337: Chapter 337 The Demon Lord is Assassinated! Success Will Make Him the Lord of the Western Regions

[Above the Heavenly Pool.]

[The Old Dragon's voice rang out.]

[The voice was not loud, yet it fell clearly into the ears of every person present.]

["Regardless of whether you are a Yao King or a minor Yao, and regardless of the rank of your Bloodline, today within the Heavenly Pool, you shall seek treasures based on your own Opportunity. But remember one thing..."]

[He paused, his voice carrying a hint of rare seriousness.]

["Deep within the Heavenly Pool lies the malevolent Qi from an old injury I sustained in my early years; do not venture too deep in your greed for treasure."]

[The Yao assumed the Yao Sovereign was magnanimous, to be able to even bring up his own old injury to warn them, and they felt a sense of awe and gratitude within their hearts.]

[They bowed repeatedly, offering praises.]

["The Yao Sovereign's grace..."]

["The Yao Sovereign truly has immeasurable Karma..."]

[The Yao scrambled and surged toward the Heavenly Pool.]

[No one delved into the meaning behind those words.]

[Their eyes were fixed only on the myriad of rare treasures, thinking only of whether they could run faster than the others and be the first to snatch the best Dragon Pearl.]

[The Old Dragon sat on high, watching the figures surging toward the Heavenly Pool, his gaze as calm as if he were watching a school of fish.]

[A flash of obscurity flickered in his cloudy, aged eyes...]

[King Peng did not move.]

[He remained in his seat, holding a cup of fine wine, sipping it slowly, as if he were completely unallured by the treasures of the Heavenly Pool.]

[Zhu Qing noticed his unusual behavior and walked over, his tone carrying a hint of courtesy.]

["Your Excellency, King Peng, will you not go in and try your luck? Some treasures deep in the Heavenly Pool are rare Opportunities for the Peng Clan."]

[King Peng set down his wine cup, smiled at him, and spoke in a gentle tone.]

["I appreciate your good intentions. This King is growing older; I shall leave such excitement to the younger generation."]

[He glanced at the Peng Clan Clan Chief-in-waiting beside him, who was already poised for action, and nodded slightly to his son.]

[Zhu Qing did not try to persuade him further, simply saying: "King Peng is very understanding, and has saved the younger generation quite a bit of effort."]

[King Peng did not respond, simply picking up his wine cup and taking another sip.]

[Not far away, several Yao cultivators from other clans heard this conversation and praised King Peng for his great perspective.]

["King Peng truly has a great spirit; if it were any other King, they would have likely jumped in themselves long ago."]

["With one less major competitor, our chances are greater..."]

[King Peng seemed not to hear these discussions, simply drinking his wine quietly, his gaze occasionally sweeping across the direction of the Heavenly Pool.]

[He indeed knew some things that others did not.]

[His Divine Ability was of the "All-Seeing/Hearing" type, capable of seeing subtle movements that ordinary people could not.]

[Today's birthday banquet was lively on the surface, but undercurrents were surging beneath.]

[He chose to sit on the shore not because he did not want to go in, but because he had vaguely captured something that was about to surface.]

[He trusted his intuition.]

[He could not help but look toward the Phoenix clan's position, where the seats were already empty.]

[The Phoenix clan had left earlier than everyone else.]

[They had no intention of competing, and did not even spare a glance at the surging treasures within the Heavenly Pool.]

[Earlier, the representative Elder of the Phoenix clan had waved his large sleeves and left the main venue with his clansmen without looking back, a posture that neither seemed like they were in a rush to find treasures, nor like they were showing weakness.]

[Some Yao cultivators whispered: "Does the Phoenix clan look down on the Dragon Clan's treasures?"]

[A nearby Yao cultivator lowered his voice and replied: "It's not that they look down on them, it's that their clan has few Phoenixes, and every one of them is a precious gem... Therefore... the Phoenix King never lets them get involved in such chaotic battles."]

["If one of them gets hurt by some blind fool, the entire Phoenix clan will turn hostile."]

[The figures of the Phoenix clan soon vanished where the sea met the sky in the distance.]

[They truly did not care for these things from the Dragon Clan; the entire Yao Race was very clear on this point.]

[In a side hall of the Dragon Palace on the outskirts of the Heavenly Pool, Wan Qiba's figure landed beside a hidden Immortal Cave.]

[His expression was not good, and there was a wound on his shoulder still oozing blood; it was left by the combination attack of Jiuer and Chu Sheng just moments ago.]

[He had just steadied himself when a figure emerged from the shadows.]

[Zhu Yin.]

[His Qi was also somewhat chaotic, clearly the injuries sustained when he was struck into the seabed by Chu Sheng had not fully recovered.]

[But at this moment, his expression was significantly more relaxed than before.]

["How did it go on your end?"]

[Zhu Yin spoke, his tone carrying a sense of indifference as if he had already anticipated it.]

[Wan Qiba said: "Ran into a bit of trouble. My little sister is much stronger than she was back then, and that member of the Human Race is helping her."]

[Zhu Yin did not respond, simply taking a palm-sized scale from his sleeve.]

[The scale was entirely dark gold, with a dim light shimmering along its edges.]

[Even just touching it lightly, one could feel the extremely dense, lingering Old Dragon Qi within it.]

["The Old Thing's scale, which your Divine Ability requires, has been found."]

[He placed it on the stone surface and glanced at Wan Qiba.]

["You must use this item directly to drain his Lifespan."]

["When the time comes, we will absorb the Old Dragon's Yao Core, share the Old Thing's treasury, and jointly rule the Western Regions."]

[Wan Qiba stared at that scale for a moment, not immediately responding.]

[He knew clearly in his heart that Zhu Yin's talk of "jointly ruling" was mostly just rhetoric to keep him steady.]

[But at this point, he no longer had a way out.]

[He reached out and took the scale; a searing, sharp pain came from his palm, as if he had grasped a piece of red-hot iron.]

[He said in a low voice: "Success means Master of the Western Regions, failure means the Fox Clan's Yao King."]

[Zhu Yin did not respond to him, simply turning around and looking toward the surging treasure light deep within the Heavenly Pool.]

[Chu Sheng and Jiuer found the bald monk behind a reef.]

[The monk was sitting cross-legged, holding a faint Buddhist light between his fingertips, as if he were sensing something.]

[Sensing the two of them approaching, he slowly opened his eyes.]

[His gaze first fell upon Chu Sheng, then he glanced at Jiuer, a trace of a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.]

["Is this the new leader of the Fox Clan? Indeed, young and promising."]

[Jiuer did not exchange pleasantries, speaking directly: "Great Master, where is the fragment of your Magical Artifact?"]

[The monk was about to answer when his expression suddenly changed.]

[His gaze passed over Chu Sheng and Jiuer, falling toward the very center of the Heavenly Pool.]

[Immediately after, the entire Heavenly Pool shook violently.]

[A dull, booming sound came from the depths of the pool floor, as if something had been broken.]

[Then came an explosive sound...]

[A pillar of water over a hundred zhang high exploded from the surface in the center of the Heavenly Pool, water mist filling the air, and even the Yao on the shore were shaken, stumbling about.]

[Following that, a sharp voice pierced through the water mist and spread throughout the entire Heavenly Pool.]

["The Yao Sovereign has been assassinated—!"]

["Seal the Heavenly Pool! No one is to enter or leave!"]

[That was Zhu Qing's voice, carrying a sense of unprecedented rage and urgency.]

[Chu Sheng, Jiuer, and the monk all raised their heads simultaneously, their expressions instantly becoming extremely grave.]

[Chu Sheng gripped his sword hilt and said in a low voice.]

["It has begun."]