Deep Sea Exploration

An 80,000-year Deep Sea Blue Whale, a 200,000-year Deep Sea Devil Ray, and a 400,000-year Evil Spirit Orca.

Dong Qianqiu looked at the My World pixelated soul beasts surrounding them, whose age levels were off the charts, and immediately lost her nerve, shrinking into Chen Ming's arms without hesitation.

"This... seems a bit dangerous..."

Watching Dong Qianqiu hide in his arms out of fear, Chen Ming couldn't help but chuckle and tease her.

"Isn't this your territory? Why are you so scared?"

"I... I just don't feel very secure after undergoing human transformation and starting my cultivation over... If this were back before I transformed, any Evil Spirit Orca or Deep Sea Demonic Whale King would have been whipped by my shark tail so hard their own parents wouldn't recognize them!"

Dong Qianqiu immediately tried to save face, finding a plausible excuse for herself; it must be because she was re-cultivating, and she was just avoiding the sharp edge for now—it definitely wasn't because she was afraid.

"Yes, yes, you're the strongest."

Chen Ming couldn't help but laugh, though he still humored her, while Di Qiu'er looked around, feeling that the deep-sea environment was quite ordinary.

The three of them continuously dodged these incredibly powerful soul beasts, their positions steadily descending deeper into the ocean.

"Chen Ming, Chen Ming! Look, a big lobster!"

Di Qiu'er had sharp eyes and spotted the creatures moving on the seabed: large lobsters, crabs, shrimp, abalone, and more.

"I knew you'd only care about that. Let's go, let's catch some seafood to eat."

Chen Ming, looking as if he had expected this all along, led the three of them to start catching seafood.

Di Qiu'er lunged like a hungry dragon, suddenly reaching out to grab a massive lobster.

Because this lobster was a creature from another mod, it didn't follow the rules of the Douluo Continent mod where creatures didn't drop meat.

The lobster was also unaffected by the dungeon rules that only allowed soul beasts over ten thousand years old to appear.

Chen Ming landed on the seabed and picked up many shells, abalones, and similar items, while Dong Qianqiu nimbly caught fish.

Dong Qianqiu held an Ice Spear in her hand, then with a clean and swift motion, she took down a fish in an instant.

Just as the three were happily preparing their dinner, a massive, terrifying pressure swept over them, and both Dong Qianqiu and Di Qiu'er felt a lethal threat.

The three looked in the direction of the sensation and saw a behemoth appearing with a brilliant purple-gold soul ring circling beneath it: a million-year-level Deep Sea Demonic Whale King.

Dong Qianqiu was instantly terrified, her little face turning pale. Was this the kind of terrifying creature her mother had faced back then? How scary...

"Demon Empress! I'll fight you to the death! Give me back my mother's life!"

But soon, her fear turned into strength fueled by rage. A yellow soul ring appeared on Dong Qianqiu, and she charged straight ahead, wanting to risk her life against the opponent.

In the next second, a flash of silver light streaked by, and Chen Ming, in his silver-haired, purple-eyed form, blocked Dong Qianqiu's path.

Dong Qianqiu felt herself collide with a soft, slender body, and Chen Ming held her close as he put distance between them and the million-year Deep Sea Demonic Whale King.

"Calm down. This is a dungeon; they are just creatures without self-awareness."

As he spoke, he carried Dong Qianqiu quickly away from the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, and she soon calmed down.

"Oh right, I almost forgot..."

Realizing that this wasn't the seabed where she actually lived, Dong Qianqiu scratched her head in embarrassment, her cheeks flushing with heat.

After being set down by Chen Ming, Dong Qianqiu was just about to thank him when she froze, staring blankly at two silver-haired, purple-eyed figures.

"Your Majesty? Why are there two Empress Qiu'ers?"

Dong Qianqiu felt like her brain's CPU was about to fry. She hadn't even blinked, so how did two Di Qiu'ers appear?

"It's me, Dong Qianqiu. This is my second form."

Chen Ming spoke up voluntarily, then shifted his form back to his original black-haired, black-eyed appearance.

"Chen Ming, you can transform too? That's amazing! You really look just like Empress Qiu'er. No wonder you're siblings."

Dong Qianqiu clicked her tongue in wonder. Chen Ming waved his hand, speechless, and then said:

"Let's look around for a little longer, then we'll go back to cook and eat."

"Oh, oh, okay!"

The three of them wandered around a bit more, and soon Dong Qianqiu locked her gaze onto a ten-thousand-year Demon Soul Great White Shark.

"Chen Ming, Chen Ming! I found my kin! That's great!"

Dong Qianqiu was instantly excited. One had to know that she was the only Demon Soul Great White Shark left in the ocean now, as they had all been slaughtered by the Demon Empress.

Seeing her kin again, even if they were pixelated, still meant seeing her own kind.

"Hmm, they look a bit dim-witted, just like you."

Hearing this, Chen Ming stroked his chin and studied the shark for a moment—it looked devoid of any intelligence—before looking at Dong Qianqiu and teasing her.

Upon hearing this, Dong Qianqiu was immediately displeased and swung her little pink fists at Chen Ming, though the punches were soft and lacked any real strength.

"You're the one who's dim-witted!"

Afterward, Dong Qianqiu swam over. Because her true form was a Demon Soul Great White Shark, this Demon Soul Great White Shark did not attack her.

"Chen Ming, can I take it home? It's too dangerous for a fish to stay here all by itself."

Dong Qianqiu wanted to take it away and raise it, looking at Chen Ming with hopeful eyes.

"Sure, this is a Poké Ball. Try capturing it with this."

Chen Ming pulled out a Poké Ball, and Dong Qianqiu immediately swam over to take it. After listening to his explanation on how to use the Poké Ball, she couldn't wait to run off and capture the Demon Soul Great White Shark.

Di Qiu'er was still busy catching food on the seabed; after all, this little bit of seafood wasn't enough to fill her up.

Not long after, the three of them returned to the Overworld. Upon leaving the dungeon, a wave of weakness suddenly swept over their entire bodies.

"What's going on... I feel so dizzy..."

Dong Qianqiu leaned limply against Chen Ming, completely unable to muster any strength. Chen Ming immediately looked at his Status Window.

He discovered that his body temperature was severely imbalanced. Having been soaked in the freezing seawater for so long, he had directly acquired the Cold Level 3 effect.

"We've caught a cold..."

As Chen Ming spoke, he helped the soaking-wet Dong Qianqiu onto the bed and collapsed onto it himself, feeling as though he had no strength left in his limbs. Di Qiu'er followed closely behind and sprawled out on top of Chen Ming.

"A cold?"

Dong Qianqiu's cheeks were flushed red, and feeling her body grow incredibly cold, she curled up tightly in Chen Ming's arms. She never expected that she would still catch a cold even after becoming a soul master.

"What kind of ridiculous game mechanic is this..."

Di Qiu'er complained weakly, though she felt much better once Chen Ming used the power of fire elements to warm the three of them up. Both Dong Qianqiu and Di Qiu'er clung tightly to this soft, warm heater.

"Qiu'er, did you bring any milk or milk tea?"

Chen Ming posed the soul-searching question, and Di Qiu'er immediately wore an embarrassed expression, her eyes darting away.

"I... I accidentally drank all the milk tea..."

"Damn it..."

Hearing this, Chen Ming gave up on struggling and could only passively use fire elements to provide warmth. Di Qiu'er and Dong Qianqiu lay on top of him to stay warm, and due to their weakened state, the three of them drifted off to sleep without realizing it.

PS: The first update for March 2nd, two thousand words.