Chapter 1020: Exhausting Everything, A Cross-Sea Battle

"Is this the Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven?"

In the crowd, Zhou Feiyou looked out at the unfamiliar territory.

However, to his disappointment, the Dao Sect's number one Grotto-Heaven, which was recorded in the classics as being extremely profound, had nothing remarkable about it.

Even the most iconic "Phantom Beasts" were nowhere to be seen.

As Core Formation cultivators participating in the grand competition, they basically all knew that after winning the top ten, they would have the opportunity to enter the Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven to practice, so most of them had checked relevant ancient books in advance. But seeing it now, the doubts in their hearts were the same as Zhou Feiyou's.

Apart from the ten great Core Formation true disciples, thirty-six Nascent Soul True Persons also entered this time.

Perhaps noticing the doubts in the hearts of the Core Formation juniors, someone explained: "This opening of the Grotto-Heaven was done in an unconventional way, so the scene inside the Grotto-Heaven is also very different, you don't need to be surprised."

"Uncle-Master Li, is it normal for Phantom Beasts to be missing?" someone asked curiously.

Uncle-Master Li smiled: "Of course not. Phantom Beasts are actually formed by the combination of Mirage Dragon cloud energy and spiritual energy; unless the disciples of the previous Grotto-Heaven competition killed all the Phantom Beasts here, how could they not exist? Now that you don't see them, it's just that this exit area has already been cleared by Ancestor Lian Cheng."

Speaking of this, his expression became slightly serious.

"You don't need to be curious about these things; entering this time is purely to accelerate your growth. The Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven has a time flow difference of one hundred to one with the outside world; a hundred years in the Grotto-Heaven is one year outside. You must make good use of these hundred years to break through to the Nascent Soul stage as much as possible, and become the new generation of leaders of our Dao Sect after you go out!"

"Remember, do not go too deep into the Grotto-Heaven; there are a large number of high-level Phantom Beasts living there, with strength comparable to Nascent Soul True Persons, which is not something you can deal with now."

The disciples promised loudly, saying yes one after another.

Uncle-Master Li's gaze fell on the slightly aloof white-clothed man in the crowd.

"Zhou Feiyou!"

"Disciple is here."

"You are the top of this sixty-year grand competition; the other rewards have already been issued to the Tiannan Dao Palace and your family. And as for your personal rewards, you should have received them, right?"

Zhou Feiyou's heart flowed with the names of a series of rewards: thousand-year Thunder Essence that could be added to his natal magic treasure to increase its power, Profound Origin Heavy Water most suitable for water-attribute cultivators, and even a large amount of resources and secret techniques to assist in forming the Nascent Soul, etc.

He nodded gently, "I received them yesterday."

Uncle-Master Li showed a look of expectation, "I hope that when the Grotto-Heaven opens again, you can become a fellow practitioner of our generation. In addition, there will be other opportunities at that time, and I hope you grasp them."

Zhou Feiyou was stunned for a moment; there would be other opportunities when the Grotto-Heaven opens again?

He wanted to ask more, but Uncle-Master Li and the thirty-six Nascent Soul True Persons could not wait any longer.

After giving everyone a general explanation, they hurriedly drove their escape lights and left.

Their direction was the same, very certain, as if they had come in with a mission.

Thinking of the name "Ke Lianshan" mentioned by Ancestor Lian Cheng before coming in, Zhou Feiyou showed a thoughtful look.

The name Ke Lianshan was not well-known among this generation of the Tianyuan Dao Sect, but it was very famous among the older generation; he was once a person as famous as the Alchemy Saint, known as the Chess Saint of the Central Continent.

He was the one most likely to reach Soul Transformation!

Having not seen him for over a hundred years, he did not expect that he had entered the Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven at some point.

"Chess Saint Ke Lianshan, plus thirty-six Nascent Soul True Persons, are they doing some big thing?"

Zhou Feiyou thought to himself, his thoughts a bit confused for a moment.

When he came back to his senses, he found that the other nine companions were looking at him with strange eyes.

Was it because of Uncle-Master Li's special treatment earlier?

Zhou Feiyou snorted lightly and didn't care; as the top of the grand competition who had suppressed his peers, he had the qualification not to care about anyone's thoughts.

With a leap, he turned into a streak of light and flew into the distance.

Seeing him acting so self-willed, the others didn't know what to say; the older ones just said "everyone find a treasure land to practice," and then dispersed.

Ten figures turned into ten streaks of light, going in different directions.

Compared to the five-hundred-year Grotto-Heaven competition last time, this batch of Dao Sect true disciples was clearly much more relaxed.

Entering the Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven didn't even come with any competition tasks; it was purely as a reward for the sixty-year grand competition, allowing them to practice in peace for a hundred years.

Zhou Feiyou rushed to the front, and it only took him two or three days to find a spiritual land he liked.

It was a place with a three-tiered waterfall and white waves crashing into the sky, a beautiful landscape; the only drawback was probably that the mountain body was charred black, as if it had been burned by a fierce fire.

However, wanting to move in was quite troublesome.

Because a fourth-order Flood Dragon Phantom Beast was entrenched inside, comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator!

Zhou Feiyou was not afraid of this.

If he wanted to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, he must have the help of a fourth-order spiritual vein, and with his strength, he was fully qualified to kill this fourth-order Phantom Beast across levels.

Zhou Feiyou raised his hands, and vast mist erupted from his body; the thick black mist shrouded a radius of ten miles, and the sound of water slapping could be heard faintly inside.

Qi Sea Floats in the Heavens, Ten Thousand Phenomena Profound!

Not only that, Zhou Feiyou opened his mouth and spat out a bead, which flew toward the fourth-order Phantom Beast that looked like a Flood Dragon.

The two entangled together, making the spiritual energy within a radius of dozens of miles extremely turbulent.

In the distance, a woman watched this scene, her expression horrified.

She had thought that during the sixty-year grand competition, Zhou Feiyou had suppressed his peers, and his strength was already outstanding.

But she didn't expect that it was just the tip of the iceberg.

The ability displayed at this moment was almost the same as a Nascent Soul True Person.

"Forget it, this Three-Tiered Waterfall was not my goal anyway, let's give it to him!"

Seeing that the battle there was about to be decided, the woman quietly retreated.

Boom!

Accompanied by a violent roar, the clouds and mist in the sky suddenly dissipated.

The huge Phantom Beast Flood Dragon fell with a mournful cry.

Zhou Feiyou flickered, grabbed a beast core, and showed a look of surprise.

"This should be the legendary Phantom Core!"

"I heard from my Master that it contains the opportunity to seize the creation of heaven and earth, and by practicing with the help of the Phantom Core, one has hope of comprehending the true meaning of the laws."

"No rush, I haven't broken through to the Nascent Soul stage yet, let's keep it well."

Zhou Feiyou put away the fourth-order Phantom Core and glanced into the distance.

"Gu Muyu?"

That was his defeated opponent in the sixty-year grand competition; he didn't expect that she would also ignore Uncle-Master Li's instructions and go so deep into the Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven.

The reason Zhou Feiyou dared to go deep was, firstly, to seek a better spiritual vein as a practice environment for the next hundred years, and secondly, he relied on his powerful martial strength and was not afraid of the threat of fourth-order Phantom Beasts.

But Gu Muyu did not have that ability.

Frowning, Zhou Feiyou did not bother with the other party's peeking; anyway, Gu Muyu had already taken the initiative to retreat.

He raised his hand and sprinkled several array flags, setting up a simple isolation array, and then opened a new cave dwelling in the Three-Tiered Waterfall.

Unexpectedly, he had only been digging the cave with his flying sword for a while when it suddenly broke through.

Inside, it was a cave dwelling in itself!

Zhou Feiyou walked inside and could detect traces of someone having been active here before, although they were already very weak.

"Perhaps it was a Nascent Soul true disciple from my Master's generation!"

Since there was a cheap cave dwelling, Zhou Feiyou no longer demanded to do everything himself; he took out a pile of things from his storage ring and arranged them around.

After everything was arranged, he sat down peacefully.

"Now my cultivation is at the ninth level of Core Formation; next, I will go all out to sprint to the Great Perfection of Core Formation, nourish the three treasures of essence, energy, and spirit, and prepare for breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage."

Zhou Feiyou muttered to himself, his whole person gradually tending to a state of purity and inaction, and he began to absorb the spiritual energy of the outside world into his body.

His cultivation was also rising rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Outside Heaven-Earth Island.

Luo Chen, who witnessed the Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven opening again, had a slight change in his expression.

"What's wrong?"

Li Canghai was puzzled and looked at Luo Chen.

Luo Chen shook his head, "I once entered that secret realm before, I didn't expect Lian Cheng to open it when it wasn't time yet."

Li Canghai was puzzled, "Is there anything special about that secret realm?"

The Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven was very famous, but it was mostly limited to the mouths of Dao Sect disciples and the name of the Grotto-Heaven competition.

As for the secret realm itself, outsiders rarely knew the specific situation.

Luo Chen brushed it off simply, but his heart was still filled with suspicion.

There were two special points about the Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven: one was that it produced Phantom Beasts, and the other was that the time flow was different.

The Phantom Cores of the former helped those who had just entered the Nascent Soul stage comprehend the true meaning of the laws, which should be the reason why that batch of Nascent Soul cultivators went in.

But the latter...

"If Lian Cheng put the Lanke Chessboard inside to nourish it, a hundred years of work outside would be equivalent to ten thousand years of effect inside. Even if the Lanke Chessboard was severely damaged during the Central Continent war, it should be able to recover, right!"

"Especially, the Chess Saint Ke Lianshan is also inside!"

"World rumors say that the Lanke Chessboard is controlled by the Dao Sect Master, but the true owner is the Chess Saint Ke Lianshan. Could it be as I imagined? The Tianyuan Dao Sect forcibly opened the Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven to nourish this spirit treasure with ten thousand years of time?"

"If that's the case, then the next battle..."

Luo Chen took a deep breath, a look of determination on his face.

At this moment, the arrow was on the string and had to be fired; he could not afford to be hesitant, and this information could not be told to Li Canghai, otherwise, what if the other party got cold feet?

He turned around and said: "Senior, I don't know what agreement you have with the North Sea Demon Clan, but I have already contacted the Eastern Wasteland Demon Clan. The next battle will be a joint effort between the human and demon races of the Eastern Wasteland, which can be called the strongest lineup. This battle must not be allowed to fail!"

Li Canghai withdrew his suspicious gaze and smiled: "You don't need to worry about my side; at that time, the North Sea Demon Clan will go all out to attack the Libei Continent, and no one will be able to come to support the Dongyuan Continent. As for that Tiannan Continent, its strength is the weakest, even if there are reinforcements, it is not to be feared."

Luo Chen nodded, "Okay, since that's the case, let's separate first, gather people, and start preparing! I hope that at that time, you and I can fight Lian Cheng together on Heaven-Earth Island."

Cupping his hands, Luo Chen turned into a streak of light and drifted away.

Li Canghai looked back at the entrance of the Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven on Heaven-Earth Island, his eyes filled with both suspicion and a hint of greed.

He was puzzled why Lian Cheng sent thirty-six family Nascent Soul True Persons in at such an important moment. And what he was greedy for was the secret realm itself.

"Although I am a Soul Transformation expert admired by thousands, my foundation is still too shallow among my peers, far from being comparable to these Soul Transformation experts of the holy lands. If I could take this secret realm into my own pocket, perhaps I could make up for my foundation."

Muttering to himself, Li Canghai's figure gradually disappeared into the void.

Eastern Wasteland, Dongyang Domain.

On the coastline where land and ocean meet, the once bustling port was unusually deserted today.

There were only two or three sparse figures coming from all directions.

However, although the number of people was small, the forces they represented and the strength they possessed were enough to surpass all the bustling ports in the Eastern Wasteland.

Looking around, everyone was dressed in gorgeous clothes and had an extraordinary bearing; they were all top figures in the Eastern Wasteland.

The leader was the Great Elder of the Dongyang Sect, followed by four Nascent Soul True Persons of the Dongyang Sect, including the Shouyang Mountain Man who had reshaped his body, with a look of excitement and hope on his face.

He had thought that his physical body was destroyed and his Nascent Soul was damaged during the human-demon war, and even if he reshaped his body, he would have no hope for the Great Dao. But he didn't expect that Luo Chen of the Alchemy Sect had the Heaven-Earth Creation Pill.

Therefore, when his senior brother brought back that news, the Shouyang Mountain Man agreed to this operation without hesitation.

The Shouyang Mountain Man scanned over: the Nine-Spirit Yuanjun of the Nine-Spirit Sect, the Tiandu Zi of the Tiandu Sect, the group of Daoists from the White Deer Cave...

Every famous Nascent Soul True Person in the Eastern Wasteland was gathered here at this moment.

"Worthy of being the Alchemy Sect, this appeal is terrifyingly strong!" the Shouyang Mountain Man sighed in admiration.

The Dongyang Great Elder in front had lingering fears, but he also sighed: "Not to mention the Alchemy Sect's personal ability, just this appeal alone, no one in the Eastern Wasteland dares to oppose him. As long as he gives an order, there will be Nascent Soul True Persons following him, and countless Core Formation and Foundation Establishment cultivators running for him."

Their conversation was not soundproofed, so Nascent Soul True Persons from other sects could also hear it.

But no one opposed their statement.

The feeling at the previous discussion meeting was not deep, but when it was time to move, seeing such a lineup, they realized the Alchemy Sect's terrifying appeal.

Seeing that most people had arrived, someone asked when True Person Taiyue would set off.

Deng Taiyue only said one word: "Wait!"

Wait for whom?

The answer was self-evident shortly after, when the demon energy swept across the sky.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Figures descended from the sky, each filled with surging and powerful demon energy.

The human Nascent Soul experts of the Eastern Wasteland were no strangers to these existences.

In the blink of an eye, they recognized most of them.

Thunder Prison God Peng, Bi Zheng, Juan Kuang, Niu Gui, Blood Vulture True Person, White Bone Mysterious Snake, White-Browed Immortal Ape...

There were no weak hands, and almost all of them were existences who had made a great name for themselves in the two-hundred-year human-demon war.

And under their glorious reputation, they corresponded to the countless corpses of the human race.

As soon as the two sides met, they formed a tense situation.

Deng Taiyue stepped forward and blocked between the two sides.

His intention was self-evident.

On the demon side, Thunder Prison God Peng acted on behalf of Luo Chen, also restraining the demons of the Du Zhen Hall from conflicting with the Eastern Wasteland humans.

The two sides looked at each other coldly, until in the vast ocean in the distance, the waves rolled, and a huge figure like a continent slowly floated out of the water.

Desolate Beast, Nether Mysterious Turtle!

The group of experts from the Luo Tian Sect stood on it, their expressions extremely serious.

Cang Long stepped forward and bowed to the crowd from a distance.

"This trip is across the sea, the journey is long, to avoid wasting magic power in vain, this turtle can serve as a mount."

"Fellow Daoists, please!"

Nine-Spirit Yuanjun laughed heartily, "Fairy Cang Long is so generous, then I will not decline."

After speaking, he took the two great Nascent Soul True Persons of the Nine-Spirit Sect onto the back of the Mysterious Turtle.

Seeing this, the others did not hesitate and jumped up one after another.

Even the group of demon experts, led by Thunder Prison God Peng, stepped onto the back of the Mysterious Turtle, which was as thick as a continent.

Simultaneously carrying nearly sixty Nascent Soul-level experts, the honest and simple Nether Mysterious Turtle seemed not to notice, just spraying water columns from its nostrils, its four feet paddling, carrying the entire combat power of the Eastern Wasteland across the ocean toward the Dongyuan Continent.

At the same time, in the North Sea direction.

A massive number of low-level demon clans surged toward the Libei Continent, and a human-demon war broke out again.

In the ruined city of Taohai, the chanting monk who was chanting scriptures and singing Buddha stopped his wooden fish.

He took out a jade pendant, and a faint light flickered on it.

The chanting monk's expression was slightly complicated, and finally, he gritted his teeth and left this Buddhist hall that was like a pure land.

And not long after he left, a loud explosion suddenly came from the ruined city of Taohai, and amidst the trembling of countless low-level demon beasts, a bloody light soared into the sky.

In the ruined city of Taohai, the wooden fish in the hands of the chanting monk, who was reciting scriptures and singing Buddhist hymns, came to an abrupt stop.

He took out a jade pendant, its surface flickering with a faint light.

The chanting monk's expression was slightly complex, and in the end, he gritted his teeth and left this Buddhist hall, which felt like a pure land.

Just after he left, a sudden explosion erupted in the ruined city of Taohai, and amidst the trembling of countless low-level demonic beasts, a beam of blood-red light shot into the sky.