The Violent Dragon Pillar of the Vast Ocean before him was about the size of a regular cudgel and seemed to be made of blue crystal. An exceedingly lifelike azure dragon circled it, appearing to observe Wu Yu through eyes that withheld a sentient intelligence.

For a moment, Wu Yu had the misconception that the pillar standing before him was not a dao treasure, but an actual living being instead.

Comparing a supreme immortal treasure to a dao treasure, the most obvious disparity was the presence of sentience within the latter. Seeing that Wu Yu was trying to destroy the spirit design, the azure dragon could capitalize on the opportunity to counterattack and utterly destroy Emperor Yan's Hall together with Wu Yu.

After all, it was once a true living dragon.

Now Wu Yu felt as if he were confronted by an elder being.

In fact, he was slightly nervous. Now that fate had brought him together with the Violent Dragon Pillar of the Vast Ocean, it only remained to be seen whether this dao treasure could accept him as its new owner.

The Violent Dragon Pillar of the Vast Ocean continued to shrink. The massive entity that had once guarded the East Sea Swirls now appeared to be the size of a pen in front of Wu Yu.

A myriad of colorful lights encircled the cudgel, forming a captivating sight indeed.

The immortal treasure spirit did not attempt to communicate with Wu Yu, yet Wu Yu understood its thoughts. While it was indebted to Wu Yu as its savior, it probably felt that the current Wu Yu was still too weak to fully harness its power. Therefore, it could follow Wu Yu for the moment, but would only truly become his dao treasure when his strength had increased to a point where he was qualified to form a blood bond with the Violent Dragon Pillar of the Vast Ocean.

Basically, dao treasures were all priceless possessions. It was normal for this one to have such a strong character.

Nonetheless, Wu Yu was thrilled. After all, he was confident that as long as the Violent Dragon Pillar of the Vast Ocean did not shun him directly, he would be able to control it eventually.

If even Beishan Mo and Murong Xu could control dao treasures, even though they had obtained theirs through their respective legacies, then why couldn't he?

Wu Yu grabbed the dao treasure and flicked it into his Sumeru Pouch. Although he could not use it now, at least it belonged to him!

A dao treasure!

No matter what, the rewards of this trip to the East Sea were too bountiful. Not only had he majorly sabotaged Emperor Yan's Hall, which was the ghostly cultivators' line of support to fall back on, and sent the countless ghostly cultivators guarding this place to their doom, he had obtained this dao treasure! The value that this dao treasure would bring him definitely far surpassed that of the Damask of the Sea's Heart.

After finishing up his business, Wu Yu quietly left for the prearranged meeting spot to meet Jiu Ying.

Now that the sea was gradually calming down, one could see the rubble and debris left from Emperor Yan's Hall floating everywhere in the depths of the ocean. Occasionally, immortal essences or immortal treasures would surface. In no time at all, the East Sea would probably be swarmed by roaming ghostly cultivators in the hopes of finding stray treasures. Once Emperor Yan's Hall had been destroyed, their chances of safely and successfully finding treasures would be drastically greater compared to invading the divine continent.

Wu Yu had also gathered loot aplenty. Unfortunately, the situation was too chaotic, thus he did not manage to obtain more possessions from the Ghostly Sages.

The minor fortunes strewn along his path did not arouse his greed; he quickly travelled in the direction of their meeting spot.

There was no doubt that the destruction of Emperor Yan's Hall would bring about colossal impact to the divine continent and the East Sea! The only thing that remained to be seen was whether this would be enough to halt the Necro Lord's advance. Or perhaps spread the news to the other ghostly cultivators that their backline was now in shambles, and force them to retreat.

He knew in his heart that based on his current ability, this was already the most that he could do for the divine continent.

As he travelled within the deep sea, Wu Yu could vaguely hear the pandemonium ensuing outside. Many ghostly cultivators were gathering in the vicinity of the East Sea Swirls; they were confounded, and stared at the scene before them in utter disbelief.

Not long after, Wu Yu found Jiu Ying near the small island that was their rendezvous point. Upon meeting, they hurriedly descended into the depths of the ocean and sped off in the direction of the divine continent.

"Are you alright? How's your injury?" Wu Yu asked.

"They're just minor flesh wounds, don't worry," Jiu Ying replied nonchalantly. Nonetheless, he was also exhilarated after having accomplished such a momentous deed. He said, "The news seems to have been spread to the divine continent. It must be the talk of the town over there right now."

Wu Yu nodded. "I truly hope it helps them in some way or another. However, the Ghostly Emperor and eight Emperors will definitely come looking for us after hearing about this. We'll have to be extra careful on the way back."

"Of course, I've already planned our route. We'll make a detour to the Southern Sea area of the divine continent. It'll be a little further, but that's OK as long as it's safe," Jiu Ying replied.

Naturally, Wu Yu had no issue with his plan.

Their current priority was to return to the divine continent immediately. Wu Yu knew that the Necro Lord's aim was probably to obtain the egg he was carrying with him now, which was probably the inextricable link connecting the Necro Lord and the Heaven Devouring Evil Lord. Under these circumstances, Wu Yu had to protect the egg at all costs and avoid discovery by the Ghostly Emperor.

The two of them continued along their journey with haste, beneath the ocean depths.

In actuality, this boundless sea had indeed done them a huge favor. Within its domain, the ghostly cultivators, such as Duomingshan Shengxue, could not easily spot them.

While on the way, Jiu Ying received a Message Talisman. He frowned upon reading it, saying, "My father has gotten wind of my actions. He's a little displeased, and thinks that I acted too rashly. There has been some unrest in the Gloomy Dreams Seas, mainly involving Zhu Huang and her followers being unhappy that I ruined their chances of an alliance with the ghostly cultivators. Because our success this time was largely due to the presence of Uncle Ba, this basically means I'll have to bear full responsibility for it in the Gloomy Dreams Seas."

"Isn't that perfect? The demons and ghostly cultivators have fallen out; now that we've destroyed Emperor Yan's Hall, Zhu Huang can't form an alliance with the ghostly cultivators even if she wanted to. With the tense situation right now, it's better for the demons to remain in the Gloomy Dreams Seas; otherwise, it might trigger even greater chaos," Wu Yu said.

"Be that as it may, I only worry that Zhu Huang pushes the blame onto my father and individually enters an alliance with the ghostly cultivators. This would directly sunder the Gloomy Dreams Seas and cause an irreparable rift between the factions. Of course, my father would never allow her to have her way. Therefore, we just have to hope that my father will be able to suppress Zhu Huang. The challenges my father has been facing, caused by Zhu Huang's rise in these recent years, have been increasing steadily. Especially so ever since she adopted the Blood Dragon of Mount Wu as her foster son!"

The moment he mentioned the Blood Dragon of Mount Wu, Jiu Ying's animosity became even more apparent!

That was his paramount rival in the Endless Demon Seas.

Jiu Ying's breakthroughs were extremely rapid, but the Blood Dragon of Mount Wu was by no means inferior. As a result, they had remained evenly-matched throughout this period of time.

Not long after, Wu Yu also received a core-tail talisman from the Imperial General.

The Imperial General said, "Wu Yu, I've heard of your tremendous achievement and have the utmost admiration for you. Your contribution to the divine continent has far surpassed the rest of us, and the merits you have accumulated will be a great boon on your path towards immortality! However, the ghostly cultivators are now riled up by this. Although the Ghostly Emperor hasn't shown himself before, we've deduced that he will probably retaliate in force soon. The final confrontation should be drawing near, so you should take caution and return to Yan Huang Imperial City now that you've completed your mission. As for us, it's about time to face the Ghostly Emperor directly and decide who's the victor!"

The Imperial General's words put Wu Yu's heart slightly more at ease.

Nonetheless, he was still unable to maintain absolute calm.

"A decisive confrontation with the Ghostly Emperor to decide who's the victor! This will surely be a thrilling experience! Given the combined strength of the many talents in the divine continent, I wonder if we'll be able to destroy the Ghostly Emperor!

"The Ghostly Emperor was able to defeat all of the eight Emperors at the same time. His level of power should be even more fearsome than that of both the Yan Huang City Lord and the Taixu Sage Master. This battle will essentially decide the fate of the divine continent!

"The Dong Sheng Divine Continent must never be allowed to become the next Four Islands of the East Sun, a living hell on earth!"

After seeing the desolation of the Four Islands of the East Sun, Wu Yu had even more conviction in his beliefs. The ghostly dao was an abomination, an affront to all that was righteous!

The purpose of cultivation was not merely to achieve merit!

"One day, I'll surely erase the ghostly dao from the face of the earth."

He vowed to himself.

Following this, they focused on travelling as quickly as possible through the ocean, making a large detour on the way back to Yan Huang Imperial City. Along the way, he only engaged in minimal conversation with Jiu Ying.

"I wonder what the situation in the divine continent is right now."

Even though they were rushing at top speed, it would still be a while before they could reach the divine continent, because of the detour they had taken.

Wu Yu was also concerned about the Dong Yue Wu Kingdom. The Dong Yue Wu Kingdom was right on the edge of the East Sea, and was in extreme peril!

He had no idea if the conflict had already extended to affect that area.

At the bottom of the sea, there were only a few signs of marine life. Occasionally, there would be beings that had managed to become demons, but they did not dare to approach Wu Yu and Jiu Ying.

Seeing as they seemed to be nearing the Dong Sheng Divine Continent, the two of them could finally breathe a sigh of relief after returning. Throughout the past few days, they had not dared to ask about the current situation in the divine continent, for fear that there would be bad news while they were helpless to do anything about it.

As they reached the shallower regions of the ocean, Wu Yu suddenly received another core-tail talisman.

It was also from the Imperial General.

Upon reading its contents, Wu Yu was thunderstruck. His eyes turned a deep red as if streaked with blood!

"What has happened!?" Jiu Ying was panicking.

On the core-tail talisman, the Imperial General had written, "The Ghostly Emperor's target seems to be you. Once he found out that you destroyed Emperor Yan's Hall, he finally revealed himself. However, he didn't attack, instead choosing to take control of your Dong Yue Wu Kingdom. He has released the news and demands that you appear before him swiftly; otherwise, he will torment every living being in the Dong Yue Wu Kingdom. Our fighting forces have already reached the borders of Dong Yue Wu. Unfortunately, he arrived earlier and has already put the entire kingdom on lockdown. It would be imprudent for us to force our way in, since Dong Yue Wu would be the first casualty in the event of a direct confrontation."

The Ghostly Emperor's actions were undeniably despicable and shameless! But he had indeed caught on to Wu Yu's weakness.

He had probably conducted an extensive investigation before finding out that Wu Yu's old home was coincidentally in the vicinity of the battlefield. To the Ghostly Emperor and the eight Emperors, it was undoubtedly an easy task to take over an ordinary mortal kingdom. Even destroying it would be no trouble at all for them.

Whereas the Yan Huang City Lord and the rest of them could never have imagined that their target would be Wu Yu. Having invested such a huge amount of resources to invade the divine continent, perhaps occupying the divine continent was just one of their goals, while Wu Yu was another, especially after his destruction of Emperor Yan's Hall. As such, before the Yan Huang City Lord and his allies had even thought about protecting a remote location like Dong Yue Wu, the Ghostly Emperor and the Eight Emperors had already reached and held all of the lives of Dong Yue Wu's people in their hands, including Wu You, Feng Xueya, and the others.

To Wu Yu, this was an unprecedented threat.

For every foot the dao gained, the forces of evil grew by a zhang.

Battles between martial cultivators seldom involved one's family and other mortals, but ghostly cultivators had no such qualms. They placed no restrictions on their actions.

Therefore, this gave Wu Yu a nasty shock. This piece of news was truly a bolt from the blue. This was Emperor Yan's Hall's retaliation to his destruction of their base. The crisis that lay before him was too terrifying.

Even the Imperial General and the others had no way of resolving it, other than getting him to rush back to Dong Yue Wu as soon as possible.

Time was running out...