Chapter 289: Chapter 196: The Core Area, The Desolate Dragon Palace! (Extra 8/53 for the Silver Alliance)
A few hours later.

Jiang Yuan returns, reappearing in front of Shu Xiaoxiao.

“Young Master!” she exclaims joyfully.

“Let’s go! We’re heading deeper!”

Subsequently, Jiang Yuan is seen speeding through the depths of the Pearl Cave with Shu Xiaoxiao by his side.

Two hours later.

Jiang Yuan abruptly stops, as the terrifying power of the cave engulfs him.

His speed plunges dramatically.

An obscure message informs him that he has entered the second level of the Pearl Cave.

Jiang Yuan exhales lightly, quietly marveling at the formidable power that’s restraining him.

At his current fifth level of the Divine Bridge Realm, he feels suffocated by this suppression.

His speed has decreased to a crawl: two miles in a single breath.

No wonder no one dares to venture this deep without reaching the Divine Bridge Realm.

Shu Xiaoxiao also smiles: “Indeed, once you’ve reached the Divine Bridge realm, this place doesn’t feel as oppressive!”

Jiang Yuan replies, “Now that you’re at the second level of the Divine Bridge Realm, it’s naturally different.”

“All thanks to you, Young Master!”

Jiang Yuan smiles, and with a thought, the pair press forward at breakneck speed.

Fifteen minutes later.

Jiang Yuan catches sight of a massive green lotus floating in the distant sky. The radiant green lotus blossoms in the sky and countless specks of light rain down from high above.

“Is this… a major fortuitous opportunity?”

Jiang Yuan’s eyes flash with concentration.

Shu Xiaoxiao’s face lights up with joy as well: “Young Master, we’re so lucky!”

“Indeed! We are!” agrees Jiang Yuan, with a smile.

Being at the fifth level of the Divine Bridge Realm gives him the confidence to fear nothing.

This opportunity is one that, having laid eyes upon, must be seized by Jiang Yuan.

After all, rejecting what the heavens have bestowed can only spell disaster!

Within six hours.

The two reach the place where the opportunity lies.

Seeing that the area is deserted, Jiang Yuan grows even more surprised.

He brings Shu Xiaoxiao down to the ground.

Before them spreads a vast green lake, dotted with a field of blooming lotuses.

In the center, a lotus bud gleams brightly with a green light, remaining tightly shut.

Jiang Yuan scans his surroundings. Compared to his divine sense, his vision can cover a far greater distance.

Shu Xiaoxiao also shows signs of surprise: “Young Master, there’s no one here!”

Jiang Yuan laughs, “Indeed! Not a soul in sight! It appears that most advanced cultivators have already ventured to the first level of the Pearl Cave, or have yet to discover this opportunity!”

The two quietly wait for the green lotus to reveal its grandeur.

As time slowly passes, Jiang Yuan doesn’t see anyone arrive.

Two days later.

The exceptional phenomenon subsides, and the opportunity is finally presented.

Having waited nearby for a long time, Jiang Yuan raises his hand, and the green lotus slowly rises from the water, landing in his palm.

“Excellent, three lotus seeds, a great medicine that has taken three thousand years to produce!”

In a flash, Jiang Yuan returns to the shore.

“Young Master, how many lotus seeds are there?”

“Three,” Jiang Yuan replies casually.

“Excellent!” Shu Xiaoxiao lights up in joy, “This is the great medicine of three thousand years!”

Jiang Yuan also lets out a smile, this surprise joy was entirely unexpected.

He had not thought that he could obtain a 3000-years-old great medicine on the second level, with no struggles or fights.

He recognizes this green lotus, it has an extremely high value.

The most precious of which are the lotus seeds contained within its pod.

Three lotus seeds, each containing a thousand years of essence, can greatly strengthen one’s divine soul. They are unusually precious medicines.

As for the rest of the plant, it should not be wasted, as it contains the essence of plants and trees, which can promote cultivation.

Jiang Yuan promptly stores these in his bag.

“Young Master, do you want to refine this great medicine right here?”

Jiang Yuan shakes his head slightly: “No need! My current cultivation is sufficient and should allow me to sweep through the entire Pearl Cave with ease.”

His gaze leads deep into the Pearl Cave.

“Since I have enough strength for now, I won’t waste any time. I can always consume these treasures and improve my cultivation when we are out.”

“I actually want to see what is at the core of the Pearl Cave!”

With this, Jiang Yuan swiftly moves deeper into the Pearl Cave with Shu Xiaoxiao.

An hour after they depart, a man appears on site.

He has meaty whiskers that drop all the way to the ground.

“Ah, too late. Someone else already beat me to it! What a pity, what a pity!”

The man shakes his head with a sigh before leaving the place.

Just four hours later, a tremor runs through Jiang Yuan and Shu Xiaoxiao as they sense an even more dreadful suppressive force.

An obscure piece of information tells him that he has entered the first level of the Pearl Cave.

“How powerful!”

Jiang Yuan murmurs, releasing a heavy breath.

He moves a bit and realises that his speed has slowed even further.

Now it’s only a mile per breath. Compared to the outside world, this speed is as slow as a turtle, a bit disconcerting.

But in his estimation, this layer of the cave must not span a large area.

Because the second inner layer, after his simple calculation, is only about ten thousand miles wide at most.

According to this calculation, the innermost layer of the Pearl Cave is probably only a few thousand miles wide.

Despite the distance being a few thousand miles, for him, it’s not far off.

At this point, Jiang Yuan leads Shu Xiaoxiao deeper, wanting to explore the core of the Pearl Cave.

He wants to see if Mu Qianru was right, if he is capable of stepping into the true core of the Pearl Cave, the Dragon Palace.

Elsewhere.

Within the inner layer of the Pearl Cave.

Near the most core area.

Seven people appeared on the edge of the sea.

Far away in the center, a golden radiant illusion of a Dragon Palace made of jade and colored glazed glass showed up on the sea level.

One of the white-haired men frowned, “Why hasn’t Ao Feng arrived yet? What good is it for him to stay outside!”

A charming and enchanting female softly said, “Perhaps he was entranced by Miss Jiao Yu!”

The woman with a fishtail shook her head, her face calm as water.

“My younger sister isn’t that tempting, Ao Feng has a high spirit, otherwise he wouldn’t have gotten this far. How could he indulge himself in a fish-and-water relationship.”

“Jiao Zhu, it’s hard to tell!” The charming female yaksha giggled, “Dragons are known for their lust. Who doesn’t know about the skills of your merfolk for that matter.”

“Enough, stop chatting!” The white-haired man lightly said, “Zhou Qiu is about to attempt to enter the Dragon Palace again very soon!”

“Can he make it?” Jiao Zhu asked.

“He won’t make it!” The white-haired man said lightly, “If he was destined to make it, I wouldn’t sit idly by! And it’s not just me, even those other geniuses of the human race won’t agree.”

“The reason we let him freely explore the Dragon Palace was merely to use him to see after breaking through to the first level how far he could reach, testing the changes in the rules.”

In the distance, Zhou Qiu, watching the spectral Dragon Palace floating on the sea level in front of him, had a flash of fervor in his eyes.

Inside must be the big secret left by the human race saint, so long as he stepped into the Dragon Palace, he would definitely obtain the opportunity within.

The next moment.

He levitated, land stabilizing on the sea level.

At this time, the great sea was like death itself, smooth as a mirror, not producing the slightest ripple.

However, in the eyes of the people, the calm sea was the true land of no return.

As soon as their figures fell into it, they would be corroded into nothingness in a short while.

During the past, a cultivator in the ninth level of the Divine Bridge Realm strained himself too much, leading to a fall into the water under the immense pressure.

He merely stayed in the water for a dozen breaths before he withdrew a large distance and promptly returned back to the sea level.

Even so, despite his ninth level Divine Bridge Realm cultivation, in just a dozen breaths, his body was completely corroded, his injuries were beyond a Saint’s ability to treat.

He died shortly after.

Zhou Qiu just stepped onto the sea level.

Boom-

An overwhelmingly large pressure descended on his body. His body suddenly sank, and the moment his feet touched the seawater, his figure rocketed up into the air.

He then stood up slowly, step by step, moving forward.

Every step, felt as if he was carrying a huge mountain on his back.

At the same time, he dared not lift his figure too high.

On the sea level, the higher one climbed, the exponentially larger the pressure they had to endure became.

The people standing on the shore immediately focused their attention on Zhou Qiu, watching as he took one step after another deeper into the sea.

Step by step, he gradually moved into the center of the sea.

Two hours later, he looked back for a glance.

“I have only covered a third of the distance, it’s so tough!” he shook his head.

Feeling the immense pressure on his crown, he knew in his heart, this time, it was impossible for him to reach Dragon Palace.

The diameter of this large sea was approximately thirty thousand feet, with a radius of around fifteen thousand feet.

Now he had covered only five thousand feet, making up only a third of the journey.

Although he still had much energy left, he knew that at this rate, he could only manage to cover up to ten thousand feet at most.

The final five thousand feet was an insurmountable distance for him in his present state.

Only by breaking through another two or three realms could he possibly overcome this.

Thinking of this, he shook his head. Since he had roughly assessed his capacity, he chose not to proceed further.

He also knew that those people were watching him, exploiting his response to discern the rules of the core area.

Among the Demon Tribe of the East Sea, that white-haired man and the mermaid woman were both powerful demons at the fourth transformation stage.

Their realm was not below his.

They too were eager to enter the Dragon Palace.

With Zhou Qiu’s return.

The mermaid woman slowly began, “From the looks of it, Zhou Qiu can handle only about five thousand feet. That’s probably his limit.”

“Not necessarily!” The white-haired man slowly shook his head, “We watch him, and he knows it. Under such circumstances, how could he show us his true limits!”

“His real ability could probably cover seven or eight thousand feet, more than halfway there.”

The female yaksha nodded slightly, “That’s what I think too. Sister Jiao Zhu, you are still so simple!”

The mermaid woman smiled, not being offended.

“They say that fish only have two breaths’ worth of memory, so it’s normal for me to be simple-minded!”

“Besides, what’s the need to be clever! Isn’t Brother Xuan here! With him around, we are all right!”

As she spoke, the mermaid woman looked at the white-haired man next to her, her eyes affectionate.

The white-haired man also showed a soft smile, feeling somewhat pleased.

On the other side.

Zhou Ting saw Zhou Qiu retreat and shook his head sighing, “The rules set up by that Saint from the past are just too difficult! My brother is so strong, his physique so formidable.”

“He achieved this realm at just 37, and yet he can’t enter the Dragon Palace. Who else could possibly make it?”

Lin Yuqing said, “There is one person. I’ve heard that once he grows up, he should be able to do it.”

“Who?” Song Que asked curiously.

The eyes of Zhou Ting also turned to the woman in a Taoist robe, Lin Yuqing, who had a notable reputation in the Qianyuan Kingdom.

No one dared to belittle her strength.

Some said that even though she was second on the Heavenly Ranking, her actual strength might not fall behind Zhou Qiu.

There were those who agreed and those who disagreed with this viewpoint.

Yet, having this word spread around, it was evident how extraordinary she was.

Lin Yuqing said lightly. “Jiang Yuan, he hasn’t even come of age yet, and he is not far from the Divine Bridge Realm!”

“Looking at his rate of growth, it is estimated that by the time the Pearl Cave closes, he will be ready to break through to the Divine Bridge Realm.”

“Ten years later, he would only be twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old, his cultivation would certainly surpass Zhou Qiu.”

“By then, he would have every chance of entering the Divine Bridge Realm at the seventh or eighth level, even reaching as high as the ninth level.”

“At that time, with his youthful age and that level of ability, entering the Dragon Palace would be a matter of course.”