Chapter 2479: The Gate Has Always Been Open For You

The trio rushed onto the deck and soon understood why the boat had suddenly started shaking.

A massive octopus monster had wrapped its countless dark-red tentacles around the crystal boat. Its tentacle suckers resembled eyes, and they could send anyone with trypophobia[1] into a panic attack.

“Ugh, how disgusting~” The Peacock Princess couldn’t take the sight and hid behind Zu An.

Zu An examined the octopus monster—its tentacles didn’t have pinkish-red fluid, so it wasn’t the same sea monster Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue had encountered. Speaking of which, he missed that fellow. Its tentacle fluid was a rare medicinal material. It could be used not just for

that

kind of medicine, but others too.

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

With Zu An’s deeper insight into formations, spirit food, and alchemy, he had far more ideas about how that fluid could be used now.

Having met monsters from the Octopus race before, the Mermaid Queen murmured with a frown, “That’s weird. The Crystal Boat is the Dragon King’s vehicle; it has a special formation and aura. Most ocean monsters avoid it. Why would this octopus monster attack us of its own accord?”

The octopus monster noticed them and extended two thick tentacles to wrap around them.

Zu An harrumphed. No one saw how he moved, but the two tentacles were severed from the center.

The octopus monster was taken aback. It retracted all its tentacles while crying miserably, but a second later, the tentacles suddenly returned from all directions to lash at the three of them. Each tentacle was around a hundred meters wide and left a sonic boom in its wake. Even a giant ship would be split in two when struck by those tentacles, let alone a body of flesh and blood.

Zu An’s face turned cold. “You beast!”

A barrage of sword ki sliced through the octopus monster’s tentacles, leaving only a giant head floating in the air. Zu An's sword ki was so fast that the octopus monster finally registered the pain only after the tentacles already fell onto the deck. With a cry of agony, the monster dove back into the water, its blood swiftly dyeing the nearby water red.

The Peacock Princess and the Mermaid Queen backed away from the severed tentacles that had dropped onto the deck but continued to wriggle. Women were naturally averse to such things, after all.

Zu An stored the giant tentacles inside the Brilliant Glass Bead’s storage space. He noticed the two women staring at him weirdly and explained with a smile, “I can make hotplate squid out of them. You bet they'll be chewy.”

The two women rolled their eyes.

You could feed a village with those massive tentacles.

An angry voice suddenly echoed, “How dare you hurt my little sweetie!”

The crowd looked over and saw a boy walking on waves, heading toward them. The octopus monster head, which had sought refuge in the water, suddenly popped out and shrank until it was the size of a basketball. It nuzzled against the boy with an indignant expression, as if complaining about Zu An and the others.

“Little sweetie?” Zu An and the others frowned. They could tell the octopus monster was the boy’s pet, but they struggled to associate such a cute name with that disgusting giant monster.

“I’m talking to you!” The boy had a clean appearance, a smooth complexion, and hair tied into two buns, but his arrogant gaze and rude tone felt uncomfortable.

“What nonsense are you spouting? It was that monster who attacked us. If we had been any weaker, we would have become its meal. You should compensate us for our emotional distress instead!” the young Peacock Princess retorted indignantly.

The boy was taken aback. He hadn’t expected them to be so good with words. He was unable to find anything to say for a long time.

The Mermaid Queen secretly shot the Peacock Princess a thumbs up.

She’s brave and candid, unlike me. I've weathered so many storms that I can’t help but overthink whenever I’m faced with such situations.

“Hmph! My little sweetie was just joking with you! Do you have to deal such a heavy blow to it?” The boy finally recovered and made his comeback. “How vile must your heart be to sever all its tentacles? Who knows whether it can survive this ordeal? I grew up with little sweetie, and I have long considered it a member of my own family! You must compensate us!”

Zu An calmly asked, “So how do you want us to compensate you?”

The boy pointed at the Crystal Boat they were standing on. “Your boat looks decent. My little sweetie must have wrapped its tentacles around your boat because it waws fond of it. It would be fair for you to compensate it with your boat.”

The little octopus head vehemently nodded, agreeing with the proposal.

The Mermaid Queen lost her patience. “Do you know whose boat this is? I doubt you’d dare accept it even if we give it to you.”

“It’s just the East Sea Dragon King’s Crystal Boat. Why wouldn’t I dare to accept it?” the boy sneered.

The trio were taken aback. They'd thought that the other party was just a troublemaking kid, but to think he recognized the Crystal Boat! That complicated matters.

“What’s your name?” Zu An asked. The boy didn’t look weak, but someone at such a young age could only be so strong. The bigger problem was his background—a boy who suddenly appeared in the middle of the ocean and recognized the Crystal Boat was anything but ordinary.

“Are you asking for my great name? Well, wash your ears and listen up! I am...” The boy puffed up his chest and was just about to speak when another voice echoed from afar.

“Stop causing trouble. Welcome our esteemed guests and bring them in,” an aged voice said, sounding as if it echoed from the world itself.

The Mermaid Queen and Peacock Princess were startled. They could tell that the other party was extremely powerful from the voice itself; they were at least above the Four Dragon Kings.

Zu An was the only one who remained calm as he looked in the direction of the voice. An invisible door seemed to open on the water, and an island appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the ocean.

The island was shrouded in fog. Immortal cranes and divine birds flew through the clouds, making the place look like a paradise.

“Hm?” Zu An discreetly asked the Mermaid Queen, “Is this the Purple Ganoderma Cliff?”

The Mermaid Queen shook her head. “We should still be a day’s journey away, and the direction doesn’t seem right either.”

The boy harrumphed. “Count yourself lucky. My master hasn’t met any outsiders for many years now. Come with me.”

1. Trypophobia is an aversion to the sight of repetitive patterns or clusters of small holes or bumps. ☜