Hunter

The undercurrents at the edge of the Storm Sea Abyss seemed even more turbulent, carrying biting cold and the unique pressure of the deep sea. Five ships advanced like five silent steel behemoths, breaking through layers of water. The Soul Tool shields over their hulls glimmered with steady light, keeping the violent currents and lurking dangers at bay.

Jingtian perfectly blended into a massive cluster of shadowy seaweed hanging from the abyssal cliff. The concealment ability of a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, combined with his flawless mimicry of the environment, made him seem fused with the darkness itself. Even the vast fluctuations of his Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Power were restrained to near nothingness. Only his cold "gaze," fixed upon the fleet, pierced thousands of meters of murky seawater and locked firmly onto his targets.

He did not act rashly. Instead, he pushed his senses to the limit, scanning every detail of the fleet like the most precise radar.

The five ships advanced in a standard reconnaissance formation: two in front, two behind, and one slightly farther back in the center. That was clearly the flagship. It was slightly larger, and its Soul Power fluctuations were also the densest and strongest.

Each ship carried roughly four or five people. Just as he had sensed, the weakest among them were Soul Kings, while Soul Emperors formed the main force. There were at least three Soul Emperors aboard the flagship. One of them possessed an aura as deep and still as an abyss, with Soul Power fluctuations faintly carrying the embryonic sensation of a "Domain." He was likely a Quasi-Soul Saint or a Peak Soul Emperor with special abilities! Each of the other four ships had at least one or two Soul Emperors stationed aboard.

"Everyone understood the mission briefing this time, correct?" On the flagship deck, the middle-aged Quasi-Soul Saint-level Soul Master spoke in a low voice. He wore a dark blue combat suit, and an emblem of an anchor and lightning decorated his chest. It resembled the Soul Master insignia Jingtian had encountered in the Western Silent Sea Abyss, though it was more intricate. His voice, amplified by Soul Power, carried clearly to every ship. "In this edge region of the Storm Sea Abyss, a total of one hundred and thirty-seven abnormal Soul Beast disappearance cases have been reported over the past five years. The missing Soul Beasts ranged from five hundred years of cultivation to as high as nine thousand eight hundred years! There were no obvious traces of fierce battles at the scenes, and corpses were rarely found. Most only left behind remnants corroded by deadly poison and the bizarre phenomenon of Soul Power being drained dry."

He paused, his sharp gaze sweeping toward the depths of the abyss. "Headquarters suspects that an unknown Sea Soul Beast with high intelligence, extreme toxicity, and devouring abilities has been active in this region. Its behavioral patterns do not match any known Soul Beast. Its danger level has been provisionally classified as A-rank. The mission of our Raging Waves Team is to uncover the truth, assess the threat, and, if possible, capture or eliminate the target."

A Soul Emperor on another ship spoke up, his voice grave. "Captain, judging from the residual toxins, this unknown Soul Beast's poison is extremely complex and strange. It seems capable of corroding Soul Power and the origin of life. Our antidotes and Soul Tool shields may not be able to defend against it completely. And for a nine-thousand-year Soul Beast to vanish without a sound..."

"That is why we must be even more careful," the Quasi-Soul Saint captain said coldly. "Precisely because of this, headquarters sent our team, which excels in underwater combat and Soul Tool coordination. Remember, our advantage lies in teamwork, Soul Tools, and intelligence—not fighting alone. The moment you discover a suspicious target or come under attack, immediately activate the joint defensive formation and launch Deep Sea detection Soul Tools to mark and track it. The depths of this sea abyss may be dangerous, but according to current intelligence, the overlord Soul Beast of this region is merely a forty-thousand-year Deep Sea Demon Octopus King. The five of us working together can handle it. But this unknown Poison Beast... must be dealt with first."

"Yes!" came the unified response from every ship.

Hidden in the darkness, Jingtian heard every word of the conversation through his senses. Understanding dawned on him, along with a growing chill.

Sure enough, his unrestrained, predatory devouring over the past five years had finally drawn the attention of human Soul Master organizations. They had even formed a specialized team to investigate and classified him as an "A-rank threat." Furthermore, they had already conducted a preliminary analysis of his poison's characteristics and equipped themselves with corresponding team tactics and Soul Tools.

An elite underwater team of five Soul Emperors, plus a Quasi-Soul Saint, supported by Soul Tools, indeed had the strength to dominate this region. After all, the strongest known existence here was only a forty-thousand-year Soul Beast. And he, an "unknown Poison Beast" that had just broken through ten thousand years, was clearly their highest-priority target.

The identities of "hunter" and "prey" seemed somewhat blurred at this moment. The human Soul Masters had come as hunters to kill an "abnormal Soul Beast," but was he not also a top predator who viewed all living things as prey?

A cold, dangerous curve rose at the corner of Jingtian's mouth—in his mind. Since they regarded him as prey, then he would let these "hunters" properly experience what it felt like to suffer the backlash of an even deadlier Poisonous Entity.

He did not choose the flagship or the Quasi-Soul Saint captain as his first target. That would have been too conspicuous and too risky. His gaze settled on the Soul Tool ship at the front of the left flank.

This ship was the smallest and seemed to be the fastest, responsible for scouting ahead. There were only four people aboard: one Soul Emperor, whose aura indicated he had only recently entered that realm, and three Soul Kings. They maintained a distance of roughly one kilometer from the main fleet. That was not far in the deep sea, but for Jingtian, it was enough.

He needed an opening act that was clean and decisive, yet capable of causing the greatest panic.

His thoughts locked onto the target as Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Power and the Poison Source began to circulate in an extremely slow and concealed manner. He did not use the Poison Domain, which would cause intense Soul Power fluctuations, nor did he use ordinary venom that might leave energy traces. Instead, he set his sights on the most dangerous and most hidden weapon he currently possessed—Dan-Devour.

Creating a trace of Dan-Devour poison still imposed no small burden on him, but it was no longer unbearable. With Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Power as the foundation and the Poison Source as the core, he carefully began to gather and compress the traits of Poison Erosion, annihilation, soul-locking, and Spirit Energy marking.

There was no light, no fluctuation, not even a trace of poison leaking out. There was only an intangible, formless strange "force," as though it did not exist within this spatial dimension, quietly taking shape at the tip of his tentacle. This "force" was weak to the extreme, yet it locked onto the life aura and soul imprint of the Soul Emperor aboard the scouting ship ahead.

The distance was eight hundred meters. Within Dan-Devour's locking range.

Now!

The tip of Jingtian's tentacle gave an extraordinarily slight tremor, too subtle for either the naked eye or Soul Power to detect.

That trace of Dan-Devour poison seemed to transcend the limits of space and time. In an instant, it crossed eight hundred meters of seawater, ignored the Soul Power shield outside the Soul Tool ship's hull—the shield mainly defended against physical and energy impacts, and seemed to have limited effect against the strange poison that targeted the origin of life—and precisely "imprinted" itself within the scouting Soul Emperor's body!

Aboard the ship, the Soul Emperor who had been fully focused on operating some kind of detection Soul Tool suddenly shuddered!

Extreme bewilderment and confusion flashed across his face, as though something icy had pierced the deepest part of his soul in an instant. He instinctively lowered his head to look at his chest. There was no wound, no abnormality. Yet in the next moment, an unprecedented sense of weakness and hollowness originating from the source of his life engulfed him like a tidal wave!

"C-Captain..." He opened his mouth, trying to sound the alarm, only to find that his voice was so hoarse and weak that even he could barely hear it. The Soul Power within his body was "going out" at an astonishing speed. It was not dissipating, but as if some invisible existence had devoured its very foundation! His skin visibly lost its luster and turned ashen, while the light in his eyes rapidly dimmed and scattered.

"Lao Chen? What's wrong?" The Soul King beside him noticed that something was amiss and reached out to support him.

The instant his hand touched the Soul Emperor's shoulder—

"Thud."

The Soul Master who had only recently entered the Soul Emperor realm, who should have possessed formidable vitality and Soul Power, suddenly lost all signs of life without warning. Like a clay doll stripped of all support, he collapsed limply onto the deck. His eyes remained wide open, but they had already turned utterly gray.

He was dead.

He had died silently, inexplicably, and in a way that sent chills down the spines of the three Soul Kings around him!

"Enemy attack!!" A shrill alarm finally rang out from the scouting ship. Accompanied by the piercing hum of Soul Tools, a dazzling red signal flare burst through the seawater and shot upward!

However, it was already too late.

The moment the flare rose, Jingtian, lurking in the darkness, moved like a true deep-sea demon!

His target was the Soul Tool ship at the rear of the right flank! The ship fell into slight disarray the instant the alarm sounded, and its formation briefly stalled.

"Poison Domain—expand one hundred meters!"

A dark-blue halo erupted around Jingtian, instantly enveloping the Soul Tool ship and the surrounding hundred-meter stretch of sea! The viscous, sluggish force field, filled with soul-crushing pressure and poisonous corrosion, stiffened the Soul Masters aboard. Their Soul Power circulated poorly, while the light of their Soul Tool shield flickered violently and unstably!

"It's that Poison Beast! Joint defense!" The Soul Emperor aboard roared in shock and fury, desperately urging his Soul Power into motion.

But Jingtian's attack followed immediately after! No longer was it Dan-Devour's single-target execution. This was a killing move that covered an entire area!

"Myriad Poison Corroding Sea!"

Countless dark-blue poison needles, as fine as ox hairs yet infused with Poison Erosion, formed within the Poison Domain and rained down upon the Soul Tool ship! Empowered by the Poison Domain, the needles' speed and Penetration surged. Some even ignored the flickering Soul Tool shield and pierced directly through it!

"Ah!" "My Soul Power!!" Cries of agony instantly erupted aboard the ship. The poison needles entered their bodies, and their Poison Erosion properties frantically destroyed the Soul Masters' meridians, Soul Power, and even the foundations of their Spirit Empire! The three Soul Kings suffered devastating injuries at once and lost their ability to fight. The Soul Emperor also grunted, the Soul Power around his body churning violently. He was clearly badly poisoned, and his strength had greatly diminished.

From Dan-Devour killing the scouting Soul Emperor, to the Poison Domain's expansion, to Myriad Poison Corroding Sea severely wounding another ship, the entire process took only three breaths!

The roles of hunter and prey were instantly reversed in the dark depths at the edge of the Storm Sea Abyss!

On the flagship, the Quasi-Soul Saint captain's expression darkened until it seemed capable of dripping water. His eyes were filled with shock and fury. "Lock onto it! All Soul Tool cannons, blanket that Poison Domain with fire! Launch the Deep Sea Binding Net! Do not let it escape!"

Yet when several thick Soul Tool energy beams tore through the seawater and blasted into the gradually dissipating Poison Domain, the area was already empty. Only the heavily damaged Soul Tool ship, sparking with chaotic Soul Power, and the scouting ship nearby, utterly silent after its Soul Emperor's inexplicable death, silently testified to the horror that had just occurred.

Jingtian's massive figure had already vanished like a ghost into the deeper, darker currents of the Storm Sea Abyss.

Only a cold voice, carried by Soul Power vibrations, faintly echoed through the chaotic seawater and reached the ears of the remaining, shaken Soul Masters:

"Want to hunt me? Then first taste... what it feels like to be devoured by poison."

Five Soul Emperors—now one fewer—dominating these waters?

Before a true Ten-Thousand-Year Poison Beast that had mastered the art of death, that conclusion had clearly been drawn far too early.