Dan-Devour

Time passed second by second amid the deathly silence and invisible standoff within the Storm Sea Abyss.

Inside the combined vessel, the soul masters of the Raging Waves Team were as tense as drawn bowstrings. The hum of the detection Soul Tools formed the background noise, while the glow of the Soul Power barrier was the only source of light, illuminating faces filled with tension, exhaustion, and fear. Captain Mo Lin stood motionless before the flagship's command console like a stone statue. Only his hawk-sharp eyes moved, fixed upon the dozens of detection screens before him, refusing to miss the slightest abnormal fluctuation.

The three ships had merged, Sea Emperor Protection was fully activated, and detection power was pushed to its maximum. This was the ultimate defensive and alert posture they could achieve in the Deep Sea. In theory, even if that forty-thousand-year Deep Sea Demon Octopus King attacked in person, they could hold out for quite some time using this combined fortress and might even have a chance to drive it back.

But theory was only theory. They were not facing a Deep Sea behemoth that relied on brute force, but an intelligent hunter that knew how to hide, excelled at poison, and possessed bizarre killing methods. Lao Chen's silent death hung over everyone like a nightmare.

"Captain, the combined barrier's energy consumption has reached 23%. At the current output, it can last six hours at most," a Soul King responsible for energy monitoring reported hoarsely.

Six hours. Mo Lin frowned deeply. Maintaining such high-intensity defenses consumed far more than expected. Moreover, prolonged extreme tension placed an enormous burden on the team's minds and Soul Power. That Poison Beast... seemed to be waiting for the moment they could no longer hold on.

"How are the wounded?" Mo Lin asked.

"The three severely injured Soul Kings are stable, but the poisoning is deep and their Spirit Empires have been damaged. They cannot return to battle anytime soon. Vice Captain Liu, the poisoned Soul Emperor, is in slightly better condition, but the poison is stubborn and is still slowly eroding his Soul Power. He has only around half his strength left," the healing-type soul master answered swiftly.

They had lost nearly half their combat strength, all due to poison. It was a devastating blow to both morale and sustained combat capability.

"Detection results?"

"No high-energy life signatures or abnormal poison concentrations have been found within a five-kilometer radius. But... the abyssal currents and natural Soul Power fields are causing severe interference. We cannot rule out the possibility that the target has exceptional concealment abilities and is lurking in a detection blind spot or interference zone."

Mo Lin fell silent. He knew the Poison Beast had to be nearby, like the most patient venomous snake, waiting for its prey to reveal a flaw. Knowing danger lurked in the darkness yet being unable to see or touch it was the most torturous feeling of all.

They could not continue waiting so passively. Their opponent could afford a war of attrition; they could not. Besides, headquarters... was likely waiting for news.

"Pass down the order," Mo Lin said, his voice ringing through the silent command room with decisive force. "In one hour, reduce Sea Emperor Protection barrier output to 70%. Shrink the detection range to three kilometers and concentrate on precision. At the same time, prepare to launch three groups of Decoy Submersibles. Simulate life and Soul Power fluctuations, then have them cruise slowly in three different directions to test its response."

He intended to startle the snake from the grass—or lure it from its hole. They would lower their defenses to expose a "flaw" and use decoys to probe the enemy's position and attack patterns. So long as the Poison Beast attacked the decoys, it would inevitably expose itself. Then, the Deep Water Imprisonment Net, the High-Frequency Soul Power Oscillator, and the thunderous attacks of himself and the other uninjured Soul Emperor would descend in an instant!

Once the order was issued, the team began subtly adjusting their Soul Power circulation. Though they remained vigilant, an impatient tension ready to explode began spreading through the combined vessel.

What they did not know was that roughly 2,800 meters away from the combined vessel, within an absolute shadow concealed by both violent undercurrents and a natural Soul Power vortex, Jingtian was silently "calculating" like the calmest mathematician, using his perception as a pen.

His perception did not directly penetrate the thick combined barrier—that would trigger an alarm. Instead, he inferred the situation inside through the barrier's energy flow, the density of its detection ripples, and the faint changes in Soul Power fluctuations coming from within the vessel.

"The barrier's energy output frequency is showing a periodic decline of roughly 0.3%. There are seventeen relatively active Soul Power points inside, three weak points—likely the wounded—and two condensed points—likely Soul Emperors... Mm, the brightest one, the Quasi-Soul Saint, hasn't moved. Total active life signatures... including the injured, there are still twelve."

He had counted them clearly. Not one had escaped; they were all hiding inside that iron turtle shell.

What were they waiting for? Reinforcements? For him to lose patience and attack first? Or... were they preparing some kind of trap?

Jingtian's "gaze" settled on the combined barrier, which remained stable but seemed to undergo an extremely subtle shift in "brightness" within his perception. They seemed... to be adjusting their energy output.

Was the consumption too great, forcing them to lower its power? Or were they deliberately showing weakness to lure him in?

Either way, it was an opportunity for him. An opportunity to test a certain hypothesis and possibly shatter the enemy's courage once more.

His Dan-Devour had successfully killed an Early Soul Emperor instantly. But what effect would it have on those above the Soul Emperor level, especially that Quasi-Soul Saint? He was uncertain. Dan-Devour worked by locking onto a target's life essence and soul imprint before corroding them. In theory, it ignored physical and energy defenses. Yet a target's level of life and soul strength would inevitably affect the speed and final effect of Dan-Devour.

Previously, he had not found a suitable chance to strike at the Quasi-Soul Saint. Now, with the enemy huddled in defense and their Soul Power fluctuations relatively stable, he had the perfect "target." Moreover, if they truly were lowering the barrier output or preparing some other action, a gap he could exploit might appear in their Soul Power and mental fluctuations at that moment.

He waited for the best moment, for the instant their self-satisfied "trap" activated, so he could deliver the deadliest blow.

As for the possible trap? Jingtian sneered inwardly. Before the absolute strangeness and undefendable nature of Dan-Devour, most traps were laughable.

Time continued to pass.

One hour soon went by.

Inside the combined vessel, Mo Lin's eyes flashed. "Now! Lower the barrier output! Launch the Decoy Submersibles!"

Buzz—

The enormous deep-blue barrier covering the vessel visibly dimmed, and its energy fluctuations weakened. It was still thick and powerful, but it no longer gave off that impenetrable feeling.

At the same time, three spindle-shaped Soul Tools roughly the size of humans, simulating the Soul Power and life fluctuations of Soul Kings, silently slid from launch ports on three different sides of the combined vessel. Like three nimble little fish, they swam toward different parts of the dark abyss.

The trap had been laid. The hunters waited with their net spread wide.

The instant the barrier output dropped and the decoys had just left the vessel—

Jingtian, hidden in the shadows, moved!

He ignored the three laughable decoys and made no attempt to assault the still-powerful barrier. All his focus locked onto the deepest, brightest source of soul and life fluctuations within the combined vessel—the Quasi-Soul Saint, Mo Lin!

His ten-thousand-year Soul Power and Poison Source surged with unprecedented intensity! Creating even a trace of Dan-Devour imposed an immense burden, but he held nothing back now!

Poison Erosion, annihilation, soul locking, Spirit Energy marking... every trait was driven to its limit, fused, compressed, and transformed! Under the guidance of his will, an invisible Dan-Devour even more condensed, obscure, and deadly than the one that had killed Lao Chen ignored the weakened yet still formidable Sea Emperor Protection barrier. As though crossing empty space, it accurately "imprinted" itself upon Mo Lin!

This time, Jingtian sensed it more clearly. Dan-Devour encountered almost no meaningful resistance while penetrating the barrier, as if the barrier did not exist. Yet the moment it "imprinted" itself into Mo Lin's body, it met powerful resistance!

Mo Lin was, after all, a Quasi-Soul Saint. His life essence was immensely powerful, and his soul had been tempered repeatedly, making it extraordinarily resilient. Dan-Devour's corrosion no longer swept through him like it had Lao Chen. Instead, it was like the sharpest drill meeting the hardest alloy, producing a silent sensation of "friction" and "resistance" so intense that even Jingtian's soul trembled!

Inside the vessel, Mo Lin, who had been preparing to coordinate with the decoys and deliver a fatal strike to the Poison Beast, suddenly convulsed violently! An unprecedented coldness and weakness from the deepest part of his soul spread through his body like the most vicious curse! He felt his life force and Soul Power being madly "devoured" by something invisible, intangible, and terrifying beyond measure!

"Urgh—!" Mo Lin let out a pained, furious groan. His face instantly turned paper-white, and the steady Soul Power fluctuations around him descended into chaos. Even the embryonic domain he was about to unfold nearly collapsed!

"Captain!" The nearby Soul Emperors and Soul Kings were horrified.

"It's that poison! That bizarre poison!" Mo Lin roared hoarsely, enduring the agony of his soul being gnawed apart and the terror of his life force rapidly draining away. "It... it ignored the barrier! Everyone, send your Soul Power into me immediately and stabilize my essence! Hurry!"

He frantically drove his own Soul Power against the bizarre corrosive force while absorbing the Soul Power transmitted by his comrades. However, the Dan-Devour poison clung to him like gangrene in the bone, incredibly stubborn. Although his fierce resistance and outside Soul Power support greatly slowed its corrosion, it did not stop. It continued, bit by bit and unwaveringly, to devour his vitality and the foundation of his Soul Power!

And at the very instant Mo Lin suffered the Dan-Devour attack and chaos erupted within the vessel—

Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!

Four exceedingly faint yet hair-raising muffled sounds rang out almost simultaneously from different locations inside the vessel!

They came from four other nearby Soul Kings who had been transmitting Soul Power to Mo Lin or had been distracted because of him! Their cultivation and soul strength were far inferior to Mo Lin's. When Jingtian divided part of his attention and simultaneously unleashed weakened versions of Dan-Devour—smaller in range and weaker in locking ability, but more than enough against Soul Kings—they could not even scream. Like candles whose flames had been pinched out, their life auras instantly extinguished. Their bodies stiffened and fell, their deaths identical to Lao Chen's!

Four more Soul Kings had died instantly!

Within two breaths, Captain Mo Lin was heavily injured and on the verge of death, while four Soul Kings had mysteriously fallen!

The horrifying shadow of death, like the darkest ink, completely seeped into every inch of the combined vessel! The remaining Soul Emperors and Soul Kings alike lost all color from their faces, their eyes filled with disbelief, terror, and despair.

What kind of monster was this poison?! Even Sea Emperor Protection could not stop it?! The captain was a Quasi-Soul Saint!

"Retreat... retreat!! Immediately! Full speed, leave this sea region! Return to Sea God Island!" Mo Lin used the last of his strength to roar out the order, his voice filled with unprecedented panic. He knew that if they did not flee now, everyone—including himself—would die here today! The horror of this Poison Beast had completely exceeded their understanding and ability to handle!

The surviving soul masters woke as if from a dream and frantically operated the combined vessel. They did not even have time to retrieve the decoys or maintain their optimal formation. They forcibly severed the connections, causing the barrier to flicker violently. The three ships—one damaged vessel having been temporarily abandoned—erupted with all their power and fled for their lives away from the Storm Sea Abyss, dragging trails of chaotic Soul Power light behind them like beaten dogs.

Jingtian did not pursue. Releasing multiple Dan-Devours in succession, especially the full-powered one against Mo Lin, left even his ten-thousand-year cultivation feeling weak, and the Poison Source had been significantly depleted. Besides, he had already achieved his purpose—heavily injuring, perhaps even killing, the enemy leader, creating the greatest possible panic, and forcing them to retreat.

He coldly "watched" the three fleeing Soul Tool ships, his perception firmly locked onto the life fluctuation within them that was growing weaker but still struggling stubbornly—Mo Lin.

"After being hit by my Dan-Devour, he can still endure for so long... a Soul Saint truly isn't simple," Jingtian assessed inwardly. "But once Dan-Devour is planted, it clings like a maggot to the bone. Unless I die, or you possess power beyond my understanding to forcibly remove it, otherwise..."

His "gaze" seemed to pierce through endless seawater, seeing the three ships return to the humans' so-called Sea God Island. He saw Mo Lin receive emergency treatment, only to have his life and soul completely "devoured" three days later amid despair and pain, dying in silence.

"You were waiting for reinforcements, waiting for your trap to take effect."

"And what I was waiting for... was merely the countdown to your deaths."

At the edge of the dark Storm Sea Abyss, the ten-thousand-year Poison Beast slowly sank into deeper shadows. It began devouring the remaining Soul Power and resources within the abandoned, damaged Soul Tool ship to replenish what it had consumed.

After this battle, the name Dan-Devour would surely shake the human soul master world alongside news of the Raging Waves Team's near-total annihilation. And he now understood the limits of this ultimate killing move—against Soul Saints, it posed a lethal threat, but could not kill instantly. It required time to corrode them.

For now, this sea region was "clean."

But a greater storm might only just be beginning to brew.