177: Chapter 176: A Significant Gain

A glimmer of killing intent finally flashed in Xu Zhaoyang's eyes.

"Pursue."

He only said one word.

His figure plummeted into the churning seawater like a falling meteor, smashing in with a thunderous boom!

Dark golden radiance swirled around him, pushing the seawater aside to create a vacuum channel leading straight to the seabed!

That mass of blood mist was fleeing frantically toward the seabed fissure.

The fissure grew closer and deeper, as if it were the gaping maw of Hell, waiting to devour everything.

Xu Zhaoyang raised his right hand.

He clenched his five fingers into a fist.

He threw a punch!

The moment that punch was thrown, the entire sea area trembled!

Dark golden fist energy shot out from his knuckles like golden lightning, piercing through a thousand zhang of seawater and striking directly at the blood mist about to escape into the fissure!

"No—!"

The final, shrill roar of Blood Bone Venerable came from within the blood mist.

The fist energy struck his body.

The blood mist exploded.

It dissipated completely.

In the aftermath of that punch, the seawater contaminated by the blood-evil power was forcibly evaporated, creating a vacuum zone a hundred zhang in radius.

Xu Zhaoyang stood in the center of the vacuum zone, dark golden light flowing ceaselessly around him.

He glanced down at the bottomless seabed fissure, confirmed that no evil aura remained, and then turned to step onto the waves and ascend.

On the sea surface, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The Heroic Woman slumped on the ground, gasping for air, her face pale as paper.

The Burly Man leaned against a broken tree stump, his chest heaving violently, every breath accompanied by blood foam.

Zhao Yuanjing knelt on one knee, his spear thrust into the ground beside him, barely supporting his body to keep from collapsing.

Teng Yuzhi sat cross-legged with her eyes slightly closed, a faint cyan glow circulating around her—that was her Pure Lotus Body automatically repairing her damaged Meridians.

Huo Qingfeng lay on the ground, covered in blood, yet he stubbornly lifted his head to look at the half-destroyed altar, the scattered dragon scale remains, and the pile of jiaolong remains surrounded by the Sea Quelling Department soldiers.

Then, he cursed loudly:

"Damn it! Is the person who gathered this intelligence eating shit?!"

His voice was hoarse but full of vigor; clearly, he was not seriously injured.

"An Early Stage of Yuanxiang demon?! This is the Early Stage of Yuanxiang?! This is a monster that can fuse with jiaolong remains and briefly step into the Dragon Elephant Mutual Harmony realm! If Inspector Xu hadn't arrived in time, all six of us would have been done for here!"

He struggled to crawl up, pointed at the busy Sea Quelling Department soldiers in the distance, and continued cursing:

"And those dragon scales! Those jiaolong remains! We discovered them by risking our lives! And what happened? As soon as they arrived, they sealed everything up! They won't even let us touch a single bone!"

The Burly Man heard this and looked aggrieved: "Senior Brother Huo, what can we do? That is the Sea Quelling Department, the Great Qi's Sea Quelling Department..."

"I know it's the Sea Quelling Department!" Huo Qingfeng glared at him. "But I can't swallow this anger! When we get back, I will definitely make a scene at the Duty Hall! I'll make them explain where they got this intelligence! A mission of this level should be worth at least fifty contribution points! No, one hundred! Not a single point less!"

The more he spoke, the more agitated he became, pulling at his wounds and grimacing in pain, yet he still refused to shut up.

The Heroic Woman gave a bitter smile and said nothing.

Zhao Yuanjing lifted his head, looked at the cursing Huo Qingfeng, then glanced at the Mystic Armor figure standing on the waves in the distance, a glimmer of complexity flashing in his eyes.

Jiang Hanzhou stood to the side, not participating in their conversation.

He just looked down at the tiger soul saber in his hand.

On the blade, those dark golden patterns were slowly circulating; with every circulation, a faint trace of dragon might drifted out from the blade.

That dragon heart, that dark golden dragon blood, and the residual dragon essence power—nearly half had already been devoured by the tiger soul saber.

The rest was still sleeping deep within the blade, waiting for him to slowly refine it in the future.

He closed his eyes and probed his Sea of Consciousness with his Divine Sense.

Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, three rays of light circulated silently.

Azure as the sea—Tidal True Intent, 20%.

Crimson gold as the sun—Pure Yang True Intent, 20%.

Brilliant as gold—Golden Sharpness True Intent, 20%.

The three True Intents were advancing side by side.

He had finally done it.

Opening his eyes, he lifted his head and gazed into the distance.

Where the sea met the sky, four massive dark iron warships were crushing the waves as they approached.

Those warships were thirty zhang long, cast entirely from black iron, and their hulls were engraved with dense, intricate Formation patterns.

At the bow of each ship was a massive dragon head statue, its mouth wide open, revealing a pitch-black cannon muzzle—that was the Sea Quelling Department's Sea Quelling Divine Thunder Cannon, the power of a single shot enough to severely injure a Dragon Fetus Realm powerhouse.

The warships broke through the waves, moving at high speed.

In less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the four warships had sailed into the coastal waters of Black Stone Island and slowed to a stop one hundred zhang from the shore.

The hulls trembled slightly, and dozens of figures soared into the air from the ships, stepping on the waves as they dashed toward the shore.

Leading them was a captain clad in green armor, around thirty years old, with a cold, stern face and an air of grim killing intent between his brows.

Behind him followed more than twenty Mystic Armor Soldiers, each one at the Primal Form Realm, with deep, composed auras and orderly steps; they were clearly elites seasoned in battle.

The green-armored captain stepped ashore, his gaze sweeping across the altar, the scattered dragon scale remains, and the busy soldiers, finally landing on Jiang Hanzhou and the other five.

He cupped his hands in a salute, his voice clear: "You righteous warriors have contributed to the battle, and the Inspector's Office will surely reward you handsomely! However, the evil items must be purified by the Sea Quelling Department. Please board the ship immediately to tend to your injuries."

His tone was polite, yet carried an unquestionable firmness.

Huo Qingfeng frowned, just about to say something—

Two men clad in Mystic Armor had already stepped forward, standing on his left and right sides.

Both men were in the Dragon Elephant Realm, their auras as heavy and composed as mountains; although they made no moves, they had already sealed off all his paths of retreat.

"Escort."

Huo Qingfeng's mouth twitched.

This is called an escort? This is called being escorted under guard!

But what could he say?

The Sea Quelling Department saved his life, and they had four warships, hundreds of elites, and an Inspector at the Dragon Elephant Mutual Harmony realm presiding over them.

Did he dare make a scene?

He did not.

He could only glare fiercely at the dragon scale remains that were being carefully packed into special Magical Artifacts by the soldiers, then turn around and follow the two "escorts" toward the warships.

Jiang Hanzhou, Teng Yuzhi, Zhao Yuanjing, the Heroic Woman, and the Burly Man also boarded the ships one after another.

The moment he stepped onto the warship, Jiang Hanzhou felt his feet sink slightly.

This ship was too heavy.

It wasn't the weight of the ship itself, but the Formations, the runes, and the aura of slaughter accumulated over countless years on the ship, making it feel like a sleeping behemoth that could awaken at any moment.

A military doctor dressed in gray robes came forward, his eyes sweeping over the six of them to quickly assess the severity of their injuries.

"You, come with me." He pointed at Liu Ningshuang—the Heroic Woman, whose complexion was the worst; clearly, she had suffered significant internal injuries.

"You three, go wait over there." He pointed at Huo Qingfeng, the Burly Man, and Zhao Yuanjing; although their injuries were severe, they were not immediately life-threatening.

Finally, his gaze landed on Jiang Hanzhou and Teng Yuzhi.

"You two, are you not badly injured?" he asked.

Jiang Hanzhou shook his head.

Teng Yuzhi also shook her head.

The military doctor nodded, said nothing more, and turned to lead Liu Ningshuang toward the cabin.

Jiang Hanzhou stood on the deck, gazing at the receding Black Stone Island.

On the island, the altar had completely collapsed, the blood pool had been drained by the Sea Quelling Department soldiers using special Magical Artifacts, and the scattered dragon scale remains had all been sealed away.

The half dragon head was carefully carried onto a small boat by four soldiers; the small boat had a specialized Formation to isolate any leakage of aura.

He looked at those dragon scale remains, and a thought suddenly welled up in his heart.

The tiger soul saber had devoured that dragon heart.

That dragon blood and dragon essence had been absorbed by the blade.

If he could collect the remaining dragon scales, dragon bones, and dragon marrow, refine them with the Heavenly Dipper Treasure Refining Art, and fuse them into the blade—

To what extent could the tiger soul saber grow?

He did not know.

But he knew that these remains no longer belonged to him.

Once the Sea Quelling Department intervened, it became property of the Sea Quelling Department.

He had no right to contest it, nor the ability to do so.

But he remembered this place.

Black Stone Island.

The seabed fissure.

The remains of that jiaolong that had slept for three thousand years still had a large portion buried on the seabed.

Those were things yet to be claimed.

He withdrew his gaze and stopped looking at the receding island.

The warships changed direction, breaking through the waves toward the east.

The setting sun sank, dyeing the entire sea area in a golden red.

Jiang Hanzhou stood at the stern, the tiger soul saber hanging at his waist, his gaze fixed on the darkening sea and sky in the distance.

Behind him, Huo Qingfeng's cursing could still be heard intermittently:

"One hundred points! Not a single point less! I nearly lost my life there! And those dragon scales, I discovered them by risking my life! And they won't even let me touch them..."

Jiang Hanzhou did not turn around.

He just gazed into the distance, at the sea and sky dyed red by the sunset, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Golden Sharpness True Intent, 20%.

The tiger soul saber, devouring dragon essence.

This trip was worth it.