinates from the Ruins of Return Cult—each one fierce and menacing, with bloodthirsty expressions.
Meanwhile, the Merfolk Queen's expression was cold and aloof, while Sea Master's face was dark with suppressed fury... as if he had returned home to find his subordinates dead and his treasures stolen.
"This matter was not Sea Master's doing but the scheme of human cultivators seeking to stir chaos in the South Sea," the Merfolk Queen said, glancing at Princess Liange with a brief gaze of approval.
She then turned and pointed at the fake Golden Toad.
Swish.
A beam of light shot over. That Golden Toad let out an agonizing croak, and its glowing golden skin fell off. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a grotesque, pus-covered toad demon.
The toad demon had remained calm up to just a moment ago, but now that its true form had been exposed, it shrieked in terror. "Guaaah!!!"
Then the toad demon turned to the Sea Master for help.
The Sea Master said nothing, merely glancing at it.
Boom!!!@@@@
The toad demon exploded, dying on the spot. Its foul pus went splattering in all directions, and the crowd of sea demons quickly stepped aside to avoid the mess.
But didn't they say that the Demon God's not dead yet?
Could it be that the demons were just... bluffing to make it look like they still have power?
But what benefit is there in spreading false news and becoming the target of everyone's ire?
Or perhaps they want the enchanted tool for an entirely different reason...
After thinking about it for a while, Chu Liang decided it was best to just focus on his own affairs for now.
He took a spirit plant from a jade box, consumed it, and circulated his qi briefly. Then he exhaled.
Done. I broke through.
After days of accumulating cultivation energy, Chu Liang was finally able to break through to the fifth level of the Realm of the Five Elements. He just needed to accumulate more cultivation energy for a bit longer, then he would be able to advance to the pinnacle of the fifth realm.
Forming a transcendent body was a major hurdle that cultivators normally struggled with at this stage. However, Chu Liang had already cultivated the Mystical Winged Divine Dragon Transcendent Form to near perfection. When the moment arrived, he would break through to the sixth realm in an instant.
In other words, it was like he had already defeated the final boss in a game stage and was now killing mobs to farm experience points. It was just a matter of time before he would clear the stage.
After his breakthrough, Chu Liang sank his divine sense into the White Pagoda. There were three new golden imprints in cells—a shrimp soldier, a crab general, and a cat demon. It was time for Chu Liang to have a happy reward session with three rewards.
Excited, he eagerly approached and refined the golden imprint of the demon with a shrimp head.
Boom.
A burst of light floated out, and Chu Liang caught it in his hand. A stream of information flowed into his mind.
[Crimson Devil Helmet: A powerful helmet that is the culmination of mystical ability and aesthetics. When worn, the helmet enhances the wearer's divine sense, increasing their scanning range tenfold and boosting their ability to see through things. Recommended for exploration, combat, and surveillance. Not recommended for improper use.]
The item in Chu Liang's hands was an unusually shaped helmet.
Chu Liang muttered in disbelief, "Culmination of mystical ability and aesthetics..."
The helmet resembled a freshly severed shrimp head that had been hollowed out, with the shell repurposed into a helmet. If a shrimp's head were the size of a human's, it would look like some kind of devilish creature—undoubtedly terrifying.
Chu Liang tried it on, enclosing his whole head in the shell. The two golden orbs on the helmet rose vertically, flooding his mind with spiritual energy. He could feel that his divine sense was indeed enhanced significantly.
Whoosh.
In an instant, the White Pagoda appeared much clearer in his mind.
The Large-Headed Dolls, which were shrouded in smoke... Tuntun, who had fallen asleep and turned into a cocoon... the seemingly endless iron prison in the dark... and Chu Liang himself, now transformed into a shrimp-headed man—all of these images were transmitted into his mind through his divine sense. If he were scanning the world outside, the range would likely expand even further.
Not bad. Their sense of aesthetics is rather ahead of their time, but the effects are excellent.
"Hm?"
As Chu Liang scanned the White Pagoda space with his enhanced divine sense, he discovered a tiny detail he had never noticed before. There was a small black on one of the White Pagoda's walls.
Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a tiny hole in the wall—tinier than the tip of an embroidery needle. Yet, that hole certainly was there, and it seemed to lead outside.
Ever since he first saw the White Pagoda, Chu Liang had regarded it as a mysterious and formidable artifact, likely on par with the top ten legendary artifacts listed in the Catalog of the Mortal World's Ten Thousand Treasures.
There's something that managed to pierce through this...?
That sure is hard to believe.