Cold River Slices Demons, Mist Manipulation Shows Merit

"Beast! How dare you!"

County Lieutenant Gao Mingyuan struck first.

He pressed his fingers together like a sword and pointed sharply through the air at the surging massive shadow.

A crimson light flared at his fingertips, a scorching, fierce aura instantly tearing through the damp air as a condensed, solid red finger beam shot forth with a piercing shriek!

It was his signature move, the Blazing Sun Finger. Where the beam passed, thick fog dispersed, and seawater hissed into rolling white steam under the blistering heat, leaving a brief vacuum-like trail.

The beam struck the massive shadow with a dull, leathery thud.

The shadow lurched to a halt, letting out a pained, enraged screech that pierced the water and sent the onlookers' blood churning. The weaker constables stumbled back, blood seeping from their ears and noses.

Where the beam landed, a patch of charred, festered flesh gave off a burnt stench—clearly a serious wound.

But the blow only fully ignited the great demon's ferocity.

The thick fog churned violently. A massive, dark-purple tentacle, covered in bowl-sized suckers and ferocious bone spikes, rose from the water like a giant battering ram, carrying earth-shattering force as it slammed toward the bow where Gao Mingyuan stood.

Before the tentacle even arrived, the terrifying wind pressure forced the bow downward, the wooden planks groaning as if they might shatter at any moment.

"Hmph!"

Martial Hall Master Zhao Canghai snorted coldly and finally moved.

He took a single step, appearing at the very front of the bow as if by teleportation. Facing the apocalyptic tentacle crashing down, his expression remained as calm as an ancient frozen lake.

Just as the tentacle, bearing the weight of ten thousand jun, was about to strike, Zhao Canghai's aura shifted abruptly.

A chilling, desolate intent, as if it could freeze the soul itself, surged skyward.

Behind him, a phantom scene flickered into view—an endless, frozen river under a solitary moon, silence absolute. The Cold River Dharma Form manifested faintly!

Though only a shadow, the extreme "Cold Silence" intent from the visualization object spread, dropping the surrounding air temperature sharply. Thick frost instantly formed on the ship's railings.

He raised his wrist slightly, using the scabbard as a blade, and made a gentle horizontal slash.

It was still that move, "Cold River Reflecting Moon."

But executed by a Bone Forging Realm peak expert backed by a visualized Dharma Form, its power was already transcendent.

Where the scabbard passed, there was no harsh sound of wind—only an absolute "stillness" and "cold" spreading outward.

The wildly crashing tentacle, still a zhang from Zhao Canghai's head, suddenly struck an invisible yet utterly frigid barrier, freezing mid-air as if time itself had stopped.

The nauseating slime on the tentacle's surface instantly hardened into a shell of ice. The surging demonic energy within was forcibly severed and frozen by this terrifying cold.

Then, crackling sounds like popping beans rang out in rapid succession. The massive tentacle began to shatter inch by inch from the tip.

It wasn't broken by brute force—it was as if every cell inside had been completely "frozen to death," losing all vitality, crumbling into icy powder that fell into the sea.

With one effortless slash, the seemingly unstoppable tentacle, strong enough to smash a city gate, dissolved into nothing, as if it had never existed.

Everyone on the ship, including County Lieutenant Gao Mingyuan, watched in stunned silence, utterly awestruck!

Such was the terrifying power of a Bone Forging Realm peak expert, bolstered by their own visualized Dharma Form—a world apart from Skin Tempering, Tendon Changing, or even ordinary Bone Forging.

"ROAR!!!"

From the deep sea came the great demon's even more pained and frenzied roar, now laced with a hint of fear.

It clearly hadn't expected this human to be so fearsome, his power level utterly crushing its own.

Its remaining tentacles thrashed wildly, churning up towering waves and thickening the fog even more.

Its massive body plunged deeper into the water, while it spewed out great gouts of thick, ink-black liquid, reeking of rot and laced with mental interference, rapidly contaminating the surrounding sea.

This not only completely blocked vision but also severely disrupted the warriors' spiritual perception and blood-energy sensing!

"Trying to flee?" Zhao Canghai's eyes turned cold, and for the first time, he drew his blade.

Clang!

The moment the Cold Ripple Blade truly left its sheath, a dazzling blade light, cold as ten-thousand-year-old ice, shot skyward, as if it would cleave through the fog and ink, freezing everything.

An extreme chill swept across the deck, making everyone feel their blood-energy sluggish, as if they might freeze solid.

The Cold River Dharma Form behind Zhao Canghai grew slightly more solid, the icy moonlight seeming to gather on the blade's edge.

But the great demon was cunning. Using the ink and fog as cover, along with its immense vitality, it fled downward at a speed belying its size, vanishing into the dark depths.

Its aura was rapidly fading. Once it fully submerged into the deep sea, finding it again would be nearly impossible.

Gao Mingyuan fired several Blazing Sun Finger beams in quick succession. The red beams shot into the ink like red-hot iron rods, hissing and vaporizing large clouds of steam, but most missed, only stirring up boiling splashes without hitting a vital spot.

Zhao Canghai had already raised his blade, his fierce blade intent trying to lock onto the fleeing demon.

But the ink and fog severely hampered his aim. This killing strike might wound it again, but it might not stop it.

In that critical moment, Chen Yuan, who had been lurking underwater, using his exceptional perception and Mist Manipulation ability to resist the ink and fog, keenly seized the opportunity.

He couldn't see the demon, but he could clearly "sense" its vast, cold aura rapidly retreating. If it escaped, the consequences would be dire!

Without time to think, Chen Yuan reacted almost instinctively.

He fully activated his newly learned "Mist Manipulation" ability, but this time, his target wasn't to create fog—it was to use the "Mist Barrier" to "influence" the water around the demon, already saturated with its demonic energy, ink, and fog.

He couldn't directly control the demon, but he could amplify the "chaos" and "obscuring" effect of that water zone!

He mixed his divine power with his mental energy, like a drop of ice water thrown into boiling oil, violently stirring and distorting the perception signals in that area.

The already chaotic waters grew even murkier, making it impossible to discern direction. This wasn't an attack—it was more like an extremely subtle "perceptual confusion"!

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This was an extremely risky and mentally draining maneuver.

Chen Yuan felt as if his head had been struck by a heavy hammer—a ringing sound, darkness before his eyes, a warmth at the tip of his nose as a trickle of hot liquid faintly seeped out. He nearly blacked out. Forcing himself to bite his tongue, the sharp pain barely kept him clinging to a sliver of clarity.

The effect was immediate!

The massive demon, which had been frantically diving to escape, suddenly let out a startled, even panicked, shriek.

In its perception, the familiar flow of water around it had become chaotic and reversed. Up, down, left, and right seemed instantly scrambled, and even the positions of its pursuers grew erratic and indistinct.

Its simple intelligence couldn't comprehend this change. Its enormous body jerked to a halt, twisting disoriented in place, its escape speed momentarily slowing.

That instant of hesitation and confusion was more than enough for a powerhouse like Zhao Canghai.

"Oh?" Zhao Canghai's eyes blazed with sharp light. Though he didn't understand why the great demon had suddenly made such a fatal pause, he wouldn't miss this heaven-sent opportunity.

"Sever!"

He exhaled, his voice like exploding ice. Behind him, the phantom of the Cold River Dharma Form sharpened into clarity. Endless cold merged perfectly with blade intent. The Cold Ripple Blade in his hand transformed into a frozen rainbow that tore through heaven and earth, freezing all things, as it slashed down.

This strike was another deadly move from the Cold River Spirit Blade Saber Canon—"Cold River Severing Flow"!

The blade light was like a flowing ribbon, as if it could truly cut the vast river in two with a single stroke!

Ultimate sharpness and ultimate cold fused perfectly, instantly splitting the thick fog, parting the ink-black water, and slashing with pinpoint precision into the turbulent waters stirred by the demon's own confusion.

Puchi! Kacha!

A dull sound like striking rotten leather, mixed with the strange crack of shattering ice, came from beneath the water—as if something extremely tough had been forcibly cleaved open and instantly frozen!

Then, the sea erupted in violent churning.

A massive gush of dark purple blood, mixed with frozen shards, surged to the surface like a fountain, quickly staining a vast area of the ocean red.

The great demon let out half a miserable, despairing howl before it was cut short!

A powerful demonic aura, like a punctured air sac, rapidly dissipated and vanished.

The next moment, the enormous shadow slowly floated up from below. It was a terrifying sea monster of staggering size, resembling an octopus but with a single horn on its head—a Unicorn Evil Squid.

Now, its incredibly tough head, capable of withstanding sword and blade strikes, had been split cleanly from top to bottom. The wound was covered in thick ice, and there was no longer any sign of life.

A Bone Forging Realm sea demon, the Unicorn Evil Squid, was dead!

The ship fell silent first, so quiet you could hear a pin drop, then erupted in thunderous cheers.

"Martial Hall Master's Divine Might!"

"He killed it, haha!"

"Amazing! The Hall Master's blade is too strong!"

Everyone cheered and leaped with joy. County Lieutenant Gao Mingyuan also let out a long sigh of relief, looking at Zhao Canghai with admiration and a trace of barely concealed wariness.

He asked himself: even if he went all out, he might be able to defeat this great demon, but he would never be able to kill it in one blow with such overwhelming force.

Zhao Canghai's strength had likely reached the very peak of the Bone Forging Realm.

Zhao Canghai slowly sheathed his blade. The phantom of the Dharma Form behind him quietly faded, and his expression remained calm and unruffled.

But his deep, ocean-like gaze swept almost imperceptibly over the spot where the demon had surfaced. A faint glimmer of contemplation flickered in the depths of his eyes.

The demon's inexplicable confusion just now... the timing was far too coincidental. But this wasn't the time to dwell on it.

"Clean up the remaining demon fish! Check the ship's damage! Tend to the wounded!" Gao Mingyuan suppressed the turmoil in his heart and quickly issued orders.

Everyone sprang into action. With the great demon gone and most of the fog dispersed, the remaining Iron Tooth Ghost Head Fish became chaotic and were soon cleared out.

Chen Yuan and Li Wei also leaped back onto the deck from the water.

Chen Yuan's face was pale as paper, his temples throbbing violently from the immense mental strain. But he forced himself to stand steady, silently circulating his qi and blood to regulate his breathing, masking the abnormality.

Li Wei clapped him heavily on the shoulder and praised, "Junior Disciple Brother, well done. Your underwater skills are impressive—you cleaned up thoroughly!"

Chen Yuan managed a faint smile, his voice slightly hoarse: "Senior Disciple Brother flatters me."

No one connected the great demon's final anomaly to this newly submerged Junior Disciple Brother, who had only seemed responsible for clearing out the small fry at the Skin Grinding Realm.

Everyone believed that it was Hall Master Zhao Canghai's breathtaking strike that had seized on a tiny opening caused by the demon's injury, sealing the victory.

Liu Qing handed over a warm, soothing "Warm Blood Pill": "Junior Disciple Brother, you don't look well. You must have expended a lot. Take this—it'll help."

Wang Meng, still lost in the shock of his master's earth-shattering blade, gestured excitedly: "Master was too amazing just now. The moment the Dharma Form appeared, that Unicorn Evil Squid couldn't even move. Man, when will I ever reach that level..."

Sun Yun didn't speak, but silently handed over a dry cloth.

Chen Yuan accepted the pill and the cloth, feeling a warmth in his heart. He quietly thanked them.

He swallowed the pill discreetly, feeling the gentle medicinal energy spread and nourish his body. Only then did his pale complexion recover slightly.

With the crisis resolved, the thick fog gradually thinned as the demon died. Sunlight struggled through once more, casting a faint glow.

The four fast boats regrouped, exchanging reports on their situations.

The county yamen lost two good men, and the ship took heavy damage.

At the martial hall, thanks to Zhao Canghai's presence and the disciples' strength, no one died. After emergency repairs, the ship was still seaworthy.

County Lieutenant Gao Mingyuan and Martial Hall Master Zhao Canghai discussed briefly and decided to pull the fleet back a distance, find a relatively safe stretch of water to rest and regroup, and meanwhile figure out how to tow that priceless giant demon corpse back.

Chen Yuan stood by the ship's railing, watching the men busy hauling the massive demon carcass with thick chains. The turmoil in his heart gradually settled.

He had successfully kept himself hidden and played an unexpected role at a critical moment. This experience also gave him a new understanding of how to use the Mist Manipulation ability.

More importantly, he had personally felt the terrifying power of a Bone Forging Realm expert after manifesting their Dharma Image—a crushing superiority in life level. This filled him with boundless yearning and desire for higher realms.