Chapter 735: Chapter 24 Breaking the Seal (Completed) Chapter 735: Chapter 24 Breaking the Seal (Completed) Li Yan had been watching coldly from the sidelines, witnessing Yan Gong’s struggle against hordes of demons, and he’d made his own assessment.

The two demons, “Heavenly Eyes and Earthly Ears,” were both rated as deep red threats, suggesting their strength was not much different from his own. Powerhouses like the Miyao King and the Tunjin Demon Toad radiated an intense, almost indiscernible dark red glow, likely indicating strengths comparable to those of the Six Ministries, on par with Lady Dan.

However, even if they all attacked Li Jiang together, he feared they would not hold out for long. His chance to escape alive was slipping away; he couldn’t miss this opportunity that might never come again.

He wanted to urge Saint Watson, but when he glanced down at the old drunkard who had always been full of nonsense since their first meeting, he saw a rare expression of struggle and couldn’t bring himself to interrupt.

Saint Watson’s left hand pressed against the crystal wall, his eyebrows knitted in concentration, sweat streaming down his cheeks into his collar. After a short while, a surprising scene unfolded; his left hand actually penetrated the crystal wall.

“The reason I name the living specimens I capture is because there are puzzles in these named samples that I’ve yet to solve,” he said with increasing difficulty. “Take Caesar, for example, he can parasitize living beings and, in principle, he can inhabit, eh, all matter…”

Saint Watson’s speech became more labored, and finally, with a ripple in the air, his body was flung far away, while on the colorful crystal wall, a set of young facial features resembling Saint Watson’s appeared, yawning as if just waking up.

“Open up! Darling!”

Saint Watson cried out. The features on the wall twisted at his command, eventually breaking open a hole about a meter in diameter.

Li Yan grabbed Saint Watson by the collar, tucked him under his arm, and dashed out of the bubble like a fish.

“You have left the Seven-Star Precious Pagoda!”

“The Summoning Gold Medallion can now be used normally!”

Most of Li Yan’s minions from the Water Palace had been captured and imprisoned by Li Jiang, but regrettably, the bubble was now fighting around Li Jiang. He made a decisive call to abandon these minions, taking only the body of Yang Zichu from the couch into the Water Palace, and then, without looking back, sprinted in the opposite direction of the battle with Li Jiang and the demons.

“Ah~”
The carried Saint Watson watched the bubble still infested with Caesar, sighing deeply, seemingly worried about the night’s lost vigor in the future.

Li Jiang’s movements suddenly stiffened, as if he’d sensed the actions of Li Yan and Saint Watson, but the arrival of Ma Ling prevented him from acting rashly.

The Ma Ling old monster had a form similar to Li Jiang, yet it was a black humanoid figure half-kneeling with a blurred face and only a yellow vine on its head with two heart-shaped leaves dangling. Its mouth wide open, rows of sharp teeth were an abyssal black.

This Ma Ling old monster, like Li Jiang born from Chaos with an immensely long lifespan, if it came to seniority, Li Jiang would have to call Ma Ling “elder brother.” Ma Ling was uniquely gifted, regenerating every thirteen thousand five hundred years, growing stronger each time. By today’s count, Li Jiang estimated that he had regenerated four or maybe even five times?

Among the thousands of demons, great and small, within the Heavenly Mother Palace, Li Jiang was only wary of Ma Ling.

“That thieving dragon blew up the Poison Dragon Pool. Now Ma Ling himself has come to seek justice. Li Jiang, what do you have to say for yourself?”

Miyao, nearly deformed from Li Jiang’s beatings, saw Ma Ling and felt a surge of energy, quickly taking cover behind him and jeering at Li Jiang.

“Gu! Hua!”

Ma Ling let out a hoarse groan, causing the seawater to tremble along. He seemed to want to say something, but each time he opened his mouth, he could only produce meaningless syllables.

Unlike Li Jiang, who was enamored with the glamorous world and envious of the splendid civilization of dynasties, Ma Ling was a loner who often slept, sometimes for hundreds of years. Over time, he lost his ability to articulate, and for a while, he couldn’t even speak coherently. If it weren’t for Ma Ling sleeping at the Quanzhou port during the Southern Song period, taking over the busy waterway and causing hundreds of thousands of people to be displaced, the Heavenly Mother wouldn’t have trapped him here.

Suddenly, Ma Ling scented something and became agitated, charging toward Li Jiang.

Li Jiang obviously took it as a provocation and immediately summoned the Seven-Star Precious Pagoda. She might not have magical power comparable to Ma Ling’s, but having been through countless battles and naturally belligerent, how could she retreat so easily?

The two giant monsters began to grapple fiercely; amid several instances of the earth shaking and the sea churning, several of Li Jiang’s Water Palace spheres were slapped away, and the Water Palace bubbles, hit by immense force, trembled incessantly on the verge of bursting. Ma Ling also took a blow to the head. Staggering back two steps, it covered its face with an air of grievance.

But Li Jiang was relentless in her justification and one by one, her tentacles wrapped around Ma Ling’s wrists and neck, tightening and constricting with lethal intent.

“gu! hua~”
The severely injured Miyao King, seeing Ma Ling had no intention of fighting, hurriedly spoke out, “Elder Ma Ling, this Li Jiang is unreasonable, and someone even blasted your cave; you must take a stand for your juniors.”

Ma Ling roared furiously, throwing off Li Jiang’s tentacles and grabbed the unguarded Miyao King. Poor giant pufferfish could no longer speak, as Ma Ling clenched it, causing blood and venom to spurt out, killing it instantly.

“shu~hu~”
Having killed Miyao, Ma Ling inhaled it in two or three gulps, and soon after, a black tongue grew from its mouth. It immediately cried out, “Return my fruits!”

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Li Yan fled hurriedly, now having the chance to take in his surroundings.

It turned out to be an underwater spectacle, with corridors linking palaces of varying heights, everywhere embellished with pearls and corals, and names carved in various places.

Pearl Gaze Pavilion, Fragrant Lilac Courtyard, Life Preserving Hall…

Some of those places had already fallen into decay, empty inside, though a few still faintly glimmered with the light of treasures, but Li Yan couldn’t muster any greed as Li Jiang and Ma Ling were too close by.

Or there were
Enchanting Pity, Miyao Shrine, Weeping Burrow, Fish Bone Temple…

Among those were dense and faint red glows. As Li Yan sped by, some of the red glows seemed to provoke him, all belonging to various spirits and monsters, none of whom were a match for Li Yan, not worth mentioning in detail.

However, Li Yan felt a sinking feeling in his heart as it seemed he wasn’t heading out but rather inwards.

Indeed, the farther forward he went, the more elaborate the gardens and palaces became, the scale greater, the architecture more splendid, and those bizarre sights became fewer, while proper shrines and temples became more frequent.

Until a magnificent main hall came into view, inscribed with the words Heavenly Mother Palace.

Li Yan felt his blood boiling, his 36,000 pores all cheering in unison. He just managed to suppress the urge to burst out in a long howl, but suddenly, a melodious bell chimed from within Heavenly Mother Palace. The gloomy seabed shone brightly. Beneath Li Yan’s feet, a white marble staircase rose, and the sea parted to either side of the great doors, seemingly welcoming Li Yan.

At this moment, the battle between Yan Gong and Ma Ling was some distance away, with only occasional vibrations traveling through the water.

Li Yan did not stop but continued forward, hesitating only whether to enter the palace. With Quanlang Sea Ghost blood running through his veins, he thought that if Heavenly Mother was sentient, she surely would not harm him. With that in mind, he bit the bullet.

“Hey, I say, how about we go in for a look?” he proposed.

Saint Watson, who had been somewhat dispirited just moments before, now had eyes shining with excitement.