Translator: AnubisTL
Li Qing's eyes narrowed as he gazed at the massive, treasure-blue gourd.
The extraordinarily pure water-attribute primordial energy emanating from it sent a shiver down his spine, rivaling even the water spirit pearl in intensity.
Li Qing suspected that a precious water-attribute spiritual object lay within; otherwise, such a phenomenon would be impossible.
He knew it couldn't be the water spirit pearl, as Su Xin already possessed it. Nor could it be a fragment, as the energy fluctuations were distinctly different.
"A water-attribute spiritual object..." Li Qing murmured to himself. He had been fretting about how to replenish his own spiritual root, yet here a suitable candidate had already appeared.
Previously, lacking a proper water-attribute spiritual object, he had planned to hunt a high-tier water-attribute demon beast and extract its inner core to use as material for replenishing his spiritual root.
Now, it seemed that wouldn't be necessary.
"Brother Black Dragon," Li Qing said with a smile, "I'm interested in what's inside that gourd. How about this: after I free you, the gourd is yours, but whatever's inside it belongs to me?"
The Black Flood Dragon King had no reason to refuse. He repeatedly agreed, "Of course, there's no problem at all. You can even take the strange gourd if you want."
Having been imprisoned in this place for so many years, he was on the verge of complete madness. Now that he finally saw a glimmer of hope for rescue, he wouldn't be foolish enough to reject it.
With the Black Flood Dragon King's agreement secured, Li Qing stopped watching the spectacle and his expression immediately turned serious.
Boom!
An overwhelmingly powerful aura erupted from his body, spiritual pressure radiating from the bottom of the trench. Many deep-sea creatures nearby were stunned into unconsciousness.
The most shocked of all was the Black Flood Dragon King. His massive, lantern-like eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Li Qing.
Divine Transformation Realm!
There was no doubt—this spiritual pressure could only belong to a cultivator in the Divine Transformation Realm. His big brother, the Azure Flood Dragon King, had possessed a similar, overwhelming spiritual pressure. When fully unleashed, it had nearly suffocated him.
"You... you've advanced to the Divine Transformation Realm?"
"How long have I been imprisoned at the bottom of the sea? Have I lost all sense of time? Have centuries passed in the outside world?"
The Black Flood Dragon King's voice was filled with disbelief. He found it hard to imagine that Li Qing had already reached the divine transformation realm, truly attaining the level once achieved by the Azure Flood Dragon King.
Li Qing merely chuckled in response. "Just a bit of luck, really. I managed to advance by chance. Nothing worth mentioning."
This self-deprecation was excessive, leaving the Black Flood Dragon King speechless.
When they first met, the Black Flood Dragon King's realm had been higher than Li Qing's. Now, after all these years, Li Qing had left him far behind.
Without dwelling on this for long, Li Qing channeled the surrounding Primordial Energy of Heaven and Earth, attempting to shake the gourd.
Boom!
A massive surge of Primordial Energy of Heaven and Earth crashed against the enormous, azure-blue gourd like a mountain collapsing into the sea.
At the bottom of the trench, an ancient formation lit up with blinding brilliance, illuminating the surrounding darkness.
This formation was no ordinary construct. It seemed to have fused the massive azure-blue gourd into place, resisting even Li Qing's relentless waves of heaven and earth power.
"It's no use. This is the deep sea, where the heaven and earth power I can mobilize is too weak to effectively shake this gourd," Li Qing frowned slightly.
Ultimately, Li Qing decided to rely on his physical strength.
He surged his qi and blood, unleashing a thunderous roar that echoed like crashing waves. His qi mechanism reached its peak state.
Immediately, Savage Bone Battle Marks materialized across his skin—a power amplification technique he had gained from refining the essence blood of the Savage Bone Battle Physique.
Though the effect lasted only a brief moment, the power he could unleash during that time was terrifying.
Boom!
Li Qing shuddered violently, the crushing seawater around him instantly blasted away, creating a fleeting vacuum.
In the next instant, Li Qing's figure shot forward like a meteor. He thrust out both palms, the sheer force distorting the very space of the seabed.
Even with just his physical strength, he was already an unrivaled existence in the human realm.
The absurdly overwhelming power erupted, finally causing the blue gourd—which seemed to contain the waters of the five seas—to tremble and sway.
"ROAR!"
Li Qing let out a primal, beast-like roar, unleashing an untamed, primordial aura that seemed to possess him like a savage warrior.
Suddenly, the gourd, larger than a mountain, crashed down with a thunderous roar, like a golden mountain collapsing or a jade pillar shattering. The entire seabed trembled violently.
The Black Flood Dragon King, imprisoned beneath for over a century, finally broke free. It roared with exhilaration, stretching its massive body freely.
As the gourd collapsed, the connected formation shattered and crumbled.
"Finally free! I almost thought I'd be imprisoned for eternity," the Black Flood Dragon King declared, its gaze shifting back to Li Qing.
This time, its eyes held a hint of reverence, no longer the casual arrogance of before. Even as a proud member of the Flood Dragon Clan, it understood the profound respect due to a cultivator in the divine transformation realm.
Li Qing paid no attention to these trivial matters. After toppling the gourd, he began meticulously examining it.
"So that's it. Someone set up a magical formation here long ago, intending to use this gourd to nurture an aquatic spirit creature."
"But too much time has passed. The gourd can no longer withstand the formation's refinement."
"It seems the person who set up this formation met with some misfortune and couldn't retrieve the spiritual object in time. Lucky for me."
Having discerned the truth, Li Qing slowly approached the gourd's mouth and, with immense force, began to pull out the stopper inch by inch.
Soon, a muffled boom reverberated through the air.
Bang!
As the stopper came free, an intensely brilliant blue light erupted from the gourd, so dazzling that Li Qing could barely keep his eyes open.
Immediately afterward, a torrent of exceptionally pure water-attribute primordial energy surged forth.
Li Qing immediately extended his divine sense to observe the gourd's interior.
The space inside was vast, resembling a spatial magic treasure. Though it couldn't create its own heaven and earth, it was still remarkable, capable of holding tens of thousands of hectares of seawater.
Yet within this vast space, there was only a single peach pit radiating a soft, gentle light!
This was quite unexpected for Li Qing. He had anticipated finding some peerless treasure within the gourd, or at the very least, some kind of heaven-defying miraculous water.
"A peach pit?" Li Qing frowned slightly, but he could indeed sense a surging water-attribute primordial energy emanating from it. Given its nature, it seemed suitable as a spiritual object for planting his fifth spiritual root.
"So many years spent nurturing just a peach pit?"
"Could this be the pit of some kind of Immortal Peach?"
As he spoke, Li Qing used his mana to draw the peach pit out of the gourd.
The pit felt ice-cold in his hand. Roughly the size of a fist, it possessed a crystalline texture resembling blue quartz, with a faint aura of vitality lingering within.
Seeing this, the Black Flood Dragon King immediately swam over to examine the peach pit in Li Qing's hand with meticulous care.
"The energy is remarkably pure, but I can't identify the spirit fruit it came from," the Black Flood Dragon King analyzed. "Judging by the faint vitality radiating from it, it should be viable for replanting. Perhaps a peach tree could grow from it in the future."
Li Qing wasn't entirely satisfied. While the peach pit's quality was indeed astonishing, it only matched the level of a fifth-tier demon core.
It wasn't that he had grown arrogant; a fifth-tier demon core was still an extraordinary find. After all, whether one could even find a fifth-tier water-attribute great demon in the mortal realm capable of divine transformation had become a major question.
Unless the Black Flood Dragon King broke through to the divine transformation realm, even scouring the entire sea might not reveal its location.
"Did I set my expectations too high?" Li Qing murmured to himself, then carefully stored the crystalline blue peach pit.
Regardless, he had finally secured the means to restore his spiritual root. He could now use a secret technique to slowly nourish it within his body, allowing it to transform into his own spiritual root.
Having just escaped his confinement, the Black Flood Dragon King suddenly shivered, sensing an inexplicable chill.
"Heh, Brother Black Dragon, why don't you take this gourd?" Li Qing chuckled, glancing at the Black Flood Dragon King. "It's not quite a spirit treasure, but if you refine it and nourish it properly, it could become a decent treasure."
Hearing this, the Black Flood Dragon King replied awkwardly, "I'm afraid that wouldn't be right. After all, you saved me, and this is your spoil of war. I haven't even repaid you yet—how could I possibly accept another treasure?"
Li Qing burst into laughter. "Hahahaha, Brother Black Dragon, you're being too formal! If you hadn't forcefully shaken the seabed, I might never have sensed the anomaly here!"
"Besides, this gourd isn't of much use to me. Obtaining that unknown peach pit on this trip is more than enough."
"Then I won't stand on ceremony!"
With that, the Black Flood Dragon King coiled around the gourd lying on the seabed.
Previously, the formation's reinforcement had made it impossible for him to move the gourd. Now that the formation had collapsed, he easily claimed it.
This gourd could absorb vast quantities of water—tens of thousands of acres' worth. When fully activated, even fourth-tier demonic beasts couldn't escape its grasp.
The Black Flood Dragon King was immensely pleased. Even in the Undersea Dragon Palace, such rare treasures were seldom seen.
Li Qing smiled. "Well, that settles things here. I should be going now."
"Brother Black Dragon, if you ever find the time, why not visit Lingyun Sect?"
The Black Flood Dragon King readily agreed, promising to visit Lingyun Sect at the first opportunity.
After exchanging pleasantries, Li Qing soared toward the sea's surface with astonishing speed.
Having accomplished both objectives of his expedition, he now needed only to make one more trip to Bright King Valley in the Flame Domain to check on the Hua Clan's situation before returning to the sect for continued cultivation.
(End of the Chapter)
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