Immortal Sword Master

Chapter 521: Chapter 517: A Glimmer of Hope, Ancient Ruins

Before him was an egg-sized bead, perfectly round and shimmering with a seven-colored luster. It was an incredibly mystical sight. A tiny golden dragon actually coiled within the bead, a truly wondrous spectacle.

”What is this?” Ning Jiang’s brow furrowed slightly.

”A glimmer of hope,” the Celestial Treasure King said solemnly.

”I’d like to hear the details.”

”This time, the Undying Celestial King has entered a life-or-death seclusion to suppress his injuries. However, the Celestial King himself said there’s no guarantee he will succeed!”

The Celestial Treasure King’s tone turned somber, tinged with anxiety for the future. ”If the Undying Celestial King fails his seclusion, the Dragon God Celestial Palace will almost certainly be destroyed in the coming turmoil. That is why the Undying Celestial King had to prepare some contingencies. He said you are his glimmer of hope. In you, he sees a shadow of the Golden Cicada of old... and he believes even Golden Cicada was not your equal!”

’The Undying Celestial King thinks that highly of him?’

Gu Huaying, who was standing nearby, was inwardly astonished. Golden Cicada had also been a Celestial King, and the youngest of his generation at that. She understood perfectly well what a legendary, peerless figure he had been.

Yet the Undying Celestial King claimed that even Golden Cicada was not Ning Jiang’s equal. Such high praise was difficult for her to even fathom.

”As for the bead’s purpose, you will understand in due time,” the Celestial Treasure King said.

”I understand.” Ning Jiang put the bead away.

”I have said all that needs to be said. From here on, there is little more I can do to help you. Since the Undying Celestial King holds you in such high regard, I too have a favor to ask!”

If word of this got out, countless people would be shocked.

For a mighty Seven-Stars King to ask a favor of a junior—it was simply unthinkable!

”What is it?” Ning Jiang asked.

”In the coming turmoil, should anything happen to me, I want to ask you to take care of Huaying,” said the Celestial Treasure King.

”Father, what are you talking about? How could anything happen to you?” The color drained from Gu Huaying’s beautiful face.

”Silly girl, do you have any idea why the Flood Dragon King came?” The Celestial Treasure King looked at Gu Huaying with a wry smile. ”He came for you. He wants to arrange a marriage for Ao Lie. He wants you to marry him to form an alliance.”

”What!”

Gu Huaying’s beautiful eyes flew wide, and her face turned pale with shock.

”The Flood Dragon King has given me one month to make a decision. But how could I possibly agree to such a thing? My daughter’s happiness is not for others to control!”

The Celestial Treasure King snorted coldly. It was clear he doted on Huaying immensely.

”Ning Jiang, will you help me?” The Celestial Treasure King gazed intently at Ning Jiang.

”Since we’re in the same boat, I’ll do what I can.” Ning Jiang nodded, agreeing to the request.

’He had no other choice right now. The Other Shore wanted to kill him, and the Flood Dragon King had just shown killing intent as well. At this point, his only allies were those from the Dragon God Celestial Palace.’

’He had been swept into this great maelstrom, and there was no escape.’

”I’m relieved that you’ve agreed.” The Celestial Treasure King let out a sigh of relief. ”Celestial Treasure City is no longer safe. I’ll make arrangements for you two to leave together shortly.”

...

SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Two figures streaked across the sky—a man and a woman, none other than Ning Jiang and Gu Huaying.

As arranged by the Celestial Treasure King, the two had slipped out of Celestial Treasure City under the cover of night.

The items from the Celestial Treasure Auction were now in Ning Jiang’s possession: the Sea-Splitting Thunder Pearl for seven million Spirit Stones, and the Taiyin and Taiyang Divine Crystals for twelve million and fifteen million, respectively.

This time, however, the Celestial Treasure King hadn’t taken a single Spirit Stone from Ning Jiang, gifting him the items instead.

With the fifty million Spirit Stones earned from auctioning the Bloodline Evolution Technique, Ning Jiang now had a total of fifty-nine million Spirit Stones.

’When I have time, I’ll refine the Taiyang Divine Fire and Taiyin Divine Water.’

Ning Jiang mused that refining these two items was not something that could be done overnight. For now, he had to set the idea aside.

He and Gu Huaying hadn’t left Celestial Treasure City aimlessly; they were headed for a set of Ancient Ruins. It was the place Gu Huaying had arranged for them to meet when they first encountered each other, sealing the agreement with a Heaven and Earth Stone.

”The ruins are about three hundred miles from here. At our current speed, we should arrive by nightfall,” Gu Huaying said, her voice light and melodious.

”What exactly do you know about these ruins?” Ning Jiang asked.

”I’m not sure of the specifics. The East Sea is filled with ruins like these, many of whose origins are untraceable. I do know there’s a powerful Array there, and only Martial Artists at the Earth Martial Realm can enter,” said Gu Huaying.

”We’ll see when we get there,” Ning Jiang nodded.

After that, the two traveled on in silence.

At their speed, the three-hundred-mile journey wasn’t particularly long, and they encountered no dangers along the way.

When night fell, Gu Huaying finally came to a stop in mid-air. Pointing down toward the sea below, she said, ”This is the place. The Ancient Ruins are deep beneath the waves.”

”Let’s go. We’ll take a look.”

Ning Jiang circulated his Cultivation, forming a Body-Protecting Light Shield around himself before entering the water with a SPLASH. Gu Huaying followed close behind.

The sea was incredibly deep. They descended for thousands of feet and still hadn’t reached the bottom.

Moreover, the water below was pitch-black, so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.

Ning Jiang made a grasping motion with his hand, condensing a ball of brilliant Thunderbolt. Its light managed to dispel much of the surrounding darkness.

”Be careful. There are quite a few Demon Beasts this deep in the sea,” Gu Huaying reminded him.

”I know.”

Ning Jiang nodded, and at the same time, his Divine Sense spread out in all directions. Under normal circumstances, his powerful Power of Spiritual was enough to cover a radius of over thirty miles.

But here in the deep sea, the immense water pressure severely restricted his Divine Sense. It could only spread out to a distance of less than two miles.

This was why so many Ancient Ruins in the East Sea remained buried and undiscovered—the seawater restricted the Power of Spiritual, and Divine Sense simply couldn’t reach the deepest regions.

Furthermore, many Ancient Ruins were protected by Arrays that could block Divine Sense, making them difficult to find even if a King were to search the area.

Any that were found were inevitably commonplace ruins of little value.

”We’re almost there.”

When the two had descended nearly six miles, Gu Huaying spoke up.

At this depth, the water pressure was strong enough to destroy a Middle Grade Spiritual Artifact. If a Martial Artist at the Primordial Spirit Fourth Tribulation Realm were to enter these depths, the immense pressure would crush them in an instant.

By now, Ning Jiang’s Divine Sense was restricted to a mere three hundred yards or so.

”Huh? Someone’s here? And they’ve spotted us!”