Heavenly Jewel Change

This terrifying blast of energy rose higher and higher into the air as it built in power, causing everyone’s heart to shudder with fear.

When the explosion had occurred, Dreamwake and the Tenebrous Demon Dragon clearly suffered the most as they were at the very center of the blast. At the critical moment, the Tenebrous Demon Dragon used its two wings to completely protect Dreamwake, using its own Heavenly God body to protect her as best as it could. Dreamwake’s full set of Tenebrous Demon Dragon equipment came to good use as well, which was why she wasn’t blown to bits.

Even so, the terrifying explosion blasted everyone into the air. The powerful shockwave scattered them hundreds of kilometers across the sea.

All six of the Heavenly King Elders were transformed into dust. At a time like this, the differences in cultivation strength were put on full display. All five Heavenly Emperors survived, albeit heavily wounded. They had been able to just barely protect themselves thanks to the Tenebrous Sealing Formation.

Nie Han had also managed to survive. Although he didn’t have a Heavenly Emperor’s cultivation, he was still a high-rank Heavenly King. More importantly, he had a nine-piece Legendary Set on him. In terms of defensive strength, he vastly outstripped the ordinary elders.

However, that terrifying explosion had knocked even the other Terror Sea Dragon flying into the air. They had all been heavily injured by the blast, and they had their wits scrambled by it and were all separated.

That terrifying explosion had caused even the sea level to instantly dip by hundreds of meters at the epicenter. Even the mud at the bottom of the sea had caved in… and moments later, an absolutely titanic wave arose.

The powerful shockwave, followed by the titanic tidal wave, had come almost instantaneously. Even the ones who didn’t have their brains scrambled by the attack were now unable to see any of their peers.

Although Zhou Weiqing hadn’t been truly injured by that terrifying explosion, the Demon God he had summoned had been reduced to nothing. He could also vaguely sense that he had lost his connection to that Bloodline. For at least a short while, he probably wouldn’t be able to summon the Demon God again no matter how much Saint Energy he poured into it.

The last vestiges of the Ward of the Demon God’s energies had been used to protect him, but it hadn’t been able to prevent the explosion from blasting him away. Everything around him seemed to turn unreal as he was sent hurtling into the waves of the deep sea, then back above sea level, then into the sea again. It wasn’t until quite some had passed that everything calmed down.

Although the powerful shockwave hadn’t injured Zhou Weiqing, it had still rendered him completely unconscious.

No matter how terrifying the explosion had been, the sea remained the sea. To the vast and endless ocean, no ‘level’ of destructive energy would ever be more than literally just a drop of water in the ocean.

A fairly short period of time later, the sea once more regained its usual calm. Everything turned calm and quiet.

After an unknown period of time, Zhou Weiqing felt as though something was touching his face. His mental energy had slowly recovered, allowing him to instinctively open his eyes.

However, as soon as he did so he immediately shut his eyes again. This was because, when he opened his eyes the first thing he saw was the piercing light of the sun.

He used his hand to cover his face. After growing accustomed to the powerful sunlight, he finally opened his eyes once more. Because he was using his hand to block the sunlight, he wasn’t able to clearly see everything around him. His mind and his memories came back to him, and he finally remembered what had just happened. What surprised him was that he seemed to be lying on the ground, not floating on the ocean.

Between his fingers, he could make out a female body. A dressed one, of course! He immediately turned over and sat up, instantly filling his entire body with Saint Energy. Zhou Weiqing’s cultivation base hadn’t weakened much, and so a halo of silvery-white light instantly covered every inch of him.

The person seated facing him didn’t seem to respond to his movements. When Zhou Weiqing was finally able to make out who it was, he couldn’t help but blurt out in surprise, “It’s you.”

Seated not too far away from him was a beautiful figure whose ashen face had a mixture of joy and other, more complicated emotions on it. It was Dreamwake, of course. And… aside from Dreamwake, there was no one else here.

Dreamwake had already changed into a set of clean clothes, but her face was terrifyingly pale. Clearly, she was in an extremely unhealthy state right now. She leaned against the beach, looking completely weak and powerless. It was as though a mere breeze could topple this dragon-slaying warrior princess.

When she saw that silvery-white Saint Energy flash over Zhou Weiqing’s body, her lips curved up slightly. She said in a clearly mocking manner, “You finally woke up.”

Zhou Weiqing instantly felt his cheeks burning when he saw how heated her gaze was, despite her obvious weakness. By now, he naturally wasn’t going to be able to hide his cultivation any longer.

“Where are we?” Zhou Weiqing rose to his feet and glanced around him, only to discover that he was on a small island. This island didn’t seem to be very large, but the area behind him was covered with boulders and stones. As a result, he wasn’t able to see the entire island’s appearance. In front of him was the vast, endless ocean. The ocean was now quite calm, as though nothing had happened.

The sun had already begun to set in the western skies. When they had battled the Terror Sea Dragon, it had been in the morning. It seemed as though he had been passed out for five or six hours.

“This should be a small island located in the deep seas. As for how far from the continent we are? I’m not sure. I only woke up an hour before you did.” Dreamwake’s voice was very calm and completely devoid of all inflection. It sounded uncomfortably stiff.

Zhou Weiqing squeezed out a smile. “As expected of a Heavenly Emperor powerhouse. You recovered much more quickly than I did.”

Dreamwake suddenly laughed. Even though her face was extremely pale and her hair was completely tousled, none of this could hide her superb beauty and her natural nobility. “Heavenly Emperor powerhouse? Right now, even a three-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master could kill me with ease. At least 60% of the meridians inside my body have been destroyed, while I have less than 10% of my Heavenly Energy.”

Zhou Weiqing was startled when he heard her say this. Although he had guessed that Dreamwake was wounded, he didn’t expect her to injuries to be quite this heavy.

Dreamwake’s gaze suddenly sharpened, and her eyes blazed as she glared at Zhou Weiqing. “You, however, are truly powerful! Without any help, you not only managed to tie down a Heavenly God Terror Sea Dragon, you even escaped without suffering any significant injuries. How should I address your? The Right Honorable Mr. Spy?”

The muscles on Zhou Weiqing’s face twitched slightly. “What do you mean, ‘Mr. Spy’? I don’t know what you are talking about. I admit that I was hiding some of my power, but that was just a protective ability.”

Dreamwake suddenly sat up straight. This caused her injuries inside her body to worsen, and so a flicker of pain appeared on her face. Zhou Weiqing hurriedly moved to help her, but she immediately screeched, “Don’t move!”

Zhou Weiqing halted his footsteps.

Dreamwake slowly raised her hand, spreading them wide to reveal a ring. Zhou Weiqing stared for a moment, then quickly lowered his head to stare at his hand. Only then did he realize that his Sumeru Ring was missing.

Dreamwake said angrily, “You still want to deceive me? You know better than me what this ring holds inside it. I might not recognize the other items, but do you think I wouldn’t recognize the Sea Emperor Shuttle? Many years ago, the Sea Emperor Shuttle disappeared within the Boundless Mainland. Do I need to continue?”

This time, Zhou Weiqing’s face turned completely stiff. No matter how he might try to explain it, the incontrovertible proof before him rendered him helpless. He let out a bitter laugh, then shook his head with resignation. “Fine. Since you’ve discovered it, there’s no point to me disguising myself any longer. You are right. Bing’er and I came from the Boundless Mainland, and we came via the Sea Emperor Shuttle.”

Dreamwake stared at Zhou Weiqing coldly. “The despicable Great Saint Lands of the Boundless Mainland. Have you forgotten the oaths you swore all those years ago? Are you two really the only ones who came?”

Zhou Weiqing said, “Only the two of us came. And, you are mistaken. We don’t belong to any of the Saint Lands.”

“You are still lying!” Dreamwake was enraged.

Zhou Weiqing shrugged his shoulders. “What would be the point of lying to you? You said it yourself – even a three-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master would be able to take your life with ease. Do you really think I’m weaker than a Shi Stage cultivator? If it wasn’t for the oath that was sworn, it wouldn’t have been people like us who came on this mission. You saw it for yourself – although I hid my power, I am still at just the nine-Jeweled level. If it wasn’t for our agreement, the five Great Saint Lands of the Boundless Mainland could’ve easily sent several Heavenly Emperors over.”

When she saw that earnest look in Zhou Weiqing’s eyes, Dreamwake couldn’t help but begin to believe him.

“Fine. Even if you don’t belong to the five Great Saint Lands of the Boundless Mainland, what is your purpose here? Is your goal to join our Xuantian Palace? Would you dare to claim that you are not a spy?”

Zhou Weiqing let out a sigh, then walked over to Dreamwake and sat down facing her. “Yes, I am a spy. And you are right, I lied to you. I came for the Spatial Teleportation Gem.”

Dreamwake’s eyes instantly narrowed. Just as she was about to burst with rage, Zhou Weiqing’s next words rendered her speechless. “But what about you? Are you trying to tell me you didn’t lie to me? Should I address you as ‘Dreamwake’, or as the ‘Xuantian Palace Master’?” Zhou Weiqing’s voice was very peaceful, and his features had once more turned calm.

Dreamwake turned her head away, not meeting his gaze. She muttered, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

Zhou Weiqing chuckled. “I’m not an idiot. Your words clearly hold more weight than the ‘Palace Lord’ named Dong Fang. Perhaps the Elders don’t know your identity, but the four Grand Elders and Master Nie Han clearly do. Whenever there were any important decisions to be made, you were always the final person to speak. And, whenever any problems arose, they would all subconsciously turn to you for answers.”