Chapter 419: Burning Sky Clam Pearl

Hai Mei was about to resist the order. That was a treasure the Demon Emperor had waited ten years for. This time, to ensure nothing went wrong, two trusted generals had even been dispatched. How could outsiders be allowed to know?

However, the thought of resistance had barely surfaced when a sharp pain once again assaulted her soul. The terrifying memories from before reasserted their dominance, startling her into saying, "I'll tell you! I'll tell you!"

"The Blazing Heaven Clam Pearl has emerged early! Normally, it should have appeared three days from now, but the Nascent Soul jade talisman's attack just now allowed it to absorb an immense amount of extra energy, which is why it emerged ahead of schedule."

The Blazing Heaven Clam Pearl? Jiang Fan looked thoughtful, wondering where he had heard that name before.

Meanwhile, Yue Mingzhu gasped in surprise. "What? Does the Blazing Heaven Clam Pearl truly exist? Isn't that the legendary item said to help the Demon Emperor break through to the Soul Transformation realm? Back then, the late-stage Nascent Soul tiger demon who unified the demon race searched for the Blazing Heaven Clam Pearl his entire life but never found it."

"There's actually one here!" Her eyes gleamed with solemnity as she declared, "This clam pearl must not be allowed to remain! Otherwise, our human race will face great catastrophe! Lead the way!"

She couldn't imagine the terrible consequences if a Soul Transformation realm demon beast emerged within the demon race. This pearl absolutely could not fall into the hands of the demon race; it had to be destroyed.

Hai Mei resisted, saying, "It cannot be destroyed! Our demon race urgently needs it..."

But Jiang Fan's command rang out: "Lead the way!"

Unable to resist further, Hai Mei could only turn and swim towards Taihu Lake. She noticed the two behind her weren't moving. Turning her head, she saw them hesitating, unsure how to enter the water. Hai Mei hesitated briefly, then opened her mouth and expelled a bubble, enclosing only Jiang Fan. She said, "This bubble will allow Young Master to breathe underwater for an hour." She then plunged into the water.

Yue Mingzhu scoffed, "You're more petty than a needle's eye! Just because I made you Jiang Fan's slave? Do you resent me that much? How stingy! Do you think I can't enter the water without you?" She rummaged in her sleeve, pulled out a water-repelling pearl, and popped it into her mouth.

Jiang Fan muttered, "You really have a lot of good stuff." Just a casual rummage in her sleeve always seemed to produce strange and wonderful treasures.

Hearing this, Yue Mingzhu couldn't help but clench her delicate fist and lightly tap him. "How can you have the nerve to say that? You just casually pulled out a jade talisman capable of a Nascent Soul attack, then another pull, and it was the spiritual artifact, the Violet Sword! Weren't all of them peerless treasures that made her envious? Truly, if it had been anyone else, she would have killed them and seized their treasures hundreds of times over. It was only Jiang Fan that she could tolerate."

"Let's go! Your precious, beautiful spirit pet is already worried you can't keep up!" Yue Mingzhu glanced at Hai Mei, who was ahead and turning her head to look back. She sounded a little jealous.

Jiang Fan was speechless. "You're getting jealous of a demon beast?" Shaking his head, he plunged into the water.

Before long, guided by Hai Mei, they dove deep into the lake, reaching the bottom. They arrived in front of an underwater palace. On the architrave of the grand hall, there was a line of text covered by algae.

Jiang Fan looked at it, showing surprise. "It's actually demon script. Could this underwater grand hall be related to the demon race?"

Yue Mingzhu, standing beside him, recognized the demon script. She said, "Li Huo Heaven Hall." She clicked her tongue. "This must be a hall from the provisional palace of some demon supreme being. For unknown reasons, it fell here."

A demon supreme being? Jiang Fan didn't know what kind of existence that was. However, he keenly observed that there were many remnants around the isolated grand hall. This suggested it was once part of a larger palace complex, confirming the theory that it had fallen here. Furthermore, Taihu Lake itself might have been formed by the immense impact of the palace, creating a massive depression that was later filled by floodwaters, leading to its current form.

"It's inside," Hai Mei said, leading the way.

Jiang Fan didn't follow immediately. Instead, he took out two more copper coins. One he held in his mouth, ready to activate at any moment, and the other he handed to Yue Mingzhu. "Such spiritual artifacts have been nurtured for untold years; I'm afraid intelligence might have already awakened within them. Since it's a demon race artifact, it might deem us, two humans, as hostile. It's best to be careful."

Yue Mingzhu took the coin and said, "You're as cautious as ever. I was just about to remind you myself." She didn't believe Hai Mei had willingly led them there. By deliberately omitting any mention of danger, Hai Mei likely intended to use the Blazing Heaven Clam Pearl to eliminate them.

Jiang Fan rolled his eyes at her. "Remind me? Just don't cause me trouble like you did at that Nascent Soul cave dwelling at the bottom of the cliff." With that, he stepped inside.

Yue Mingzhu gritted her teeth. "He's still holding onto that old grudge!" She immediately entered the grand hall as well.

This isolated grand hall contained nothing superfluous. It was empty, save for an ancient, nine-meter-wide colossal clam. It was firmly bound in the center of the hall by nine chains, unable to move. From the exposed crevices, torrents of scorching hot fluid, like magma, surged out. Visibly, a fist-sized, entirely crimson sphere, appearing like an iron ball heated to its extreme, came into view.

Despite the considerable distance, Jiang Fan could feel the terrifying heat it radiated. If this object were to strike him, he had no doubt he would be instantly vaporized.

Hai Mei obediently retreated to the side, becoming silent. A hint of anticipation was hidden in her eyes.

Yue Mingzhu, ever perceptive, said with a half-smile, "What, are you hoping I'll attack it? So that it will retaliate against me?"

A flicker of panic crossed Hai Mei's face, but she quickly regained her composure. "Whether it's destroyed or taken, how can I control your actions?" Yue Mingzhu fixed her gaze on Hai Mei. It was confirmed that this clam pearl could not be easily attacked. Otherwise, there would certainly be immense danger. But if it wasn't destroyed, the hidden danger would be even greater!

*Buzz—*

Suddenly, the colossal clam began to tremble. More precisely, the pearl inside was vibrating. An astonishingly hot crimson current surged out from the crevices! Jiang Fan and Yue Mingzhu's expressions changed. They quickly retreated from the grand hall. They then saw the crimson hot current, sweeping up a column of lake water like a tornado, bursting out of the water. The previous water surge had come from this.

However, this time, the clam pearl's vibrations were continuous. It was like an uncontrollable volcano, erupting non-stop! As the crimson hot current grew more violent, Hai Mei no longer dared to stay. With a solemn expression, she swam to Jiang Fan's side, her beautiful eyes sparkling with a strange light. "The Blazing Heaven Clam Pearl is about to emerge!"

*Bang bang bang—*

As the hot current continued to build up, it finally reached the limit of what the colossal clam's shell could withstand. With a loud *bang*, the two halves of the clam shell were blown apart. The Blazing Heaven Clam Pearl, which had been brewing for countless years, finally emerged! It floated in mid-air, its surface emitting flickering flames, like an excited child. The temperature of the flames was terrifyingly hot! Jiang Fan instantly noticed the surrounding lake water rapidly increasing in temperature. In moments, it began to boil! The entire Taihu Lake was like boiling water! And under this intense heat, the water level rapidly dropped! In just the time it takes to steep a cup of tea, the water in Taihu Lake had evaporated until it was only calf-deep.

"Hiss!" Jiang Fan gasped, "Are you sure you want to attack something like this?" It could casually evaporate an entire lake's worth of water. The power of this clam pearl was ten or even a hundred times more terrifying than imagined!

Yue Mingzhu also showed a hint of fear. Jiang Fan, protected by the bubble, didn't feel much. But even hundreds of meters away, she felt uncomfortably hot all over. Not to mention if this thing directly hit her, even a tiny spark from it could melt a large hole through her body. This was absolutely not something she could handle!

"Let's go, quickly!" She was horrified to realize that this clam pearl was the most dangerous entity! Far more terrifying than the Blood Dragon and Hai Mei combined!

Jiang Fan was also deeply alarmed. They quietly retreated. In his heart, he silently prayed that this clam pearl would not be hostile towards them. Otherwise, he couldn't imagine how they would deal with such an incredibly dangerous item! Perhaps only a great Nascent Soul cultivator could control it. Anyone else would be helpless against it.

However, the moment they moved, the Blazing Heaven Clam Pearl seemed to sense their movement and began to revolve around them. It appeared to be scrutinizing them. After only a few breaths, both of them faintly heard words that sent a shock through their hearts.

"They are humans.""My master said that the demon provisional palace is forbidden to humans.""Trespassers will be killed.""I must obey my master."