Chapter 354: Eighth Layer of the Emperor Realm, a Natural Progression

"Please wait a moment, Young Master Zhou. I will go and prepare a gift of thanks."

After saying that, the Mermaid Empress turned and left.

Zhou Chen stood where he was, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

He naturally wouldn't refuse a gift of thanks.

Moreover, he had already obtained the greatest benefit—the mermaid emperors tear.

Before long, the Mermaid Empress returned.

She held an exquisite jade box in her hands.

"Young Master Zhou, this is a small token of my tribe's appreciation. Please accept it."

Zhou Chen opened the jade box, and inside lay several azure beads.

They were exactly Mermaid Tears.

Although Mermaid Tears were not as precious as the mermaid emperors tear, they were still rare treasures.

Every Mermaid Tear contained pure water-attribute energy and could be used for Artifact Refining or Alchemy.

"Thank you, Empress."

Zhou Chen accepted the jade box.

The Mermaid Empress smiled and said, "Young Master Zhou is too polite."

"By the way, my tribe also has a Treasure Pavilion that houses many treasures."

"If Young Master Zhou doesn't mind, you can go in and select a few items."

Zhou Chen's eyes lit up.

This Mermaid Empress was quite sensible.

"Then I shall respectfully comply."

Led by the Mermaid Empress, Zhou Chen arrived at the Treasure Pavilion.

The Treasure Pavilion was located on the other side of the palace and was an independent building.

The exterior of the building was covered with layers of Restrictions, clearly indicating extremely tight security.

The Mermaid Empress circulated her spiritual power, and the Restrictions slowly opened.

The two walked into the Treasure Pavilion, and Zhou Chen was instantly shocked by the sight before him.

The interior of the Treasure Pavilion was much larger than it appeared from the outside.

The shelves all around were filled with various treasures.

There were Secret Manuals, Spirit Medicines, Magic Treasures, weapons, and various rare Materials.

Furthermore, the grades of these treasures were not low; the lowest was Heaven Rank High Grade, while most were Imperial Rank or even Emperor Rank.

"Young Master Zhou, please feel free to choose."

The Mermaid Empress said with a smile.

"However, there is a rule: each person can only choose three items."

Zhou Chen nodded and began to wander through the Treasure Pavilion.

His gaze swept over item after item, but none of them moved his heart.

While these treasures were good, they were of limited use to him now.

Suddenly, Zhou Chen's gaze fell on a jade box in the corner.

The jade box was extremely ordinary, even somewhat dilapidated, but Zhou Chen felt a faint, indistinct fluctuation.

"What is this?"

Zhou Chen walked over and picked up the jade box.

The Mermaid Empress took a look and shook her head. "I don't know either."

"This jade box was picked up from the depths of the seabed by our tribe's ancestors thousands of years ago."

"It has been opened a few times, but there was only a broken stone inside. It's useless."

Zhou Chen's eyes lit up.

A broken stone?

He activated his Divine Sense and probed into the jade box.

In the next second, Zhou Chen's pupils constricted.

The "broken stone" in the jade box was actually emitting an extremely weak trace of Immortal Qi!

This wasn't a broken stone; it was an Immortal Stone fragment!

Immortal Stones were treasures that only existed in the Immortal Realm, containing pure Immortal Qi.

Even a single fragment was worth a fortune.

If Zhou Chen hadn't possessed the chaos bell and come into contact with Immortal Qi before, it would have been difficult for him to distinguish that this was an Immortal Stone.

It was just a pity that he couldn't intercept it, which felt like a bit of a loss; Zhou Chen sighed inwardly.

"I'll take this one."

Zhou Chen said calmly.

The Mermaid Empress was stunned. "Are you sure, Young Master Zhou?"

"There's only a broken stone in that jade box. It's really of no use."

Zhou Chen smiled. "No matter, I just like collecting these strange things."

Seeing Zhou Chen's persistence, the Mermaid Empress stopped trying to persuade him.

"Very well, Young Master Zhou can choose two more items."

Zhou Chen took another turn around the Treasure Pavilion and finally selected an Emperor Rank Low Grade water-attribute Cultivation Technique and an Imperial Rank Top-Grade Spirit Medicine.

These two treasures weren't of much use to him, but they were better than nothing.

"Young Master Zhou, it's getting late. Why not stay for the night?"

The Mermaid Empress suddenly became bashful, inviting him shyly, which gave Zhou Chen a wave of chills.

Zhou Chen shook his head. "Thank you for your kindness, Empress, but I have important matters to attend to and cannot stay longer."

The Mermaid Empress felt some regret but did not force him to stay.

"Fine then, I will see Young Master Zhou out."

After leaving the Ancient Mermaid Kingdom, Zhou Chen did not return to the Academy immediately.

He found a secluded island and landed.

The island was sparsely populated, perfect for secluded cultivation.

Zhou Chen set up a simple Formation on the island to hide himself.

Then, he took out the mermaid emperors tear.

The mermaid emperors tear was only the size of a fingernail, appearing as a crystal-clear blue and emitting a soft glow.

Zhou Chen could feel that the Water Origin contained within the mermaid emperors tear was extremely pure.

"After absorbing this mermaid emperors tear, I wonder how many layers of Law power my comprehension of the Law of Water can reach."

Zhou Chen sat cross-legged and placed the mermaid emperors tear into his mouth.

The mermaid emperors tear melted instantly upon entering his mouth, turning into a cool energy that flowed through his entire body.

This energy was extremely gentle, without a hint of violent aura.

However, the Water Origin it contained shocked Zhou Chen.

He could feel his understanding of the Law of Water beginning to improve at an incredible speed.

Ten percent, twenty percent, thirty percent…

In just a short moment, Zhou Chen's comprehension of the Law of Water reached fifty percent.

And the speed was still increasing.

Sixty percent, seventy percent, eighty percent…

When the energy of the mermaid emperors tear had completely fused, Zhou Chen's comprehension of the Law of Water had surprisingly reached Perfection!

Not only that, but the Small World inside him also expanded once again under the nourishment of the mermaid emperors tear's energy.

The Small World, which was originally ten million miles in radius, instantly expanded to twenty million miles.

It had expanded by exactly double!

Zhou Chen's cultivation also naturally made a Breakthrough to the Eighth Layer of the Emperor Realm.

What surprised Zhou Chen the most was that his imperial dao imprint, the qingping sword, had undergone another change.

On the blade, another Inscription of the Law of Water had appeared.

The power of four Laws had all reached the Realm of Perfection!

Law of Severance, Law of Slaughter, Law of Ice, and Law of Water!

"Four Perfected Laws…"

Zhou Chen opened his eyes, a sharp light flashing within them.

"I'm not far from the Venerable Realm. With four Perfected Laws, breaking through shouldn't be a problem."

He could feel that his strength was several times greater than before.

Currently, even if he faced a powerhouse of the Tenth Layer of the Emperor Realm, he would have the strength to fight.

"But it's still not enough."

Zhou Chen muttered to himself.

"The world is about to change."

Zhou Chen stood up, retracted the Formation, and prepared to leave.

At that moment, he suddenly felt a strong sense of crisis.

Zhou Chen instantly became alert, his Divine Sense sweeping the surroundings.

In the next second, his expression changed slightly.

On the other side of the island, several powerful auras were approaching.

Moreover, these auras were extremely familiar.

"People from the Jiang Family?"

Zhou Chen narrowed his eyes.

He hadn't expected the Jiang Family people to come to the South Sea.

"It seems they are here for the demon seal."

Zhou Chen let out a cold laugh.

Since they had delivered themselves to his doorstep, he wouldn't be polite.

He activated the Divine Concealment Art, completely hiding his aura, and then silently approached those auras.

Soon, Zhou Chen saw the newcomers.

There were five people in total, all wearing black robes with sinister expressions.