Chapter 326: Dragon Palace Life Gate
The martial artists of the Black Market, piloting four Red Spider Giant Warships, had already arrived at the periphery of the underwater Dragon Palace.
The four Red Spider Giant Warships were all enveloped by a ship-protecting grand formation, propping up a light sphere one hundred and thirty zhang long, pushing the river water away.
Di Yi, wearing a metal mask, stood proudly at the edge of the warship, his hands pressed on the railing, gazing into the distance at that majestic and imposing Crystal Dragon Palace. In his pupils, a fervent expression surged.
The Dragon Relic was very likely inside that Dragon Palace. Once he obtained it, he was confident he could break through to the Supreme Extreme Realm of the Earth Extreme Realm.
In the future, he might even have the opportunity to become a Nine Ultimate Heavenly Pride, possessing a talent and physique as powerful as those ancient Great Emperors.
Since childhood, Di Yi had been exceptionally gifted.
While still a fetus, he had awakened a Ninth-Rank Martial Imprint. At birth, his entire body emitted ten thousand beams of golden light. He was actually an Innate Saint Body, shocking the entire clan, and was thus judged to be a Saint reincarnated.
At that time, he had already been selected as the Young Master of the Black Market First Class Hall.
Possessing an Innate Saint Body meant that, on the very first day of his birth, he was already a Seven Ultimate Genius.
Moreover, at birth, he had already reached the Small Extreme Position of the Yellow Extreme Realm, and his Spiritual Power had reached the Twentieth Rank. It could be said that his starting point was higher than anyone else's.
Even the Great Emperors and Great Saints of ancient times might not have possessed such innate conditions as his.
The outside world was spreading rumors that he had already reached the Supreme Extreme Realm of the Earth Extreme Realm. In reality, he was still a thread away from the Supreme Extreme Realm of the Earth Extreme Realm.
It was precisely because he wanted to impact the Supreme Extreme Realm of the Earth Extreme Realm that Di Yi suppressed his cultivation realm and had not broken through to the Heavenly Extreme Realm.
Otherwise, with his talent, he would have already stepped into the Heavenly Extreme Realm long ago.
"I must obtain the Buddha Relic, impact the Supreme Extreme Realm of the Earth Extreme Realm, and trigger the resonance of all gods. What others cannot do, I, Di Yi, can definitely do."
Di Yi clenched his five fingers, producing a "cracking" sound.
The periphery of the underwater Dragon Palace was arranged with an invisible grand formation. Any martial artist above the Earth Extreme Realm who approached would be instantly ground to death by the formation's power, turning into a cloud of blood mist.
It was said that this grand formation was personally laid down five hundred years ago by the Four-Winged Earth Dragon, called the "Eight Directions Separation Union Formation." It was specifically arranged to guard that Dragon Palace.
Because the Dragon Palace contained a large amount of treasure left behind by the Four-Winged Earth Dragon, countless Third-Rank Barbarian Beasts and human Earth Extreme Realm martial artists broke through the Eight Directions Separation Union Formation every year, entering the area where the Dragon Palace was located to seek opportunities.
Thus, every year, a large number of martial artists and Barbarian Beasts died inside the Dragon Palace, turning into piles of white bones.
Just a single glance revealed rows of skeletons lying on the underwater square outside the Dragon Palace, like an underwater Shura Field.
At this moment, at the periphery of the Eight Directions Separation Union Formation, martial arts experts of the Black Market were forcibly driving Earth Extreme Realm martial artists, who were wearing iron chains and shackles, into the formation.
"That is the Dragon Palace of the Four-Winged Earth Dragon, extremely dangerous. I won't go."
An old man with a white beard and white hair said. Although his body was bound with iron chains, he was still stubborn, refusing to enter the Eight Directions Separation Union Formation.
"Is that so?"
Zhang Tianqui, carrying a black blade, walked over and sneered, "If you enter the Eight Directions Separation Union Formation, you might still survive, and even have a chance to find treasures in the Dragon Palace and break through to the Heavenly Extreme Realm. But if you don't go in, you'll only have one way to die."
The old man glared at Zhang Tianqui with contempt and snorted coldly, "Don't think this old man doesn't know what you're plotting. You captured us just to use us as pathfinders, to send us to our deaths..."
"Puff!"
Zhang Tianqui swung his blade and slashed, severing the old man's head.
In an instant, the surrounding waters turned completely bloody.
The powerful water pressure crushed the old man's corpse, and with a "bang," it exploded into pieces of flesh.
"A stubborn personality only leads to death."
Zhang Tianqui gently stroked the blade in his hand, looking towards the Earth Extreme Realm martial artists captured by the Black Market, a cruel smile appearing on his face.
Those prisoners with Earth Extreme Realm cultivation, although extremely unwilling to be driven by the Black Market, were all terrified by this scene.
Without needing Zhang Tianqui to continue threatening, they all stepped forward and rushed into the Eight Directions Separation Union Formation.
Rather than dying at Zhang Tianqui's hands, it was better to enter the formation and take a gamble. Perhaps they might really find a rare treasure, break free from the shackles of the Earth Extreme Realm, and become a myth in martial arts.
Di Yi stood on the Red Spider Giant Warship, a hint of a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. "Zhang Tianqui is a talent. He has talent, methods, and strategy. This person is worth reusing. It is said that he is still Zhang Ruochen's elder brother. He can be cultivated to deal with Zhang Ruochen."
Red Desire Star Envoy stood behind Di Yi and said, "Zhang Tianqui is probably no match for Zhang Ruochen."
Di Yi shook his head. "Relying solely on Zhang Tianqui's personal strength, naturally, he is no match for Zhang Ruochen. But with the strong support of our Black Market, Zhang Tianqui will become a sharp weapon against Zhang Ruochen."
"What the Young Master says is very true."
Although Red Desire Star Envoy said this, she did not think so in her heart. At least Di Yi had no idea that Zhang Ruochen had already cultivated a Martial Soul and had reached the Sword Heart Illumination realm.
If Di Yi knew these things, he would probably no longer underestimate Zhang Ruochen.
Red Desire Star Envoy had her own plans, so she did not tell him Zhang Ruochen's secret.
"Whoosh!"
In the distance, an orange figure flew at high speed.
In the water, without relying on any external object, she actually broke the sound barrier.
In just an instant, that orange figure boarded the Red Spider Giant Warship and stood behind Di Yi. It turned out to be a beautiful woman dressed in orange clothes.
Her face was covered with a veil, her figure was tall and slender, her temperament elegant. Her body seemed to have no weight at all, floating directly half a zhang above the ground. She bowed slightly to Di Yi and said, "Greetings, Young Master."
"Orange Moon Star Envoy, with all six of you Star Envoys acting together, were you able to kill the Three-Claw Dragon Jiao?" Di Yi asked.
That masked woman in orange clothes was precisely the sixth-ranked "Orange Moon Star Envoy" among the Seven Evil Star Envoys, her martial arts cultivation even surpassing Red Desire Star Envoy.
Orange Moon Star Envoy's voice was ethereal, soft and beautiful. "The Three-Claw Dragon Jiao's strength is quite formidable. Even with the six of us Star Envoys joining forces, we could only barely suppress it."
"That damned Three-Claw Dragon Jiao has cost our Black Market nearly half of our experts." Di Yi clenched his fists tightly, anger showing in his eyes.
Orange Moon Star Envoy continued, "Just now, Purple Wind Star Envoy detected a large number of experts rushing to the underwater Dragon Palace. Worried about the Young Master's safety, he sent me back first to protect you."
"A large number of experts? It must be the Martial Market Bank and the Moon Worship Demon Sect who have arrived."
Di Yi took a deep breath. "It seems we must find the life gate to enter the Dragon Palace as quickly as possible. We have to enter the underwater Dragon Palace before the Martial Market Bank and the Moon Worship Demon Sect."
In the distance, one hundred and twenty Earth Extreme Realm prisoners, forcibly driven by the Black Market experts, charged into the Eight Directions Separation Union Formation.
After entering the formation, those Earth Extreme Realm prisoners desperately rushed towards the direction of the Dragon Palace.
No one knew who triggered an inscription pattern in the formation.
"Boom!"
In the formation, streaks of purple lightning burst forth.
The lightning, in the water, flashed and darted about incessantly.
Immediately, screams rang out from within the formation.
Nearly twenty people were pierced through the body by the lightning and died inside the formation. Several dozen others suffered some injuries, but they were not severe.
Although the Eight Directions Separation Union Formation was mainly targeted at martial artists above the Earth Extreme Realm, if an Earth Extreme Realm martial artist triggered some of the inscription patterns in the formation, the formation would also be activated, unleashing a terrifying formation attack.
After passing through the Eight Directions Separation Union Formation, those Earth Extreme Realm prisoners thought they were safe and just breathed a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, a huge whirlpool appeared in the water, sucking over a dozen prisoners into its vortex.
"Help..."
"Save..."
...
When the whirlpool dissipated, those dozen or so Earth Extreme Realm prisoners had all turned into bloody mud and crushed bones.
The remaining Earth Extreme Realm prisoners, seeing this scene, were all terrified. No one knew what terrifying danger would appear next.
Everyone desperately rushed towards the various gates of the Dragon Palace, wanting to enter the Dragon Palace, find treasures, and break through to the Heavenly Extreme Realm. As long as they could reach the Heavenly Extreme Realm, their strength would skyrocket, and naturally, they would have more chances to survive.
The Dragon Palace was enormous, and its surface had tens of thousands of doors. Each door was an entrance, but the vast majority were death gates.
It was said that the Dragon Palace had a total of three thousand seven hundred and fifty doors, and only eight doors were life gates. All other doors were death gates.
Once you entered a death gate, no matter how high your cultivation was, it was a dead end.
In just a quarter of an hour, all the Earth Extreme Realm martial artists who had gone to brave the Dragon Palace had died, not a single one surviving.
Di Yi frowned and ordered, "Release the second batch."
Coming to the underwater Dragon Palace this time, Di Yi had made ample preparations. Not only did he bring a large number of Black Market experts, but he also captured several hundred Earth Extreme Realm prisoners.
He planned to use the lives of these Earth Extreme Realm prisoners to pave the way for him, to find the entrance to the life gate.
It could be imagined that after this incident, the martial arts world of Demon Ridge would inevitably suffer a severe blow due to the fall of a large number of martial arts experts.
Each time, the Black Market would drive one hundred and twenty Earth Extreme Realm martial artists to brave the Dragon Palace.
The first three batches of martial artists were completely annihilated, not a single one surviving.
It was not until the fourth batch that someone finally discovered the life gate, entered the Dragon Palace, rushed towards its heart, and disappeared into a patch of black water mist.
"The life gate has appeared!"
"Everyone, charge! Enter the Dragon Palace and find the spiritual essence to break through the realm."
...
The other martial artists, seeing the life gate, were all overjoyed and rushed over.
"The life gate has appeared. Black Market martial artists, follow me into the Dragon Palace to find the Dragon Relic."
Di Yi let out a long roar and shot straight out, leaving a water path behind him. In almost an instant, he crossed the Eight Directions Separation Union Formation, entered the life gate, and rushed towards the heart of the Dragon Palace.
"Everyone, hurry up and follow. In a quarter of an hour, the three thousand seven hundred and fifty doors of the Dragon Palace will shift positions again. We must enter the Dragon Palace before the life gate moves."
Zhang Tianqui also revealed a look of wild joy, a strange brilliance flickering in his pupils. For him, this was also an opportunity, and even more so, a chance to surpass Zhang Ruochen once again.