129: Chapter 129 Great Battle, Devouring the Whale

Jiang Hanzhou did not strike immediately.

He hid in the shadow of a reef, holding his breath and focusing his mind, concealing his Aura to the absolute limit.

His Blood Qi was as restrained as the deep sea, and his Divine Sense did not leak in the slightest; even a Primal Form Realm Martial Artist standing inches away would find him difficult to detect.

The Moonlight Spirit Clam was similarly unaware.

Its half-open shells formed a perfect arc, their texture not the usual calcium of common shellfish but a translucent material somewhere between jade and mother-of-pearl, swirling with a faint silver-blue halo under the moonlight.

A ring of fine tentacles grew along the edges of the shells, about the thickness of an adult's pinky finger and a translucent crystalline white. They were currently stretching and contracting gently with the rhythm of the seawater; with every expansion, visible silver specks of light were drawn from the water, slowly merging into the center of the shells.

Those silver specks of light were Moonlight.

Jiang Hanzhou had once read an entry about the Moonlight Spirit Clam in the Records of West Sea Exotic Beasts:

"...The Moonlight Spirit Clam is a shellfish Essence Spirit that prefers tranquility, often dwelling in shallow seas with gentle tides and abundant moonlight. It does not eat fish or shrimp but survives by breathing Moonlight to refine spiritual energy. Its shell is exceptionally hard and contains Dao Rhymes of both Water and Moon attributes, making it a High Grade material for refining protective armor and water-attribute Magical Artifacts. Its meat is delicious, and eating it can increase Blood Qi. However, its most precious part is the 'Moonlight Pearl' nurtured within its body."

The "Moonlight Pearl" was the inner core of this Essence Spirit.

This pearl was not formed all at once; rather, it required the Moonlight Spirit Clam to breathe Moonlight for centuries, refining it day and night, before a thumb-sized spiritual pearl could condense within its flesh.

On the day the pearl was formed, the Moonlight Spirit Clam would transform from a Vicious Beast into a Essence Spirit, its intelligence would fully awaken, and it would simultaneously gain an innate Divine Ability.

Jiang Hanzhou watched quietly.

The Moonlight Spirit Clam's breathing rhythm was extremely regular—three light exhales, one deep inhale.

With every deep inhale, silver-white Moonlight in the air would condense into visible fine lines, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, flowing into the slightly open gap of its shells.

Jiang Hanzhou did not rashly estimate its cultivation.

The cultivation system of exotic beasts differed from that of humans; they were not divided into Dragon Elephant or Mysterious Glimpse, but were measured by levels of "Mortal Shedding."

The first to third shedding corresponded to the three stages of the human Dragon Elephant Realm, the fourth to sixth shedding corresponded to the three stages of the Mysterious Glimpse Realm, and anything above the seventh shedding was the legendary "Immortal Spirit," capable of contending with human Nirvana powerhouses.

Based on the condensation level of the Moonlight it breathed, the complexity of the natural Dao patterns on its shell, and the stability of its overall Aura, Jiang Hanzhou inferred that this Moonlight Spirit Clam—

Was at least at the Late Stage of the second shedding, equivalent to a human Primal Form Realm Late Stage existence.

It might even have already touched the threshold of the third shedding.

A very faint smile slowly curled at the corners of Jiang Hanzhou's mouth.

This was exactly the opponent he was looking for.

He didn't wait any longer.

Opportunity knocks but once.

The Moonlight Spirit Clam had already stepped into the realm of Essence Spirits and possessed intelligence no less than a human's; if it sensed danger, it would either flee into the deep sea or counterattack with all its might.

Either way would make the situation troublesome.

At this moment, it was immersed in the Cultivate state of breathing Moonlight, and its perception of the outside world was at its dullest.

Now was the time.

The moment Jiang Hanzhou lunged from the shadow of the reef, the Blood Qi in his body erupted like a volcano that had been dormant for ten thousand years!

There was no gathering of momentum, no opening stance.

His figure was already in mid-air, his right arm pulled back, his spine connecting like a Great Dragon. The crimson-gold and azure Blood Qi throughout his body were compressed to the limit at this moment, then poured out entirely the instant his fist struck!

Great Sun Tide!

This prototype of his self-created fist technique had been repeatedly polished during his seclusion; it was no longer the crude form it had been on the night he defeated Jiang Tao.

When the fist Gang left his body, it was only the size of a fist, displaying a Chaos color of interwoven crimson-gold and azure, with countless fine, hair-like rune patterns flowing on its surface.

But the moment it left his hand—

It expanded!

It surged!

It transformed into a destructive wheel of light over three zhang in diameter, as if condensing the heat of a blazing sun and the power of a raging tide!

Wherever the light wheel passed, the air was torn with visible scorch marks, and the sea surface was plowed open with a trench a zhang deep, as the water on both sides was blasted apart, kicking up white waves several zhang high!

Before the fist Gang even arrived, that terrifying pressure had already forced the tentacles around the Moonlight Spirit Clam to flatten backward in unison.

Only then.

The Moonlight Spirit Clam moved.

Its movements were not fast; one could even say they were very slow.

The two half-open shells slowly closed with a composed and unhurried posture.

Just as the fist Gang was about to strike it—

"Buzz—!"

A silver-white light screen suddenly bloomed from the surface of the shells!

The light screen was a perfect hemisphere, its edges as sharp as if cut by a knife, its surface swirling with countless fine, star-like specks of light.

Those specks of light were not static but rotated slowly according to some profound rhythm, as if it were a miniature sea of stars.

Jiang Hanzhou's Great Sun Tide fist Gang slammed solidly into this layer of light screen.

"Boom—!!!!!!"

A massive sound like a thunderclap exploded over the night sea!

Centering on the point of impact, violent air currents and spiritual energy poured out frantically in all directions!

The sea surface within a hundred-zhang radius seemed to be struck by an invisible giant palm, collapsing violently to form a massive pit over thirty zhang in diameter and several zhang deep!

Seawater rushed back in, kicking up a soaring water column!

Yet that silver-white Moonlight light screen merely trembled violently a few times, its surface rippling with layers of waves like a lake into which a stone had been thrown.

Behind the light screen, the two shells of the Moonlight Spirit Clam remained tightly closed, motionless.

Jiang Hanzhou's pupils shrank.

It was blocked.

Although he hadn't used his full strength in this punch, it was still enough to heavily injure an ordinary Primal Form Realm Early Stage Martial Artist.

Back then, if Jiang Tao had faced this punch without a protective Magical Artifact, he would have been heavily injured if not dead.

Yet the Moonlight Spirit Clam before him had actually withstood it head-on with just a layer of protective light screen.

What alarmed him even more was the feeling that light screen gave him—

It wasn't simple defense.

It was a kind of "borrowing power."

When his fist Gang hit the light screen, nearly half the force seemed to vanish like a clay ox entering the sea, diverted to parts unknown by those swirling silver-white specks of light.

At the same time, the Moonlight Spirit Clam moved.

Its counterattack came extremely fast.

The instant before the aftershocks of the fist Gang had even dissipated, those two tightly closed shells suddenly opened a crack!

A silver-white beam of light shot out from the gap!

The beam was only thumb-thick, but its speed was startlingly fast; almost the moment Jiang Hanzhou saw it clearly, it was already before his face!

Jiang Hanzhou tapped his toe on the sea surface, his body shifting three feet to the side like a swimming fish.

The beam brushed past his ear and struck the sea surface three zhang behind him.

There was no explosion.

There was no roar.

That patch of seawater hit by the beam actually froze into a mass of solid ice over a zhang in diameter in an instant!

The ice layer was an eerie translucent silver-white, its surface covered in fine frost flowers, gleaming with a cold, ghostly luster under the moonlight.

Jiang Hanzhou could clearly feel that the moment the seawater was frozen, all the spiritual energy and life force within it had been completely extracted and sealed by some extremely domineering icy power.

This was no ordinary ice.

This was the Moonlight Spirit Clam's innate Divine Ability—Moon Condensation!

Using Moonlight as a guide, it channeled the extreme cold within the Water Origin to forcibly freeze all matter and energy it touched. Any living being struck by this technique would not only have their Physical Body frozen, but even their Blood Qi circulation and Divine Sense activity would be cut off.

Jiang Hanzhou felt a chill in his heart, but he did not retreat in the slightest.

Instead, his Battle Intent burned even more fiercely.

"What a fine Moonlight Spirit Clam."

He praised in a low voice and brushed his right hand across his waist.

"Zheng—!"

The tiger soul saber was unsheathed!

The dark, blood-colored blade flowed with a malevolent cold light under the moon, and the blade's hum was like a Dragon's roar, echoing through the night sky.

Jiang Hanzhou held the saber with both hands, the tip pointing diagonally at the sea surface.

His Aura completely changed at this moment.

If the Great Sun Tide from before was a volcanic eruption or a raging sea tide, then at this moment, he was like an ancient mountain that had been silent for ten thousand years—heavy, deep, and as immovable as a mountain.

The Moonlight Spirit Clam seemed to sense the threat.

Its shells opened slightly again, and that silver-white Moonlight light screen reconsolidated, becoming even more solid than before.

At the same time, those translucent tentacles along the edges of the shells began to rhythmically pulse rapidly; with every pulse, fine silver runes drifted from the tips of the tentacles, merging into the natural patterns on the shells like drifting catkins.

It was activating an even stronger method.

Jiang Hanzhou did not give it the chance.

He struck with his saber.

It was not Slaying Clouds and Splitting Peaks, nor was it The Mortal World.

Instead, it was a new saber strike he had evolved himself after fusing the essence of those two saber techniques with his own martial insights.

He called it—

Sea-Severing Tide.

The moment the blade light appeared, the sea surface within a hundred-zhang radius went still.

It was as if countless undercurrents were gathering beneath the deep sea, waiting only for an outlet to vent.

The edge of the tiger soul saber fell.

There was not one blade light, but three.

The first was as azure as the sea, containing the long-lasting "cyclical momentum" of the Tidal True Intent.

The second was as crimson-gold as the sun, condensing the fierce "instant eruption" of the Pure Yang True Intent.

The third was the product of the first two blade lights merging together, displaying a Chaos color between blue and gold. Within the blade light, one could vaguely see countless fine runes being born and extinguished, emitting a heart-palpitating intent of "destruction."

The three blade lights struck the Moonlight Spirit Clam's Moonlight light screen almost simultaneously!

The first strike.

The light screen trembled violently, its surface rippling with dense waves as those swirling silver-white specks of light accelerated sharply, rotating frantically in an attempt to neutralize the saber force.

The second strike.

Countless fine cracks appeared on the surface of the light screen, like glass struck by a heavy hammer.

The third strike.

"Crack—!"

A crisp shattering sound echoed across the sea.

The Moonlight Spirit Clam's Moonlight light screen collapsed violently!

It transformed into a sky full of drifting silver-white starlight, scattering and annihilating in the night sky.

The edge of the tiger soul saber struck the Moonlight Spirit Clam's shell body solidly.

"Clang—!"

The sound of clashing metal rang out, and sparks flew in all directions!

A ferocious saber scar an inch deep and about two feet long was left on the shell surface.

From the edges of the scar, a faint silver-blue liquid seeped out—that was the Moonlight Spirit Clam's blood.

It was wounded.

The Moonlight Spirit Clam emitted an extremely sharp screech that seemed capable of piercing the Divine Soul!

Jiang Hanzhou gave a muffled groan, his Sea of Consciousness vibrating violently and his vision briefly turning black.

But the stability of a Dragon Elephant Realm Martial Artist's Divine Sense far exceeded that of the Viscera Burning Realm. Jiang Hanzhou endured the Divine Soul shock and advanced instead of retreating, the tiger soul saber rising once more!

The Moonlight Spirit Clam did not stay to fight.

Its massive body suddenly sank, and its two shells opened and closed rapidly like oars, each movement pushing the seawater to generate incredible thrust.

In the blink of an eye, it had already fled over thirty zhang away!

It wanted to escape.

Jiang Hanzhou slammed his toe against the sea surface, his azure Blood Qi erupting as he pursued closely like an arrow leaving a bow!

Under the moonlight, two figures zipped rapidly through the waves.

One fleeing, one pursuing.

The Moonlight Spirit Clam was extremely fast and constantly changed direction, attempting to use the complex underwater reef areas to shake off its pursuer.

But while it was fast, Jiang Hanzhou was faster.

Thirty zhang.

Twenty zhang.

Ten zhang.

Five zhang.

On the Moonlight Spirit Clam's shell, that saber scar was still seeping silver-blue blood. Its speed began to drop.

Jiang Hanzhou had already chased to within three zhang.

He raised the tiger soul saber.

The blade's edge flowed with a cold luster under the moonlight, aimed at the already split saber scar on the Moonlight Spirit Clam's shell—

With just one more strike, he could pierce its body and take its inner core.

Right at this moment.

"Woo—!"

A low, deep roar that seemed to come from the ancient primordial wilderness exploded in their ears without warning!

It contained some unspeakable great power sufficient to shake the Divine Soul!

Jiang Hanzhou only felt his consciousness sea quake violently, and the scene before his eyes suddenly distorted!

He didn't even have time to react.

In the next instant, the world spun.

An irresistible, terrifying suction, like an invisible giant hand, grabbed him along with the Moonlight Spirit Clam that was desperately fleeing ahead!

Seawater rushed in.

The moonlight vanished.

His vision fell into a boundless darkness.

Jiang Hanzhou stabilized his figure in the darkness.

His first reaction was to tighten his grip on the tiger soul saber, and his second was to fully activate the Li Huo Golden Body Art, causing that layer of pale gold Li Huo Astral Membrane beneath his skin to instantly cover his entire body.

It was not completely lightless in the darkness.

High above his head, a narrow, curved slit could be vaguely seen, its edges flowing with a faint blue light as it slowly closed.

That was—

A whale's mouth.