Chapter 609 - 29: Stone Sect, Dragon Palace, Giant Whale

Feng Yan said, "Inexplicable phenomena are common in the Lingkong Celestial Ruins, so this is hardly surprising."

As she spoke, dozens of miles away, another strange blue flower emerged from the sea of sand and slowly blossomed.

Immediately after, more and more of the phantom-blue flowers appeared. Under the gloomy, overcast sky, their ethereal light intertwined within the curtain of rain, creating an eerie yet desolate beauty.

Fang Cheng stood at the front of the Cloud Raft, gazing into the distance. He suddenly pointed in a direction and said to Xia Yue, "Go there."

Xia Yue did as she was told and turned the Cloud Raft. After traveling hundreds of miles through the downpour, a bronze palace shaped like a tall pillar suddenly appeared before them.

The massive, cylindrical palace was mostly buried deep beneath the desert. The part that rose above the sand was merely a hundred zhang tall. It was surrounded by dense, overlapping layers of the phantom-blue flowers, which, under the rain and their own ethereal light, made the scene appear incredibly mysterious.

As they drew closer, they saw that the exterior of the Bronze Palace was carved with countless Celestial Dragons. Each one was depicted with flared whiskers and furious eyes, its body twisting and tail thrashing. Bathed in the phantom-blue light, they seemed to writhe and swirl with the glow, looking as if they could spring to life at any moment and leap into the heavens.

"Ancient Ruins..."

Excitement shone in Xia Yue’s beautiful eyes. She asked, "Master, should we go in and explore?"

Feng Yan and Fang Cheng exchanged a glance. She smiled and said, "We have nothing better to do. We might as well go have a look."

Xia Yue urged the Cloud Raft to circle the Bronze Palace once before flying toward one of its windows, only to be immediately blocked by a layer of Treasure Light Prohibition.

With a wave of his sleeve, Fang Cheng unleashed his Sword Qi, striking the same spot on the prohibition over ten times and instantly tearing open a gap. Xia Yue seized the opportunity to pilot the Cloud Raft inside.

Based on this alone, it would be no easy feat for an ordinary Tribulation Realm Cultivator to enter this place.

The Bronze Palace was tall and imposing. A single window was over ten zhang high. Xia Yue piloted the Cloud Raft through the window frame and into the palace.

A massive, bottomless space appeared before the three of them.

From the outside, the Bronze Palace only rose a hundred zhang above the desert surface. But once inside, looking down revealed an extreme depth. The portion buried in the sea of sand was a full ten thousand zhang deep!

If the entire structure were exposed, it would surely be a divine bronze pillar connecting heaven and earth.

At that moment, two enormous eyes suddenly opened below, instantly erupting with a brilliant light that illuminated the surroundings as if it were day.

The three looked closely and saw a massive Dragon Head appear not far below them. Its horns swept back, its whiskers were blood-red, and its expression was exceptionally ferocious. Beneath its jaw hung a brightly glowing pearl.

Its draconic eyes were now open, shining with a dazzling light. The overwhelming, ferocious aura erupting from its body was terrifying.

"A Tier Six True Dragon... No, that’s not right!"

Fang Cheng was startled at first, but then he realized the truth. With a wave of his hand, a cascade of starlight descended. The massive dragon’s body instantly dissolved into wisps of Bronze Cloud Qi that drifted about, ethereal and ever-changing.

The Peach Blossom Cloud Raft descended. After passing through the thick Bronze Cloud Qi, they finally saw the bottom of the Bronze Palace.

There, they saw a Demon Bird shaped like a colorful phoenix with eight wings on its back. Its entire body was bound by thick bronze chains. Its long, slender neck was pressed against the ground, as if stretched out awaiting execution.

The dense Bronze Cloud Qi from before had actually been rising from the chains binding the Demon Bird, forming the True Dragon Illusion.

Feng Yan sighed. "Now *this* is a true Spirit Immortal-level Tier Six Demon Beast. It’s just a pity that its essence and vitality have been so greatly depleted. From the layout of this place, it seems some Spirit Immortal created this place to seal the Demon Beast and extract its essence and vitality."

After entering the Lingkong Celestial Ruins, Fang Cheng had seen from a distance those Tier Six Demon Beasts that rampaged through this realm and had felt their world-shakingly powerful auras.

This Demon Bird before them, although a Spirit Immortal-level Great Demon, had an aura that was less than thirty percent as strong as those other Tier Six Great Demons.

"Even so, this bird will be of great use to me in refining my Spiritual Mechanism Incarnation," Fang Cheng said, standing on the Cloud Raft and looking down at the Demon Bird.

Hearing this, the Demon Bird slowly opened its eyes, glanced at Fang Cheng, and revealed a trace of disdain.

With a twitch of its eight wings, streams of iridescent light surged up from the void, rushing toward the three of them.

Within the iridescent light, there seemed to be billions of sharp blades of light, cutting through the void, able to slice through anything.

Feng Yan summoned the Cyan-Black Great Tomb, and she and Xia Yue hid inside it. The endless iridescent light fell upon the Cyan-Black Great Tomb, instantly carving countless terrifying, shocking cracks into its surface, but in the next moment, they all healed completely.

The Great Tomb drifted through the iridescent light, its surface constantly cracking and healing, cracking and healing in a repeating cycle. Feng Yan’s voice came from within the Great Tomb, "Fellow Daoist Fang, do you require my assistance?"

"Just watch, Fellow Daoist." Fang Cheng’s faint laughter came from within the iridescent light.

An ethereal and elusive strand of Sword Qi was seen weaving around his body, moving with fluid grace. It shredded all the blades of iridescent light that surged toward him, leaving him completely unharmed.

A glint in his eye, he flicked his great sleeve and became one with his sword. He instantly transformed into a strange, rainbow-like Sword Aura that pierced through the layers of iridescent light.

From within the Great Tomb, Feng Yan saw the sword light flash. A thunderous roar boomed as it circled the Demon Bird’s slender neck hundreds of times in an instant!

SSSHHHIIING!!!

In the blink of an eye, the Demon Bird’s massive head fell to the ground, its life force extinguished.

The sword light flashed, and Fang Cheng’s figure reappeared.

The iridescent light that had filled the Bronze Palace also vanished, dissipating into the void.

Fang Cheng reined in his Escape Light and landed before the Demon Bird’s enormous body. He thought to himself, ’This Demon Bird had been sealed for too long and was bound by so many restraints. Otherwise, there’s no way I could have killed it so easily.’