Chapter 888: Encountering the Sun Ocean Lord P3
Aksai crossed the final stretch of sea like a streak of emerald lightning.
The familiar outline of Emerald Cove Island rapidly grew larger before him.
Without slowing down in the slightest, he flew directly toward the shimmering barrier surrounding the island.
Ripples spread across the invisible formation.
The moment his aura was identified, the grand formation responded.
Layers upon layers of restrictions silently shifted aside.
A narrow passage opened just wide enough for its master.
Whoosh!
Aksai entered the Third-Order island formation without the slightest resistance.
The opening immediately began closing behind him.
Just then—
"Lord Aksai! Wait!"
A desperate cry echoed across the sea.
Aksai glanced back.
The pitiful-looking Sun Ocean Lord had finally noticed who had entered the island.
His robes were torn beyond recognition. Several deep sword wounds stretched from shoulder to waist, while countless smaller cuts covered his limbs. His breathing had become ragged.
Yet his eyes suddenly lit up with hope after seeing Aksai. Without hesitation, the old Lord bit the tip of his tongue.
Pfft!
A mouthful of blood exploded into crimson mist.
Forbidden Essence Equation runes surfaced beneath his skin. His already unstable aura violently surged.
The secret art instantly multiplied his speed. Like a burning comet, he rushed toward the closing entrance.
Aksai frowned.
"..."
For the briefest moment, he considered sealing the formation immediately.
The Sun Ocean Lord had already caused enough trouble simply by flying toward Emerald Cove Island.
Allowing him inside would undoubtedly invite even greater complications.
Yet, that hesitation lasted less than a heartbeat before fading away. The real enemy wasn’t the old man. At least not until the imperial cultivators were dealt with.
Whatever grievances existed between Aksai and the Sun Ocean Lord, they could wait.
With a single thought, Aksai slightly altered the formation. The narrowing passage widened once more. The Sun Ocean Lord seized the opportunity without wasting even a fraction of a second.
Whoosh!
His battered figure shot through the opening.
Almost immediately afterward, the formation sealed itself completely.
The sea became quiet once again. Only four figures remained outside the island.
...
The imperial cultivators stopped several hundred meters away.
None of them immediately attacked.
Instead, they calmly observed the magnificent defensive formation surrounding Emerald Cove Island. The transparent barrier shimmered beneath the afternoon sunlight like an enormous crystal dome.
Mysterious runes silently flowed across its surface. They seemed even more cryptic than the seemingly ordinary but solid formations found in the empire.
This was because the Devil’s Den Formation had something of foreign origin. Even though it still ran on the principles of the Spirit essence path, their application was a bit different from what was conventional in the Dadangar World.
The rich concentration of Spirit Essence inside the island could even be vaguely sensed from outside. One glance was enough to tell that maintaining such a formation required astonishing wealth.
The four imperial Lords exchanged brief looks.
The leader among them stepped forward.
He appeared to be no older than thirty. His features were handsome to the point of seeming unnatural. His long silver-gray hair flowed freely behind him despite the absence of wind.
A slender black sword rested across his back without any scabbard.
Merely standing there, his body emitted an invisible sword intent sharp enough to distort the surrounding air.
His cultivation had already reached the late-stage Core Formation Realm. Every movement carried the confidence of someone who had killed countless opponents stronger than himself.
Beside him stood a tall woman dressed in dark crimson robes embroidered with golden feathers. Her narrow amber eyes continuously swept across the island like those of a hunting bird.
Several golden rings floated lazily around her wrists, occasionally producing faint metallic chimes despite remaining perfectly still.
Not far away floated another woman dressed entirely in pale blue. Unlike the first, her appearance seemed almost gentle. Her long veil concealed half her face.
Only a pair of calm violet eyes remained visible. However, those eyes lacked even the slightest warmth. Each glance felt as cold as frozen water.
The final imperial Lord was a broad-shouldered man clad in dark bronze armor. His beard had been neatly braided into several thick strands reaching his chest.
Heavy iron prayer beads floated around him like tiny planets. Each bead released an astonishing pressure that caused the surrounding seawater to sink several inches lower.
All three possessed peak mid-stage Core Formation cultivation.
Each of them stood only a step or two away from advancing into the late stage.
Inside the formation, Aksai silently observed them.
At this point, the scenery behind the four imperial Lords began to blur, as if someone were looking through a glass window slowly covered by raindrops and mist.
Aksai deliberately made himself and the Sun Ocean Lord, who stood beside him, clearly visible from inside the formation. He wanted the enemies to focus solely on the two of them instead of attacking other sections of the formation.
The names Nuri had gathered from fragments of their conversation during the pursuit surfaced in his mind.
The sword cultivator was Varesh.
The crimson-robed woman was Saelyr.
The veiled woman was Neshara.
The armored giant was Droven.
The four imperial Lords were equally surprised.
Their attention first landed on the exhausted Sun Ocean Lord.
Then, it shifted to Aksai.
None of them had expected another Core Formation Lord to appear from an entirely different direction. Nor had they expected someone capable of controlling such an impressive Third-Order island formation.
Even so, no frustration appeared on their faces. The Sun Ocean Lord entering the island merely delayed the inevitable in their eyes. Escape had never truly been an option.
The silver-haired sword cultivator, Varesh, slowly raised his head to study the countless formation runes dancing across the barrier.
Instead of annoyance...
A smile slowly spread across his face.
"Interesting..."
His eyes gleamed with unconcealed greed.
"A Third-Order defensive formation of this caliber..."
He slowly ran a finger across the flat of the black sword resting behind his back.
"Places protected by formations like these rarely disappoint."
His gaze slowly swept across the lush forests, mountains, and Spirit fields visible beyond the transparent barrier.
"I wonder... how many treasures this little island is hiding."
The excitement in his voice was impossible to conceal.
To him, Emerald Cove Island had already become another treasure vault waiting to be plundered.
In their excitement, the four imperial Lords slowly approached the island.
Just then, the entire barrier suddenly changed.
The transparent dome dissolved into an enormous sea of rolling white mist.
Dense fog erupted from every direction. Within only a few breaths, the whole Emerald Cove Island disappeared from sight.
The fog continuously churned like living clouds. Not only did it block ordinary vision, but even Spirit Sense was swallowed the moment it entered the mist.
The island had seemingly vanished from the world.
Saelyr frowned slightly.
"Hmph. Trying to hide? Will it work now that we are right outside the formation? Hehehe. Foolish natives."
Neshara’s violet eyes narrowed.
"They’ve also concealed their Spirit fluctuations. To be honest, it is quite impressive considering the typically impoverished formation legacies of this land."
Droven rolled one of the heavy bronze prayer beads between his fingers.
"I dislike such formations."
His deep voice rumbled like distant thunder.
"They waste time and I am not really good at cracking them. Should we set up formation flags and use attack type formation to counter? Or we can simply attack and observe the reaction of the formation first to detect the formation nodes. Once we identify it, you three can come up with a better plan for a forced entry."
The remaining two imperial cultivators liked the last idea. They subtly circulated their Spirit Essence, preparing to attack.
"Wait."
Varesh calmly raised one hand.
Immediately, the others stopped.
The sword cultivator slowly stepped forward until he stood directly before the endless wall of mist. His gaze calmly swept across the formation.
Then he snapped his fingers. A sharp metallic cry suddenly echoed through the heavens.
Clang!
The black sword resting behind his back instantly shot into the sky.
It was his Natal Treasure.
The moment it left his body, terrifying Sword Intent erupted from it like an invisible tidal wave. The surrounding seawater split apart for several hundred meters.
Even the clouds overhead were silently sliced apart.
Varesh slowly extended two fingers.
"Go."
The flying sword trembled.
Then...
It vanished.
Slash!
A dazzling black streak instantly collided with the sea of mist. The sword hummed continuously. Its Sword Intent merged perfectly with Varesh’s thick elemental Spirit Essence.
Every slash carried overwhelming destructive power.
Slash!
Slash!
Slash!
Hundreds...
Then thousands of sword lights exploded across the formation. The attacks descended like an endless rainstorm.
Each sword strike contained not only the immense Spirit Essence of an initial late-stage Core Formation Lord but also the terrifying amplification granted by true Sword Intent.
The Sword Intent multiplied every attack several times over.
Although Varesh had only recently entered the late stage, the destructive power of his sword strikes had already reached the level of an ordinary peak late-stage Core Formation Lord.