Riding the Current Upstream!

You Su held Bai Ze's hand tightly, and the two carefully navigated through the underwater reefs.

The surrounding seawater seemed to be stirred by some invisible force, becoming both unusually murky and clear.

The murky appearance is due to low visibility, while the clarity is because any light becomes exceptionally bright in such a dark environment.

Before them, the enormous vortex resembled a black hole that devoured everything, emitting a chilling, eerie light.

You Su's pupils shrank to pinpoints in the eerie light of the eddy—a funnel-shaped vortex gradually emerged in the inky waters. Those twisted shadows were not reefs at all, but layers upon layers of chelicerae wriggling at the bottom of the eddy, the sound of their shells rubbing together like thousands of rusty knives scraping bone.

The entire seabed resounded with the subtle opening and closing sounds of countless shellfish, and countless bizarre monsters covered in eerie light emerged from the crevices of the rocks, converging into a galaxy towards the whirlpool.

Bai Ze's fingertips almost dug into his flesh. The coral reef cast dappled shadows over their heads, shattering their breathing.

"They're like ants..." Bai Ze whispered, his voice trembling.

You Su swallowed a salty, metallic sound as his Adam's apple bobbed. "It's more like locusts. When a locust plague passes through, the whole sky is filled with this rustling sound."

The crustaceans were converging toward the center of the vortex with a strange rhythm, the bony spikes protruding from their carapaces tracing spiral paths in the undercurrent.

You Su suddenly realized that this was not a chaotic migration—the pace of each evil spirit was precisely in sync with the rhythm of the vortex, as if they were being pulled by invisible threads to perform a sacrificial dance.

"What are they doing...?" Bai Ze's breath brushed against You Su's ear, sending a shiver down her spine.

You Su shook her head, "Me too..."

Before the words were finished, a blinding flash of blood suddenly erupted from the depths of the vortex.

Tens of thousands of evil spirits simultaneously raised their pincers, and a viscous, scarlet liquid seeped from the gaps in their carapaces. This liquid did not drift away with the undercurrent, but instead gathered in the center of the vortex to form a huge blood cocoon. You Su's temples throbbed, and a burning pain shot through his left eye—he saw densely packed compound eye patterns protruding from the surface of the blood cocoon.

Bai Ze covered his mouth and nose tightly, both out of fear and because the scene was simply too nauseating.

The compound eye patterns were breathing, each contraction spewing out thick black mist. The moment the nearest evil spirit touched the mist, its carapace instantly melted into boiling pus, only to be greedily absorbed by the blood cocoon just as it was about to dissipate. You Su finally understood why these evil spirits were willing to die—they were sacrifices to begin with.

"They are using their own deaths to solidify this vortex!" You Su's heart trembled violently.

Upon hearing this, Bai Ze's pupils widened, and he stood there stunned, seemingly terrified.

You Su caught a glimpse of her expression and thought to himself that such a bizarre scene was enough to break anyone's will; it was already quite remarkable that Bai Ze was still standing.

If he hadn't experienced so much, and was merely a novice swordsman eager to eliminate evil and uphold justice, he would probably be terrified at the sight of such a scene.

These eerie sounds created a strong sense of unease. You Su grabbed Bai Ze's hand, "Don't be afraid, let's hide first."

Although You Su's voice was calm, Bai Ze could hear the tension in it.

If they could notice these swarms of evil spirits, it was hard to guarantee that the evil spirits wouldn't notice them either. After all, not all evil spirits would be as oblivious to them as those colorful jellyfish.

You Su quickly led Bai Ze into a hidden stone cave. It was actually just a crevice between two large rocks, but given their size, they were very difficult to spot with the naked eye from the outside.

However, the cramped space made the eerie sounds echo even more continuously, like the agonizing chants of a banshee.

You Su pulled the girl, who was curled up in fear, into his arms as a silent comfort, while Bai Ze nestled her head against his neck, snuggling close.

Looking out through the cracks in the rocks, one can see eerie evil spirits gathering from all directions. Even though it's impossible to make out their exact appearance, the nauseating stench in the air evokes a sense of physical disgust.

"That senior's prediction is probably correct..." You Su's eyes were fixed on the terrifying scene at the bottom of the vortex.

"Are they going to follow this eddy and attack the inland areas...?" Bai Ze's voice was unexpectedly soft, as if he also realized the severity of the situation.

You Su hummed in agreement. From the scene of the myriad evils gathering, he could basically conclude that the underwater vortex was the means by which evil spirits secretly invaded the inland!

"What if we haven't even gotten home yet, and our home is already gone...?" The girl buried her face in You Su's shoulder in fear, her lips almost touching the side of You Su's neck.

"No, that won't happen..."

You Su answered in a low voice, having no interest in these inappropriate and romantic gestures. Those self-deceiving sibling games couldn't distract him from the real important matters. Or perhaps he had already accepted in his heart that his relationship with this silly cat would gradually change, so he was too lazy to pretend to be reserved anymore, as he was focused on the vortex.

Even if a stunningly beautiful woman, completely naked, danced before him, it wouldn't distract him. All he could see were the tiny, leech-like evil spirits sacrificing their lives one after another to activate the vortex, while the evil spirits that could threaten humanity gathered here, waiting for the right moment to go upstream and tear a shocking rift in the human world!

These Corrupting Evil beings were so clearly organized that they were practically an army, and their intelligence deeply shocked You Su. The unease in his heart was as thick as ink. When he first saw the vortex, his first reaction was to retreat with Bai Ze, after all, this was not a place that humans could stay in. But realizing the horror of this calamity, he clenched his fists even tighter.

He must bring this intelligence ashore, or the entire continent will be in danger!

"Brother, what should we do?" Bai Ze's voice was filled with anxiety as she gripped You Su's hand tightly, as if it were her only support.

You Su took a deep breath, a resolute glint in his eyes:

"We must blend into the vortex and find a way back to the surface. The creatures of the Five Continents are living too comfortably under the protection of the Divine Radiance Stone. If we cannot inform the Divine Mountain of this in time, this sneak attack will surely cause widespread destruction!"

Bai Ze was taken aback upon hearing this, then tightly grasped You Su's hand and gave his answer.

"Ah!!"

Bai Ze suddenly screamed in terror and quickly covered his mouth.

Her eyes flickered with fear, and the rift they used to peer into the outside world turned pitch black, then suddenly transformed into an evil vertical eye!

You Su was so frightened that his heart skipped a beat, and he even forgot to breathe, but he still instinctively gripped the sword hilt and shielded the girl behind him.

The eyeball was as big as a person, its pupil vertical, its nictitating membrane blinking as if it were peering into the existence within that narrow crevice.

In the narrow, dark space, only the pounding of their heartbeats could be heard. They remained motionless, not even daring to breathe.

However, to You Su's surprise, the owner of the vertical pupil seemed not to have noticed them. After a moment, he withdrew his eyes and left silently.

The seabed was cold and deep. Two drops of cold sweat had already dripped down You Su's forehead. He and Bai Ze exchanged a glance, and then they both gasped for breath, still shaken.

Before he could catch his breath, You Su suddenly grabbed Bai Ze's wrist, "Step back!"

He pulled Bai Ze into his arms, but suddenly felt something sticky on his back.

The dim space suddenly lit up, and Bai Ze discovered that the stone wall was covered with countless egg sacs, emitting a dark blue glow. Beneath the translucent membrane, one could vaguely see curled-up segments. Now, all of them lit up at once, resembling a sea of fireflies in summer.

Bai Ze's scream caught in her throat as she pointed tremblingly to the sky. Swarms of colorful jellyfish were pouring in from the tunnel they had come from, the fluorescent patterns on their caps now forming a distorted human face. Their normally sluggish tentacles suddenly straightened like steel needles, all pointing towards the direction of their hiding place.

Without hesitation, You Su scooped up Bai Ze and rolled out of the crevice, the Ink Pine Sword already gleaming with a chilling light.

He bent his knees to brace himself against the jagged rocks, the sword's edge slicing a crescent moon in the darkness—

The Sword Qi hovered in front of the colorful jellyfish's bell.

The poisonous tentacles swept straight over the two people's heads, like a flowing galaxy rushing into the depths of the vortex.

You Su's sword tip trembled slightly. Only then did he realize that the colorful jellyfish were not targeting them, but the tall, emaciated monster beside him.

A jolt of electricity seemed to run through his mind. Even in that fleeting glance, he recognized that this gaunt, enormous evil spirit bore a striking resemblance—seventy percent—to the larva within the fluorescent egg sac he had just witnessed. Therefore, it wasn't looking at him and Bai Ze... it was checking on its offspring before departing!

You Su felt as if all the evil spirits in the entire sea were converging on the eddy!

The three-eyed toad, its rotting webbed feet propelling it forward, the bony, monstrous fish, thrashing its bony tail, and even the swarm of sea lice that had previously nearly killed them, surged in like a black tide...

However, no evil spirit attacked them.

"They... can't see us?" Bai Ze's voice trembled; she was equally incredulous, even doubting her own eyes.

A Crab-shaped Evil Spirit covered in pustules crawled past them, its claws almost brushing against Bai Ze's skirt.

You Su's Adam's apple bobbed and his palms sweated, but he still bit his tongue lightly to force himself to calm down, because he believed that there was a reason behind everything.

They were originally human cultivators coveted by countless evil spirits. When did they become someone who completely lost the interest of evil spirits?

It all started when I encountered those jellyfish!

You Su quickly focused her attention on the colorful jellyfish, and soon a new question arose in her mind.

These colorful jellyfish are completely harmless unless actively touched, so why would they flee when there are so many powerful evil spirits to feed them? And why would these evil spirits, who were about to go to the human world to kill, herd them back like sheep?

You Su stared intently, noticing that these colorful jellyfish were clinging to the bodies and crevices of the evil spirits. Their translucent tentacles pierced deep into flesh, and venom flowed through the veins, forming eerie blue streaks.

Memories cleaved through the chaos like lightning—under Bai Ze's surprised gaze, he slightly loosened her collar, revealing a lingering poisonous spot on Bai Ze's shoulder that shimmered with a light identical to that of a jellyfish.

"It's not that we can't see..." You Su withdrew her hand and carefully straightened Bai Ze's collar again. "If I'm not mistaken, the jellyfish's poison isn't just a simple paralysis. Before the toxin is completely digested, we're probably no longer prey to them, but one of their own kind..."

You Su, who had learned that he possessed the True Lord's Power, never imagined that he would one day be corrupted by Evil Qi. This seemingly weak jellyfish actually had the ability to give God a hard time.

But God is God. The Evil Qi in the jellyfish poison may corrupt them for a time, but it will surely be suppressed and digested in the same way that the evil spirits that tried to corrupt Him before.

But at least during this period... they can get away with it using this Evil Qi energy!

A sharp hiss suddenly erupted from the center of the vortex, and the compound eye patterns on the surface of the blood cocoon opened simultaneously. You Su's temples throbbed, and his left eye burned with pain. He saw countless scarlet beams of light piercing through the seawater, weaving a giant net that covered the five continents in the void.

"Hold me."

He turned around, placed Bai Ze's hand on his waistband, and finally laughed.

Amidst the surging Evil Tide of evil, the boy's smile was like a ray of dawn illuminating the dark night.

Bai Ze was mesmerized. The moment she saw that smile, it was as if she no longer needed to worry about whether the end of this vortex was the mortal realm, or whether they would be lucky enough to survive. She only needed to hold the smiling boy tightly, and he would surely be able to lead her to safety.

Bai Ze, understanding perfectly, supported You Su's waist and leaped lightly, while You Su steadily supported the back of her legs.

You Su took out the Water Repelling Bead and put it in his mouth. An invisible barrier enveloped his and Bai Ze's bodies.

"Let's go home."

You Su lightened his body, and the evil torrent swept them towards the blood-red vortex, rotting limbs and foul-smelling slime brushing past them.

Bai Ze's ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) was torn by the poisonous mist, and her bare calves were quickly covered with spiderweb-like black patterns, yet she bit her lip and remained silent. You Su's sword scabbard slammed heavily against the reef, using the force to push the two of them into the most turbulent undercurrent—

In an instant, the world spun around.

The seawater roared like thunder outside their eardrums as thousands of evil shells collided and shattered in the whirlpool. You Su pressed Bai Ze's head into his arms, holding the Ink Pine Sword across his chest to deflect the flying bone spikes. The shells, crushed into powder, shimmered with phosphorescence, like a galaxy leading to hell.

And this is not even at the center of the vortex.

Only then did You Su understand why these evil spirits needed these colorful jellyfish to attach themselves to their bodies. Because without numbing themselves, they simply couldn't withstand the space-shattering pain. Fortunately, they possessed Water Repelling Bead with the unique ability to create space, so the impact was greatly reduced before it reached them.

Just before being completely engulfed by the vortex, You Su looked down and saw the blood cocoon cracking open beneath her feet, cascading down like a waterfall of viscous liquid.

You Su's pupils suddenly contracted: curled up in the cocoon was a monster that was half human and half cherub, its nine tail fins were studded with skulls, and seven withered human hands grew from its chest and abdomen. When it opened its third vertical pupil, You Su felt the blood in his body freeze.

For some reason, a strong intuition rushed to his brain; he felt that this was not an evil spirit, but a person.

The spot of light at the end of the vortex was rapidly expanding, You Su's back slammed heavily into the skeleton of a giant creature. Using the recoil, he clung to the edge of the creature, as if grabbing a tree trunk in a turbulent current.

"Remember to breathe! It's coming!"

He growled softly against Bai Ze's earlobe.

"Um!"

Bai Ze responded emphatically.

In this torrent, like duckweed adrift, this is the only way they can hear each other's voices.