Deep One

"Most Deep Ones are devout believers of that Great Existence. Possessing eternal life, they are cold and cruel; aside from rituals and reproduction, they generally do not congregate."

"That fishing village is where their hybrids live. Hybrids begin to manifest Deep One traits around the age of 20. As time passes, the Deep One bloodline within them grows increasingly potent until, eventually, both their bodies and personalities fully transform into Deep Ones. Then, they return to the seabed to live out their permanent lives."

"You mean to say that even the hybrids become immortal as time goes on?" Hu Wenxu suddenly erupted with immense enthusiasm. Immortality—the pursuit of so many—was now a standard feature of an entire race. Just thinking about it gave him the urge to dissect them.

"Longevity is possible, but immortality is hard to say. Without external interference, they do indeed possess a lifespan beyond our reach, but they can still be killed, and their strength isn't necessarily overwhelming. Of course, that applies to younger Deep Ones. The longer a Deep One lives, the larger its size and the greater its strength. Fortunately, those ancient Deep Ones stay holed up in the deep sea and don't come out easily," Gao Xiaowen said. "Besides, the longevity of the Deep Ones might not be solely due to their bloodline, but their faith."

Those who initially received the calling are now divided into Merfolk and Deep Ones. The Merfolk abandoned their faith, and the average lifespan of a Merfolk today is only about 200 years. While that is long enough for humans, it pales in comparison to the near-eternal life of the Deep Ones.

None of the people present were fools; given enough information, these things could be deduced. Lu Li, however, had a keen interest in the social structure of the Deep Ones—a group of highly intelligent beings living in the cold, dark deep sea, spending their long lives in solitude except for rituals and reproduction.

What do they do alone on the seabed? What are their living habits? How do they communicate with other Deep Ones? For Lu Li, these were aspects far removed from his previous life as an ordinary person, and they piqued his interest. Unfortunately, Lu Li lacked the ability to live underwater, or else he would have loved to observe the Deep One social structure firsthand.

"We must be careful. When we raid the fishing village later, we must be swift. Most of them are no different from ordinary humans before their bloodlines awaken, and those who have awakened aren't particularly powerful. Just don't let those hybrids get into the water; their strength increases dramatically once they are submerged," Gao Xiaowen warned in closing. Having been infected by a Great Existence from a higher dimension, her body, soul, and personality had mutated, granting her access to a wealth of information.

The players moved quickly, and before long, they approached the fishing village. It was already afternoon, so Lu Li and the others took a moment to rest and recover their stamina. The hybrids who had gone out fishing were returning one after another. Deep Ones possess a strange dominance over fish, making the catch easy; they didn't need to sail far out to sea and could generally return with a substantial haul by nightfall.

As the sky grew dark and the hybrids continued to return, Lu Li and his group adjusted their states. After agreeing to leave one or two hybrids alive for questioning, they split up to begin their operation.

In the pitch-black night, Lu Li moved with eerie, silent steps into the fishing village. Cloaked by the shadows of the night, his figure seemed to vanish entirely, making no sound and leaking no aura. Even if he heard something he shouldn't, or stepped on twigs or other strange objects while retreating, he ensured he never snapped them or made a noise.

Lu Li first arrived at the house of the old woman who had taken them in. Using his shadow to quietly unlock the door, he discovered a thin layer of dust inside. Judging by its thickness, no one had lived there since the day Lu Li and his group had left.

"Were they dealt with out of spite?" Lu Li searched the interior but found only worthless items. He left and sought out a nearby house to infiltrate. The owner was sleeping while holding his wife. A shadow rose behind Lu Li, transforming into a sharp spike. Aiming at the owner on the bed, the shadow shot out, skewering the man like a kebab.

After a quick search, Lu Li moved on to find his next victim. Finally, he discovered a hybrid with prominent Deep One features—his body was covered in fish scales, and fins had sprouted near his ears. The hybrid was currently in a deep sleep on the bed. Seeing the two women beside him, one could tell how exhausted this fellow was. Lu Li walked silently to the bedside, his shadow...

Suddenly, a scream echoed from afar. Lu Li paused, and the hybrid on the bed began to stir awake. The shadow instantly writhed forward, wrapping around the hybrid and pinning his limbs. As the hybrid began to scream, a shadow tentacle thrust into his mouth, while Lu Li casually stabbed the two women beside him to death.

Exiting the room, Lu Li saw that some hybrids had already emerged with harpoons and other weapons. He grabbed a fishing net, bundled the Deep One hybrid up tightly, and then unleashed his muscle power to charge at another hybrid. The strength of his unleashed muscles was immense; moving with the eerie, silent footwork of an assassin, Lu Li appeared behind the hybrid in an instant.

With a massive exertion of force, he gripped the hybrid's head and twisted, snapping the cervical spine instantly. The hybrid fell dead without making a sound. By the time the other hybrids reacted, Lu Li was already closing in on the next one.

On the other side, Gao Xiaowen's face was pale as she unleashed the full power of the ghost entity implanted within her. The Implant Path was the fastest of the three paths to reach peak strength. Gao Xiaowen had implanted a ghost entity, and after only three instances, she had already gained the ability to control hair, use hair-based curses, command pale ghostly hands, and a technique to modify her flesh using yin energy. It was no wonder the Implant Path was considered the fastest for early-stage growth.

Her body, already modified by yin energy, had been further altered when the Great Existence used the pitch-black monster as a medium. Now, jet-black strands of hair and pale ghostly hands frequently sprouted from eerie places, ensnaring hybrids one by one and killing them with various cruel methods.

Some hybrids, realizing the enemy was too strong, attempted to flee toward the sea. They found Hu Wenxu squatting calmly by the shore, holding his Coral Blade. At his feet, a hybrid with Deep One features lay on the ground in agony. From his chin down to his lower abdomen, the muscles of his limbs and torso had been completely dissected, his internal organs clearly visible. Seeing the other hybrids arrive, Hu Wenxu wiped the blood splattered on his face and smiled. "Sorry about that. It's my first time dissecting this species, so I made him scream and disturbed you all. But don't worry, when I dissect you, I'll make sure you stay perfectly quiet..."