Daqin Zhentiansi

Zhang Yuan stood at the gunwale, his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance.

The hem of the black robe swayed slightly with the hull of the boat, like a rock facing the tide.

The surging, dark blue sea outside the window reflected half of his profile, deep and still, as if the news coming from him was not a triumphant report of territorial expansion or awe-inspiring achievements, but rather an ordinary document.

Quiet.

Only the howling sea breeze outside the ship and the brief silence created by the lingering sound of the jade talisman echoing inside the cabin.

This achievement, which should have been enough to make the entire Yongtian Continent boil over, was like a speck of dust thrown into the abyss of Guixu for Zhang Yuan, without even causing a ripple.

Bai Zhi's vertical pupils beneath the silver fox mask gazed deeply at the figure with its back to all living beings.

There was no shock in those eyes, only a deeper sense of awe.

She had witnessed the Marquis single-handedly lift up the sky and shatter countless souls on the battlefield of the Stars and Bones. In his eyes, this little bit of earthly merit and honor was probably just a small signpost on the road to the east.

True vision always lies at the unfathomable depths of the sea and the edge of the sky.

Luo Hongxiu's lips tightened slightly, while Lu Tianshu gripped the Demon-Locking Tower talisman in his sleeve...

All the powerful figures from the Zhen Tian Si present felt an overwhelming sense of awe amidst the silent calm.

True strength lies not in cheering, but in remaining calm and steadfast in the face of overwhelming achievements.

No comments, no joy.

Zhang Yuan nodded very slightly, his voice as calm as frozen ice: "Announce to the entire army to boost morale."

"The patrol continues, at full speed—towards the 'Eye of the Ruins'."

"Yes, sir!" Everyone bowed.

Atop the warship's tower, a large black flag waved.

The bugle call to advance at full speed resounded.

Above the sea, clouds surged and the inky black waves rolled on.

"boom--"

Lightning shone brightly in the sky.

Ahead, the world seemed to have been ripped open with a huge wound.

A colossal whirlpool, thousands of miles in diameter, is like the greedy throat of a giant beast, swallowing endless seawater and light!

At the edge of the whirlpool, the water walls were thousands of feet high, and the roar was like billions of thunderbolts crashing down.

The most unsettling sight is the seventy-two towering, eerie blue pillars of light.

Those were the phantom images of the sea-suppressing pillars rising from the seabed, surrounding the core of the vortex and forming a huge and ancient sealing barrier!

Cracks appeared on the surface of the pillar of light, and violent, pitch-black fissures were constantly tearing open from it, spewing out chaotic spatial turbulence and biting external gales!
This is the barrier scar of the Yongtian Continent world, the Eye of the Ruins!

The pressure of Heaven's Dao was almost tangible here; the power of the rules contained within the giant waves was enough to crush ordinary Grandmasters!

"Roar--!"

The sound of war drums was drowned out by the wind and thunder. Five thousand elite guards, who had undergone the most rigorous training, roared in unison on several bronze warships at the forefront!
Their armor instantly cracked, and their life essence, like burning lava, burst forth, transforming into crimson chains of blood energy!
The chains intertwined and entangled, and amidst the deafening roar of the dragons, they were forcibly solidified into the shadows of five enormous crimson dragons!

The dragon raised its head and crashed into the towering black wall of water and the overwhelming pressure of the realm, creating a brief, blood-red path!

The Crimson Dragon temporarily withstood the pressure of Heaven's will by sacrificing its own life force, but it was also rapidly dissolving!
These are the elite troops selected from among the 50,000 personal guards, each one trained using the ancestral dragon guard's methods of troop discipline.

They will be the foundation of the Qingyang Marquis's personal guard.

As they saw it now, they were truly capable of shouldering this responsibility. On the Zhenhai boat behind them, Yu Wanjun, Chen Wu, and the others wore smiles.

"Sword Sect disciples, heed my command—"

"Form the Celestial Star Sword Formation!"

Pei Lie's voice transformed into the cries of countless swords, resounding throughout the sea and sky!

"Qiang——!"

On twelve sea-crossing boats, ten thousand flying swords were simultaneously unsheathed!
It was no longer a scattered sword light meant to annihilate a single target, but transformed into dazzling star trails!

The flying swords weaved and linked in an orderly fashion, instantly creating a huge star map covering hundreds of miles above the fleet!

The dazzling array of stars is inspired by the essence of the Celestial Star Array of the Spirit Array Division!
Endless sword intent converged, echoing the seventy-two sea-suppressing pillars, transforming into a giant net that forcefully pressed down on the most violent spatial rifts at the edge of the vortex!
With a hissing sound, the starlight sword energy continuously annihilated the dark cracks, temporarily sealing the chaotic spacetime flow!

Just as Jianwang and Zulong Blood Flood Dragon were desperately holding off the impact of Guixu, Zhang Yuan made a move!
He stepped off the bridge of the Zhenhai Ship, like a shadow, ignoring the wind blades and qi that were powerful enough to tear apart steel, and went straight to the raging center of the vortex!

There, a massive, dark-gold fragment of a pillar, unlike any ordinary sea-suppressing pillar, covered in mysterious tortoise-shell and cloud patterns and exuding an aura that suppressed the ancient and primordial chaos, was floating in the core vortex, like a beating heart!

Zhang Yuan stretched out his hand, and the power of returning to the void seemed to surge in his palm, forcibly ignoring the vortex repulsive force and annihilating energy that could distort space!
"Om-!"

He firmly grasped the core fragment of the Sea-Suppressing Pillar, which contained boundless power!

The moment he got his hands on the fragment, a violent vibration spread through his arm, as if he were holding a boiling mountain!

Strands of dark golden light peeled off the fragments and, without needing to be refined, automatically wrapped around his arm, as if acknowledging the true nature of this master's Void Return!
He casually pulled out a spare heavy iron halberd from his back from the Spring Mountain Cave.

The core fragment shone with intense golden light and melted instantly, like molten metal, perfectly enveloping the halberd head and spreading several feet across the halberd shaft!

Dark gold tortoise shell and cloud patterns flowed across the halberd, radiating a terrifying pressure that could dominate the seas and suppress all ages!
A halberd radiating divine might was born here!

"The Dinghai Halberd, the divine weapon of King Yu back then..." On the Zhenhai Ship, Li Yu, who had already stabilized his master level in weapon refining, widened his eyes and exclaimed in a low voice.

Legend has it that the "Sea-Stabilizing Halberd" can calm the storms of the East China Sea and command millions of sea creatures!
On the Zhenhai boat, everyone's eyes were filled with astonishment and envy.

But everyone knows that no one but Marquis Qingyang can obtain this halberd.

No one present dared to say they could pass through the fierce winds that tore through the void unscathed.

With the halberd in hand, Zhang Yuan felt a tremor emanating from it.

That was the vibration caused by the surging of the waves on the sea surface.

"Om-"

Holding the halberd horizontally, a crimson-gold ripple suddenly exploded in front of Zhang Yuan.

Within a radius of a hundred miles, the sea surface instantly became calm, as if a mountain had been crushed!

Just as the Dinghai Halberd stabilized the storm, an extremely faint yet powerful mental fluctuation, which broke through the roar of the Guixu, rushed out through the passage at the core of the vortex and resounded directly in everyone's minds.

A fluctuation of will!

This is a transmission of divine soul power!
The voice, carrying the ancient and somewhat awkward tone of the Qizhou dialect, resonated in the void.

"I am from the Yunlan Immortal Sect of Qizhou!"

"Demons from beyond the realms are besieging our mountain gate. We are willing to offer up our sect's millennia-old accumulated Daoist scriptures and treasures, and we beg for the help of fellow Daoists...to fight against the demons together!"

The distress signal was intermittent, filled with despair and urgency.

Clearly, in a desperate situation, he poured his last strength into spatial communication, which happened to be captured by the Guixu Passage, which had opened a crack!

"Qi Zhou..." Zhang Yuan slowly raised his head, looking at the crack in the void. (End of this chapter)