Above the sea of blood, the bright moon rode the waves, rising and falling, appearing and vanishing.
As the true form of the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror changed in the air, its radiance pierced into the sea of blood. Moon shadows reflected one another in sky and sea; not only did the moon shine overhead, but a halo spread across the turbid surface of the ocean.
This was the reaction between the Myriad Demon Pool and the Zhaoshen Bronze Mirror.
Some of the fiends in the sea of blood were like fish drawn to light, or as though something had lured them. Hesitantly, they turned up from the seabed and gathered here, quickly forming a ring outside the halo.
Within the Myriad Demon Pool, the vast majority of fiends possessed no complete intelligence and could hardly make any so-called "weighing of options." They still acted on instinct.
Very soon, there was a first crab-eater.
That fellow might even have been shoved from behind. Half its body lunged into the halo.
The instant it made contact, an even fiercer radiance flared forth. In the blink of an eye, it pierced through the fiend, rendering its incomplete shell nearly transparent. Within, one could see the murky variegated colors of blood and ink intertwined; deeper still, there remained only threadlike outlines.
The fellow stood dazed for a moment, then suddenly struggled forward with all its strength. It truly broke free from the densely packed horde of fiends at the perimeter and crashed into the halo.
The unceasing torment within the Myriad Demon Pool had left this fiend with only a relatively intact face and head, along with ruined limbs twisted beyond recognition.
Most of the time, its half-real, half-illusory body remained submerged in the sea of blood, making its full form difficult to see.