Chapter 398: Something’s Wrong!
Qin Hao remained entirely unfazed. His expression was a mask of cold indifference as he spoke. “Did you really think you could hide from my Divine Sense?”
He had deliberately lowered the altitude of his sword light. Ostensibly, it was to approach Mystic Heart City, but his true goal had been to bait the sea monster lurking beneath the waves.
Even as thick tentacles stretching nearly a hundred feet erupted from the water, Qin Hao didn’t bother summoning a Magical Artifact. He simply tapped his foot lightly against the sword light carrying them.
*Swish!*
The massive platform of sword light instantly fractured into dozens of smaller blades, each gleaming and over ten feet long.
Jiang Chen observed the technique with a calculating eye. *This move is a lot like the Golden Blade Technique,* he mused. Both allowed the user to manipulate size at will, fracturing a single massive construct into a swarm of smaller strikes.
The only difference was the sheer, overwhelming scale. Qin Hao’s variant packed devastating power and possessed a breathtaking visual impact.
In the blink of an eye, the golden blades sheared through the fleshy tentacles one by one. The beast couldn’t even close the distance, let alone land an attack.
Chen Tian, the other Golden Core cultivator in their group, hadn’t lifted a finger. He simply stood by, watching the spectacle with mild amusement.
It made sense. Qin Hao was the undisputed number one core disciple of the Cloud Sea Sect and a peerless genius of the sword. If he couldn’t handle a mere sea monster, Chen Tian’s intervention wouldn’t change the outcome anyway.*Roar!*
Thrashing in agony, the submerged beast churned the ocean, whipping up towering ten-foot waves that violently crashed against one another, sending a deluge of white spray into the air.
Just as the group braced for a frenzied counterattack, the monster’s aura rapidly faded into the depths.
“It ran?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“That’s all it had?”
The beast’s abrupt retreat left Jiang Chen and the others momentarily speechless. Yet, logically, it was the smartest move a wounded predator could make.
Qin Hao, however, had no intention of letting their ambusher escape. His gaze sharpened into daggers, piercing straight through the murky, foul waters of the sea.
With a flick of his sword fingers, the scattered blades converged at breakneck speed. They fused into a colossal, hundred-foot-long golden greatsword that plunged diagonally into the ocean like a collapsing pillar of heaven.
The sheer force of the strike parted the sea itself. The churning trench revealed a swarm of lesser water demons and aquatic horrors. Corrupted by the foul waters, they bared their fangs and brandished their claws, their visages twisted in pure malice.
Yet, against Qin Hao’s casual strike, they were nothing. The golden light washed over them, obliterating the horde in an instant and leaving absolutely no trace behind.
*Squelch.*
The giant sword effortlessly impaled the fleeing sea monster, pinning it deep within the oceanic trench.
Embedded to the hilt, the golden blade locked the beast in place. No matter how violently it thrashed, it couldn’t break free. Shocking, jagged fissures tore across its flesh at a visible rate, spewing a geyser of blood and viscous fluid into the water. After a few pathetic convulsions, the massive creature went completely still.
Jiang Chen couldn’t help but shake his head. *Why did you have to go and provoke him?*
With a mere thought from Qin Hao, the golden greatsword shot back out of the water, dragging the colossal, hundred-foot-long corpse of the sea monster with it.
Suspended in the air, the creature’s true form was finally revealed—a monstrous, mutated squid. Its entire body was armored in smooth, ink-black scales that refracted the sunlight with an eerie, abyssal glow. Its mantle loomed like a jagged mountain peak, and its twin eyes glared like massive crimson lanterns. Even in death, its corpse radiated a suffocating, ferocious aura.
A moment later, the golden light dissipated, and the gargantuan corpse vanished into thin air. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Qin Hao had stowed it away in a spatial storage item.
That single, devastating strike served as an absolute deterrent. The surviving water demons and sea monsters lost all will to fight, frantically scattering toward the deepest, darkest reaches of the Canglan Sea.
With the threat neutralized, Qin Hao guided the group down to a gentle landing.
After a full month’s absence, Jiang Chen and Long Ao finally set foot in Mystic Heart City once more.
Unfortunately, the city was a shadow of its former self. Its past glory had been entirely eclipsed by its current, apocalyptic ruin. The once-bustling streets, previously teeming with countless Cultivators and Loose Cultivators, were now utterly desolate. Anyone with the means to flee had clearly done so.
Navigating the rubble, Qin Hao soon led Jiang Chen and the others to a huddled group of survivors. To their immense surprise, a familiar face stood among them.
Jiang Chen recognized him instantly. “Ji Mingxuan of the Spirit Grain Sect?”
Ji Mingxuan froze, his eyes widening in disbelief. “Spirit Envoy Jiang?”
Chen Tian arched an eyebrow. “You know each other?”
“This is the Senior Brother of the Spirit Grain Sect,” Jiang Chen introduced.
Hearing the man hailed from the Spirit Grain Sect, the group’s curiosity was piqued, prompting a few appraising glances. To claim the title of Senior Brother meant one had to completely eclipse their peers in every conceivable aspect. In short, this man possessed extraordinary talent in spiritual agriculture and Cultivation.
“I presume you are all disciples of the Cloud Sea Sect!” Ji Mingxuan said, his voice trembling with excitement.
Jiang Chen offered a brief round of introductions. “This is Senior Brother Qin Hao…”
Upon hearing the names, Ji Mingxuan was left utterly dumbfounded. Qin Hao’s name alone echoed like thunder throughout the Azure Realm. To think that Chen Tian had accompanied him as well was staggering. While Ji Mingxuan didn’t recognize the rest of the group, anyone traveling in the company of such titans was undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with.
“Weren’t you supposed to be at the Spirit Grain Sect?” Jiang Chen asked.
Ji Mingxuan offered a bitter smile. “I received an invitation from Zhao Qianyun and originally planned to head to Dream Island. Unfortunately, I missed the departure window and ended up trapped here.”
Long Ao raised an eyebrow. “You’re no slouch in the strength department. Why didn’t you just make a run for it?”
Ji Mingxuan cast a heavy glance at the huddled masses behind him. “If I ran, what would happen to them?”
Though a handful of low-level Cultivators stood in the crowd, the vast majority were ordinary mortals. Judging by their weathered clothes, they were the local Tanka boat people who made their living on the water.
A rare flicker of appreciation crossed Qin Hao’s eyes. “Commendable courage.”
Jiang Chen stepped forward and clapped a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “You can leave the rest to us.”
A profound wave of relief washed over Ji Mingxuan. “Thank the heavens.”
“What about Zhao Qianyun?” Long Ao pressed.
“He evacuated his people to Dream Island right before the disaster struck,” Ji Mingxuan replied. “Barring any unforeseen accidents, they should have safely made landfall by now.”
Dream Island was an isolated secret realm. In many ways, it was a far safer haven than the exposed Mystic Heart City.
Jiang Chen’s pragmatic mind immediately sought out the tactical layout. “What’s the current status of the City Lord’s Manor?”
Raw terror flashed in Ji Mingxuan’s eyes. “The very first thing that flood dragon did upon breaking free was obliterate the City Lord’s Manor. It slaughtered and devoured everyone left inside.”
Chen Tian narrowed his eyes, his tone laced with skepticism. “Mystic Heart City housed an army of Cultivators. The City Lord was a Golden Core expert, and the five great clans were shielded by heavy Formations. You’re telling me they were just wiped off the map?”
From the corner of the survivor camp, a trembling, low-level Cultivator spoke up. “Most of the elites from the City Lord’s Manor and the five great clans had already relocated to Dream Island. Only The Long Clan left a token force behind, but even they fled when things went south.”
A cold, mocking smile crept onto Chen Tian’s face. “Isn’t that just a little *too* coincidental?”
He was right. Given Mystic Heart City’s sheer scale and military might, a single rampaging flood dragon shouldn’t have been able to reduce it to this state. Even if the thousands of Cultivators and Loose Cultivators were low in cultivation, their combined might would have been a formidable deterrent. Instead, the city was a graveyard, its defenders scattered to the winds.
The entire sequence of events reeked of a setup.
Based on the intel they had just gathered, the City Lord’s Manor and four of the great clans had conveniently evacuated their core forces to Dream Island. Right at that exact moment, operatives from the Yellow Springs Alliance severed the undersea dragon vein. That single act triggered a catastrophic domino effect—the flood dragon broke free, and the remaining factions routed without a fight.
It painted a grim, undeniable picture: Mystic Heart City hadn’t just fallen. It had been intentionally abandoned by its own leaders.
Jiang Chen’s hyper-logical mind raced, piecing the puzzle together. *Something is very, very wrong here.*