Chapter 23: The Clamour of the Abyssal Sea, the Heart of the Nine-Vein Core, and the Sovereign’s Descent
The oceanic abyssal floor, thousands of spans beneath the skyward waves of the Western Empyrean Sea, had known only dark silence and the bone-crushing weight of black waters for ten thousand years. Yet on this day, the seabed was illuminated not by bioluminescent coral or deep-sea pearl-light, but by the pristine, blinding radiance of an open terrestrial domain forced into existence by a single cultivator’s spatial will.
Where the sea water had been parted, air as pure and crisp as alpine breezes filled the newly carved vacuum. The remaining three Peak Nascent Soul Demon Lords stood frozen, their vast, mountain-sized silhouettes cast long and distorted against the sea-floor trench.
The second demon lord—a creature reminiscent of an ancient abyssal leviathan with armor plates made of obsidian sea-bone and thirty glowing crimson eyes lining its elongated jaw—let out a deep, guttural vibration that shattered the surrounding crystal formations.
“A spatial domain of absolute vacuum… minus pure elemental interference…” the Leviathan Lord spoke, its voice sounding like grinding continental plates. “You are no native of the Outer Sea Dragon Palaces. Human brat… what manner of abnormal Nascent Soul did you condense?!”
Lin Chen stood floating three feet above the seabed sands, his pine-green traveling robe fluttering gently in the clean draft created by his spatial domain. His hands remained casually folded behind his back.
“The dead do not require answers,” Lin Chen said softly.
“Arrogant worm!” screamed the third demon lord—a horrifying hybrid of a colossal serpent and an abyssal kraken, its thousands of barbed tentacles whipping through the surrounding sea walls, carving deep channels into the bedrock. “Do you think killing an unprepared beast makes you invincible in the deep sea?! Activate the Nine-Abyssal Corruption Tide!”
ROAR!
The three remaining Peak Nascent Soul Demon Lords roared in unison! From their jagged maws, streams of dark pitch-black liquid—concentrated abyssal corruption that had lay stagnant at the sea bottom for millenia—erupted like volcanic vents!
The black liquid did not merely float; it seeped into the very structure of space itself, corroding spiritual energy, rotting elemental laws, and turning the clean, golden sunlight of Lin Chen’s domain into a sickly, murky grey! Millions of lower-tier sea-demons, inspired by the sight of their lords’ ultimate skill, surged forward in a suicidal tide, throwing their bodies against the outer rim of Lin Chen’s spatial sanctuary!
High above inside the glass dome of the Empyrean Sea Dragon Palace, Palace Lord Ye Shumin’s eyes widened in terror. She recognized that dark black tide all too well—it was the infamous Abyssal Soul-Corroding Water, capable of melting the flesh and soul of even Late-Stage Nascent Soul experts upon contact!
“Sovereign Lin! Do not touch that water!” Ye Shumin screamed, her voice breaking through her spiritual transmission. “It bypasses standard defensive barriers and directly rots the golden core and spiritual soul!”
On the upper deck of the Sovereign Void Clipper, Su Qingyao’s cold, beautiful face remained serene. She did not even draw her Nine-Ice Sword. Beside her, Huang Yanyan casually waved her crimson lace fan, fanning herself with an amused smile.
“Sister Yanyan,” Su Qingyao remarked quietly, “it seems the creatures of the Outer Seas are unfamiliar with the properties of a Nine-Crown Sovereign Core.”
“Indeed,” Huang Yanyan chuckled softly, her crimson eyes twinkling. “They think corruption can affect something that was tempered in the Primordial Dragon Realm.”
Down on the seabed, the tide of black corruption reached within three feet of Lin Chen’s face. The terrifying stench of rotted souls and decayed spirit-veins was strong enough to asphyxiate an entire province of commoners.
Lin Chen slowly closed his eyes.
Inside his dantian, the small, three-inch tall Nine-Crown Sovereign Nascent Soul sat cross-legged atop its golden nine-ringed lotus platform. Its tiny hands formed a simple, natural seal.
HUMMMMMM!
A faint, golden ring of light—the first crown of the Sovereign Soul—illuminated behind Lin Chen’s back.
“First Sovereign Law,” Lin Chen murmured, his voice echoing with an ancient, primordial resonance. “Purification of the Five Elements.“
BOOM!
A wave of pure, golden dragon-vein flames erupted from Lin Chen’s body!
It was not ordinary physical fire, nor was it standard spiritual fire. It was the Primordial Divine Dragon Flame, birthed from the heart of the continent’s origin veins! The moment the black, soul-corroding water touched the golden flame, it did not boil or evaporate into steam—it was instantly purified back into clean, clear, pure spiritual liquid!
The black corruption vanished as if it had never existed! The dark grey spatial domain dissolved, restored once more to a crystal-clear vacuum of blinding golden starlight!
“WHAT?!” the Serpent-Kraken Lord shrieked, its thousands of tentacles curling backward in absolute horror. “My… my Abyssal Corruption Water… was burned out of existence?!”
“Your turn,” Lin Chen said calmly, opening his eyes.
His galaxy-gold pupils flashed with an icy, merciless glint.
He did not use a sword. He did not call forth a talisman. He simply raised his right foot and took one single step forward through the air!
STEP.
The space beneath his boot compressed into a microscopic point!
[Spatial Teleportation: Sovereign Step]
In a fraction of a millisecond, Lin Chen reappeared directly between the heads of the Leviathan Lord and the Serpent-Kraken Lord!
The two massive peak demon lords didn’t even have time to turn their gargantuan eyes toward him!
Lin Chen extended both hands left and right, his palms open, his slender fingers lightly brushing against the monstrous, scale-armored heads of the two peak demon lords.
“Second Sovereign Law,” Lin Chen whispered, his voice smooth and detached. “Spatial Implosion.“
CLICK.
The space within a five-mile radius surrounding the two mountain-sized demon lords suddenly inverted!
It was as if two massive, invisible black holes had opened inside the skulls of the two Peak Nascent Soul monsters! There was no loud explosion, no spectacular burst of gore. Instead, the monstrous bodies, the thick bone-armor, the barbed tentacles, and the two Peak Nascent Souls of the demon lords were violently pulled inward toward a single central point of infinite gravity!
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!
In less than three seconds, two mountain-sized Peak Nascent Soul Demon Lords were compressed into two tiny, dense spheres of black bone-and-flesh dust no larger than marble beads!
Lin Chen casually closed his hands into fists.
PFT.
The two marble-sized spheres collapsed into nothingness, erased completely from the physical world!
Only the fourth and final demon lord remained—a massive, centipede-like beast covered in crimson iron scales, possessing over ten thousand razor-sharp legs that could cut through spirit-steel.
Seeing three of its equal peers annihilated in less than sixty seconds by a young man who looked barely twenty years old, the centipede demon lord’s viciousness completely collapsed into pure, primitive terror!
“MONSTER! HE IS NOT HUMAN! HE IS AN ANCIENT DEITY!” the centipede lord screamed, its ten thousand legs churning frantic ripples into the ocean sand as it turned and dug wildly into the seabed floor, attempting to flee toward the deepest trench!
Lin Chen stood high in the air, watching the fleeing centipede lord with cold detachment.
“Escape?” Lin Chen said softly. “Before my spatial domain, the ends of the world are but an inch away.”
He raised his right hand, making a gentle grasping motion toward the sea trench five miles away.
SWISH!
The five-mile expanse of seabed rock, sand, and water folded together like an accordion! The fleeing centipede demon lord, despite digging hundreds of feet deep into the rock, was instantly pulled back through folded space, floating helplessly right in front of Lin Chen’s extended palm!
“NO! SPARE ME! SOVEREIGN, SPARE MY LIFE!” the centipede lord wept, its terrifying voice trembling with absolute panic. “I KNOW THE SECRETS OF THE ABYSSAL GATE! I CAN BE YOUR SLAVE! I CAN—”
Lin Chen’s palm closed gently.
BANG!
The centipede demon lord’s head and Nascent Soul shattered into a burst of sparkling red light, completely extinguished!
Four Peak Nascent Soul Demon Lords… annihilated in less than three minutes!
The millions of low-tier sea demons surrounding the outer perimeter let out terrified, high-pitched shrieks. Without their lords to command them, the horde completely disintegrated, scattering wildly in every direction into the dark ocean depths like frightened fish!
The silence that followed was absolute.
The three thousand feet of parted ocean water slowly settled back down as Lin Chen gradually relaxed his spatial domain, allowing the natural water to surround his protective golden aura once more.
Inside the glass dome, Palace Lord Ye Shumin stood frozen, her star-steel trident slipping from her trembling fingers and clattering noisily onto the jade platform floor. Her violet eyes were wide, fixed on the green-robed figure floating serenely outside the dome.
She was a Peak Nascent Soul Master who had ruled the Western Empyrean Sea for over eight hundred years. She had fought in three grand oceanic wars and survived dozens of life-or-death battles against abyssal terror beasts. Yet never in her long life had she witnessed power of this magnitude!
To kill four Peak Nascent Soul entities—entities that could each destroy a major human empire—with such casual, effortless grace… was this truly the power of a Nascent Soul cultivator? No! This was a sovereign who had already touched the threshold of the Soul Transformation Realm!
TAK.
The central sky-gate of the dragon-scale dome slid open.
Palace Lord Ye Shumin, accompanied by twelve dragon grand elders and hundreds of high-ranking sea guards, rushed out into the open water, kneeling down simultaneously on the sea floor before Lin Chen!
“WE PAY OUR RESPECTS TO THE SUPREME SOVEREIGN!” Ye Shumin shouted, her voice shaking with intense reverence and profound gratitude. “THE EMPYREAN SEA DRAGON PALACE THANKS SOVEREIGN LIN FOR SAVING OUR RACE FROM TOTAL ANNIHILATION!”
“THANK YOU, SUPREME SOVEREIGN!” the hundreds of dragon guards roared in unison, knocking their foreheads against the sea bed!
The Sovereign Void Clipper glided smoothly down, landing beside Lin Chen. Su Qingyao, Huang Yanyan, and Envoy Ye Chuan stepped off the ship, landing gracefully behind him.
Lin Chen raised his hand slightly, a gentle breeze of warm spatial energy lifting Ye Shumin and her grand elders back to their feet.
“Palace Lord Ye, please rise,” Lin Chen spoke smoothly, his face calm and polite. “We are all inhabitants of this world. When the abyssal demons awaken, no domain is safe. Stand and speak of the situation at the Abyssal Gate.”
Palace Lord Ye Shumin quickly wiped her tears, her expression turning gravely serious as she gestured toward the glowing grand palace at the center of the city.
“Sovereign Lin, ladies… please enter the grand hall. The situation at the gate is far more critical than Envoy Ye Chuan reported.”
Inside the Empyrean Dragon Throne Hall:
The hall was carved from ancient white coral and illuminated by twelve massive Sun-Moon Pearls suspended from the vaulted ceiling. At the center of the hall stood a large, circular projection table made of deep-sea crystal, currently displaying a detailed, shimmering blue holographic map of the Tide-Shattering Abyssal Trench.
Lin Chen sat at the head of the coral table, sipping a cup of warm, aromatic Deep-Sea Dragon-Teat Tea served by two trembling dragon maidens. Su Qingyao and Huang Yanyan sat on his left and right, while Palace Lord Ye Shumin stood before the crystal projection table.
“Sovereign Lin,” Ye Shumin explained, tapping a point on the holographic map that pulsed with a dark crimson light. “The Abyssal Demon Gate located at the bottom of the thirty-thousand-foot trench is not merely a seal created by our dragon ancestors. It was forged ten thousand years ago during the Great Primordial War by three ancient Soul Transformation Realm sovereigns of the mainland!”
Lin Chen’s golden pupils glinted slightly as he set his tea cup down. “Three Soul Transformation sovereigns?”
“Yes,” Ye Shumin nodded solemnly. “They used the core spirit-vein of the entire Western Sea to forge the Nine-Dragon Lock Array. However, three months ago, an unknown, powerful dark aura breached the outer seal from the inside. The four demon lords you slew today were merely the vanguard scout captains sent through the small crack!”
“A scout vanguard?” Huang Yanyan frowned slightly, her lace fan resting against her chin. “You mean to say… the true demon lords inside the gate are even stronger?”
“Much stronger, Lady Huang,” Ye Shumin said softly, her pale face grim. “According to the ancient records carved upon our dragon ancestral monument, trapped behind the main gate is the Abyssal Lord of the Nine Netherworlds—a genuine Early-Stage Soul Transformation Demonic Sovereign!”
GASP!
Envoy Ye Chuan and the surrounding dragon grand elders gasped in horror, their faces turning pale as snow!
A Soul Transformation Demonic Sovereign! In the current era of the mortal world, where even Late-Stage Nascent Soul masters were considered legendary gods, a Soul Transformation entity was an absolute, world-ending nightmare! Such a creature possessed the ability to destroy entire continents with a single thought!
“Palace Lord…” Envoy Ye Chuan stammered, her voice shaking. “If… if a Soul Transformation Demonic Sovereign breaks free… the entire Central Continent and the Outer Seas will become a sea of blood!”
“Precisely,” Ye Shumin said, turning her eyes toward Lin Chen, her hands clasped tightly in front of her chest. “The eight remaining chains of the Nine-Dragon Lock Array are snapping at a rate of one per day. In less than forty-eight hours, the main gate will collapse completely. Our Dragon Palace has preserved a single ancient artifact left behind by the Soul Transformation ancestors—the Primordial Void-Anchor Crystal.”
She raised her hand, and an elder presented a velvet box containing a dark purple, triangular crystal that radiated dense, complex spatial laws.
“This crystal can reinforce the seal,” Ye Shumin continued, “but it requires a master who possesses both Peak Spatial Laws and a Sovereign-Grade Soul to plunge into the heart of the abyssal trench, enter the array core, and manually fuse the crystal into the gate’s lock!”
She looked at Lin Chen with absolute, desperate hope. “Sovereign Lin… only you in this entire world possess the divine credentials to perform this task.”
Lin Chen reached out his hand, gently picking up the Primordial Void-Anchor Crystal from the velvet box.
The moment his fingers touched the cold, purple crystal, the Nine-Crown Sovereign Soul inside his dantian vibrated lightly!
[System Interface Active: Artifact Analysis]
[Item: Primordial Void-Anchor Crystal]
[Contains: Fragmented Spatial Laws of Soul Transformation Realm]
[Compatibility: 100% with Sovereign Core]
Lin Chen felt the dense spatial laws within the crystal, a thoughtful, faint smile touching his lips.
“A Soul Transformation Demonic Sovereign, is it?” Lin Chen murmured softly, his golden pupils glowing with an unshakeable, sovereign brilliance. “Interesting. I have been wondering what kind of pressure would be required to push my Nine-Crown Nascent Soul toward its final, complete perfection.”
Su Qingyao turned to look at him, her icy-blue eyes filled with gentle, unwavering faith. “Lin Chen, we will accompany you to the bottom of the trench.”
“No, sister Qingyao,” Lin Chen turned, gently placing his hand over hers. “The pressure at the bottom of thirty thousand feet of trench, combined with the demonic corruption of the gate core, will be too volatile for non-spatial domains. You and Yanyan shall remain here with Palace Lord Ye, securing the outer city and guarding the ship.”
Huang Yanyan pouted slightly, but she knew Lin Chen was right. She reached out, gently straightening the collar of his pine-green robe, her crimson eyes filled with deep tenderness.
“Be careful down there, Husband,” Huang Yanyan whispered softly. “Do not keep us waiting too long for dinner.”
Lin Chen chuckled warmly, leaning down to lightly kiss Huang Yanyan’s forehead, then turning to press a soft kiss against Su Qingyao’s cheek.
“I shall return before the moon reaches the zenith,” Lin Chen promised smoothly.
He picked up the Void-Anchor Crystal, tucked it into his tunic sleeve, and turned around, his pine-green robes swirling gracefully as he stepped out of the grand throne hall!
Thirty minutes later:
Lin Chen stood alone at the absolute precipice of the Tide-Shattering Abyssal Trench.
Below him was a terrifying, pitch-black chasm that dropped thirty thousand feet directly into the dark mantle of the oceanic crust. Crimson, blood-red light pulsed from the depths below, accompanied by deep, rhythmic thudding sounds—like the beating heart of a giant monster sleeping in the dark depths of the world.
BOOM… BOOM… BOOM…
With every pulse, violent waves of dark demonic energy shot upward through the trench, attempting to breach the outer ocean!
Lin Chen stood at the edge of the dark cliff, the dark red wind howling around his pine-green robes. He did not activate a heavy defensive shield or call forth protective ancient weapons.
He simply stepped off the cliff!
SWISH!
His body fell smoothly into the pitch-black abyss, plunging thirty thousand feet down like a falling golden star!
The surrounding water pressure grew exponentially—five million jin, ten million jin, twenty million jin! The pitch-black darkness was absolute, capable of blinding normal spiritual sense. Demonic shadows with glowing red eyes darted around him in the dark, screaming in high-pitched, maddening voices that attempted to tear apart his spiritual sea!
Yet, as the dark demonic waves touched within three inches of Lin Chen’s skin, they were instantly neutralized by the passive, golden light radiating from his Nine-Crown Sovereign Soul!
Ten thousand feet… twenty thousand feet… twenty-eight thousand feet!
Finally, Lin Chen’s feet touched down upon ancient, cold black iron floor at the very bottom of the world!
Standing before him was a spectacle of terrifying, monumental grandeur.
It was the Abyssal Demon Gate!
A colossal bronze gate, five thousand feet tall and two thousand feet wide, was embedded directly into the ancient volcanic sea-rock. The gate was covered in intricate, horrifying carvings of screaming demonic faces, writhing sea-monsters, and rivers of blood. Eight thick, glowing crimson chains wrapped around the massive gate were currently snapping one by one, covered in spiderweb-like glowing cracks!
At the center of the colossal gate, a wide, three-hundred-foot gap had already opened!
Dense, thick, pitch-black demonic fog erupted from the gap like a chimney, and standing right inside the dark gap were two terrifying, towering figures—each radiating the aura of Half-Step Soul Transformation Entities!
The left figure was an ancient demonic warlord six hundred feet tall, clad in jagged black spiked plate-armor, holding a colossal two-handed broadsword forged from soul-iron. The right figure was an ancient demonic sorceress with four arms and six black-feathered wings, holding a glowing skull staff that radiated dark spatial curses!
When Lin Chen landed upon the black iron floor, the two Half-Step Soul Transformation Demonic Lords slowly turned their dark red, glowing eyes toward the tiny human in the pine-green robe.
“A human boy?” the six-hundred-foot Demonic Warlord spoke, his voice booming like volcanic eruptions through the seabed bedrock. “A mere Nascent Soul realm worm… dares to descend into the heart of the Abyssal Core alone?!”
The four-armed Demonic Sorceress let out a cold, shrill, horrifying laugh that shook the surrounding trench walls.
“Foolish mortal! The seal is broken! Our Lord of the Nine Netherworlds will cross the gate in less than an hour! You have come here… merely to serve as a warm feast of human blood!”
Lin Chen slowly pulled the purple Primordial Void-Anchor Crystal from his pine-green sleeve, holding it loosely in his right hand.
He looked up at the five-thousand-foot bronze gate, then looked at the two Half-Step Soul Transformation Demonic Lords blocking the central gap. His face was devoid of fear, devoid of doubt, filled only with an absolute, majestic calmness that seemed to transcend the mortal world.
“You speak too much,” Lin Chen said smoothly.
He raised his left hand, and for the first time since entering the Western Empyrean Sea, Lin Chen summoned his natal weapon—the Nine-Illuminations Void Sword!
CLANG!
A clean, three-foot long sword carved from pure, transparent star-light and gold-and-silver spatial runes materialized in his grip! The surrounding thirty-thousand-foot sea trench was instantly illuminated by a divine, golden light that pierced through all dark demonic fog!
Inside his dantian, the Nine-Crown Sovereign Nascent Soul opened its eyes fully, all nine golden crowns behind its head radiating blinding, divine brilliance!
[System Interface Active: Maximum Output]
[Domain: Sovereign Void Sword World]
Lin Chen took a slow, deep breath, his galaxy-gold pupils locking onto the two colossal demonic lords.
“Clear the way,” Lin Chen whispered softly. “I have a promise to keep before dinner.”
BOOM!
[End of Chapter 23]
