Chapter 10: New Star of the Four Seas

  "Heavens! He's taken away the Array of Fabric's sacred stone!" As everyone looked at Li Mu, they saw the yellowish-brown sacred stone in his hand, and their pupils involuntarily enlarged several times.

  Those who came to this gathering are undoubtedly the best of all parties. Before they came, they had a certain understanding of the Seven-Colored Fantasy Realm. They knew that the Seven-Colored Fantasy Realm was maintained by the energy provided by the seven Energy Spirit Stones, which were the same Seven-Colored Spirit Stones used by Nüwa when she mended the sky. In fact, the simplest way to break the array is to find one of the Seven-Colored Spirit Stones.

  Everyone understands this truth, but for thousands of years, there have been no shortage of people who have entered the Seven-Colored Mirage Realm, yet not a single person has ever found a fairy stone. Many self-proclaimed exceptional talents have wanted to take on the challenge, but ultimately ended in failure, not only failing to emerge victorious, but also becoming the first to be eliminated. Therefore, subsequent challengers never dared to try this "simplest" method again, because they all wanted to win.

  "It's no wonder he's a disciple of Tongyuan Gate, the one who can kill Hong Zelong. He broke through the Seven-Colored Illusory Realm so easily." There were many voices of approval around him, as if Li Mu was always meant to be this way. And there were a few people who had managed to barely hold on, and they secretly rejoiced at this. Because they too had passed this test.

  "Hmph, just a lucky dog." Ao Feng glared at Li Mu with discontent. The glory that originally belonged to him was snatched away by this guy who only had an empty reputation, and even many girls were infatuated with him, which made Ao Feng feel both indignant and extremely frustrated.

  Ao Ran looked at Li Mu with a faint smile, glanced at Ao Feng out of the corner of his eye, and chuckled: "Oh, so you're regretting not having good luck? Hehe."

  Another scolding from Ao Ran, while Zhong Shang beside him also sneered coldly. Ao Feng clenched his fists and swallowed all his anger.

  The seven-colored illusion array has been formed for thousands of years, and it was suddenly broken. How could it not alarm those old dragons?

  "Who broke the Seven-Colored Illusion Array!" As he spoke, his mind flashed with the image of his son Ao Feng. If it was indeed Ao Feng who had broken the array, then there would be no need to continue the competition, and the winner of this gathering would already be clear. Excitement and tension filled that slightly weathered old face, making him look somewhat comical.

  The East Sea Dragon King Ao Guang opened the Water Moon Mirror, and the situation on the martial arts field was all in his eyes. At this time, Li Mu was holding the Earth Stone to hand over to Ao Ran, these old guys who didn't know how many years they had lived, now even if they used their toes to think, they knew who broke the Seven-Colored Illusion Array.

  "How could it be him." Ao Ran was somewhat unwilling to believe that the halo belonging to his own son had changed into this little guy's in the blink of an eye.

  Among the crowd, only Penglai Daxian, who was the strongest, did not show any surprise. He had already guessed that it was Li Mu from the beginning. As for the others, he roughly understood their abilities and knew they couldn't break through the Seven-Colored Illusion Array. Zhong Shang, although his disciple, was only a newly entered apprentice, and with his reputation, there was no need to compete with the Dragon King.

  As for Li Mu, he is a new star of Tongyuan Gate and the best in the Xianxia world. Tongyuan Gate is good at various array techniques, how can a small Seven-Colored Illusion Array be difficult for a talented disciple of Tongyuan Gate?

  Penglai Daxian smiled slightly and explained, "Don't underestimate this Li Mu. Although he's only twenty years old, he has gained the favor of Tongyuan Daxian and obtained his true teachings. Before taking office as the local deity, his magical powers were already among the top 28 star mansions. Moreover, the Tongyuan Sect is well-versed in various array formations. If he can't break this array, that would be strange."

  "The Great Immortal's words are reasonable." The East Sea Dragon King nodded in agreement. Li Mu and his own daughter were on good terms, which made them friends of their own side. This point brought Ao Guang a moment of comfort.

  Ao Ruan and others may not want to admit it, but the fact is in front of them. Not admitting it, what can be done? The game will continue anyway.

  On the martial arts arena, Ao Ran handed over the earth stone to someone to send it to Ao Guang's place, and then took everyone to have a meal. Since no elder came out to intervene in this matter, the first round was considered invalid, and everyone advanced.

  When it comes to eating, Li Mu is the kind of foodie who loves this sort of thing. The first time he tasted the top-notch cuisine at Long Gong, he was smitten. He didn't care about those refined and elegant people who pretended to be noble while eating, but instead, just like usual, he dug in with gusto, sweeping away the delicious dishes on the table like autumn wind blowing away fallen leaves.

  The people at the same table, including Ao Feng, looked at Li Mu's eating appearance in surprise, having already forgotten to move their own chopsticks. Only Ao Ran had gotten used to his "slave" seemingly never being full and didn't care about it anymore. On the contrary, because he knew Li Mu's true identity, he felt that even when eating, he was very particular.

  After eating well, drink a mouthful of hundred-year-old pearl wine, and there's nothing more comfortable than this.

  Wiping the greasy mouth with his sleeve, he glanced at the still astonished and motionless nobles, got up and strolled away. Li Mu had always thought that if their paths were different, there was no need to care about their opinions. Ao Ran was like this, and Ao Feng Zhong Shang was also like this.

  Looking at the mess, Ao Feng's expression turned cold. Frowning, he said: "Little princess, how can you have such an unscrupulous slave? If my slave dared to be so rude, I would have taken it to sacrifice to Hai Zun long ago."

  She batted her eyelashes, and her black gem-like eyes sparkled as she gazed at Ao Feng, teasingly saying: "So you'll never discover the value of a slave."

  "Feng Xiong, with your status, why bother treating him like a slave?" Zhong Shang interjected indifferently.

  After the meal, the next match will continue. However, Li Mu had no interest in their childish game-like competition and took advantage of Ao Ran's distraction to slip away from the martial arts arena unnoticed.

  The underwater Dragon Palace is an artistic palace, whether from the outside or the interior layout, it is a masterpiece. The dragon tribe loves treasures, whether it's carved dragons, painted pillars, or road boards and beams, they are all valuable and rare materials.

  After having a good drink and meal, Li Mu went on to visit the Dragon Palace. For someone who was used to traveling and sightseeing, this was also a unique pleasure. The shrimp soldiers and crab generals of the Dragon Palace saw that Li Mu was dressed in an extraordinary manner and had a elegant demeanor, so they all thought he was a noble who came to attend the banquet today, and no one dared to stop him.

  The match resumed after a short rest, but Li Muren was not present. Ao Feng couldn't find him even if he wanted to cause trouble. Instead, he said with a sigh of relief: This time I'll let you off, next time it's your turn to watch out for me.

  The competition consists of only four items, excluding the already broken Seven-Colored Illusion Array, there are three more. Next is the Whirlpool Treasure Hunt. This is a project that eliminates most people, with a total of four treasures, contestants need to find the treasure in the rapid whirlpool. Those who find the treasure will advance; the rest will be eliminated. Of course, as a reward, these found treasures belong to them.

  The rapid whirlpool is much more difficult than the seven-colored illusion array. Most people haven't even entered yet, and they've already been thrown out by the whirlpool. Only a few people can persist in the rapid whirlpool. The whirlpool is filled with bubbles and rapidly rotating water flows, and people inside have almost no visibility. It's really not easy to find unknown treasures in such an environment.

  Aoran and Li Mu had studied earth evasion, so she could easily avoid these unfavorable factors and shuttle through the earth. Compared to others, this skill of hers was no different from cheating.

  After some effort, Ao Ran quickly found two of the treasures. Ao Feng and Zhong Shang also each showed their skills and obtained one treasure.

  Three people advanced to the third round of competition.

  The third trial is slightly easier than the second round, mainly testing the challenger's mental strength. Since all three are the best of each faction, this level is naturally not a problem. Only the last level is the greatest challenge. The challenger needs to obtain the Dragon Palace Treasure Thousand Year Ice within the specified time. Thousand Year Ice is a cultivation treasure, especially for the dragon tribe, it can achieve twice the result with half the effort during cultivation.

  However, obtaining the Millennium Ice Jade is not an easy task, as one must pass three trials within a specified time limit in order to have the opportunity to obtain it.

  Gather fire, sink flow, wear ice.

  As the name suggests, the first move is Flame Flow. For the Sea Clan, fire is their natural enemy. Of course, according to relativity, they are also the natural enemy of fire. Borrowing water is easy for them. However, this time Ao Ran doesn't plan to use the Borrowing Water Technique, but instead uses the Five Elements Escape Technique that Li Mu taught him: Fire Escape.

  Although she is not very skilled yet, in front of absolute confidence, it doesn't matter about this little time.

  Among the three, Ao Feng was the first to reach the Silent Flow checkpoint. The Silent Flow is a submarine dark current, and since their flight altitude was restricted, if they wanted to fly over strongly, they would definitely be sucked in by the Silent Flow. The Silent Flow is a special kind of water, and the simplest way is to use the Ice Condensation Technique to pave an ice road.

  Ao Feng arrived at the riverbank, rapidly chanting dragon language, and a chill began to envelop his entire body. Zhong Shang followed closely behind, also unwilling to quickly recite the incantation. His incantation was similar to Li Mu's, but due to his limited talent, the incantation sounded somewhat awkward, and naturally slowed down.

  Ao Ran finally arrived at the shore, playfully gazing at the two who were struggling, and chuckled softly. She quickly chanted an incantation, and with a wave of her hand, a sturdy ice path suddenly appeared before them, leading to the opposite bank.

  "How is this possible!"

  Ao Feng and Zhong Shang were both startled at the same time, forgetting that they were still in the crucial moment of casting their spells. The incantation was interrupted, all their previous efforts were wasted, and the half-condensed ice road instantly dissipated. After all, they were elites, so they quickly composed themselves and restarted releasing the Ice Condensation Technique.

  No matter how hard they tried to stop him, Li Mu toured almost the entire Dragon Palace, except for some boudoirs and bedrooms that were off-limits. Out of boredom, he unknowingly walked to the other end of the martial arts arena, near the exit of the Dragon Palace.

  The seawater is extremely deep and dark, with thick seaweed that has not been cleared for years, looking exceptionally desolate. A luxurious mansion sits in the depths of the dark seaweed, silent and somewhat eerie.

  In the midst of the luxurious and bustling Dragon Palace, there was actually a place like this, where there were no serving palace maids or guarding soldiers. There was only seaweed growing wildly in the corner of the wall. Li Mu felt curious and walked over.

  "Ahh!"

  Suddenly, just as Li Mu was about to push open the door, a shrill and mournful cry echoed from within the courtyard. The grass and trees trembled at the sound, and the fish and shrimp darted away in fright. It was a desolate and eerie cry, like that of a beast but not quite, like that of a human but not quite.

  "Could it be that the old dragon king has raised a rare beast?" Li Mu's eyes lit up, and his interest suddenly increased. Having read "Divine Demon's Strange Fate" before, he had always been strongly curious about the existence of ancient rare beasts.

  With a tense and excited heart, I passed through one door after another to the depths of the courtyard. The seawater here is colder than outside, and there is also a hint of eerie atmosphere in the water.

  There was a moment when it seemed like two hearts were beating together. It was as if bodies that had been separated for thousands of years had finally come together. Li Mu didn't feel any surprise, and slowly walked in.

  The courtyard was not like the outside, it was very clean. In the depths of the courtyard, there was a clear pool of water that reflected the moonlight and cast a dazzling glow. The sound came from the pool, but it wasn't some kind of ghost or monster, rather it was a half-crouching naked girl with bright red eyes staring at Li Mu.

  The martial arts arena, the astonishing skills of Ao Ran far surpassed those of Ao Feng and Zhong Shang. Before they had even reached the depths of the river, he had already broken through the ice wall and obtained the Thousand Year Ice Jade.

  Her outstanding achievements made Ao Feng and Zhong Shang, who were always proud, bow down to her. But they never expected that all of this was taught by Li Mu to Ao Ran. Who knows what they will feel in their hearts when they find out.