With a divine technique like Blood Warp, even if he could not snatch the ck Emperor Key, running would be a simple feat. At this current level, no one in the Ten Thousand Nations Territory could catch up to him when he used Blood Warp.


    He hid his aura and slowed his movements, sneaking forward. Using the Soul Swallowing Gaze, he could easily locate the other person.


    This person was fifty meters below Long Chen and was still descending. Long Chen guessed that they were heading towards the ck Emperor Key.


    Looking at them with the Soul Swallowing Gaze, it was likely a Heavenly Martial Realm cultivator, though he did not know who.


    But after proceeding for a while, Long Chen suddenly sensed something, and his eyes lit up.


    “The ck Emperor Key is right there, and there seems to be something next to it …”


    “It’s the aura of a demonic beast. A Category Nine King-tier beast,” said Xiang from within the Primordial Realm. Long Chen was not strong enough to face Wu Lian, so he could not let anyone see Xiang for the moment.


    “Demonic beast?” Long Chen was a little puzzled. There were so many people in theke; why had it not reacted at all?


    “This is a beast known as the Golden-Eyed Water Beast. It’s a lion-type beast who is usually in a state of deep slumber. It looks like a stone lion and will only wake up when someone else disturbs it. Just like how a person reacts when their sleep is disturbed, the awakened Golden-Eyed Water Beast rages violently. However, its demonic core is valuable and could help youplete your cultivation of the ck Emperor Churning Heaven Seal!”“Really?” Long Chen thought for a moment and felt like he was actually very lucky. The Golden-Eyed Water Beast was actually much more useful to him than the ck Emperor Key.


    A Category Nine King-tier beast was not easy to defeat. He did not know why the ck Emperor Key would appear here with it, but Long Chen was not in a hurry. If the beast woke up, there was an expert to deal with it nearby. All he had to do was get the timing right.


    <em>Those six demons were the ones who released the ck Emperor Key. Based on their personalities, it’s not surprising that they put the key next to the Golden-Eyed Water Beast once they learned of it.</em>


    With that thought, Long Chen grew more careful.


    Using the Soul Swallowing Gaze, he saw that the beast was in a deep slumber. Its soul was veryrge, but it was difficult to see through the Soul Swallowing Gaze. Perhaps its soul would appear clearer once it was awake.


    Suddenly, the expert below stopped. Despite being in a whirlpool, they were able to stop in a stable manner. This showed that they were at least stronger than Long Chen.


    Long Chen continued ahead and peered closely. Looking at the person’s back, it was likely the patriarch of the Water n, which was part of the Five Elements Alliance. Long Chen did not know his name. The Water n’s patriarch had been in Tianyi Water City for a long time, so he likely knew about the Golden-Eyed Water Beast. He must havee here to try his luck. Based on his reaction, he must have spotted the ck Emperor Key.


    Long Chen looked towards the depths and spotted a gigantic stone lion statue. It was more than a hundred meters tall and very life-like. It looked magnificent and regal, like a perfect art piece.


    Who would have guessed that it was a slumbering beast?


    The stone lion stood at the bottom of theke, looking upwards.


    Long Chen was shocked to see a blue, glowing key between its eyes. This key was almost identical to Bai Lan’s key. It was the same size, and the only difference was its color.


    That was undeniably the ck Emperor Key.


    The ck Emperor Key was stabbed between its eyes, but this had not woken the lion.


    The Water n patriarch was focused on the beast, so he did not notice Long Chen, who was a hundred meters away.


    The patriarch muttered to himself, “The ck Emperor Key is here. Why didn’t I see it thest time I was here?”


    He was puzzled. After studying the beast for a while, he continued, “Half of the key is embedded in the stone lion’s head. If I pull it out, it will wake the lion up. Who did this?”


    The ck Emperor Key was the highest priority of the Five Elements Alliance. It was imperative that he retrieved it. The Golden-Eyed Water Beast was only a Category Nine King-tier beast and he was at the First Heavenly Martial Stage, so he was not worried at all.


    There was no time to call for help. What if someone else discovered it?


    With that thought, the patriarch made his decision.


    He was about twenty meters away from the beast and approached it quickly.


    “Let’s give you some fun.” Far away, Long Chen grinned. He then dove towards the beast and picked up a hard pebble. He flicked hard enough so that the pebble broke the stone lion’s skin and prated one meter deep.


    In its stone form, the Golden-Eyed Water Beast’s body was not that tough. That was why Long Chen’s minor attackpletely startled it.


    It was not going to be easy for the Water patriarch to retrieve the key.


    Long Chen had already descended far below to the beast’s legs. That was why the Water patriarch did not sense the movement of the pebble in the water.


    However, he sensed that the beast was awakening.


    “Why is it waking up?” The Water patriarch did not know what had happened. He gasped when the stone lion’s gray stone exterior turned blue starting from its head, turning into a gigantic, blue lion. It had a dense mane that looked like it was made of steel needles, and it was covered in powerful muscles. At a nce, it looked much stronger than the Sun Devouring Wolf!


    The gray stone quickly turned into blue fur with blue light flowing on its surface.


    A destructive power erupted from its body!


    The beast’s eyes sprang open. Each eye was two whole meters in diameter, and they were golden, of course! They looked like two suns at the bottom of theke!


    “Roar!”


    An earth-shattering roar sounded, and water churned ferociously. The Golden-Eyed Water Beast spotted the Water patriarch as soon as it opened its eyes, which turned even more golden. It hadn’t been disturbed in many years.


    The more intense the golden color in its eyes, the angrier it was.


    “The damn animal!” Although the beast was awake, the Water patriarch did not worry. However, he did not dare get too close and created some distance between them. He studied the beast as it caused the water to churn.


    Due to its size and power, the wholeke was affected when it moved. Even the people on the shore could sense the change. That deafening roar meant that a powerful beast was about to appear.


    Those who were bolder and stronger went towards the source of the roar. The more timid and weaker ones quickly backed away!


    “I can’t let it continue causing thismotion. I need to settle this quickly.” The Water patriarch shot toward the beast like an underwater arrow. An intense battle ignited instantly. The beast’s strengths were its powerful body and experience in underwater battles, while the Water patriarch had an advantage due to his higher cultivation level.


    After a brief exchange, the patriarch did not manage to defeat the beast.


    “If this goes on, someone will arrive! I cannot let this drag on!” The Water patriarch quickly activated his domain. Although a First Heavenly Martial Stage cultivator’s domain was notrge, this was a huge blow to an opponent who had not reached the Heavenly Martial Realm yet, especially demonic beasts!


    A force that came from all directions acted on the beast’s body. The restriction on its movement infuriated the beast even more, and it roared with all its might. The muscles all over its body rippled, causing waves to churn and destroying the natural whirlpool.


    “Clear Water Strike!”


    After using his domain to restrict the beast’s movements, the Water patriarch gently pressed his palm on the Golden-Eyed Water Beast’s head. At the same time, he quickly retrieved the ck Emperor Key.


    It had been struck directly with an Emperor-tier attack. The beast cried with pain as the Clear Water Strike shattered its brain. Only Demon Emperors could withstand a strike like that from a Heavenly Martial Realm cultivator. The Golden-Eyed Water Beast clearly could not.


    Long Chen sensed its life force quickly disappearing after the Water patriarch’s powerful attack.


    “That’s my chance.” Long Chen quickly rushed to the beast’s leg. Being on the brink of death, the beast did not have any strength to fight back. Long Chen directly grabbed the gigantic, boundless beast and ced it in the Primordial Realm.


    The gigantic Golden-Eyed Water Beast disappeared into thin air.


    After getting its demonic core, Long Chen would be able to cultivate the ck Emperor Churning Heaven Seal.


    But the Water patriarch was one step ahead of him and was able to retrieve the ck Emperor Key.


    After the key and the beast had been taken away, Long Chen and the Water patriarch looked at each other. They were a hundred meters apart. The Water patriarch finally noticed that there had been another person present. More importantly, that person was Long Chen.


    “You were the one who startled the Golden-Eyed Water Beast? Is that why it woke up?” asked the Water patriarch through gritted teeth with a dark gaze.


    “What if it was? What if it wasn’t? What can you do?” said Long Chen with a smile.