Deep sea, Eternal Night Fortress.
Rather than a fortress, it is more like a ruin that relies on the cracks of a giant sea ridge on the sea floor and is barely supported by rough Soul Power and ancient runes.
The rugged black Rock is covered with cracks left by the battle, and the broken whale bones are like tombstones of the defeated, diagonally inserted in the muddy mud. The weak light comes from some self-luminous moss and remaining Soul Tool, barely outlining the outline of this hiding place.
Three years ago, when Tieshan dragged his bruised body and the last twenty or so scarred Demon Whale to this place, there were still Elder Moyuan here. A faint breath. Today, this is the cemetery where the last bloodline of Deep Sea Demon Whale (I think) lives together with the three taciturn Deep Sea Demon Whale who were rescued by chance and had a cub.
The huge body of Tieshan almost occupies the most spacious depression in the cave. More than twenty Demon Whale - most of whom were cultivated between 50,000 and 80,000 years old - are scattered throughout the cave. Some of the wounds on their bodies have scabs, and some are still oozing with dark blood.
The loyal couple of guards have fallen, and those who survived are the Demon Whale who first responded to the call, the taciturn brothers, and the Demon Whale who came together... Each of them carries the marks left by the battle with Sea God Island.
At this moment, all Demon Whale held their breath and concentrated, their huge eyes looking towards the center of the cave.
In front of Tieshan, there is a rough "mirror" made of turbid water waves suspended. In the mirror, there is the heart-stopping destructive wave from the far west that resonates from the 30% poisonous power in Luo Kes's body, as well as a familiar feeling that is so weak that it is almost impossible to catch, but that makes all Demon Whale present palpitate deep in their souls.
"Here we go again..." Tieshan's deep voice echoed in the cave, carrying a bone-deep exhaustion, "It's very similar to... the atmosphere three years ago, but different. Purer, more domineering... like... a new life."
"Uncle Tieshan."
A young but cold voice sounded. The speaker was Deep Sea Demon Whale, whose body had not yet fully grown, but whose lines were already sharp. He had silver-gray scales all over his body, a dark mark on his forehead, and ice that was completely inconsistent with his age was solidified deep in his ice-blue eyes.
He is Mo Yuan.
Three years ago, he was just a young whale behind him, witnessing the tragedy with his own eyes. Now, he has cultivated to Hundred-Thousand-Year - a Hundred-Thousand-Year that was born out of hatred in just three years at the expense of overdrafting potential and burning Origin.
"It's the breath of 'Master'." Little Moyuan's voice was very soft, but it made all Demon Whale present raise their ear fins. "Although it is very confusing and was broken up by Heavenly Tribulation... but I recognize it."
There was deathly silence in the cave. The eyes of more than twenty Demon Whale moved between Tieshan and Little Moyuan, and the scarred bodies were slightly tense. Some of them were old subordinates, some were followers, and some were survivors who had been rescued. At this moment, they all held their breath.
"Should we go over and take a look?" Little Moyuan asked, turning his ice blue eyes to Tieshan.
These words made the atmosphere in the cave suddenly tense.
"Young Master!" The 80,000-year-old Demon Whale with several deep visible bone scars couldn't help but speak - it was the one who first responded to the call, "That place is too close to Sea God Island! It's too dangerous to go there now!"
"But that's the breath of 'Master'!" Demon Whale roared from the other end.
"That's why we can't act rashly." Tieshan interrupted the argument, scanning all Demon Whale present with one eye, "You should all feel it. That breath is overcoming a catastrophe, which is a catastrophe that cannot be tolerated in this world. Those who can cause such a catastrophe are either existences that must be eradicated, or... they are existences that can change everything."
He paused and his voice became heavier. "But what are we now? We are bereaved dogs, the remnants on Sea God Island's wanted list. We only have twenty-three tribesmen who can still fight, and the highest cultivation level is only 80,000 years old. I injured Origin, Little Moyuan..." He glanced at the young Demon Whale beside him and did not continue, but all Demon Whales understood that Little Moyuan's Hundred-Thousand-Year cultivation was obtained at the cost of the future.
"But this is an opportunity!" Little Moyuan's voice suddenly rose, "Uncle Tieshan, you know better than me! It is not easy to survive in that kind of Heavenly Tribulation! That is the power of 'withering', the power that Sea God Island fears most! If we can-"
"What if we can?" Tieshan asked coldly, "Can we win over it? Can we surrender to it? Mo Yuan, tell me, what can we use to negotiate terms with a being who can survive in that kind of Heavenly Tribulation? With our twenty-three scarred and defeated generals? Or with your Hundred-Thousand-Year cultivation base that has overdrawn the future?"
Little Moyuan was silent, but the fire in his eyes did not go out.
In the corner, the three silent survivors tightly protected the young whale among them. The leading male whale raised his cloudy eyes, looked at Tieshan, then looked at Little Moyuan, and finally gently touched his companion with his tail fin. The three survivors exchanged a look, and then continued to be silent.
"Then we don't do anything?" Demon Whale, a younger one, couldn't help but ask. A large piece of his tail fin was missing, which was severed by Sea God Island's halberd three years ago.
Tieshan slowly swung his huge head, and his single eye scanned every Demon Whale's face - if that could be called a face. He saw hatred, unwillingness, deeply buried fear, and the flame called "hope" that was almost extinguished but was rekindled at this moment.
"No." Tieshan finally spoke, his voice low and firm, "We want to see it. But not everyone can go."
All Demon Whale were stunned.
"Little Moyuan." Tieshan turned to the young Demon Whale next to him, "You go."
"Uncle Tieshan--"
"Listen to me." Tieshan tapped the seabed with his tail fin to make the cave quiet. "You go alone, use 'Abyssal Ripple Pearl' to hide your breath, and leave them with Guiding Fragment to sense the direction." He looked from under him. He spat out a fist-sized bead, with silver-gray and ink-colored lines flowing inside the bead, "Remember, just look. Confirm what it is, confirm its status, and confirm its relationship with Sea God Island. Don't get close, don't expose it, and come back immediately if you are in danger."
Little Moyuan's eyes burst into light.
"But Young Master is too dangerous alone!" said the 80,000-year-old Demon Whale anxiously.
"It is precisely because of the danger that we can only go alone." Tieshan's voice was undeniable, "We can't afford any losses. Little Moyuan's hiding ability is the strongest among us, and so is his speed. The most important thing is... he has the keenest sense of 'withering'."
He looked at Little Moyuan, his single eye filled with unprecedented solemnity. "Your life is not yours alone. It was bought with the lives of Elder Moyuan and Master. It is the last hope for all of us. I want you to come back alive, do you understand?"
Little Moyuan's huge head slowly lowered. "Understood."
"Bring this with you." In the corner, the leading male whale among the three silent survivors slowly swam out and spat out a dark fragment. "It can guide the way, and it can also... explode in times of crisis to disrupt tracking."
Little Moyuan solemnly took the fragments and blended them into the dark marks on the forehead and heart together with Abyssal Ripple Pearl.
"Others," Tieshan turned to the remaining Demon Whale, "Get ready to move. No matter what the outcome of Little Moyuan's trip, we can't stay here any longer. That Heavenly Tribulation made too much noise, and Sea God Island will definitely step up the search. We can't stay in the old place, let's go to 'Nest No. 2'."
"Yes!" Everyone Demon Whale responded in a low voice.
Little Moyuan took one last look at the tribesmen in the cave - those huge figures that were scarred but still standing upright, the three silent survivors and the young whales they were protecting, and Tieshan's body that was full of scars but still as steady as a mountain.
"I will come back alive." He said, then turned around, and his huge body began to shrink and change, turning into a stream of silver-gray and ink-colored water, quietly sliding out of the cave and disappearing into the darkness of the deep sea.
Tieshan watched him leave for a long time before slowly exhaling.
"Pack your things and prepare to move." He said to the tribesmen, but his one eye was still looking at the direction Little Moyuan was leaving.
In Eternal Night Fortress, the water flow sobs, like weeping and complaining.
In another part of the deep sea, Sea God Island's patrol team has been dispatched, speeding towards the direction of Heavenly Tribulation's fluctuations.