Chapter 543: This is Not That Kind of Story

The two exchanged a look, both of their expressions turning grim.

They thought they were chasing down a weakened enemy, but instead, it had transformed into something far more formidable. One look at this new form and they knew it would not be easy to deal with. After all that effort, had they just come to deliver themselves on a silver platter?

The earlier assumption that the water figure was injured and could not get far was not entirely accurate.

The water figure did not actually exist in a conventional sense. It was merely a spell formed by the crystal core that condensed seawater. The water figure could be destroyed, but it could not truly be injured.

As for the crystal itself, it had not been damaged or cracked. Shelly’s punch earlier had simply been too powerful. The crystal, being an energy construct, had used up most of its energy to block the strike, leaving it with little to spare. Its recharge rate was clearly insufficient to recover during combat, so it had no choice but to flee.

Now, with Zhao Changhe and Lady Three relentlessly pursuing it and seeing that it could not gain enough distance to recover, it had decisively chosen to merge with the nearest terrifying creature.

Zhao Changhe could clearly sense the crystal core lodged inside the octopus’ brain. The creature, which originally had no human-like intelligence, had now become a formidable Cthulhu-like boss monster.

This was not the same as when Venerable Duoluo merged with the Blood Ao. It was more similar to when Snow Owl used sword qi to control his sword slaves. Previously, when the Sea Tribe’s yin qi entered the Lianshan Sword, it was a similar mechanism.

Countless threads of yin qi had entered different marine creatures, causing them to mutate. That was the origin of the fishmen and shrimp soldiers. It was as if countless strings were pulling these puppets, all converging in an unseen hand—that of the Sea Emperor.

For more powerful creatures, a single strand of yin qi was not enough. A more significant concentration of yin qi was required to form an energy crystal, which could act as a spellcaster or merge with a body to fight.

This construct was created by the Sea Emperor to assist him in battle. Essentially, they were fighting against the Sea Emperor himself. Zhao Changhe could almost imagine the Sea Emperor looking at them coldly through the octopus’ eyes.

The thought flashed through Zhao Changhe’s mind in an instant, and he immediately asked Lady Three, “Should we retreat?”

If they wanted to retreat, they still had time. The creature did not seem particularly fast, so they could likely outrun it.

Lady Three stared hard at the giant octopus, her voice low. “Behind us are our people. Where would we retreat to?”

Zhao Changhe asked, “What if we can’t beat it?”

“Then we’ll make it pay a steep price!” Lady Three said nothing more, speeding forward toward the octopus.

As Zhao Changhe watched her back, he could not help but feel that the more he got to know Lady Three, the more complex she seemed—perhaps even more so than Huangfu Qing. It was like there were two or three people inside her.

As for the octopus itself, it was not that Zhao Change believed it to be too strong such that even a Ranking of Heaven-level expert like Lady Three would be unable to handle it. What he was really worried about was the presence of the Sea Emperor.

Will the Sea Emperor personally intervene? And if he does, will Xia Longyuan be able to get here in time?

None of this was certain. What was certain, however, was that this battle would be incredibly difficult!

Zhao Changhe raced across the water, reaching the small island where the octopus was in an instant. Lady Three was already there, her fist having launched a powerful punch at the octopus. Zhao Changhe followed up with an Army Breaker.

Dragon Bird trembled with excitement. Since it had been with Zhao Changhe, it had never had this many opportunities to unleash its full power in such a short span of time.

It worked to channel its own energy, combining it with Zhao Changhe’s vigorous qi, unleashing saber energy beyond its usual level.

Boom!

A tentacle swept toward them, and the saber light passed over it like a breeze, having no effect at all. The tentacle slammed into Dragon Bird, sending Zhao Changhe and his saber crashing into the sea.

Dragon Bird: “...”

Zhao Changhe surfaced, dripping wet, only to see Lady Three intercepting the next attack from above. She punched toward the wildly swinging tentacles.

With an eerie sound, the tentacle that had easily swatted Zhao Changhe was sent flying by Lady Three’s punch. Even she was pushed back a few zhang, her expression heavy.

A stalemate!

The shark from earlier had only displayed strength at the level of those on the Ranking of Earth, yet this octopus, despite being smaller, was a match for Lady Three!

The reason lay in its slippery, elastic limbs. Its tentacles were able to dissipate impact much more effectively, so Zhao Changhe’s saber energy did not actually cut into it but instead slipped right off. Lady Three’s precision allowed her to land a proper hit, but even then, half the force had been absorbed, ending in this rather lackluster result.

This really is going to be a tough fight...

Looking up, Zhao Changhe saw Lady Three weaving between three or four tentacles, moving like a snake, making her way toward the octopus’ main body.

Getting entangled with the tentacles was pointless... Only by striking the octopus directly could they win!

Zhao Changhe wiped his face, looking up at the countless writhing tentacles, feeling he could not even get close. One wrong move and he would be struck, and no matter how sturdy his Asura Body was, he was certain that he would be turned into mush.

But watching Lady Three’s slender figure dodge and counter as she navigated the forest of tentacles, Zhao Changhe could not help but feel that she was in extreme danger, like a tiny boat swaying in a stormy sea. If even one of those tentacles grabbed her... Well, the scene could easily turn into something straight out of a sordid comic.

How can I help her?

There was a bow in his ring... Since he was venturing out to sea, of course, he had prepared a good bow. But a human-crafted three-stone bow[1] may not be powerful enough in this situation, and the arrows would not do much even if they hit.

What else can I do?

As Zhao Changhe pondered, he instinctively began swimming toward the small island where the octopus’ body was. Before he could come up with a plan, the battle above had already taken a turn.

Amidst the mass of writhing tentacles, Lady Three finally failed to dodge one, and it slammed heavily into her.

She raised her arms in front of her to block it, but the tentacle was from a soft-bodied creature, and instead of being deflected, it coiled around her, grabbing hold of her.

Lady Three cursed inwardly and tried to free herself, but another tentacle came crashing down from above.

She punched upward, her fist connecting with the tip of the tentacle.

Boom!

Several chi of the tentacle shattered with her punch, causing the octopus to let out a pained screech.

However, the tentacle coiled around her tightened, binding her firmly.

Is this it? Is that plot from ecchi comics really about to happen?

Just as Zhao Changhe was about to leap in to save her, he saw a faint tortoise shell-shaped projection appear around Lady Three. Her snake whip, which had somehow wrapped around her body, circled around her to form a protective barrier.

The tentacle was not trying to play out some sordid scene; it was trying to squeeze her to death. But the barrier held, preventing the tentacle from tightening any further.

Not only could it not squeeze tighter, but it was slowly being forced apart.

A distant voice echoed from somewhere, “Indeed, you are the Four Idols Cult’s Black Tortoise... No one else could have this kind of ability. I did not expect that in this age, even the Black Tortoise is already approaching the true essence of power...”

Lady Three raised her head coldly, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth.

She was done pretending. Her voice was icy as she said, “So, it’s you... Are you the one who stole the Soul of Water?”

Crack!

The snake whip expanded again, and the tentacle that had her bound was forced open further, seemingly ready to be broken through at any moment.

Another tentacle wrapped around, doubling down on its grip, just barely containing Lady Three’s power.

A third came, then a fourth...

Soon, she was entirely enveloped from head to toe, completely hidden from view.

The sound of straining, cracking pressure filled the air as an immense force bore down, but it could never break through the defense of the Black Tortoise.

Lady Three’s muffled voice came from within, “Why don’t you make a move yourself? Are you too far away, or are you too afraid to reveal your true self?”

The Sea Emperor did not respond.

Lady Three burst out laughing. “So that’s it, this all you’ve got? You can only resort to spiritual interference? Is this really the extent of your power?”

The Sea Emperor’s voice grew more astonished. “You’re able to resist...”

Lady Three offered him no explanation, only sneering as she responded, “A mere skeleton putting on airs of importance... How dare you call yourself a god, prattling about the truth of power?!”

Boom!

Her fist shot out from amidst the whip shadows, landing a vicious blow on a tentacle, leaving a deep dent on it.

Swish!

All the tentacles converged at once, as if the octopus was enraged, attempting to crush her into pulp.

At that moment, a string twanged, and a brilliant blue dragon-shaped light shot toward the octopus’ main body, aiming straight at the core lodged in its brain.

Zhao Changhe, nearly invisible, had finally made his move.

Ordinary arrows would not work, so he shot out the ancient sword Dragon Emperor—the Azure Dragon’s sword!

The octopus was alarmed, rapidly retracting a tentacle to swat away the “arrow,” failing to notice in its haste that it was a sword, not an arrow. The tentacle collided with the sword, but instead of being flung away, it sliced straight through the tentacle, severing it in two.

Dragon Emperor grazed the octopus’ main body, causing it to let out a screech of pain. Before it could react further, a second, dark and mysterious “arrow” swiftly followed, heading directly for its face!

Zhao Changhe’s technique was the art of consecutive shots.

The second arrow was... the Night Emperor’s sword blank!

Although the sword blank had no sharpened edge, at this moment, it did not need one.

Compared to the massive octopus, the sword blank was as fine as a strand of hair. The soft, slippery body offered no hardness for defense; it was essentially a giant target with no resistance. In fact, its softness combined with its sheer size made it even more vulnerable.

Puchi!

The sword blank effortlessly pierced through its body, accurately embedding itself in the octopus’ brain and striking the crystal core.

Both the octopus and Zhao Changhe let out simultaneous screams of agony.

With its brain pierced, the octopus was doomed, and the energy of the crystal core had already been mostly depleted by Lady Three. Now, with the sword blank’s strange power colliding with it, the core was completely extinguished.

At the same time, Zhao Changhe’s head felt like it was about to explode. It was as if his very soul was under a severe mental assault, causing him to bleed from all seven orifices. The pain was unbearable.

“Huh...” The Sea Emperor’s voice slowly faded. “You survived... And you didn’t go mad either... No Man’s Land?”

As soon as the spiritual attack hit, Zhao Changhe activated No Man’s Land, voluntarily entering an unconscious state. The strange energy crashed into the empty void of his mind, confronting only the vicious blood qi that had occupied his consciousness.

The Sea Emperor’s strange energy clashed against the vicious blood qi, both sides tearing each other apart, leaving Zhao Changhe’s soul sea severely damaged but ultimately intact. Through this move, he neither became insane nor lost his life.

“Such sharp combat instincts... It seems that Lie found a worthy successor... But what is that sword blank?” The Sea Emperor’s voice showed deep puzzlement as it slowly faded away.

It was unclear whether the Sea Emperor was limited to only spiritual attacks or was wary of Xia Longyuan.

Boom!

The octopus’s tentacles fell into the sea, sending massive towers of water rising toward the sky.

One of these water columns struck Lady Three, and the previously majestic Black Tortoise was unable to withstand the impact, collapsing into the sea and colliding with Zhao Changhe.

A wave rolled over, sweeping the two—one at the third layer of the Profound Mysteries, and the other at the second layer—onto a small island. They had both fallen unconscious.

1. This refers to a traditional Chinese bow with a draw weight roughly equivalent to three “stones,” an ancient measurement. The draw weight would be roughly equivalent to 150~200kg. ☜