Chapter 58

The various Water Deities sat to one side, smiling as they watched the Water Deities of the Gonggong lineage barge in, even taking the time to savor the delicacies of the Dragon Palace. With someone opposing the Dragon Palace, these deities naturally found it easy to relax.

Dragon King Ao Yu frowned and said coldly, "When esteemed guests come, we naturally welcome them with fine wine and delicacies. When evil guests arrive, we naturally meet them with cudgels and spears!" After saying this, he gave a glance, and the Dragon Empress led several Dragon Princesses and the Crown Prince into the inner palace, returning to the underwater Dragon Palace.

Then, he summoned the elite forces of the Dragon Palace, arrayed them, and was about to completely annihilate the invading Water Deities of the Gonggong lineage.

At this moment, those Water Deities and Dragon Deities who had just pledged allegiance to Ao Yu secretly lamented. If they had held on a bit longer, this might not have happened. But what to do now? Having just pledged allegiance, would they be left unused as a fighting force?

On the other hand, those Water Deities like Wei Qi, who had not pledged allegiance, secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It was truly fortunate to have escaped this ordeal. Wei Qi stood beside Yuan Kui, showing his stance, ready to follow Yuan Kui's lead.

Cangwu, as a Great Luo Venerable Deity, was the leader among these Water Deities. Seeing the Gonggong lineage barge in, he lazily said, "Since the Gonggong lineage is here to cause trouble for His Majesty the Dragon King, we will not get involved. We will simply wish His Majesty the Dragon King a prosperous martial fortune!" After saying this, he gave a glance and led the other Water Deities out of the Crystal Palace. Yuan Kui also pulled Wei Qi to leave together.

The Gonggong Water Deities did not obstruct them, allowing Yuan Kui and others to pass by. Originally, Ao Yu's face turned angry, but he seemed to think of something and forcibly held back, letting Yuan Kui and the other Water Deities leave.

However, just as Yuan Kui and others left the Crystal Palace, their faces changed. They saw that the originally blue waters of the East Sea had turned pitch black. Dark waves rolled, and countless fish and crabs floated to the surface, their bellies turned up.

They had been poisoned, all of them! The faces of Yuan Kui and others turned grim. Such actions were far from the dignity of a deity. Truly, they were evil and malevolent deities!

But it didn't stop there. Outside the Crystal Palace, there were also many black-robed witch clans. They surrounded a large altar. On the altar, there were four living sacrifices, and faint human figures could be seen, with daggers piercing their chests, blood continuously flowing, gathering at the black banner planted in the center of the altar. The witch clans guarded the altar, continuously worshiping the black banner. The black banner, as if responding, released rolling evil waves, flowing into the sea, polluting the water. The souls of the dead fish and shrimp in the black sea were also absorbed by the altar, strengthening its power.

It turned out that the change in the color of the sea was due to this. The Water Deities, seeing this, naturally understood the cause and effect. Judging by the situation, it was clear that they were not going to be let go. Instead, the Dragon River Assembly was planning to eliminate all the Water Deities present!

Water Deity Chipan was so angry that he laughed, "Gonggong is dead, and you, these small fish and shrimp, dare to claim to eliminate all the Water Deities and establish your own legitimacy? What a joke!" After saying this, he took out a small red banner and waved it at the witch clans.

The other Water Deities, seeing this, exchanged glances and also took action.

Who didn't understand the plan of the Gonggong lineage? It was simply because the Gonggong lineage had lost the favor of heaven and their divine positions, so they came here to seize the essence of the other Water Deities and re-establish their divine status.

Although doing so would bring karmic retribution, they were already burdened with karma from their witch ancestors, so a little more wouldn't matter. As long as they could re-establish their divine positions in the future, they could cleanse the karma.

They were underestimated. Apart from Gonggong himself, the witch ancestor, the Gonggong lineage had no other Quasi-Saints. At most, they had a dozen or so Great Luo-level witch deities.

This was not enough to deal with the two Quasi-Saints of the Dragon Palace, let alone the other Water Deities. Did they really think these Water Deities were just eating their fill?

Thus, the Water Deities each displayed their powers and began to break through.

Yuan Kui, seeing that the Water Deities of the Gonggong lineage were well-prepared, with the altar surrounded by rolling evil waves and black water, frowned. He did not rush to break through but cautiously threw out the River Map from his sleeve, which unfurled in the wind, transforming into a three-zhang-long scroll to protect himself.

Let others take the lead in breaking through!

Indeed, it was not simple. Water Deity Chipan, driving the red banner, summoned the sea waves to attack the altar. However, when the sea waves reached the altar, they disappeared without a trace. The witch clans did not attack the Water Deities but continued to worship the black banner. The black banner, with black mist swirling, gradually formed a human shape, a muscular man with a snake head and a human body, covered in black scales.

The more knowledgeable Water Deities changed their expressions: "Gonggong?"

Yuan Kui was also startled, but then he thought that Gonggong was definitely dead, and even a Sage could not revive him. How could he appear here!

Yuan Kui's thoughts were the same as those of the other Water Deities. Calming down, they continued to observe the altar. With the situation unknown, none of the Water Deities were willing to take the lead. Even Chipan, holding the red water banner, stood to one side, waiting for the next move.

The human shape on the black banner became more solid, spreading its arms and grabbing the four sacrifices to its front. With a single tear, it swallowed the sacrifices alive.

The sacrifices struggled, and Yuan Kui and others finally understood what they were. Four Water Deities, at the same level as Yuan Kui and others, were used as sacrifices.

The faces of the Water Deities turned grim. If these deities could be turned into food, then they would be next. The Water Deities could not bear this.

Water Deity Huai took the lead, picking up his divine staff, reciting a divine spell, and summoning the Nine Heavens' divine thunder to strike the altar. The divine thunder, which dispels evil, made the altar shake, and the black mist became thinner.

Seeing this, the Water Deities understood the altar's weakness and began to summon divine thunder and gather pure water to purify the evil altar.

At this moment, the Crystal Palace was destroyed by the fighting inside, and many Water Deities fought their way out. Ao Yu revealed his true dragon form, baring his fangs and claws, and attacked the witch deities.

Among the black-robed witch deities, the leader also revealed his true form: a snake-headed, human-bodied figure covered in black scales, identical to the witch ancestor Gonggong.

Yuan Kui glanced at him, his heart racing. He reminded himself that this was definitely not Gonggong, who was absolutely dead. But if it wasn't Gonggong, why did it look like him? Could it be a descendant of Gonggong?

Suddenly, Feng Ye transmitted a divine thought, resolving Yuan Kui's doubts. Yuan Kui then looked at the altar.

It turned out that it was not Gonggong's resurrection but the gathering of Gonggong's essence to help his descendant form a true body, thus replacing Gonggong's position. This would maintain the Twelve Great Witch Deities. After all, the Hou Tu lineage had also found someone to replace the position of Lady Hou Tu.

This was not just the plan of the Gonggong lineage but the entire witch clan! They wanted to perfect their Great Witch Array before occupying the Heavenly Court. The Dragon Palace lineage would surely be defeated! Ao Yu and the hidden Quasi-Saint of the Dragon Palace were no match for the ten witch ancestors!

However, if the witch clan acted, the Heavenly Emperor Di Jun would not sit idly by. He would surely help the Dragon Palace! To restrain Di Jun, the witch clan would need at least five witch ancestors to stay behind. With others guarding, the witch ancestors here should not exceed three, and one of them was likely the Water Deity Xuanming, who specialized in water. Otherwise, in the East Sea, with abundant water, they wouldn't send the Fire Deity Zhu Rong, which would be foolish.

As Yuan Kui thought, it turned out that the one who came was indeed the Water Deity Xuanming. However, he was not hiding and not attacking. Instead, he was intercepted by a Dragon Palace elder as soon as he entered the East Sea. They had already engaged in battle far from this area.

Xuanming, as the Water Deity, was also the deity of winter. Snowflakes fell over the sea, and a thick layer of ice formed on the surface. However, the Dragon Palace elder was not weak. As a deity from ancient times, he had his own means. Water dragons swirled around him, and the Nine Dragons Stirring the Sea directly summoned the sea water to attack Xuanming. As the host, the geographical advantage was not to be underestimated.

"Lord Xuanming, our Dragon Palace and the witch clan have always been non-interfering. Why is the witch clan now invading our territory? I recall that the previous Dragon King and your clan's Gonggong had an alliance!"

"Two things that are already dead cannot have an alliance!" A genderless voice came from a human-shaped bone armor. The bone armor was sinister and terrifying, with a faint cold aura. As one of the Twelve Witch Ancestors, Xuanming's gender was one of the ten great mysteries of the primordial era.

"However, if we talk about breaking the alliance, it was the Dragon Palace lineage that acted first! Your small actions with Di Jun, do you really think we didn't see them?"

"Is it the Great Deity Zhu Jiuyin?" The Dragon Palace elder closed his eyes. "Indeed, a deity who controls time, seeing through the past and future, is not to be underestimated."

Xuanming continued, "I am curious, why did you abandon your comfortable life to get involved in the struggle for the Heavenly Emperor? What benefits did Di Jun offer you?"

"Your use of rain and snow is quite impressive!" The Dragon Palace elder answered evasively.

"Natural divine power, naturally impressive," Xuanming coldly replied, suddenly pausing. Xuanming understood the