Deep within the abyssal sea of filth, grey-black tides surged, revealing countless grotesque pupils like giant lanterns that gradually materialized in the gloom. They fixed their gaze intently on the small but tempting human ahead, their eyes filled with frenzy, desire, and the lust for blood.
In the midst of the minuscule group of humans, numerous scholars and experts, unsuited for combat and exceedingly weak, were being ushered into the palace by the Mythics.
However, some were unable to leave. A large detection device, resembling a colossal tower about thirty to forty meters high, assembled from several components on-site, unfurled four spider-like limbs that dug deep into the seabed, drawing in some unknown essence from the foul seawater.
Along the side of the tower, energy channels illuminated section by section.
But at this moment, the external demonic assaults intensified. Especially those terrifying tentacles, thousands of kilometers long, that shot out from the cold, pitch-black sea. Under their whip-like strikes, even Mythics found themselves unable to resist.
"The Abyss Kraken King, a nest-type, seven-star-ranked demonic entity, does not possess strong reproductive capabilities. Instead, the Kraken King boasts incredibly fearsome power and formidable regenerative abilities. Its colossal size ranks it among the top of world-ending demonic entities."
Several Mythics present had already experienced the power of the Abyss Kraken King.
Despite being prepared, they still struggled to withstand the Kraken King's tentacle strikes. With a single blow, their tiger's mouths cracked open, their insides churned violently, and the protective barriers encasing their bodies were utterly shattered, allowing the damp, foul water to seep into them.
After enduring one such strike, the Mythics required a considerable time to recover, and even then, they could not return to their peak condition.
What about that Burning Flame Mythic? He had taken seven or eight hits!
And moreover,
Was his strength actually superior to the Kraken King's?
Upon seeing Xing Jinglei grappling with the Kraken King's tentacle, Madam Gong was startled. For compared to the injury sustained from a direct tentacle strike, being dragged away by a tentacle thousands of kilometers long was far more dangerous.
Just moments ago, a Mythic had accidentally been ensnared by a tentacle. Had she not severed it in time, and had he been dragged into the abyssal depths, that Mythic would have faced a perilous end.
Had the young Mythic from the Burning Flame Merchant Guild succumbed to excessive pollution and lost his mind?
Just as Madam Gong had this thought and prepared to intervene, she realized that Xing Jinglei had not been ensnared by the tentacle, but rather...
His figure, like that of a giant, had its skin burn red, emitting a bright light in the darkness. His sinewy, thick arms clamped onto the tentacle like iron pincers, his fingers, as if imbued with some ability, glowed with a crimson light, piercing sharply into the tough, thick tentacle hide.
His legs, like two stone pillars, sank into the seabed, and with deep, fierce roars, like those of a monstrous beast, Xing Jinglei channeled the furnace-like power of his entire body into his arms, exerting immense force.
Hya! Hya! Hya!
Kilometers away in the abyssal depths, an incredibly colossal, hideous, and disgusting figure slowly revealed its true form.
The Abyss Kraken King's ugly face contorted, its remaining tentacles thrashing wildly, yet its body, segment by segment, was being dragged out from the abyssal darkness.
Xing Jinglei, at this moment, was like a man reeling in a kite string, constantly winding it in.
Seeing this, Madam Gong did not unleash the Ice Soul Sword energy she had already gathered. Previously, she had to sever the tentacle as quickly as possible to prevent it from retracting and launching another attack. But now, the intact tentacle had become the Abyss Kraken King's fatal weakness!
"Once the Abyss Kraken King reveals itself from the darkness, I can kill it without taking the immense risk of venturing into the unknown depths to find its true form."
After all, she suspected that enemies were lurking in the shadows, and the Abyss Kraken King might have been a trap deliberately laid by an enemy, waiting for them to fall into it.
Now, the bait had been pulled out, escaping the trap.
Madam Gong's gaze remained fixed, counting silently. Ten, nine, eight... As she reached three, and the Abyss Kraken King's body was more than half exposed, a deafening roar suddenly erupted in her ears.
"Get over here, you bastard!"
In the eyes of the Mythics, the already colossal figure of the Fist-Rending Martial Saint grew even larger, expanding from ten meters to twenty-five meters, his strength seemingly increasing by a significant margin.
His arms locked together, then suddenly loosened, and with an even greater heave, he yanked. The Abyss Kraken King, which had been struggling, was sent flying directly, displacing waves of foul seawater as it hurtled towards the battlefield.
It flew directly at them!
"Swish—"
Madam Gong and several other Mythics swiftly lunged forward, unleashing a barrage of attacks for tens of seconds, finally pulverizing the giant, terrifying demonic entity into a pulp.
Following suit, Xing Jinglei forcibly pulled out the last Abyss Kraken King, bringing a perfect conclusion to the battle.
Seeing that the tide of demonic entities on all sides had gradually thinned, with no more seven-star-ranked entities appearing, the Mythics finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, they dared not completely relax, seizing the time to adjust their states and tend to their injuries.
After the battle, seven or eight Mythics were injured. The injuries were not severe, but it would take some time to fully recover.
As for the most severely injured…
Over a dozen to twenty Mythics all looked towards the tall figure standing at the eastern front, bathed in blood.
This figure, over ten meters tall, had shrunk inch by inch after the battle, returning to its original height of 1.9 to 2 meters.
His body, already somewhat cracked, was covered in a lot of blood. As he returned to his normal appearance, he looked as if he had emerged from a pool of blood, with green, red, and purple blood mingling with the surrounding grey-black seawater, a truly tragic sight!
The Mythics fell silent at the sight.
They had not forgotten that the reason the Fist-Rending Martial Saint was so heavily injured was because he had borne the greatest pressure and made the greatest contribution!
Without his sacrifice, the number of injured Mythics would have at least doubled, and some might have suffered severe injuries or even perished.
Yet, despite such heavy injuries, this Martial Saint still wore a smile, not disheartened by his wounds. He remained spirited, incredibly spirited!
What kind of mindset and willpower was this!
Was this why this Martial Saint could rival Mythics in his six-sense state, while they were merely ordinary Mythics?
Under the gaze of many Mythics, Xing Jinglei was currently assessing his physical condition.
Undoubtedly, he was injured. But in fact, after withstanding the Abyss Kraken King's charged strike, he had merely experienced a surge of internal energy, far from his body cracking.
He was virtually unharmed.
At that time, when Xing Jinglei was blasted into the ground by a powerful force, he felt something was wrong. If he wasn't injured, how could he use the characteristics of the Furnace Indestructible Body to become stronger?
So, Xing Jinglei resorted to self-inflicted harm in secret, adding a dish to his own meal.
His body was bathed in blood, but four-tenths of these injuries came from self-inflicted harm, five-tenths from the corrosive pollution of the foul water, and only one-tenth, out of politeness, could be attributed to the Abyss Kraken King's attack.
"However, this great lord made a slight miscalculation. The poisonous methods prepared earlier are not very applicable in this environment, and pure self-harm is inefficient. It took me so long of being beaten to barely stack up the buffs."
He pondered how to develop more efficient and covert methods of self-harm.
If only there were a skill that could cause self-injury... Wait, there actually was.
Xing Jinglei thought of the epic-level skill 'Furnace Tempering'. This skill required extreme caution when used, as a single mistake could lead to internal injuries. But was he, Lord Xing, afraid of getting hurt? He was afraid of *not* getting hurt.
There were many aspects of this battle that Xing Jinglei was dissatisfied with, messy and chaotic. How could he defeat the Black Blade in such a state?
Of course, there were also satisfactory aspects, such as the 'Little Giant' mode.
After the 'Furnace Indestructible Body' advanced to the expert level, Xing Jinglei developed a new application method—consciously controlling the direction of enhancement.
This skill primarily enhanced defense, strength, life energy, and healing speed.
Under his intentional control, all the indestructible body's energy was directed towards 'strength,' leading to his rapid increase in size and exponential growth in strength.
He named this state 'Strength Stance.' While its defense and peak capabilities were not as high as 'Defense Stance,' it could, to some extent, compensate for his lack of offensive power.
After killing these seven-star-ranked demonic entities, the tide of demonic entities seemed to recede. Although tens of thousands of demonic entities still attacked intermittently, no more seven-star-ranked entities appeared.
The scholars and ruin experts wiped their sweat and continued their work with trepidation. The detection tower located not far from the palace was also running at full capacity.
At this time, the Mythics ushered in a delightful phase: dividing the spoils... ahem, dividing the spoils of war.
The spoils of war this time came from the hundreds of thousands of demonic entities that had been slaughtered around them, as well as eight seven-star-ranked world-ending demonic entities. A total of ten legendary-grade materials were recovered, as each Abyss Kraken King contributed two wisps of broken divinity.
"According to ancient custom, we will assign contribution values to the spoils of war. Simultaneously, the Mythics who participated in the battle will receive a contribution score based on their overall contribution, with the highest scorer selecting first."
In the entire battle, if the first place contribution score was 100 points, the second place was 90 points, and the third was 70 points, then after the first place picked an item worth 40 contribution points, their remaining contribution would be 60 points, placing them third. But if the first place only picked an item worth 9 contribution points, leaving them with 91 points and still in first place, then this powerful individual could continue to make selections.
This was the rule of the Shattered Sea, passed down from an ancient era.
"Now, we will begin assessing everyone's contribution according to the rules. If there are any objections, you may raise them at any time," Madam Gong said.
She looked at Xing Jinglei, covered in blood. Without a doubt, the Mythic who contributed the most to the entire battle was this one. No one would object to assigning him first place in terms of contribution score; the only discussion was regarding the specific numerical value.
Being 10% more than second place was first; being 300% more than second place was also first.
Xing Jinglei was about to display his tough guy persona and say something like, "How could mere Abyss Kraken Kings injure this great lord?"
But before he could utter the words, the conversation was intercepted by Yiluoxi.
"Yes, Big Brother Xing was so, so pitiful. To find the source of the disaster, he truly gave his all. Alas, I don't know how long it will take him to recover from such severe injuries, and it's possible he'll never fully recover," Yiluoxi said with a sob. She desperately wanted to shed a few tears, but her acting skills were limited. Fortunately, her control over her body was perfect, allowing her to manipulate her facial muscles to display a sorrowful expression.
After speaking, she frantically pinged Xing Jinglei in her mind, urging him to cooperate and at least not break character!
This was an alternative use of the panel function. It required the two to be within a certain proximity to have private chats like summoning a mentor with other senior members of the organization.
Xing Jinglei opened his mouth, his throat moving, but he ultimately remained silent.
He sighed and fell into silence.
As if her words had struck a chord, the blood-soaked strongman appeared like a fading hero, stirring a sense of sorrow in many hearts.
Madam Gong, whose numerical evaluation had reached her throat, swallowed it back and rephrased it at double the previous contribution amount. She looked at the others; there was no dissent from anyone present. No, some thought it was too little.
Saint of Shining Light Sword, Chen Tianxuan, said, "Brother Xing's actions not only lured out two Abyss Kraken Kings but also saved many from severe injury, preserving the team's strength to the greatest extent. I believe his contribution should be even greater."
Ultimately, Xing Jinglei's contribution was fixed at three times the initial amount.
Far exceeding the scores of Madam Gong and Elder Nanli.
After the spoils of war were divided, Yiluoxi also divided the spoils with Big Brother Xing. After the division, her eyes curved like crescent moons, and she almost burst into laughter.
Looking at Xing Jinglei again, although he had suppressed the healing instinct of the Furnace Indestructible Body, most of his wounds had already healed. They were merely covered with thick scabs, making them appear unhealed.
If he had taken any longer, he would have been fully restored.
…
…
Xing Jinglei, who was identified as a "severely injured patient" at a glance, remained near the palace. Taking this opportunity, he closely observed the core device, the "Detection Tower."
The tower's preparations were complete, and it began to operate with a rhythmic whir. He could see the grey-black sea currents moving in a pattern, seemingly influenced by the tower.
But beyond that, Xing Jinglei understood nothing.
With advanced courses like "Ten Great Harms of Pollution Erosion," "Mystic Factorology: From Introduction to Demonic," and "Understanding and Distinguishing Foul Breaths," he barely passed, and that was only for the compulsory courses.
Electives? Sorry, Lord Xing had no affinity for these subjects.
Therefore, despite his earnest observation, the entire process could be described with phrases like: couldn't understand, awe-inspiring but confusing, what is this for, I'm going to faint… to characterize Xing Jinglei's current state.
This observation made his head spin, as if his injuries were too severe, and even a gust of wind would make him fall.
But it didn't matter if Xing Jinglei couldn't understand. Behind Xing's gaze, another pair of eyes were also staring intently at the tower and the experts and scholars working nearby.
It was Fang You!
He... he naturally didn't understand either, but he could still capture some memories and display them in the form of divine sense projections, allowing professional individuals like Master Wang Chui and Yin Ling to analyze them.
Professional matters, of course, should be left to the experts.
The exploration of the Ancient Moon Dynasty soon yielded results. The team continued to sail, stopping and starting, occasionally deviating slightly from their course, as if referencing some guide.
Suddenly, the team stopped again.
"We're close to the target, but now there's a seven-star-ranked rule-type demonic entity blocking our path. If we advance a few hundred steps further, we'll step into its rule domain."
Concealed by the foul seawater, this rule-type demonic entity was exceptionally hidden. Many experienced old Mythics had completely failed to detect it.
Yiluoxi and the other two naturally had no inkling. After all, they were mere newcomers with very shallow experience in this area.
At this moment, upon hearing Madam Gong's words, the Mythics focused their gaze and extended their divine sense inch by inch, only to discover that the environment a few hundred steps away was somewhat amiss.
It appeared solid yet illusory, containing immense danger.
"What should we do?"
If they were to step into the rule domain, they were unwilling. Even with over a dozen to twenty Mythics present, they could theoretically wear down this rule-type demonic entity to death, but who wanted to be the one to die?
For a moment, the Mythics exchanged glances.
After retreating several kilometers, the palace hovered. Madam Gong, Elder Nanli, and other powerful individuals gazed into the distant darkness, their brows furrowed in thought.
This was the demonic entities' home ground, and they did not have much time to waste.
At this time, His Excellency Xi Guang, whose presence had been rather unremarkable throughout the journey, shook his silver-grey cloak and slowly walked forward, stopping about half a meter from the edge of the rule domain.
This distance was almost face-to-face with the rule-type demonic entity. Upon closer inspection with divine sense, it was discovered that the surrounding domain was beginning to spread, as if to envelop His Excellency Xi Guang.
This Excellency made his move. The legendary-grade demonic weapon, a long spear, was tossed high into the air, and an invisible force field rapidly dispersed from him as the center.
Like a storm dissipating, like a heavy rain ceasing, like a truce in war...
In an instant, the entire world fell silent, becoming desolate and tranquil. All the desires and pursuits in people's hearts seemed to vanish with this tranquility, leaving them free of ambition.
They were only slightly affected. The seven-star-ranked rule-type demonic entity, directly facing the intangible power, seemed to wilt. The entire rule domain slowly contracted and became gradually more visible and distinct.
At this moment, a spear descended from the sky. In a flash, it grew to hundreds or thousands of meters long, like a giant pillar of celestial ice, plummeting down from a height and striking the core of the rule domain.
Boom—!!!
The sea of filth churned violently, the seabed repeatedly cracked, forming a deeper abyss beneath the sea. The distorted space of the rule domain before them shattered like a piece of torn rubber.
The demonic entity did not die.
Demigod Xi Guang could not precisely locate the core of the rule-type demonic entity. He could only strike arbitrarily.
But it was enough. With this strike, the rule-type demonic entity, possessing a stronger survival instinct, had already fled, retracting its domain and hiding it tightly.
It would take time, but he might be able to find the domain and completely kill this demonic entity.
However, their purpose here was not to kill one or two demonic entities; they were inexhaustible, and they had no time to waste.
"Let's go."
The team continued for several hundred more kilometers. Before them, there was no sudden clearing; it remained a deep, dark expanse.
But the direction indicated by the Ancient Moon Dynasty's detection equipment was here.
Yet, what was here?
The Mythics extended their divine senses, sweeping the surroundings inch by inch. Through a carpet search, they could detect the hidden domain of the rule-type demonic entity, but here, they found nothing. The demonic entities wandering and lunging at them were not particularly numerous.
Was this truly the source of the disaster?
The Mythics exchanged confused glances.
Yiluoxi, Xing Jinglei, and Qian Qiu, the three "newcomers," naturally couldn't sense anything either. Seeing that the old Mythics were bewildered, they also prepared to play it safe, waiting to see what methods the Ancient Moon Dynasty had.
Suddenly, Xing Jinglei paused. The voice of his mentor echoed in his mind.
"So, there's such a method."
He closed his eyes and opened them, using a skill he had long cultivated to its max level but hadn't used in months—Demonic Entity Tracking!
The sea of filth was covered in filth.
With Demonic Entity Tracking activated, Xing Jinglei's vision became even darker, his sight filled with filth. But in this deep purplish-black darkness, he saw wisps of black and red drifting, and then...
He raised his perspective.
The drifting black and red converged thousands of kilometers above the seabed. In the pitch darkness, a colossal sphere formed by interwoven black and red mist threads appeared, slowly rotating, broadcasting disaster and terror.