Boom—Boom—Boom!
Lu Jun decisively activated the ultimate profundity of Yellow Springs True Water, his entire body erupting with boundless nether radiance.
Centered on him, endless dim-yellow tides surged violently, layer upon layer. From afar, they resembled undulating mountain ranges, submerging the shattered abyssal seabed, filling the ten-thousand-meter trench, assimilating a thousand miles of ocean.
If viewed from high above, the charred battlefield in the middle section of the Mariana Trench had been replaced by a dark-yellow kingdom of the undead. The mighty Yellow Springs flowed endlessly, billions of white bones and corpses rising and sinking, countless wailing souls and essences screaming.
Lu Jun ascended, floating in the sky. With every movement, he controlled a thousand-mile Yellow Springs domain, transforming into the Emperor of Yellow Springs.
In one breath, he devoured this Yellow Spring that had accumulated in the depths of the Mariana Trench for tens of thousands of years. A vast and supreme terrifying aura rose, nether radiance covering the sky, surging into the stars, tearing through the atmosphere and stirring the cosmos.
The descending will of the Queen in the Empress Shroud Skeleton was suppressed.
Fortunately, she had only projected a portion of her consciousness. Otherwise, even if Lu Jun transformed into an Undead Emperor, he might not have been able to seize control of the Yellow Springs from her.
If the two contenders for the Throne of Underworld met, what they would compare would be pure strength.
Crash—! At the end of the Yellow Springs, a trace of pale radiance gradually extinguished under the pressure of the dark-yellow tides.
Before dissipating, only the cold voice of the Queen in the Empress Shroud Skeleton's projection echoed: "Human, I will remember you. When we invade Jiuzhou next year, we will slaughter billions and build a palace of white bones."
"Get lost!" Lu Jun's expression was icy as he roared back. On the path to becoming the Underworld Sovereign, the two were destined to fight to the death—whether Jiuzhou would be slaughtered, or the sea demons would be slaughtered to forge a Hades.
Bang! The pale will was annihilated within the surging Yellow Springs.
Then Lu Jun turned to the struggling, colossal black flood-dragon within the Yellow Springs domain. Feeling his boundless power, he slowly extended both hands.
The world trembled. The Yellow Springs domain contracted, as billions of bones and countless soul essences converged, containing ultimate power.
Lu Jun took on the form of a human with a dragon tail, towering between heaven and earth, surrounded by the vast ocean. Between his hands, a massive white bone greatsword was forged, wrapped with countless wailing spirits, its aura surging to the heavens.
Kill!
He roared, shaking the four seas, the stars trembling. The thousand-zhang giant sword slashed down fiercely, like a collapsing pillar of heaven, plunging the sky into darkness.
Slash! The sound of flesh being cleaved echoed through the ocean, faintly accompanied by the crisp clash of metal.
The Dragon Emperor's enormous ferocious head fell beside the Yellow Springs, like a small hill. Its terrifying weight and aura suppressed the surroundings, forbidding all life. Even in death, its Emperor dragon might remained. From its severed neck, a vast stream of blood shot into the sky.
Crash—!
In an instant, within a thousand-mile radius, a torrential rain of blood poured down, stirring a mournful, bloody gale as if heaven and earth were commemorating the fall of an Emperor.
The Evil Dragon Emperor had fallen!
The first Emperor slain of the Pacific Empire. Before the full-scale war had even begun, one of its territorial lords had already been lost, a devastating blow that would shake the resolve of many core Emperors within the alliance.
After all, the Sea Demon Dynasty was merely an alliance. The various Emperors had joined forces, even the Queen in the Empress Shroud Skeleton and Cold Moon Eyes were only in a cooperative relationship. Their cohesion was far inferior to that of humans. In favorable conditions, they were unstoppable like raging tigers; in adversity… well, that was another story.
In any case, the aftermath was destined to have far-reaching consequences, affecting human society.
This was one of the rare Emperor-level deaths since the most chaotic era of the magical world.
Midair, Lu Jun's expression remained cold. The intense battle aura around him had yet to dissipate. He paid little attention to the rest as the Yellow Springs Bone Greatsword in his hands dispersed.
Gathering the full power of the Yellow Springs domain into a single strike could severely injure even a peak Emperor, let alone slay a dying Evil Dragon.
He stared at the dragon's severed head, seeing a trace of despair in its eyes, yet remained unmoved.
The Evil Dragon Emperor had been beheaded. Not only was its body destroyed, but its soul had also been extinguished under the effect of the Yellow Springs forbidden domain. This conveniently allowed the White Tiger Pendant to absorb the soul essence, saving the effort of suppressing the immortal and ferocious Emperor soul.
Buzz—Buzz—Buzz!
The White Tiger Pendant on Lu Jun's chest shone brightly, floating above the dragon's corpse, massive like a black mountain within the ocean, drawing out countless strands of pure, vast soul essence.
It was the Emperor-level soul essence.
Commander Hua and Dean Xiao, standing nearby, sensed this. Having just undergone a fierce battle, both were exhausted.
Seeing this, Hua Zhanhong couldn't help but laugh and scold, "You brat are quite clever—not forgetting to collect the spoils. Since you have a method to take that soul essence, go ahead. But this Emperor dragon corpse must be kept."
Hearing this, Lu Jun didn't feel embarrassed. It was what he deserved. As for the corpse, though a pity, it didn't matter—after all, Commander Hua and Dean Xiao had contributed as well.
After all, the value of demon soul essence had always far exceeded that of the corpse.
As seen now, with the Evil Dragon Emperor's soul essence taken, its corpse gradually lost that awe-inspiring supreme dragon might. Its flesh and scales dimmed, as if its essence had dried up.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
The White Tiger Pendant in Lu Jun's chest flickered repeatedly, as if suffering from indigestion.
"Glutton."
He shook his head. This White Tiger pendant had refined a Supreme Monarch Essence Soul, allowing it to advance from a High-tier Nebula Magic Tool to a Super-tier Star Sea Magic Tool. Yet before it had fully digested it, it had already swallowed another Emperor-level Essence Soul.
Although this was enough to push it to the peak of a Star Sea Magic Tool, it would require a long period of time.
But that wasn't all. Lu Jun raised his head to look at the sky, where a blood-dark phenomenon churned, as surging baleful blood energy gathered from all directions.
Within his spiritual world, the platinum Star Sea radiated brilliance. At its center, a constantly shifting, radiant imprint of flowing light and weapon-like bronze coin markings resonated.
His Metal Element Calamity Talent—Taiyi Golden Light—was activated, continuously devouring the metallic baleful blood aura of heaven and earth. An Emperor-level bloody battle was undoubtedly the highest-grade weapon sacrifice, enough to elevate the Metal Element by an entire level.
At this moment, he could clearly sense his Metal Element Star Sea surging rapidly. Within the transcendent power Tai Bai Golden Palace, strands of indestructible golden essence were being nurtured, while his life-bound magic weapon, the Tai'a Sword, gained an additional layer of sacrificial sword effect.
After returning to cultivate for some time, Lu Jun's Metal Element would soon break through to the second level of Super Tier, with all aspects undergoing a leap.
Especially the Tai'a Sword—it now possessed three layers of Sacrificial Sword effects, derived respectively from the Harpy Demon's false body (Lesser Monarch), the Heavenly Crown Tree (Supreme Monarch), and the Evil Dragon (Emperor).
In total, that amounted to a fourfold power amplification. Multiplied by the 4.5× base power of Totem/Divine Seal, it had already reached an eighteenfold power increase, no weaker than his Water Element.
He felt satisfied. This battle had yielded tremendous gains. Next, he only needed to supplement the Mid Monarch and Great Monarch layers, refine a fourth metal, and his Metal Element would be considered complete at the Super Tier level.
While Lu Jun was sorting through his cultivation, Hua Zhanhong and Dean Xiao slowly descended onto the colossal corpse of the Evil Dragon.
Crash—!
Dean Xiao activated the power of a Water Element Forbidden Spell, commanding the surrounding waves. Layer upon layer of hundred-meter-high tides surged, lifting the Emperor's corpse and carrying it swiftly along the ocean currents toward Jiuzhou territory.
At that moment, Commander Hua called out to Lu Jun, "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and move."
Hearing this, Lu Jun quickly restrained his aura and separated from the Mermaid Empress. Both returned to normal human size, standing atop the ferocious dragon head of the Evil Dragon, riding the vast waves as they departed the Mariana Trench.
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