283: Chapter 282 Dragon Soul Pearl

Ahead was a massive ice wall, on which black runes could be faintly seen circulating.

That was the perimeter Formation of the Black Witch Cult's main altar, driven by Shamanic Power to sense any life aura approaching.

Jiang Hanzhou raised his right hand, and a wisp of ice-blue light condensed at his fingertips; that was the power of the Mystic Ice Tidal Slash.

Using his Saber Intent as a guide, he gently touched that power against the ice wall.

The ice wall split open silently.

It wasn't cut, but rather a crack formed by natural contraction after being frozen by extreme cold.

Jiang Hanzhou inserted both hands into the gap and slowly pried it open to both sides, widening the ice wall into an opening large enough for one person to pass through.

The two slipped through the opening and entered the interior of the Black Witch Cult's main altar.

The inside of the main altar was even more eerie than the outside.

Night-luminescent pearls the size of fists were embedded on the walls on both sides of the passage, emitting a ghastly white light that illuminated the passage like a ghost realm.

The air was filled with a thick, fishy, and sweet scent—that was the unique smell of Gu, exactly the same as what Jiang Hanzhou had smelled on He Yunqi at Shahe Stockade, but a hundred times stronger.

At the end of the passage was a massive stone gate.

Dense runes were engraved on the stone gate, and in the center of the runes was a huge ghost head.

Two fist-sized red gems were embedded in the ghost head's eyes, with light faintly circulating within them.

Teng Qinghan walked to the stone gate and pressed her right hand on the ghost head's forehead.

Metal Sharpness True Intent surged from her palm, using Sword Intent as a blade to peel away the runes on the stone gate layer by layer.

Under the impact of the Sword Intent, those runes emitted shrill hisses; some shattered, some dimmed, and some dissipated into black smoke.

After three breaths, the stone gate opened with a rumble.

Behind the stone gate was a massive underground cavern.

The cavern was a hundred zhang in circumference and about ten zhang high, with hundreds of night-luminescent pearls embedded in the cave walls, illuminating the entire cavern like daylight.

In the center of the cavern were dozens of massive ice crystal containers, each over a person's height, filled with dark red liquid.

Soaking in the liquid were countless fist-sized insect eggs, translucent and ice-blue, with fine black veins covering their surfaces.

Those insect eggs writhed slowly in the liquid, and with every writhing motion, a wisp of fishy, sweet scent escaped from the liquid.

Jiang Hanzhou walked to the nearest ice crystal container and, through the dark red liquid, saw the full appearance of the insect eggs.

dao seed insect eggs.

They were not real insect eggs, but a medium cultivated by combining Gu techniques with dao seeds.

In each insect egg, a wisp of Dao Principles fragments from Dragon Slaying True Person was sealed.

Once the insect eggs hatched, those Dao Principles fragments would be implanted into the host's body in the form of Gu, taking root and sprouting in the host's dao foundation to grow into a dao seed.

Jiang Hanzhou's gaze swept across the cavern, counting roughly.

There were at least fifty ice crystal containers, each containing hundreds of insect eggs.

Tens of thousands of dao seed insect eggs; once they all hatched, tens of thousands of people would be implanted with dao seeds, and the Northern Territory would completely fall.

"Master Kurong." Teng Qinghan's voice came from the depths of the cavern, carrying an indescribable chill.

Jiang Hanzhou turned around and looked toward the depths of the cavern.

There, an old man wearing dark red Daoist robes sat cross-legged on a black stone platform.

The old man's face was aged and covered in dense black veins, which wriggled slowly under his skin like living creatures.

His body was surrounded by thick blood-colored mist, and countless fine black tentacles danced wildly within the mist.

Master Kurong.

An Elder of the Ten Thousand Gu Sect, who once had a brief encounter with Jiang Hanzhou in the Immortal Cave of Dragon Slaying True Person in the Turbulent Reef Sea Area of the East Sea.

Later, he escaped the Immortal Cave and disappeared from the pursuit of the East Sea cultivation world.

Jiang Hanzhou had not expected him to have fled to the Northern Territory and joined the Black Witch Cult to cultivate dao seeds for Dragon Slaying True Person.

Master Kurong's gaze landed on Jiang Hanzhou, and in those aged eyes, there was first shock, then ecstasy.

"Jiang Hanzhou." His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing together. "You are still alive. You are actually still alive. Wei Wuya said you were swallowed by the spatial turbulence and should have died. I didn't expect you not only to be alive but to have delivered yourself to my doorstep."

He stood up, and the stone platform beneath his feet suddenly lit up.

Dark red light surged from the stone platform, spreading in all directions along the runes on the ground.

Those runes grew wildly on the ground like living things, interweaving into a massive Formation.

The eye of the Formation was the stone platform beneath Master Kurong's feet.

Ten Thousand Gu Formation.

The ice crystal containers in the cavern trembled simultaneously; the dark red liquid began to boil, and the insect eggs writhed frantically in the liquid, emitting shrill hisses.

Countless fine black threads shot out from the insect eggs, interweaving in the air into a massive net that enveloped Jiang Hanzhou and Teng Qinghan.

Those threads contained the Origin power of the dao seed fragments, specifically devouring Divine Soul, specifically swallowing True Intent, and specifically breaking the dao foundation.

Once entangled by a thread, the dao seed fragment would invade the body, take root and sprout in the dao foundation, and turn the host into nourishment for Dragon Slaying True Person.

Teng Qinghan drew her sword.

The long sword was translucent white, and ice-blue light flowed along the blade; that was the Ice Soul True Intent unique to the Mystic Ice Sword Sect.

She slashed out, the sword light ice-blue, freezing and cutting those black threads layer by layer.

But there were too many threads; cutting one layer only brought another, endless and inexhaustible.

Jiang Hanzhou did not retreat.

He gripped the tiger soul saber, and deep within his Sea of Consciousness, the Heart Blade trembled violently.

The dark gold dragon patterns on the saber erupted with a faint golden light, and he slashed out with less than thirty percent of his Dao-Slaying Blade Intent, cutting the threads approaching him.

But the power of the Ten Thousand Gu Formation was too strong.

Those threads surged from all directions, surrounding him and Teng Qinghan, forcing them to stand back-to-back, using saber and sword to protect themselves.

Master Kurong stood on the stone platform, watching the two struggling, a sinister smile curling at the corners of his mouth: "It's useless. The Ten Thousand Gu Formation is based on tens of thousands of dao seed insect eggs, with my century of cultivation as the Formation eye. Even a powerhouse in the Dragon-Elephant Intersection Realm would need to exert some effort to break it. You two, one with cultivation sealed and the other only at the Peak of the Soul Condensation Realm, what do you have to fight me with?"

He raised his right hand, and at his palm, a fist-sized dark red Gu slowly emerged.

The Gu was entirely dark red, its surface covered in fine golden veins that snaked like dragons, wriggling slowly on the Gu's body.

Countless fine tentacles extended from the Gu's mouthparts, dancing wildly in the air and emitting shrill hisses.

That was Master Kurong's natal Gu, one of the three supreme Gu species of the Ten Thousand Gu Sect, the Dao-Devouring Gu.

It specifically devours Dao Principles, swallows True Intent, and breaks the dao foundation.

The moment Master Kurong sacrificed his natal Gu, the Thousand Tribulations Nirvana Gu Mother in Jiang Hanzhou's body trembled violently.

That Gu Mother, which had been sleeping in a corner of his Dantian, suddenly opened its eyes under the stimulation of the Dao-Devouring Gu's aura.

Its body curled into a ball, the blood-colored veins on its surface flowing wildly, and fine cracks appeared on its dark golden shell. From the cracks, wisps of silver light slowly surged out.

That was the residue of spatial power, the fragments the Gu Mother had swallowed in the spatial turbulence.

It had been digesting that power, transforming in its sleep. And at this moment, the aura of the Dao-Devouring Gu became the final straw for its awakening.

The Thousand Tribulations Nirvana Gu Mother opened its mouthparts and inhaled deeply.

An indescribable suction force erupted from within Jiang Hanzhou's body, surging along his Meridians and spreading in all directions.

Those black threads, under the pull of the suction, surged frantically into Jiang Hanzhou's body, into his Dantian, and into the Gu Mother's mouth.

Master Kurong's pupils contracted violently: "What?!"

He sensed it—he sensed the terrifying aura within Jiang Hanzhou's body.

That was a Gu, a Gu more Advanced, more ancient, and more terrifying than his Dao-Devouring Gu.

Thousand Tribulations Nirvana Gu, the legendary un 傳 secret of the Ten Thousand Gu Sect, a supreme Gu species refined by using a thousand types of poisonous insects as a guide and Nirvana Rebirth as the core, taking seventy-seven forty-nine years to form.

"You, how could you have—"

Master Kurong's words were not finished, because the Thousand Tribulations Nirvana Gu Mother had completely awakened.

The Gu Mother's body flew out from Jiang Hanzhou's Dantian and hovered in front of him.

Its body was only the size of a fingernail, entirely dark gold, with fine silver and blood-colored veins flowing on its surface.

Those veins intertwined, forming a mysterious pattern on the Gu Mother's body; that was the totem of Nirvana Rebirth.

The Gu Mother opened its mouthparts and let out a shrill hiss.

The hissing sound was not loud, but it pierced directly into the Divine Soul of everyone present.

The ice crystal containers in the cavern exploded simultaneously, dark red liquid splashed everywhere, and those dao seed insect eggs trembled frantically in the hissing sound, then shattered one by one.

The Dao Principles fragments within the insect eggs were drawn by the Gu Mother's suction, turning into countless fine golden threads that surged into the Gu Mother's mouth.

The Ten Thousand Gu Formation collapsed under the Gu Mother's devouring.

Those black threads lost the support of the dao seed insect eggs, danced wildly in the air, then snapped inch by inch, dissipating into black smoke.

The runes in the cavern dimmed one after another, the light under the stone platform grew weaker and weaker, and finally went out completely.

Master Kurong's face was as pale as paper.

He gritted his teeth and pushed his natal Gu to the limit, trying to use the Dao-Devouring Gu to resist the Thousand Tribulations Nirvana Gu Mother.

The Dao-Devouring Gu opened its huge mouth, spewing a beam of dark red light that shot toward the Gu Mother.

The Gu Mother did not dodge or evade, just opened its mouthparts and inhaled gently.

That dark red light was swallowed by the Gu Mother, and together with the Origin power of the Dao-Devouring Gu, it was decomposed and digested layer by layer by the Gu Mother's devouring power.

Master Kurong's natal Gu emitted a mournful hiss, its body beginning to deform, wither, and crumble under the Gu Mother's suction.

Three breaths later, the Dao-Devouring Gu turned into a fist-sized dark red bead and fell into the Gu Mother's mouth.

Master Kurong's body suddenly stiffened.

His face was pale as paper, and a wisp of black blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth.

With his natal Gu devoured, his Divine Soul suffered a violent backlash, and the Shamanic Power and True Intent within his body were dissipating rapidly.

But even more terrifying things were yet to come.

After the Thousand Tribulations Nirvana Gu Mother devoured the Dao-Devouring Gu and tens of thousands of dao seed insect eggs, its body began to expand.

On the dark golden shell, cracks became more numerous and deeper. Silver light surged from the cracks, wrapping the Gu Mother's body layer by layer.

It was transforming.

Transforming from the larval stage to the growth stage.

The Gu Mother's body slowly stretched in the silver light, the dark golden shell falling off piece by piece, revealing a brand-new body underneath.

The newborn Gu Mother was entirely dark gold, but with an added layer of silver luster on its surface.

Its size was three times larger than before, growing from the size of a fingernail to the size of an egg.

On its body, those blood-colored veins and silver veins intertwined, forming a brand-new totem.

That was the totem of devouring dao seeds, the totem of severing Dragon-Slaying True Intent.

At the same time, the Seal in Jiang Hanzhou's body also began to loosen.

Those silver threads entwined around his Dantian, the Seal power left by the spatial turbulence, snapped one by one under the impact of the power released when the Gu Mother transformed.

Each time a Seal snapped, his cultivation recovered by a point.

Dragon Fetus Realm Early Stage, Dragon Fetus Realm Middle Stage, Dragon Fetus Realm Late Stage.

It rose all the way, climbing all the way.

In the end, his cultivation recovered to the Peak of the Dragon Fetus Realm.

Although it hadn't returned to his Peak level, it was enough to unleash the Dao-Slaying Blade Intent, enough to drive the four types of True Intent, and enough to fight Master Kurong.

Jiang Hanzhou opened his eyes, a flash of dark golden light in them.

He gripped the tiger soul saber, pouring all the power within his body into the saber.

Tide, Pure Yang, Metal Sharpness, Sky Fire—the four types of True Intent fused perfectly at this moment, and the Dao-Slaying Blade Intent condensed at the saber's edge, transforming into a plain, unadorned saber light.

Master Kurong looked at him, his eyes full of fear and unwillingness.

He wanted to flee, but he couldn't.

The pressure during the Gu Mother's transformation pinned him tightly to the stone platform, unable to move.

"Jiang Hanzhou, you cannot kill me." His voice was hoarse, carrying a plea. "I know the secret of Dragon Slaying True Person, I know the locations of the Seals of all dao seed sources in the Five Regions, and I know who is behind Wei Wuya. If you kill me, those secrets will sink to the bottom of the sea forever."

Jiang Hanzhou looked at him and was silent for a breath.

Then, he slashed out.

The saber light entered Master Kurong's body silently.

It wasn't slashing at his Physical Body, nor at his Divine Soul, but at the dao seed within him.

Master Kurong's body suddenly stiffened, the dao seed within him crumbling inch by inch under the impact of the Dao-Slaying Blade Intent.

Those golden threads surged out from his Dantian, then were pulled by the Gu Mother's suction, all swallowed into its belly.

Master Kurong's body slowly fell, eyes wide open, a trace of that eerie smile still curling at the corners of his mouth.

He was dead.

The Elder of the Ten Thousand Gu Sect, the behind-the-scenes manipulator of the Black Witch Cult, the executor of Dragon Slaying True Person's layout in the Northern Territory, died in the depths of the Permafrost Mountains, in his own main altar.

In the cavern, there was dead silence.

Those shattered ice crystal containers were scattered all over the floor, and the dark red liquid froze into ice on the cold ground.

Tens of thousands of dao seed insect eggs were devoured by the Gu Mother, leaving only fragments on the ground and dissipated auras.

Teng Qinghan sheathed her sword and walked to Jiang Hanzhou's side.

Her expression was calm, but in those cold, clear eyes, a trace of indescribable shock flashed.

"Junior Brother Jiang, your Gu Mother..."

Jiang Hanzhou raised his right hand, and the Thousand Tribulations Nirvana Gu Mother emerged from the Void Realm and landed on his palm.

The newborn Gu Mother was entirely dark gold, with silver and blood-colored veins flowing on its surface.

It was no longer as cold and silent as before, but radiated an indescribable spirituality, as if it were conveying some emotion to Jiang Hanzhou.

"It has transformed." Jiang Hanzhou's voice was calm. "Now, it can devour dao seeds and sever Dragon-Slaying True Intent. It no longer needs to be like before, only able to Seal and unable to eradicate."

He put the Gu Mother into his Dantian, turned around, and looked toward the depths of the cavern.

There, a fist-sized ice-blue bead was floating in mid-air.

Inside the bead, an ice-blue dragon could be faintly seen slowly swimming, its dragon body stretching and dragon tail swinging, emitting a dense dragon might.

The holy object of the Dragon clan, the dragon soul bead.

Jiang Hanzhou walked to the dragon soul bead, raised his right hand, and gripped the bead in his palm.

It was ice-cold and piercing to the touch, but that chill resonated with the Tide True Intent in his body, causing his Mystic Ice Tidal Slash to improve by a level in an instant.

He put the dragon soul bead into his sumeru pouch and turned to look at Teng Qinghan.

"Senior Sister Teng, let's go."

Teng Qinghan nodded, and the two walked one after another toward the outside of the cavern.

In the cavern behind them, those shattered ice crystal containers slowly froze in the extreme cold, the dark red liquid turning into ice, sealing away all traces.

The dao seed cultivation base of the Black Witch Cult's main altar was completely destroyed.

But Jiang Hanzhou knew this was just the beginning.

Master Kurong was dead, but the Black Witch Cult still existed.

Dragon Slaying True Person's layout in the Northern Territory had not been completely dismantled, and those Cultivators who had already been implanted with dao seeds were still there.

He needed to go to Ice Sword Mountain, needed to meet the Sect Master of the Mystic Ice Sword Sect, and needed to find a way to completely destroy the dao seed source.

He gripped the dragon soul bead in his palm, feeling that cold power, a flash of cold light in his eyes.