Chapter 1385 : A Demon King's Summons and a Stolen Opportunity

"A fine opportunity," Eldrin Chen murmured inwardly, his mind already piecing together the likely scenario. The Dark Roc Demon King's frantic rush toward the Leaf Ruins Divine Sea was almost certainly in response to a summons from the Western Abyss Dragon Palace.

Watching the Dark Roc Demon King depart, a measure of calm settled within Eldrin Chen. Without delay, he utilized the Yin-Yang Void Realm to make his way toward Gale Wind Valley. This being his second visit, the journey felt almost familiar.

He stealthily advanced to the core of the Blessed Land [a place of concentrated spiritual energy and natural blessings], swiftly locating the Eight Tribulations Demon Immortal [a demonic cultivator who has survived eight heavenly tribulations] of the Dark Great Roc lineage. "A pity," he thought, "there is no World-Opening Spiritual Root [a legendary spiritual root said to possess the power to cleave through primordial chaos] here."

Gazing upon the Gale Wind Valley before him, Eldrin Chen could not help but feel a twinge of regret.

As a premier Blessed Land, the Gale Wind Valley lineage boasted over a dozen Earth Immortal Progenitor [powerful immortal beings who have attained the Earth Immortal realm]. With such a Deep-Seated Foundation [profound and well-established cultivation base], gathering four World-Opening Spiritual Root would surely have been well within their means.

The absence here meant the World-Opening Spiritual Root was most likely stored within the Dark Roc King's personal Earth Immortal World [a miniature world cultivated within an Earth Immortal's dantian] and had yet to be retrieved.

With this realization, Eldrin Chen shook his head. "Enough," he said to himself. "To obtain a single Eight Calamity Dao Source [the condensed essence of an Eight-Calamity Immortal's cultivation and comprehension of the Dao] is bounty enough for me."

Harboring this thought, he wasted no time. In one fluid motion, he gripped the Infernal Prison Celestial Halberd and thrust forward.

For a Late Stage Earth Immortal [an Earth Immortal nearing the peak of their realm] to ambush a mere Eight-Calamity Immortal, the outcome held no suspense whatsoever.

The strike was decisive, its conclusion foreordained. Enjoyed this chapter? Read more at audio-novel-dot-com.

Before the Eight Tribulations Demon Immortal [a demonic cultivator who has survived eight heavenly tribulations] from Gale Wind Valley could even react, a strike pierced through the center of his brow in an instant. A surge of formidable Baleful Qi [a malevolent and destructive form of spiritual energy] churned violently, utterly annihilating his Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core and highest form of consciousness of a cultivator].

"Who is it?"

In that fleeting moment, the Dark Roc [a powerful race of demonic birds] clan was alerted. More than ten Earth Immortal Progenitor [progenitors who have attained the Earth Immortal realm, a high level of cultivation] surged forth, their faces etched with shock and fury.

Alas, it was already too late. Eldrin Chen activated the Yin-Yang Void Realm [a supreme treasure capable of manipulating the void between Yin and Yang], which enveloped the Dao Source [the primordial source essence of the Great Dao] and slipped into the Void [a state or dimension of emptiness and non-existence]. In an instant, he had traversed billions upon billions of Li-lengths [one Li-length equals five hundred meters] across the sea.

The Earth Immortal Progenitor of Gale Wind Valley were filled with boundless rage. However, lacking a Void Spirit Treasure [a treasure specifically designed to suppress or control void-based powers] to restrain him, they could only curse their helplessness, watching powerlessly as he departed.

Once he had left the Whirlwind Sea Region, Eldrin Chen intended to head towards the Abyssal Sea Region. Yet, he had not flown for long before he halted once more. "No, I cannot return."

Eldrin Chen murmured inwardly, his expression turning profoundly grave.

Now that the Lord of the Western Abyss Dragon Palace had stepped into the Heaven Immortal Realm [the realm of a Heavenly Immortal, a being of immense power], the Demonic Tribe would launch their counteroffensive against the Human Race within these final thousand-plus years. Under such circumstances, the primary targets for the Lord of the Western Abyss Dragon Palace would undoubtedly be the top-tier Blessed Land [abodes of bliss, paradisiacal realms of immense spiritual wealth], such as the one ruled by Divine Lord Ye Ruins.

Setting aside the enmity spanning tens of millions of years between their factions, the treasures contained within these supreme Blessed Land alone—such as the Heaven-Opening Supreme Treasure [a treasure of legendary power said to be capable of cleaving open the heavens] and the Taiyi Immortal Weapon [an immortal weapon of the primordial Taiyi essence]—were objects the Western Abyss Dragon Palace coveted absolutely.

Furthermore, peerless talents like Eldrin Chen, who had stepped into the Forbidden Realm [a legendary and nearly unattainable state beyond conventional cultivation realms], were seeds destined for Heavenly Immortal Paragon [a paragon among Heavenly Immortals]. They would certainly be among the primary targets the Demonic Tribe sought to eliminate.

"With my current strength, I might not even be worthy of a glance from Lord of the Western Abyss Dragon Palace."

"But to be safe, I cannot return to the Abyssal Sea Region. I must remain hidden at least until this Great Tribulation concludes." Eldrin Chen murmured to himself, deciding immediately not to go back to the Abyssal Abode of Bliss.

He concealed himself in the deepest trenches of the Western Qi Divine Abyss Sea and immediately used a secret art to send a message to Lyra Jiang and the others, informing them of the battle's unexpected turn.

Upon receiving the news, Lyra Jiang and Verdant Consort openly fled the Abyssal Sea Region and hid within the boundless expanse of the Western Qi Divine Abyss Sea, leaving only Solara and the others to guard the Abyssal Sea.

In truth, it was not just Lyra Jiang and Verdant Consort. Across the entire Western Qi Divine Abyss Sea, countless Heaven's Chosen from the Human Race and the Divine Race were doing the same.

Those with the potential to reach the Heaven Immortal [the realm of celestial immortals] realm had all fled their respective Daoist Assembly Ground [a sect's or clan's primary gathering place] and vanished into the vastness of the Western Qi Divine Abyss Sea.

Although it was unlikely that the Dragon King of the Western Abyss, now a venerable Heaven Immortal, would stoop to attacking lower-realm Immortal [cultivators who have ascended to immortality], none dared take the risk.

Given the immense, trackless expanse of the Western Qi Divine Abyss Sea, once he was lost within its boundless waters, even a Heavenly Immortal Paragon [a supreme expert among Heaven Immortals] would find him nearly impossible to locate. This was especially true now, with the Great Tribulation raging and Heavenly Secrets [the art of divining fate and celestial mysteries] becoming obscure and difficult to decipher.

Hidden in the ocean's depths, Eldrin Chen moved to a new stretch of sea every few years to avoid detection by the Demonic Tribe. Unnoticed, centuries slipped by.

During this time, Eldrin Chen discreetly gathered information, gradually piecing together the current state of affairs.

Back then, after Lord of the Western Abyss Dragon Palace defeated the several Half-Step Celestial Immortal [cultivators on the verge of ascending to the Celestial Immortal realm], his first act was to rally the Demonic Tribe [a powerful alliance of demonic cultivators and demon beasts] to besiege Leaf Ruins Divine Sea [a sacred sea region named for its ancient, leaf-like ruins], intent on utterly eradicating his great rival, Divine Lord Ye Ruins.

Yet, that Divine Lord Ye Ruins proved to be truly extraordinary. Within the Western Qi Divine Abyss Sea [the vast and perilous Western Qi Divine Abyss Sea], he relied upon the Primordial Unity Ruins of Heaven Sword [a legendary divine sword embodying primordial unity and ruin] to deploy the Ninth Rank Mountain-Protecting Formation [a supreme, ninth-rank defensive formation capable of protecting an entire mountain range], and for several hundred years, he has stalemated his foe in a bitter war without a decisive outcome.

"After nearly thirty thousand years of warfare, the Deep-Seated Foundation [the profound and accumulated foundational strength of a lineage] of the Western Abyss Dragon Palace has truly been exhausted," Eldrin Chen murmured inwardly, a touch of reflective sentiment coloring his thoughts as he grasped the ongoing stalemate.

At its zenith, the Western Abyss Dragon Palace lineage boasted over two hundred Earth Immortal Progenitor [powerful cultivators who have attained the Earth Immortal realm and founded their own legacies], more than thirty thousand Nine Heavens True Dragon [true dragons of the highest pedigree, said to roam the nine heavens], and even several beings who had reached Earth Immortal Great Perfection [the pinnacle stage of the Earth Immortal realm].

Yet, in the crucible of these tens of millennia of conflict, the strength of the Western Abyss Dragon Palace has been halved and more. Now, fewer than fifty Earth Immortal Progenitor remain, and of those at Earth Immortal Great Perfection, only a single one survives.

Treasures like the Heaven-Opening Ancient Ship [an ancient vessel of immense power, said to be capable of parting the heavens] and other rare wonders have also been largely depleted. Read the full novel exclusively on audio . novel . com.

With its power thus diminished, even after conscripting forces like the Dark Roc Demon King [a mighty demon king in the form of a colossal, shadowy roc] to join the siege, the Western Abyss Dragon Palace has fought for centuries yet still failed to conquer the Ye Ruins Abode of Bliss [the fortified sanctuary and territory of Divine Lord Ye Ruins].

"I can only hope the Leaf Ruins Divine Sea can hold out a while longer," Eldrin Chen whispered to himself, finally suppressing the train of thought.

He continued his journey through the boundless ocean depths. Unconsciously, his path led him into a region of profound emptiness within the sea.

Just as he was about to depart, his brow furrowed slightly. He faintly sensed the auras of several immensely powerful beings locked in combat. "Here? A battle at the Earth Immortal [a cultivator who has transcended mortality and attained a profound connection with the earth and heavens] level?"

Eldrin Chen's eyes flickered. He immediately used the Yin-Yang Void Realm to conceal himself within the Void [a state of non-being or emptiness, often used for stealth or spatial manipulation] and began to stealthily approach the site of the battle. He hadn't gone far before he saw two dazzling figures clashing in the expanse of the open sea.

Of the two combatants, one was a Nine Heavens Deity [a divine being commanding the supreme power of the nine celestial layers] commanding boundless thunder, while the other side consisted of five Demon Race Earth Immortal [an Earth Immortal belonging to a demonic lineage] whose demonic aura blotted the skies.

Eldrin Chen roughly gauged their power. The Thunder Deities [a lineage or group of divine beings who wield thunder as their primary power] cultivator's cultivation was around the First Layer Earth Immortal [the initial stage of the Earth Immortal realm], yet his combat prowess rivaled that of a Earth Immortal Sixth Layer [the sixth stage of the Earth Immortal realm] existence—a force not to be underestimated.

The cultivation levels of the Demon Race Earth Immortal varied, but the leader among them had reached the domain of a Seventh Level Earth Immortal [the seventh stage of the Earth Immortal realm].

Now, the five Demon Race Earth Immortal had laid down a grand formation. Under their relentless, coordinated assault, the Thunder Deities cultivator was being pushed to the brink of defeat. "It's the Golden-Winged Celestial Ape Clan, and that one."

Observing the identities of the combatants, Eldrin Chen pondered briefly before understanding their origins. The fighters were, respectively, members of the Golden-Winged Celestial Ape Clan and a Thunder Deities from the Myriad Calamities Thunder Sea.

Within the Western Qi Divine Abyss Sea, the Golden-Winged Celestial Ape [a powerful simian demon beast with wings of gold] lineage was an extremely powerful Earth Immortal Blessed Land [a territory rich in spiritual energy, ruled by Earth Immortals]. At its peak, this lineage boasted fifteen Earth Immortal Progenitor [a founding or ancestral figure of an Earth Immortal lineage], and even one powerhouse at the Eighth Level Earth Immortal [the eighth stage of the Earth Immortal realm]. Discover more cultivation stories at audio-novel.com.