After drifting countless miles above the sea,
Xia Yan flew out of the Demonic Whale Waters and caught more than a dozen Sand Ferret Sharks.
He returned to the Demon Suppressing Pagoda and continued absorbing the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's life force.
He had no intention of leaving.
There was sky, earth, mountains, scorched land, forest, and all manner of other terrain, but one crucial thing was missing: an ocean.
For his eighth Soul Beast, he would contract a Sea Soul Beast.
He would create an immense ocean.
Given the same area, an ocean could hold several times as many Soul Beasts as land. Life could thrive at the surface, in the shallows, in the depths, and on the seafloor.
The ocean had given rise to countless powerful Soul Beasts.
Inside the Demon Suppressing Pagoda, Xia Yan sat cross-legged on the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's back. Blood-red Eight Spider Lances grew from his spine. As he grew stronger, the Devouring Domain's range expanded too. Now he could devour without piercing flesh.
But piercing flesh made it feel more ceremonial.
The Eight Spider Lances greedily devoured the unending stream of life force.
They grew ever more translucent. Where they had once been the red of fresh blood, they now resembled rubies deepened by the passage of time. A strange new quality was quietly taking shape,
imbuing them with a sense of sanctity.
Rather than devouring flesh, they looked more like a sacred relic that should have been worshipped for centuries.
The sun and moon rose and set, and time slipped quietly by.
Level seventy-one... seventy-two... seventy-five...
Each time he gained a level, every layer of the Demon Suppressing Pagoda expanded.
The life force did far more for Xia Yan than raise his Soul Power. It strengthened him in every