BOOK 2: CHAPTER 455: RECLAIMING THE SEA AND BUILDING ISLANDS, FEINTING EAST TO STRIKE WEST

Vol 2 Chapter 455: Reclaiming the Sea and Building Islands, Feinting East to Strike West

In the northern reaches of the Xuanwei Sea, twenty-seven thousand miles beneath the surface, it was pitch black—so dark one could not see a hand in front of their face.

Lord Shuyu Dragon and the others stood behind Zheng Fa, watching as his sleeves fluttered like waves, brushing over the seawater.

A rumbling sound came from beneath their feet. A mountain peak on the sea floor bulged upward like a newly sprouted bamboo shoot, clearly visible to the naked eye.

The seawater suddenly boiled and surged wildly in all directions. The undercurrents sent countless fish and shrimp into a frantic escape.

“Dragon Lord, I ask you to lend me a hand,” Zheng Fa said.

Lord Shuyu Dragon opened her mouth and spat out a pearl, which radiated a brilliant sapphire light.

She shone the pearl toward the sea floor, and the waves immediately calmed. The mountain’s peak grew at least ten times faster.

In just a short while, the mountain’s summit pierced through the sea surface.

From above, it looked like a strange, inexplicable island had suddenly appeared. The island’s rocks were mottled with dark green and black, utterly lifeless and worthless.

Yet Lord Shuyu Dragon looked at this barren island with admiration and said, “Your mastery of this divine ability is truly impressive.”

Xiao Yuying smiled and said, “Master, you don’t know the whole story. This divine ability is originally a technique for capturing enemies, but our Sect Leader has always been eccentric, using it in all sorts of strange ways.”

Hearing this, Lord Shuyu Dragon glanced at Xiao Yuying. Although the disciple spoke disparagingly of the technique as odd and chaotic, it was clear the words carried pride.

Her disciple’s attitude irritated her, yet she could not help but admire Zheng Fa’s application of this divine ability.

It wasn’t that it was extraordinarily mystical, but simply that altering the Earth Veins was a single moment of thought—and that moment alone had created feats never before seen in the Xuanyi Realm.

Zheng Fa smiled and said, “If we completed it so quickly, it’s thanks to you, Dragon Lord.”

One had to admit, the ancient dragon clan was truly favored by the sea.

What would have taken the Jiushan Sect at least ten months was a mere flick of the wrist in Lord Shuyu Dragon’s hands.

The racial advantage was so unreasonable that it stirred envy and jealousy.

“Your Jiushan Sect’s methods really don’t make sense;

they’re just showy and flashy.”

“Now that you mention it, how do you think about my words?” Zheng Fa joked.

Lord Shuyu Dragon felt the overwhelming primordial magnetism radiating from the island and the spiritual energy slowly gathering around it, then sighed, “Once this great array is set, who in the maritime region besides us dragons can stand against you?”

“Though I don’t know how our dragon clan’s divine abilities came about, they are certainly not as straightforward as yours.”

“Our dragon clan’s accumulation spans several epochs, while your Jiushan Sect has only a hundred years.”

“Perhaps in the future, whether our divine abilities or your great array is stronger remains to be seen.”

Saying this, Lord Shuyu Dragon shook her head and fell silent, seemingly vexed and unwilling to speak further.

Zheng Fa comforted her, “Dragon Lord, your divine abilities in the maritime region are far beyond us. This great array is but a clever trick.”

To be frank, no one could match the dragon clan in naval strength.

If the Jiushan Sect faced a Cangming Dragon King, one of the ancient dragons, there would truly be little they could do.

Hence, Zheng Fa chose to reclaim the sea and build islands.

There was even a radical idea among the Jiushan Sect’s upper echelon:

If Lord Shuyu Dragon refused to join the Jiushan Sect, the maritime trade routes would no longer be safe—a situation Zheng Fa and his peers could not accept.

Therefore, Uncle Huang proposed a mind-blowing plan to Zheng Fa—to reclaim land from the sea.

Not necessarily to create a whole new continent, but at least to build a land bridge to the Western Continent, breaking the dragon clan’s stranglehold on trade routes.

Since they could not control the sea, they would let Lord Shuyu Dragon witness what it means for the seas to change beyond recognition.

However, without the Dragon Lord’s cooperation, the cost of such a plan would be prohibitively high—only a Dragon Lord who had lost her senses would support it.

Even Zheng Fa, who loved farming, thought the plan was too radical.

Uncle Huang, this extremist, was the kind of person who would doom the sect if listened to.

Seeing Lord Shuyu Dragon still somewhat sullen, Zheng Fa thought to himself how petty the Dragon Lord’s mindset was and said, “If the Dragon Lord is unhappy, perhaps think of the Cangming Dragon Land.”

Lord Shuyu Dragon raised her head and looked deeply at Zheng Fa, then asked Xiao Yuying, “Does he always comfort people like this?”

Xiao Yuying was silent for a moment, then said in a tone that was almost rebellious, “But...”

“But what?”

“Master, you smiled.”

“...”

The smile on Lord Shuyu Dragon’s face instantly froze. She turned her head and casually changed the subject, asking, “Do you have any plans to deal with Cangming Dragon Palace?”

Zheng Fa’s expression turned serious.

Attacking Cangming Dragon Palace was not only part of his bet with Lord Shuyu Dragon but, more importantly, it was the Jiushan Sect’s established strategy.

Recruiting Lord Shuyu Dragon was just a bonus.

“We confirmed one thing while building the array.”

“What?”

“That the Dragon Lord can easily destroy the Profound Earth Primordial Magnetism Array in the Xuanwei Sea, so the Cangming Dragon King probably has this ability in the North Sea.”

Lord Shuyu Dragon’s expression also turned grave and nodded in agreement.

“Though I’m not afraid of him, I wouldn’t be much stronger. This array, if placed in the North Sea, likely won’t threaten the Cangming Dragon King much.”

This was also one of the fundamental reasons the Jiushan Sect had to cooperate with Lord Shuyu Dragon.

As Zheng Fa said, no matter how much Lord Shuyu Dragon praised the Profound Earth Primordial Magnetism Array, it still could not match the dragon clan’s control over the maritime region.

To truly suppress the Cangming Dragon King, Zheng Fa would have to prove the Dao and reach the Golden Immortal realm, or rely on Lord Shuyu Dragon.

However, Zheng Fa and the Jiushan Sect were not in a hurry:

The Profound Earth Primordial Magnetism Array was still in its infancy but already had many advantages compared to dragon clan divine abilities. Perfection was hard to demand.

Moreover, technology could be iterated. As Zheng Fa’s cultivation improved, the array’s strength would naturally become more complete.

Still, dealing with the Cangming Dragon King required caution.

“Therefore, we must choose to lure the enemy deep inside,” Zheng Fa said slowly. “Ideally, in the Xuanwei Sea, we can take down the five members of Cangming Dragon Palace in one stroke. That has the highest success rate and the lowest risk.”

“If they escape back to the North Sea, it becomes much more troublesome.”

Lord Shuyu Dragon nodded repeatedly as she listened, then asked, “What can we use to lure them? From what I’ve observed, the Cangming Dragon King is no careless man.”

Zheng Fa smiled and flipped his wrist, producing a treasured seal: “Dragon Lord, do you think the Zhenhai Seal is something the Cangming Dragon King would want?”

...

The Second Prince of Cangming Dragon Palace strode over the waves, heading toward the Xuanwei Sea.

He felt both pleased and irritated.

Though he did not want to marry Lord Shuyu Dragon, a woman stronger than him,

and besides, the Dragon Lord always gave him a cold face, no charm compared to his countless beautiful concubines,

that did not mean he would tolerate her rejection!

Recalling Lord Shuyu Dragon’s words from that day, anger flared inside the Second Prince. He longed to refine the Xuanwei Sea to avenge the insult.

However, his father repeatedly cautioned him to be cautious and avoid rash actions. Besides, Lord Shuyu Dragon was a True Immortal;

to refine her waters would require slow erosion.

These days, driven by this fury, he had lingered by the Xuanwei Sea border for months, wanting to make Lord Shuyu Dragon suffer a great loss!

But he was exhausted.

As a Scattered Immortal, refining the sea domain controlled by a True Immortal dragon clan drained his soul and spiritual energy, often leaving him depleted.

Moreover, he had to stay alert against Lord Shuyu Dragon’s potential ambushes, leaving him mentally and physically worn out.

A few days ago, when he returned to the palace by chance and faced his beloved concubines, he felt utterly powerless...

He wondered when this would end and wished it would be sooner.

Thinking this, he resented Lord Shuyu Dragon even more and cursed under his breath. Suddenly, a faint light flickered at the corner of his eye.

The Second Prince’s heart stirred. He stirred the seawater, concealing his figure, and swam forward.

After a short while, he found the light’s source—a female cultivator with long legs was meditating with closed eyes, holding a treasure seal, seemingly refining it.

The woman was extremely beautiful. In the past, he would have tried to snatch her away for his amusement.

But now, what he wanted to seize was something else—the Zhenhai Seal!

He could of course recognize that this was the very seal previously stolen from his father.

Though the sea area controlled by the Zhenhai Seal was smaller than the Xuanwei Sea, it was still sizable.

Since arriving at Xuanwei, losing such a large territory made Cangming Dragon Palace deeply regretful.

“This woman is probably from the Jiushan Sect. I wonder how the Zhenhai Seal came into her hands...” The Second Prince looked at the seal, burning with rage.

“But since she’s here, she probably wants to use the Zhenhai Seal to refine the sea region.”

The sea area controlled by the Zhenhai Seal was at the edge of the Eastern Continent, adjacent to the Xuanwei Sea.

This Jiushan Sect female cultivator was at the Xuanwei Sea border, apparently concentrating on refining the treasure.

“A Dharmakaya...”

The Second Prince was excited and about to make a move but remembered his father’s advice to be extremely cautious and restrained himself.

He scanned the surroundings, seeing no one else, and made up his mind. Without lingering, he sent a message and flashed back to the Dragon Palace.

As soon as he entered the hall, he heard the Cangming Dragon King ask urgently:

“Is it really the Zhenhai Seal?”

“This treasure was painstakingly refined by our Cangming Dragon Palace. How could I be mistaken!”

The Cangming Dragon King nodded, then asked, “Is it a female Dharmakaya cultivator?”

“Seems to be from the Jiushan Sect, with a high status.”

“Should be. Otherwise, why would Zheng Fa entrust the Zhenhai Seal to her?”

Lord Shuyu Dragon spoke with clenched teeth, clearly furious about losing the Zhenhai Seal.

The eldest prince of the Dragon Palace said, “Maybe she’s Zheng Fa’s Dao companion?”

The Cangming Dragon King nodded, lost in thought.

The Second Prince could no longer contain himself and said, “Let’s go and snatch our treasure back!”

The Cangming Dragon King frowned and said softly, “I need to think it over, think it over...”

“What are you still thinking about? If you hadn’t told me to be cautious, I would have acted already!” The Second Prince was impatient.

“Besides, our entire family has worked so hard just to refine a little more sea area, right?”

“Getting the Zhenhai Seal back would save us years of effort! How is that not worthwhile?”

“Besides, this is our treasure!”

The Cangming Dragon King’s expression moved slightly.

The other three dragons in the hall nodded gently as if convinced by these words and looked to the Dragon King for a decision.

“What a coincidence...” The Cangming Dragon King still frowned. “While we were refining the Xuanwei Sea, the Zhenhai Seal appeared...”

“Dear, you mean it’s bait?” The Cangming Dragon Queen suddenly realized. “So Lord Shuyu Dragon laid a trap?”

The Cangming Dragon King nodded, “We must not be careless.”

The Second Prince was not convinced: “Father, you’re being overly cautious. The Dragon Lord is alone;

even if she wanted to ambush us, what could she possibly use?”

“I’ve thought it through. Me alone is dangerous.”

“But if we attack together, even if the Dragon Lord has some schemes, we’re not afraid!”

After he spoke, the other three began nodding again.

“I’m worried about the Jiushan Sect.”

“Jiushan Sect?” The Second Prince retorted, “On land, maybe we fear them a bit, but at sea, how could they harm us?”

The more the Second Prince spoke, the more convinced he felt.

Yet the Cangming Dragon King still pondered: “We’re advancing steadily, slowly refining the Xuanwei Sea. Lord Shuyu Dragon has no way to resist. But if there’s an unexpected complication...”

“Advancing steadily? Father, you’ve said before that the Xuanyi Realm might suddenly produce a Golden Immortal! How much time do we have to advance steadily?”

“If you can take back the Zhenhai Seal, your cultivation could surpass Lord Shuyu Dragon sooner... maybe even gain some time to challenge the Golden Immortal!”

Hearing this, the Cangming Dragon Queen also persuaded, “Second Prince makes sense...”

Even the Cangming Dragon King was convinced and nodded slowly.

“Father, I’ll lead the way...”

“Wait.” The Cangming Dragon King’s face grew stern, raising his hand to stop the Second Prince’s excitement. “Even if we want to snatch the Zhenhai Seal, we must first investigate Lord Shuyu Dragon’s background.”

“Father!”

“My mind is made up.” The Cangming Dragon King looked at the Second Prince and shook his head. “I know you resent Lord Shuyu Dragon, and I do too, but we must not lose caution because of that.”

“Our family has come all the way from the Dragon Abyss Realm;

we cannot afford to suffer losses easily. Though the Zhenhai Seal is important, you must be flawless.”

The Second Prince opened his mouth but could not speak.

“Second Prince, you’ve been impulsive since childhood and spoiled by me and your mother... Now, what worries me most is you.”

“Father...”

“The Xuanyi Realm is different, with many great powers. We’re unfamiliar here. You can’t act recklessly as before. Do you understand?”

“I understand.”

The Second Prince bowed his head and spoke softly.

The Cangming Dragon Queen asked, “Then how will we investigate Lord Shuyu Dragon’s background?”

“A feint east to strike west!” The Cangming Dragon King laughed. “Whether the Zhenhai Seal is bait or not, we’ll ignore it for now and snatch something else first!”

“What?”

“I’ve heard the Jiushan Sect’s maritime trade route is very profitable.”

The Second Prince was still confused, but the eldest prince of the Dragon Palace struck his right hand into his left palm and said joyfully, “We’ll first distract the Jiushan Sect, then when they want to help Lord Shuyu Dragon deal with us, they won’t be able to!”

The Cangming Dragon King sneered, “The Jiushan Sect stealing our Zhenhai Seal has always made them our enemy.”

Now, regardless of traps around the Zhenhai Seal, they would first attack the trade route to make the Jiushan Sect think they wanted to steal spirit materials...

The Second Prince’s eyes lit up, “Then we catch them off guard and take back the Zhenhai Seal?”