You, a living person, are telling me I've served in the underworld for ten years?

But under Chen Yang's keen eyes, a faint, pale blue energy ripple could be seen flowing on the surface of the wall, almost completely blending with the wall's color!
The way these ripples flow is completely different from the naturally dissipated spiritual energy in the surrounding environment; it's more like a... deliberately maintained, regular energy field!

"There are restrictions!"

Chen Yang's heart stirred, and he immediately walked to the wall, activating his Fiery Eyes of Truth to examine it carefully.

Sure enough! Under the keen observation of the discerning eye, the light blue energy ripples on the wall surface became clear. They flowed slowly along an extremely complex and mysterious trajectory, forming a vast and ingenious concealment and protection barrier!
The restriction was seamlessly integrated with the wall itself. Unless one had the discerning eye to see through the essence of the energy, and the restriction was ancient and its energy had weakened, revealing extremely subtle flaws, even if an ordinary cultivator stood in front of it and scanned it inch by inch with their divine sense, it would be extremely difficult to find any clues!
"They really hid it well."

A slight smile appeared on Chen Yang's lips.

Although the restriction was ingenious, it was too old, and only a tenth of its energy remained. Moreover, its "concealment" characteristic outweighed its "protection," so breaking it was not too difficult for him.

He extended his right hand, and a tiny, condensed point of magical power shone from the tip of his index finger, while simultaneously channeling a wisp of the underworld's "breaking the seal" law into it. The point of light gently touched several key "nodes" where energy ripples flowed on the wall.

"Puff puff……"

A few soft, bubble-like sounds rang out. The pale blue energy ripples on the wall surface undulated violently for a few moments, then quickly dissipated and disappeared like the receding tide.

The entire restrictive structure was cleverly countered by Chen Yang, and temporarily collapsed.

As soon as the restriction dissipated, the once unremarkable bluestone wall began to undergo strange changes. The surface of the wall rippled like water, its color faded, it became transparent, and finally it silently slid apart to both sides.

A dark, downward-sloping passageway entrance, barely wide enough for one person to pass through, was revealed! Rough stone steps led down into the unknown depths of the underground.

"found it!"

Without hesitation, Chen Yang stepped into the passage, his figure quickly swallowed by the darkness.

The passage was narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time, with steep stone steps leading downwards. The air was filled with a strong earthy smell and a purer, more ancient water-attribute spiritual energy.

The passage was not completely dark; tiny, self-luminous crystals were embedded in the rock walls on both sides, providing a faint but steady light.

Chen Yang continued his descent, his keen eyes remaining constantly alert. Sure enough, the passage wasn't entirely unguarded. Every so often, there were extremely well-hidden traps and mechanisms—

Loose flaps on the ground, poisoned arrows poised to be released from hidden holes in the walls, rock-falling mechanisms hanging from the ceiling... These mechanisms are ingeniously designed and almost integrated with the rock face.

But with his keen eyesight, Chen Yang could see the structure and trigger points of all the mechanisms clearly. He either leaped over them lightly, or used his magic to disable them beforehand, or found a safe path to bypass them, making his way through the dangers without any real harm, and moving at an extremely fast speed.

After descending for about several dozen feet, light finally appeared ahead. Chen Yang quickened his pace, walked out of the passage, and arrived at a not-so-large underground chamber.

The secret chamber was circular, about three zhang in diameter, with several fist-sized pearls emitting a soft white light embedded in its ceiling, illuminating the room as bright as day. In the center of the chamber was an ancient stone platform about three chi square.

The stone platform was covered with intricate runes related to water flow. And on the stone platform, there was a square brocade box, about a foot in size, made entirely of deep-sea silver and engraved with dragon patterns!
The brocade box sat there quietly, radiating a calm, ancient, and restrained precious light. Around the stone platform, faint blue light curtains flowed, forming a weak but still complete protective array that guarded the brocade box in the center.

"The last line of defense."

Chen Yang walked to the stone platform and carefully observed the formation. The formation was also ancient and lacked energy, but its structure was ingenious. If he forcibly broke the formation, it might trigger the box's self-destruction or some unknown counterattack.

However, this did not stump Chen Yang. His keen eyes once again proved effective, and he quickly found several key weaknesses in the energy flow of the formation and safe entry points.

He pointed his fingers like a sword, his subtle magical power mixed with a trace of water-attribute spiritual power, transforming into several slender and agile light threads that precisely pierced into several specific positions on the array's light barrier.

"Om..."

The protective light barrier trembled slightly, emitting a low hum, before quickly dimming and dissipating like a punctured balloon. The runes on the stone platform also lost their luster.

Chen Yang then reached out and carefully picked up the silver brocade box. The box felt cold and heavy to the touch, and the dragon patterns carved on it were so lifelike that they seemed ready to come to life and take flight at any moment.

He gently opened the box.

Inside the box was a soft, dark blue silk liner of an unknown material. On this liner lay a jade bead, roughly the size of a pigeon's egg, its surface translucent and displaying a deep, interwoven hue of ocean blue and milky white.
The bead was not still; inside it, it seemed as if billions of tiny blue points of light were slowly rotating and surging, like a miniature starry sky or the eddies of a deep ocean.

A powerful, pure, ancient, and vibrant spiritual energy, accompanied by an indescribable awe-inspiring dragon might, naturally emanated from the bead, causing Chen Yang's hand holding the box to tremble slightly!
"This is... the remains of the Vast Ocean Dragon Pearl?"

Chen Yang stared intently at the breathtakingly beautiful bead.

Even though it was just a wreckage, the energy and spiritual essence it contained far exceeded most of the rare and precious materials he had obtained before!

He reached out his finger, wanting to gently touch it and feel its texture.

However, the instant his fingertips touched the cool surface of the bead—

A sudden change occurred!

The Dragon Ball seemed to be activated instantly.

With a soft "hum," a brilliant blue and white light shone brightly! Then, it transformed into a stream of light.

With a "whoosh," it actively burrowed into Chen Yang's palm where he touched it!

"what?!"

Chen Yang was shocked and immediately circulated his magical power, attempting to force out the foreign energy that had invaded his body. His Qingwei magical power and Yinfa magical power instantly formed multiple defensive lines within his meridians.

However, the stream of light transformed from the Dragon Ball was exceptionally domineering and agile. It seemed to possess its own consciousness, easily avoiding the encirclement of Chen Yang's magic power, and rapidly ascending along the meridians of his arm. In the blink of an eye, it had broken through numerous obstacles and directly rushed into Chen Yang's dantian!

"Roar--!"

A deep, vast, majestic, and boundless dragon roar seemed to emanate directly from the depths of Chen Yang's dantian, causing his blood and qi to surge and his mind to tremble!
Amidst the roar of a dragon, the dragon pearl firmly took root within Chen Yang's dantian. Countless fine, spiderweb-like, pale blue filaments extended from the pearl's surface.

These light threads were soft yet incredibly strong, quickly connecting with Chen Yang's dantian wall, meridian nodes, and even golden core, like the roots of a tree, deeply embedding themselves into the foundation of his cultivation!

At the same time, a powerful, pure, and vibrant energy of water elemental power began to slowly release from inside the Dragon Pearl, like a gentle stream or a warm tide, soaking and nourishing Chen Yang's limbs, bones, meridians, and acupoints.

This energy was not violent, but rather exceptionally gentle and mellow. It did not conflict with his own subtle magical power and underworld magical power, but rather seemed to complement each other and nourish and strengthen him!
Chen Yang felt a warm sensation all over his body, as if he were soaking in seawater at a suitable temperature. Every cell in his body was cheering and jumping for joy. The mental energy and magical power he had consumed during the exploration were rapidly recovering, and even showing some subtle improvement! A wonderful feeling of being full of power and having his life level seemed to be subtly enhanced surged into his heart.

"This……"

Chen Yang looked inward at his dantian and saw the dragon pearl that was already connected to his foundation, slowly rotating and emitting a soft blue-white light. He suddenly realized something and was overwhelmed with excitement.

"This is no ordinary remnant of a treasure... It still possesses sentience and actively chose its master? Or rather, it has accepted me?"

The legendary Dragon Balls are indeed incredibly wondrous!
It's not just a treasure containing immense energy; it's more like a living, sentient core of inheritance! Its choice to merge with its own body means…

Chen Yang took a few deep breaths, suppressing the excitement in his heart, and began to try to communicate with the dragon pearl in his dantian, guiding the energy it released to merge more orderly with his own magical power. The process went unexpectedly smoothly; the dragon pearl was unusually "docile," as if it were meant to be a part of his body.

After a long while, Chen Yang slowly opened his eyes, his eyes shining brightly, and his aura seemed to become more refined and profound.

He glanced at the empty brocade box, then looked inward at the slowly rotating dragon pearl in his dantian, and couldn't help but smile.

"I searched high and low without finding it, but it came to me effortlessly. The greatest reward of this trip to the ruins is you."

Chen Yang thought to himself, then remembered his companions outside.

He suppressed all the changes in his aura caused by obtaining the Dragon Ball, placed the empty brocade box back on the stone platform, then turned around and quickly returned along the passage he had come from.

Returning to the wall in the back hall, Chen Yang once again activated the restriction he had broken. The wall returned to its original state, as if it had never been opened.

After doing all this, he calmly walked out of the rear hall and returned to the square in front of the main hall.

Before long, Liu Yu, Huang Zhenren, and Chiyang Zhenjun also finished their search and gathered together.

"Sect Master, have you made any discoveries on your end?"

Liu Yu asked first, her eyes filled with anticipation.

Chen Yang shook his head calmly.

"We have carefully examined the main hall and the surrounding area. Apart from some broken decorations and unimportant debris, we have not found any clues such as the 'Zhenhai Hall' sign or any hidden entrance."

The spirit in the painting's words are probably not entirely true, or... the dragon ball fragments have already been taken away; she simply doesn't know, or she's deliberately misleading us.

Upon hearing this, Master Huang's face showed disappointment.

"Alas, what a pity. I found nothing in the ruins of the side hall either. It seems that this place has indeed been thoroughly looted."

The True Lord of the Crimson Sun sat down dejectedly on the jade railing next to him.

"What a waste of time! I thought I could find a Dragon Ball to play with! But all I found were scrap metal and useless stones! What a loss!"

Although Liu Yu was also somewhat disappointed, she still offered words of comfort.

"It can't be said that we gained nothing. At least we witnessed the wonders of this ancient palace, and the sect leader even obtained some information about the remnant spirit in the painting. Moreover, the alchemy cauldron and resources we obtained in that stone chamber earlier weren't a complete loss. Exploring ruins is a matter of chance, and it can't be forced."

Master Huang nodded in agreement.

"Elder Liu is right. For us cultivators, opportunities are the most unpredictable. It's good to gain something, but even if we don't, it's still a learning experience. The spiritual energy here is special, and the environment is strange. This trip will also be a test of our mental state."

True Lord Chiyang pursed his lips and stopped complaining, but he was clearly not in a good mood.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit somber, Chen Yang said...

"Elder Liu and Master Huang are right. We've reached the end of the ruins, and it seems there's really nothing left. Although this place is magnificent, it's ultimately an underwater ruin, and we shouldn't stay any longer. Let's return the way we came, meet up at the underground river outside, and then leave."

"Yes, Sect Master."

The three responded.

Without lingering, the four quickly left the dreamlike crystal palace along the central avenue they had come from. After passing through a long corridor, they finally returned to the vicinity of the stone chamber where they had first discovered the "Photograph" mural, and successfully reunited at the underground river where they had previously gone into the water.

"Now that we've explored all the ruins, let's go up."

Chen Yang said.

Huang Zhenren, Liu Yu, and Chiyang Zhenjun naturally had no objections. They each used their water-avoidance techniques to dive into the water and swim upstream.

Before entering the water, Chen Yang glanced in the direction of the stone chamber and had already made up his mind.

He deliberately lagged behind by half a step, and after the three figures disappeared into the dark river, he quickly turned back and came to the "photograph" mural again.

He reached out and gently touched the surface of the mural, conveying information through his divine sense.

"I'm back. I've found the Dragon Balls."

The surface of the mural shimmered with a faint light, and the woman's voice, tinged with barely concealed excitement and trepidation, echoed in his mind.

"Fellow Daoist... have you really found it? That Dragon Ball remnant..."

"It's true."

Chen Yang's tone was certain.

"Now, it's my turn to keep my promise and try to take you away."

The woman's voice trembled.

“Fellow Daoist…you really…but as I said before, we are imprisoned within the core restrictions of this diagram…”

"Whether it can be done or not, we'll find out by trying."

Chen Yang interrupted her and said no more.

With a thought, a dark and ancient procession banner appeared in his right hand.

"The underworld is orderly, all souls return to their origin. Lingering spirits, heed my command—take them away!"

Chen Yang let out a low shout, made a hand seal with his left hand, and aimed the patrol banner at the mural with his right hand. The banner moved without wind, and a huge suction force, which was specifically designed for souls and contained the laws of the underworld for guiding and collecting souls, suddenly erupted, like an invisible hand that directly enveloped the depths of the mural!
The procession banners shone with an intense, eerie light. Their suction, designed to subdue souls and connect yin and yang, acted like invisible hooks, precisely penetrating the core of the interwoven and flowing "pictorial" energy field deep within the mural. The mural trembled violently, its surface shimmering with iridescent light, as if a giant stone had been thrown into a calm lake.

"what--!"

A gasp, a mixture of pain, relief, and disbelief, came from the mural. (End of Chapter)