Chapter 226: Chains of the Sea, Poison of the Abyss

Boom!

Space shattered, the ocean roared, and the sky blazed with thunder and fire. No one dared approach within ten thousand miles.

Incredibly, this chaos stemmed from a clash between a seasoned Late Void Refining powerhouse and a young Late Spirit Transformation prodigy. From afar, cultivators activated Video Recording Jades to capture the spectacle.

Lan An's body hurtled back, the Dragon King Spear roaring in fury. Pain numbed him from clashing head-on with a Late Void Refining expert, but it wasn't critical. Across from him, Hai He struggled to extinguish the two Strange Flames raging on his arm. His expression darkened as he faced the youth.

"Unthinkable… such a monstrous genius exists, surpassing even our Sea Palace's young master. But offending us, he cannot live. Junior Brother Chen was reckless," Hai He mused, thoughts racing. Chen Jue's hasty attack without probing his foe was unwise, but the deed was done. Killing this youth would silence any Sea Continent force, backed by the Sea Palace's might. Lan An's terrifying talent, if allowed to grow, would haunt Hai He endlessly.

His killing intent surged, his great saber condensing Water Spiritual Energy. He roared, "Ocean Saber Art!"

A renowned Heaven-Grade technique of the Sea Palace, it summoned an ocean to crush foes with each slash.

"Die!"

Endless water attributes erupted, the saber conjuring towering waves like a howling sea, slashing at Lan An. The water spiritual energy formed an inverted ocean in the sky, aiming to drown him. Hai He's strength was formidable.

Lan An grinned, eyes gleaming. "Overturning Rivers and Seas!"

To Hai He's shock, Lan An's form blurred, merging into the vast ocean created by the saber art. The spiritual sea posed no threat, instead becoming his ideal battlefield. The terrifying waves didn't hinder him. Overturning Rivers and Seas, acquired alongside Cross Heaven Fire at the Festival, allowed free movement in rivers and seas, including Hai He's spiritual ocean.

Like a dragon, Lan An surged through the energy sea, gripping the Dragon King Spear and charging. Using Hai He's own attack, he rode the sky-bound waves, smashing the spear toward Hai He's head.

Hai He's face soured. This youth dared use his technique's momentum against him? It was humiliating. But with the spear closing in, he raised his saber to block.

Clang!

Lan An's physical cultivation peaked, the strike forcing Hai He downward. Yet injuring a Late Void Refining expert wasn't so easy; Hai He's wrist only tingled slightly.

"Hmph, parlor tricks!" Hai He surged upward, shifting to offense. His saber roared.

"Great Earth Glacier!"

The same Mid Heaven-Grade technique Chen Jue used, but Hai He wielded it with Water Spiritual Energy, showing its multi-attribute versatility.

"I can't block this," Lan An thought. Hai He's version far outstripped Chen Jue's. Without Three-Colored Thunder Tribulation and Emperor Flame, direct confrontation was near impossible.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

The Void Resonance Bell targeted Hai He's head, ringing fiercely.

"Damn you! I'll tear you apart!" Hai He's face twisted under the bell's assault, blood seeping from his orifices. Ignoring it, he condensed power, slashing at Lan An. The strike split the sea below in two.

Its range was too vast for Teleportation to evade, forcing a head-on clash. The Wood Turtle shielded Lan An, buying seconds. As it shattered under the saber, Lan An formed Spirit Fusion Palm between his hands, using two Strange Flames, Purple Thunder, and Strange Wood. Fearing exposure of Nirvana Spirit Water's link to Hai Hong Sect, he hid it.

Crack! Crack!

The palm shot forth, meeting Hai He's saber.

Boom!

A cataclysmic explosion silenced the world. Hai He and the onlookers gaped as Great Earth Glacier shattered. Though weakened, Spirit Fusion Palm hurtled toward him. Hai He inhaled sharply, slashing again to dispel the palm's remnants, muttering, "This monster… I can't fathom him."

Before the crowd, Hai He drew a verdant chain from his storage ring. Space quaked, the ocean trembled, as if facing its nemesis.

"Heavens! One of the Sea Palace's Three Great Palace-Suppressing Treasures? Hai He carries it?" an old man shrieked.

"A chain treasure? I know it…" a middle-aged man whispered, wary.

"Sea-Binding Chains!" Knowledgeable cultivators gasped, trembling at its purpose.

Lan An jolted, sensing the Void Resonance Bell and Dragon King Spear quiver with battle intent. Such reactions only occurred against treasures of equal or higher rank, confirming the Sea-Binding Chains as Spirit-Grade High-Tier, matching his own.

"Young master, run!" Jin'er urged gravely.

With the chains, Lan An's treasure advantage vanished. He gritted his teeth, ringing the bell at Hai He while transforming into lightning to flee. The battle was too disadvantageous.

Hai He spat blood, enduring the bell's assault, but sneered, "Witness a Spirit-Grade treasure's true power in a master's hands!"

The Sea-Binding Chains quaked, diving into the ocean below. Lan An fled at full speed, Teleporting repeatedly, but his hair stood on end. From the sea, countless shackles surged, forming a net to trap him.

"Sea-Binding Chains grow stronger in the ocean, splitting into endless chains to bind foes. Unless you escape the sea's range, even the heavens can't save you!" Hai He laughed triumphantly, watching the chains rise to ensnare Lan An.

Though not lethal, the chains' annoyance was indescribable, rendering foes passive targets. The Void Resonance Bell's sound didn't affect them, as they lacked flesh or spirit.

"Damn it!" Lan An cursed, a chain snaring his leg, pulling him downward. With a cold snort, he smashed it with the Dragon King Spear. But more chains swarmed, endless as long as the sea endured, a key to the Sea Palace's oceanic dominance.

"Break!" Lan An roared, Golden Crow Body Protection shattering the chains. Yet more enveloped him like sticky rice cakes.

The crowd watched, awestruck by the chains' fearsome reputation as a Palace-Suppressing Treasure.

"This can't go on," Lan An thought, shattering more chains and Teleporting. The chains pursued, splitting into thousands, relentless.

"Destroy the Sea-Binding Chains' true body," he resolved. The chains were mere Water Spiritual Energy constructs; the real treasure hid in the sea.

"Great Earth Glacier!" Hai He seized the moment, vanishing and reappearing, his saber slashing at Lan An.

"Damn it!" Bound by chains and struggling to break free, Lan An faced the incoming saber.

"Golden Crow Body Protection!"

Boom!

The Golden Crow shattered. Lan An took a hit to his shoulder, spitting blood, his body plummeting into the sea. The Blood Iron Battle Armor, cracked slightly, saved him. Ignoring the pain, he swallowed healing pills from Xiao Qing Xuan, Nirvana Spirit Water working frantically as he sped toward the Sea-Binding Chains' location.

"Overturning Rivers and Seas!"

Moving swiftly through the ocean, he found the hidden chains. "Break!" he roared, the Dragon King Spear, blazing with two Strange Flames, striking it.

Boom!

The recoil sent him reeling. "Fool! A Spirit-Grade's defense isn't so easily broken, or I'd have smashed your bell!" Hai He sneered, pursuing into the depths with another Sea-Suppressing Palm, its heaven-destroying force aimed at Lan An.

As Lan An prepared Cross Heaven Fire, thousands more chains bound him. "Damn your mother!" he cursed, the Void Resonance Bell ringing fiercely at Hai He.

Spurt! Hai He vomited blood, exhausted from enduring the bell, but pressed on, striking relentlessly.

"Ugh, beast Hai He!" Lan An spat, the Blood Iron Battle Armor cracking further. His spiritual energy split between healing and breaking chains, the Five Cauldrons unable to keep up with the immense drain. The Void Resonance Bell fell silent, its energy depleted.

Spurt! Lan An was blasted back, barely freeing himself from the chains.

"Haha, even geniuses fall. You were too flashy!" Hai He laughed, exhilarated at nearing victory.

He didn't see the Three-Colored Thunder flickering in Lan An's eyes. Enraged, Lan An's pride refused further restraint; he prepared to unleash his full power to kill Hai He. At the sea's depths, the risk of exposing Three-Colored Thunder Tribulation remained, with onlookers watching from above.

But enduring endless blows wasn't the answer.

"Die, and be humbler in your next life!" Hai He laughed, his saber descending at Lan An's head in the deep sea, where the Sea-Binding Chains made him invincible.

"You're the one who'll die!" Lan An roared, gripping the Dragon King Spear. The Tribulation Thunder Cauldron surged, ready to unleash its power.

But at that critical moment, a change erupted.

The vast ocean turned eerie deep green, purple, and pitch black, the colors blending into the water, spreading outward. Countless sea creatures perished instantly, their bodies dissolving.

Hai He and Lan An, submerged, were caught in the effect.

"Poison… terrifying poison… cough… who wields such…" Hai He choked, collapsing dead before finishing. A Late Void Refining powerhouse, gone without reason, his skin purple like a long-dead corpse. Horrifying.

Above, the poison spread into the air, forcing cultivators to flee in panic. Even Ai Xin was whisked away by an Ai Clan elder protecting her in secret. None dared speak, sealing their bodies against the toxin. Fortunately, it targeted the ocean, sparing them.

Ten thousand miles of sea became a dead zone.

Opposite Hai He, Lan An stood calmly. Emperor Flame, Strange Water, Strange Wood, and Tribulation Thunder shielded him, barely resisting the apocalyptic poison. His Strange Flames, natural bane of toxins, and Three-Colored Thunder Tribulation struggled due to his limited cultivation.

He swiftly claimed the Sea-Binding Chains, now masterless, and Hai He's storage ring, then fled the dead sea in secret. His face was etched with unending shock.