Innate Immortal Seed

Chapter 546: Chapter 509: Hundred Poison Green Scale Bone

BANG!

The turtle shell finally gave way, cracking in two. An illusory image of a Profound Turtle, its head crowned with clouds and its feet planted on mountains, emerged with a mournful cry.

Black energy spread rapidly, instantly covering the Profound Turtle’s entire body. It let out a blood-curdling shriek and then fell motionless.

After withstanding the backlash from this divination of the Celestial Secret, the Artifact Spirit of this Top-Grade Spiritual Treasure, which had been passed down for ten thousand years, perished, and its physical body fractured.

Even if it were reforged, it would surely fall below the rank of a Spiritual Treasure.

Only two or three Six Trigrams Turtle Shells existed within the Evil Fate Sect. Now that one was destroyed, Shan Zhi was not alarmed, but joyous.

’Today, I witnessed a Destiny Plate that isn’t even recorded in the Six Trigrams True Scripture. And by borrowing the power of the turtle shell and this person’s Destiny Plate, I’ve glimpsed the future of the war between the two races...’

Shan Zhi laughed wildly as he coughed up blood.

’This vision must be real! Otherwise, how could my All-Knowing Path have advanced so dramatically? The bottleneck that has held me back for a hundred years is starting to loosen!’

Each time a Cultivator of the Evil Fate Sect performed a divination on a Celestial Secret, the result they obtained was merely one possible future.

If it didn’t come to pass, it couldn’t be said that their Inference was wrong—only that events hadn’t proceeded along that particular path.

As long as the divination was accurate, it proved their path on the Great Dao was correct. A single successful Inference could be worth a hundred years of arduous Cultivation.

Cultivators of the Evil Fate Sect were not known for their prowess in Combat, but they excelled at planning and seeing the bigger picture.

Because they could read Destiny Plates to foresee futures, they could clearly see what kind of disciple was fit to inherit their legacy.

The entire Sect had no more than a hundred members, a unique case among Sects of a similar level.

Shan Zhi comprehended Telepathy at the Core Formation Realm and obtained the Celestial Eye Power after reaching the Nascent Soul Realm. At the same time, his Divine Sense grew at twice the rate of an ordinary person.

Despite only having the Cultivation of an Early-Stage Nascent Soul, his Divine Sense was already as strong as a Great True Monarch’s.

His Cultivation hadn’t progressed in recent years, but he had comprehended the Divine Power of Sudden Inspiration. Within a ten-thousand-mile radius, he would sense it if anyone was plotting to harm him.

Shan Zhi had left his seclusion this time because he was influenced by the war between the two races and felt the Cultivation Realm was about to undergo another drastic change.

So he had taken out the Six Trigrams Turtle Shell and traveled, waiting for a suitable opportunity to perform his Inference.

The matter involved hundreds of millions of lives from two races and multiple Divinity Transformation Great Powers. How could he dare to act rashly?

For one, too many parties were involved, and the secrets were heavily obscured, making any Inference a wasted effort.

For another, if he tried to forcefully pry, the backlash from the Celestial Secret would be so great that not even the Six Trigrams Turtle Shell could protect him.

Shan Zhi had stayed in the Black Market for several months, having already performed divinations for four Nascent Soul True Monarchs, foretelling their paths ahead.

He didn’t take a Divination Fee, only using the turtle shell to absorb a thread of aura from each True Monarch.

Until today, when he saw the celestial Destiny Plate of the Star Palace’s Ziwei Star Star Monarch and used its power for his Inference.

He simultaneously burned the auras he had collected from divining for each Nascent Soul True Monarch after leaving his seclusion.

Only with help from multiple sources was he able to accomplish this feat.

’The power of this Ziwei Star Star Monarch alone is equivalent to a hundred Nascent Soul True Monarchs. I’ve never read of someone with such a noble Destiny Plate in all the ancestral records...’

Shan Zhi popped a perfectly round, translucent Spirit Pill into his mouth, stabilizing his chaotic aura and stopping his injuries from worsening.

’It’s a pity our Sect’s lineage was broken once. All the ancestral records from before the Near Ancient era were taken by that traitor. I have no way of knowing what kind of Destiny Plates those powerhouses who left their glorious marks on the River of Time possessed.’

’Although I can’t see their future, reaching the Divinity Transformation Realm is practically a certainty for them... Our auras have intertwined, which can be considered a form of fate. With the world in such turmoil, I might need their help in the future.’

’I wonder where the Star Palace recruited such a member. When I get back, I’ll report this to the Sect Leader. Perhaps we can trace their origins from other sources.’

With a wave of his sleeve, Shan Zhi caused the entire shop to shrink into a palm-sized box and disappear into his cuff.

After leaving the Black Market, he transformed into a streak of black light and fled to the west.

...

「Eastern Domain, Duanmu City.」

This had once been a major coastal city, surrounded by the sea on three sides and possessing a natural harbor.

On this foundation, a prosperous fishing industry and coastal shipping routes had developed, supporting a population of ten million.

In the past, large quantities of Cultivation resources, clearly from the Outer Sea, would even flow into Duanmu City. Some fleets and Demon Beast Groups even engaged in simple trade.

No single Sect could completely control the city. The Jinyue Sect and several other Nascent Soul Sects shared the profits from this gateway to the Outer Sea, each maintaining their own stations and businesses in the city.

Now, it was all gone.

Except for the higher ground, nearly half of Duanmu City was submerged in seawater, with countless pieces of furniture and broken planks from walls and doors floating on the surface.

Two years ago, the water had been thick with floating corpses. The tides had surged in, and the city’s mortals had no time to escape, leading to drownings, blunt trauma, and plagues.

Half the population of a megacity of over ten million people had died in just a few years. The soaring resentment gave birth to countless Water Ghosts and Vengeful Spirits.

This prompted several Transformed Great Demons to personally intervene, stationing themselves here long-term to halt Duanmu City’s transformation into a Ghostly Realm.

They cordoned off a crude area for the surviving members of the Human Race to live.

They also selected able-bodied men and women to be relocated to the islands at sea, to be used as hard labor.

The once incomparably prosperous city quickly grew desolate.

Several hundred miles off the coast of Duanmu City, a long, narrow island sat upon the water. In the direction of the city, there seemed to be an undercurrent. Every few hours, a sharp screech would ring out, simultaneously sending hundred-zhang-high waves rolling toward the mainland.

If any experienced fishermen were here, they would realize that this island did not exist on the sea’s surface ten years ago.

On the island, numerous sea turtles the size of pavilions crawled about, with heavy crates strapped to their backs—resources plundered from the mainland.

In the Hundred Skills of Cultivation, the Demon Race lagged far behind the Human Race.

After all, only Tier Three Demon Beasts began to possess higher Spiritual Wisdom, and only Tier Four Demon Beasts could undergo Transformation and truly master skills.