Chapter 630: Eighteen Layers

Ding Huan activated his Spirit Eye, and indeed found it more effective here than his divine sense.

His divine sense could not penetrate at all, but his Spirit Eye could perceive traces of spiritual resonance.

However, his Spirit Eye was too low in rank, allowing only a vague sense of where something valuable might lie.

Ding Huan dug through the spiritually resonant sand, but found no Spirit Core Stones.

These spots were likely where Spirit Core Stones had once been, leaving behind residual spiritual traces after removal.

But too many people had searched this place; even if any remained, they would be nearly impossible to find.

Ding Huan ceased his search and arrived at the Fourth Layer of the Watchful Divine Sea.

That's odd—he had clearly been ambushed by Ting Xue, so why was he still sitting on the Unsinkable Divine Wood Boat? Chu Bukian scrambled to his feet, the blood on his chest proving he had indeed been ambushed.

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The woman reached out to grab Chu Bukian's ring.

At that exact moment, the maid took Chu Bukian's ring and seized him, preparing to throw him into the sea.

The sea contained only water, no sand.

Ding Huan had originally intended to give her a chance to explain, but this woman immediately moved to kill him—clearly no good.

This was strange: Ting Xue had ambushed him, so why hadn't she taken his Five-Star Spirit Core Crystal?

This time he obtained a bottle of top-tier antidote divine pills and came to the Sixth Layer of the Watchful Divine Sea with his two maids.

Ding Huan did not wait for Chu Bukian to awaken; he packed away his Unsinkable Divine Wood Boat and continued upward to the Seventh Layer.

Before the woman could touch the sea, Ding Huan flicked his hand—the ring landed precisely on Chu Bukian's finger.

In the Sixth Layer, he had indeed obtained the Five-Star Spirit Core Crystal.

There was sand, but not spread evenly across the surface; instead, it was unevenly scattered along the shore.

Chu Bukian spat a jet of blood and collapsed unconscious.

This Divine Watchtower Sea seemed to have only eighteen layers.

Yet he could continuously cultivate the Great Cosmos Art to perceive the toxic Dao laws here, thereby strengthening his own Dao Consciousness Sea's reservoir of toxic Dao laws.

Chu Bukian? Ding Huan still held a favorable impression of this sect disciple; Chu Bukian's status in the Xidaoshen Sect was likely high.

Now seeing Chu Bukian swaying in the waves of the Sixth Layer, it was clear his boat could capsize at any moment.

"Are you planning to rob me and kill me?"

Ding Huan was certain: if anyone else stood here, they would be reduced to nothing by the terrifying toxic Dao laws in moments.

Moreover, Chu Bukian casually offered to let him join the Xidaoshen Sect—ordinary disciples had no authority to make such an offer.

In truth, the waves' amplitude wasn't large, but they carried a violent, irregular energy.

He had been to the Sixth Layer of the Divine Watchtower Sea; it wasn't just water and those mysterious sands—the inexplicable Dao resonance was what made it terrifying.

Ding Huan cultivated the Great Cosmos Art while perceiving the toxic Dao laws here, continuing upward.

One moment's inattention and the wooden boat would surely capsize.

If one slipped and was thrown into the sea, who knew if one would survive? Seventeenth Layer… Eighteenth Layer…

This layer was saturated with all manner of toxic Dao energies, and the toxic Dao laws were chaotic and fragmented.

Ting Xue ambushing him wasn't wrong; that he still lived, and saw no Ting Xue, meant only one possibility.

To Ding Huan's surprise, half of the Sixth Layer of the Divine Watchtower Sea was water, half was sand.

The divine energy in the Sixth Layer was not only denser than the previous layers—it was also significantly purer.

The toxicity in this layer was already extremely potent; unless one was someone like Ding Huan, who ignored toxic Dao resonance, one would need superior antidote pills.

Ding Huan's sudden voice startled the maid, causing her hand to tremble; she spun around in terror and saw Ding Huan controlling his Unsinkable Divine Wood Boat, now alongside her own.

If he could fully integrate the toxic Dao laws of the Eighteenth Layer into his Dao Consciousness Sea, he wouldn't need to return to obtain the Devouring Dao Silver.

Ding Huan immediately constructed a Zhou Tian of the Great Cosmos Art and soon sensed a series of Dao resonance laws he had never encountered before.

No one should be able to enter the Sixth Layer. Chu Bukian's presence here suggests he possesses a powerful antidote pill—perhaps even a divine pill.

He quickly remembered he had been betrayed by the maid Ting Xue; he knew why—because he had obtained a Five-Star Spirit Core Crystal.

The Sixth Layer's Divine Watchtower Sea even had waves—a ten-zhang-long Unsinkable Divine Wood Boat rocked atop them.

And the boat appearing on the shore confirmed he had truly been rescued.

In that instant, Ding Huan's fist slammed into the woman's skull—a spray of blood exploded; she was blasted away by Ding Huan's blow.

For Ding Huan, the stronger the toxicity higher up, the better.

As long as he stayed out of the Divine Watchtower Sea, pure toxic Dao laws had no effect on him.

Ding Huan sighed; Chu Bukian's eyes were truly blind—his personal maid was a heartless viper.

Spirit Core Stones above four-star could be called Spirit Core Crystals.

Ding Huan stood on the Eighteenth Layer of the Watchful Divine Sea; toxic Dao laws around him were nearly solidified.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have brought two maids on a journey like this.

Ding Huan did not linger in this layer but continued to the Fifth Layer of the Divine Watchtower Sea.

The waves were extremely irregular; yet somehow, Ding Huan managed to synchronize the rise and fall of both boats, preventing either from capsizing.

Chu Bukian's breath remained steady; he would awaken soon. Though he still struggled to control his boat and prevent it from flipping, his pale face revealed he could not hold on much longer.

Ding Huan guided both Unsinkable Divine Wood Boats back to shore, then lifted Chu Bukian's boat onto the beach.

He had never considered that Ting Xue would betray him for this Five-Star Spirit Core Crystal…

The maid finally reacted—she suddenly drew a divine dagger and lunged at Ding Huan.

Waves crashed against the bottom of the Unsinkable Divine Wood Boat; Ding Huan clearly felt strange Dao resonance energies ravaging beneath it.

Ding Huan did not stop in the Fifth Layer but continued upward.

Ding Huan's domain surged, followed by a punch unleashed.

The eighteenth layer of the Gradient Sea was not large; more like a lake than a sea, its circumference likely no more than ten thousand zhang.

Chu Bukian swallowed another Soul-Resolving Divine Pill, and his mind became considerably clearer.

Someone saw Ting Xue ambush him, killed Ting Xue, and then saved him.

The fourth layer once again resumed its upper layer of sand and lower layer of seawater.

To fully comprehend all the Poison Dao principles here and integrate them into his own Great Dao Consciousness Sea was no simple matter.

Ding Huan landed on the wooden boat where Chu Bukian was, then stared at the maid preparing to kill Chu Bukian.

For this Divine Core Stone, the maid Luo Mei perished in the sixth layer of the Gradient Sea.

To Ding Huan's surprise, the maid vanished upon falling into the seawater, not a single splash rising.

As for his two maids, Ding Huan saw only one; the other had likely fallen off the wooden boat.

Ding Huan swept his divine sense across the area.

He intended to comprehend the Poison Dao principles here, where the heavenly and earthly divine qi was so thick and pure.

Although he had long since condensed and fused a Divine Core, he still had a younger sister.

It would be best to discover a Poison Dao principle stronger than his Bone-Clinging Devouring Dao, so he could absorb an even stronger Poison Dao principle into his Consciousness Sea.

Unlike the previous layers of the Gradient Sea, those had either been entirely fine sand or had a layer of fine sand spread across the sea surface.

At least since he stood on this layer, he had not seen a path leading to the nineteenth layer.

The divine sense technique Yellow Flower Kill struck the woman's spiritual domain, and her divine needle trembled slightly.

……

Here, people were relatively few.

The boat was thrown up and dropped down along an irregular trajectory.

Ding Huan's divine sense swept the area and found only a dozen or so people.

The seventh layer, eighth layer, ninth layer…

"You…" The maid widened her eyes, unable to believe what she saw.

Chu Bukian's divine sense immediately fell upon his ring—the five-star Divine Core crystal was still inside.

Ding Huan knew that for most, the fifth layer was nearly unreachable.

By the time Ding Huan reached the twelfth layer, the Poison Dao aura had long surpassed his Bone-Clinging Devouring Dao, but Ding Huan did not care.

Although the Divine Core Stones in the Divine Gaze Gradient Sea appeared plentiful, most held little value.

He did not know how many layers the Divine Gaze Gradient Sea had, but the higher one went, the stronger the toxicity, and similarly, the heavenly and earthly divine qi also seemed stronger.

When Chu Bukian opened his eyes, he was momentarily dazed.

Ding Huan quickly adapted to the irregular rises and waves and the Dao resonance striking against him; he was already beside Chu Bukian's Unsinkable Divine Wood Boat.

Since he had encountered this, he couldn't just stand by and let him die.

To find a good Divine Core Stone, one could only go above the fifth layer of the Gradient Sea.

If possible, he also intended to convert all his Immortal Qi into Divine Qi here.

Just as Ding Huan was about to throw out an Unsinkable Divine Wood Boat to help, he saw another maid suddenly punch Chu Bukian in the back.

Ding Huan's divine sense settled upon the waves.

He knew well that the Gradient Sea could ascend endlessly, but one rule: one must not dive into the sea to retrieve Divine Core Stones.

He came here specifically to find a good Divine Core Stone for his younger sister, Chu Tianhua.

Anyone who reached the fifth layer of the Gradient Sea, whether strong or not, likely carried decent antidote pills.

Ding Huan tossed the Unsinkable Divine Wood Boat into the sea, spat out Immortal Qi beneath his feet, and the boat swiftly neared Chu Bukian's wooden vessel.

Ding Huan found a slightly wider area and began setting up a defensive array.

In the fifth layer of the Gradient Sea, Ding Huan saw only one or two people controlling Unsinkable Divine Wood Boats, moving slowly and searching.

The five-star Divine Core Stone was naturally the Divine Core Crystal.

But this was also the most illogical possibility.

This was the? th layer of the Divine Gaze Gradient Sea.

Chu Bukian shook his head; he couldn't figure it out.

Still, with a five-star Divine Core Crystal on him, he should hurry back and let his little sister refine it into her Divine Core.

(End of Chapter)