Chapter Ninety-Nine: Great Ups and Downs

After venting all the fury in his heart, the demon began pounding the cage like a madman. Every blow carried enough force to split mountains and shatter peaks, yet when that tremendous power struck the seemingly ordinary but incomparably sturdy cage, it could not shake it in the slightest!

“Duan Changfeng, my father will never spare you! I’ll tear you limb from limb…”

The demon’s roar shook the underwater canyon, sending waves of fury surging in every direction. The enormous impact even stirred up monstrous breakers across the emerald sea above.

An invisible, weighty, boundless force surged from the mountain walls on either side of the canyon, effortlessly suppressing the chaos caused by the demon. At the same time, a majestic pressure squeezed in from both sides toward the cage. The demon, still attacking it furiously, was instantly crushed by that immense force. Every bone in his body cracked loudly, and he remained frozen in place, fist extended, unable to move.

“Duan Changfeng…”

After the demon let out another furious roar, the boundless force sealed him completely. Before long, a thick, transparent cocoon of energy formed around his purple body. The cocoon solidified at a visible speed, and in the blink of an eye, a demonic amber rested within the cage.

Even the light in the demon’s deep-violet eyes froze at that instant. The entire deep-sea canyon returned to tranquility, leaving only the cage containing the demon at the bottom.

“Boss, why hasn’t this demon died yet? It’s been more than ten thousand years, and he’s still so energetic. Every so often, when the sealing force weakens, he starts causing trouble and keeps us from enjoying any peace!”

A colossal eight-tentacled octopus, more than ten times the size of the giant dragon Max, floated in the deep sea several miles from the canyon. Beside it swam an enormous golden fish of roughly equal size. A massive blood-red lump protruded from the top of the fish’s head, radiating a faint halo.

If Leng Tian or Thorn Flower Leilei had been there, they would have been utterly shocked upon seeing the golden fish. It was none other than the Imperial Fish once defiled by Judas. Judging from its size, it was an absolute giant even among its kind.

If a Transcendent Saint or divine-level expert saw this Imperial Fish, their eyes would certainly turn red with greed, and they would rush forward to seize it and divide its flesh among themselves.

Yet the pressure emanating from the Imperial Fish’s enormous body was so formidable that if the strongest Transcendent Saints of the present world saw it, they would surely cry out in alarm:

“Divine level…”

This Imperial Fish, several hundred meters long, was itself a divine-level creature. Forget eating its flesh—even the mere sight of it would probably send those Transcendent Saints fleeing in terror.

“Indeed. These are matters beyond our concern. As long as we stand guard and remain worthy of the benefactor who promoted us all those years ago, our consciences will be clear. This demon’s cultivation is unfathomable. Although I have advanced to the divine level, that only makes me feel his terror more deeply. Even if the two of us joined forces, our only fate would be death.”

The divine-level Imperial Fish’s words reached the octopus’s ears.

“Really, Boss? Is this demon truly that powerful? I remember when our benefactor imprisoned him here. It seemed effortless. He carried that fellow in and tossed him into the canyon like a little chick. The demon didn’t appear capable of resisting at all!”

The eight-tentacled octopus waved its tentacles and spoke in a thoroughly unconcerned tone.

“What do you understand? What kind of cultivation did our benefactor possess? With my current divine-level strength, I doubt I could withstand even a glance from him. The demon may be immensely powerful, but he was still subdued with ease by our benefactor. With the little strength we possess now, if we had returned to the calamity of ten thousand years ago, you and I would have been nothing more than cannon fodder.”

“All right, Boss, stop talking. If you go on, I’ll lose all my confidence!”

The giant octopus waved its eight tentacles. As its body contracted and expanded, it vanished into the depths of the sea.

“That fellow is still as unstable as ever.”

The divine-level Imperial Fish gave a faint smile. Golden light flashed across its body, and a spatial gate suddenly split open. With a sweep of its great golden tail, it entered the gate and vanished, its destination unknown.

The deserted island gradually settled down, and everything returned to its former tranquility. No humans or demon beasts ever came here. Because a demon had been sealed in the surrounding waters more than ten thousand years ago, the region had become a forbidden land. Under ordinary circumstances, only seabirds passed overhead.

Yan Nantian slowly opened his eyes. His feet touched the ground steadily, and the solid sensation beneath them gave him a sense of security. Yet the moment he opened his eyes, the dazzling light forced them shut again.

Only after a long while, when the dizziness in his mind had completely faded, did he gather his true essence into his eyes and open them once more.

All he saw was a world of crimson and white.

“What is that?”

A trace of astonishment appeared on Yan Nanfei’s usually calm face. His starry eyes fixed themselves on the object ahead, which glimmered with azure light.

It was an incomplete azure battle armor. Only the helmet and breastplate remained; the rest was nowhere to be seen. The armor was ancient and mottled, with several large bloodstains across its surface. A small hole pierced the left side of the breastplate, and the damaged area was heavily stained with purplish-red blood.

“This is the supreme divine artifact mentioned by the ancestral master—the Skyflying Escape Armor? How could it have become like this? No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t resemble a divine artifact at all!”

Yan Nanfei rested one hand against his chin, narrowing his eyes as he examined the damaged, incomplete armor with deep suspicion.

Several thousand years ago, an ancestral master of his sect had suffered grievous injuries and died while seeking this very Skyflying Escape Armor. Yet until the moment of his death, he had never revealed who had wounded him so severely. He had only said that a disciple possessing a wind spirit constitution must be found and sent to the Azure Sea Firmament to retrieve the armor.

As these thoughts turned in his mind, a layer of pale azure protective energy emerged from his body and shielded him completely. Yan Nanfei surveyed his surroundings.

The entire space was blanketed in whiteness, giving everything an illusory quality. When he released his spiritual sense to investigate this white world, he discovered that it could extend only a hundred meters. Any attempt to spread it farther was repelled by a strange energy. He tried repeatedly, but could not push his spiritual sense beyond that limit.

Unwilling to give up, Yan Nanfei walked to the point where his spiritual sense was obstructed. His eyes saw nothing but emptiness. Why, then, was his spiritual sense blocked from probing farther?

He stretched out a hand. It met something solid and cold, as though he had touched a stone wall.

Yan Nanfei’s expression tightened.

“How can this be? It clearly appears to be an empty void, yet it feels solid when touched. Unless this place is truly only a hundred meters across, and everything I see is an illusion?”

After considering the matter for a moment, Yan Nanfei withdrew his hand and once again turned his gaze toward the Skyflying Escape Armor.

“I’ll take the armor first. I can worry about the rest later.”

He walked toward the damaged armor floating nearby. Only when he drew close did he see it clearly. The entire suit had been forged from a dark azure metal, its surface covered in mottled rust. The bloodstains on the breastplate were particularly striking.

A hazy azure radiance drifted from the armor, lending it an ancient and mysterious air.

“Is this armor really as powerful as the legends claim?”

Though doubt filled Yan Nanfei’s heart, his hand still reached toward it.

“Ah!”

The sudden change made him cry out. The moment his hand touched the armor’s surface, a streak of azure sharpness shot from within and pierced his finger. Even the protective energy surrounding his hand could not stop it.

A drop of bright red blood was swept into the armor by that azure edge. His true essence immediately circulated and healed the wound, and he was just about to retreat when an azure barrier radiating from the armor trapped him in place.

In the next instant, the motionless dark-azure armor exploded with a thunderous boom and melted into a mass of liquid. Before Yan Nanfei’s stunned eyes, it plunged into his dantian.

The moment the armor entered his dantian, Yan Nanfei’s expression changed drastically, terror flashing in his eyes. The Skyflying Escape Armor, now transformed into liquid, immediately wrapped itself around his core and began ravenously absorbing the abundant true essence within it.

Yan Nanfei’s face turned deathly pale. He could feel the true essence in his body draining away at an alarming rate. He tried to control his core and make it escape the armor’s grasp, but if things continued this way, his core would soon be completely drained. By then, nothing could save him.

Yan Nanfei truly panicked. No matter how desperately he struggled, he could not move his core even a fraction. All he could do was watch helplessly as the energy within it was gradually consumed by the armor.

“What should I do? What am I supposed to do?”

Yan Nanfei discovered that even his body had become immobile, restrained in place by an immense force.

His face grew paler by the moment, and his body trembled uncontrollably. This was the result of his true essence being drained in vast quantities. When he looked inward, he saw that even the ancient treasure armor passed down by his sect had been enveloped by the dark-azure liquid. In an instant, his connection with it was severed.

Time passed bit by bit, and Yan Nanfei’s true essence continued to diminish. At last, the power within his core was completely absorbed. The core itself collapsed and turned into pure energy, which the armor devoured as well.

Yan Nanfei’s face had become ashen, and the light in his eyes had dimmed. His cracked lips trembled incessantly, while his black hair turned gray-white. He now looked like a frail old man, the handsome and carefree youth he had once been completely gone.

His heart filled with despair. He had never imagined that he would one day fall into such a state. His core had disintegrated, erasing more than a decade of painstaking cultivation in an instant. He had sought a treasure, only to be subjugated by the armor instead. Everything he had pursued throughout his life had turned into an illusion.

“I refuse to accept this…”

Yan Nanfei roared inwardly in bitter resentment.

He had begun practicing martial arts at the age of ten, and fifteen years had now passed. His cultivation had reached the peak of the Profound Entry Realm, and he had once hoped to advance beyond mortality before the age of thirty. But now, all of that had become impossible.

As these thoughts continued, the light in his eyes gradually faded. Anyone who suffered such a devastating blow would have been driven to mental collapse.

Yet just as Yan Nanfei’s spirit had completely sunk into despair and he was waiting for death, he suddenly felt the energy he had lost beginning to return at astonishing speed. He could even move his body again.

“What is happening?”

The reversal from heaven to hell and back again left Yan Nanfei overwhelmed with shock and delight. Moisture gathered in his eyes.

As his true essence recovered, color gradually returned to his face. He could feel a stream of true essence even more abundant than before flowing through his meridians and spreading throughout his body. Under its nourishment, his aging body once again filled with vigorous vitality.

Yan Nanfei emerged from his daze, and the first thing he did was sink his consciousness into his dantian.

Chapter 99: Great Swings from Heaven to Hell — Complete.