Far Escape

Three days felt both long and short amid the endless gloom of the deep sea.

Jingtian lay concealed within a newly discovered seafloor thermal spring fissure at the edge of the Storm Sea Abyss. Scalding water rich in minerals and faint Soul Power surged forth, creating a naturally chaotic energy field that could both interfere with detection and replenish some of his energy. He had already dismantled and devoured the abandoned, damaged Soul Tool vessel. Useful materials—mainly certain rare metals and fragments of Soul Tool cores—were wrapped in mucus and attached to his body, while the rest had been discarded into the depths of the trench.

He had recovered to ninety percent of his condition. After devouring the residual life essence of those soul masters, scant though it was, along with the Soul Tool energy, his Poison Source had instead become slightly more solid. His new tentacles had long since regrown, and after consuming special metal materials, they were even tougher than the others, gleaming with a faint dark-golden luster.

Yet he did not relax in the slightest. Instead, alarm bells rang incessantly in his mind.

Three days had passed.

What had become of that Soul Saint candidate afflicted with Dan-Devour?

Jingtian could not sense it precisely. Once Dan-Devour was planted, unless the target died or he personally removed it—which was practically impossible—it would continue eroding the target until the target's life source was completely exhausted. However, the speed of the erosion depended on the target's strength and resistance. That Soul Saint candidate had been quite formidable. Perhaps he could last longer, or perhaps... he had already found a way to suppress or even dispel it?

He did not know. That uncertainty was like a sword hanging over his head.

More importantly, given the efficiency of human soul master organizations, three days was enough for those ships that had escaped to return with reinforcements, perhaps even... draw the attention of true powerhouses.

"Soul Emperors are already doomed against me. The next ones to come will only be stronger," Jingtian judged coldly. "Soul Saints? Or even... Soul Douluos?"

He was confident that, relying on Dan-Devour and his many poison arts, he could still fight a Soul Saint, perhaps even kill one through trickery. But a Soul Douluo... that was a qualitative difference. A Title Douluo? There was no need to even consider it. If he encountered one, he would undoubtedly die, and might not even be able to escape.

He could not gamble on them sending only Soul Saints. He had to prepare for the worst-case scenario—that a Soul Douluo-level powerhouse would soon lead a force here to purge him.

He could not remain in the Storm Sea Abyss any longer.

Though the environment here was dangerous and favorable for hiding, it also restricted his room to maneuver. If the human soul masters became determined enough to use higher-grade detection Soul Tools or even blockade Soul Tools to conduct a sweeping search, he might not be able to stay hidden forever. Furthermore, he needed broader hunting grounds and richer resources to rapidly increase his strength and face future threats.

He had to leave. Immediately, at once! He would migrate toward deeper, more distant oceanic forbidden zones, where human soul masters rarely ventured—or perhaps had never set foot at all!

His destination was the sea region on the other side of the Storm Sea Abyss, the Eternal Silence Return Ruins, shrouded in chaotic currents, suspected spatial rifts, and ancient legends. It was said to be a forbidden zone of life, seldom entered even by powerful Sea Soul Beasts. But that often meant immense, untapped dangers and... potential opportunities.

Without hesitation, Jingtian immediately began to act.

First, he carefully cleansed and concealed every trace of his lingering aura, especially his poison and Soul Power fluctuations, using the eruptions of the thermal spring and the special mucus he secreted. Then, he chose the most concealed deep-sea passage, where the currents were most tangled and chaotic, and began swimming at full speed toward the Eternal Silence Return Ruins.

He abandoned the shortest route, instead choosing the most perilous paths and those hardest to track. He moved through the shadows of undersea mountain ranges, skimmed the edges of dark currents capable of slicing through Soul Power, and even briefly descended to the bottom of trenches ten thousand meters deep, where even he felt immense pressure... Everything was done to erase his traces and disrupt pursuit.

Along the way, he encountered several powerful Sea Soul Beasts: deep-sea giant eels nearing ten thousand years in cultivation, pack-dwelling Void-Splitting Magic Sound Sharks capable of unleashing sonic attacks, and even, from afar, an aura so terrifying that it made his heart tremble—the aura of the forty-thousand-year Deep Sea Demon Octopus King. He had no intention of fighting. Whenever he could avoid them, he did; whenever he could detour, he did. Stealth and speed came first.

Like the most cunning fugitive, he left behind no telling clues and completely merged himself into this vast, peril-filled deep sea.

What he did not know was that about a day after he left the Storm Sea Abyss—

The three remaining vessels of the Raging Waves Team that had escaped by luck finally stumbled back to an outlying base near Sea God Island. When they carried Captain Mo Lin off the ship—his life hanging by a thread, his Soul Power dissipated, his mind clouded—the entire base was shaken.

Sea God Island attached great importance to the matter and immediately dispatched a healing-type Soul Douluo-level powerhouse to examine him. Yet even a Soul Douluo found the strange, unpredictable Dan-Devour poison within Mo Lin's body immensely troublesome as it continuously eroded his life source and soul. They tried every high-level healing soul skill and sacred antidote, even employing special methods containing the Sea God's Power, but they could not eradicate the poison that clung to him like maggots to bone. They could only barely slow its spread.

Three days.

For a full three days, despite the tireless treatment of one Soul Douluo and several Soul Saints, Mo Lin's life force continued to be consumed bit by bit by that invisible poisonous power, like a candle flickering in the wind. In the end, amid extreme pain and unwillingness, the Raging Waves Team captain—a Soul Saint candidate with hopes of breaking into the true Soul Saint realm—quietly perished.

When the news spread, the upper ranks of Sea God Island were enraged!

An elite underwater team composed of one Soul Emperor, four Soul Kings, and a Soul Saint candidate captain, equipped with advanced Soul Tools, had nearly been wiped out while encircling a soul beast that was supposedly "only ten thousand years old." Even their captain had died from a bizarre venom unheard of before, one that even a Soul Douluo struggled to cure!

This was no simple mission failure. It was a provocation, a grave affront to Sea God Island's authority! The danger level of that unknown ten-thousand-year Poison Beast was urgently reassessed as S+ rank: extremely dangerous. It was recommended that a Title Douluo lead the operation to eliminate it!

However, Title Douluos held exalted positions and each had their own duties. Dispatching one against a ten-thousand-year soul beast, no matter how unusual it might be, seemed somewhat excessive and would also damage their dignity. After urgent deliberation, Sea God Island decided to send an eighty-ninth-level peak Soul Douluo, accompanied by two Soul Saints and an elite hunting squad of ten Soul Emperors. Carrying specialized Soul Tools and sacred antidotes, they were to depart immediately for the Storm Sea Abyss and capture the creature alive if possible—or kill it without fail!

At the same time, they issued the highest-level wanted order to all forces affiliated or friendly with Sea God Island in the surrounding waters. Detailed intelligence and a portrait based on survivor accounts were distributed regarding an unknown octopus-type Sea Soul Beast that was suspected to be over ten thousand years old, highly venomous, extremely intelligent, adept at concealment, and capable of bizarre attacks that ignored conventional defenses. Enormous contribution-point rewards and treasures were offered to encourage anyone who found and reported its whereabouts.

A vast net aimed at Jingtian swiftly spread beneath the will of Sea God Island.

However, when their mighty hunting force reached the Storm Sea Abyss two days after Jingtian's departure and launched an overwhelming search, they found that their target had long vanished beyond reach, leaving behind only faint traces that had been thoroughly destroyed by the natural environment and were impossible to follow.

The hunting force conducted a sweeping search of the Storm Sea Abyss and surrounding waters for half a month. They even had a brief clash with the forty-thousand-year Deep Sea Demon Octopus King, yet found nothing. The terrifying Poison Beast that had caused such enormous losses seemed to have evaporated into thin air.

"It fled, and it is clever. It knew we would retaliate, so it escaped deeper into the sea." The peak Soul Douluo leading the team wore a grim expression as he made his judgment. "Issue a permanent wanted order and raise the bounty. At the same time, warn every fleet and soul master heading into the open ocean to beware of this beast. It... will not simply disappear from sight."

The storm temporarily subsided in the Storm Sea Abyss.

But everyone knew that even greater undercurrents had already begun to surge through the broader deep sea.

At that moment, Jingtian had already crossed a long and perilous journey and faintly sensed the edge of that strange sea region known as the Eternal Silence Return Ruins, filled with chaotic energy and an aura of destruction.

He turned back to "look" at the path behind him. Powerful pursuers might be searching for his trail in that direction even now.

But he no longer cared.

Ahead lay an unknown forbidden zone and countless risks, but also opportunities and possibilities to grow stronger.

He swung his thick tentacles, their dark-blue rings shimmering with violet-gold luster in the faint light at the edge of the Guixu, and plunged headlong into that true deep-sea dead zone, where even light itself seemed to be swallowed.

The game of hunting and pursuit had entered a new, broader stage.