170: Chapter 169 Great Shark Demon

First, there was a head—round and smooth, its blue-gray skin shimmering with a cold light in the twilight.

Then came a pair of eyes—yellow, with vertical pupils, resembling those of a snake or a shark.

Then came the body, over two zhang tall, covered from head to toe in smooth, blue-gray skin. There were no scales and no hair, just like the skin of a shark.

Its head was also shark-shaped, with a long mouth that stretched to its earlobes, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth. Each tooth was as long as a finger, staggered irregularly, with scraps of flesh still hanging from them.

On both sides of its neck were slits—fish gills that opened and closed.

Its limbs were thick and sturdy, with webbing between its fingers and long, sharp, hook-like claws.

It walked out of the whirlpool, stepping onto the surface of the sea, the water barely reaching its ankles.

It stood there, looking down upon the archipelago, the small fishing village, and the panicked Mortals.

Late Golden Core Stage.

Its aura was undisguised and tangible, pressing down on the Mortals until they could not catch their breath.

The children were too terrified to cry, and the adults collapsed to the ground, lacking even the strength to run.

It opened its mouth, exposing those sharp teeth, and let out a low, hoarse laugh.

The laughter sounded like someone grinding stone with sandpaper, grating and harsh. It sniffed the air as if smelling something, and its yellow vertical pupils brightened.

"There is actually so much blood-food here." It said. Its voice was not loud, yet it clearly spread across the entire island.

Its mouth curled up, revealing a hideous grin that looked as if it were smiling, or perhaps drooling.

Then it strode forward, walking toward the shore. Every step landed on the sea surface, sending ripples spreading out beneath its feet.

Yun Ming did not give it the chance to approach the archipelago.

He pushed off with his feet, his entire body skimming across the surface of the sea, moving as fast as a ray of light.

The seawater exploded beneath his feet, sending white spray splashing to both sides and leaving a long wake behind him.

Within a few breaths, he had charged in front of the Shark Demon.

The treasure light on his body ignited simultaneously. The moonlight flowing frost robe emitted a silvery halo, enveloping him completely. The xuanming heaven-covering umbrella hovered above his head, its canopy unfurling and cascading black, eerie light like a waterfall. The zhoutian yuan-magnetic realm-suppressing tower flew out from his sleeve; the seven-inch-tall miniature tower grew in the wind, transforming into a structure several zhang high in the blink of an eye. It hung in mid-air, and the Magnetic Force acted like an invisible giant hand, solidifying the space for several miles around into a single, impenetrable block.

The entire expanse of the sea was sealed off.

The Shark Demon had not even realized what was happening when a large, flaming cauldron slammed into its chest. The cauldron of all things mother qi, its body wrapped in golden flames—the power of the golden crow feather, supremely yang and rigid, specifically countering all evil and filth. With its mouth facing forward, it struck the Shark Demon squarely like a burning meteor.

With a dull thud.

The Shark Demon's body, over two zhang tall, flew backward like a stone thrown away, bouncing twice on the sea surface and splashing up water.

It flew hundreds of zhang before barely steadying itself. Standing on the sea, it looked down at its own chest. There was a charred mark there, where a large patch of scales had been burned through, revealing the scorched flesh beneath. The savory aroma of roasted meat, mixed with the stench of the sea, wafted across the water.

It raised its head, its yellow vertical pupils fixed on the person hovering over the sea in the distance, its eyes filled with shock.

It had not expected that such a remote backwater would actually hide a Golden Core Cultivator.

Relying on the treasure bestowed by the Great Demon Lord, it had managed to sneak in from the front lines, avoiding patrols from major Sects and evading the Divine Sense of Nascent Soul True Lords all the way.

It thought there was no threat here, believing the Mortals here were blood-food it could easily obtain.

But it was wrong.

Yun Ming did not give it a chance to catch its breath. He pursued it, moving faster than before, his robes snapping in the sea breeze.

The cauldron of all things mother qi flew back to his side, hovering beside him. The golden flames on the cauldron's body were even more intense than before, shifting from orange-gold to pure gold, so scorching that it seemed as if it would burn through the sky. The light was so bright that the water vapor on the sea surface was evaporated, and it was so bright that people in the distant fishing village were exclaiming, "The sun has fallen!"

The Shark Demon's expression changed. Although it had a shark's head and its facial expressions were not very rich, there was distinct fear in those yellow vertical pupils.

It took a step back, ripples spreading beneath its feet, and then it turned abruptly and dove headfirst into the sea.

The seawater was cleaved by its massive body, and the blue-gray figure quickly dove into the depths. It swam very fast, as fast as an arrow, covering dozens of zhang with a single flick of its tail.

It thought that as long as it dove into the deep sea, the fire would not be able to burn it.

The cauldron of all things mother qi pursued it. Pure golden flames burned at the mouth of the cauldron, the temperature outrageously high.

The sea surface was roasted until it boiled, water vapor rising and white mist filling the air. The cauldron swept over the surface of the sea, its flames licking the water, instantly evaporating it and creating a massive depression.

The Shark Demon's figure was exposed within that depression, with nowhere to run.

It glanced back and saw the large cauldron burning with golden flames crashing down toward it. Its pupils constricted sharply, and it instinctively raised its arms to block its head.

The cauldron struck it, and the golden flames engulfed it completely. It let out a shrill, miserable scream, the sound so piercingly sharp that it was like something being torn apart alive.

The flames burned through its flesh, scorched its scales, and roasted its internal organs. A thick, acrid smell of burning filled the air, mixed with the stench of the sea, making one nauseous.

The flames dissipated. The Shark Demon was still alive.

It was charred black all over, with not a single piece of good flesh left. Its blue-gray skin had been burned to the color of charcoal, and within the gaping wounds, tender pink flesh was exposed.

One of its eyes had been burned blind, and the other was half-closed, with murky fluid oozing from the socket.

It lay in the shallow sea, gasping for air, black smoke pouring from its mouth with every breath. But it was still alive.

A layer of ice-blue light seeped out from within its body, adhering to the charred shell. The light was faint but very resilient, like a thin layer of ice, wrapping its entire body.

Wherever the light passed, the scorched flesh began to heal, the gaping wounds slowly closed, and new skin and flesh grew beneath the burned scales. The light was repairing it—the speed was not fast, but it was indeed repairing it.

The Shark Demon forced itself to crawl toward the depths. Its hands dug into the mud and sand of the seabed, dragging its half-charred, half-cooked body, inching forward little by little. It had to dive into the deep sea, into the place where those flames could not reach.

Yun Ming did not pursue. He simply hovered in mid-air, looking down at the Shark Demon crawling toward the depths. He raised his right hand, pressed his index and middle fingers together, and pointed forward gently. A thin, ink-colored needle flew out from his sleeve. The needle was as fine as a strand of cow hair and entirely dark blue, almost invisible in the twilight.

It flew very fast, silent and soundless, like a beam of eerie light shot from the darkness.

The Shark Demon did not see it, nor did it feel it. It only felt a chill in its back, as if something had burrowed inside. Then, it stopped moving.

Its body began to melt. Starting from its back, the charred flesh turned into black pus, flowing down its spine. The pus was foul, smelling worse than dead fish, worse than rotting mud. Its skeleton was exposed, grayish-white, with bits of unmelted flesh still hanging from it. Then the skeleton also began to melt, section by section, softening and collapsing, finally turning into a pool of black sludge. The sludge dispersed into the seawater, staining the surrounding water black.