Chapter 996: True Essence of Nether Water, the Black Dragon Appears

"Senior Martial Sister, I'll have to trouble you."

Inside the Zhaoxi Palace, Zhou Zhou Fuyou solemnly handed a letter to Shi Shi Miaoyin.

Shi Shi Miaoyin took it. "It's no trouble, just a small matter."

To her, this indeed did not count as any troublesome matter.

Zhou Zhou Fuyou's request was merely to have his Senior Martial Sister deliver a letter to the Zhou family, then bring his younger sister, Zhou Zhou Qingyu, to the Tiannan Dao Palace to audit their cultivation, and to provide her with a certain amount of care in her daily life.

Yes, the Master had already agreed to Zhou Zhou Fuyou's request, allowing his younger sister to join the Houtu Hall.

From now on, the two siblings would be able to live together again.

Shi Shi Miaoyin did not mind these small matters. She sighed and said, "When Master asked for your opinion earlier, you could have easily used the excuse that your Core Formation realm was unstable to avoid going to the East Sea coast. Why did you agree to it so readily?"

Zhou Zhou Fuyou said calmly, "Since Master asked me, it meant she had this idea. How could I disobey? Besides, is my realm truly unstable?"

Shi Shi Miaoyin was speechless.

There was one thing that defied common sense, presented before everyone in the Houtu Hall.

That was that Zhou Zhou Fuyou, who had formed his Core at forty, did not show the slightest sign of an unstable realm. On the contrary, his magic power was incomparably pure, deep as the sea, just as if he had spent a dozen years in seclusion polishing it.

This was simply too inconceivable.

"Actually, I roughly understand Master's thinking."

"My cultivation speed is truly too fast, yet my realm is exceptionally stable. Everything seems fine on the surface, but there is one point that is my shortcoming."

"I am too young, and my experiences are too few, to the point that my state of mind is lacking."

"Master is afraid that if I continue to charge forward like this, one day, I will suddenly suffer from qi deviation. Once such a thing happens, it will be difficult to salvage. To prevent any mishaps, Master wants me to gain more experience. Whether it is broadening my horizons, tempering my state of mind, or accumulating combat experience, it will ultimately be of great benefit to my future."

Zhou Zhou Fuyou spoke eloquently, with no dissatisfaction toward Master Fu Qinglan on his face.

Seeing this, Shi Shi Miaoyin no longer tried to dissuade him.

"I will have your Second Qi Qi Shixiong and the other senior brothers and sisters take good care of you. You must also be careful yourself."

"Mm, thank you, Senior Martial Sister."

After Shi Shi Miaoyin left, Zhou Zhou Fuyou stood at the main entrance of Zhaoxi Palace, his expression somewhat dazed.

The next time he returned, he might have to change to a different place to cultivate.

That place would still be called Zhaoxi Palace according to his habits, but whether it was the grade of the spirit vein or the servants waiting on him, it would far exceed this place. And what Zhou Zhou Fuyou thought about was that he hoped to see his little sister when he returned.

"I don't know how long this trip will take. I should still make some preparations!"

Zhou Zhou Fuyou muttered in his heart and returned to the cultivation room in his sleeping quarters.

He first performed an internal inspection.

He checked his own condition.

Just like before!

The qi sea was deep, and the Golden Core floated and sank.

Especially that pure black Golden Core, containing not a trace of impurity, crystalline and deep, looking just like an ox's eye.

The pure magic power contained within it made even Zhou Zhou Fuyou gasp in admiration.

When he was in the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, his spiritual power was already no less than those in the early stage of Core Formation. By the time he reached the Great Circle of Foundation Establishment, he even felt that ordinary mid-stage Core Formation cultivators were nothing more than this.

Now that he had formed his Core, the magic power derived from it gave Zhou Zhou Fuyou an even greater sense of extreme expansion.

Under this extremely expansive and powerful force, he felt as if he were omnipotent!

With his spiritual sense circling the Golden Core, Zhou Zhou Fuyou's mind became somewhat obsessed, even wanting to sink into the abyss-like qi sea along with this Golden Core.

"Begone!"

With a low shout, Zhou Zhou Fuyou woke up abruptly.

A look of lingering fear appeared on his face.

His power was increasing too quickly. If he did not exercise restraint, he feared he would lose himself in it and become a beast that only knew how to pursue power.

"What we seek is longevity, not power. Power is merely a means to protect the Dao of longevity. Master letting me go down the mountain to gain experience is indeed well-intentioned!"

After sighing, Zhou Zhou Fuyou paused his cultivation.

Instead, he turned his attention to external objects.

His combat style, because his realm improved so quickly and his magic power was so abundant, had always been based on crushing and sweeping through everything.

And his combat methods, also due to his shocking talent for spells, meant he had mastered a large number of water-type spells.

But what Zhou Zhou Fuyou truly regarded as his trump card was the "Qi Sea Floating Heaven" passed down by his ancestors.

This spell not only possessed growth potential but also had strong inclusiveness, just like water, encompassing all things without contention!

Initially, Zhou Zhou Fuyou refined a large amount of miasma from the White Egret Marsh, making "Qi Sea Floating Heaven" possess strong toxicity, capable of threatening early-stage Core Formation cultivators.

Later, through his constant experimentation, some low-grade spells were also integrated into it. Such as Water Arrow Spell, Mist Concealment Spell, Water Escape Spell, Wave-Treading Walk, Glazed Liuli Liuli Tianmu, and so on.

During the half-year journey he took with his ancestor, the ancestor, as the creator of this spell, gave Zhou Zhou Fuyou many suggestions, helping him perfect this spell even further.

By now, Zhou Zhou Fuyou could even integrate some third-grade water-type spells into it.

For instance, "Mist Locks the Jade Tower" and "Psychic Form Retention."

As long as he unleashed "Qi Sea Floating Heaven," Zhou Zhou Fuyou could quickly cast these water-type spells without any scruples. Not only would they not conflict with each other, but their power would also double.

This also conformed to the philosophy of "encompassing all things without contention."

In this way, this single spell alone gathered

many advantages, including concealment and escape, defense and protection, suppression and blockade, and combat and offense.

Of course, there were also disadvantages.

That was that the magic power required could be described as massive!

It was just that for Zhou Zhou Fuyou, this disadvantage was almost non-existent. In his few battles in life, he had never experienced a situation where he was exhausted, and he couldn't imagine what kind of situation would cause his magic power to be depleted.

And at this moment, after some sorting, Zhou Zhou Fuyou took out a jade pot with flowing treasure light.

It was the most common "Swallowing Waves and Holding the Sea Pot" in the cultivation world, specifically used for storing liquid-type materials.

However, compared to the mass-produced goods outside, the material of this pot personally bestowed by his Master was unknown how many times better. And the things stored inside were also the existence that many people dreamed of.

He pinched a dharma seal, and Zhou Zhou Fuyou casually guided it; immediately, a thin black stream resembling mercury flowed out gurglingly.

"Nether Water!"

"And it is the highest-grade True Essence of Nether Water among Nether Water!"

"Legend has it that if the Nether Abyss Sect of the East Sea Holy Land wants to refine a drop of True Essence of Nether Water, they must have a Nascent Soul True Person use Nascent Soul True Fire to boil and refine Nether Water day and night for one hundred and eighty days! The pot that Master gave me, its value is more than just ten million spirit stones?"

Zhou Zhou Fuyou, who was usually indifferent and cold to outsiders, felt warmth in his heart when thinking of his Master's care for him.

He took a deep breath and steadied his mind.

Next, he intended to refine the True Essence of Nether Water bit by bit into "Qi Sea Floating Heaven" to add power to this spell!

But this process required him to remain focused throughout, without the slightest negligence.

Nether Water could contaminate a cultivator's magic power, and even their Golden Core and Nascent Soul.

If one were not careful, it would damage their Dao foundation.

Zhou Zhou Fuyou extracted a drop of True Essence of Nether Water, then unleashed Qi Sea Floating Heaven. Instantly, streams of black qi surged out from his body, wrapping the True Essence of Nether Water tightly.

During this process, he was extremely cautious, fearing that something might go wrong.

But after only a moment, an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.

"It was refined successfully just like that?"

Three days later.

Inside the Tiannan Dao Palace, four magic-treasure-grade flying boats slowly took off, circling above the Dao Palace.

Subsequently, figures drove escape lights, soaring into the sky from the four great halls and entering the flying boats.

Zhou Zhou Fuyou was among them.

Once on the flying boat, he greeted the Second Qi Qi Shixiong who was in the lead.

"Greetings, Second Qi Qi Shixiong!"

The Second Qi Qi Shixiong was named Fu Bin, and it was said that he was a clansman of Master Fu Qinglan's own family.

Seeing Zhou Zhou Fuyou, he immediately smiled and signaled him.

"Your room is the one in the middle, adjacent to mine. If you have anything, just call me."

Zhou Zhou Fuyou said "Mm," and after greeting the other senior brothers and sisters, he did not hesitate, walking directly past everyone and into the room.

A moment later, a cerulean light screen completely shrouded the room.

Seeing this scene, Fu Bin couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

The Fifth Zhou Shijie, Eighth Zhou Shijie, and Seventh Qi Qi Shixiong beside him were also a bit slow to react.

Why did he hide inside so quickly?

The Seventh Qi Qi Shixiong frowned. "Junior Martial Brother is too diligent. Later, we still need to arrange the squad assignments and meet with the Core Formation True Persons from the other three halls. Why is he ignoring everything?"

Fu Bin waved his hand. "Perhaps this is the main reason why Junior Martial Brother successfully formed his Core at a mere forty years old, far surpassing mediocre people like us!"

The Seventh Qi Qi Shixiong curled his lips, not thinking so.

Their Core Formation age was actually not old either, mostly in their early hundreds, which would be considered supreme geniuses in any sect.

It was just that the Junior Martial Brother was too monstrous, not that they were mediocre.

"Rest assured, I will handle the matters later. You all first build the squads according to the personnel list. As for Junior Martial Brother, I will arrange it personally!"

Fu Bin gave the order, and the junior brothers and sisters all agreed.

On this trip, the Houtu Hall dispatched a total of five Core Formation True Persons: the Second Qi Qi Shixiong, Fifth Zhou Shijie, Seventh Qi Qi Shixiong, Eighth Zhou Shijie, and Zhou Zhou Fuyou.

In addition, there were one hundred Foundation Establishment True Cultivators accompanying the expedition.

The other three halls had roughly the same configuration.

In this way, the Tiannan Dao Palace quickly formed an elite team possessing twenty Core Formation and four hundred Foundation Establishment True Cultivators. If there were no accidents, this team would be deployed to the East Sea coast battlefield in the near future to slay demons and eliminate devils, to defend the Dao Sect!

Fu Bin stood at the bow of the boat, facing the wild wind outside, his expression somewhat melancholy.

If only it were the Central Plains of the past, teleportation arrays would be spread across the continent, and wanting to go to the East Sea coast would only take two or three teleports; it wouldn't be this troublesome.

It was all the fault of that demon phoenix, which shattered the Central Plains, causing most of the teleportation arrays to be nearly broken and paralyzed.

Now that the demon scourge had risen again, it was truly giving people a headache.

"Forget it, it's just imitating the old ways of our predecessors and doing it again. What our predecessors could do, we can also do!"

"Set off!"

Since boarding the Houtu flying boat, Zhou Zhou Fuyou had been immersed in refining the True Essence of Nether Water.

He discovered that refining this thing was actually faster than the White Egret miasma!

Not only was it fast, but after refining, it was exceptionally satisfying and easy to control, simply like an extension of his own arm.

Therefore, he didn't delay at all, constantly refining the True Essence of Nether Water into "Qi Sea Floating Heaven" day and night.

And the power of this spell was also

improving day by day.

Just like this, half a month later.

Zhou Zhou Fuyou slowly opened his eyes.

Above his head was a pitch-black sky, formed by a large amount of White Egret miasma.

And beneath him was a pool of gurgling black liquid.

Qi Sea Floating Heaven, black clouds pressing down on the city.

Still water runs deep, waiting to devour people!

Zhou Zhou Fuyou's heart moved, and he beckoned outward; a sound transmission talisman flew in.

The sound transmission talisman burned without wind. Zhou Zhou Fuyou raised his eyebrows slightly; instantly, Qi Sea Floating Heaven returned to his body in an instant, and he stood up, arriving on the deck of the flying boat.

At this moment on the deck, cultivators had already gathered one by one, waiting quietly.

Zhou Zhou Fuyou swept his eyes across and saw several familiar figures.

He didn't greet them, walking to the side of the Second Qi Qi Shixiong and the others.

"Second Qi Qi Shixiong, have we arrived?"

The Second Qi Qi Shixiong smiled gently. "There's still a bit of distance, but the City Lord of Zhenhai City has sent word that he wants to come over to welcome us. So, we should prepare in advance, lest we lose etiquette."

"City Lord of Zhenhai City?" Zhou Zhou Fuyou was startled.

The Seventh Qi Qi Shixiong beside him introduced, "It is True Person Wen. Their family has lived on the East Sea coast for generations and also luckily survived the Central Plains catastrophe, so the Dao Sect has continued to entrust them with the important task of coastal defense."

Zhou Zhou Fuyou was somewhat surprised. A dignified Nascent Soul True Person actually had to humble himself to come and welcome them?

The Second Qi Qi Shixiong straightened his back and explained lightly, "Junior Martial Brother, don't underestimate the status of our Dao Palace disciples!"

Hearing this, Zhou Zhou Fuyou suddenly realized.

Usually in the Dao Palace, everyone competed with their peers. Except for a few like himself, the others didn't have a deep sense of their own positions.

But in reality, the young people who could join the Tiannan Dao Palace were, without exception, geniuses with excellent aptitude when placed outside, and were all pillars of their respective families in the future.

And if they developed well in the future, they were even more likely to become big figures in the Ancestor Tianyuan Dao Sect!

Like this time, the four hundred plus cultivators sent by the Four Imperial Halls were synonymous with geniuses.

Among the Foundation Establishment cultivators, not one was over a hundred years old.

The Core Formation cultivators were also mostly young and strong, geniuses with hopes of reaching the Nascent Soul realm in the future.

That True Person Wen humbling himself to welcome them in advance showed his respect and also his desire to build a good relationship.

After thinking this through, Zhou Zhou Fuyou became exceptionally calm.

They were visitors, but also honored guests!

Soon, a magnificent and imposing flying boat flew toward them from afar.

Streams of escape light flew out from it, carrying a large amount of wine, water, melons, and fruits to console the Dao Palace disciples.

And the twenty Core Formation cultivators of the Four Imperial Halls boarded that flying boat together to

accept the banquet hosted by True Person Wen, the City Lord of Zhenhai City.

Several thousand miles away from this place, a wisp of green smoke swirled in the clouds.

Gazing at the flying boat fleet over there, the green smoke stopped its forward movement.

"That brat spent twenty years in the Tiannan Dao Palace. I didn't expect that when he came out again, he would already be in the Core Formation realm!"

"Tsk tsk, this cultivation speed is something even my Master couldn't hope to reach back in the day!"

"With a Nascent Soul True Person appearing, although I'm not afraid of being discovered, it's better to stay further away."

The green smoke turned into a dark cloud, embedding itself into the clouds, drifting slowly.

Bypassing the stopped flying boat fleet, it drifted to the vast sea in the middle of the night.

Suddenly!

"Such heavy demon qi!"

The dark cloud dispersed, and the moonlight fell, revealing a graceful and charming figure.

It was precisely Xiao Bai, who was responsible for secretly observing Zhou Zhou Fuyou!

At this moment, she frowned, spreading her spiritual sense to check the situation on the East Sea.

The demon qi was so heavy that it almost made her think she had returned to the battlefield of the great war between humans and demons in the East Sea of the past.

Especially the powerful soul power, which allowed her to discover several powerful auras.

"One, two, three... there are actually three Nascent Soul demon cultivators!"

"With such a big battle formation, could it be... no, this aura?"

Xiao Bai's expression changed slightly, focusing her spiritual sense and rushing toward a sea area.

There were many sea demons there, with flying birds circling and the demon qi incomparably thick.

And in the center where the demon beasts gathered, a magnificent palace stood quietly on the seabed.

Xiao Bai's spiritual sense was like a hot knife through butter, rushing straight into the palace.

Inside, a transformed demon cultivator was enjoying the beautiful dance of the clam-woman mermaids below.

And on the seat below him, there was a thick black python with its head buried in a vat of wine.

"Brother Black, the taste of my Ganlan Ice Wine isn't bad, right?"

That black python heard this and suddenly raised its head, spilling countless amounts of wine.

Looking closely, where was it a snake or python?

With horns and ox-like eyes, it was clearly a black dragon!

Just at this moment, the transformed demon cultivator seemed to have sensed something, his face filled with rage, and he raised his hand to strike an attack outside the palace.

"Sneaky rat, how dare you spy on this Emperor!"

"You ghostly creature, you dare to spy on this Emperor!"