The dark red beneath the sea gradually faded.
That did not mean the rot had vanished. It was gathering strength for another surge.
Bo Saixi watched Qian Ni take Dugu Yan away and did nothing.
She could withstand neither the scarlet flower nor the Flowing Flame that swept across the sky and burned through the atmosphere.
Perhaps it was for the best that those two mysterious, terrifying people had left.
The Sea was chaotic enough already. Even the Evil Soul Beasts targeted by the divine trials had begun to stir.
Bo Saixi had discovered why. The Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, quiet until now, had made his move again after Poseidon began handing out divine trials.
Bo Saixi and the others were not the only ones seeking to become the Sea God. The Deep Sea Demonic Whale King also wanted to seize this chance to devour more powerful beings.
Bo Saixi's challenge had begun.
She would break through her limits and truly ascend to godhood.
Several days later, in a forest southeast of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Qian Ni lay on a tree branch, humming a tune and swinging his legs.
In his arms, Dugu Yan was pale, her eyes tightly shut. Fine beads of sweat on her forehead dampened the hair turned bright red by Scarlet Rot. Her whole body seemed wracked with terrible pain.
Qian Ni rested one hand behind his head and wound a strand of Dugu Yan's red hair around the fingers of the other.
Tightening it, then letting it go, over and over.
After who knew how long, Dugu Yan was drenched in sweat. Her deathly pale little face held a strange beauty.
The moment she opened her eyes, Qian Ni's profile came into view.
"You're... still here."
Dugu Yan breathed a sigh of