Undercurrents

Jingtian's "awakening" and initial refinement of the Ninth Tentacle took place in absolute silence, at an unhurried pace. By the time he slipped soundlessly through a gap in Sea God Island's surveillance formation, led by the Ninth Tentacle like silt from the deepest ocean, and escaped the Western Silent Sea Abyss's surveillance range entirely, nearly a month had quietly passed.

He did not immediately flee far away. Instead, he lurked at the edge of a deep, dark trench with chaotic currents, several hundred li from the Western Silent Sea Abyss. Conditions were harsh, almost no high-level soul beasts lived there, and soul power was scarce. Yet for precisely those reasons, hardly any soul master or powerful sea soul beast would deliberately investigate it.

He needed time to adapt to this "new" body, assess his condition, and plan his next move.

First came recovery.

He settled in the trench's shadows. Like the most delicate of feelers, the Ninth Tentacle slowly and continuously filtered the surrounding seawater, drawing out its negligible traces of free energy. It was extremely inefficient, but safe, steady, and produced almost no soul power fluctuations. Like a penny-pinching miser, he accumulated strength drop by drop.

At the same time, he began trying to hunt with the Ninth Tentacle.

His targets were low-level deep-sea creatures with weak soul power that wandered near the trench. The Ninth Tentacle's speed, precision, and strength far exceeded those of his other tentacles. With its tip, he could easily pierce a prey's shell or scales and inject a faint trace of poison directly into its central nervous system, killing it instantly with almost no struggle. The Ninth Tentacle would then swiftly coil around the prey and bring it back for devouring and digestion.

These low-level creatures possessed pitifully little life essence, but for Jingtian, whose soul power was currently exhausted, something was better than nothing. More importantly, this was an initial test and adjustment of the Ninth Tentacle's practical combat applications. He familiarized himself with every measure of his new limb's strength, every form of perception, and the rhythm of coordinating it with his other eight tentacles.

He discovered that the Ninth Tentacle had brought his control over poison to a new level of precision. In particular, the "quiescence" property originating from the soul bone made the toxins he released more concealed, harder to detect and dispel.

A month later, through this almost ascetic practice, his soul power had recovered to fifteen percent of its peak, and his control over his body to around forty percent. Though still weak, he at least possessed basic mobility and some ability to defend himself. He could now wield the Ninth Tentacle as naturally as his own fingers.

It was time to leave this barren place and head for waters richer in soul power and prey. But before that, he needed intelligence.

With utmost care, he attached a portion of his recovered spirit energy to several passing deep-sea hagfish and lanternfish with extremely weak soul power and little intelligence. These creatures were found throughout the deep sea and were utterly unremarkable. His instructions were exceedingly simple: swim toward the Western Silent Sea Abyss, the general direction of Sea God Island, and nearby waters known to harbor gatherings of soul beasts; passively collect sounds, abnormal currents, intense light, powerful soul power fluctuations, and other information along the way; and relay it back through extremely faint soul connections.

This was not "reconnaissance." It was the most primitive, least efficient form of "information gathering." The information returned was jumbled, vague, and severely delayed. Yet it was currently his only way to learn of movements in the outside world without exposing himself.

Another half month passed.

From the vague information those "living probes" transmitted intermittently, which required considerable effort to decipher, Jingtian pieced together a few valuable fragments:

Toward the Western Silent Sea Abyss: he occasionally sensed powerful, regular sweeps of soul power—patrols. Their frequency seemed slightly higher than before his "slumber," but there were no signs of large-scale mustering or probing deeper. Sea God Island seemed to maintain a surveillance posture that was "tight on the outside, loose within."

Somewhere in the deep sea: several dull, violent disturbances brimming with savage power had come through, along with sharp cries from soul beasts laden with pain and fury—emotional remnants detected by spirit energy. The disturbances bore some resemblance to the power signatures of Demon Soul Great White Sharks and Deep Sea Demon Whales in his memory, but he could not be certain.

Farther away, possibly toward the continental shelf: he had sensed disturbances in the currents caused by large objects moving at regular intervals, along with faint, rhythmic soul power fluctuations—most likely a human fleet of soul-guided ships.

The information was limited, but sufficient. The second item in particular caught his attention.

Demon Soul Great White Sharks... Deep Sea Demon Whales... A faint ripple stirred in Jingtian's icy consciousness. He recalled the mad plan he had devised earlier—to snatch chestnuts from the fire while the two great clans fought to the death. But in his current condition, that would be no different from suicide.

Still... perhaps he did not need to take part himself.

He needed an "eye," a more sensitive "eye" closer to the battlefield, to confirm what had happened, assess the situation, and see whether there was... an opening to exploit.

His tentacles swayed slowly as his enormous body began moving stealthily at a measured pace toward the source of the reported battle disturbances. He maintained Guixu Assimilation, his aura blending perfectly with his surroundings, while the Ninth Tentacle remained extended ahead of him like the most vigilant sentry.

The journey was not all smooth sailing. He encountered a small migrating school of Split-Tooth Arrow Fish, whose average cultivation was around a thousand years. These ferocious soul beasts charged at any large creature passing through. In the past, a single Poison Domain from Jingtian would have wiped them out. Now, however, he chose to avoid them, taking a wide detour.

He also sensed from afar a terrifying presence that made his heart quail, entrenched in a range of undersea mountains ahead. Its aura was cold, bloodthirsty, and filled with a chaotic urge to slaughter. Its cultivation was probably no less than eighty thousand years; it might even have been a ninety-thousand-year soul beast. Without hesitation, Jingtian changed course again. He would rather spend several extra days traveling than approach that region.

Caution was the first lesson he had learned from countless brushes with death.

After roughly ten days of stealthy travel, he reached a relatively "calm" stretch of water, though its soul power particles were noticeably more active, carrying faint traces of blood and residual energy. The terrain was extremely complex, filled with towering undersea peaks, deep rifts, and scar-like craters formed by violent energy impacts.

The traces of battle were still fresh.

Jingtian concealed himself in the shadows of a narrow rift. The Ninth Tentacle extended like a nimble serpent, its tip glowing faintly as he began sensing and analyzing the residual energy traces in his surroundings with extraordinary care.

The Demon Soul Great White Sharks' powers of "purification" and "sharpness"... very dense, and more than one signature. A small group. He "read" the energy information.

The Deep Sea Demon Whale's "weight," "devouring," and "frenzy"... more overbearing, but seemingly... tinged with "weakness" and "grief and fury"? He sensed an unusual trace of lingering emotion.

And... fluctuations of the Sea God's Power! Very faint, but unmistakable. Those human soul masters left them... They took part, or at least were present.

His heartbeat—the pulsing of his energy core—quickened slightly. The situation seemed more complicated than he had anticipated. This was not a simple clash between two clans. A third party, Sea God Island, seemed to have intervened, and the Deep Sea Demon Whales might have suffered a setback, leaving grief and fury in their emotions.

Just then—

"Wooo—!"

An exceedingly faint whale song, filled with pain and despair and mingled with powerful soul fluctuations, came from the depths of the sea far, far away! The sound was so low, so deep, that ordinary soul beasts could not possibly detect it. Yet Jingtian's spirit energy, tempered by the soul bone's quiescence property and previously brought into indirect contact with a Deep Sea Demon Whale's soul power, caught it clearly!

This was not a battle roar. It was... a dying lament! And the level of soul power contained in that sound... was extraordinarily high! Far beyond any soul beast he had encountered before. It might even approach... a hundred-thousand-year level?!

Almost simultaneously, from another direction came several swift, sharp soul power fluctuations bearing the arrogance and cruelty of victors, moving rapidly away! Demon Soul Great White Sharks! They were withdrawing!

Jingtian understood instantly.

A hunt had just ended. The Demon Soul Great White Shark clan, very likely aided by soul masters from Sea God Island, had successfully inflicted grievous wounds on, or even killed, an exceptionally powerful Deep Sea Demon Whale! That dying whale song was proof! And the victors were withdrawing with their spoils—or at least their victory.

A cold, cruel, yet deeply tempting plan took shape in his mind in an instant.

Ignore the Demon Soul Great White Sharks and Sea God Island soul masters departing in triumph.

The target was that powerful Deep Sea Demon Whale, dying or newly dead!

A Deep Sea Demon Whale approaching the hundred-thousand-year level, perhaps already at that level—the life essence, soul power, and possible soul bone within its body would be an unparalleled restorative for him! Enough to send the recovery of his cultivation and injuries soaring!

More importantly, if he acted quickly enough and left no loose ends, he could plant this "black pot" of blame squarely on the Demon Soul Great White Sharks and Sea God Island, who had just left! The Deep Sea Demon Whale clan would pour its fury onto them alone.

Risks?

Of course there were. A dying giant beast was at its most dangerous. Other Deep Sea Demon Whales nearby might hear the news and rush over. The Demon Soul Great White Sharks or Sea God Island might double back for another strike.

But the rewards were too great!

"Ninth Tentacle, scout ahead!" Jingtian hesitated no longer. His spirit energy locked onto the direction of the whale song, and the Ninth Tentacle shot forward like an arrow, his body following close behind under maximum concealment.

Like a deep-sea phantom that had caught the scent of blood, he slipped soundlessly toward the waters where the slaughter had just ended.

The hunter was about to make for the remnants of another feast.

And the centerpiece of this feast might not yet have drawn its last breath.