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

Chapter 310 Prisoners and Guards

Chen Ye never imagined that seawater could be as sturdy as steel.

Perhaps it should be even stronger than steel.

With his dragon-like body, turning iron into mud was not difficult for him, but the seawater around him made him unable to move, not even his fingers could tremble.

If Chen Ye could still move even a little, he would take out the water-repelling pearl to isolate himself from the seawater that was pressing against his body, but now there was really no way to do so.

Each scale seemed to be bearing the weight of ten thousand tons, and it wasn't just simple pressure; the water flow was like sharp teeth, constantly tearing and grinding at his scales, and even his golden body began to break.

Chen Ye couldn't help but sigh, realizing that while he had done many good deeds, he had recently gone a bit too far in courting death.

He was either killed by Zhang Qi's sword energy or fought against opponents whose cultivation was far superior to his own. His merits were not endless, and Chen Ye's days of doing whatever he wanted with his golden body were probably coming to an end.

"As expected, my cultivation level is still too low."

Chen Ye swore to the heavens that as long as he dealt with the troubles at Green Coffin Mountain, he would go back into seclusion and would not leave until he reached the Nascent Soul stage.

Regardless of how the demons fight outside, Chen Ye only wants to cultivate until his cultivation is invincible, so that he can slap anyone he wants, and then he doesn't need to care whether he can fight.

Now, Chen Ye can only prepare himself.

Once Chen Ye encounters the old monster deep within the Ruins, he will summon Qu Heng and then open the gourd.

Chen Ye was swept away by an invisible undercurrent, sinking deeper and deeper into the Ruins of Return.

The surrounding seawater slowly changed from a clear, deep blue to a dark purple. Chen Ye sensed that the seawater seemed to have gained a lot of blood and putrid smells.

Continuing forward, passing through the ruins blasted open by the Azure Dragon Lord, Chen Ye saw countless fragments of bone and flesh floating in the seawater, indicating that the Azure Dragon's physical body had completely collapsed.

As for the Azure Dragon Lord's soul...

Chen Ye soon saw a semi-transparent dragon phantom ahead, just like him, completely bound by the seawater, also rushing towards the depths of the Ruins.

Despite the impure physical body and bloodline of this Azure Dragon Lord, his soul is entirely in the form of a dragon. Perhaps if he finds the Dragon Pearl, he can transform into a dragon and reach the level of the Azure Dragon Demon Lord of yesteryear.

Unfortunately, he is now just like Chen Ye, completely powerless to resist.

"Why won't Youluozi come to take advantage of the situation and kick someone when they're down?"

Chen Ye's eyes darted around, but he couldn't spot Youluozi or her maid.

Chen Ye didn't believe that this person would be killed by the Azure Dragon's self-destruction; he was either hiding or had already escaped.

But Chen Ye felt that Youluozi would definitely not leave willingly. She had always been thinking about the treasure deep inside Guixu, and she should know very well what was locked inside Guixu.

Chen Ye and the Azure Dragon's souls quickly became side by side. Both dragons were trapped in the sea and could only stare at each other with hatred.

The azure dragon let out a low roar: "Ignorant brat, you insist on forcing me to perish together with you. This time, you won't escape either!"

Ghosts are so convenient; they can speak without moving their mouths.

Chen Ye could only try to imitate You Luozi by making sounds with his mind. He also only had a superficial understanding of the secret techniques of the Bewitching Demon Lord.

"It seems that you, Lord, are also well aware of what is hidden deep within the Ruins of Return. Why don't you tell me? Perhaps if we discuss it together, we might still have a glimmer of hope. I have many treasures on me, and beating you just now was only to use a tiny fraction of them."

The Azure Dragon wished it could devour Chen Ye alive, and cursed, "Don't be so smug! I've lived for over a thousand years, and I've had enough. What about you? The youngest person to reach the Profound Realm, your future is limitless. With your talent, immortality and ascension are just a piece of cake. But today you'll die with me, and your great cause in the Northern Frontier, your Yellow Springs Sect, will all be reduced to ashes along with you!"

Chen Ye remained unmoved and calmly asked, "So, are you completely ignorant of Guixu, or are you willing to die rather than cooperate with me in order to drag me down with you?"

The Azure Dragon was immediately shocked. Was this kid truly unafraid of death, or did he really have another way to save his life?
No, if he had a way to save his life, he wouldn't need to discuss cooperation with me. So, this person is truly fearless of death, even if his future is bright.

Qingjiao felt he had underestimated Chen Ye. He always thought Chen Ye was just a lucky kid, but in the face of life and death, this kid was more composed than him, the old man.

It wasn't that Chen Ye wasn't afraid of death, but rather that after dying once, he had a more detached view of life and death.

When Chen Ye first arrived in the northern frontier, he could still fearlessly rebuke Qu Heng, the "Red Serpent Lord," showing him some power despite his insignificant status. Although this life still held great promise, it was far more exciting than his previous one. As the saying goes, climbers often die on the way up the mountain, and for Chen Ye, who sought immortality, dying on the path of seeking immortality was a common occurrence.

Having made preparations in advance, they appeared more composed.

It's good to be alive, of course, but Chen Ye just doesn't want to live a life of ignominy.

Since Qingjiao was unwilling to speak, Chen Ye had no choice but to call on someone else.

"Youluozi, if you don't make a move soon, I'm going to die."

Upon hearing the name, Qingjiao immediately realized that he had almost forgotten about the real mastermind. Wasn't the biggest troublemaker Youluozi?

No, there's still a chance.

The Azure Dragon shouted, "Chen Ye, I can tell you what secrets are hidden inside the Ruins of Return, but you must swear to heaven that you will spare my life!"

"Tell me the secret of the Ruins of Return first."

"You swear first!"

Qingjiao wasn't stupid either; how could he possibly reveal the secret without Chen Ye swearing an oath?

Chen Ye shook his head and said, "Then you'd better not say anything. We've already fought to this extent. How can I be at ease if I don't destroy your soul? At most, we can join forces to escape, but after we escape, I will still continue to hunt you down."

This Azure Dragon was desperate and grasping at straws; just seeing the piles of white bones inside its belly, Chen Ye had no way of letting it go.

The Azure Dragon shouted, "Do you think Youluozi will cooperate? You are also from the Demonic Sect. What life-and-death feud do we have? It's just a matter of the victor taking all. I admit defeat this time. Why can't we cooperate as long as there are benefits?"

Chen Ye said helplessly, "You've lost everything. But Youluozi still has a lot of benefits to offer."

The Azure Dragon exclaimed excitedly, "But she can't give you what you want! I know what you want! I've investigated you; what you want is my secret technique. No matter how much Youluozi steals the secret techniques of the eighteen sects, she'll only ever get the basics. She'll never know the true core techniques. I can teach you!"

“I don’t need your cultivation method. Since you even know this, you must have really investigated it. I only need the method to refine the poisonous water to neutralize the corrosive poison of Green Coffin Mountain. Youluozi promised to do it, and I don’t think she would lie to me about such a small matter.”

Chen Ye couldn't even keep up with his own cultivation techniques. He had emptied out the entire library of the Burning Incense Sect, so how could he possibly lack cultivation techniques?

For Youluozi, this kind of thing doesn't even count as a sacrifice, so Chen Ye is very confident that he can get the secret technique he needs.

Upon hearing this, Qingjiao panicked. He hadn't expected Chen Ye to be completely unmoved. Just as he was about to continue offering various benefits, he noticed that the ocean current had slowed down.

The two seemed to have entered another place.

The seawater here has become incredibly murky, as if the pus and blood from rotting corpses have been sealed here forever, brewing for who knows how many years.

Countless fragments of magical artifacts floated in the seawater.

Half of a bronze sword blade was stuck in the stone steps, already rotten, but lightning still occasionally flashed from the blade; a set of golden armor was smashed into a golden cake by some kind of great force, and the remaining flesh inside was rotten and stained the golden armor with a dull color.

Most horrifying were the crisscrossing ravines. What should have been a magnificent and solemn palace looked as if it had been haphazardly cleaved by a god with a giant axe, leaving behind deep, crisscrossing marks. The ravines were filled with a mixture of flesh and filth.
This area looks like it has been the site of a fierce battle.

But how many years has it been since the Ruins of Guixu? Where did these corpses come from, and from which era did they remain?
Chen Ye and Qingjiao were both shocked by what they saw, but as they continued to drift deeper into the water, a huge black shadow blocked their way.

It was dozens of times larger than Chen Ye's dragon body. In front of this black shadow, Chen Ye was truly like a small mudfish.

Although the shadowy figure had no facial features, Chen Ye could feel a ferocious, beast-like gaze fixed intently on him.

The strange creature roared, "Retreat at once!"

Chen Ye felt a chill run down his spine. This monster in front of him actually had intelligence. Could it be that this thing was sealed inside the Ruins of Return?
No, the ocean current clearly pulled Chen Ye and Qingjiao into the depths; it's impossible for it to pull them in and then drive them away.

The dark figure in front of me is not a prisoner of Guixu, but a guard!

(End of this chapter)