Chapter 500: with translation of chapter title

I, finally came back.

Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder

Palace, deep-sea snow clam, clam shell, huge palace, unknown plants—the Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder knows the place well.

Ah

The Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder slowly stopped at a corner of the palace, bent down, picked up something resembling a toy, and let out a mournful sigh.

As the Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder went deeper, collapsed stone pillars and some armor beginning to rot appeared everywhere. Even the fallen curtains had rotted beyond recognition.

Finally, the Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder arrived at one of the destinations of this trip: a huge intersection with a severely damaged fountain at its center. Beneath the statue inside the fountain lay a skeleton that gleamed like jade, speckled with points of light.

The Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder stepped forward and gently caressed the skeleton.

Her eyes filled with deep sorrow. 'Father, I have returned.'

She then picked up the exquisite crown that had fallen to one side, her azure eyes gazing at the empty gem setting on the crown, as if recalling some precious memories. Gripping the crown tightly with both hands, she left the place. After winding around, she arrived at a treasury storing the Sea Clan's various precious secret treasures, but the treasury was now severely damaged, and its treasures were mostly gone—only one in ten remained.

One saw the Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder slash her palm, ignoring the blood gushing from the wound, and press heavily against a stone wall of the treasury. After a brief silence, a sudden loud bang split the wall in two, revealing a hidden chamber! The chamber was not large, seeming to be less than one-tenth the size of the treasury.

However, the treasures inside were all intact, whether elixirs that had retained ninety percent of their potency after thousands of years, or various magical artifacts displayed in cabinets that still emanated power. A staff of unknown grade stood in the center of the secret chamber. The Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder slowly approached; with each step, the staff emitted a 'humming' sound, and the closer she got, the faster the vibration became. When the snow-white soft arm grasped the staff, its constant trembling ceased, as if they were old friends reunited after a long separation.

Afterward, she collected all the magical artifacts here into her bag and came to a small counter deep in the secret chamber. She waved her hand to knock away the decoration in front, revealing five identically sized round holes. Three top-grade Spirit Stones were set into three of the holes; it seemed one of them was nearly depleted. It appears the secret to preserving these treasures for so long lies right here.

Having taken the three top-grade Spirit Stones, the Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder's objective here was basically fulfilled. All that remained was to meet with the group that went to retrieve the Trident Divine Spear, Qihun Li Lin. This secret realm is hidden; aside from them, no other cultivator should know the way in, but she hadn't expected an uninvited guest who had entered the secret realm before them and even taken the Trident Divine Spear into his bag.

Daoist Yun, your methods are truly impressive.

The Sea Soul Clan Grand Elder softly said to Yunhe that when she came down from the upper stone chamber and saw the mess everywhere and scattered corpses on the ground, she already guessed what had happened below. Qihun Li Lin had been instructed by her to come down to retrieve the Sea Clan's heavy treasure, but now she lies severely wounded beneath the Sea Queen's statue, clearly exhausted, and it is obvious she has used the Qihun Clan's secret technique!

However, looking at her tragic yet beautiful state, it seems she did not fully succeed. Since they are now lying on the ground, the Trident Divine Spear must have already been taken into Yunhe's bag; the remaining question is how to retrieve the Trident Divine Spear from Yunhe's hands.

The Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder's mouth opened slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but she saw Yunhe already unleash a sword—refining sword into silk, silk sword into rain.

The Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder almost laughed in anger; this Yunhe dared to attack her, a late Nascent Soul cultivator, like that—knowing that the difference between mid Nascent Soul and late Nascent Soul is like heaven and earth!

Arrogant!

The Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder shouted loudly, slamming her staff heavily onto the ground; waves of undulation surged outward from the point of impact. Yunhe's silk-like sword rain dissolved in the undulations, and even a lingering wave rushed toward him. Yunhe tapped his feet lightly, flashed backward, and while retreating, slashed out streaks of sword light to obstruct the wave's advance.

One saw the Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder not pursue, but instead flash to Qihun Li Lin's side; a bright green light flickered in her hand, and in an instant Qihun Li Lin's wound began to heal rapidly.

Grand Elder. Li Lin them

Silence, go up first; I'll come find you later.

The Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder threw out a bottle of elixir and a small shield, then steadily placed Qihun Li Lin onto the platform.

Then she struck back with her staff, sending the incoming flying swords flying; the blue light of her staff blazed intensely, and a stream of extreme cold shot toward Yunhe. Yunhe's wings fluttered behind him, dodging the blue light at extreme speed, leaving everything in its path turned into hard ice sculptures—'The Five Elements Sword Formation of the All-Heavens!'

In an instant, the Five Elements Heavenly Thunder Sword transformed into a five-colored phoenix bird, swooping toward the Beautiful Soul

The blue light and the five-colored phoenix bird met in midair, instantly producing a large expanse of steam and shattered ice crystals. The phoenix bird dissipated, yet the blue light pressed forward relentlessly, yet could not touch Yunhe in the slightest—such is the speed of the Ice Phoenix Wings, enough to make even a late Nascent Soul old monster break a sweat.

Although Yunhe appeared somewhat embarrassed in his maneuvers, he showed no panic, continually contemplating his strategy against the enemy.

Back when dealing with Qilin Changlan, if I hadn't deployed the Five Elements Talisman Array, I probably would still have been let escape by him. This place is narrow; if I used a grand talisman array, the collapse would leave no survivors.

Yunhe thought: the Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder had not shown herself before, but now it's clear her strength surpasses that of Qilin Changlan.

Moreover, the information that I am skilled in divine sense attacks has surely become known to all the Sea Clan cultivators; rashly using divine sense attacks might be ineffective and could even become my own flaw. After a brief pondering, Yunhe had already circled this vast plaza several times, and the Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder also temporarily ceased her attack.

First, Yunhe's escape speed is truly too fast; second, although this attack method is powerful, its consumption is also considerable—an ineffective attack is merely wasting mana.

Seeing the Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder cease her attack, Yunhe's folding fan flickered with a bright luster, and a strange qi flew out from it. The Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder suddenly felt her limbs grow slightly heavy, the flow of her mana a bit sluggish, her brows furrowed slightly, her staff slammed heavily to the ground, and then she changed her hand seals, completely disregarding Yunhe above, who was radiating five-colored light.

Five-Colored Divine Light—Geng Metal Qi!

One saw in midair that Yunhe's folding fan emitted golden light like a descending divine dragon, baring fangs and brandishing claws as it rushed toward the Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder, who was in the midst of forming a hand seal. The dragon fiercely collided with her; just as they were about to meet, the staff planted on the ground instantly formed a barrier that just enclosed her—no imagined explosion occurred; instead, the dragon simply plunged into the barrier and then vanished.

Yunhe was somewhat surprised that this staff, whose grade cannot be discerned, possessed not only that astonishingly lethal icy beam but also such defensive ability. As Yunhe pondered how to counter the enemy, a beautiful, melodious song rose—first praising the bravery of the Sea Clan's ancestors, in the endless sea where high-ranking sea beasts stand tall, carving out a realm for the Sea Clan; then extolling the Sea God's tolerance and the happiness of the Sea Clan's people after the kingdom's establishment. Suddenly, the song shifted: traitors colluded with foreign races, betrayed the Sea God, slew the Sea King, the kingdom split, and the Sea Clan fell into an era of clan warfare. Yunhe did not relax his mind; although he did not fully understand the Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder's intention, he remained tense, guarding against any illusion or divine sense attack within the song.

What do you intend, fellow Daoist?

Yunhe's face was cold and handsome; he said coldly, 'Where is the Trident Divine Spear?'

The Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder's eyes were gloomy; she also seemed unwilling to continue fighting Yunhe. Yunhe remained silent, and the two stared at each other, seemingly seeking an answer from each other's gaze. Hand over the Trident Divine Spear, and this palace will let you leave.

The Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder spoke first, seemingly anxious because she could not sense the presence of the Trident Divine Spear.

I have never seen it before; Fellow Daoist, you may be mistaken.

Yunhe spoke expressionlessly, as if he truly had not seen it.

You

One saw the Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder clench her silver teeth, her eyes seeming to spit fire.

One saw Yunhe still calm and breezy; noticing the Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder's faint inclination to strike, he gave a soft 'pfft' and unfolded his fan.

It seemed he meant, 'If you want to fight, then fight.'

In the end, neither moved to attack: If you return the Trident Divine Spear to this palace, I can guarantee that the Sea Clan will never invade the land!

After the Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder fell silent briefly, she was no longer angry at having been deceived; she spoke normally, giving the impression of a Sea Clan queen: I have never heard that the Sea Clan still has a queen now.

Yunhe spoke up in rebuttal, clearly not believing her promise.

Furthermore, even if the Sea Clan were to attack, what could they do? Earlier, they hadn't even been able to withstand his great camp, and even Qilin Changlan died at his hand. Seeing Yunhe unmoved by reason or temptation, the Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder repressed her urge to beat him severely. After taking a few deep breaths, she spoke slowly.

The Sea Clan currently has no queen, but that may not remain so in the future!

One saw the Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder's eyes flashing with strong confidence.

You can trust me; I can swear an oath in the name of the Sea God!

Upon hearing this, Yunhe felt a twinge of surprise; it seemed the Sea Clan's invasion of the land was not unanimous. Nevertheless, even so, he could not simply hand over the Trident Divine Spear to her so obediently.

Moreover, the Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder gave him a strange feeling, as if she were disguising herself, and since they had clashed, she had not employed any unique divine abilities of the Qihun Clan. Nowadays, does the Sea Clan still worship the Sea God? Yunhe harbored many doubts, increasingly feeling that she was not ordinary.

Who exactly are you?

One saw Yunhe assume an attacking stance and suddenly ask.

Who would have thought that upon hearing this, the Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder's eyes widened in surprise, as if she hadn't expected Yunhe to ask so, but she quickly returned to her haughty Grand Elder demeanor.

This palace is the strongest expert of the Qihun Clan—Qihun Ruolan!

Qihun Ruolan felt somewhat angry in her heart; she herself had lowered her status to this extent and demanded the three‑pronged divine spear from him, and letting him keep his life was already a great favor! This Yunhe actually dares to be so presumptuous! If it weren't for him being as slippery as a loach, making him hard to deal with, I would have long ago sliced his body into ten thousand pieces to quell the hatred in my heart.

But what's most important right now is that she unexpectedly can't sense the existence of the Three‑pronged Divine Halberd in this world! Not even the spirit‑summoning song can draw it forth.

"If you are willing to hand over the halberd, this palace may, depending on the circumstances, offer a treasure in exchange."

Qihun Ruolan said, and a purple sandalwood bead appeared in her hand; even Yunhe, far away, could smell a faint fragrance, and for a moment his divine sense felt exceptionally clear, with a slight increase! "Seven‑turn Soul‑nurturing Pearl!"

Yunhe softly spoke the name of this item, a treasure that can advance divine sense cultivation; he had heard of it before, but never imagined it would be in the hands of the sea tribe.

"Since you recognize this item, you should know its value; the Three‑pronged Divine Halberd is useless to you, so it's better to make this exchange."

Qihun Ruolan was somewhat pleased, thinking Yunhe was someone who couldn't be swayed by soft or hard means, impervious to persuasion; now it seemed she had opened a situation, and the hope of retrieving the Three‑pronged Divine Halberd grew a bit.

"Not enough."

Only saw Yunhe shake his head and say, since she voluntarily produced this item to request an exchange, it shows the Three‑pronged Divine Halberd's value to her must be far greater.

"What!"

Qihun Ruolan was both shocked and angry, suddenly losing her composure, her silver teeth clenched, her eyes fixed on Yunhe as if she had already chopped him up and eaten him, saying, "I still want the treasure the sea tribe uses for its teleportation array."

Yunhe said, he actually also knew that further angering Qihun Ruolan might really lead to a fight where both sides suffer, but since this deal is beneficial to both parties, what harm is there in giving the Three‑pronged Divine Halberd to her! Upon hearing this, Qihun Ruolan was somewhat surprised; after the kingdom's destruction, the sea tribe's various clans have been in perpetual war, and the sea tribe's teleportation arrays are mostly interconnected, so retaining a teleportation array makes it likely to be raided by other clans—thus, when the split first began, aside from some allied or friendly clans, the sea tribe's clans no longer used the teleportation arrays. "Here you go!"

Only saw Qihun Ruolan send it with a hand, a small pearl flew toward Yunhe; Yunhe reached out and grasped it in midair, feeling the sensation from the pearl—indeed, it felt exactly like the Cloud‑wing Feather, also possessing a faint spatial power.

"I also want you to swear a great Dao oath!"

"You! Good."

"(End of chapter)"