Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 591: Return of the Sea Emperor

Watching the statue sink back into the depths of the sea, the three exchanged glances, each with a sense of unreality and a touch of sadness that they could not conceal.

The island had been a paradise, perfect for cultivation, living, and treasure hunting. It was a shame they had only stayed for a single day, rushed as if they were on a tight schedule, and even their bickering had been cut short.

The thought of the Sea Emperor got in the way of their bickering.

The thought of the Sea Emperor got in the way of his desire to indulge in wine and women. They had come all this way, yet his dream of having them all in his arms remained unfulfilled. Just one more day, and his chances of success would have perhaps doubled.

All three came to entertain thoughts of returning to the island for some peaceful time after dealing with the most important task at hand. Quickly, they regained their composure, masking their thoughts.

“It turns out a flood dragon’s body doesn’t entirely disintegrate after exploding. There’s still some of its body left here.”

It was a casual remark Zhao Changhe made to fill the silence, but he suddenly shivered as a realization dawned on him. “I’ve found my bowstring!”

The two women caught on immediately. What could make a better bowstring than a dragon tendon? An ordinary person would find it impossible to draw such a bow even a single cun, but for Zhao Changhe, it was a perfect match.

Although this was just a flood dragon and not a true dragon, having been possessed by the Sea Emperor for so long, its body had clearly undergone immense fortification. Xia Longyuan’s punch could not even destroy its throat, and even self-detonation failed to completely obliterate it—its strength was not far from that of a real dragon. And with such a massive body, even a small section of a tendon would be enough for numerous bowstrings.

And there was still its hide, bones, meat, and blood, all of which were incredibly precious. Lady Three, who had not eaten anything to advance her cultivation while on the island, now had dragon meat delivered straight to her.[1]

A genuine surprise; the real spoils awaited them here...

Lady Three’s eyes sparkled. “Mine! All of it’s mine!”

In a flash, she stowed the dragon hide into her ring, then dove into the water, swimming quickly toward a piece of dragon meat not far away.

There were so many treasures on the island yet she never acted this greedy, so why is she... Oh, right, she didn’t recognize anything there, but I guess it’s pretty clear just how valuable this is.

At that moment, it seemed Lady Three had forgotten all about the Sea Emperor, feeling grateful that they had emerged from the island early, before the treasures were snatched up by others—or eaten by passing sharks.

Zhao Changhe and Xia Chichi could not help but laugh as they dove underwater to search as well. The massive body of the flood dragon, brimming with extraordinary energy, glowed like a beacon in the dark waters. Soon enough, they had gathered a pile, including several tendons of varying lengths.

Zhao Changhe did not overdo things. He picked one of the shorter tendons, trimmed it to fit, replaced his bowstring, made some adjustments, and was all smiles from then on.

The power of his bow was astounding. While it lacked the presence of a spirit, its quality may even surpass that of Dragon Bird. As for a spirit, Yue Hongling had said it best: a martial artist should aim to have their weapon develop its own spirit while being used by them. This bow was the perfect opportunity for Zhao Changhe to do just that.

Who needs the embrace of two ladies when you’ve got a fine weapon?

Also, the combination of Dragon Soul Wood and a bowstring made from dragon tendon should provide more than exceptional power and a soul-damaging effect, it should make it so that my shots with it do even more damage to dragons. The only question is, how many dragons are even left in this world... Do tortoises count?

Lady Three and Xia Chichi soon gathered around, still excited by their finds. Lady Three, her eyes sparkling, said, “I can finally remake my whip. Oh, here, take these...”

She tossed over a piece of dragon fang and dragon bone to Zhao Changhe. “Keep these for forging later. When you’re forging the Night Emperor’s sword, you could try adding some dragon bone powder. Don’t be fooled by those records saying only Night Flowing Sand is needed. If we get good materials, we can add them in.”

Zhao Changhe accepted the dragon fang, but his first thought was that it would make a great dagger for Sisi... though he wisely kept that to himself. Instead, he asked, “And what about the dragon hide?”

“Dragon hide can only be made into armor, not normal clothing. We’ll take it back and have it crafted for the elite forces in our cult to wear in battle.” Lady Three glared at him. “What, you want that too? Don’t you think wearing armor while wandering the jianghu would make you look ridiculous?”

Zhao Changhe tilted his head, thinking, Aren’t whatever elites you craft for in the cult going to end up being my elites anyway...

Xia Chichi discreetly handed him several bottles and whispered in his ear, “I collected some dragon flesh and blood for you. They should be really good for strengthening your body and boosting your vitality. It’s perfect for you... though dragon blood has strange side effects. You can use it with me close by—I don’t mind.”

Zhao Changhe, pretending to be deeply serious, quietly tucked away the dragon blood

Both women were sneakily slipping him gifts, but Xia Chichi had clearly won this round.

Lady Three felt a pang in her chest. How did the Four Idols Cult end up raising such a little vixen? I can’t believe I still have to support her becoming the cult leader!

Zhao Changhe cleared his throat. “Ahem. Now that we’ve got everything we need, we should go find Hai Changkong and figure out where the Sea Emperor’s temple is. Let’s settle this once and for all.”

Before he could finish speaking, they saw a fleet approaching in the distance.

The three immediately recognized Tang En’s ship coming to pick them up.

Lady Three’s first thought was that they had come just in time. If they had been a little later, all these treasures might have ended up in Tang Wanzhuang’s hands...

* * *

“I know that Your Highness instructed us to stay away from this area earlier, but when we tried to retreat, we only ended up getting lost.” On the deck, Tang En wiped the sweat from his brow as he explained the situation to Zhao Changhe. “The distorted light here threw us off. Even with a guide, we still got lost...”

Zhao Changhe nodded. “It’s alright as long as you’re safe. So what happened? The Tome of Troubled Times said you went to join the battle with Hai Changkong? Was it close by?”

“Not at all. It took us over a day and a night to sail back, probably several hundred li. But we got swept away by a chaotic current,” Tang En explained with a lingering look of fear. “We somehow ended up behind Marshal Hai’s fleet. We nearly had our mast blown off by a cannon shot. Luckily, we’d met before on Dongan Island, so we quickly cleared up the misunderstanding and ended up fighting alongside him. Honestly, I didn’t even know who we were fighting until the Tome of Troubled Times made the announcement. It was only then that we realized we had attacked the Sea Emperor’s temple! Your Highness, we didn’t make a huge mistake, did we? I mean, we’re talking about an ancient god here!”

“You did great. You all fought well. Didn’t you see that even the emperor joined the battle? The Tang Clan’s participation was perfectly timed. Wanzhuang will be full of praise for you.”

Tang En let out a long sigh of relief.

Zhao Changhe quietly pondered. The chaotic current was an apparent abnormality. It felt like the handiwork of the blind woman.

Hai Changkong alone would not have stood a chance against the Sea Emperor’s temple. After all, the Sea Emperor had been nurturing elite warriors for the Sea Tribe for years. It was not something a single Penglai fleet could easily destroy. Hai Pinglan had even prepared for the possibility of defeat in case Hai Changkong had to become a pirate. The Tang Clan’s intervention tipped the scales.

This indirect way of manipulating others into fighting fit the blind woman’s style. After all, was Zhao Changhe himself not dragged into this world by her? Moving an entire fleet a few hundred li was nothing for her.

It was obvious that the blind woman was gunning for the page of the Heavenly Tome in the Sea Emperor’s possession.

While she had no interest in other treasures and was unwilling to involve herself in worldly conflicts for them, when it came to the Heavenly Tome, that would definitely draw her ire... The poor Sea Emperor probably never realized who his real enemy was. If the will of the world itself intended to deal with you, then losing was only to be expected.

Zhao Changhe realized he really was just a tool for the blind woman, a means to her end... a vibrating stick.

“Where is Hai Changkong now?”

“He returned to Penglai, saying he needed to eradicate the remaining enemies and restore order. I naturally didn’t follow him as I still needed to find Your Highness.”

“And the temple? Was it completely destroyed?”

“The temple was blasted apart. I didn’t see anything left of it worth mentioning...”

Zhao Changhe shook his head. “There’s definitely a secret realm there. The Sea Emperor has been recovering for an entire era. Do you really think his actual base would just be sitting there out in the open? Hurry and take me there immediately. If we delay any longer, Penglai could face a disastrous retaliation.”

* * *

At the chaotic reef islands where the Sea Emperor’s temple was located.

The area was a sprawling stretch of jagged reefs with a mess of rocks towering over the sea. The place hardly seemed suitable for a temple, yet not only did a temple stand here, it was quite the grand and magnificent one. It was a mystery as to how it managed to remain standing amidst the tumultuous stones.

The Sea Emperor required the power of faith, and naturally, a temple was needed for worship. Ironically, this was what gave Hai Pinglan a clear target and therefore led to the temple’s ruin.

Hai Changkong’s fleet had unleashed a barrage of cannon fire, and with the Sea Emperor embroiled in a fierce battle, the protective barrier that usually shielded the temple was disabled. The once-grand temple was reduced to rubble, splintered wood and stone from the temple’s walls scattered across the sea’s surface, or hanging from the reefs.

Among the ruins were countless corpses belonging to members of the Sea Tribe, their bodies floating across the ocean, unclaimed and left to rot.

On the surface, it seemed like total destruction. Hai Changkong had already returned to Penglai, urgently restoring order in his rear.

But no one noticed that the scattered corpses of those of the Sea Tribe seemed to be gradually fading away, as if some mysterious force was slowly absorbing them, pulling them into an unknown destination.

In the hidden depths of a secret realm, a figure floated in the void, transitioning from the ethereal to the tangible—hands, feet, and facial features slowly taking shape, as did eventually a face... one covered in fish scales.

It was the Sea Emperor—his true body and soul, actually humanoid.

“Hai Pinglan... You forcibly burned your lifespan to break through to the Profound Control Realm, how ignorant... You’ll never comprehend what it means for gods and demons to be immortal.” The Sea Emperor’s low whisper voice echoed in the abyss as countless energy bodies flowed into his body, making him increasingly tangible and solid.

“You will soon learn the meaning of regret—whether that be for your Penglai... or your daughter.” The Sea Emperor opened his eyes.

Boom!

As he opened his eyes, the water surrounding him surged violently, triggering a colossal tsunami that crashed upon the reefs outside the secret realm.

His recovery was far faster than Hai Pinglan had anticipated—much, much faster!

1. The raws here say Xia Chichi, but she is in fact the only one who did eat something to advance her cultivation. ☜