The West Sea was vast to the point of seeming endless.
Qin Yun flew over it on a cloud but his mind was elsewhere.
The Dharmic formulation of condensing a sword immortal Essence Soul constantly surfaced in his mind, as he deliberated over it again and again.
The body was capable of accommodating mistakes. Even if a Dharmic formulation had flaws, one could still condense an Essence Soul. It was also why Dharmic formulations had different grades.
Qin Yun did not wish to create a sword immortal Dharmic formulation that could match the Grand Supreme Dao Ancestor's.
Even if it was a little weaker...
It was enough as long as he successfully condensed a sword immortal Essence Soul.
"Am I getting too caught up in the nitty-gritty details?" Qin Yun pondered over the Dharmic formulation as he constantly constructed it in his mind, making minute adjustments.
At this present stage, the general framework was set up. All he needed to do was give it some minor fixes.
As he flew, he deliberated over it.
"Oh? I've reached the Ancient Skydragon Palace!" Qin Yun looked down when he sensed something. With a whoosh, he swooped downwards.
Hua!
He flew to the bottom of the West Sea.
He took the same familiar path into the Ancient Skydragon Palace. The same old Guardian General followed him with two golden hammers hanging by his waist. He joked, "Human, you are here again. How many times have you come? Don't you fail another time."
Although he said so, he was actually very astonished. After all, Qin Yun was able to achieve such potent strength despite being mortal.
"This is the final time," said Qin Yun with a smile.
"Oh? You are really confident." Guardian General was surprised but also impressed.
Soon, they arrived at the entrance to a corridor. It was the one that led straight into the middle of the Ancient Skydragon Palace. Qin Yun waved his hand, sending a wisp of misty rain flying out of his fingertip. It seemed to be burning like a meteor and, with a flash, it penetrated the various array formation seals at the entrance. The twenty-six layers shattered in a blink of an eye, much faster than Qin Yun's previous attempt when he used the Grotto-heaven Sword Calabash.
"That fast?" Guardian General could not help but twitch when he saw how fast Qin Yun was destroying the seals. "Is he really going to obtain everything in the Ancient Skydragon Palace?"
"Boom!"
The meteor-like flying sword tore through the corridor and struck the surface of the distant palatial hall in the middle.
Layers of golden barriers rose across its surface. The Dreamlike Sword's seventh move, Stars Like Rain, only trembled for an instant before shattering one layer. It followed by shattering the second and third layer, its might decreasing drastically each time.
"I actually need to cast another strike," thought Qin Yun.
The flying sword rose again as it cast Stars Like Rain once more.
After studying the various Dharma spells of the Blue Clouds Immortal Dharma, his Stars Like Rain was about fifty to sixty percent stronger than it was half a year ago.
This strike tore through the remaining three layers before the golden barriers could recover.
At the instant they were broken through, the flying sword spun around and dug into the core of the array formation. The central hall's array formation completely crumbled.
Following that, Qin Yun flew over.
"He succeeded?" the Guardian General looked at the scene in a daze as he watched Qin Yun casually fly to the central hall. "Has the day His Majesty been waiting for finally come?"
Qin Yun had a faint misty shroud lingering around him. It was his most compatible Dharma spell from the Blue Clouds Immortal Dharma—All Heavens Cloud Shroud.
This was also a powerful Dharma spell ranked in the top three of the Blue Clouds Immortal Dharma. According to the Dharma spell's description, cultivating it to its most perfect state according to legend would match some of the more potent divine powers, allowing one to withstand the strikes of Golden Immortals or Buddhas! However... ordinary ninth firmament Skyimmortals could only cultivate the Dharma spell to a phenomenal success stage. The chances of reaching perfection were slim.
As Qin Yun's Dharmic powers were relatively weak, his casting of the All Heavens Cloud Shroud was only equivalent to the might of the Green Leaf Flying Sword casting the Cyclic Sword Flash.
As he maintained the All Heavens Cloud Shroud, Qin Yun walked into the central hall.
The hall had a coiled Skydragon corpse lying inside. There was a huge pool of blood on the ground.
"Whoosh."
From the Skydragon corpse, a dragon's phantom appeared.
It coiled in midair, its eyes penetrating the doors to the hall as though it was looking at a particular spot across infinite space. "I am the owner of this dragon palace, Ba Yun. I was born in the Dragon Mountain world. It is a Small World with a massive number of dragons living in it. It is my true homeworld. However, the Dragon Mountain world suffered an attack from a ninth firmament Skyfiend existence, Old Fiend Fire Puppet. Ninety-nine percent of the dragons in Dragon Mountain world perished, with very few surviving."
"My father and mother fought Old Fiend Fire Puppet with all their might. They exhorted my uncle to flee with me."
"I was still very young back then and was one of the few dragons that managed to escape."
"Although I have experienced a lot, even to the point of cultivating to become a Skydragon, bringing many dragons with me to call this Small World home, I still think of the Dragon Mountain world fondly. The Thousand Revolutions Dragon Lake and Mt. Sword Severing in the Dragon Mountain world remain unforgettable to me. It is the place where I spent the most beautiful and freest days of my life." The Skydragon phantom appeared to be looking at a spot across the distant cosmos.
"I'm about to die."
"I have no other request. I only wish that after my death, you burn my corpse to ashes and scatter them in the Thousand Revolutions Dragon Lake in Dragon Mountain world," said the dragon phantom. "That place is currently occupied by Old Fiend Fire Puppet. To send me back, you'll probably need to kill him..."
"I know it's very difficult. It was only before my death that I realized my greatest wish is to return to my homeworld."
"It's not a demand but a request."
"If you are able to do so... please help me. Let me return to the place where my father and mother died." The dragon phantom sighed lightly.
Qin Yun looked up.
He looked at the massive dragon phantom and its wistful eyes.
He knew that this was a projection left behind before the Skydragon's death. It would only show this message to the first person that entered the hall.
The eyes of the dragon phantom were filled with a longing thirst.
"If you enter with a mortal's body, perhaps you have a chance of fighting Old Fiend Fire Puppet," said the dragon phantom in a self-deprecating manner. "Of course, it's also possible that my array formation has gradually lost its potency over long periods of time, making the person that is hearing this not the absolute genius cultivator I wish for."
"Regardless, I only have this wish."
"Dragon Mountain world..."
"Father... Mother..."
The dragon phantom raised his head as his eyes glazed over.
His final memories were of seeing his father and mother the way they looked when they battled Old Fiend Fire Puppet.
Qin Yun silently watched the dragon phantom dissipate.
"I never expected this ancient Skydragon to have such a history. Before his parents' death, they still wished for their child to live on." Qin Yun felt the longing for his daughter. "I'm the same. I wish for my daughter to lead a better life, even if I have to offer up my own."
Upon thinking of his daughter's suffering, Qin Yun turned more anxious.
His daughter had been sent to the fiendcelestial world not long after she was born. She later landed in the hands of Yellow-robed Supremacy who had a grudge towards dragons. Thinking of all the terrible fates that his daughter might encounter, Qin Yun felt like his heart was being ripped to shreds.
"If it's possible, I will send you back to the Dragon Mountain world. I'll scatter your ashes in the Thousand Revolutions Dragon Lake," said Qin Yun as he looked at the ancient Skydragon's corpse. "Of course, that will be a thing I do very far in the future. I will need to rescue my daughter first."
Moments later.
"Boom!!!"
All the array formations in the Ancient Skydragon Palace crumbled. Without the array formation to sustain them, many buildings collapsed. The remnant buildings could be fully seen in the West Sea so that even ordinary members of the Water race could see the ruin.
Qin Yun left with all the treasures of the Ancient Skydragon Palace.