Liaozhai: Immortality Begins with Becoming Yan Chixia's Apprentice

Chapter 176 Dragon Palace Turtle Elder

On the coast of the East China Sea, there is a small town called Wanghai Town.

Standing at the entrance of the town, Zhou Ning gazed at the surging sea in the distance, a sense of awe welling up within him.

This was his first time visiting the East China Sea and the first time he had ever seen the real ocean.

Unlike the lakes of Yunmengze, the sea is more vast, more profound, and more mysterious.

On the sea, waves rolled and white spray crashed against the rocks on the shore, creating a deafening sound.

The sea breeze carried a salty, fishy smell, and felt sticky on my face.

But unlike the bustling fishing port one might imagine, Wanghai Town was desolate.

The streets were nearly deserted, and most shops were closed.

A tense atmosphere hung in the air, like the calm before a storm.

Several old fishermen sat on the dock, smoking pipes, their faces solemn, staring blankly at the sea.

Zhou Ning walked into the town and found an inn that was still open to stay.

The innkeeper was an elderly man in his fifties, surnamed Sun. He had a kind face, but his eyes showed a hint of weariness.

"Sir, you must be from out of town?" Manager Sun asked as he poured him tea.

Zhou Ning nodded: "I came from the south. Manager Sun, what's been happening in Donghai lately? Why is the town so deserted?"

Manager Sun sighed and lowered his voice:

"Sir, you are unaware of the situation. In recent months, huge whirlpools have frequently appeared on the sea, swallowing up passing ships. Fishermen dare not go out to sea, and merchant ships dare not approach."

"The imperial court sent people to investigate, but they all returned empty-handed. Some said it was the work of a sea monster. Others said it was the Dragon King in the Dragon Palace who was angry."

Zhou Ning asked, "Dragon Palace? There really is a Dragon Palace in the East Sea?"

Manager Sun nodded.

"Yes. The elders say that there is a dragon palace deep in the East Sea, where the Dragon King and his sons and grandsons live."

"In the past, the Dragon King blessed fishermen with good weather and abundant harvests, and everyone would go to worship him every year."

"But in recent years, for some reason, the Dragon King seems to have become angry, and there are more and more storms and whirlpools at sea."

Zhou Ning frowned.

Is the Dragon King angry?

He doesn't believe it.

Dragons are descendants of ancient mythical beasts, possessing extremely high intelligence, and they do not become angry without reason.

There must be some reason.

"Manager Sun, where has this recent whirlpool appeared?"

Manager Sun pointed to the east.

"About fifty miles offshore. What used to be a calm sea has now become a death trap. Whoever goes there dies."

Zhou Ning nodded, thanked Manager Sun, and returned to his room.

He sat cross-legged on the bed, closed his eyes and regulated his breathing, waiting for night to fall.

As night fell, the moon was obscured by thick clouds, and the world was plunged into darkness.

Zhou Ning slung the Qingfeng Sword across his back, with a talisman pouch hanging from his waist, and quietly left the inn.

He went to the seaside, took a leap, and jumped into the sea.

His protective aura at the Nascent Soul stage kept the seawater at bay, allowing him to walk as if on flat ground towards the deep sea.

The deeper you go, the darker the water becomes, and the greater the pressure.

Zhou Ning held the water-repelling pearl in his mouth, and the seawater automatically parted to make way for him.

His divine sense had already spread out, covering an area of ​​hundreds of thousands of feet in radius, carefully searching for traces of the vortex.

After walking for about an hour, a huge whirlpool appeared ahead.

The vortex was about a hundred feet in diameter, spinning and swallowing everything around it.

The seawater churned in the whirlpool, making a deafening sound.

At the center of the vortex, there was a dark, bottomless hole.

"This is it." Zhou Ning gripped his Qingfeng sword and leaped into the vortex.

The water in the whirlpool was flowing rapidly, but Zhou Ning's protective aura blocked the flow, allowing him to descend steadily.

After an unknown amount of time, he landed in a huge cave.

The cave walls are inlaid with luminous pearls, illuminating the cave as if it were daytime.

In the center of the cave stands a magnificent palace, its roof inlaid with golden glazed tiles that gleam under the light of a luminous pearl.

"The Dragon Palace," Zhou Ning thought to himself.

He approached the palace and found its doors wide open.

He went inside and found it completely empty, without a single person in sight.

In the very center of the palace, there is a high platform, on which sits a huge bead that emits a faint blue light.

Next to the beads was a jade box, which was tightly closed, and it was impossible to tell what was inside.

Zhou Ning walked to the platform and reached out to take the bead.

"Don't touch it!" An old voice came from behind.

Zhou Ning turned around abruptly and saw an elderly man with white hair standing at the palace gate.

He was dressed in a blue robe, holding a cane, with a thin face and sunken eyes, looking as if he hadn't eaten for a long time.

"Who are you?" Zhou Ning asked warily.

The old man said:

"I am the steward of this Dragon Palace; you can call me Elder Turtle. Young man, you don't seem to be from the East Sea. What are you doing here?"

Zhou Ning said, "I am Zhou Ning, a cultivator. I heard that a whirlpool has appeared in the East Sea, swallowing ships, so I came to investigate."

Old Turtle sighed and said:

"The whirlpools were created by the 'Black Dragon King,' the master of the Dragon Palace. He has recently been practicing an evil art that requires a large amount of the life essence of living beings. Those whirlpools are the tools he uses to absorb that life essence."

Zhou Ning's heart skipped a beat: "The Black Dragon King? Isn't he the god who protects fishermen?"

Old Turtle gave a wry smile.

"That was before. The current Black Dragon King is not the same Black Dragon King as before."

"He was bewitched by a sorcerer and began practicing evil arts, becoming increasingly insane. He drove away all the dragon princes and grandsons in the Dragon Palace. I stayed behind because I am too old to run away."

Zhou Ning asked, "Where is that sorcerer?"

Old Turtle pointed to the depths of the palace.

"In the deepest part of the Dragon Palace, he built an altar and practiced evil arts day and night. The Black Dragon King was also there."

Zhou Ning gripped his Qingfeng sword tightly: "I'll go take a look."

Old Turtle hurriedly said, "Young man, are you out of your mind? The Black Dragon King's strength far exceeds the imagination of mortal cultivators like you. Going there will only be suicide."

Zhou Ning said, "Don't worry, old man, I know what I'm doing."

He left the palace and walked deeper into the Dragon Palace.

The further you go, the colder the air becomes, and black runes begin to appear on the walls, emitting an eerie black light.

After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a huge stone chamber appeared ahead.

Inside the stone chamber, there is an altar.

On the altar sat a middle-aged man dressed in a black Taoist robe, who was the demonic Taoist that Old Turtle had mentioned.

His face was pale, his eyes were sunken, and a sinister smile hung at the corner of his mouth.

Beside the altar stood a giant black dragon, the Black Dragon King.

Its eyes burned with eerie green flames, and its body exuded a dense, chilling aura.

"Someone's coming."

The demon opened his eyes, looked at Zhou Ning, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"A Nascent Soul stage cultivator? Such cultivators are extremely rare in this world. Excellent, they are perfect for refining my magic weapon."

The Black Dragon King also turned his head, his eerie green eyes fixed on Zhou Ning, and let out a low roar.