Chapter 430: Overturning Sea Seal
Jiang Chen did not linger. The moment his boots touched the base of the mountain, he summoned Shattered Moon Flowing Frost and streaked toward Red Leaf Valley.
Along the way, he recalled Ji Mingxuan’s words, his eyes narrowing against the rushing wind.
In the Spirit Farm, Ji Mingxuan is only familiar with me and Zhao Feng.
Zhao Feng doesn’t lack Spirit Stones, so he likely has no interest in the secret realm.
Seeking me out… perhaps he thinks our familiarity makes for an easier alliance.
But at a critical juncture like this, it feels a bit off…
Regardless, I absolutely will not leave the sect this year!
In the days that followed, a quiet rhythm returned to his life.
Aside from his daily meals, refining pills, forging artifacts, and drawing talismans, Jiang Chen devoted every waking moment to studying the Overturning Sea Seal.
Thanks to the physical resonance of his Dragon Transformation, coupled with his mastery of the Nine Curves Tide Generating Art,his comprehension of the technique advanced by leaps and bounds each day.
By the seventh day, the technique finally etched itself onto his attribute panel.
Overturning Sea Seal: First Layer.
Effect 1: Draw water within three zhang to gather in the palm, condensing into a water sphere one zhang in diameter.
Consume 20 years of Lifespan to elevate the Overturning Sea Seal to the sixth layer?
Yes.
A mere twenty years was a drop in the ocean for Jiang Chen.
In a few days, once the spiritual plants in his portable space were harvested, he would instantly recoup several centuries.
Instantly, that profound, ethereal state washed over him again, though it faded quickly this time.
Because he had already mastered the complementary Nine Curves Tide Generating Art, the foundation was already set in stone.
Thus, the breakthrough completed itself without a hitch.
Remaining Lifespan: 1991 years.
Overturning Sea Seal: Sixth Layer.
Effect 1: Draw water within ten zhang to gather in the palm, condensing into a water sphere one zhang in diameter.
Effect 2: The water sphere rotates at high speeds, detonating into a five-zhang blast of torrential force upon impact.
Effect 3: Draw currents within a hundred zhang to form a water wall, carrying the crushing weight of ten thousand jin.
Effect 4: Infuse cold intent into the water wall, rapidly condensing ice spikes that freeze anything they touch.
Effect 5: Draw water within several hundred zhang to form a circular water curtain, absorbing and reflecting incoming strikes.
Effect 6: Gather water within a thousand zhang to manifest a giant hand seal, bearing the might to overturn seas, shatter stone, sever mountains, and decimate cities.
Reading through the effects, Jiang Chen stared in wide-eyed awe.
Heavens above. No wonder the Nine Curves Tide Generating Art and the Overturning Sea Seal were a matched set.
They perfectly complemented each other in both raw power and utility; they had to be woven together.
Without one, the other could never unleash its true might, reducing them to nothing more than ordinary techniques.
Now, Jiang Chen was certain that if he fought underwater, combining the physical prowess of his Dragon Transformation with these two arts, he could cross blows with a late Golden Core expert and survive.
He had to admit, Ruo Qunshuang had delivered an unimaginable windfall.
For power like this, let alone twenty years of resources, he would gladly have traded a hundred.
Without hesitation, Jiang Chen’s figure blurred, Teleporting directly into his portable space.
He raised a hand. The surrounding earth energy surged and coalesced, forming a massive cubic boulder ten zhang across.
His Golden Core hummed as he activated the Nine Curves Tide Generating Art, channeling his Magic Power. Every drop of liquid in the vicinity-pure water, ambient water Spirit Qi, even the polluted spiritual water-was violently pulled toward him.
At a speed invisible to the naked eye, the moisture fused into a massive, churning sphere of water.
As he ruthlessly compressed it, the sphere shrank, condensing until it was barely a chi across.
Yet, the water Spirit Qi trapped within grew terrifyingly dense, humming with volatile pressure.
Suddenly, it began to spin clockwise, accelerating into a blinding blur.
It held stable at first, but as the speed peaked, the sphere began to shudder and warp, tearing at the air around it.
Sensing it was on the verge of collapse, Jiang Chen thrust his palm forward, hurling the sphere at the boulder.
The moment it made contact, a deafening boom tore through the space, ringing out like heavenly thunder.
The massive ten-zhang boulder was instantly pulverized into fine dust, erased from existence in the blink of an eye.
Jiang Chen hissed, drawing in a sharp breath of cold air.
This was merely the combined effect of the first and second layers of the Overturning Sea Seal.
Yet the sheer destructive force was staggering; an early Golden Core cultivator caught in that blast would be instantly killed or left half-crippled.
Calming his breath, Jiang Chen channeled his Magic Power once more, drawing a fresh torrent of water to form a towering wall before him. This time, he aimed at nothing. He simply let the heavy wall crash onto the ground and push forward like a tidal bore.
There was no explosive thunder, no heaven-shaking commotion.
Yet, wherever the water wall swept past, the rugged terrain was not just flattened-the sheer weight gouged the earth away, collapsing the soil and leaving a trench a full zhang deep in its wake.
And this was only a restrained test. If he were to draw upon every drop of liquid within several hundred zhang, the resulting devastation would be apocalyptic.
Jiang Chen watched the trench form, then flicked his fingers, shooting a concentrated stream of Magic Power into the tide.
The moment his energy merged with the water wall, a biting, bone-deep cold erupted outward.
Jagged ice spikes thrust out from the churning water, rapidly multiplying into a dense, deadly thicket of frost.
The frigid temperature caused the water wall to bleed thick white vapor, freezing the very air and earth it touched.
As the frozen tide ground forward, the ice spikes acted like iron plows, tearing into the soil and shredding the earth into a mangled, pockmarked ruin.
At this point, Jiang Chen cut the flow of Magic Power, deciding against testing the fifth and sixth effects.
For one, his portable space simply wasn’t vast enough to contain them.
For another, the sheer scale of the power was too terrifying.
If he pushed any further, the shockwaves would undoubtedly ravage his precious spiritual plants and shatter his stored belongings.
Better to save those for later. He would just have to wait for the right opportunity-or the right unlucky fool.
…
…
Time flowed like water, and in the blink of an eye, the year drew to a close.
The fourth-quarter assessment for the outer Spirit Farm had concluded, meaning Jiang Chen no longer needed to make his rounds.
First quarter: thirteen people.
Second quarter: including Miao Huayu, sixteen people.
Third quarter: the numbers dipped to twelve.
Fourth quarter: eleven people successfully earned their official status.
Across all four quarters, a staggering total of fifty-two outer disciples had been promoted to regular status.
In the past, seeing even five people succeed in a single quarter was considered a bountiful harvest.
Yet under Jiang Chen’s quiet guidance, those numbers had stubbornly doubled, even tripled at their peak, shattering every historical record the sect-and Jiang Chen himself-had ever set.
This unprecedented yield left everyone deeply satisfied, from the Manager to the Field Master, and even the reclusive Plowing Supervisor who rarely bothered with worldly affairs. Jiang Chen had delivered a flawless harvest.
Just as the new year approached, Old Mo finally returned.
Yes, Old Mo had finally deigned to show his face.
Everyone had assumed the old scoundrel would spend the holidays living it up in Mystic Heart City, but it seemed his wallet couldn’t hold out.
Looking thoroughly worn out, he rode a giant flying sword back to the Cloud Sea Sect in utter silence.
If Jin Fugui hadn’t accidentally spotted him sulking by the river, they all would have assumed he was still out roaming the world.
Thus, Jiang Chen gathered Old Jin, Old Mo, and Chen Bo, inviting them to stroll through the new market near the Flower Sea to see what novelties had arrived.
While stocking up on cultivation resources, they could also pick up some festive goods for the new year.
After all, gathering together for the holidays had long since become a cherished tradition among them.
Not long after, Jin Fugui, Mo Yu, and Chen Bo arrived at Red Leaf Valley.
The moment they met, Jiang Chen crossed his arms, his gaze sweeping up and down Old Mo’s disheveled form. “You stayed out in the Canglan Sea for so long, and you’re finally willing to drag yourself back?”
Mo Yu offered an awkward, strained smile. “Well, it’s almost the New Year, isn’t it?”
Jiang Chen raised a single, skeptical eyebrow. “And the fish?”
Mo Yu’s smile froze stiff on his face. He stammered, “The fish… there were just too many… I… I decided to release them!”