Gu Hai, Ao Shun, Shangguan Hen, and Chang Ming stepped through the Western Sea Dragon Palace’s barrier and immediately fell.

Bang!

The four landed on a large plaza. They raised their heads and looked at the barrier above.

Rumble…!

They saw Long Shenwu and Di Shitian working together outside, attacking the barrier. Cracks appeared on the barrier, which looked like it was nearing its limits.

“Imperial Emperor Gu, it seems we are in a desperate situation?” Ao Shun said with a bitter smile.

“Long Shenwu and Di Shitian must hate us to the core. Furthermore, the Three Lives Buddhas are watching from outside. How are we going to leave later?” Shangguan Hen asked with a faint, bitter smile.

“There’s no need to worry. Leaving this place is not difficult. It’s just that we don’t want to go,” Gu Hai said.

“Oh?” The three gave Gu Hai a bewildered look.

Gu Hai handed golden pills to the three. “Take one each and keep it carefully.”

“What is this?” the three asked in bewilderment.

“Eight Nines Profound Technique. Sun Wukong has seventy-two transformations because of the Eight Nines Profound Technique. Unfortunately, the requirements to cultivate it are very stringent. Unless one gives up their current cultivation technique and restarts cultivating from scratch, it will not be worth it. However, we have obtained these Eight Nines Profound Technique Pills; they can allow us to transform temporarily. I have a limited number of them, so keep them carefully. Consume this medicinal pill before we leave, and transform into fish. Then, we can swim out quietly,” Gu Hai said indifferently.

The three felt slightly startled. “Oh? Transform?” They carefully put it away, feeling extremely happy.

The pill was one of the treasures that Gu Hai obtained on Earth. This was the first time he took it out.

“The Eight Nines Profound Technique? Your Reverence, what cultivation technique is that?” Ao Shun felt slightly startled.

“The Eight Nines Profound Technique is a cultivation technique fused with the Buddhist Dao. After cultivating it, one can have three heads and six arms, be capable of seventy-two transformations, and have an indestructible body. Unfortunately, it requires one to cultivate from scratch. Don’t even think about it.” Gu Hai shook his head.

[TL Note: The expression three heads and six arms can mean powerful or possessing superhuman powers in Chinese. However, it may be literal in this novel. This term originated from some deities with three heads and six arms.]

“Huh? Yes!” The three nodded in confusion.

“Don’t worry. After we return, we will pass on some unique cultivation techniques to you. Although they are not very strong, they have some special effects and can help you boost your various racial talents,” Gu Hai said seriously.

“Yes!” Joy immediately appeared on the three’s faces.

“Ao Shun, they are about to come in soon. What items of your dragon race does the Western Sea Dragon Palace have? Let’s quickly retrieve them,” Gu Hai said.

“The Western Sea Dragon Palace has an Earthly Soul Essence. There is also a wisp of the Western Sea’s dragon deity’s divine nature above the dragon’s gate. It has been eight hundred thousand years, so it should have grown somewhat.” Some anticipation flashed in Ao Shun’s eyes.

“No one has come to the Western Sea Dragon Palace in eight hundred thousand years? Is it an independent world?” Gu Hai asked out of curiosity.

Ao Shun nodded. “Yes. Our ancient ancestral dragons established the dragon palaces of the four seas. It is very hard for most people to find them, much less enter.”

“The Spiritual Energy seems plentiful here. Could this be a small immortal firmament?” Chang Ming asked.

“Of course not. Immortal firmaments are hard to come by. An immortal firmament has already formed a world of its own and is self-sufficient. An independent world, on the other hand, still has to tap the Spiritual Energy of the outside world, receiving nourishment from the outside world to exist. How could they be the same?” Ao Shun explained with a smile.

The Western Sea Dragon Palace was incredibly vast—much larger than Gu Hai’s Borderless Heavenly Capital. Clusters of palaces were scattered everywhere. However, Ao Shun had the Northern Sea’s dragon deity’s inheritance and was quite familiar with this place.

The group traveled quickly through the clusters of palace halls. Some of these palace halls were underground, and some were buried under piles of coral. After many turns, the four arrived at a large palace hall.

“The Earthly Soul Palace Hall!” Shangguan Hen’s eyes lit up.

“This is the place. I hope that the Earthly Soul Essence has not changed,” Ao Shun said, slightly worried.

Bang! The four pushed open the palace hall’s doors.

Dust clouds came billowing out. Everyone waved and scattered the dust clouds. However, they saw that the palace hall was empty. There was nothing on the tall pedestal at the northernmost position.

“It’s gone?” Ao Shun’s expression changed.

“The Earthly Soul Essence? What is that?” Chang Ming asked.

“It’s a book. According to the memories of the Northern Sea’s dragon deity, it was placed here. It fled?” Ao Shun’s face sank.

“Fled? What do you mean?” Gu Hai asked in confusion.

“What is the Earthly Soul Essence?” Shangguan Hen could not understand, either.

“It is a book that can automatically absorb the Essence in the world. In fact, as long as it has some Essence, it can track down the location of any earthly soul giving off Essence. It seems to be sapient. No one has collected the Essence it has absorbed over the past eight hundred thousand years. Could it be that it gained the strength to leave after it accumulated sufficient Essence?” Ao Shun’s face sank.

“Automatically absorb the Essence in the world?” Chang Ming parroted in shock.

“Essence? Is that the Essence that Middle Heavenly Palace Realm cultivators cultivate?” Gu Hai’s expression turned solemn.

“Yes! The three spiritual souls cultivate divinity, Essence, and energy. In the Lower Heavenly Palace Realm, one cultivates divinity. Mortal souls require nourishment, absorbing the divine nature in the world until they reach consummation. In the Middle Heavenly Palace Realm, one cultivates Essence. The earthly soul needs to create its own Essence until it reaches consummation. The cultivation is very difficult. However, there are some shortcuts in the world. The Earthly Soul Essence is one such method. It can capture the ownerless Essence in the world and provide it to cultivators, increasing their cultivation speed,” Ao Shun explained.

“Oh? What about the speed? Does the Earthly Soul Essence absorb the Essence in the world very quickly?” Chang Ming asked out of curiosity.

“That is not the case. It is about equal to the speed of a talented person creating Essence on one’s own. However, it has been eight hundred thousand years. Just how much Essence has it accumulated? Furthermore, it is ownerless Essence and does not need to be refined. It is great nourishment for a Middle Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator,” Ao Shun explained.

After Ao Shun’s explanation, Gu Hai’s eyes lit up.

He had been concerned about his slow cultivation speed as a Middle Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator. Now, such an item showed up.

“Imperial Emperor Gu, the Earthly Soul Essence must have hidden. How about we go to the dragon’s gate and find the Western Sea’s dragon deity first? Then, we can come back later to find it.” Some anticipation flashed in Ao Shun’s eyes.

“No. We must find it. We need this item. Chang Ming, aren’t you able to manifest billions of bats? Find it for us. We must find the Earthly Soul Essence,” Gu Hai said with hope in his eyes.

“Yes!” Chang Ming answered.

Boom!

Chang Ming waved, and a swarm of bats suddenly appeared in the surroundings.

Screech! Screech! Screech! Screech! Screech! Screech! Screech! Screech! Screech! Screech!

The countless bats shot out in all directions, searching the place as though carpet-bombing the area.

“Earthly Soul Essence? I hope eight hundred thousand years of accumulations can fill my earthly soul.” Anticipation flashed in Gu Hai’s eyes.

The group of four moved quickly, heading deeper into the palace hall.

Outside:

Long Shenwu and Di Shitian attacked repeatedly. More cracks appeared on the Western Sea Dragon Palace’s barrier. It looked like it would break soon.

Boom!

Then, they saw countless bats soar up inside the Western Sea Dragon Palace, a dense swarm that looked like it would fill the entire Western Sea Dragon Palace.

“Oh no! That is the ability of vampires! Gu Hai is searching the place? He is going to clean out the place?” Ao Sheng’s expression changed.

“Hahahahahaha! A vampire? Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!” Di Shitian started guffawing.

“Huh? To think that you still can laugh at this moment?” Ao Sheng said, feeling depressed.

At the side, Long Shenwu also showed a faint, cold smile. “This means that Gu Hai cannot find what he wants. The Earthly Soul Essence? Maybe the Western Sea’s dragon deity? There is no need to search for the dragon deity. It looks like the Earthly Soul Essence is hiding. This is good!”

“Continue!” Di Shitian said excitedly.

Boom!

The two resumed attacking the barrier, making the cracks larger. It would collapse soon.

“Humph! Watch how I deal with them after the barrier breaks!” Ao Sheng said with a sullen expression.

The countless bats searched the possible locations of the Earthly Soul Essence that Ao Shun described.

However, Gu Hai’s group headed straight for the Western Sea’s dragon’s gate.

The location of the dragon’s gate was a region of rocky mountains.

Ao Shun immediately stopped after leading the three in.

“Be careful. The area around the dragon’s gate is an inert area established by the ancestor dragons. No technique can be used there. Furthermore, the gravity is a million times greater,” Ao Shun explained.

“Oh?” His three listeners felt slightly startled.

Then, they entered with Ao Shun.

Boom!

The four’s clothes and hair were immediately pulled taut.

Rip!

Perhaps Chang Ming’s clothes were not of good quality; his hat started tearing.

Boom!

The initially light cap produced a loud report when it struck the ground.

“It is very heavy!” Shangguan Hen said with a bitter smile.

“Can I really not use my energy here? What a strange place?” Chang Ming said with a bitter smile.

Everyone suddenly felt leaden, their movement difficult. No, leaden would be considered light. They felt like they were walking while carrying a vast city.

Furthermore, the four could only rely on their physical bodies to walk, making things even more difficult.

“One million times gravity? This is very tiring. What kind of lousy place is this?” Chang Ming said with a bitter smile.

Chang Ming stepped forward.

Boom!

When Chang Ming’s foot landed, it sounded like two large mountains crashing into each other.

“No, we feel that this dragon’s gate is an excellent place for training,” Gu Hai said with a smile.

Of the four, Gu Hai’s cultivation was the weakest. However, he was having the easiest time walking.

Ao Shun looked at Gu Hai in shock. “Your Reverence, do you not feel any discomfort?”

“It is somewhat hard to move about freely. Other than that, I am fine.” Gu Hai smiled.

Ao Shun: “…”

The four lumbered towards the center of a valley. When they heard a waterfall splashing in the distance, excitement appeared in Ao Shun’s eyes as he said, “We should be there soon. It is right in front!”

They made their way into the valley as quickly as they could.

After the group left, a clump of fog appeared at a crack outside the area of the dragon’s gate.

A creepy voice came from the fog. “Haha! Trying to find me? You want to plunder my Essence? Hehehehehe! You want to find me with just a bunch of insignificant bats? It has been eight hundred thousand years. I have already eaten up all those prawn and crab soldiers in the Western Sea Dragon Palace. Hehehehehe! I can finally go out!”

Screech! Screech! Screech! Screech! Screech! Screech!

A group of bats seemed to have discovered this place and flew over to investigate.

Whoosh!

The fog moved, immediately engulfing those bats.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The bats died, fell to the ground, and turned into puffs of black energy, disappearing.

The fog ignored the surrounding bats. Instead, it slowly followed Gu Hai’s group, floating into the dragon’s gate’s region.