Master of Strange Dao

Yu Ziqing truly regarded him as a ten-year-old child,

rather than a True Dragon bloodline.

This made Ao Qing very happy, so happy that he couldn't contain himself; even gnawing on a Spirit Fruit made him laugh out loud.

He indeed experienced the pure joy that a child should have.

After finishing the Spirit Fruit, Ao Qing lay down, rolled around recklessly, flapping his short arms and legs, shouting meaninglessly with joy.

He held onto that never-before-felt happiness with abandon, refusing to let go, and the obsession in his heart gradually dissipated.

Before, he wasn't indifferent, he had just accepted his fate.

Now, he was truly beginning to let go a bit.

The surrounding sea demons, seeing Ao Qing in such a state, were stunned initially, but then they joined in laughing.

That trace of happiness spread among the spirituality, and everyone, acting as if they were simple-minded, happily waved their arms, sang, danced, and some even imitated Ao Qing, joyfully rolling around.

The light pouring down from the Sky Dome seemed to become even brighter at this moment.

...

Entering the next layer of the Inner Mausoleum, the first thing Yu Ziqing sensed was the pressure, a tremendous pressure.

The Golden Water Yin Escape operated on its own, relieving the pressure. He opened his eyes, and what met his gaze was an erupting underwater volcano.

Billowing black smoke continuously surged upward; at the foot of the massive volcano, a cluster of Sea Clan buildings had already been submerged by lava, with only a few taller structures partially visible above the obsidian.

This place was filled with deathly silence and despair. The volcano, with its constant lava eruptions, carried a heavy aura of violence, as if with endless rage that could never be fully vented.

Here, Ao Qing buried the self that he was at twenty years old.

Seeing this, Yu Ziqing understood that he may have only buried himself three times; he could no longer bury himself a fourth time.

If he had succeeded, there would be no Evil Dragon outside.

Everything here seemed to sense something—the volcanic eruptions suddenly became violent, the seafloor trembled, and the continuously overflowing lava suddenly formed a pillar of fire, shooting out from the volcano's mouth, instantly boiling the surrounding seawater.

From within the lava, countless grotesque creatures charged clad in a red glow like a monstrous gathering of magma, densely packed, shoulder to shoulder.

They coalesced into a stream from the volcano's mouth, swooping down.

Following closely was a giant arm of magma that stretched out from the crater, merely this arm almost filled the entire volcano's mouth.

Yu Ziqing surveyed the desolation and stillness around him and sighed inwardly.

This place was done for.

In the previous layer of the Inner Mausoleum, he could still see many things formed by spirituality, but here he saw none.

No wonder many who came here never returned.

The smaller monsters formed from magma had already reached the Fourth and Fifth Tier, and the giant monster, which currently showed only an arm, was at least Seventh Tier, possibly Eighth.

Those who could enter here had to have cultivation that was Perfect.

Low-tier cultivation was the easiest to Perfect, if Yu Ziqing advanced to the Fifth Tier earlier, he likely wouldn't have been able to get in, because his Fourth-tier cultivation wasn't Perfect.

But he had actually long been able to advance to the Fifth Tier.

By that logic, those who once entered here likely also were not of high power.

Eighth Tier entrants were unlikely, Ninth Tier even more so.

If someone could cultivate to self-Perfect at the Eighth Tier, advancing to the Ninth Tier with a dissipating bottleneck, such a person had a high chance of reaching the Tenth Tier.

According to Yu Ziqing's knowledge, there were none like that.

Moreover, even if such experts existed, they wouldn't appear here.

Sensing the trembling volcano, filled with rage, Yu Ziqing assessed himself and charged forward first.

He took a Devil Pill, adding a hint of murderous intent to his gaze.

Colliding head-on with the foremost small monster, Yu Ziqing withstood a blow head-on, the flames and tremendous force sliding off his skin. He thrust one hand into the monster's body, and Gui Water Qi surged forth.

In an instant, the small monster's body steamed with heat, rapidly solidifying, eventually transforming into an obsidian statue.

As Yu Ziqing withdrew his hand, the statue crumbled instantly, collapsing into debris on the ground.

Yu Ziqing looked at the heart in his palm, like lava burning with flames, as the surrounding seawater boiled. The heart slowly cooled and solidified, the black outer shell cracked and fell, transforming into a dark red gem.

Yu Ziqing collected it, silently estimating his own power, his form turning into a residual shadow, darting through the sea, continuously slaying each small monster.

After collecting dozens of gems, he glanced towards the volcanic crater.

The giant monster, still struggling to emerge, had already extended a second arm, compressing the volcanic mouth, causing it to deform and collapse, its aura growing stronger.

It was about time, he needed to leave.

He wasn't a match for that giant monster.

With a thought, in just over two breaths, Yu Ziqing's figure vanished from where he was.

From within the volcano, a furious roar echoed, the seawater boiled, countless bubbles surfacing, carrying black smoke to the sea's surface.

Inside the volcano, where the lava rolled, an enormous magma monster, thousands of feet high, roared furiously.

"Ha..."

A soft chuckle echoed.

On the volcano's inner wall stood a young man, his entire body restrained, laughing heartily.

There was hardly any flesh left on him, only his face still visible in its original form, yet it was merely a layer of skin.