Chapter 679: It's Really You, Shen Mo
The Myriad Tribulations Thunder Prison was a Dao Saint Artifact. The space within it was self-contained. Naturally, it was not that simple.
The railings and torture tools of the Myriad Tribulations Thunder Prison, when taken out individually, were at least Low-grade Saint Artifacts. This Demon-Binding Lock was one of the many torture tools.
The Myriad Tribulations Thunder Prison and the White Bone Malevolent Fiend Scripture had fought for many years, and their spirituality had gradually been worn down. Many torture tools were also damaged.
However, not many of the torture tools were thrown out of the Myriad Tribulations Thunder Prison during the battle. This Demon-Binding Lock was one of them.
Moreover, because it was rusty, it wasn't tasty. The Malevolent Lightning Dragon also did not discover anything unusual about it and only regarded it as a regular spiritual artifact.
Thus, Shen Mo had the opportunity to pick it up as a bargain.
Shen Mo did not value the power of the Demon-Binding Lock. Instead, he valued the connection between the Demon-Binding Lock and the Myriad Tribulations Thunder Prison.
Shi Tianhao's recent opportunities had shown that the Demon-Binding Lock contained a wisp of the Myriad Tribulations Thunder Prison's spirituality.
In Shi Tianhao's predetermined fate, he obtained this Demon-Binding Lock and thus grasped a trace of the Myriad Tribulations Thunder Prison's authority.
A Dao Saint Artifact was a supreme treasure that only those in the Saint Realm could wield!
For cultivators below the Saint Realm, even being able to grasp a trace of a Dao Saint Artifact's authority was extremely terrifying.
In this Myriad Tribulations Thunder Prison, holding a trace of the Myriad Tribulations Thunder Prison's authority meant one could almost walk unhindered!
After all, the Myriad Tribulations Thunder Prison had been formed by the Myriad Tribulations Thunder Prison and the White Bone Malevolent Fiend Scripture battling for tens of thousands of years.
Every corner and every inch of land contained the power of the two Dao Saint Artifacts.
If one had to describe it, it was like having the back door to a game and possessing administrator privileges.
From the moment he obtained the Demon-Binding Lock, Shi Tianhao was like a pig on the wind in this Myriad Tribulations Thunder Prison. He would rise to great heights, soaring ninety thousand miles.
This kind of opportunity was not to be missed.
But Shen Mo did not take the Demon-Binding Lock immediately.
Instead, he pretended to pass by it casually.
Finally, he chose the two Taoist robes next to the Demon-Binding Lock.
Both of these Taoist robes were top-grade heavenly spiritual artifacts. Shen Mo naturally no longer had any use for them.
These two spiritual artifacts were just a cover for the Demon-Binding Lock.
"These will do."
Shen Mo said calmly.
Roar roar!
The Malevolent Lightning Dragon let out a low growl, shaking its head repeatedly. "No... two... only... one!"
Shen Mo sneered, "Don't forget, you just attacked me. You didn't keep your word."
The Malevolent Lightning Dragon flared up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
But it knew it was helpless against Shen Mo.
In the end, all its vines could only retract.
"Fine," the Malevolent Lightning Dragon said angrily.
"Hmm, this thing is also good. I'll take it too, as a bonus."
Shen Mo picked up the two Taoist robes and took the Demon-Binding Lock as well.
The Malevolent Lightning Dragon looked helpless but could only nod.
This human cultivator was too greedy.
Anyway, that rusty chain was useless.
He could have it.
Shen Mo chuckled, throwing the three items into his storage ring.
"This is yours."
He casually tossed the ten-thousand-year-old tree heart of the Thunder Bone Wood King over.
The Malevolent Lightning Dragon hastily swallowed it in one gulp, and its giant eyes immediately showed a look of satisfaction.
Shen Mo strode away.
He exposed his back to the Malevolent Lightning Dragon.
The look in the Malevolent Lightning Dragon's eyes changed several times.
It was sometimes fierce, sometimes violent, and sometimes hesitant.
In the end, it was completely resigned.
It couldn't win, it couldn't win.
Just let him go.
Shen Mo walked back.
But he encountered an unexpected old acquaintance.
That small girl with white hair and fox ears, wasn't it Hu Xinyue?
"Shen Mo, is it really you?"
Hu Xinyue asked, biting her lip.
Shen Mo smiled faintly. "It's me. What's wrong?"
Hu Xinyue said seriously, "How did you get to the Eastern Continent so quickly?"
Shen Mo just smiled without speaking.
Hu Xinyue knew she had asked something she shouldn't have. After thinking for a moment, she said, "After the incident at the Cangqueen Grotto, your name spread throughout the Southern Heaven Archipelago."
"The Black Yin Cave Heaven, Heavenly Talisman Sect, Myriad Manifestations Holy Land, Blood God Demonic Court, and Flaming Flood Dragon Hall—all sects and factions want to find you."
She said with emotion, "No one would have expected you to appear in the Eastern Continent. Why didn't you stay in the Southern Heaven?"
Shen Mo gave a half-smile. "I took three of the nine high-grade saint artifacts from the Cangqueen Supreme. If I had walked out of the Cangqueen Grotto, would I have been able to leave alive?"
Hu Xinyue's expression froze, and her face became a little stiff. What Shen Mo said was true. With three high-grade saint artifacts right in front of them, even cultivators in the Supreme Realm would be tempted.
Shen Mo casually asked, "How are my friends doing now?"
Hu Xinyue nodded. "You mean those cultivators from Hidden Dragon Island?"
"The Sun Moon Sect, Hidden Dragon Island, and the Treasure Alliance of the Falling Star Sea Domain are all gone. After a period of chaos, they finally unified and formed a new sect, the Falling Star Sect."
"Thanks to your connection with them, your friends now hold important positions in the Falling Star Sect."
Shen Mo couldn't help but smile. This was good news.
Song Zhenfei, Liu Yuntian, Zhang Changheng, and Wei Jincheng had a life-and-death friendship with him. He was happy for them if they could live well because of it.
"Thank you for telling me," Shen Mo said with a smile, about to leave.
He had to hurry and refine the Demon-Binding Lock.
Hu Xinyue bit her red lip. "Wait..."
"What is it?" Shen Mo frowned.
Hu Xinyue said seriously, "I haven't repaid you for saving me and escorting me out of the grotto. Now, you've saved my life again from the Malevolent Lightning Dragon."
"I was originally going to give you an Eight Desolations Battle-Breaking Talisman. My mother even spent a fortune at the Heavenly Talisman Sect to buy one, but I didn't expect you to not come out of the Cangqueen Grotto, and you mysteriously disappeared."
"But I didn't bring that talisman with me..."
Hu Xinyue gave an awkward smile. Her previous debt of gratitude was unpaid, and now a new one had been added. Would she be indebted to Shen Mo forever?
Shen Mo waved his hand. "I don't need the Eight Desolations Battle-Breaking Talisman anymore. Let's talk about it another time."
With that, he lightly stepped on the ground, and his body, like a flash of light, disappeared without a trace.
Hu Xinyue opened her mouth, wanting to speak, but didn't have the time to say it.
"I..."
She looked helpless. She was the Saintess of the Heavenly Fox Clan after all, and her looks weren't bad. Why didn't this Shen Mo care about her at all?
Slurp...
Zesheng poked his big head out from her arms and licked the back of her hand. His big, watery eyes stared at her.
He seemed to be asking her what was wrong.
Hu Xinyue gave a helpless smile.
"It's nothing, little one. I just... met a very unreasonable person."
In a cave.
The original owner of the cave was a hospitable Malevolent Lightning Python.
Knowing that Shen Mo had entered the Myriad Tribulations Thunder Prison alone, it not only offered its delicious snake meat to fill Shen Mo's belly but also left its snakeskin behind to serve as material for Shen Mo's future artifact forging.
It was truly a selfless act.
Shen Mo set up various formations around the cave. After confirming everything was in order, he took out the Demon-Binding Lock.
His eyes were burning as he stared intently at the lock.
The rusty surface of the chain was just a disguise. The spirituality hidden within it needed to meet certain conditions to be reawakened.
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