467: One whale falls, and all things come to life.

Following the sound of the explosion, a massive column of water shot up into the sky, immediately turning into scattered raindrops that fell back onto the sea surface.

It was as if heavy rain had suddenly begun pouring over this sea area, only gradually stopping after nearly a minute.

Near the water's surface, a wall of seawater slowly receded, revealing the shocked faces of the people behind it.

Just now, Jiang Xiaoyu had used his other Holy Skill, "Tidal Surge," to survive the aftermath of the explosion.

If not for that, the group would have already been swept away by the waves and drowned in the ocean.

"That power... hasn't it already surpassed a nuclear bomb?"

Jiang Xiaoyu swallowed hard; everything that had happened these past few days had made him realize one thing.

He had originally believed himself to be invincible in the ocean, but the reality was otherwise.

If he had faced the Oceanic Giant Whale alone, he would only have been able to run; a direct confrontation would have killed him ten thousand times over.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Gu Qinghan smiled and said:

"Overall, it's much better than a nuclear bomb, since there's no pollution, right?"

The joke was so bad that Chen Yuting rolled her eyes at him, but she was clearly less silent than before.

Subsequently, a massive black silhouette slowly floated up from the sea—it was Deaths Touch.

However, when everyone saw the state of Deaths Touch, they couldn't help but gasp.

Originally, Deaths Touch had ten tentacles, and its entire body was perfectly intact.

Now, it had lost at least half of its tentacles, not to mention nearly a quarter of its body had been blown off.

But besides using its remaining tentacles for swimming, two were dragging something along.

It wasn't until the dragged object slowly became visible that everyone realized it was the corpse of the Oceanic Giant Whale.

A massive gash had exploded open in the corpse's abdomen, clearly caused by the recent blast.

Furthermore, the Oceanic Giant Whale's body was covered almost entirely in wounds; there was not a single piece of intact flesh.

They also noticed a shimmering golden light cluster at the head of the Oceanic Giant Whale, radiating a tantalizing glow.

"Did this drop? Brother, hurry up and see what it is."

Luo Mu had been watching for a long time; it seemed only one item had dropped, and he didn't know if anything else had been blown into the sea.

Gu Qinghan nodded. Aided by the Dragon Crow, he quickly approached the light cluster and grasped it in his hand.

But when he held the light cluster, a look of clear astonishment appeared on his face.

Seeing this, Chen Yuting asked curiously:

"What's wrong? Why that expression?

Something this powerful shouldn't drop anything bad, right?"

Gu Qinghan opened his mouth, feeling somewhat dry-throated.

"This item is immortal grade, and it's called Whale Island..."

Just as Gu Qinghan was about to describe the item's effects, Jiang Xiaoyu's expression suddenly changed, and he spoke to the group:

"This is bad. I can feel many presences rapidly approaching our location.

If I'm not mistaken, they must be marine creatures drawn here by the Oceanic Giant Whale's flesh!"

Everyone's expression changed, and they immediately looked toward Gu Qinghan.

Gu Qinghan also realized the seriousness of the situation at this moment and said after some thought:

"Let's just use the teleportation scrolls to return to Whale Fall City. We don't need to worry about the lost flesh."

The Oceanic Giant Whale's flesh was definitely a fortune, but they didn't have that much time right now.

The corpse dragged back by Deaths Touch was about eighty percent intact, and as material, it would certainly be enough to arm everyone in Whale Fall City to the teeth.

Hearing this, the group took out their teleportation scrolls and crushed them one after another.

Gu Qinghan also retrieved Deaths Touch and the mountain-like corpse of the Oceanic Giant Whale before crushing a teleportation scroll.

He looked into the distance, using the time the teleportation scroll took to activate, and saw many figures leaping out of the water.

These were mutated, dragonized marine creatures; their numbers were astonishing, and Gu Qinghan could even see some battles breaking out among them.

But their main targets were the flesh and corpse of the Oceanic Giant Whale!

One Whale Fall, all life thrives.

After its death, this deep-sea overlord had clearly been viewed as a feast by these weaker creatures!

At this moment, Gu Qinghan had to leave.

Yet, he believed that one day in the future, he would definitely return here.

The scene before him instantly changed, and the next moment, Gu Qinghan appeared near the Whale Fall City's teleportation tower.

He looked around; Jiang Xiaoyu, Luo Mu, and Chen Yuting had also returned, and they were looking at each other with lingering fear.

Deep exhaustion was visible on everyone's faces; this journey at sea had truly consumed too much energy.

Gu Qinghan looked at their expressions and couldn't help but stretch, saying:

"Everyone worked hard. Go back and get some rest.

After sleeping until you wake up naturally, we can go check out that open secret realm."

Gu Qinghan then wanted to turn and leave; he was too tired.

It was mental exhaustion that could only be relieved by sleep.

What he didn't expect was that Jiang Xiaoyu suddenly spoke up:

"Boss, I won't be entering the secret realm."

"Huh? Why?"

Gu Qinghan had already guessed the reason when he asked the question; he merely wanted to confirm his suspicion.

Jiang Xiaoyu thought for a moment, then spoke with a touch of dejection:

"I originally thought I was very strong, especially at sea.

But after going out this time, I realized a problem.

That is, our power is actually nothing compared to this game.

While you are entering the secret realm, I will continue to explore and adventure in the surrounding sea area, striving to improve my strength."

Speaking of this, he took out the trident and rubbed his hand over it for a long time before continuing:

"I originally thought I was one of the top experts in Whale Fall City. Now it seems I'm nothing at all.

However, I will work hard to catch up to you!"

Gu Qinghan looked at the serious expression on Jiang Xiaoyu's face and nodded with a smile.

Although the other party had suffered a blow, it had to be said that this was a good thing.

The previous Jiang Xiaoyu, though he didn't explicitly say it, constantly harbored a sense of arrogance.

The source of this arrogance was his powerful strength and his innate advantage in the sea.

After this experience, the arrogance in his heart had been completely driven out, and he had regained his reverence for this game.

Of course, most importantly, he was now fully focused.

Only now could Jiang Xiaoyu truly be considered a core member of Whale Fall City.

"Since you already have a plan, then work hard.

You must know that this Oceanic Giant Whale might not be much compared to the enemies we may face in the future."

Gu Qinghan's voice echoed faintly, but he left Jiang Xiaoyu with only his retreating figure.

Jiang Xiaoyu wanted to say something else, but ultimately swallowed the words.

He tightly gripped the trident in his hand, a look of determination shining in his eyes.

Having experienced this battle, he had witnessed Gu Qinghan's strength, composure, and masterful planning.

If there were enemies far stronger than the Oceanic Giant Whale, and he couldn't match them, then he would just follow behind Gu Qinghan.

He understood that this figure would become the goal he pursued for the rest of his life.