This Can't Go On

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately turned to look. They then saw that the Sea God Talisman, after brushing past the grouper, hadn't scattered into the sea. Instead, it had been stopped midway by a tentacle that had appeared out of nowhere. Upon closer inspection, the tentacle clearly belonged to the Giant Octopus. It had actually caught the Sea God Talisman! This scene stunned the grouper. Wait a minute, did the Six-fin Barracuda really willingly give it its chance to escape? Had it overthought things, and its cleverness backfired? If that were the case, it would be far too unpleasant. Fortunately, the next moment, everyone saw the Giant Octopus let out a painful roar. Its entire body curled up irregularly, twisting into a bizarre ball, its previously stable Qi Mechanism becoming chaotic, clearly indicating it had been tricked. It was alright then. The grouper breathed a sigh of relief; the Talisman was indeed problematic. Luckily, it had dodged in time and hadn't fallen for it. More importantly, the Talisman hadn't been wasted; the giant, clumsy Thousand Legs had actually accepted it. This was fantastic! Now, all it had to do was wait for the Talisman's effects to activate, thus diverting the attention of the Human True Lord, and it could escape. It was overjoyed, but the Six-fin Barracuda's face was grim. It hadn't fallen for the trap it should have, but it had fallen for the one it shouldn't. Having been hit by such a final, powerful attack as the Sea God Talisman, even a giant Giant Octopus probably wouldn't survive until today. The only good news was that at least the item hadn't truly failed, thus not wasting a trump card. However, what happened next was equally unexpected. Stimulated by the Sea God Talisman's Talisman, the Giant Octopus's purplish-red aura gradually tinged with red, making it look exceptionally alluring. Its crimson pupils swelled, almost bursting out of their sockets. Its entire dark skin rippled with strange patterns, as if countless caterpillars were wriggling inside. The overall pressure surged rapidly, doubling in less than two breaths. "Pop! Thud!" Two Sword Qi, fueled by the Mountain Protecting Grand Array, slashed down, but were deflected without causing any damage. Instead, they jolted it awake, causing it to roar to the sky. Immediately afterward, eight tentacles, each a thousand feet long, rose high from the water, stretching out in all directions. The dozen or so array formations that had been suppressing it became as fragile as clay, instantly shattering and collapsing. Even the entire Mountain Protecting Grand Array was affected. Several Array Foundation in the center flickered a few times before extinguishing completely. Faced with this sudden turn of events, Cloud Vortex True Monarch was momentarily stunned. Then he saw the eight tentacles unleash their power simultaneously, striking down. Startled, he quickly activated his spiritual shield and dodged backward. But no one expected that the seemingly clumsy tentacles could actually change direction mid-air. Even more unexpectedly, the Giant Octopus's first target after its mutation was the nearby grouper: "Betrayal means death!" "Smack! Smack!... Smack!" Eight thick tentacles slammed down in succession, instantly turning the unsuspecting grouper into a pile of minced meat. No, it wasn't even minced meat. At best, it was a pile of murky fragments. Naturally, it also shattered several of the central restrictions and destroyed two Array Foundation below. "Damn it, how can it have such power?" Gang Yuan True Monarch's face immediately turned extremely grim. The Giant Octopus was already the most difficult to deal with, but now its combat power had at least doubled. "The situation is bad; the binding restrictions are clearly no longer effective against it." Han Chuan True Monarch also sighed, his eyes revealing unconcealed worry. The distant Rift Void True Monarch involuntarily took a step back, confirming that he was outside the Giant Octopus's attack range. The nearby Cloud Vortex True Monarch was even more terrified. Thankfully, the attack wasn't aimed at him; otherwise, even with his spiritual shield, he would likely have been seriously injured. Such monstrous strength was beyond human resistance. "Traitor, dead. You go, deliver the message." The Giant Octopus rolled its six eyes, glanced at the Six-fin Barracuda, and then extended its tentacles again, smashing them down around it. Like autumn leaves swept away by the wind, it swept away all the nearby restrictions. Then it directly formed a barrier around it, clearly helping to cover its retreat and block any possible pursuit. Having reached this point, the Six-fin Barracuda didn't say anything more, leaping out of the formation without hesitation. With a twist in mid-air, it shot into the distance like an arrow. It should be known that Sailfish are famous for their speed. Moreover, this was a Nascent Soul Late Stage Sailfish, and its speed during a full-speed escape was absurdly fast, almost comparable to a cultivator of the same level using Blood Escape Secret Technique. It vanished completely in a short time. "Everyone, keep your distance and harass it with Law Technique first!" shouted Gang Yuan True Monarch, "Just like dealing with Body Cultivator." He knew best how to deal with such an incredibly strong enemy. He pulled out two Talisman from his robes and threw them, which transformed into two giant fire scythes that slashed down. Mainly because Gang Yuan True Monarch was relatively unskilled in magic, it was better to use Talisman as a temporary measure. Han Chuan True Monarch, on the other hand, took out a small fan, and with a wave of his hand, wind Wind Blade rained down. It seemed to be a specially made offensive Spirit Artifact. Unfortunately, neither the fire scythes nor the Wind Blade could even scratch the surface. In less than a breath, the Giant Octopus could recover completely thanks to its now utterly unreasonable regenerative abilities. Faced with this situation... Xiao Chen also attempted to unleash the Azure Wave Piercing Bone Needle. With almost no resistance, the Flying Needle pierced the Giant Octopus's body. However, compared to its mountain-like form, the three Azure Wave Piercing Bone Needle were negligible. Even though Xiao Chen could detonate the Flying Needle, creating secondary damage and inflicting three large craters, each over ten feet wide, this level of damage was still far from sufficient for the Giant Octopus. In less than two breaths, new flesh would rapidly grow to fill the gaps. The effect was similar to that of the Sky-rushing Palm. In short, with the blessing of the Sea God Talisman, the Giant Octopus possessed terrifying regenerative abilities, completely ignoring everyone's attacks. "No, we can't break through it at all!" Han Chuan True Monarch vigorously shook his treasure fan, but it seemed to be cooling the creature down. "This guy's regenerative ability is already very strong. Continuing to fight like this is simply a waste of our own true energy." "We must find a way to limit its regeneration ability." "I'll try!" Upon hearing this, Cloud Vortex True Monarch waved his banner. "Pure Yang True Thunder, dispel evil!" As soon as he finished speaking, another thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stone behind Listening Wave Island rapidly melted, transforming into a purple-gold lightning bolt that struck down. The blinding lightning struck the Giant Octopus, instantly producing a crackling sound. Within a hundred feet of the impact point, all the flesh turned into charcoal, and even the nearest tentacle was severed in half. However, before everyone could even breathe a sigh of relief, new flesh grew out in the blink of an eye, directly pushing away the charred scars and restoring it to its original state. The same was true for the severed tentacles; from the cracks, buds of flesh sprouted, and new half-tentacles quickly grew. "Damn it, what on earth is this strange thing?" Cloud Vortex True Monarch's heart sank upon seeing this. Originally, he could still suppress the Giant Octopus slightly with the help of the Mountain Protecting Grand Array. But now, the creature could actually withstand the Formation Power the formation with its bare body. What should they do? Not only him, Gang Yuan True Monarch and Han Chuan True Monarch were also greatly surprised again. Judging from this situation, it seemed that even the Mountain Protecting Grand Array would be unable to stop this Giant Octopus. The Sea God Talisman not only amplified its strongest regenerative ability, but also provided far more than double the enhancement. In this situation, even if their side had Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator arrive, it might not be able to supplement the output. More importantly, the Giant Octopus seemed to have realized that everyone was helpless against it. So it became bolder and completely abandoned resisting the incoming Law Technique. It chased straight towards the nearest Cloud Vortex True Monarch. Fortunately, the Giant Octopus's movement speed was originally slow. Although it received a certain amplification, it was still affected by the continuous Formation Power. Especially now that it's the only remaining Demon Beast in the Mountain Protecting Grand Array, all the freely available Formation Power has gathered around it. With this increase and decrease, the Giant Octopus's overall speed is still not fast enough. At least when Cloud Vortex True Monarch pulls back with all his might, he's still a fraction faster. Therefore, as long as he focuses on dodging, he doesn't need to worry about how to defend against its equally powerful tentacles. However, the Giant Octopus is also clever. Realizing its speed isn't enough, it simply abandons the pursuit. Instead, it vigorously swings its tentacles, beginning to destroy the surrounding Array Foundation. As the saying goes, you can run away, but you can't hide. The people present can hide, but the Array Foundation buried in the ground cannot be moved. As long as all these Array Foundation are destroyed—no, even just half—it can directly break the Mountain Protecting Grand Array, thus escaping the formation's interference. At that time, it can easily catch up with everyone present and then crush them into mincemeat one by one. Including the thousands of Sword Abode Disciple on Listening Wave Island, all of them met the same fate: pulverized to pieces. "We can't let it destroy the formation!" Seeing this, True Cloud Vortex True Monarch panicked. "Without the formation's restraint, we're truly helpless." He no longer cared about conserving Spirit Stone and hurriedly activated the formation, unleashing a second and third bolt of lightning. He attempted to suppress the opponent's strange regenerative ability with Pure Yang True Thunder. Unfortunately, even though he had done this much, the Giant Octopus only moved slightly slower and was almost unaffected. It continued to systematically dismantle the Array Foundation one by one. "This... what can we do?" Han Chuan True Monarch, seeing the situation was dire, turned to Gang Yuan True Monarch. "Senior Brother, this can't go on." "Should we evacuate the disciples first?" He wasn't one to back down easily, nor was he one to give up easily. However, considering the current situation was becoming increasingly unsolvable, there was no need to stay and die in vain. After all, they had brought many Golden Core Disciple with them to support the Cloud Wave Sword Abode. If the grand formation were to break, it would be too late for them to escape. Therefore, from a preventative standpoint, it would be best to evacuate their disciples in advance and let them escape first. Han Chuan True Monarch spoke frankly, without deliberately lowering his voice. Therefore, Cloud Vortex True Monarch naturally heard him clearly. However, after a brief moment of anger, he didn't know what to say. Should he rebuke them for deserting in the face of battle, forcing them to stay and die with their own people? But what practical point would that make? Objectively speaking, it would be better to let them go first, preserving more of the Human Race's strength. However, Cloud Vortex True Monarch couldn't be so composed, so he pretended not to hear anything. He continued to futilely activate the Formation Flag, attempting to tear the Giant Octopus apart with Sword Qi. The Sword Formation's attacks appeared quite effective on the surface. Each strike cut a gash hundreds of feet long and tens of feet deep into the Giant Octopus. While the wounds looked gruesome, they were indeed a severe injury for a normal Demon Beast. However, against the Giant Octopus, the actual effect was less effective than the Pure Yang True Thunder. "Junior Brother Han Chuan, you take Junior Brother Rift Void and escort the disciples away first." Gang Yuan True Monarch was not one to hesitate, and immediately made a decision: "Send Fellow Lü Shuang Daoist and some of the Sword Abode Disciple who can spare some time away as well." "I'll stay behind to buy you some time and also to meet up with Cloud Vortex Fellow Daoist and Die Lang Daoist." Han Chuan True Monarch immediately said, "Junior Brother Rift Void can handle this alone. I'll stay and help hold them off. More people means more strength." Although he was the first to suggest retreating, it wasn't because he was afraid of death. It was indeed for the sake of the overall situation. "No!" Gang Yuan True Monarch shook his head: "That Six-fin Barracuda may not have really left." "If it's lying in ambush on the outer perimeter, Junior Brother Rift Void alone won't be able to handle it. I'll feel more at ease if you come with me." Han Chuan True Monarch was taken aback upon hearing this, but he didn't object. Indeed, the Six-fin Barracuda seemed to have run away, but whether it had actually left was something he couldn't be sure of at this moment. "Daoist Xiao, we might need your help as well." Gang Yuan True Monarch then looked at Xiao Chen. "That Six-fin Barracuda has Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivation. If we encounter it in the outside world, even if the two junior brothers work together, it will inevitably be a bit difficult." "If you don't mind, why don't we leave together? We can look after each other." He was actually exaggerating here, after all, there were Defensive Formation on the Spirit Boat. As long as they didn't fall into the enemy's ambush formation, Han Chuan True Monarch and Rift Void True Monarch could handle it together. Gang Yuan True Monarch's real thought was that Xiao Chen had come to help, and there was no reason for him to put himself in danger for their sake. Since they were going to split up, he should have retreated with the first group. However, leaving directly would not sound good, so he put it more tactfully.