Chapter 178: Long Xuan and Ao Chun Secretly Pursue; Blocking the Path to Strike First

The vast East Sea.

A stretch of barren reefs forms a shoal, where reeds grow in clusters and moso bamboo emerges from the water.

Seagulls perch above; at the slightest sound, they are startled, spreading their wings to fly high while emitting clear, bright cries.

Fang Longye stands on one of the reefs, his brow clouded with gloom, looking at the cloud of Calamity above his head, then at the innocent-looking Peng Mowang nearby, whose eye sockets are bruised black.

His fist tightens involuntarily, but after a moment of thought, he lets it go.

It is no wonder he reacts this way.

Just after Peng Mowang greeted him, the cloud of Calamity condensed above Fang Longye's head changed instantly, spreading out in heavy layers like ink staining white paper, with blood-colored light blooming and impossible to conceal.

The Calamity, which had already become light and thin after his preparations, suddenly grew as thick as black clouds pressing down on a city.

If this is not the fault of Peng Mowang, whose fault could it be?

Fang Longye does not know why this is.

But it is clear that the cause lies squarely with Peng Mowang.

"Should I leave, then?"

Upon learning the reason for Fang Longye's attitude toward him, Peng Mowang asks weakly.

He does not say anything like, "Wait for me to call a few thugs, I'll handle everything," for although he is somewhat unlearned in his daily life, he understands the principles regarding cultivation.

Calamity is something that sometimes concerns only the individual; it is not easy for others to intervene.

Hearing his words, Fang Longye looks at the changes in the Calamity above his head again, rolls his eyes, and says, "Too late! You had better stay with me!"

This is because he discovers that when Peng Mowang speaks of leaving, the Calamity shows a tendency to grow even larger.

Sure enough, after Peng Mowang nods in agreement, his face still bruised, the Calamity finally stops changing.

Fang Longye heaves a sigh of relief.

Only then does he turn back to look at Peng Mowang, feeling amazed in his heart.

Logically speaking, since he bumped into him by chance, the Calamity should have at least diminished.

How could it have increased instead? He cannot fathom it at all.

With no time to dwell on the reason, he simply channels his divine abilities to sense the Heavenly Secrets, changes direction, and signals for Peng Mowang to follow as they continue their flight.

……

Above the East Sea.

The Eighth Prince Ao Chun is sitting in a cloud chariot, with clusters of auspicious clouds and shimmering halos of light emerging above his crown.

Above that, runes like stars, fine and dense, combine into the image of a precious bowl, three feet and five inches wide.

The precious light is dim, shaped like a coiled hornless dragon holding a pearl in its mouth.

"Do not think that because that dog thief used a treasure to conceal his own Heavenly Secrets, he is safe; birds leave tracks, and geese leave cries."

"In terms of Heavenly Secrets, there is no display under his concealment, but as long as he remains on the East Sea, fluctuations will inevitably arise."

"Even if he does not move at all, his very existence will cause fluctuations, unless he is dead."

"As long as there are fluctuations, they cannot escape the search of this Four Seas Bowl from our East Sea Dragon Palace."

Ao Chun points to the precious bowl above his head, smiling with his head tilted slightly as he speaks to Long Xuan, who is sitting in a Treasure Pavilion traveling alongside him, his brow filled with high spirits.

With the Four Seas Bowl, no fluctuation anywhere on the East Sea can escape the investigation of their East Sea Dragon Palace.

He cannot lock onto Fang Longye himself, but by filtering through the magnitude of the fluctuations, he can narrow it down to a fair estimate.

It is not as convenient as calculating Heavenly Secrets, but it can be meticulous and reveal every detail.

This is because this Four Seas Bowl is the object of authority over the entire East Sea region.

Controlling the Four Seas Bowl naturally makes the entire East Sea region as clear as the lines on one's palm.

It is only because his father, the East Sea Dragon King, is away that he was able to steal it out to win the favor of a beauty.

"Look, another fluctuation has arisen; I just don't know if it's that dog thief!"

At this very moment, the precious bowl, which was originally as clear as jade and without waves, begins to ripple, as if layers of scales are trembling in unison.

Splashes of jade-like droplets fly up, shining like stars, one after another, dazzlingly bright.

Sensing the location transmitted by the Four Seas Bowl, Ao Chun points it out immediately, and the two drive their respective chariots toward the direction indicated by the jade bowl.

"Well-deserved reputation." Seeing him like this, Long Xuan reveals a perfectly timed, faint smile, and a few words of praise satisfy Ao Chun's vanity to a great extent.

"The East Sea Dragon Palace is worthy of being the head of the Four Seas Dragon Palaces. It truly has a rich collection; I fear that even if the other three Dragon Palaces were added together, they would still fall short."

Ao Chun chuckles and waves his hands repeatedly.

"Between our Four Seas..."

Ao Chun, in front of the one he admires, shows off a little and is about to continue, speaking of the solidarity and closeness of the Four Seas Dragon Palaces as if they were one family.

He intends to extend this to the friendship of the entire Dragon Clan, so as to get closer to this Princess.

Unexpectedly, a voice comes: "So it really is you, you pretty boy!"

Immediately following this, an overwhelming and irresistible Aura descends abruptly, rushing toward them and blocking their path.

The voice is resonant and filled with chilling murderous intent, coming from the sky like the heavenly might of thunder, echoing all around with lingering reverberations.

Fang Longye descends forcefully, carrying the now-restored Peng Mowang.

At this moment, the murderous intent is like an abyss or a sea.

Chilling and vast, it surges in all directions, turning into ink-colored halos that expand and fill the surroundings.

The fierce and violent energy takes on substance, manifesting as a massive dragon shadow, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws.

All these days, Fang Longye has been calculating in his heart who would bring about his Outer Tribulation this time.

After much thought, he could only think of that pretty boy Ao Chun and the young woman who was with him that day.

Rather than passive defense, it is better to take the initiative.

Therefore, after channeling his divine abilities to probe the Heavenly Secrets, he pulled in his newly joined companion Peng Mowang, changed direction, and came to kill.

"Pretty boy?"

Hearing Fang Longye's voice, Ao Chun was consumed by burning rage, his face flushed with shame and anger; he immediately rose from the cloud carriage, cold light surging in his eyes as he looked ahead.

Within the layers of overlapping halos, Fang Longye and Peng Mowang walked out, one after the other.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Seeing Fang Longye, Ao Chun's eyes split with rage, and he laughed in fury, drawing his weapon into his hand.

"I searched high and low for you, only to find you without any effort at all. I was just looking for you, you bastard! I didn't expect you to deliver yourself to my doorstep!"

Fang Longye's gaze swept across the ten thousand miles around him, and he chuckled, "Just by relying on you? Or are you referring to the shrimp soldiers and crab generals you have lying in ambush near your carriage?"

Following Fang Longye's words, the clouds filling the sky parted like a beaded curtain being rolled up, and then thunder crashed down; lightning bolts, appearing in shades of purple and cyan, arced up and down, outlining each other as they descended.

Immediately following this, within the lightning, which was as dense as water, a thousand-foot-long ship was revealed, traveling through the air as if it were traveling on the surface of water.

Looking closely, this ship was three stories high, with houses made of gold and jade upon it; light hung from the eaves, and vast, surging golden Dragon Qi swirled above it, condensing into myriad patterns to protect the surroundings.

This treasure ship appeared to be only a thousand feet in size, but in reality, its internal space was comparable to a Small World.

It was packed with dense ranks of Dragon Clan soldiers.

Just by sensing the Aura, there were no fewer than a dozen Golden Immortal from the Longgong inside.

Ao Chun sneered, "Stubborn to the end! Let's see how you deal with this!"

Fang Longye smiled indifferently, not bothering to respond, merely observing the crowd of Longgong soldiers on the great ship with great interest.

In the Hanging Treasure Pavilion.

There were pearl towers and emerald curtains, railings filled with pearls and jade, and green clouds drifting slowly.

Long Xuan reached up to adjust her hair, her beautiful eyes darting about as she secretly activated a secret Dharma to lower her presence.

She was no ordinary cultivator lacking discernment; she could naturally sense that in just two or three years, in the blink of an eye, this detestable fellow before her had made astonishing progress in his strength.

Furthermore, the golden-robed youth beside him, who was drooling while staring at the ship full of Longgong soldiers, was even less simple.

Not to mention the scent of heavy treasures radiating from him, there was also a deep, obscure Aura hidden within him, so subtle it was imperceptible, which made one feel extremely terrified.

"I must watch further and let the people of the East Sea Dragon Palace go and fight first." Thinking of this, Long Xuan's figure became even more concealed, and her Aura grew increasingly faint.

However, everything was in vain.

The very moment Fang Longye appeared, he had locked his gaze onto her, this Longnu whose name he did not even know.

(End of chapter)