181: Turning the sea to suppress the shark, stealthily moving through the mist
The moment the guixu sword was unsheathed, the Sword Intent that returned all things to silence spread out like a tangible force, causing the churning waves and the pervasive water vapor to freeze for an instant. A flash of instinctive terror flickered in the dead-fish eyes of the leading Ghost Shark Leader at the Ninth Layer Earth Fiend Realm, but greed and ferocity quickly overrode that trace of unease.
“Kill! Tear him to pieces!” The Ghost Shark Leader swung its bone fork forward, letting out a piercing roar.
Seven or eight high-level Earth Fiend Realm Ghost Sharks shrieked simultaneously, their Demonic Qi surging. They brandished bone blades, bone spikes, and sharp claws, whipping up arrows of dark green poisonous water and corrosive demonic winds, pouncing toward Ye Chen from all directions! Living year-round in the treacherous environment of the Mist Sea, their combat style was primitive, violent, and perfectly coordinated, their offensive like a violent storm!
Facing this siege from all sides, Ye Chen’s eyes were cold as he casually swung the guixu sword.
“Chaos Sword Domain—Open!”
An invisible gray Domain, seemingly independent of the physical world, suddenly expanded with him at the center, instantly enveloping all the pouncing Ghost Sharks! Within the Domain, the light was dim and the Five Elements were in disarray. The moment the surging poisonous water arrows and corrosive demonic winds entered the Domain, they seemed to lose their momentum and properties; their speed plummeted, their power drastically decreased, and they even began to disintegrate on their own!
As for the group of Ghost Sharks, the moment they stepped into the Sword Domain, they felt as if they had fallen into a boundless Chaos quagmire. Their movements became incredibly sluggish, the circulation of Demonic Qi within their bodies grew labored, and even their thoughts seemed to come to a standstill! For the first time, looks of terror appeared on their faces!
“Judgment!”
Two words escaped Ye Chen’s lips. The guixu sword transformed into a brilliant, righteous, yet ultimate gray sword light of Judgment that swept out in a fan-like arc!
As the sword light passed, space seemed to be sliced, leaving behind a smooth trail!
Those seven or eight Ghost Sharks at the seventh or eighth layer of the Earth Fiend Realm couldn't even let out a scream. Their protective Demonic Qi shattered like paper, and their bodies instantly stiffened under the Judgment Sword Intent. Then, as if erased by an eraser, they slowly dissipated from head to toe, turning into the most fundamental particles and merging into the Chaos Sword Domain, replenishing Ye Chen's consumption!
Instant kill! Still an instant kill!
Only the Ghost Shark Leader at the Ninth Layer Earth Fiend Realm, relying on its stronger cultivation and instinct for danger, desperately held its bone fork in front of itself the moment the sword light reached its body. At the same time, it spat out a mouthful of its lifeblood essence, which transformed into a thick, dark green water shield!
Crack!
The Judgment sword light struck the water shield, which held for only half a breath before shattering! The sword light’s momentum remained unabated, heavily striking the bone fork of extraordinary quality!
Clang—!!!
The piercing sound of the collision caused countless water columns to explode from the sea surface! The Ghost Shark Leader felt as if it had been struck by a massive weight. Its large body flew backward, and a deep crack appeared on the bone fork in its hand, nearly snapping it. It spat out dark green blood, its aura instantly withering by more than half. The gaze it directed at Ye Chen was filled with boundless fear and shock!
Where did this human come from?! How could someone at the Ninth Layer Earth Fiend Realm possess such terrifying power?!
It no longer dared to linger in the fight. Using the momentum of being blown back, it twisted its body, intending to dive into the deep sea below to escape!
“Trying to leave?”
Ye Chen’s gaze turned cold. He didn't pursue with the guixu sword; instead, he raised his left hand, spread his fingers, and pressed down toward the churning sea surface below!
“Chaos Sea-Suppressing Seal!”
A gray seal, seemingly condensed from countless Chaos airflows and engraved with the pattern of a Black Tortoise Carrying a Stele, appeared out of thin air. It instantly expanded to a hundred zhang in size, carrying the supreme power to suppress the four seas and stabilize the eight directions, and crashed down toward the area of the sea where the Ghost Shark Leader was fleeing!
Boom—!!!!!
Before the seal had even fully descended, the terrifying pressure caused the sea surface below to cave in, creating a massive hemispherical vacuum! The seawater was forcibly pushed aside, revealing the dark seabed below! The Ghost Shark Leader felt as if the space around it had been frozen. An irresistible force squeezed it from all directions, leaving it unable to move, its eyes filled with despair!
“No—!!!”
Amidst its shrill roar, the Chaos Sea-Suppressing Seal crashed down violently!
Bang—!!!
No seawater splashed; there was only a dull, extreme thud, like the collision of tectonic plates! With the point of impact as the center, a circular shockwave spread silently, pushing the surrounding seawater away to form a water wall dozens of zhang high!
When the seal dissipated, a massive bottomless hole nearly a thousand zhang in diameter appeared in that stretch of sea. It took several breaths before the surrounding seawater poured back in like the sky collapsing, letting out a deafening roar. The agitated waves took a long time to settle.
As for the Ghost Shark Leader, it and its Divine Soul had already been completely suppressed into the most primitive energy particles under the Chaos Sea-Suppressing Seal, annihilated in both form and spirit!
Ye Chen slowly withdrew his hand, his breathing steady. Dealing with these Ghost Sharks was even easier than dealing with the Black Skeleton Pirate Group. The gap in strength was too vast.
He glanced at the sea surface below, which was gradually returning to calm but still had surging undercurrents. Without further delay, he moved, transforming into a gray stream of light and shooting unhesitatingly into the thick, viscous gray-white mist ahead!
The moment he entered the mist, his vision was instantly stripped away, as if he were in thick milk where he couldn't see his own hand. The suppression of his Divine Sense was even more severe; he could only barely perceive the area within fifty zhang of himself. Beyond that was a mass of Chaos and chaotic energy interference. Various eerie sounds reached his ears—sometimes faint weeping, sometimes sharp cackling, and sometimes low murmurs—constantly trying to erode his mind.
The air was filled with a cold, damp, decaying scent with a faint fishy sweetness. Breathing it into his lungs caused a slight numbing sensation. If not for the Chaos Domain protecting him and constantly devouring and purifying these negative energies, an ordinary Earth Fiend Realm Cultivator would likely lose their mind before long in this place.
Following the direction indicated by the fragmentary map, Ye Chen slowed down and moved cautiously through the mist. He didn't dare fly too high or stay too close to the sea surface, trying to maintain a middle altitude. In the Mist Sea, not only were vision and Divine Sense obstructed, but even the sense of direction became extremely blurred. If not for the continuous guidance of the fragmentary map, he might have long since become lost.
After flying for about an hour, he didn't encounter any other dangers, but the feeling of being watched persisted, as if something was hidden deep in the mist, coldly observing him, the uninvited guest.
Suddenly, the mist ahead churned violently, and a powerful suction was generated out of thin air, trying to pull him in a certain direction! Simultaneously, a loud splash came from the sea surface below as a massive mouth, filled with countless pale, sharp teeth and as large as a house, broke through the mist and the sea, lunging to swallow him! The aura of the mouth's owner was obscure, but the sense of threat it gave Ye Chen was not at all weaker than the previous Ghost Shark Leader!
“Hmph!”
Ye Chen let out a cold snort. The guixu sword instantly appeared in his hand, and without looking, he thrust it backward toward the giant mouth below! At the tip of the sword, the intent of Guixu annihilation was condensed to the extreme!
Puchi!
Like a hot knife through butter, the guixu sword easily pierced the upper palate of the giant mouth filled with sharp teeth! A spray of dark green, foul-smelling blood erupted, but before it could get close to Ye Chen, it was purified by the Chaos Domain.
“Roar—!!!”
A pained and furious roar came from beneath the sea. The giant mouth slammed shut and quickly sank back into the ocean, vanishing and leaving behind only churning bloody water and a powerful aura that was rapidly receding.
Ye Chen did not pursue. In this unknown mist, rashly giving chase was a major taboo. He felt that what had just attacked him was likely a giant sea beast skilled in concealment and ambushing, its strength probably close to the Peak Ninth Level of Disha Realm.
He continued forward, becoming even more alert. Over the next part of the journey, he encountered several more attacks. There were swarms of strange jellyfish capable of spitting hallucinogenic toxic mist; invisible wraiths hidden in the mist that launched mental attacks; and once, he felt the space to his side distort slightly as a small spatial rift appeared silently. If not for his sharp Divine Sense allowing him to dodge in advance, he might have been torn apart by the spatial force!
This Mist Sea was indeed full of crises; no wonder it was listed as a dangerous place.
Just as he was fully focused on dealing with various potential dangers, the chaos monitoring compass in his robes suddenly sent out a burst of fluctuations that were different from a danger warning—they were more urgent and rhythmic! Simultaneously, the chaos ancestral talisman within his Qi Sea also sent out a clear sense of guidance again, which vaguely overlapped with the direction indicated by the fragmentary map, but was more specific!
There was something ahead! And it was something closely related to the chaos ancestral talisman!
Ye Chen’s spirits lifted. He immediately followed the guidance of the ancestral talisman, adjusted his direction slightly, and flew cautiously toward the location where the fluctuations originated.
After flying for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the mist ahead seemed to thin out a bit. Vaguely, he could see a massive, blurred silhouette standing deep within the mist!
That silhouette... looked like an island? Or... the ruins of some building?
As he drew closer, the silhouette became clearer. It was actually an ancient altar half-submerged in the seawater, built entirely from some kind of massive black stone.
Most of the altar had been eroded by the seawater and was covered in dark green seaweed and shells, but its top was relatively well-preserved. He could vaguely see complex patterns engraved on it that were somewhat similar to the Dao runes of the chaos ancestral talisman! The strong resonance coming from the chaos ancestral talisman originated precisely from that altar!
Ye Chen lowered his altitude and hovered above the altar, observing it carefully. The aura emitted by the altar was extremely ancient and vast, carrying an intent that was completely different from this Guixu Sea or even that Ancient Battlefield.
Could this altar be the end point indicated by the fragmentary map? Or rather, the key to leaving the Guixu Sea?
He slowly landed on the damp, cold top of the altar, his gaze falling on the complex patterns in the center. In the middle of the patterns was a groove whose shape... seemed to vaguely fit the chaos ancestral talisman within his Qi Sea!