Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 261 The Master of the Ruins

Chen Ye encountered an accident by accident, but it was also an unavoidable accident.

After all, Chen Ye came here to search for treasure, to find a magic weapon for himself, and to find some treasures to impress the Yellow Springs Sect.

This dragon pearl is a valuable item, and Chen Ye naturally couldn't miss it.

Unexpectedly, the Eight-Nine Arcane Technique was affected by the Flood Dragon Pearl and began to grow flesh and bones.

Chen Ye tried to stop the change but found that he couldn't. However, he also discovered that the flesh and blood that grew seemed to be very well adapted to the deep-sea environment, rather than being crushed into a lump of rotten flesh as soon as it grew.

Moreover, Chen Ye can also control the movement of these growing flesh and blood.

Moreover, these newly formed flesh and blood seemed to resonate with the Ruins of Return. Chen Ye was able to sense the changes in spiritual energy emanating from the Ruins of Return through these flesh and blood, just as he could sense the changes in the earth veins of Fengdu City when he was in the Yellow Springs Sect.

Chen Ye couldn't help but wonder, could it be that these four dragons were not killed by the master of Guixu, but rather that they were the original masters of Guixu?
Did someone break into this underwater palace, destroy it, and capture these four dragons, nailing them to the entrance?
That would be terrifying.

How powerful must the owner be to build such a magnificent deep-sea palace? How could such a powerful being be killed at his doorstep, with his own family members nailed to the gate?
Although Chen Ye wasn't entirely sure, the feeling of being in his element was undeniable. This newborn flesh resonated with the Void, and as more flesh grew, this feeling became increasingly pronounced.

Since that's the case, Chen Ye simply took the initiative to activate the Eight-Nine Arcane Technique and actively stimulate the growth of these flesh and blood.

A moment later, half of the scaly body appeared before Chen Ye's eyes.

Around the waist, it transformed into a section of flesh covered in bluish scales.

Indeed, it was the body of a dragon, and after having this physical body, Chen Ye suddenly felt a sense of "home" for Guixu.

The warm breath of the sea nourished Chen Ye, and the surrounding spiritual energy surged in, constantly propelling Chen Ye's cultivation to new heights.

Chen Guang, unaware of what had happened, only saw Chen Ye suddenly grow half a body and hurriedly asked, "Sect Master, has something gone wrong? Why don't we go back first? Your safety is the most important thing!"

Chen Ye shook his head and said, "No, perhaps we've come at the right time."

Chen Ye swam again and came to another dragon corpse, taking out the dragon pearl in the same way.

With the dragon pearl inside his belly, Chen Ye once again activated the Eight-Nine Arcane Technique, and another section of the dragon's body grew out.

This time, most of his body had already grown out, and Chen Ye had become a half-dragon with a fleshy lower body and a seawater upper body, leaving Chen Guang dumbfounded.

Chen Guang couldn't help but say, "Sect Leader, you...you frighten me a little, just like that roar back then, which scared us into scattering and fleeing."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye became even more certain of his guess.

The owner of this Guixu must also be a dragon, and the four dragons at the entrance are probably his descendants.

"In that case..."

Without hesitation, Chen Ye took out the dragon pearls from the other two dragons and once again activated the Eight-Nine Arcane Technique, transforming himself completely into a dragon.

After his entire body transformed into a dragon, Chen Ye couldn't help but let out a roar.

The sound reverberated in all directions, followed by countless roars from the Ruins of Return, as if they had been startled by Chen Ye's shout.

At this moment, Chen Ye felt as if he had become one with the sea, and the seawater would change with his every thought.

Everything around him was under Chen Ye's control.

"So this is what the dragon felt. How could such a powerful divine beast be killed in the sea?"

Chen Ye couldn't understand why the dragon pearl only transformed his physical body into a dragon, but didn't give him any memories or hints.

Chen Guang was so frightened by Chen Ye's dragon might that he broke free, his illusory body trembling in the seawater.

Chen Ye quickly reassured him, "Don't panic, I'm still me."

Chen Guang said tremblingly, "Sect Master... I... I can't control myself."

As if driven by an innate fear, Chen Guang was powerless to resist Chen Ye, as if he had encountered his nemesis.

Chen Ye let out a dragon's roar and shouted: "Calm your mind and focus your spirit. You are no longer a mirage demon. You are the City God of my Yellow Springs Sect. You are worshipped by all people and are no longer suppressed by your bloodline."

The sound seemed to contain the grandeur of a great bell, startling Chen Guang and bringing her back to her senses.

After a long while, Chenguang's body finally stopped trembling and returned to calm.

Chen Guang bowed respectfully to Chen Ye in the sea and said, "Thank you, Sect Master, for allowing me to lead the way for you again."

Chen Ye nodded in satisfaction, but he said to Chen Guang, "No rush. Before entering the Ruins of Return, let's first deliver these four people from their suffering."

Chen Ye looked at the four dragons nailed to the pillars and began to manipulate the ocean currents.

The undercurrents, under Chen Ye's control, shook the four jade pillars.

The once-silent jade pillar seemed to sense Chen Ye's movement and began to vibrate violently, creating countless bubbles in the deep sea. Layers of runes appeared on the jade pillar, resisting Chen Ye's ocean currents.

Chen Ye narrowed his eyes, carefully examining the changes in the runes, and then continuously adjusted the ocean current.

These seals, which had been maintained for countless years, were shaken by Chen Ye and gradually disintegrated by the ocean currents.

When it comes to breaking formations, no matter how ancient or grand, the basic principles of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements are the same. As long as Chen Ye has enough time, he is confident that he can break them.

Moreover, the seal was already incomplete due to lack of maintenance; otherwise, how could it have allowed Chen Ye to take the dragon pearl?

If Chen Ye insists on breaking the seal and completely releasing the corpses of the four dragons, the seal will probably remain completely unmoved.

The seal was gradually broken by Chen Ye, and the nails that were deeply embedded in the dragon corpses were also pulled out. The corpses of the four dragons crashed to the ground, creating large mud waves on the seabed.

However, a corpse is still a corpse. Even if Chen Ye breaks the seal, these four dragons are already dead and have no chance of reviving.

Chen Ye swam to the four dragons in his dragon form and said respectfully, "I came here before to seek treasure with the help of your four dragon pearls. Since I have nothing to repay you with, I ask that you be laid to rest in peace."

Chen Ye used his magic to dig a large pit in front of the gate of Guixu with the ocean currents, and buried the corpses of the four dragons inside.

Although he didn't know what the dragons in the Ruins of Guixu had fought with to end up like this, since Chen Ye had come to search for treasure, he owed these dragons a favor and helped them to be buried in peace as a token of his gratitude.

After doing all this, Chen Ye said to Chen Guang, "Let's go. Exploring Guixu again now should be much easier."

The morning light clung to Chen Ye once more, but this time the feeling was completely different. A warm aura emanated from Chen Ye, making the morning light feel as if it had become the master of the sea and was receiving the blessing of the deep ocean.

Chen Guang couldn't help but say, "Sect Master, your dragon body is truly amazing."

"It's the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts and those four Flood Dragon Pearls that are so powerful. I don't have that ability myself, so I can only use the Flood Dragon Pearls to transform into human form. But this Flood Dragon should be the master of Guixu. You lived in there before, didn't you see a Flood Dragon?"

Upon hearing Chen Ye's question, Chen Guang shook his head and said, "I have never seen it, nor have I seen any dragon-related patterns in the Ruins of Return."

Chen Ye laughed and said, "That's not surprising. Inside the Yellow Springs Palace, apart from the City God Pavilion and the golden statue of the Dragon Buddha, you can't see any human-shaped decorations."

Living people don't use their own likenesses as decorations; wealthy families paint dragons and phoenixes on their beams and pillars, not people.

If a dragon lived in this Ruins of Return, it probably wouldn't have carved its likeness in various places, but would only have found a place similar to a shrine to worship it.

The Ruins of Guixu are too vast; Chenguang must not have ever been to the place where the dragon was worshipped.

"Let's go in and explore."

Chen Ye swayed and entered the gate of the Ruins.

After passing through the white jade gate covered with algae, there was a spacious corridor inside.

It's clear that the owner of Guixu doesn't really like complicated decorations. The corridor is surrounded by simple, rustic designs with no elaborate decorations, and it's damaged in several places after years of seawater corrosion.

Chen Ye carefully swam forward, bypassing the collapsed sections, and soon arrived at a spacious hall.

There should have been something placed in the center of this hall, but it has now completely collapsed and is beyond recognition due to seawater corrosion.

Unable to find any relevant clues, Chen Ye could only continue swimming forward.

As we swam through the empty ruins, the further we went in, the fewer fish there were, but the larger the various marine creatures became.

There are quite a few schools of fish in front of the Guixu gate, but they are mostly large fish weighing about ten pounds each, forming a large and uncontrolled school that wanders around aimlessly.

When Chen Ye transformed into a dragon, the commotion he made scared away the fish, and the scene was quite spectacular.

As they ventured deeper into the Ruins of Guixu, the schools of fish became fewer and fewer, replaced by all sorts of grotesque and ferocious-looking fish, growing larger and larger.

As Chen Ye turned the corner of the square, he saw a ferocious monster fish that was even larger than his dragon body. Its mouth was full of sharp, curved fangs, and it looked as if it could bite Chen Ye's head off with one bite.

But after sensing Chen Ye, the strange fish froze, as if it had been greatly threatened, and its scales began to change color.

Upon closer inspection, the strange fish's tail resembled a snake's tail, unlike that of an ordinary fish.

"What kind of creature is this? A tiger-dragon?"

Chen Ye remembered that the Classic of Mountains and Seas mentioned that the Tiger-Dragon was a monster with the body of a fish and the tail of a snake, but it did not describe what its face looked like, nor did it say that its scales could change color like neon lights.

Chen Ye cautiously stared at the tiger-dragon and began to slowly manipulate the ocean currents to prevent the strange fish from attacking him.

However, this tiger-dragon was much smarter than Chen Ye had imagined. After sensing the dragon's might on Chen Ye, it slowly retreated, gradually increasing the distance, and then turned around and rushed into a corner where Chen Ye could not see it.

Chen Ye smiled and said to Chen Guang, "It seems I'll definitely be able to take you back to your hometown this time."

(End of this chapter)