Cracks in the Alliance

The energy contained within the Steel-Beak Iron-Bone Fish's corpse was far more violent than Jingtian had anticipated.

Those sharp, hard metal-type traits clashed fiercely with his own sinister, elusive neurotoxin. The devouring process felt less like absorbing nourishment and more like swallowing a pile of icy blades. The energy rampaged through his body, trying to tear apart his meridians and destroy his relatively soft tissues.

Jingtian had no choice but to focus all his attention, using Spirit Energy as the core, Soul Power as a guide, and the poison source to suppress it, slowly grinding down and transforming that unruly energy. The Water-Condensing Pearl emitted a gentle blue glow, helping him steady his mind and ease the agonizing pain caused by the energy conflict.

The process lasted far longer than digesting an ordinary hundred-year soul beast. Outside the nest, the Deep Sea remained silent, with only the eternal whimper of the currents. But Jingtian knew that beneath this silence, the undercurrents were intensifying.

While digesting the energy, he cautiously extended part of his senses like invisible threads toward the areas where the Red-Armored Spike Turtle and Variegated Jellyfish often appeared. He did not dare get too close and could only vaguely catch changes in the Soul Power fluctuations from afar.

On the first day, that area remained fairly calm. The Red-Armored Spike Turtle and Variegated Jellyfish seemed to still be carrying out their routine patrols and foraging, but the Steel-Beak Iron-Bone Fish's failure to return on time made their movements seem somewhat... discordant. A faint, barely detectable irritation lingered in the Red-Armored Spike Turtle's Soul Power fluctuations, while the Variegated Jellyfish had become even quieter, its tentacles seeming to drift more widely than before.

On the second day, the calm was broken.

Jingtian's senses caught an intense burst of Soul Power, mixed with anger and alarm, coming from the direction of the rocky cave where the Red-Armored Spike Turtle usually lived. Immediately afterward, violent disturbances in the currents and shifting colors came from the kelp forest occupied by the Variegated Jellyfish.

They had clearly discovered the Steel-Beak Iron-Bone Fish's disappearance and realized that it was not a simple case of straying away or an accident.

A heavy earth-yellow Soul Power fluctuation from the Red-Armored Spike Turtle and a variegated yet icy, venomous Soul Power fluctuation from the Variegated Jellyfish began sweeping through the waters around their territory together. Their search range was more than twice its usual size. They were searching with undisguised fury and vigilance.

Jingtian immediately withdrew his senses to the safest range and raised the nest's warning and defenses to their highest level. Like the craftiest ghost of the Deep Sea, he completely concealed himself, suppressing even his usual Soul Power fluctuations to the lowest possible level.

The search continued for three full days. The Red-Armored Spike Turtle and Variegated Jellyfish nearly turned over every inch of sea within a hundred li of the nest, even driving away many weak soul beasts that had originally lived there. At one point, they approached the outer edge of the fissure where Jingtian's nest lay. But perhaps the ancient, chaotic aura emitted by the fissure itself interfered with their senses, or perhaps Jingtian's disguise and poison membrane were simply too perfect. They found nothing unusual and left after circling nearby for a short while.

On the fourth day, the large-scale joint search stopped. Yet Jingtian could feel that the tense, guarded atmosphere had not dissipated. Instead, it had grown even heavier. The Red-Armored Spike Turtle and Variegated Jellyfish no longer acted separately and were almost inseparable. The Red-Armored Spike Turtle's heavy shell constantly faced outward, while the Variegated Jellyfish floated above and beside it, dozens of tentacles sweeping the surroundings like the most sensitive detectors.

They are guarding against each other, and against an enemy in the shadows, Jingtian analyzed calmly. The Steel-Beak Iron-Bone Fish's death was like a poisoned thorn driven into the heart of this already fragile alliance. Cracks had appeared in their trust. They did not know who the enemy was, where it was, or what it wanted. They might even have begun suspecting each other.

This was an opportunity.

The energy conflict inside Jingtian's body was finally nearing its end. He had forcibly ground away the sharp edges of the Iron-Bone Fish's metal-type energy, turning it into pure Soul Power that merged into his body. Meanwhile, the traits of "Penetration" and "Armor-Piercing" were slowly absorbed and fused by the poison source. His Soul Power cultivation steadily rose to around three hundred and fifty years, and the properties of his venom became even stranger and harder to defend against. Once it struck, it could not only numb the nerves but also accelerate the erosion of the target's energy defenses.

He felt stronger in every respect—whether in the quantity and quality of his Soul Power or his control over poison. But against a three-hundred-and-fifty-year Red-Armored Spike Turtle with absurd defenses and a two-hundred-and-eighty-year Variegated Jellyfish skilled in area attacks and suspected mental interference, a direct confrontation was still unwise.

He needed to keep dividing them and deepen their suspicions.

Jingtian turned his attention to the Variegated Jellyfish. Compared to the Red-Armored Spike Turtle, the jellyfish had weaker defenses, relatively speaking, and a more predictable behavior pattern—it absorbed Moonlight Water every month. Moreover, it did not seem to fully trust the Red-Armored Spike Turtle either. Their relationship was more a cooperation born from a balance of strength.

What if... he made the Variegated Jellyfish "feel" that the Red-Armored Spike Turtle might attack it in order to monopolize this sea region, or for some other benefit?

The moment the thought appeared, it rapidly evolved into a concrete plan in Jingtian's mind. He needed to fabricate "evidence," evidence that would direct suspicion toward the Red-Armored Spike Turtle.

He recalled details he had noticed while observing them before. When the Red-Armored Spike Turtle fed on Iron-Thread Algae, it occasionally tore through the tough algae stalks with its sharp claws, leaving distinctive claw marks. Its earth-type Soul Power also carried a heavy scent, like crushed rock—the informational residue left by Soul Power. Most importantly, when attacking, the Red-Armored Spike Turtle habitually rammed with its heavy body or struck with claws coated in earth-yellow Soul Power.

Jingtian began to act.

He quietly left the nest again, taking extreme care to avoid the possible routes of the Red-Armored Spike Turtle and Variegated Jellyfish. He arrived at a reef area near the Variegated Jellyfish's habitat—the middle-layer waters filled with dense drifting kelp forests.

This place was relatively hidden and had stable currents. It was the ideal "crime scene."

Jingtian selected a reef with a rough surface that would easily retain marks. First, he imitated the shape and force of the Red-Armored Spike Turtle's claws. After observing it for so long, he knew them by heart. Using the hardened tips of his appendages, he deliberately carved several damaged marks into the reef resembling claw scratches. He copied the direction, depth, and spacing of the marks as closely as possible.

Then he mobilized his Soul Power and attempted to imitate the Red-Armored Spike Turtle's heavy earth-type Soul Power residue. This was difficult, as their attributes were completely different. But it did not need to be identical. Seven or eight parts similar was enough, especially if he mixed in an extremely faint trace of the currents and chaotic Soul Power from near where the Steel-Beak Iron-Bone Fish had died. He had deliberately collected some of that residue while setting his trap earlier. He carefully "smeared" this simulated, mixed Soul Power aura around the claw marks.

Next came the most critical step—creating signs of a "struggle." With his appendages, he churned up messy trails across the seabed around the reef, imitating the signs of struggling and rolling. He even secreted a small amount of specially prepared venom from his body. This was not his usual neurotoxin. Instead, it imitated a sluggish, heavy negative effect with the sense of accumulated earth and stone, somewhat similar to an innate ability of the Red-Armored Spike Turtle that he had observed before, one capable of slowing an opponent's movements. He scattered a minute amount of the venom where the "struggle" marks were densest.

Finally, he took out a small scale carrying a distinctive fishy smell from the Steel-Beak Iron-Bone Fish's corpse, which he had deliberately saved earlier. He half-buried it in the mud at the edge of the "struggle" marks, leaving one corner exposed.

After completing everything, Jingtian quickly erased all traces he had left that did not belong to the "scene," including his own Soul Power aura and the residue of his distinctive venom. Then he silently withdrew and concealed himself far away, attaching a thread of awareness to a nearby clump of sea anemones like a silent observer.

He waited for the Variegated Jellyfish to come near these waters to forage or patrol according to its usual habits. He had observed that this reef area lay near the route the jellyfish took from its habitat to a gathering place for small plankton.

On the first day, the jellyfish did not come.

On the afternoon of the second day, that variegated, icy Soul Power fluctuation finally appeared at the edge of Jingtian's senses.

The Variegated Jellyfish drifted over like an elegant yet deadly ghost. It seemed somewhat distracted, and the movements of its tentacles were less regular than usual. The Steel-Beak Iron-Bone Fish's disappearance and the tense atmosphere of recent days had clearly affected it as well.

Just as it was about to pass the reef area, the sensitive edge of its bell, covered in photoreceptors and chemical receptors, seemed to detect an unusual trace of Soul Power residue and the scent of blood from the Iron-Bone Fish scale.

Its movements paused slightly. Then dozens of tentacles abruptly stiffened as if stimulated and stretched toward the reef area.

The tentacles gently brushed across the claw marks on the reef, probing the simulated Soul Power residue and specially prepared venom. Finally, they touched the scale half-hidden in the mud, carrying the Iron-Bone Fish's distinctive fishy odor.

In an instant, the light across the Variegated Jellyfish's entire body flickered and shifted violently! Its originally relatively calm blue-green color suddenly turned into an alarming mix of red and yellow! Its Soul Power fluctuations also became extremely unstable, filled with shock, anger, suspicion, and a trace of... fear?

It remained there for a long time, its tentacles repeatedly examining the "scene" as though trying to analyze every detail. Claw marks... earth-type Soul Power residue suspected to belong to the Red-Armored Spike Turtle... venom traces with a slowing effect similar to the Red-Armored Spike Turtle's ability... and, most importantly, the Iron-Bone Fish scale!

All the clues seemed to point faintly in one direction—the Red-Armored Spike Turtle!

Had the Red-Armored Spike Turtle attacked the Steel-Beak Iron-Bone Fish? Why? To monopolize resources? Or because of prior friction? It had remained constantly by its side lately—was that protection, or... surveillance? Would it be the next target?

The Variegated Jellyfish's Soul Power fluctuated violently. It did not continue onward. Instead, it slowly retreated, full of caution. It did not even head toward its usual plankton gathering place. It directly turned around and drifted back toward its kelp forest habitat, moving much faster than when it arrived, its tentacles remaining extended in a state of high alert.

Through his awareness attached to the sea anemones, Jingtian "watched" all of this. Beneath his camouflage, his dark-blue rings flickered faintly.

The first step succeeded, he thought. The seed of suspicion had been planted, and under the watering of fear, it had quickly begun to sprout.

Next, he would make that seed grow into a poisonous vine strong enough to tear the alliance apart.

He did not immediately take the next step. Too much was as bad as too little. For now, he needed to let the Variegated Jellyfish ferment its own suspicion and fear. At the same time, he needed to observe the Red-Armored Spike Turtle's reaction. That old turtle should have noticed the jellyfish's abnormal behavior as well.

Sure enough, not long after the Variegated Jellyfish returned to its habitat, the Red-Armored Spike Turtle's heavy Soul Power fluctuations drew close. The two seemed to exchange words through frequent contact and collisions of their Soul Power fluctuations, but Jingtian was too far away to sense the specific content. However, judging from the fact that their Soul Power fluctuations did not calm afterward and instead carried a faint sense of confrontation and estrangement, the exchange had clearly not gone well.

They no longer patrolled pressed closely together as they had in previous days. The Variegated Jellyfish always deliberately or unconsciously kept a greater distance from the Red-Armored Spike Turtle, with some of its tentacles constantly pointed in the turtle's direction. The Red-Armored Spike Turtle seemed somewhat angered, its Soul Power fluctuations carrying irritation, but it could do nothing about it. It could only watch the surroundings even more vigilantly while apparently becoming more wary of the jellyfish as well.

The crack was already plainly visible.

Jingtian knew the timing was nearly right. He needed to add more fuel and make the flames of suspicion burn hotter, preferably igniting open conflict directly.

His target was still the Variegated Jellyfish. But this time, he would make it "certain" that the Red-Armored Spike Turtle intended to attack it.

The opportunity would come when the jellyfish absorbed Moonlight Water each month. That was when it was relatively focused and its defenses might be lax. Moreover, acting within that special energy environment would make it easier to fabricate the illusion that the Red-Armored Spike Turtle had launched a surprise attack while it was unprepared.

Jingtian began carefully preparing the props and script for the next "performance."

Beneath the Deep Sea, an invisible web of poison was quietly tightening. Yet the two prey caught within it had already turned their venomous fangs toward each other out of suspicion.