Demon Whale Couple

The distance of eight hundred li was compressed to an astonishing extent as Jingtian charged at full speed without regard for anything else, even slightly overdrawing his origin. The deep sea seemed to be split apart by an invisible blade. Surging currents and soul beasts along the way had no time to react before that massive shadow, carrying an icy, deathly aura, flashed past.

In half an hour—almost exactly the limit of the time Moyuan had given in his order—Jingtian arrived at the outskirts of the Hydrothermal Vent Forest.

Before he even entered, a scorching wave of pungent sulfur, searing metal, and violent Soul Power turbulence rushed toward him. The deep sea's dark blue was gone, replaced by a bizarre world dotted with countless chimneys of varying thicknesses, spewing dark red or brilliant yellow scalding fluid. Some hydrothermal vents were as thin as bamboo poles, while others were as large as houses. They continuously erupted with high-temperature currents laden with toxic substances and chaotic energy, boiling and warping the surrounding seawater into hazy, dangerous patches of light and shadow. Countless strange fungi, shellfish, and tube worms adapted to this extreme environment formed vividly colored, grotesquely shaped forests around the vents, making the place even more eerie.

The light here was dim and shifting, the energy fields incomparably chaotic. Sound and perception were heavily disrupted. Ordinary soul beasts and soul masters would suffer a severe decline in strength here, but for Jingtian, proficient in concealment and poison and possessing the traits of Guixu Assimilation and Silence, this was a natural hunting ground.

He instantly slowed to the lowest speed, fully activating Guixu Assimilation. His massive body slipped silently into this boiling maze like the darkest reef. The Ninth Tentacle extended ahead like the most sensitive probe, guiding him while raising his perception to its limit, filtering out environmental noise and searching intently for traces of the target.

He found them quickly.

Near the flank of the largest and most violently erupting vent, from a relatively sparse vent field, came intense Soul Power fluctuations, the agonized cries of Deep Sea Demon Whales, the cold shouts of human soul masters, and the savage screeches of Demon Soul Great White Sharks.

Jingtian approached like a ghost, concealing himself behind a huge chimney that continuously spewed dark red hydrothermal fluid. His view—his perception—suddenly cleared.

The scene was even more tragic than he had imagined.

Two Deep Sea Demon Whales, one gray and one blue, clung tightly to each other. The smaller blue Demon Whale had a massive abdominal wound that had nearly gutted it. Dark blood mixed with fragments of internal organs gushed from it, and its life force was so faint it seemed liable to extinguish at any moment. Its enormous eyes were half-closed, and only the occasional twitch proved it was still alive. It was the heavily injured fifty-thousand-year-old one.

The larger gray Demon Whale circled its mate like a desperate guardian. It too bore many wounds, but its eyes were fierce as it continuously exhaled savage streams mixed with ice shards and water blades, forcing back enemies attempting to approach. Yet it was clearly running out of strength. Its breath attacks had greatly weakened and their range was shrinking. It was only holding on through sheer, unyielding will.

Hunting them were three soul masters clad in the standard blue uniforms of Sea God Island, along with five Demon Soul Great White Sharks that moved freely through the hydrothermal currents, their eyes cruel.

The leader was a sinister-faced Soul Douluo holding a blue spear, roughly level eighty-five. He was the core of the team. Rather than rushing into a direct assault, he constantly circled around, releasing sharp spear lights that precisely struck weaknesses in the gray Demon Whale's defenses, draining its Soul Power while commanding the entire field.

The other two Soul Saints, a man and a woman, worked together. The man wielded a water shield, responsible for defending against the gray Demon Whale's dying counterattacks and accidental damage from hydrothermal eruptions. The woman continuously released water rings that carried slowing and weakening effects, stacking them onto the gray Demon Whale.

The five Demon Soul Great White Sharks averaged around thirty thousand years of cultivation and were exceptionally agile in the hydrothermal currents. They split into two groups. One group continuously launched feints from the flanks and below, drawing the gray Demon Whale's attention. The other waited for chances to pounce upon the badly injured blue Demon Whale, which could not resist at all, trying to bite its wounds and deliver the final blow. The gray Demon Whale had no choice but to divide its attention to protect its mate, struggling frantically.

"Put your backs into it! The male is nearly finished too! The female is beyond saving. Once the male dies, their Soul Rings and Soul Bones will all be ours!" the Soul Douluo leader sneered, sending another spear light into the gray Demon Whale's dorsal fin and splashing a trail of blood.

The gray Demon Whale let out a cry of pain and fury. The breath it spewed could no longer threaten its nimble enemies. Its enormous eyes were filled with endless grief, indignation, and despair. Its Soul Power was nearly exhausted, its injuries were worsening, and its mate's life force was rapidly fading... Despair swallowed it like the coldest tide.

It stared fixedly at a Demon Soul Great White Shark that had once again lunged at its mate's wound, then looked at the smugly sneering Soul Douluo. The final gleam of reason in its eyes went out completely, replaced by a madness that sought to destroy everything and perish together with its enemies!

The remaining Soul Power in its body began recklessly crashing backward into the core of its origin! Its body started to swell unnaturally, energy currents raging through it! Self-destruction! It would drag every enemy down with it to accompany its mate in death!

"Not good! It's going to self-destruct! Scatter!" The Soul Douluo leader's expression changed drastically as he shouted sharply. The desperate self-destruction of a sixty-thousand-year Deep Sea Demon Whale, in this relatively enclosed space, was powerful enough to seriously injure or even bury them all!

The three soul masters and five Demon Soul Great White Sharks panicked and instinctively retreated. Their previously tight encirclement instantly collapsed, and their formation fell into chaos.

However, just as the gray Demon Whale's Soul Power was about to breach its final critical point, while all the enemies fled in panic and their attention was completely drawn by the threat of self-destruction—

Now.

Behind the hydrothermal chimney, a ghostly light flared in Jingtian's eyes!

He did not need to get close at all. At the instant when the enemies' minds were stretched taut, their senses disrupted by the self-destructive energy and chaotic environment, and fatal gaps appeared in their defenses, his Spirit Energy locked onto the three human soul masters and the three nearest, most dangerous Demon Soul Great White Sharks like the most precise guidance system!

"Dan-Devour—San-Hua!"

There was no earth-shaking display. Only the violent contraction of the Poison Source core within Jingtian's body, and three extremely obscure dusky streaks flashing from the tip of the Ninth Tentacle, nearly blending into the surrounding scorching light and shadows!

These streaks were not physical entities, but projections of highly condensed soul marks containing the origin poison power of Dan-Devour and the law of Silence! Their speed far surpassed physical movement. Wherever thought reached, poison followed!

Puff! Puff! Puff!

The faint sounds were completely drowned out by the boiling seawater.

The Soul Douluo leader, who had been preparing to flee, suddenly stiffened. The panic on his face froze instantly, turning into extreme pain and bewilderment. He felt as if his life core had been viciously pierced by a red-hot poisoned needle, which then wildly twisted and corroded him from within! His Soul Power immediately went berserk, and the blue glow protecting his body burst like a punctured bubble. Strange dark purple patterns surfaced across his skin!

"Agh—!" He only had time to release a short, miserable scream before his eyes flew wide open and the spear fell from his hand. His body convulsed violently like a boneless fish, curling up as his aura rapidly weakened.

The other two Soul Saints fared even worse. They did not even manage to scream before blood poured from their eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Their Soul Power went out of control, and they sank toward the searing, churning seawater below like two stones, their vitality visibly dissipating.

The savage eyes of the three targeted Demon Soul Great White Sharks were instantly replaced by extreme pain and deathly stillness. Their massive bodies twisted and rolled wildly, the silver light on their surfaces rapidly dimming and dissolving. Like ice and snow beneath the blazing sun, their life force drained away madly!

One strike—three soul masters and three sharks, all hit! They instantly lost all combat ability and stepped into death!

The remaining two Demon Soul Great White Sharks and the enemies who had just scattered in panic—who in truth no longer had any effective organization—were utterly stunned by this sudden, silent, terrifying change! What had happened?! How had their leader and companions suddenly fallen?!

The gray Demon Whale that had been preparing to self-destruct was also frozen in place. The Soul Power it had gathered to its peak, ready to detonate, fell into momentary disorder and stagnation due to its shock and the sudden disappearance of pressure. It looked blankly at the enemies who had suddenly convulsed and collapsed, their breaths faint, then instinctively looked around at the boiling, chaotic, empty seawater, unable to understand what had happened.

Reinforcements? A trap? Or... some deep-sea phenomenon beyond its understanding?

Amid that deathly stagnation and confusion—

A black shadow, deeper and more massive than the shadows cast by the surrounding hydrothermal currents, silently appeared in the center of the battlefield like a demon god rising from the depths of hell. It stood precisely between the two Demon Whales and the two terrified Demon Soul Great White Sharks.

Jingtian had finally revealed himself.

He did not look at the two Demon Soul Great White Sharks trembling as they slowly backed away, nor did he look at the Soul Douluo leader struggling on the verge of death. His cold, indifferent gaze, seemingly devoid of all emotion, swept slowly across the battlefield like tangible ice spikes before finally settling on the gray Demon Whale, whose Soul Power was in disarray and whose eyes were full of confusion and suspicion.

The gray Demon Whale's enormous pupils suddenly constricted! It was him! A massive Poison Beast it had never seen before, emanating an aura of fatal danger that made even its soul tremble with cold terror! Had it done this?! Had it instantly crushed those vicious enemies?!

Enemy or ally?

Jingtian offered no explanation and had no intention of communicating. His black Ninth Tentacle, like a poisonous dragon that had lurked in ambush for ages, shot out without warning at a speed impossible for the naked eye to follow!

"Puff! Puff!"

Two muffled sounds rang out almost at the same time. The heads of the two remaining Demon Soul Great White Sharks, which had just recovered their senses and tried to turn and flee, were instantly pierced by the tip of the Ninth Tentacle as though they were made of paper! The Silence poison power and physical destructive force contained within instantly destroyed their brains and souls. Without even a hint of struggle, their enormous bodies stiffened and sank.

The Ninth Tentacle did not pause. As if it possessed a life of its own, it curled around the Soul Douluo leader, who was still convulsing and trying to suppress the strange poison within him, pulling him before Jingtian. Jingtian did not even spare the insignificant prey another glance. The tentacle tightened slightly.

"Crack!"

The scalp-numbing sound of bones shattering rang out, especially crisp within the boiling seawater. The Soul Douluo leader's body twisted and collapsed grotesquely like a doll kneaded by immense force. Then, the terrifying suction erupting from the Ninth Tentacle instantly drained and devoured his remaining life essence and Soul Power. A shriveled, twisted corpse covered in purple-black markings was casually tossed into the churning scorching currents below, where it vaporized and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Silence.

Only the gurgling of hydrothermal eruptions remained, along with the nearly inaudible, agonized breathing of the wounded blue Demon Whale and the gray Demon Whale's heavy, disbelieving breaths—the disturbance of water around it.

From Jingtian's use of Dan-Devour to his appearance, the instant killing of two sharks, and the crushing of the Soul Douluo, only three breaths had passed.

The hunting team that should have been able to wear down the two Demon Whales without suffering much damage had been utterly annihilated, dying silently and in an incomprehensibly bizarre manner.

The gray Demon Whale stared fixedly with its enormous eyes at this terrifying, powerful, unfamiliar Poison Beast whose methods were bizarre beyond measure. Its mind was in complete chaos. Had it saved them? Why? What did it want? To devour them? Or...

It saw the Poison Beast's dreadful black tentacle slowly retract, then... hover over the horrific wound on its severely injured mate.

The gray Demon Whale's heart—its energy core—contracted violently. It released a low cry full of warning and pleading, carrying soul fluctuations, and despite its weakness, struggled to place itself before its mate again.

However, the black tentacle did not attack. From its tip began to seep an energy it could not understand, yet found extraordinarily gentle, pure, and even rich with powerful life force. Dark purple energy descended slowly over its mate's shocking wound like the finest rain.

The violent bleeding from the wound actually slowed, then stopped at a visible rate! Its mate's life force, so faint it had nearly vanished, was like a patient injected with a powerful stimulant. It remained weak, but no longer continued to decline. It even showed the faintest sign of stabilizing!

The gray Demon Whale was completely stunned. Its huge eyes blinked, then blinked again, confirming that this was not a hallucination before death. That warm, powerful energy was keeping its mate alive!

At the same time, the Poison Beast's other tentacles were efficiently curling around the sinking corpses of the Soul Saints and Demon Soul Great White Sharks, beginning to devour and absorb them. Yet the gray Demon Whale could sense that part of the energy converted through this devouring was continuously being sent into its mate's body through that black tentacle.

It was using the enemies' lives to save my mate?!

This realization exploded like thunder in the Demon Whale's simple but straightforward mind. The wariness, fear, and confusion in its eyes were swiftly replaced by more complex emotions—unparalleled shock, the wild joy of surviving utter desperation, and a reverence and... submission toward absolute strength that arose from the depths of its soul.

It did not understand so many twists and turns. It only knew that, at its most desperate moment, this existence, powerful beyond understanding, had appeared, wiped out every enemy with thunderous methods, and was saving its mate.

For soul beasts, especially in this dangerous deep sea where the strong devoured the weak, strength was truth and survival the highest law. This Poison Beast had displayed crushing power and given them hope of survival.

That was enough.

The gray Demon Whale no longer hesitated, nor did it try to understand or communicate. It slowly lowered its enormous head, exposing the vulnerable side of its neck before the Poison Beast—an instinctive posture used by many powerful deep-sea soul beasts to express obedience, surrender, and a plea for protection. At the same time, it sent out a soul fluctuation filled with gratitude, reverence, and clear willingness to submit. The fluctuation contained no complex language, only the most direct emotions and intent.

It did not know whether the Poison Beast could understand, but it had to make its stance clear.

Jingtian received the soul fluctuation. His cold thoughts did not ripple in the slightest; he had long expected the Demon Whale's reaction. The world of soul beasts was sometimes far simpler than that of humans, and far crueler as well.

He stopped devouring the remaining corpses, which had already been mostly drained. The Ninth Tentacle remained connected to the blue Demon Whale, transmitting energy. His massive body turned slightly as a cold intent carrying the meaning of a clear command projected directly into the gray Demon Whale's consciousness. It was not language, but more like a collection of images, direction, and command:

"Follow."

"Lead the way. Somewhere safe and hidden."

"She needs stability."

The gray Demon Whale abruptly raised its massive head, brilliant light bursting from its eyes! It understood! Master—as it had already acknowledged him in its heart—was ordering it to lead the way to a safe place to treat its mate!

It did not hesitate in the slightest. Carefully supporting its mate, who remained unconscious but whose breath had initially stabilized, with its head and body, it turned and began swimming toward the outskirts of the Hydrothermal Vent Forest, toward a complex reef region it remembered as relatively safe. It swam slowly and steadily, afraid of jostling its mate, while constantly watching Master's pace behind it.

Jingtian's massive body followed soundlessly, like the most loyal and terrifying guard, and like the ruler of these deep-sea shadows.

He did not look back at the boiling waters where the slaughter had just ended, nor did he concern himself with the remains being broken down by hydrothermal currents and microorganisms.

A precise, efficient, ruthless rescue and hunt.

Two Deep Sea combatants who had initially submitted, with promising futures.

And a perfect practical test of Dan-Devour's mass-killing power.

It was a very worthwhile transaction.

More importantly, with this local Demon Whale familiar with the route, the road to the other two hunting grounds would be much easier.

The deep sea's night—the lightless zone—seemed to grow darker.

And the shadow of a Poison Beast silently spread across broader waters with his advance.