The battle raged on, nearly twenty minutes had passed. At this moment, John Chou was effortlessly dodging Taotie’s attacks in midair. Taotie’s strikes could no longer touch him, and John Chou occasionally retaliated, almost as if toying with the beast.
Just as Basil Bertram had said earlier, although Taotie was strong and fast, it was fighting purely on primal beastly instinct. Its attack patterns and rhythm were almost identical, making them easy to read and counter.
“Hurry up and finish this, you bastard John Chou. What’s the point of a fight like this?”
Redmond shouted, and John Chou turned, landing on the boat with a whoosh. As his gaze met Lord Shenyan’s, Lord Shenyan had already flown to Taotie’s side. Facing the beast’s outstretched arms, he swept his twin swords in slow motion. It looked slow, but I sensed something different—though it appeared sluggish, it was so fast my senses couldn’t even register it.
Taotie roared, nearly closing in, but in an instant, it froze in midair. Lines began to appear on its body, then it began to disintegrate. Lord Shenyan approached the now-dead beast, raising one hand.
“Karmic Fire... Scarlet Lotus...”
With a thunderous roar, a column of fire shot skyward before our eyes. Taotie’s body, already hacked to pieces, turned to ash in the karmic flames.
“Utterly boring.”
“Redmond, you really are only fit to find a patch of land, rule over a mountain, and play king.”
John Chou suddenly laughed, and Redmond glared at him in irritation.
"Enough, John Chou, say a little less. As the saying goes, 'Fools have their own fortunes.'"
Basil Bertram pulled Redmond aside and said this. I couldn't help but burst out laughing, and the others' expressions shifted as well. Redmond turned to glare at Basil Bertram.
"If you don’t burn that thing with karmic fire, it’ll just keep growing stronger, right?"
Basil Bertram didn’t say much, just replied seriously. John Chou nodded.
"The seawater here is a decent resource for that beast. Simple-minded as it is, if one of them landed among the soldiers during close combat, it could cause a massacre in an instant. And these things feel no fear."
Redmond glanced at Basil Bertram and then at John Chou. The two quickly changed the subject, but I noticed Mona Ouyang grinning slyly at me, walking over and patting my shoulder.
"Heh, these things are still pretty strong."
Looking at Mona Ouyang’s smile, I couldn’t help but get goosebumps. Thinking of Vivian Ouyang, I forced an awkward smile.
"Something else is coming. Looks like they don’t want us to go back, or to enter the world of shadows. They want to keep us trapped here."
Everyone became alert. Out on the distant sea, a massive wave was rushing toward us.
"Who’s willing to go down?"
John Chou turned to look at us.
Everyone turned to me. I glanced around, then pointed at myself.
"You want me to go under the sea?"
No sooner had I spoken than everyone nodded.
"Hurry up, brother. You’re more than capable of handling that thing now. And remember? Everything you went through on the Black River—none of these guys are a real threat to you anymore."
As we spoke, the massive wave was less than a hundred meters away. Without thinking, I launched myself out, plunging into the black sea with a splash. Instantly, my eyes widened as a thick, putrid stench and an overwhelming sense of discomfort spread through my body. This sea was formed from the filth of souls.
Underwater, I saw a creature like a shark but with a serpent’s tail, speeding toward me. Its crimson eyes gleamed like lanterns in the water. Gripping my Soulreaper Blade, I charged ahead. My violent movement sent the water surging behind me, forming waves.
With a crash, the Tiger Serpent caught my Soulreaper Blade in its grip. As I moved closer, I realized this thing was a Tiger Serpent, a mythical beast from the Classic of Mountains and Seas. After returning from the world of shadows, I had looked it up in the Classic myself.
The tremendous force pushed me through the water. Gritting my teeth, I tried to slash at it, but the Tiger Serpent’s claws clamped down on my blade, driving me back. It clearly didn’t want me to reach the surface. The seawater here suppressed my power, but not enough to stop me. My goal now was to drag this Tiger Serpent out and let Lord Shenyan burn it with karmic fire.
I had drifted far from the boat, still diving deeper underwater. The Tiger Serpent’s strength was growing. I stared at it, sensing its icy killing intent and bitter hostility toward us.
With a crash, I stopped in the water as a sizzling sound echoed. The Tiger Serpent instantly lost its power, black currents radiating outward. Centered on me, a space free of water appeared, the filth consumed by the force of the End. I darted beneath the Tiger Serpent, grabbing it with one hand and surged upward.
Thunder roared as a massive black lightning pillar burst from the sea. I released my power, my Soulreaper Blade already embedded in the Tiger Serpent’s skull. I leapt away as a fiery red light struck the beast, and it vanished in the flames.
Back on the boat, I shook myself off, gasping for breath. The Ghost Sovereigns kept their distance, and Yuna Ji pinched her nose.
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"You stink, Qingyuan."
I blinked.
"You guys."
"Alright, alright, brother. The stench will fade soon enough. Lady Meng, let’s keep moving—head straight into the world of shadows."
I looked at John Chou in confusion, sensing he said it on purpose.
The boat sped onward, but after a while, the sea was eerily calm—no more monsters attacked us.
"What about the Divine Law? John Chou, if we charge straight ahead and fight those three, it’ll never end."
Redmond asked.
"Don’t worry. They won’t want to start a war just yet. Of course, if they do, there’s nothing I can do—we’ll have to fight."
As John Chou spoke, the boat stopped. Lady Meng opened her eyes.
"We’ve reached the end."
I looked around in confusion. Yuna Ji held up her Abyssal Treasure Mirror and slowly floated upward.
"If this is all you’ve got, Emperor God, you’ll have a hard time trapping us."
As John Chou spoke, the Abyssal Treasure Mirror shot out a yellow beam, flickering around us. A cracking sound echoed—the space around us split like shattered glass. I stared in shock as countless boats, far in the distance, formed a massive encirclement, completely surrounding us.
"The boat hasn’t been moving for a while. Looks like some kind of spell—keeping us looping in the same space among these boats."