210: Chapter 209 Deep Sea Beasts (Part Two)

Deep sea behemoths.

The second stage of the trial grounds.

Jiang Hanzhou's pupils contracted slightly.

He sensed the auras of those behemoths—ranging from the Viscera Burning Realm to the Pulse Condensation Realm, numbering no fewer than a hundred.

But their auras were completely different from the Yao Beasts he had encountered before.

They were more violent, more cold, and more—

Eerie.

Within those auras was an indescribable, filthy power, as if the resentment and Death Qi accumulated at the bottom of the sea for thousands of years had condensed into the flesh and blood of those behemoths.

If eroded by that power, one's True Qi would become murky at best, and one's Divine Soul would be damaged at worst.

"No wonder..." he muttered softly. "This trial ground really isn't prepared for ordinary people."

He took a deep breath and gripped the tiger soul saber at his waist.

The blade trembled slightly, as if responding to his Battle Intent.

Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, the Heart Blade shuddered gently. On the dark gold blade, the patterns winding like dragons began to flow slowly.

Then, he set off, walking toward the Kelp Forest.

—

Five hundred feet away, Ao Zhan moved.

He took a step forward, and the pale blue True Qi shield around him suddenly condensed into a thin layer of ice armor.

The ice armor covered his entire body, leaving only his eyes exposed, which glinted with a cold, ghostly light amidst the dappled shadows.

He stepped into the Kelp Forest.

The moment he entered, the massive kelp fronds around him lashed out at him violently!

The barbs on the fronds shimmered with a ghostly blue light—they were highly toxic!

Ao Zhan remained expressionless.

He simply raised his right hand and gave a light wave.

A pale blue sword light shot out from his fingertip, sweeping across the space in front of him!

Wherever the sword light passed, the lashing kelp fronds froze instantly, turning into countless ice crystal shards that shattered and scattered to the ground.

The shards fell onto him but were deflected by the ice armor surrounding his body, leaving not even a scratch.

He continued forward.

His pace wasn't fast, but it was as steady as a mountain.

With every step he took, the sandy ground beneath him froze into a sheet of ice. The ice extended forward, freezing all the surrounding kelp and paving an ice crystal path before him.

The behemoths lurking in the Kelp Forest sensed that icy killing intent and retreated one after another.

Occasionally, a few reckless ones would rush forward, but before they could even get within three feet of him, they were frozen into ice sculptures by the chill radiating from the ice path and then shattered by his kick.

He walked step by step toward the depths of the Kelp Forest along the ice crystal path.

—

Teng Yuzhi followed closely behind.

She took a deep breath and activated the Li Huo Golden Body Art.

A layer of crimson-gold light suddenly emerged around her.

The light was fierce and domineering, burning through and dispersing the surging miasma layer by layer.

She didn't have Ao Zhan's overwhelming strength, but she had her own methods.

She wasn't in a hurry.

She simply moved forward steadily, each sword strike precisely severing a lashing kelp frond.

The fronds fell to the ground and were instantly incinerated into ash by the Lihuo True Flame surrounding her.

As for the lurking behemoths, she didn't proactively provoke them.

She avoided them if she could, and if she couldn't, she killed them with a single sword strike.

Her pace was much slower than Ao Zhan's, but it was just as steady.

—

A smug smile curled at the corner of Zhao Yuanjing's mouth.

With the water repelling pearl on him, his movements in the water were much more flexible than others.

He could easily dodge the kelp's lashes; the erosion of the miasma was kept at bay by the water film formed by the water repelling pearl; and as for the lurking Great Yao, he would sense their aura and take a detour in advance.

He glanced back.

About two hundred feet behind him, Jiang Hanzhou had just entered the Kelp Forest.

That kid was surrounded by a faint dark gold light, holding that dark red long saber, currently locked in a struggle with an Iron-Armored Demonic Octopus.

The octopus had eight tentacles, each thirty feet long, covered in fist-sized suckers with barbs lining their edges.

The eight tentacles lashed out wildly from all directions toward Jiang Hanzhou!

Jiang Hanzhou spun his body rapidly and severed one tentacle with a single saber strike!

Pitch-black ink erupted from the severed tentacle, filled with potent toxins, and sprayed toward his face!

The dark gold light around him surged, instantly evaporating the ink!

But at that moment, another tentacle took the opportunity to lash out from behind him!

He didn't have time to dodge and could only tank it—

BOOM!

The tentacle slammed heavily into his back, sending him staggering forward for several steps!

Seeing this, the smile on Zhao Yuanjing's face deepened.

"Jiang Hanzhou, oh Jiang Hanzhou..." he muttered. "Keep being arrogant. This Yao Beast zone isn't something you can just break through with brute force."

He turned around and continued forward.

But he didn't notice—

After being struck, although Jiang Hanzhou staggered a few steps, he didn't fall.

He steadied himself and looked down at his back.

His clothes on his back had been torn open, revealing the skin underneath.

Only a shallow red mark remained on that skin.

The full-force strike of an Iron-Armored Demonic Octopus, a strike sufficient to break the bones and tendons of an ordinary Initial Stage of Yuanxiang Cultivator, only left a red mark on him.

His Physical Body, tempered by Blood Burning True Flame, combined with the Dragon Blood Power fused in the Dragon Blood Pool, had made his physique far surpass those of the same rank.

He looked up, watching Zhao Yuanjing's receding back, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

Then, he retracted his gaze and fixed it on the Iron-Armored Demonic Octopus that had lost a tentacle.

The octopus was letting out a shrill shriek. With only seven tentacles left, pitch-black ink continued to gush from the stump.

Its seven tentacles lashed out wildly, lunging at Jiang Hanzhou once again!

Jiang Hanzhou didn't dodge.

He simply raised his right hand.

A wisp of crimson-gold flame quietly emerged in his palm.

Pure Yang True Intent, twenty percent.

The moment that flame appeared, the surrounding temperature rose sharply! The miasma filling the air was instantly evaporated by the heat of the flame!

Sensing that aura, the octopus's seven tentacles suddenly froze!

It instinctively felt fear—that kind of flame countered the sinister power within its body.

But it was too late to flee.

Jiang Hanzhou waved his right hand.

The wisp of crimson-gold flame shot out, turning into a streak of light in the air that plunged straight into the octopus's body!

The moment the flame entered—

Sizzle!!!

The octopus let out a shrill shriek, its seven tentacles twitching wildly as its massive body rolled frantically in the Kelp Forest!

The sinister power within it, under the scorching of the Pure Yang True Fire, evaporated instantly like snow meeting fire!

After three breaths, it stopped struggling.

Its massive body slumped limply to the ground, devoid of any aura.

Jiang Hanzhou walked forward and sliced open its head with his saber.

Within the head, a fist-sized dark green bead floated quietly.

That was the behemoth's Inner Core, and also a token that could be used to exchange for contribution points in this trial ground.

He put away the Inner Core and continued forward.

His pace was much faster than before.