The Demon King awoke from the deep sea, finding himself bewildered by the scene before him.
"Wasn't it just a demonic internal conflict?"
The Demon King clearly remembered being injured by the immense shockwave generated during the infighting between two factions while observing from the sidelines. How had he woken up here?
The Demon King took out a mirror from his embrace, looking at his reflection. "Good, my face is unharmed."
But as he shifted the mirror's angle, what was this?
"What happened to my horns! What is this state!"
At this moment, one of the Demon King's horns was gone, and the other was only half there.
When he broke through to rescue those trapped in the research facility, it had come at a cost. Now, it seemed the price was rather steep.
As the Demon King looked at himself in the mirror, his head suddenly throbbed with intense pain. The agony persisted for a long time, and it was only after half an hour that the Demon King managed to stand up.
He then clenched his fist fiercely, "That damnable array master! And those damned humans! To have wounded me so severely, I must think of a way."
That man's perception was indeed remarkable. The Demon King thought that by absorbing a sliver of Xie You's perception, he had recovered quite a bit of his injuries. Therefore, he planned to capture Xie You and absorb all his perception.
After that, he recalled Meng Huai.
"That cultivator will surely also be within my grasp."
The Demon King said, stroking his horns, contemplating whether capturing these two would restore him to his full strength.
However, before he could ponder further, he reverted to the state he was in when he first awoke, having completely forgotten what had just happened. His memory was quite muddled at this point.
This was the consequence of casually employing forbidden techniques.
While the Demon King alternated between lucidity and confusion, Meng Huai had already begun searching for him.
On the spaceship, Meng Huai gazed at the pointer on the compass. After discerning the direction, she instructed the pilot, "You just need to pilot the ship in the direction I tell you."
The pilot was unsure what that item Meng Huai held was, only thinking, "What kind of strange map is this?"
Nevertheless, the pilot followed Meng Huai's directions to pilot the spaceship. After several hours, they arrived at Blue Sea Star.
Meng Huai looked at the somewhat familiar place, and upon seeing the array formations on the outskirts, she confirmed, "Is this? Blue Sea Star?"
The pilot looked at Meng Huai, his face filled with confusion, an expression clearly conveying, 'Didn't you lead the way? Don't you know where we are?' However, he dared not voice it, replying instead, "Yes, Blue Sea Star."
Upon spotting an approaching spaceship, Blue Sea Star immediately sent out a message inquiring, "Who is it?"
While there were no longer any troublemakers, order had not yet been fully restored. Therefore, unannounced visitors or spaceships were not permitted. The sudden appearance of this spaceship put everyone on Blue Sea Star on high alert.
The pilot then activated the broadcast, asking, "Is Commander Xie present?"
Hearing that the suddenly appearing spaceship was looking for Xie Xue, the people of Blue Sea Star inquired again, "Who are you people, and what is your business with Commander Xie?"
At this moment, Xie You stood up and went to the broadcast, stating, "I am Xie You."
Upon hearing it was Xie You, the guards stationed at the perimeter widened their mouths in surprise. Someone then said, "Xie You? Xie, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"
They usually addressed him as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so hearing him referred to as Xie You directly caused a momentary lapse in recognition.
Upon confirmation that it was Xie You, the people there quickly said, "Your, Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince, please wait a moment."
They then promptly contacted Xie Xue. After Xie Xue confirmed that the person on the spaceship was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the guards quickly cleared the way, allowing the spaceship to enter Blue Sea Star.
Xie Xue also hurried to meet Xie You. After boarding Xie You's spaceship, Xie Xue saw not only Xie You but also Meng Huai.
"Oh, Meng Huai, you're here too."
Meng Huai nodded at Xie Xue in greeting, then lowered her head to examine the compass. Seeing this, Xie Xue understood that Meng Huai was busy and approached Xie You to inquire, "Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince, what brings you here?"
"Cousin, we are looking for that Demon King."
Xie You pointed at Meng Huai, indicating that she was the one guiding them in their search for the Demon King.
Hearing this, Xie Xue quickly asked, "What? The Demon King is on Blue Sea Star?"
Meng Huai turned to look at Xie Xue and said, "Likely so. Will you accompany us?"
The unspoken implication was: they were about to depart, and if he wouldn't come, he should disembark.
Xie Xue, however, did not refuse. He instructed his subordinates, "You follow this spaceship."
Then Xie Xue remained on the spaceship, refusing to leave. As the spaceship took off, Meng Huai remarked, "Actually, there's no need for so many people to come."
Indeed, so many people were not needed.
Having too many would only be sending more people to be fodder for the Demon King.
But Xie Xue insisted, so Meng Huai did not refuse. Afterward, the spaceship drew nearer to the coastline.
Seeing this situation, Meng Huai turned to exchange glances with Xie Xue. They saw the same expression in each other's eyes; this place was too familiar to them.
When Meng Huai and her companions returned to the Imperial Military Academy, they had often reminisced about the seafood there, which they missed dearly and spoke of frequently.
When the spaceship reached the sea surface, everyone disembarked.
Upon observing the situation on the shore, someone frowned. Xie You also asked Xie Xue, "What is this situation?"
At the shore, there were many deceased sea star beasts, appearing as if they had floated in from the sea and were washed ashore by the waves.
Xie Xue explained to them, "Ah, it's been like this for the past few days. Many star beasts have died in the sea, and quite a number have been processed recently."
Meng Huai walked to the shoreline, examined them, and commented, "They are the same as those controlled by demons."
The people controlled by demons had no life, and the star beasts were naturally the same.
Xie You asked, "Is the Demon King here then?"
Meng Huai looked at the direction indicated by the compass and said, "He is in this sea."
Xie You glanced at the relatively calm sea surface and said to Xie Xue, "Let's bomb it."
Xie Xue understood Xie You's intention and instructed his subordinates to prepare to bomb the sea. The subordinates, upon hearing Xie Xue's command, asked several times to confirm they had heard correctly.
Meanwhile, the command center was confirming the information with the messenger, "Confirmed. That area is very large and has immense destructive power!"
"Commander ordered it, just do as you're told."
With the arrangements made, Meng Huai and the others positioned themselves a safe distance from the shoreline to avoid friendly fire, yet not too far, lest the Demon King escape from the sea and they be unable to pursue.
When all preparations were complete, something was launched from the command center at extreme speed, landing on the sea surface. The entire sea seemed to be overturned, experiencing immense turmoil.
The position where Meng Huai and the others stood was far enough to avoid direct harm, but they were still struck by the seawater, leaving them quite disheveled.
However, Meng Huai and Xie You intently watched the still-turbulent sea surface, fearing they might miss the Demon King's appearance even for a blink.
With such a disturbance, the Demon King would surely emerge.
They were convinced.
As expected, the Demon King, deep beneath the sea, felt the violent tremors. He could no longer remain in his cave and quickly emerged from it.
The next moment, the cave collapsed, and the Demon King leaped out of the sea.