Chapter 109: The Earth-Yellow Ring

"My lord, this Divine Spring is still a shared resource; no one can claim it for themselves. You killed one of our companions earlier, and we could let that slide, but the spring must be divided equally. Do you agree?"

The handsome man beside Zhuang Jinlian stared at Li Tianzheng, who was watching the bloodstains remaining on his spear tip. He suppressed the murderous intent in his heart and spoke each word with deliberate care.

"Hmph... I killed him, so what? Are you intending to avenge him?" Li Tianzheng leveled his spear, his expression icy as he replied.

"You..."

Wang Mang waved his hand to interrupt the handsome man, patted Li Tianzheng on the shoulder, and said, "Let us all take a step back. We are here for the Divine Spring and should not be shedding blood in pointless slaughter. As for Brother Li killing your companion, it was largely because your companion provoked him first; otherwise, Brother Li would not have struck out in anger. Therefore, this matter must be put to rest!" Wang Mang dusted off his sleeves, looked up at the group, and asked, "How about it, everyone? Shall we each go look for the Divine Spring?"

"Brother Yu, forget it. Finding the Divine Spring is more important. It won't be too late to avenge our fallen brother after we collect it." Zhuang Jinlian tugged at the handsome man's sleeve and whispered a reminder. With a flutter of her eyes, she leaned toward his ear and murmured, "Once we find the spring, I am yours to do with as you please..." Her voice trailed off, audible only to the handsome youth.

The handsome youth, named Chen Yu, had somehow been ensnared by Zhuang Jinlian. After hearing his lover's passionate whispers, his heart stirred. A large hand reached behind her and squeezed her firm, rounded curves, leaving the delicate beauty breathless and flushed.

Hearing Zhuang Jinlian's words, the fire in Chen Yu's heart was largely extinguished. His mind was now filled only with thoughts of how to ravish the beauty beside him, and the death of his brother was long forgotten. He turned to Wang Mang and the others and said, "We will do as you say. We shall settle accounts with you after we secure the Divine Spring!"

With that, Chen Yu led his four companions away, flicking his sleeves in disdain.

Li Tianzheng heard the threat, his face darkening as he prepared to lunge forward and skewer them on his spear. However, Wang Mang held him back, smiling. "Brother Li, do not lose your temper. With our status, there is no need to bicker with such characters. It won't be too late to eliminate them once this matter is concluded."

"My sect elders said that this Azure Sea Divine Spring lies deep within the ruins of the temple and is clearly visible, making it easy to locate. However, whenever the spring accumulates enough liquid, predators from the Sea of Turmoil guard it. Their numbers are inconsistent; sect records mention sometimes one, sometimes two or three. The largest group recorded was over a dozen. During that time, most of the powerful experts who arrived perished; only a few managed to obtain the spring, and all were heavily wounded. Among them was a senior ancestor from the Qiankun Martial Academy, but he died from his wounds shortly after returning."

As Wang Mang and Li Tianzheng's trio walked toward the depths of the temple, he spoke as they went. Leng Tian, trailing behind, heard every word clearly. "Predators? What are those? Are they of the Demon Race?"

"Boss, I'll take you straight through. We already know the spring is in the deepest part of the ruins! Heh heh... so what if they arrived early? They'll still be beaten to it by us..."

Judas chuckled wickedly, using his "Void Assimilation" to hide Leng Tian within his own body. It was no longer a simple concealment; he had completely merged with Leng Tian into the void.

Although the temple was in ruins, the innermost halls remained intact. To reach the deepest part, one would normally have to follow the existing path. The only shortcut was to pass through the walls. But these temple walls were far superior to ordinary city walls; even with the Xuan-entry cultivation of those present, breaking through them would come at a great cost.

However, with Judas's help, it was different for Leng Tian. What was an impassable obstacle to others was as nothing to Judas, a Faceless Shadow Demon. Passing through layers of walls would save them a great deal of time.

"Oh?"

Just as they passed through a wall into a spacious corridor, the walls were carved with images of divine beasts, goddesses, and scenes of battle. What caught Judas's attention was a small box he discovered while passing through the opposite wall. Upon opening it, he found a yellowish, rusted ring inside.

"Heh heh... luck is on our side. Getting treasure just by walking through walls! Though this ring doesn't seem to have anything special about it. Regardless, it's the gain of this lucky star."

Seeing that the ring was ordinary and lacked any special traits, yet was hidden within the wall, Judas assumed it must have a history. He couldn't use it himself, and blood-binding it was even less likely, so he reluctantly gave it to Leng Tian.

Hidden within Judas's body, Leng Tian saw only a void. Though he was in the void, the space for movement was only a few inches; he could only shift his feet slightly and could move no further.

He reached out and took the yellowish ring from Judas. He heard it was found in the wall, and to dispel any doubt, Judas opened a gap in his body, allowing Leng Tian to see the hollow space inside the wall where a somewhat dilapidated small wooden box with an open lid lay. Leng Tian was convinced.

Looking at the yellowish ring in his hand, it was rusted and appeared very ordinary. But Leng Tian knew that many treasures could not be judged by their appearance, especially rings. Take a storage ring, for example: it had no spiritual nature or energy fluctuations; it simply contained a small pocket dimension. Unless it was blood-bound, even a god would not be able to discover what was inside.

Leng Tian was in no hurry to bind it with his blood. He did not like to rush with items of unknown origin; if there were dangers hidden within, it would be troublesome. With a thought, he tossed the ring into the Purgatory.

Even Leng Tian himself was unaware that since he had discovered the functions of the Purgatory, he rarely stored items in rings anymore, naturally throwing things into the Purgatory instead.

In truth, the Purgatory itself was subtly influencing Leng Tian. As a world still in its infancy, it would not tolerate its master storing items in a dead, low-level space. Thus, the World Spirit was using its consciousness to invisibly influence Leng Tian's choices.

Judas continued his wall-passing endeavor. This direct route saved them half the time compared to Li Tianzheng and the others. Eventually, they were blocked by a crystal wall. As Judas attempted to pass through it, he was repelled by the laws and prohibitions on the wall, forcing him back into his physical form.

Leng Tian also appeared. Seeing Judas looking dejected, he said irritably, "Don't play dead there. Get back in quickly, or everything will be for nothing!"

Judas, who had been lying on the ground playing dead, jumped up with a start. Rubbing his bruised, purplish-black forehead, he hissed, "Boss, I reckon we've arrived. This wall has laws and prohibitions; there can't be any place more important than this, aside from where the Azure Sea Divine Spring is located!"

"No, this definitely isn't the location of the Divine Spring," Leng Tian said, surveying his surroundings with certainty.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Judas asked, puzzled.

"Take a look for yourself. This isn't a wall at all; it looks more like a giant coffin!" Leng Tian directed Judas to look at the surroundings first, then to consider what the crystal wall in front of them actually was.

Judas turned his head around, only then realizing where he had arrived. It was a square space, a few hundred meters in size, and the only object in the space was the massive crystal coffin that had nearly crippled him.

"Holy mother of..." Judas circled the massive crystal coffin, unable to help but exclaim, "There couldn't be a god buried in here, could there?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Let's get out of here!" For a brief moment, every hair on Leng Tian's body stood on end—a natural physical reaction to extreme danger. He did not want to experience what he had with the Goddess Melo again. If he offended a god, he couldn't guarantee that the arrogant man who didn't take gods seriously would appear to save him again. Relying on himself was the only safe bet!

Judas also felt a chill run down his spine and had no desire to stay. If a god was truly buried in this crystal coffin and the old fellow still had a breath left, a mere flick of a finger would see him and the "lucky star" meet a bitter end.

Using Void Assimilation again, he hid Leng Tian in his body and bypassed the crystal coffin, passing through the wall. However, after moving several hundred meters, they still hadn't emerged. "Damn it... I've been passing through walls and houses for ages, and I've ended up inside a mountain!" Judas looked at the solid rock around him, feeling furious.

Knowing he must have gone in the wrong direction, Judas changed course and continued to pass through the mountain. It took about a mile of travel before they finally emerged from the mountain's depths.

As soon as he emerged from the pitch-black mountain, Judas was stunned by the scene before him. It was a massive indoor plaza with a dome made of blue crystal. In the center of the plaza was a pool, and in the middle of the pool was an underground fountain that was constantly bubbling. However, this fountain was not spraying water outward; instead, it was dripping a deep green liquid drop by drop. Judging by the speed and the lines left by the falling droplets, the liquid was extremely viscous.

This was not what shocked Judas; it was the fact that six massive demonic beasts were lying dormant around the pool. Compared to them, the dragon Mike was like a child who hadn't finished growing.

Judas floated into the air, passing over the mountain-sized beasts, and saw that Li Tianzheng's group had already arrived, their numbers having swelled to several dozen. "Hm..." Judas's heart stirred as he looked above the pool. There, a figure shrouded in a black cloak was also concealing their presence, staring unblinkingly at the deep green liquid in the pool below.

"Tsk tsk... with this level of skill, it really is a lonely life for a master." Even though the other party was also using concealment, to a Shadow Demon capable of Void Assimilation like Judas, it was as if they weren't hidden at all; it had no real effect.

The figure hiding in the black cloak was none other than Dark Night, an assassin from the Blood Swallowing Alliance who had been trying to assassinate Leng Tian all along. He had also arrived here, hiding in the air above the pool with the intention of making a surprise move to seize the Divine Spring.