Chapter 108: The Earth Fiend’s Heavenly Wave Palm

The great battle had concluded, yet the sky remained unlit; the night over the sea grew even more profound. The stars had set, leaving behind a hazy, impenetrable darkness. By reckoning, it was already the third watch.

"The third watch for ghosts, the fourth for thieves."

The third watch is the moment between heaven and earth when the Yin energy is at its most potent, when darkness completely shrouds the world and consumes all.

Jiang Feng, however, cared little for the Yin energy or the oppressive gloom. His heart was filled with intense excitement. Having slain the Master of Wuming Island and seized the White Emperor Glazed Tripod—a majestic furnace and a white nether-sacred artifact—he knew that a great leap in his cultivation was within reach.

The immediate priority was to find a place to refine the White Emperor Glazed Tripod, to make it truly his own, thereby gaining a formidable tool for self-defense. This tripod was not merely a vessel for alchemy; it could serve as a mobile dwelling. By controlling the various arrays within, one could use it to travel at high speeds or even withstand enemy attacks.

Truth be told, had Jiang Feng known the Master of Wuming Island possessed such a treasure, he might have hesitated to plan an assault, and he would surely have missed this golden opportunity.

Jiang Feng streaked through the sky, his body wrapped in the Wood Sovereign’s nether-power. His speed was unparalleled, his stamina inexhaustible. After a long, winding flight, he finally spotted an uninhabited island on the horizon and quickly descended.

During his flight, a faint yellow light shimmered from his body, swallowing the White Emperor Glazed Tripod. There was no need to carry such a bulky furnace openly, as it would be far too conspicuous. Jue, knowing this, realized it had been stored within the space of the Jiangshan Bottle and nodded in silent approval.

For a practitioner of nether-power, the greatest inconvenience when traveling is the limited capacity of their supply bags. Being able to carry only a small amount of resources at a time is a constant struggle. Treasures capable of opening their own void-space are rare nether-artifacts; how many experts at the Void-Nether Realm could hope to possess one? Now that Jiang Feng had the Jiangshan Bottle, Jue calculated that they could harvest vast amounts of medicinal herbs across the seas and return them all at once for alchemy, saving them endless trouble.

Upon landing on the nameless desert island, Jiang Feng concealed himself and scouted the surroundings. Finding no powerful auras, he finally set his mind at ease.

"Where are we now? Do you have a sea chart, Jue?" Having flown aimlessly, Jiang Feng had long since lost his bearings. He divided his focus, channeling his nether-power into the Jiangshan Bottle to refine the tripod while questioning Jue, who resided within his sea of consciousness.

"I have scanned the area with my spirit; this is the best map I could construct."

Jue produced a sheet of paper from his sleeve and consulted it with practiced ease. After locating their position on the chart and calculating with a navigational compass pulled from his robes, he said with certainty, "We are in the Southern Sea. If we fly thirty or forty thousand miles south in this direction, we should reach the Central Sea Market. Once you have refined the White Emperor Glazed Tripod, we can head there to purchase large quantities of herbs and refine pills, sparing us the trouble of wandering about."

"The Central Sea Market?" It was the first time Jiang Feng had heard of such a place.

Duan Xingyun nodded. "The Central Sea Market is a bazaar organized in the middle of the vast ocean, where one can find anything. Many rogue cultivators from the islands go there to trade herbs and nether-artifacts. Even the nations overseas send representatives to purchase goods, and some emperors travel there in search of miraculous elixirs."

"I see," Jiang Feng realized with a start. "Back in Jiuyan Town, I often heard tales of emperors commissioning ships to sail the seas in search of immortal medicines. I thought it was mere fantasy, but it turns out there is truth to it after all."

As Jue spoke, a hint of imperceptible coldness entered his tone. "The various immortal islands of the sea likely learned this practice from other oceans. To my knowledge, it was a genius from the Lin Gui Orthodox Sect in the Liulian Sea who conceived the idea. However, those people are black-hearted, wretched wretches—nothing good at all!"

"You seem to harbor some grudge against Lin Gui Immortal Island?" Jiang Feng caught the resentment in Duan Xingyun's voice.

"Of course! The people of Lin Gui Immortal Island and I share a blood feud. Sooner or later, I will see that sect erased from the Myriad Nether Continent." Jue tapped his arm with his fingers. "But enough of that. I just recalled that your White Emperor Glazed Tripod was brought here eight hundred years ago by a Great Heavenly Demon King who descended from the heavens. This Demon King was known as the White Emperor; I suspect he was a peer of the Azure Emperor. Judging by the quality of the tripod, he must have cultivated his nether-power to the level of a Nether King, transcending the realm of Heaven and Earth Dharma Forms. It is a remarkable treasure—I cannot fathom how it ended up in the hands of the Master of Wuming Island. No wonder he possessed such cultivation. Under normal circumstances, a rogue cultivator would take a hundred years just to reach the ninth stage of the Void-Nether Realm."

"Nether King level! An artifact refined by a demon of that caliber?" Jiang Feng shuddered.

He now understood enough of his own cultivation to grasp the magnitude of a Nether King. Such beings possessed power enough to overturn seas and shatter mountains; a single finger would be enough to crush him.

Ceasing his speech, he poured his full concentration and nether-power into the White Emperor Glazed Tripod within the Jiangshan Bottle.

The massive tripod was now fully immersed in the space of the bottle. Threads of nether-power permeated it, and as Jiang Feng exerted his influence, they transformed into mist, dissolving the many spiritual imprints left by the tripod’s previous master.

As the arrays of this Great Heavenly Demon King’s furnace were triggered, the items stored within were expelled, spilling into the Jiangshan Bottle. This tripod had also served as the Master of Wuming Island’s treasury.

The Master of Wuming Island was a local hegemon, and he had accumulated a vast collection of treasures. As the items poured out, ten large purple-gold gourds were the first to emerge. Each was taller than a man, and every one was filled with pills.

"Good heavens, these are precious Golden Life-Prolonging Pills! Three hundred pills per gourd—that’s three thousand in total! These are refined from thirty-six varieties of herbs, each over five hundred years old. Their quality is superb; they are far more effective than Blood Pills."

Jue snatched one of the gourds, opened the stopper, and poured out a pill. It was the size of a bean, fragrant, and marked with delicate threads of thirty-six different colors. Its medicinal potency was intense.

These were the rare "Golden Life-Prolonging Pills," far superior to the Essence Pills or Fasting Pills of Jiuyan Town. They were the finest sustenance for a Void-Nether expert. Moreover, long-term consumption could preserve one's youthful appearance.

After the ten gourds of pills, the tripod continued to eject items. Dozens of flying swords emerged, dancing within the Jiangshan Bottle—thirty-six in total!

"The rascal! He actually gathered all thirty-six swords of the Heaven-Severing Sword Array. A pity he lacked the Heaven-Severing Array Map," Jue cackled.

Before the words had even faded, over twenty exquisite, dark-hued magical robes were expelled.

"Is he running a clothing shop? How many people did he kill to collect all these top-tier nether-garments?" While these robes were not on par with a white nether-sacred artifact, there was also a hoard of gold and jewelry. These were merely worldly goods, but finally, with a soft thud, a pitch-black book was ejected—a tome of demonic scripture.

*Earth-Fiend Heavenly Wave Hands!*