17: Chapter 17 Blood Sea Treasure Gift - The Corpse King's Return

"Respectfully welcoming the Ancestor out of seclusion!"

They were none other than the Four Great Corpse Kings of the Undead Clan—Shi Hou, Hanba, Ying Gou, and Hou Qing.

All four had cultivated to the Hunyuan Golden Immortal realm; Shi Hou had even reached the third level, while the other three were at the second level.

Seeing this, Jiang Chen nodded slightly: "Not bad. During my seclusion, you have not been slack."

Upon hearing this, the Four Great Corpse Kings were overjoyed. Jiang Chen was typically cold and reticent, rarely offering praise, so it was truly rare for him to personally commend them today.

Just as they were excited, five spiritual treasures appeared in Jiang Chen's palm, and his voice resonated like an ancient bell: "You have served me with loyalty and dedication; how could I be stingy with rewards?"

"Shi Hou, this is the god-slaying spear. It was originally the weapon of Shen Ni, but it was shattered by me back then. Its origin was damaged, causing it to fall to the rank of a top-grade innate spiritual treasure. However, as long as it absorbs enough killing intent, it can still be restored. I bestow it upon you now."

Shi Hou accepted it with both hands, unable to hide the burning heat in his eyes, and immediately kowtowed, shouting: "Many thanks to the Ancestor for the treasure! Shi Hou is willing to go through fire and water, and will not hesitate even if death awaits!"

"Good." Jiang Chen nodded, then took out a precious vase and turned to Hanba: "This is the Chaos Vase, which once belonged to the Chaos King. It can swallow the sun, moon, and stars, and exhale the energy of chaos. It is ranked as a top-grade innate spiritual treasure."

Hanba was the only female among the four. Her appearance was beautiful and alluring, her skin was fairer than snow, and her long, crimson hair danced like flames.

She bowed gracefully: "Hanba thanks the Ancestor for this generous gift!" She took the vase, caressed it affectionately, her joy evident on her face.

"This is the Nether Bead and the Yellow Springs Treasure. Although they are only high-grade Innate Spirit Treasures, when combined, their power is comparable to a top-grade one."

"Ying Gou kowtows to receive this grace! I am willing to follow the Ancestor for my entire life, and will never betray you until death!"

"This is the Five Elements Spirit Bead. Each bead is a low-grade Innate Spirit Treasure. When the five elements are unified, they can evolve into the Four Symbols and Yin-Yang, and their power is even greater than ordinary top-grade ones."

"Hou Qing is endlessly grateful! In this life and the next, I will forever be at the Ancestor's beck and call!"

After the bestowal of treasures was finished, Jiang Chen's expression turned stern.

"I am about to head to the Chaos to prepare for Dao validation. The Blood Sea shall be guarded by you all."

"As you command!"

After giving instructions, Jiang Chen stepped onto the bronze coffin and broke through the void, heading straight into the depths of the Chaos.

The Chaos is divided into two regions: one is the Outer Chaos, and the other is the Eternal Chaos.

The Outer Chaos is attached to the Honghuang World, isolating the Honghuang from the Eternal Chaos. It absorbs the chaos energy of the latter and converts it into innate spiritual energy to nourish the Honghuang.

Therefore, by comparison, the chaos energy in the Outer Chaos is relatively gentle. If a Daluo Golden Immortal has a magic treasure for protection, they can still travel through it without hindrance.

As for the Eternal Chaos, it is a true realm of absolute extinction. Those who have not reached the cultivation of a Hunyuan Daluo Golden Immortal, or whose physical bodies have not reached the level of an innate supreme treasure, cannot enter.

Even for a Hunyuan Daluo Golden Immortal, one must be cautious at every step within it—a bolt of chaos thunder or a gust of turbulent hurricane can cause serious injury, and the slightest mistake can lead to death!

This time, the place Jiang Chen was heading to was precisely the Eternal Chaos.

To reach that place, one must first cross the Endless Starry Sky and the Outer Chaos.

The end of the Endless Starry Sky is the Outer Chaos, and the extreme of the Outer Chaos is where the Eternal Chaos lies.

Along the way, Jiang Chen steered the bronze coffin, shuttling through the gaps in the starry sky at lightning speed. In just one year, he arrived at the Outer Chaos.

He did not stop, but headed straight into the depths. After flying for over a decade, he finally reached the end of the Outer Chaos.

Here, there was a layer of illusory membrane, formed from the flesh and skin of Pangu, used to block the erosion of the Eternal Chaos.

Jiang Chen pondered for a moment, then stepped into the bronze coffin and activated the chaos corpse pill, merging with the coffin.

In an instant, the light of the bronze coffin surged, rising from a high-grade innate supreme treasure to a chaos spiritual treasure!

The reason he chose such a cautious method was because the Eternal Chaos was extremely dangerous. Although Jiang Chen's physical body had reached the level of an innate supreme treasure, to ensure absolute safety, he still decided to hide in the bronze coffin before stepping into that chaotic void.

After everything was ready, the bronze coffin broke through the membrane wall at the edge of the world and formally entered the Eternal Chaos.

As soon as he entered, a violent chaotic gale swept over. Fortunately, the bronze coffin had already merged with the chaos corpse pill and transformed into a chaos spiritual treasure, making it immune to such storms.

If Jiang Chen had faced this wind with his original body, he would likely have been torn into nothingness in an instant.

Inside the coffin, Jiang Chen observed the outside world through the coffin walls.

Desolate, dark, and chaotic—this was his first impression of the Eternal Chaos. Because his divine sense was severely restricted here, he could only see the scene within a radius of 100,000 light-years.

However, even in this small corner, he discovered hundreds of surging chaotic gales and chaotic thunder as dense as a curtain of rain.

This scene was like a flying boat passing through thunderclouds, with blinding electric snakes exploding all around, making one's heart palpitate with anxiety.

"I must find a relatively stable area." Jiang Chen thought silently. The purpose of this trip was for Dao validation.

And the path he chose was to validate the Dao through strength—to open up a Major Thousand Worlds within the Chaos.

Opening up the heavens in the Eternal Chaos was a feat with nine deaths and one life; the slightest mistake would result in the destruction of both body and soul.

In fact, he could have completed this act in the Outer Chaos. But the world created that way would be attached to the Honghuang, coexisting and perishing with it, and would be completely controlled by the will of the Honghuang.

Jiang Chen had never been willing to be controlled by others. He craved absolute control, so he decided to go deep into the Eternal Chaos to personally create his own Dao domain.

The price was also extremely heavy: the difficulty of opening up a world here was extremely high, and even if successful, the subsequent gestation and evolution would require his own efforts, consuming his heart and energy.

According to his estimate, with his own strength and all his hidden cards, the probability of success was no more than thirty percent.

A thirty percent chance was almost a gamble.

The bronze coffin sped through the Chaos. Because it had been promoted to a chaos spiritual treasure, its speed far exceeded the ordinary.

In the blink of an eye, a kalpa passed quietly.

This day, Jiang Chen was still searching for a stable area when suddenly a faint light appeared ahead.

"What is that?" He frowned slightly. How could there be light in the Chaos?

"I shall go and see."

The bronze coffin slowed down and carefully approached the light source.

When the distance closed to about 100,000 light-years, Jiang Chen finally saw the true face of the light.

It was actually a tree—or more precisely, a towering willow tree.

It was countless billions of zhang high, standing in a strangely calm patch of Chaos. Its branches were long and lush, swaying gently with the wind. Each time it swayed, the vast chaos energy around it gathered towards it like a tide; in the next instant, the entire willow tree erupted with brilliant divine radiance.

The cycle repeated, as if it were breathing.

What was even more bizarre was that its trunk was flickering in and out of existence, sometimes merging into the void, as if it were one with this space.

The moment he saw this tree, Jiang Chen's expression changed drastically. Without hesitation, he turned the direction, intending to drive the bronze coffin to escape.

Just at this moment, an ethereal and gentle voice drifted over: "Since you have arrived here, fellow Daoist, why the rush to leave?"

Whoosh—a green willow branch suddenly appeared ahead, stretching across the path and blocking his way.

Jiang Chen's expression tightened, realizing that the surrounding space had been completely sealed, and even he could not break through it.

Since he could not escape, he had no choice but to face it calmly. He walked out of the bronze coffin, his white hair falling to his waist.

Looking at the willow tree from afar, he bowed slightly: "Jiang Chen greets you, fellow Daoist."