Chapter 319: A Good Seed

The Great King of Black Horn was a black fish spirit who had become a Third-Tier Demonic Beast eight hundred years ago, a renowned overlord of the sea. Before his breakthrough, he had always possessed a fish’s head and a human body. A century ago, he encountered a miraculous opportunity that transformed him from a black fish spirit into the black dragon he is today.

A black fish transforming into a dragon!

What extraordinary fortune! After this transformation, the black fish spirit declared himself the Great King of Black Horn, for a pitch-black dragon horn now adorned his head.

Over the past century, the Great King of Black Horn had consolidated the sea, expanding the Water Mansion’s territory several times over through conquest and annexation. It was this knowledge that prevented Chen Luo from storming the gates directly. Had it been the pre-transformation Great King of Black Horn, Chen Luo would have captured him long ago and stewed him into soup.

Directly beneath Black Horn Island, in the deep blue seabed, stood a colossal palace. Pearls inlaid along its edges emitted a soft, pale blue glow, resembling an underwater dragon palace of breathtaking beauty.

Splash!

A layer of water cascaded across the ground, spreading until it reached the ankles of the youth in the courtyard.

In the cold and desolate courtyard of the Water Mansion, a small boy with red horns hid in a corner, diligently memorizing the contents of a book. It was just an ordinary folk tale, its stories entirely made up. But the boy didn’t know this; he believed it was a secret manual and earnestly committed its words to memory.

“I will master this divine technique and kill that vile woman,” he vowed, hatred flashing across his youthful face.

He couldn’t read, but he stubbornly memorized what he thought was an “unparalleled divine technique”—a secret art to transform into a flood dragon.

Outside the courtyard, a shrimp-armored guard reluctantly averted his gaze. The boy thought he was well-hidden, unaware that every move he made was being watched by the First Madam.

“What’s wrong? Can’t bear to watch anymore?” another shrimp soldier sneered, as if scornful of his comrade’s soft-heartedness.

“Madam could have simply killed him. Why give him a fake ‘secret manual’ and make him cultivate day and night? It’s just a collection of folk tales, not an Immortal Cultivation technique at all,” the first guard couldn’t help but protest.

In his mind, enemies should be killed outright. Why resort to such cruel torment?

The young boy inside was named Ao Ye, the youngest son of the Great King of Black Horn. His mother had been a spirit in the form of a seven-colored carp. Sixty years ago, the First Madam poisoned his mother and Ao Ye’s three-year-old younger sister. Ao Ye, who survived, told his father, the Great King of Black Horn, about the tragedy, hoping his father would avenge his mother.

To this day, he still remembered his father’s words:

“Get out!”

His father’s gaze was indifferent, as if looking at a stranger on the street. He was clearly displeased that such a matter had disturbed his cultivation.

Ao Ye couldn’t understand.

His mother and sister were dead.

Wasn’t that important?

When the First Madam learned that Ao Ye had been driven out, she initially planned to kill him outright. However, considering that he was of the Great King’s bloodline and had recently met with the Great King, she thought there might still be some lingering affection between them. To avoid displeasing the Great King over such a trivial matter, the First Madam adopted Ao Ye, calling it “taking care of him.” This served two purposes: it would please the Great King and demonstrate her magnanimity.

Thus, Ao Ye was confined to the First Madam’s courtyard, raised like a pig for twenty years.

He was taught nothing.

He was given the lowest-grade food, and cultivation resources were out of the question. They didn’t even teach him to read or write. Not only that, but he was burdened with endless chores every day, and the slightest mistake would earn him a beating. As long as he didn’t die, no one cared. To eliminate any potential danger, the First Madam had even sought out a maid who had served Aoye’s mother. Through her, she delivered a “divine cultivation manual” to Aoye, falsely claiming it was a memento left by his mother. The illiterate Aoye believed this without question, wasting most of his days memorizing the “divine manual.”

“If I could understand the minds of those great figures, I wouldn’t be stuck here guarding this gate with you,” the shrimp soldier replied impatiently, rolling his eyes.

“Sigh, you’re right.”

As the two shrimp soldiers chatted idly, dozens of dark figures suddenly appeared in the distance.

Their arrival was so sudden that before the shrimp soldiers could react, a cultivator clad entirely in black robes materialized before them.

Splat!

A crimson blade flashed, and the two shrimp soldiers, who had been chatting moments before, collapsed stiffly to the ground, blood gushing from their severed necks.

The Marauder Cultivator who had just killed the guards dispersed the magical energy in his hand, and the Blood Blade vanished. It wasn’t a real blade, but a Blood Blade he had conjured using a divine ability.

Chen Luo observed the man carefully, intrigued by this particular divine ability.

“Move faster. I already told you the exact location.”

The leader of the Marauder Cultivators charged into the Water Mansion first.

The surrounding water-based Formation activated, creating a pale blue barrier that rose like an inverted bowl, enveloping the Water Mansion. A tall, thin Marauder Cultivator beside Chen Luo immediately flew upward. He pulled out dozens of pitch-black spheres from his robe, channeled spiritual energy into them, and sent them floating toward the barrier.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

After the violent explosions, the azure barrier rippled and warped before a large hole was blasted through it.

This method of breaking the Formation perfectly matched the Marauder Cultivators’ style: simple, brutal, and fast.

The group streamed into the Water Mansion.

Inside, they sensed a dense concentration of water-attribute spiritual energy. The Water Mansion was built atop a Third-Tier Spirit Vein, where water-attribute energy was most abundant, making it ideal for aquatic Monsters to cultivate.

“Ahead.”

The leader of the Marauder Cultivators flew swiftly, his followers close behind. The auras of over a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators radiated outward, deterring nearby low-level shrimp soldiers from approaching. This group had meticulously planned their operation, even bribing several minor demons within the Water Mansion to obtain its map.

Chen Luo mingled among the Marauder Cultivators, observing the Water Mansion’s layout. His objective differed from the others; he sought Xue Ning’s relics, stolen by the Great King of Black Horn from the mute slave. These items might not be stored in the treasury.

“This is it!”

The leading Marauder Cultivator halted before a courtyard and leaped inside. The others surged in after him. Chen Luo lingered at the rear, watching the group storm the courtyard, a faint smile flickering across his face.

“Intriguing.”

With a sudden leap, he followed them into the courtyard.

As soon as everyone had entered, a dense water mist rose from the ground. The once-clear courtyard transformed into a labyrinth of overlapping layers, its boundaries completely obscured. Most bizarrely, their Divine Sense was suppressed within this space, unable to penetrate the swirling mist.

“This isn’t a treasure vault!”

“There’s a formation!”

The Blood Blade Marauder Cultivator and the two Marauder Cultivators tasked with detonating formations reacted instantly.

“Where’s Zuoqiulong? What kind of path did he lead us on?”

Someone questioned the leading Marauder Cultivator. Strangely, there was no response. Only then did they realize that the leader had vanished the moment they entered the courtyard, leaving only the participants behind.

“Zuoqiulong is gone!”

“That bastard! He dared to sell out even me!”

The sound of hurried footsteps grew louder as a large group of monster cultivators converged on the courtyard. The Blood Blade Marauder Cultivator smashed through the gate and charged inside, followed by the others. Whether it was an ambush or not, staying put would be the most foolish course of action.

Whether Zuoqiulong, the organizer, had betrayed them could be settled later. If true, they would retaliate according to the rules of the Marauder Cultivators.

The Blood Blade Marauder Cultivator moved swiftly, smashing through a gate wall and charging inside. His companion retrieved a large number of small black spheres, scattering them across the area. A series of explosions erupted.

These thunder spheres were designed to breach formations, making them perfectly suited for this situation.

The group fled through the newly created passage, eventually reaching a secluded courtyard. Here, the dense water vapor finally dissipated, and their Divine Sense returned to normal.

“We’re out!”

“That was too easy. Something feels off.”

“Who cares if it’s right or wrong? Let’s find the treasure. We didn’t come all this way for nothing.”

The survivors surveyed the courtyard, preparing to seize Water Mansion personnel as hostages to guide them.

Ao Ye huddled trembling beneath a rock in the corner, clutching his book of folk tales tightly to his chest. He had been reading in the courtyard when the group of ferocious Marauder Cultivators suddenly burst in. These men looked like desperate fugitives. Though he rarely ventured outside, he had heard many tales of the outside world from chatting with the shrimp soldiers.

Chen Luo’s gaze drifted to the corner.

He had spotted Ao Ye the moment he entered the courtyard. The child emitted no fluctuations of magical energy, yet his emotional turbulence was extraordinarily intense. In all his years of cultivating the Demonic Heart Art, Chen Luo had never encountered such a promising candidate. This child was born to cultivate the Demonic Heart Art!

Deep within the Water Mansion.

The Marauder Cultivator leader, Zuo Qiulong, tore off his black headscarf and bowed respectfully before the woman before him.

“Everyone has been brought in.”

“Excellent.”

Zuo Qiulong lowered his head, daring not to meet her gaze. This entire plan to plunder the Water Mansion had been orchestrated by this woman from start to finish. He was merely a dog under her command.

“Thirteen in total, all Foundation Establishment cultivators with no affiliations to any major factions.”

“The Water Mansion was attacked by Marauder Cultivators. The Master’s prized Glazed Blood Dragon Ginseng was stolen, and the Mansion’s century-old ledgers were burned.” The woman rose to her feet, smiling warmly as she looked down at Zuo Qiulong.

“Do you find this explanation satisfactory?”

A bead of sweat trickled down Zuo Qiulong’s forehead. He dared not answer.