Whale Fall

Jingtian slipped through the cold, chaotic seawater like ink dissolving into darkness, guided by the Ninth Tentacle without making a sound. The closer he drew to the target waters, the thicker the lingering energy turbulence and the scent of blood became. Shattered scales, broken bone spurs, and even clouds of blue-black blood flecked with pale golden light drifted through the sea, silently telling of the brutal battle that had taken place not long before.

Yet contrary to his earlier conjecture, the scene was not a lifeless "whale fall."

The first things to enter his perception were several swift, razor-sharp fluctuations of Soul Power, brimming with murderous cruelty as they besieged an enormous, ponderous, yet tottering shape of spectral blue light at their center. That shape was a grievously wounded Deep Sea Demon Whale, blood pouring from its body! It was as massive as a mountain, its presence immense, but its flame of life had become a candle guttering in the wind. Gashes deep enough to expose bone covered its body, and an enormous wound in its belly, nearly piercing straight through it, gushed dark blood. Every movement of its body sent violent tremors through the surrounding water, but its motions were clearly sluggish, feeble, and filled with despair.

Besieging it were five equally enormous Demon Soul Great White Sharks, their bodies silver-white, their fangs hideous, their eyes savage! Their cultivation generally ranged from fifty thousand to eighty thousand years. Moving with seamless coordination and lightning speed, they repeatedly used their speed and razor-sharp serrated teeth to tear fresh wounds into the Demon Whale. They were clearly hunting down this lone, severely injured whale, intending to devour it completely.

At the fringes of the battlefield, he could faintly sense a weak but pure remnant of the Sea God's Power. Soul Masters from Sea God Island seemed to have watched or assisted here, but they were nowhere to be seen now. They might have left, or concealed themselves farther away.

Jingtian understood the situation at once: this had not been a joint ambush by Sea God Island and the Demon Soul Great White Sharks. It seemed more likely that Sea God Island had intervened in a conflict between the Demon Whale and the sharks, leaving this whale severely wounded. Sea God Island might then have departed, while the Demon Soul Great White Sharks seized the chance to beat a drowning dog and finish the hunt.

The Demon Whale was an arrow at the end of its flight, its defeat and death imminent. The Demon Soul Great White Sharks, meanwhile, were riding high.

A plan bolder than his earlier idea of "collecting a corpse," yet also more workable, took shape in Jingtian's mind in an instant.

When the fisherman profited from others' struggle, he needed not only the "profit," but the name of the "fisherman" as well!

His targets were no longer the dying Demon Whale, but those uninjured Demon Soul Great White Sharks! Especially their leader, whose aura approached eighty thousand years!

If he could strike like thunder, using Dan-Devour to cripple or even kill that leader in an instant, he would not only gain abundant life essence—the Demon Soul Great White Shark was of exceptionally high quality—but also save this dying Deep Sea Demon Whale! What emotions would arise in a severely injured, reasonably intelligent Deep Sea Demon Whale approaching a hundred thousand years of cultivation when it was rescued from certain doom? Gratitude? Dependence? Or... exploitable "loyalty"?

The risk lay in having to face several powerful Demon Soul Great White Sharks at once without revealing his full strength, lest he frighten them off or attract something stronger. He also had to ensure that Dan-Devour struck the most troublesome target, their leader, precisely.

The opportunity would vanish in a flash! The Demon Whale let out another weak, anguished cry, its enormous body swaying as though it could no longer hold on.

"Now! Ninth Tentacle, lock onto the biggest one!" Jingtian hesitated no longer. His Spirit Energy instantly locked onto the eighty-thousand-year Demon Soul Great White Shark leader, over a hundred meters long and possessed of the fiercest aura. At the same time, he pushed Guixu Assimilation to its limit, blending his presence perfectly into the surroundings. Like a ghost, his enormous body slipped silently toward an area of stronger energy turbulence on the battlefield's flank.

He needed a perfect, fleeting window for a sneak attack.

The opportunity soon appeared. The Demon Whale leader seemed enraged by the whale's final struggles. It suddenly accelerated, spreading its enormous jaws full of sharp teeth. Silver-white light carrying the powers of purification and cutting flashed as it viciously lunged for the whale's vulnerable neck! This was the prelude to a killing blow—and the instant when its attention was most focused, when its awareness of its surroundings might lapse!

"Dan-Devour—seed!"

Hidden in the darkness, Jingtian compressed and condensed with all his might a portion of his recovered Soul Power, Poison Source essence, and the wills of "stillness" and "certain death" gathered within his soul! Guided by the Ninth Tentacle, a strand of Dan-Devour poison more concentrated and obscure than ever before, almost without form or substance, shot like a death ray that transcended the barriers of space and flowing water. Silently and with absolute precision, it "imprinted" itself upon the core of the Demon Soul Great White Shark leader's skull as the creature opened its vast jaws, Soul Power surging!

To ensure both accuracy and potency, Jingtian's Dan-Devour this time contained nearly thirty percent of the origin poison power he could muster in his current state! He sought to kill with one strike, or at least rob it of all fighting ability in an instant!

Pfft!

There was no earth-shaking sound. The enormous body of the Demon Soul Great White Shark leader, poised to deliver its killing blow, suddenly went rigid! Its savage, bloodthirsty gaze was instantly replaced by boundless confusion, terror, and pain! It felt as though a red-hot, venomous icicle had plunged viciously into its Life Origin and soul, then begun churning and devouring them madly!

"Aooow—!!!"

A shriek so agonized that its pitch warped burst from its jaws, filled with pain and despair! Its forward charge stopped abruptly, and its enormous body began convulsing and rolling uncontrollably. The pure silver-white light covering its body rapidly dimmed and fell into chaos! It tried to summon its Soul Power to resist, but the poison of Dan-Devour clung like maggots gnawing at bone, eroding it far faster than its purification could counter!

"Aow?!" "What's happening?!"

The other four Demon Soul Great White Sharks were stunned by this sudden turn. Their attacks halted at once as they stared in alarm and uncertainty at their leader rolling in agony, then warily scanned the dark waters around them.

In that very instant of distraction—

"Poison Domain—Annihilation!"

Centered on Jingtian, a deep, dark-blue Poison Domain capable of devouring light and Soul Power erupted outward, instantly enveloping hundreds of meters of sea! This was a new change in his Poison Domain after he had devoured some of the Demon Whale's traits. Beyond slowing and corrosion, it now possessed faint devouring and suppressive effects!

The Poison Domain's appearance threw the remaining four Demon Soul Great White Sharks into greater panic. They could feel its suppression, and the bizarre poison power within it that unsettled even their souls.

"Aow!" A more alert seventy-thousand-year great white shark roared, turning without hesitation to flee these suddenly dangerous waters.

But it was already too late.

"Trying to leave?" Jingtian's icy voice, carried by vibrations of Soul Power, echoed through the Poison Domain. Concealing himself no longer, his enormous body slowly emerged from the darkness. Nine tentacles, including the pitch-black Ninth Tentacle, swayed slowly within the domain like demonic shadows from the abyss. Though his aura displayed only a little over eighty thousand years of cultivation, deliberately suppressed, the bizarre, terrifying Poison Domain and the unknown attack that had instantly crippled their leader were enough to chill these sharks to the bone.

More importantly, the previously dying Deep Sea Demon Whale also seemed stunned by this sudden turn of events. Yet a glimmer of disbelief, mingled with hope and wariness, suddenly flared in its enormous eyes. It did not move, merely stared fixedly at the newly appeared Jingtian and the panicking sharks.

"Aow!" Another great white shark roared in fury, trying to organize a counterattack.

But Jingtian gave them no chance. Like the whip of death itself, the Ninth Tentacle moved at extreme speed under the Poison Domain's enhancement, instantly coiling around a sixty-thousand-year great white shark that tried to lunge at him. A burst of terrifying Poison Erosion and physical strength crushed its bones and tore its sinews before he hurled it viciously at another shark! At the same time, he opened his mouth and spat out a dense cloud of poisonous mist with a powerful nerve-paralyzing effect, enveloping the other two.

The battle became a one-sided slaughter. With their leader crippled by Dan-Devour, trapped inside a bizarre Poison Domain, and subjected to Jingtian's precise strikes, the remaining four great white sharks, fierce though they were, had lost all will to fight. They wanted only to escape alive.

Jingtian did not pursue them. His objective had already been achieved. He swiftly finished off the shark he had ensnared, then used poisonous mist to delay the other three's escape, ensuring they could pose no threat in the immediate future. Then his "gaze" turned toward the battlefield's center, to the Deep Sea Demon Whale still suspended there, its aura weak but its eyes complicated, and the Demon Soul Great White Shark leader beside it, still convulsing in agony as its aura rapidly declined.

He swam slowly toward the great white shark leader. It could no longer move, its eyes holding nothing but endless pain and bleak despair, its life force a candle guttering in the wind. Jingtian showed no mercy. The Ninth Tentacle pierced a vital point and swiftly devoured its remaining life essence. The vitality of an eighty-thousand-year Demon Soul Great White Shark leader replenished a considerable portion of the origin power he had just expended, and slightly eased his soul's exhaustion.

Only after finishing all this did he turn to face the silent, severely wounded Deep Sea Demon Whale.

The Deep Sea Demon Whale's enormous eyes stared at him without blinking, its gaze immeasurably complicated: relief at surviving disaster, awe of overwhelming strength, wariness toward an unknown being, and perhaps... a faint, instinctive sense of "closeness" and "dependence" born of being rescued from utter despair?

Jingtian slowly withdrew his Poison Domain, but did not fully lower his guard. Through Spirit Energy, he conveyed a relatively calm yet unquestionable thought:

"They are already dead."

"You are still alive."

"I saved you."

The Deep Sea Demon Whale's enormous body trembled slightly, as though it wanted to say something. But its wounds were too severe, and it could only release a low whimper filled with gratitude and pain. The wariness in its gaze toward Jingtian diminished a little, and the sense of having been "rescued" became more apparent.

Jingtian knew the first step had succeeded. He had appeared at the other's most desperate and vulnerable moment, "disposed of" its pursuers with thunderous force, displayed overwhelming strength—at least in appearance—and shown no hostility for the time being.

He made no demands immediately. Instead, he swam slowly closer and extended the Ninth Tentacle, releasing gentle energy containing the "stillness" and "restoration" traits of his own poison power. He lightly spread it over the most horrifying wound in the whale's belly. This energy could not swiftly heal such severe injuries, but it could stop the bleeding, ease the pain, and prevent them from worsening.

This was a clear signal of goodwill.

The Deep Sea Demon Whale stiffened, then relaxed, allowing that gentle power, with its faint trace of coldness, to touch its wound. More of the wariness in its eyes melted away. It might not have possessed human intelligence, but its instincts as a Soul Beast told it that this powerful, bizarre, poison-wielding being was "on its side," at least for now.

"You are badly wounded. You need time," Jingtian continued conveying his thoughts. "This place isn't safe. Their companions, or something more troublesome, could arrive at any moment."

Worry flickered in the Deep Sea Demon Whale's eyes. It clearly understood this as well.

"Follow me." Jingtian's thought carried a note of unquestionable guidance. "I know somewhere safe for the time being, where you can recover."

He neither asked nor discussed it, but issued a direct "command." Under these circumstances, that was actually more likely to inspire the weak, bewildered whale to "follow the strong."

Slowly and with difficulty, the Deep Sea Demon Whale nodded its enormous head. Guided by Jingtian, its massive body began moving slowly toward deeper, darker waters, in the opposite direction from the fleeing Demon Soul Great White Sharks.

Jingtian swam ahead and to its side, the Ninth Tentacle continuing to release gentle energy to stabilize its injuries while he vigilantly sensed their surroundings.

The first step of his plan had been perfectly accomplished.

Not only had he harvested the life essence of several Demon Soul Great White Sharks—the leader had been devoured, while the other three had scattered, though the poisonous mist might already have left them badly poisoned—but more importantly, he had gained a Deep Sea Demon Whale approaching a hundred thousand years of cultivation, severely wounded and weakened, that had begun to trust and depend on him.

This Demon Whale could become his first powerful "ally" in the deep sea. Or, more precisely, it was the first "underling" he had gained after descending in the guise of a savior.

The strength of the Deep Sea Demon Whale population, their knowledge of the depths, and this whale's own immense combat power would play an incalculable role in his future plans.

And all he had paid was one carefully planned ambush and one perfectly timed "performance."

Seeds could be sown beneath venomous fangs as well.

After the hunt came... the beginning of taming.