Winning Their Allegiance

When Jingtian's pitch-black ninth tentacle suddenly appeared before the giant-bow Soul Douluo like a death scythe crossing the boundaries of space, the man had only just managed to recover from the shock of the collapsing cliff and the terror of seeing his teammate fall in an instant.

"Water Mirror Substitute!" At the brink of death, the giant-bow Soul Douluo's instincts erupted. Blue light flashed across him, and his figure suddenly blurred. A phantom formed from pure water elements remained in place while his true body shot backward to one side!

Rip!

The ninth tentacle pierced the Water Mirror Substitute without resistance and shredded it. But Jingtian's will had already locked onto the man's true body. Without losing momentum, the tentacle pursued him like rot clinging to bone, tracing an uncanny arc through the water. Its speed surged again as it stabbed straight at his back!

"Sea God's Blessing!" The defense-type Soul Douluo beside him roared, forcibly shifting the enormous aqua-blue shield he had just formed, still somewhat unstable from the falling rocks, to barely intercept the attack behind the giant-bow Soul Douluo.

Clang!!!

A dull, heart-shuddering crash rang out! The tip of the ninth tentacle slammed into the shield! It did not pierce through as expected, but the thick shield instantly filled with spiderweb cracks, like glass struck by a heavy hammer! A cold, deathly still poison carrying terrifying corrosive power seeped furiously through those cracks!

The defense-type Soul Douluo grunted as though struck by a heavy blow. His face paled, and his Soul Power shook violently. To his horror, he discovered that the strange power was rapidly "corroding" and "stilling" his defensive Soul Skill, draining it at an astonishing rate!

"Attack together! Otherwise, we're all dead!" the control-type Soul Douluo barked through gritted teeth. Suppressing his fear, he swept both hands repeatedly, sending several thick blue energy chains lunging like venomous snakes from their dens. They wound toward Jingtian's massive body and that terrifying tentacle from different directions. He wanted to repeat his earlier tactic and restrain this uncanny poison beast.

Yet Jingtian did not even glance at those chains.

"Poison Domain—Nirvana Deep Cold."

A deep, dark-blue domain that seemed capable of swallowing all light and sound unfolded silently around him, instantly enveloping all three Soul Douluos along with Jingtian himself! Within it, the seawater thickened like glue, the temperature plunged, and the light dimmed. More terrifying still, a sense of stillness and sluggishness that invaded the soul clasped their bodies and Soul Power like invisible shackles!

The moment the control-type Soul Douluo's energy chains entered the Poison Domain, their speed plummeted and their sheen rapidly faded. Like venomous snakes frozen stiff, their power diminished drastically. Before they could touch Jingtian, the corrosive force permeating the domain had already worn most of their strength away.

"No! A domain! This poison beast actually has such a powerful domain!" The control-type Soul Douluo was horrified beyond measure. Even circulating his Soul Power had become laborious. His Soul Skills cost twice as much to unleash while their effectiveness dwindled.

"Evil-Breaking Arrow!" Seizing the opportunity, the giant-bow Soul Douluo endured the icy discomfort the Poison Domain sent into the depths of his soul, drew his bow, and nocked an arrow. He poured his remaining Soul Power into it in a frenzy, firing an intensely condensed azure arrow imbued with purifying power straight at what appeared to be the core of Jingtian's head! This was his strongest single-target attack Soul Skill, designed specifically to destroy evil!

The arrow sped through the Poison Domain. Though it slowed, its power remained astonishing.

Jingtian neither dodged nor retreated. He simply raised another main tentacle, gathered dark-purple light at its tip, and lashed it fearlessly at the azure arrow!

Thud!

The arrow collided with the tentacle. There was no explosion, only a dull impact. The purifying power attached to the arrow clashed fiercely with the tentacle's stilling poison, annihilating each other. In the end, the arrow was forcibly knocked off course and shot diagonally into the nearby cliff, blasting out a large hole. As for Jingtian's tentacle, the glow of its ring markings merely dimmed a little. A shallow mark remained, only to be repaired in an instant by the surging poison.

"How is that possible?!" The giant-bow Soul Douluo's eyes stretched wide with fury and horror. His strongest attack had been neutralized so easily?!

In the instant his composure broke—

The tentacle that had just knocked the arrow aside seemed to possess a life of its own. Without the slightest pause, it curled with its momentum and wound around the nearby defense-type Soul Douluo like a phantom. The man was still struggling to maintain his shield, his Soul Power draining violently from the Poison Domain and his earlier block!

"No—!" The defense-type Soul Douluo managed only a brief cry before an irresistible force seized him. At the same time, icy poison pierced his nearly shattered Soul Power protection like countless fine needles and burrowed furiously into his body! He struggled desperately, trying to unleash a defensive Soul Skill, but under the domain's suppression and the terrifying tentacle's constriction, he could not gather his Soul Power effectively.

Crack! Crack!

The teeth-grating sound of shattering bones rang out. Under the tentacle's crushing coils, the defense-type Soul Douluo's body twisted and warped into unnatural shapes before finally going limp, his breath extinguished. The tentacle loosened, and a mangled corpse fell.

In just two or three breaths, a Soul Douluo had fallen!

The remaining giant-bow and control-type Soul Douluos were scared out of their wits. Not a shred of fighting spirit remained. They had only one thought—escape!

But within Jingtian's Poison Domain, their speed was greatly reduced, while Jingtian moved like a fish in water.

"Split up!" the control-type Soul Douluo howled. He turned and rushed toward a narrower, darker fissure on the other side of the canyon, hoping to escape through the tangled terrain.

The giant-bow Soul Douluo gritted his teeth and burned what little Soul Power he had left, flying desperately toward the exit above. Fallen rocks blocked it, but there seemed to be gaps.

"Do you think you can escape?"

Jingtian's icy will descended like a death sentence.

The ninth tentacle became black lightning once more. Though launched later, it arrived first, instantly catching the control-type Soul Douluo as he tried to slip into the fissure and piercing his heart from behind! His body stiffened. With resentment and despair lingering on his face, he toppled forward, his life fading rapidly.

At the same time, Jingtian opened his mouth and spat out a dense, dark-green poisonous mist laden with potent neurotoxins. It instantly spread across the upper exit. The moment the giant-bow Soul Douluo entered it, the world spun around him. His Soul Power circulation stopped completely, and his body convulsed and went numb beyond his control. He fell like a bird with broken wings.

Before he could reach the ground, a tentacle curled around him in midwater and tightened gently.

The third Soul Douluo died.

From Jingtian's appearance to intercept them until all three Soul Douluos were annihilated, the battle had lasted no more than ten breaths.

The Poison Domain slowly withdrew. Jingtian hovered in the gradually clearing seawater, with the corpses of three Soul Douluos sinking slowly through the icy water beneath him. His cold "gaze" turned toward the canyon below.

The battle there was nearing its end as well.

Without their leader's commands, and caught between the dark gold demon whale's reckless charges and the coordinated attacks of the sixty-thousand-year demon whale, the remaining Demon Soul Great White Sharks had long since fallen into disarray. Now the furious dark gold demon whale was catching them one by one, tearing them apart and devouring them. The enormous beast was clearly venting all its anger and humiliation on these "accomplices." The sixty-thousand-year demon whale kept watch nearby, preventing any from slipping through the net while warily observing the seemingly crazed dark gold demon whale.

When the dark gold demon whale smashed the final Demon Soul Great White Shark into pulp with its tail fin, the canyon floor fell utterly silent. Only an oppressively thick stench of blood and remnants of Soul Power lingered.

The dark gold demon whale hovered amid the bloody water, its enormous body heaving violently, its breaths rumbling like thunder. Its wounds had split open again during that last eruption of strength, bleeding even more heavily, and its aura had weakened considerably. Yet its huge eyes burned with a complicated light born of surviving disaster, mingled with savagery, exhaustion, and profound confusion. It raised its head toward the shadowy figure hovering silently above—the one who had dealt with all the Soul Masters and radiated an aura that made even its heart tremble.

Jingtian descended slowly, finally stopping in the water a short distance before the dark gold demon whale. The sixty-thousand-year demon whale immediately swam over and released a low soul hum carrying reassurance and something akin to an introduction, seemingly telling the dark gold demon whale something.

The seventy-thousand-year mother whale also emerged cautiously from hiding with her calf, looking at the dark gold demon whale with the awe of one who shared its suffering.

The dark gold demon whale's gaze swept over the sixty-thousand-year demon whale, then the mother and calf, before fixing firmly on Jingtian again. It was ill-tempered, but not stupid. It could sense the awe, obedience, and even... dependence these two members of its kind showed toward the terrifying poison beast above. And it was this poison beast's appearance, and his thunderous elimination of those most troublesome human Soul Masters, that had turned the battle around.

An enemy? A friend? Or...

Unlike the other two demon whales, it did not immediately express submission. Its eyes remained filled with wariness and a trace of a powerful beast's stubborn pride. It sent out a soul fluctuation mingled with weakness, vigilance, and inquiry, roughly conveying: "Who are you? Why did you help us?"

Jingtian received the fluctuation, his icy will unruffled. He knew that for a stronger, prouder Soul Beast like this, simply saving its life and intimidating it with power might not be enough. It needed more direct "communication" and a "reason."

Jingtian did not answer. Instead, he did something.

He raised his pitch-black ninth tentacle again and slowly extended it toward the dark gold demon whale.

The dark gold demon whale's enormous body abruptly tensed. Ferocity flashed in its eyes as it instinctively adopted a defensive posture, releasing a low warning hiss from its throat.

But the ninth tentacle did not attack. Under the dark gold demon whale's wary gaze, it stopped beside the most horrific gash along its flank, an enormous tear that nearly exposed the bone. The familiar, gentle, pure dark-purple energy began seeping from the tentacle's tip, softly covering the hideous wound.

A cool energy brimming with vitality seeped inside. The wound's intense pain and bleeding began to ease and subside at a perceptible rate.

The dark gold demon whale shuddered. As it felt that tangible healing energy, the wariness and ferocity in its eyes visibly wavered, giving way to bewilderment. It could not understand why this powerful, terrifying poison beast, who had slaughtered every enemy, would heal it after saving its life.

At that moment, Jingtian's will struck deep into the dark gold demon whale's consciousness like a cold current in the depths—direct and icy, yet carrying the unquestionable dominance of a king. This was not complex language, but the direct impact of intent and the presentation of "images":

The first image: Soul Masters from Sea God Island joined forces with Demon Soul Great White Sharks to hunt the Deep Sea Demon Whale clans. Countless kin died wailing.

The second image: Mo Yuan, gravely wounded and near death, was saved by him—Jingtian.

The third image: The two demon whales before it, mates, along with the mother's calf, had likewise been saved by him from a hopeless situation.

The fourth image: It itself had just stood on the brink of death, only to survive through his—Jingtian's—intervention.

The fifth image: A simple yet powerful "symbol" or "impression"—submit, follow, and then... take revenge on those hunters!

There were no honeyed words, no hollow promises. Only bloody reality—the slaughter of their clans; undeniable kindness—he had saved it and its kin; demonstrated power—strong enemies killed in an instant; and a simple, direct future—follow me, survive, then strike back.

For Soul Beasts that thought directly and revered strength, especially one just pulled back from death's door and filled with hatred for its enemies, this was more persuasive than any lengthy speech.

The dark gold demon whale stared fixedly at Jingtian with its enormous eyes. Its wariness, stubbornness, and confusion slowly melted like ice and snow, replaced by something deeper and more complicated—grief and fury over its kin's suffering, gratitude for being saved, awe before absolute power, and... a newly kindled thirst for revenge.

Slowly, with immense difficulty due to both its wounds and its dignity, it lowered the enormous head it had never readily bowed to any being. This time, it did not fully expose the vulnerable side of its neck—perhaps retaining one last shred of a powerful beast's pride—but its submission and acceptance came through with unmistakable clarity.

It released a low, hoarse, yet powerful soul fluctuation. There were no complicated words within it, only its most essential intent: follow, avenge.

Jingtian received that intent, and at last, an almost imperceptible ripple stirred within his icy will.

It was done.

The final "tooth," the most unruly of all yet possessed of immense potential, was now firmly in his grasp.

He slowly withdrew his ninth tentacle and stopped the treatment—the wound had already been stabilized for the time being. Then he sent an intent to all three demon whales—the dark gold one, the sixty-thousand-year one, and the seventy-thousand-year one—at once:

"Clear the battlefield. Devour and recover. Then leave this place and return to our lair."

"Your lives now belong to the Deep Sea Poison Lord."

"And the lives of those hunters..."

Jingtian's will swept across the corpses floating above and below, his icy killing intent almost tangible.

"Sooner or later, every last debt will be collected."

The three demon whales, along with the uncomprehending calf, released soul hums together—some low, some resonant, some young and frail—as though answering their new master's command, and as though making a voiceless vow of vengeance for their dead kin.

Jingtian said no more and began rapidly devouring the essence of the Soul Douluos and the remaining valuable corpses. The three demon whales followed his example, consuming the bodies of the Demon Soul Great White Sharks to replenish their enormous expenditure.

The Abyss Stairs returned to deathly silence. Only the thick reek of blood recorded the hunt and rescue that had just overturned everything here.

And when this newly united Demon Whale Battle Group, led by the "Deep Sea Poison Lord," left Death Canyon, the balance of power in the deep sea had already undergone a subtle and dangerous shift that no one knew about.