234: Undercurrents

The news of the Black Water Pool messenger's pathetic departure from Qianjiao Cliff spread through the surrounding waters like a stone thrown into a calm lake.

A few days later, eighty thousand miles away in the depths of Black Water Pool.

Inside a palace carved from a single piece of obsidian, Lord Mo Yuan sat high upon the Black Water Throne.

He had a burly physique and a sinister countenance. A pair of curved black horns grew from his forehead, and his body was covered in fine black dragon scales. His eyes were like deep pools, dark and unpredictable.

At this moment, he was holding a message Jade Slip in his hand. Inside was the detailed report from the Green-Faced Yaksha regarding the encounters of this trip.

"Let him come and talk in person..." Lord Mo Yuan repeated these words in a low voice. His fingers tightened slightly, and several cracks immediately appeared on the surface of the Jade Slip.

The several Black Water Pool generals standing in attendance in the hall all held their breath, not daring to make the slightest sound.

They had followed Lord Mo Yuan for centuries and knew this lord's temperament well—the calmer he was, the more intense his fury.

"What a Purple Lightning Flood Dragon." Lord Mo Yuan slowly loosened his hand, and the shattered Jade Slip turned into powder, slipping from his fingers. "To think he dares to be so arrogant despite having only just entered the Fourth Stage."

He raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the generals in the hall. "What do you all think?"

A heavily armored Crocodile Demon general with a unicorn horn said in a booming voice, "My Lord, although that Purple Lightning is a newly ascended Fourth Stage, for him to emerge unscathed from such a great upheaval in the Dragon Palace, he must have extraordinary qualities. Moreover, according to the Yaksha's report, the strength of his Aura and the intensity of his pressure were definitely not as simple as someone who had just made a Breakthrough."

"General Crocodile's words are reasonable." Another withered-faced old Turtle Demon holding a bone staff said slowly, "This old servant believes that Gao De's daring to be so unyielding stems from no more than three possibilities: first, he has hidden his true cultivation and might already be at the Middle Stage of the Fourth Stage; second, he obtained some kind of great Opportunity in the Dragon Palace and has nothing to fear; third... he has someone else backing him."

"Backing?" Lord Mo Yuan sneered. "Now that the Dragon Palace has collapsed and the situation of the three great princes is unclear, the Qianjiang River Basin is leaderless. As the master of a remote Water Mansion, what backing could he have? Could he really have invited a Late Fourth Stage great demon to support him?"

Despite saying this, a hint of solemnity flashed in Lord Mo Yuan's eyes.

He was not a reckless individual.

Being able to Cultivate to the Middle Stage of the Fourth Stage and oversee Black Water Pool for centuries depended not only on strength but also on caution and strategy.

"Old Turtle, you personally go to the area around Qianjiao Cliff and investigate in secret." Lord Mo Yuan ordered, "Focus on clarifying three things: first, Purple Lightning's true cultivation and combat strength; second, the troop deployment and Formation strength of Qianjiao Cliff; third... find a way to discover the true backing behind him."

"This old servant obeys." The Turtle Demon bowed.

"General Crocodile, organize the troops and stand by at any time. If it is confirmed that Purple Lightning is just bluffing, I will personally lead the army to flatten Qianjiao Cliff and annex its territory and resources!"

"This general obeys!"

"Furthermore..." Lord Mo Yuan pondered for a moment, "Send people to contact those at 'Red Scale Cave' and 'Black Water Mansion' to test their stance. With the Dragon Palace collapsed, everyone wants a bite of this fat meat, but it won't be easy for my Black Water Pool to swallow it all alone. If we can unite several parties to first eliminate the most troublesome one, the rest will naturally be easier to handle."

"My Lord is wise," the generals said in unison.

"Go." Lord Mo Yuan waved his hand, a cold light flickering in his eyes. "I want to see whether that Purple Lightning Flood Dragon is a True Dragon lurking in the abyss or just a bluffing loach."

...Qianjiao Cliff Water Mansion.

After sending off the Black Water Pool messenger, Gao De did not relax his vigilance.

He knew well that Lord Mo Yuan would never let the matter rest.

He would either investigate in secret, unite with other forces, or... directly send troops to attack.

"Turtle Three Thousand, has the Water Mansion's alert grand Formation been fully activated?" Gao De asked in the quiet room.

"Reporting to the King, all alert Formations have been activated." Turtle Three Thousand reported respectfully. "The outermost layer is the 'Lost Tracks Phantom Fog Formation,' which can interfere with Divine Sense investigation and confuse intruders; the middle layer is the 'Black Water Heavy Pressure Formation,' which, once triggered, can create a thousand feet of water pressure to delay the enemy's movement; the inner layer is the 'Purple Thunder Heavenly Fire Formation,' which uses the thunder-fire power left by the Master as its core, integrating offense and defense, enough to threaten Late Third Stage Cultivators."

Gao De nodded slightly.

These three layers of grand Formations were set up by him combining fragments of the Dragon Palace Formations with his own insights. Although not as grand as the Dragon Palace's grand Formation, they were already top-tier at the Third Stage level.

"In addition, this old servant has distributed all the Spirit Stones and spiritual Materials in stock to each Formation eye node according to the Master's instructions, ensuring that the grand Formation can operate at full power for a long time." Turtle Three Thousand added.

"Well done." Gao De praised, "Pass down the order: from today, the Water Mansion will enter a state of war. All subordinates will be divided into three shifts to patrol day and night without negligence. Do not go out unless necessary, and report any abnormalities immediately."

"Yes." Turtle Three Thousand obeyed, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "King, I have something to report."

"Speak."

"Over at Lesser Qingqiu, Green Edge sent word yesterday that two unknown forces have been moving closer recently, seemingly having explored the vicinity. One group of Human Cultivators seems to be secretly mapping the terrain of the Great Marsh around Lesser Qingqiu; the other Yao Race force has repeatedly tested the outer defense line of Lesser Qingqiu. Although they haven't attacked forcefully, the provocative intent is obvious."

Gao De frowned slightly. "Have you identified their Origins?"

"Green Edge said that the Human Cultivators wear various styles of clothing, but their Cultivation Technique paths are quite orthodox, suspected to be Sect Cultivators; as for that Yao Race force... it seems to be related to 'Red Scale Cave'."

"Red Scale Cave?" A cold light flashed in Gao De's eyes. "The territory of that Red Fire Python? It also wants a piece of the pie?"

Red Scale Cave was located thirty thousand miles southwest of Dongting Lake, at the junction of the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range and the Yunmeng Great Marsh. The cave master was an Early Stage Fourth-Tier Red Fire Python named "Lord Chilian," who was violent by nature, fond of eating blood food, and had an extremely poor reputation in the surrounding areas.

"According to Green Edge's investigation, Red Scale Cave has recently had contact with messengers from Black Water Pool." Turtle Three Thousand said in a low voice, "This old servant suspects that Lord Mo Yuan may have already secretly contacted Lord Chilian, intending to launch a pincer attack from the east and west."

"A pincer attack?" Gao De sneered. "A good idea, but it depends on whether they have the ability."

He pondered for a moment and said, "Send word to Green Edge, tell him to shrink the defense line and hold the core area of Lesser Qingqiu. If Red Scale Cave really invades, there's no need to defend to the death; he can retreat to the fortresses in the Flower Burial Plain. There are grand Formations I've set up there, more than enough to block the enemy's offensive."

"Furthermore..." Gao De took out three purple jade talismans, "These are 'purple heaven thunder talismans' I refined using my Lifebound dragon essence. Each one can release a bolt of Purple Heaven Divine Thunder equivalent to my full-strength strike. Send someone to deliver them to Lesser Qingqiu and give them to Green Edge; they can serve as trump cards at critical moments."

Turtle Three Thousand solemnly took the jade talismans. "This old servant will arrange it immediately."

"Also, have Iron Pincer strengthen the monitoring of the surrounding waters, especially the waterways leading to Black Water Pool and Red Scale Cave. If there are any large-scale troop movements, report back immediately."

"Yes."

After Turtle Three Thousand withdrew, Gao De fell into deep thought alone.

"Lord Mo Yuan, Lord Chilian... one Middle Stage Fourth Stage, one Early Stage Fourth Stage. If they came alone, I wouldn't fear them. But if they join forces, plus other potentially existing forces..."

Gao De felt a hint of pressure.

Although he was confident in his extraordinary combat strength and had many trump cards, he had, after all, only recently entered the Fourth Stage and his foundation was still shallow.

Dealing with two Fourth-Tier Demon Kings simultaneously while also guarding against the Human Cultivators watching from the shadows was indeed tricky.

"It seems that the matters of re-refining my Lifebound Treasure and improving my cultivation must be accelerated." Determination flashed in Gao De's eyes.

He stood up and went to the depths of the quiet room.

This place had been transformed by him into a temporary Artifact Refining Room. The ground was engraved with complex auxiliary Artifact Refining Formations such as the Fire Gathering Formation, Metal Condensing Formation, and Spirit Fusing Formation.

In the center, a half-person-high three-legged purple copper tripod floated in the air. The body of the tripod was engraved with patterns of coiling dragons. It was exactly a High Grade Third Stage Artifact Refining furnace he had obtained from this Dragon Palace trip—the [Coiling Dragon Tripod].

"Although it's only Third Stage, it's enough for now." Gao De muttered to himself.

He sat cross-legged and placed the three Lifebound Treasures—the purple scale earth-shaking armor, the thunder fang formation-breaking halberd, and the purple heaven dragon shadow sword—in front of him.

The first to be re-refined was the purple scale earth-shaking armor.

Although this armor's defense was strong, it had exposed a weakness of insufficient resistance to elemental attacks in the battle with the Golden-Winged Great Peng.

Gao De took out three [Reverse Scale Fragments], ten pieces of [Dragon Pattern Blood Jade], and a large amount of metal essence collected from the ruins of the Dragon Palace.

"The reverse scale is the strongest point of the Dragon Clan's defense and contains fragments of the 'Guardian' Law. Dragon Pattern Blood Jade can replenish dragon essence and strengthen Bloodline resonance. Metal essence will improve the physical strength of the armor..."

His hands formed seals, and the earth fire beneath the Coiling Dragon Tripod rose. The temperature inside the tripod climbed rapidly.

The purple scale earth-shaking armor was first thrown into the tripod. Under the dual refinement of the scorching earth fire and Gao De's dragon essence, the armor plates gradually softened and separated.

Gao De's Divine Sense was like silk, precisely controlling the shape changes of every piece of armor, while simultaneously integrating the Reverse Scale Fragments, Dragon Pattern Blood Jade, and other Materials one by one.

This process was extremely taxing on his mind and dragon essence, but Gao De's expression was calm and his techniques were skillful—benefiting from peeking at the Black-Robed Person's technique for refining the evil dragon primordial fetus during the Dragon Palace trip, he had gained a deeper understanding of the Dao of Artifact Refining.

Seven days later.

"Congeal!" Gao De shouted low, and purple light erupted inside the tripod!

A brand-new set of armor slowly flew out.

It was still purple-black in tone, but the armor plates were thicker and more tightly packed. A layer of fine reverse scale patterns appeared on the surface, and the edges flowed with a dark golden luster.

Most eye-catching were the thumb-sized blood-colored crystals condensed at key positions such as the shoulders, elbows, and knees of the armor—those were formed from the essence of the Dragon Pattern Blood Jade and could automatically trigger a blood-Qi barrier when under attack.

"The defense of this armor should be more than thirty percent stronger than before, and it has specific resistance to sharp weapons and wind-attribute attacks." Gao De nodded in satisfaction. "Let's call it the [purple lightning reverse dragon scale armor]."

He adjusted his breathing for a moment and then began re-refining the thunder fang formation-breaking halberd.

This halberd was mainly for offense, but its armor-piercing ability was slightly insufficient when facing high-Realm enemies.

Gao De took out that nine-foot-seven-inch [evil dragon bone].

As soon as this bone appeared, the quiet room was immediately filled with dense Evil Qi and evil thoughts, as if countless vengeful souls were wailing.

"As expected of the remnants of the evil dragon primordial fetus. Even after being purified by Bai Ze, it still leaves behind such heavy resentment." Gao De snorted coldly. A projection of the prison dragon talisman appeared above his head, shedding rays of black light to firmly suppress the evil dragon bone.

At the same time, he took out the [silver light spear tip], as well as a large amount of earth core fire pattern gold mother, Geng-metal essence, and other top-tier Materials.

"The evil dragon bone contains the Laws of 'Destruction' and 'Evil Sunder,' and the silver light spear tip contains the 'Law-Breaking' Dao rhyme. If they can be successfully fused, this halberd will become the nemesis of all Protective Auras, Formations, and Restrictions!"

The difficulty of re-refining the thunder fang formation-breaking halberd far exceeded that of the purple scale earth-shaking armor.

The evil thoughts in the evil dragon bone resisted frantically, and the Law-breaking Dao rhyme of the silver light spear tip was also unruly and difficult to reconcile.

Gao De was fully focused, pushing the Purple Heaven Dragon Transformation Art to its limit. Thunder and fire churned around him as he used his own dragon essence as a guide to forcibly melt the various Materials.

The black light of the prison dragon talisman constantly fell, suppressing evil thoughts and harmonizing conflicts.

It took a full twenty-one days.

On this day, a sharp scream that pierced the eardrums suddenly rang out in the quiet room!

The lid of the Coiling Dragon Tripod blew open, and a black-and-red halberd shadow, entwined with silver lightning, soared into the sky!

The halberd was one zhang and two feet long. The shaft was a dull black like the evil dragon bone, its surface covered in blood-colored patterns; the head was a sharp, peerless silver-black spear tip with a faint silver light flowing through it; on both sides of the blade, two curved blood-blades extended, their edges as thin as a cicada's wing, emitting a heart-palpitating Evil Qi.

Most startlingly, around the halberd's body, there were faintly visible shadows of countless vengeful souls circling and wailing, yet they were firmly locked by streaks of purple thunder-fire, unable to escape.

"What a fierce weapon!" Gao De's eyes burst with brilliant light as he reached out to grasp the shaft.

In an instant, a violent, bloodthirsty, and all-destroying will surged through his arm and into his Sea of Consciousness!

"Suppress!" In Gao De's Sea of Consciousness, the prison dragon talisman shone brightly, and the purple heaven dragon shadow sword also let out a clear sword chime, instantly suppressing that ferocious will.

"Domineering indeed." Gao De brandished the long halberd, feeling the terrifying power contained within. "Once this halberd is out, the defense of ordinary Fourth Stage protective spiritual light can probably be pierced with one poke. Let's call it the [thunder calamity law-breaking halberd]!"

Re-refining two Lifebound Treasures had consumed much of Gao De's energy, but the rewards were even greater.

He adjusted his breathing for three days to restore his state to its Peak and finally began re-refining the last one—the purple heaven dragon shadow sword.

This sword was the last of his Lifebound Treasures to be refined. It had the greatest potential, but its re-refinement also required the most caution.

Gao De took out all the remaining [Dragon Pattern Blood Jade] and [Restriction Spirit Fragments], as well as those three [Blood Dragon Scales] from Ao Xue, and even drew a wisp of Origin life force from the yimu azure dragon pearl.

"The dragon shadow sword has 'thunder-fire' and 'differentiation' as its core. This re-refinement should integrate the three paths of 'blood,' 'soul,' and 'Restriction' to take it a step further."

He held his hands in an empty embrace, and the purple heaven dragon shadow sword floated before his chest, its body vibrating and letting out a joyful, clear chime.

Re-refining this sword was no longer as simple as tempering with magic power; it involved the Fusion of Divine Soul and the engraving of Dao rhymes.

Gao De closed his eyes, his Divine Sense completely merging with the sword spirit, guiding the various Materials to turn into the purest Law runes, branding them bit by bit into the depths of the sword's body.

Time flowed quietly.

In the blink of an eye, it was the forty-ninth day since the re-refinement began.

On this day, the sound of a dragon's roar and a sword's chime rang out simultaneously in the quiet room!

The purple heaven dragon shadow sword flew into the air. Its body had changed from pure purple-gold to a weave of three colors: purple, gold, and red.

At the spine of the sword, a blood-colored dragon pattern was lifelike, with two spots of silver light at the dragon's eyes that seemed to have the power of breaking Laws; at the crossguard, eight Restriction runes circled, faintly forming a miniature trapping Formation.

Most wondrously, around this sword, eight sword shadows, alternating between illusory and solid, appeared simultaneously. The Aura of each sword shadow was exactly the same as the original, making it impossible to distinguish the real from the fake!

"Eight sword shadows, each containing seventy percent of the original's power, and capable of separately carrying different attribute attacks like 'thunder,' 'fire,' 'blood,' and 'Restriction'..." Gao De opened his eyes, unable to hide the joy in them. "The power of this sword is already close to the legendary 'Spirit Treasure' level."

With a thought, the purple heaven dragon shadow sword fell into his hand, and the eight sword shadows circled around him like guards.

"Let's call it the [Purple Heaven Blood Dragon Restriction Sword]."

At this point, the re-refining of the three Lifebound Treasures was complete.

Gao De could clearly feel that his combat strength had increased by at least fifty percent!

If combined with trump cards like the prison dragon talisman and the yimu azure dragon pearl, he would have the strength to fight even against a Late Fourth Stage!

"Next, I'll properly improve my cultivation."

He was just about to enter secluded cultivation when Turtle Three Thousand's urgent Divine Thought transmission suddenly came from outside the quiet room:

"King! Urgent military intelligence!"

Gao De frowned. "Come in and speak."

Turtle Three Thousand hurried in, his expression solemn. "King, Iron Pincer has sent word. In the direction of Black Water Pool, there are signs of large-scale troop movements! At least three thousand water demons, led by 'General Crocodile,' a great general under Lord Mo Yuan, are advancing toward our Qianjiao Cliff! They are expected to arrive within half a month!"

"They've finally come." A cold light flashed in Gao De's eyes. "What about Red Scale Cave?"

"There is no movement from Red Scale Cave for now, but on the outskirts of Lesser Qingqiu, a large number of traces of Red Fire Python activity have been found. Green Edge judges that Lord Chilian is likely waiting for Black Water Pool to make the first move, and then he'll take advantage of the situation."

"A pincer attack... as expected." Gao De sneered. "Pass down the order: all subordinates are to take their positions according to the wartime contingency plan. Furthermore..."

He paused, a flash of determination in his eyes:

"Activate the 'Hidden Dragon Plan'."

Turtle Three Thousand's body jolted. "Master, are we going to use that batch of 'dark thunder, calamity blood cannons'?"

"Exactly." Gao De nodded. "Since Lord Mo Yuan dares to come, this seat will let him taste the flavor of dragon blood pollution."

He stood up, looking out at the deep waters outside the quiet room, a cold arc curling at the corner of his mouth.

"It's time for a different way of fighting this war."