Chapter 533

The Yin Yang Daoist's severed arm exploded into black and white qi, then shot back into his body. His body shuddered, his left arm regrew, and even the torn sleeve regrew.

He drew a breath, spat out a mouthful of blood, and fiercely glared at Old Master Hu blocking his way.

He took a deep breath, flicked his right hand, and the Nine Dragon Coffin released a vast surge of misty qi; he was about to raise the Nine Dragon Coffin to deal with Old Master Hu.

Old Master Hu's fatty flesh quivered violently as he was about to pull out his hidden treasure to fight desperately; suddenly, a piercing shriek erupted from the Nine Dragon Coffin in the Yin Yang Daoist's hand, the coffin shuddered violently, and it nearly flew from his grasp.

The Yin Yang Daoist coughed up several mouthfuls of blood, then clenched his hands around the violently trembling Nine Dragon Coffin, silently transforming into a black-and-white streak of heavenly light that vanished in an instant. His escape light was too fast; Old Master Hu, eager to intercept, could not catch it and could only shake his head in frustration, sighing.

"What a great opportunity, what a great opportunity. This Daoist failed to truly refine the Nine Dragon Coffin; when he went to retrieve the treasure at the bottom of the Blue Pit, the coffin backlashed, crushing him under water pressure into severe injury. What a great opportunity—if we could capture him, hey."

Old Master Hu kept shaking his head as he returned to the giant ship.

Wu Tie clung to the Jellyfish Vessel's sub-vessel with both hands, his body trembling slightly, blood streaming behind him as he collapsed onto the deck, already unconscious.

Old Master Hu's eyes flashed; he stared deeply at Wu Tie, then stretched out his hand and quickly made a few gestures. Immediately, several of Old Master Hu's own sons stepped forward, carefully and meticulously examining Wu Tie's body thread by thread.

"No traces of supernatural transformation."

"His bones, organs, and physical strength are all at the level of an ordinary commoner."

"The parasitic worms in his heart show no abnormality; his body is riddled with poison."

"Divine fetus… well, he practices a fire-and-lightning dual-attribute technique, and it's clearly just an ordinary method, not a divine secret art."

"On him… he had a storage ring hidden in his navel; when we broke it open, inside was… hey, so much gold, silver, and jewels, even a bloodstained woman's dudou—this guy truly is no good."

"Hmm, these ornaments are valuable; judging by the style, they are indeed the kind favored by the nomadic tribes of Hanmo Prefecture… but they also contain some fine jewels from the southeastern prefectures—likely loot from his robberies."

Over a dozen different detection treasures swept slowly over Wu Tie's body; each of his hairs, each drop of blood, each bone was carefully examined by various divine lights. Moreover, several spirit beasts, several spirit birds, and over a dozen kinds of parasites each tasted a drop of his blood.

This examination took well over an hour.

Hu Tu, accompanied by a few brothers, thoroughly examined Wu Tie's body, then stood up and solemnly told Old Master Hu: "Father, unless he has cultivated some primordial forbidden technique, has a Divine-realm expert concealing him, and possesses an innate supreme treasure protecting him, otherwise this guy is just an ordinary outlaw."

Primordial forbidden techniques, concealment by a Divine-realm expert, and protection by an innate supreme treasure—each alone is like a dream for ordinary people; having all three at once is utterly impossible.

Yet Wu Tie happened to meet all three conditions.

So it's no wonder Old Master Hu and his lot utterly believed that this fellow before them was a complete and total outlaw.

"Fine seedling, truly a fine seedling." Old Master Hu smiled with pursed lips, extremely delighted: "Hurry, give him the best healing medicine; we must restore him to peak condition as quickly as possible."

"Eh, you cultivate a fire-and-lightning attribute technique? Tsk, if fire and lightning lack wind, the power always feels lacking. Doesn't our clan's divine scriptures contain the 'Dou Zhan Lei Tian True Classic,' which cultivates the wind, fire, and lightning three gates together? Fourth brother, you practice this very technique, right? Pass it to him, pass it to him."

"Also, prepare three pills of wind, lightning, and fire great dao, draw them from my secret store, and send them over as fast as possible. Fine seedling, such a fine seedling must be won over."

"Eh, never mind loyalty and such—there's certainly none. This kind of murderous outlaw, heh, expecting them to be loyal is impossible." Old Master Hu laughed happily: "But this guy actually dared to strike, actually could strike, and indeed after striking he really snatched back that treasure."

"Alas, this fortune… Elder brother, this kid's fortune surpasses yours." Old Master Hu glared at the embarrassed Hu Tu and murmured: "Sometimes, this fortune is very important, extremely important—take the former Eastern Palace's deposed crown prince, that peerless paragon of martial brilliance, what became of him?"

"Hehe, therefore, this kid must be won over. Even the fiercest beast needs gradual taming." Old Master Hu personally fed Wu Tie a top-grade healing pill, murmuring: "Those with sufficient fortune are exactly the talent our clan urgently needs."

The pill entered his body, and the wounds on his back healed at a visible speed. His body relaxed, and the jet-black jade bottle sounded a "thud" as it heavily landed on the deck.

Such a massive ship was made to sway slightly by the bottle, then suddenly sank thousands of zhang.

Old Master Hu and the others exclaimed in surprise, then broke into grinning laughter: "What a treasure, what a treasure—so heavy, so extraordinarily mighty, indeed a fine treasure!"

Hu Tu even stepped forward, clasping the jade bottle with both hands, looking pitifully at Old Master Hu: "Father?"

Old Master Hu pondered a moment, then slowly nodded: "My obedient granddaughter is your daughter; let her marry this kid—you must win him over. So this bottle shall remain under your control."

Hu Tu smiled until his eyes narrowed to slits; he immediately struggled to lift the jade bottle, sat cross-legged on the deck, focused his spirit, and slowly infused strands of soul power into the bottle.

This is the sub-vessel of the Jellyfish Vessel; it contains impurity energy a hundred times that of the jellyfish inside the main vessel, making it extraordinarily heavy—far heavier than the main vessel itself.

If the Jellyfish Vessel were not deliberately cooperating, with this sub-vessel's weight, no one present, even joining forces, could budge it.

With the Jellyfish Vessel actively cooperating, Hu Tu refined the sub-vessel completely in just three short hours; it then hovered lightly before him, emanating a chilling, suffocating aura.

Old Master Hu chuckled and tossed out three Heavenly Dao Divine Weapon–grade defensive treasures in succession, patting his belly as he laughed at Hu Tu: "Try, try, try this treasure's power."

Hu Tu rose with a flushed face, bowed respectfully to Old Master Hu: "Father, this treasure's power is too great; I fear I can display at most a ten-thousandth of it… but please, Father, watch closely."

A flash of light inside the sub-vessel sent out a seemingly slow wave of water; with just a roll, it swept the three Heavenly Dao Divine Weapons into the wave. The tens-of-zhang-wide wave gently turned, a black vortex spun three times, shattering the three weapons instantly; the profound dao truths within them transformed into a dozen screaming light dragons that fled, only to be gulped down by the sub-vessel in one bite.

The sub-vessel's surface glimmered with a faint light, its aura slightly increased.

Old Master Hu and the others stared, dumbfounded.

Heavenly Dao Divine Weapons are essentially the strongest arms attainable by peak Soul Repository realm experts of the Divine Jin State, barring the few old monsters of the royal family who control the state artifacts; for ninety-nine percent of Soul Repository cultivators in the Divine Jin State, the strongest weapon they can wield is the Heavenly Dao Divine Weapon.

Heavenly Dao Divine Weapons—these supreme arms can crush Nine Refined Immortal Weapons; each requires immense painstaking effort and vast resources to forge.

Before this sub-vessel, Heavenly Dao Divine Weapons are as fragile as tofu.

"Hahaha, hahahaha—there's simply no way to test this treasure's actual power." Old Master Hu laughed until his flesh shook: "Hahaha, no wonder the Sima clan could hold the divine emperor's throne for so long… beneath the state artifacts, all things are but ants!"

"But now, our family also possesses a state artifact, also possesses a state artifact!"

"Sima clan, Sima clan, your good days are not long, not long!"

Old Master Hu laughed with a reddened face, and the Hu clan descendants on the deck laughed with rippling flesh, utterly delighted.

A couple more months later, following the map given by the gods, Old Master Hu led a large entourage to a barren continent in the vast deep sea. At the continent's center stood a primordial volcano; its crater spanned hundreds of li, the magma inside reached depths of hundreds of thousands of li—like the Blue Pit where the Jellyfish Vessel resides, the magma pressure in this great volcano is immense, and its temperature is terrifyingly high.

The Jellyfish Vessel's sub-vessel simply cannot be used here.

Hu Tu tried it, intending to use the sub-vessel's power to dive deep into the volcano's crater, but as soon as the steam touched the magma, it triggered a violent clash of water and fire forces that nearly detonated the entire primordial volcano, which would have blown everyone to bits.

Bewildered, Hu Tu and company had no choice but to let the outlaws attempt to see if personal strength alone could allow entry into the primordial volcano.

During the outlaws' attempts, the Yin Yang Daoist reappeared, relentless; using the Nine Dragon Coffin's power, he penetrated the volcano's depths, and with the seed of the Five Elements Great Dao given by Wu Tie, he successfully communicated with an innate supreme treasure, the Bing Fire Mirror, gestating deep within the volcano.

Perhaps due to the mutual interaction of five innate items, the Bing Fire Mirror, while over countless ages devouring the fire essence gathered from the primordial volcano, also refined the impurities, various fire poisons, and chaotic evil qi within the flames into a subsidiary form of its own.

The Yin Yang Daoist took the Bing Fire Mirror's main form and, carrying its subsidiary form, burst out of the primordial volcano.

Moreover, just as in the Blue Pit, the Yin Yang Daoist appeared near death, as if his bones had been crushed by magma and his flesh nearly cooked to seven-tenths done. Unlike before, when he had to rely on Wu Tie's rear "sneak attack," this time, as soon as he appeared, Hu Tu stepped forward, gripping the Jellyfish Vessel's sub-vessel, full of vigor and high spirits.

Heavenly water sprayed everywhere, using water to overcome fire, perfectly restraining the subsidiary form of the Bing Fire Mirror.

After a fierce battle, the weakly breathing, heavily wounded Yin Yang Daoist barely escaped under the protection of the Nine Dragon Coffin; Hu Tu triumphantly seized the Bing Fire Mirror's subsidiary form and presented it to Old Master Hu, who laughed until his face creased.

Old Master Hu fondled the subsidiary Bing Fire Mirror radiating terrifying heat, then, gratified, bestowed this supreme treasure upon his second son, Hu Nau.

Hu Nau joyfully received the Bing Fire Mirror's subsidiary form; like Hu Tu, he entered seclusion for a few days, then preliminarily refined the treasure. Afterward, he brought it to face several of the strongest leaders among the outlaws; a jet of black flame erupted, instantly melting several Heavenly Dao Divine Weapons into molten iron that sprayed across the sky.

The Bing Fire Mirror Substance's power is overwhelmingly strong—even Hu Tu feels a bit envious. After all, in terms of lethality, the manifestation of fire power is always more direct and more violent than that of water.

After another two months or so on the road, Old Master Hu's large force arrived at a solitary island in the Vast Sea.

After breaking through the distorted space barrier outside the island, they discovered that a legendary Azure God Tree actually grew on the island. Its diameter spanned hundreds of li, its height reached tens of thousands of li, the giant tree towered into the sky, and countless winds and thunder wildly circled it, forming terrifying vortex currents.

Here, the hurricane almost condensed into substance, and the thunder's power was slightly stronger than the might with which the gods once subdued the Nine Dragon Coffin.

This time, the Yin-Yang Daoist did not appear, because he had already arrived at the island before Old Master Hu's force, taking from the Azure God Tree a Wood Spirit Pearl nurtured deep in its heartwood, and likewise leaving behind a substance formed from the tree's impurities.

The Wood Spirit Pearl was granted by Old Master Hu to his third son, Hu Shu.

Next, Old Master Hu's force came into a super‑huge metallic vein in the deep sea. There lay a Golden Dragon Whip, a divine weapon forged from the Innate Geng Metal Grand Dao—extraordinarily heavy, incredibly sharp, and lethally terrifying. Guided by the Bing Fire Mirror Substance and the Wood Spirit Pearl, the Yin-Yang Daoist snatched the whip first, likewise leaving behind a substance.

The substance of the Golden Dragon Whip was granted to Old Master Hu's fourth son, Hu Si.

Finally, after months of painstaking effort, Old Master Hu's force found, at the exact center of the previously scattered treasure sites, the source of a mountain range formed from countless undersea mountains in the Vast Great Sea.

Here, a Wu Earth Divine Cauldron was gestating; the Yin-Yang Daoist likewise got there first, leaving behind a substance.

The substance of the Wu Earth Divine Cauldron was granted to Old Master Hu's fifth son, Hu Xiang.

Hu Tu, Hu Nao, Hu Shu, Hu Si, and Hu Xiang—the five sons of Old Master Hu—each took charge of one of the five Innate Five‑Element Treasures; the treasures naturally resonated, forming an Innate Five Elements Grand Formation whose lethality was astonishing, and Old Master Hu was overjoyed.

On the surface, the Great Jin Divine State possessed only three state‑protecting divine artifacts, but relying on these five Five Elements Divine Artifacts, Old Master Hu had confidence to oppose the Great Jin Royal Family—not to mention that the Ten Thousand Dragons Palace had already been taken away by remnants of the former crown prince, and is no longer under the control of the Great Jin Divine State's royal family.

However, according to the gods' guidance, whether it be Great Jin, Great Wei, or Great Wu, the foundations of the three royal families are not merely the three surface state‑protecting artifacts. With the Five Elements Supreme Treasures, the Linghu Clan would still need at least five Innate Supreme Treasures to completely overwhelm the Sima Clan in those artifacts.

Thus Old Master Hu continued to lead his team on their travels.

This time, they returned from the sea and headed straight to the Barbaric Wasteland in the north of the Great Jin Divine State, where several top‑grade Innate Objects were being nurtured.

But Old Master Hu faintly felt that he had forgotten something.

But what exactly had he forgotten?

Old Master Hu couldn't be bothered to think; the joy of obtaining great treasures let him completely cast these matters beyond the Nine Heavens.