“Yes, Master!” the Blackback Tortoise said with a nod.
It was still able to stand its ground against Pavilion Master Kui Xiao and the others, but it was truly helpless against those sharks.
As they were all native to the Ocean of Exiled Stars, they knew the strengths and weaknesses of each other very well. Had it not left the Vacant Sea, it would have already died.
“Not only are they at the Semi-Divinity realm, they are also stronger than me. I specialize in defense whereas they specialize in offense. If that Semi-Divinity realm cultivator who stalked and fought me earlier was encircled by them, I doubt that he would have even lasted three breaths before he breathed his last!” the Blackback Tortoise said.
Zhang Xuan’s eyes narrowed into slits upon hearing those words.
Bai Xuansheng might not have been the strongest among the heads of the Six Sects, but he was not the weakest either. For someone of his prowess to be unable to survive even three breaths before those sharks… it seemed like they were indeed fearsome adversaries!
“Master, why don’t we just drop the idea. It won’t be too late to head there after you achieve a breakthrough to the Semi-Divinity realm,” the Blackback Tortoise pleaded desperately.
Even though its master had many tricks up his sleeves, and the little yellow chick was a formidable beast, it still could not help but feel a little insecure. After all, they were going to face three Semi-Divinity realm beasts at once. Even if the little yellow chick was able to swallow one of them, they would still have to deal with the other two.
Zhang Xuan paused for a moment before saying, “You should return to the tamed beast sack for a moment. I’ll head there discreetly. I’ll just take a look and leave without alarming them.”
He had already gone all the way there, so how could he leave without properly investigating the matter?
The Blackback Tortoise did not specialize in stealth, so it was easy for any other Semi-Divinity realm beasts to detect its presence. On the other hand, he could conceal his aura just by driving the Heaven’s Path Divine Art. He was confident that he would be able to hide himself even from those three sharks that the Blackback Tortoise spoke of.
Seeing that it was impossible to convince its master otherwise, the Blackback Tortoise returned to the tamed beast sack with a helpless sigh.
After that was done, Zhang Xuan quickly reined in his aura and erased his presence before warily proceeding in the direction that the Blackback Tortoise had pointed out to him before.
He held his breath carefully as he allowed the water currents to carry him across the murky seabed. Fortunately for him, the seabed of the Vacant Sea was filled with taller seaweed and coral, making it easier to him to hide his silhouette.
As he proceeded forward, he wondered, If Luo Ruoxin was the one who had entered the Azure from here through a breach in the dimension barrier… who received her?
If the young lady whom the Blackback Tortoise spoke about was referring to Luo Ruoxin, who was the one who had summoned her?
So far, the only ones he knew that were capable of conducting rituals to summon deities and gods were the Otherworldly Demons.
But why did this person summon her, and how did she sustain wounds so heavy that she lost so much blood, changing in the ocean?
Everything regarding Luo Ruoxin revolved within his mind like an unsolvable memory, leaving him feeling deeply frustrated.
He was starting to find it hard to understand the young lady whom he loved.
Sighing deeply, he took out the crimson pendant hung in front of his chest. He closed his eyes and focused his consciousness on the spiritual energy within. Slowly, he could feel it becoming warm.
It seems like this has something to do with her, Zhang Xuan thought as he continued speeding ahead.
Ten minutes later, he finally came to a halt in a trench at the bottom of the ocean.
Based on what the Blackback Tortoise had said, this trench was where the base of the three sharks was located.
Zhang Xuan peered in and noted that the color of the water was even redder. At the same time, the spiritual energy felt even more abundant. Lush plants intercrossed one another as they crept out from within, creating a dense shroud.
This must be where the bulk of the scattered god blood is.
The concentration of spiritual energy there was greater than the surroundings, hinting that it was where the spiritual energy was originating from. Furthermore, he could feel the pendant growing hotter.
If he wanted to investigate the matter further to see if Luo Ruoxin was tied to it, this would probably be it.
Of course, given that it was highly likely that there were three Semi-Divinity realm immortal beasts inside, Zhang Xuan was in no rush to charge right in. Instead, he hid behind a boulder outside the trench to observe the situation.
The dense shroud of greenery blocked much of what he could see, but vaguely, he could still see innumerable life forms swimming about. However, there were no clues that indicated where the base of the sharks was at.
He had spoken with the Blackback Tortoise on the way here, and it seemed like the latter had been attacked by those three because it had refused to become their subordinate.
If not for its tough shell and swift speed, it might have died to them.
Even though they had fought before, the Blackback Tortoise did not know much about the base of those three sharks. As such, it was unable to provide any useful details.
There’s no helping it.
Seeing no merit in biding his time there, Zhang Xuan stealthily walked alongside the walls of the trench and slipped in.
The trench was reminiscent of a mountain valley that extended into unknown depths. The sunlight was unable to reach in there, so it was pitch black.
With Zhang Xuan’s current cultivation as a High Immortal and his Eye of Insight, he was able to navigate within such darkness without a problem. Leaning close to the walls of the trench, he gradually proceeded deeper in.
The trench was eerily quiet.
At some point, all the aquatic creatures that he had seen previously seemed to vanish from sight, as if he had proceeded into some kind of death zone.
Zhang Xuan was confident that he could hide his presence even in the face of Semi-Divinity realm beasts, so he did not pay it much heed. He continued observing his surroundings closely and advanced deeper in.
It might have been due to the effects of the god blood lingering in the area, but the plants in the area were both thick and resilient. Even someone of Zhang Xuan’s fighting prowess was unable to easily pull apart a casual vine lying around.
In other words, its resilience was already on par with an average True Immortal-tier artifact!
The effects of the god blood are indeed formidable. Not only does it allow High Immortal realm beasts to reach a previously unreachable level, even the plants have also been significantly strengthened.
The deeper he proceeded in the trench, the more concentrated the surrounding spiritual energy became. He could feel his cells leaping in excitement, craving to devour the energy lingering around.
However, he knew that he would be immediately discovered if he acted as such, so he made sure to hold himself back.
After swimming another two thousand meters deeper, he finally arrived at the seabed.
Moving alongside the walls of the trench, he noticed a massive cavern.
He activated the Eye of Insight and examined it closely before nodding. “This should be the base of the three sharks…”
There was a particularly oppressive aura coming from within, and this aura somewhat resembled what he felt from the Blackback Tortoise and Pavilion Master Kui Xiao. Most likely, the three Semi-Divinity realm sharks were inside.
He touched the crimson pendant hanging in front of his chest once more and realized that it was burning hot. The heat only further intensified as he approached the cavern.
Could it be that… there is still god blood here that hasn’t been devoured by those sharks yet?
The rule behind the response of the pendant seemed rather straightforward. The higher the concentration of god blood, the more heat the pendant would emanate. Given how hot the pendant was, it seemed very likely that there was still some god blood that had not been assimilated!
If he could find it, he might just be able to find a way to confirm whether it had come from Luo Ruoxin or not!
There’s no choice—I can only take this risk! Zhang Xuan thought with gritted teeth before slowly swimming toward the cavern.
The cavern was roughly several hundred meters wide.
After proceeding a little further in, he noticed quite a few aquatic creatures lined up in neat formations within the massive cavern.
Taking a closer look, he realized that even the weakest of them was at the Heavenly True Immortal realm. As for High Immortals, there must have been at least several hundred of them.
Several hundred High Immortal realm beasts… Zhang Xuan’s heart skipped a beat.
Was this formation not already stronger than that of any one of the Six Sects?
“With the strength of our kings, we’ll be able to rule over the Ocean of Exiled Stars and ensure that no humans are able to encroach on our territories!”
“That’s right! Our kings have already reached the Semi-Divinity realm, a level comparable to the leaders of the humans’ Six Sects. Once they pass down the command, we’ll slaughter all humans who dare to invade the ocean to show them who’s boss!”
…
Several beasts cried out passionately.
Zhang Xuan looked at the very front of the formation and saw three massive thrones erected in the deepest depths of the cavern.
Three sharks were seated on the thrones, each of them emanating tremendous pressure.
Semi-Divinity realm experts!
Each of them possessed strength greater than that of the Blackback Tortoise.
If even each of them was that powerful, it was terrifying to imagine just how powerful their collaboration would be.
“The reason we have gathered all of you here today is to warn all life forms that the ocean belongs to us. For many years, humans have encroached on our territories and stolen our resources. We shall let those thieving scoundrels know that we shall tolerate their acts of transgression no more, and any trespassers will be massacred without any mercy whatsoever!”
The shark sitting in the middle spoke with a voice that reverberated loudly throughout the entire cavern.
“Our king speaks nothing but the utmost truth! The ocean belongs to us!”
“We have to stop the tyranny of the Six Sects, especially that of Starchaser Palace!”
…
Those sentiments were echoed by the rest of the aquatic creatures, and they cheered fanatically in support of the movement.
Are they planning to formally create their own power? Zhang Xuan thought with a frown.
There was no doubt that there were many powerful aquatic creatures in the ocean, but none of them had reached the Semi-Divinity realm before. As such, they did not have the strength to oppose the Six Sects.
However, with three Semi-Divinity realm experts suddenly appearing, the ambitions of the High Immortal realm aquatic creatures could not be suppressed anymore.
Thus, they intended to rally the aquatic beasts together to construct a power that could stand against the Six Sects.
That would explain why he had seen so many aquatic creatures earlier, but they simply vanished from sight later on. Most likely, he must have caught them while they were answering the summons and rushing over.
“Our first target should be Starchaser Palace. Their Starchaser Island is located at the center of the Ocean of Exiled Stars. I have discussed this with the other two kings, and we intend to launch a surprise assault to let them know that we, the aquatic creatures, aren’t to be trifled with! As long as we can show sufficient might, none of the Six Sects will dare make a move on us!” the shark seated on the middle throne said imposingly.
The ocean was rich with resources, and the beast cores of many of the aquatic creatures were beneficial to a cultivator’s breakthrough. As such, despite the dangers lurking in the area, the Six Sects dispatched their disciples for hunting missions from time to time.
This was especially so for Starchaser Palace. Living on a lone island, it was inevitable that they were reliant on the ocean around them for resources.
If they wished to rally all the aquatic beasts together and command deference from the Six Sects, there was no better target than Starchaser Palace!
A catfish with multiple ears voiced its concerns regarding the issue. “My king, it would be most convenient for us to make Starchaser Palace our first target, but I believe that there’s a need for us to think things through first. Based on the results of my investigation, the person who summoned that young female god two months ago was none other than Palace Chief Du Qingyuan of Starchaser Palace!”
