Deep Sea Demon Armor Crab
A few days later, in Vast Sea City.
The Vast Sea City is built on the coast, with its walls constructed of thick, bluish-gray rocks. Soul Master and merchants come and go in an endless stream, and the air is filled with a strong smell of the sea.
The dock was filled with boats of all sizes, from ordinary wooden sailboats to fast boats engraved with soul-guided array patterns, and the sounds of hawking and shouting mingled together.
Li Xun and his group found a place to stay in the city, and Tang San took out the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud and used his spiritual power to probe into it.
After a moment, he raised his head, his brows furrowed slightly. "The direction you pointed out is correct, but there's a vast expanse of deep sea between here and Sea God Island, which ordinary ships simply can't cross. The sea is teeming with Sea Soul Beast, and the waves are huge; we'll need a Soul Tool that can dive."
Ning Rongrong clapped her hands. "Vast Sea City is a gathering place for Sea Soul Master, there must be plenty of Soul Tool shops, let's go out and take a look."
After leaving their lodgings, the group inquired along the main street and eventually turned into a rather impressive-looking Soul Tool shop.
The shop displays a wide variety of marine-use Soul Tool, from water-repelling beads to beast-driving array plates, a dazzling array.
The shopkeeper was a lean, middle-aged man. Upon seeing a big customer arrive, he quickly came forward to greet him.
Tang San explained his needs, and the shopkeeper sized them up before lowering his voice and saying, "You've come at the right time. There really is a fine item in the backyard of my shop, an ancient artifact salvaged from deep-sea ruins, called the Dragon Abyss Boat. This thing is entirely crafted from Deep Sea Silver mixed with soul-guiding array patterns. It can both submerge and float, and its underwater speed is extremely fast. It can carry more than ten people and can dive to a depth of a thousand feet. It was originally ordered by a Sea Soul Master, but he had an accident and never came to collect it, so it's been kept until now."
"The Dragon Abyss Boat?" Tang San's interest was piqued. "Can I see the real thing?"
The shopkeeper led everyone to the backyard, lifted a huge oilcloth, and a dark blue, slender, shuttle-shaped Soul Tool lay quietly in the yard.
The hull has smooth lines, and its surface is engraved with layers of water-based soul-guiding array patterns. A thumb-sized, deep blue crystal core is embedded in the bow, faintly shimmering with water light.
The Light Feather Douluo stepped forward, probing his Soul Power into the hull. After a moment, he withdrew his hand and said calmly, "The workmanship is solid, the array patterns are complete, and the crystal cores haven't been exhausted. It's usable."
Li Xun looked at Tang San: "How is it?"
Tang San circled the Dragon Abyss Boat, placed his hand on the hull, probed the core of the array with his spiritual power, closed his eyes to sense it for a while, then opened them and nodded. "It's fine, no problem. This thing can isolate the aura of Soul Beast after it goes into the water, which will help us avoid trouble in the deep sea."
Ning Rongrong leaned closer and asked the shopkeeper, "How much?"
The shopkeeper held up five fingers and said with a smile, "Five hundred Gold Soul Coin, no bargaining."
Dugu Yan's lips twitched. "Five hundred Gold Soul Coin?! Why don't you just rob me!"
Li Xun, too lazy to haggle, reached into his Storage Soul Tool, counted out five hundred Gold Soul Coin, and slapped them into the shopkeeper's hand. "I'll take it."
The shopkeeper accepted the money with a broad smile and even gave him two bottles of water -Water-Repelling Pill for underwater breathing as a bonus.
Golden Crocodile Douluo stepped forward and lifted the Dragon Abyss Boat with one hand. He weighed it in his hand and said in a gruff voice, "It's not heavy. We can just put it down on the beach and use it."
The group left Vast Sea City and arrived at the coast outside the city.
Golden Crocodile Douluo lowered the Dragon Abyss Boat into the shallow water. The boat automatically activated upon entering the water, its array patterns emitting a ghostly blue light, and it floated steadily on the sea surface.
The group boarded the boat one by one. Tang San embedded the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud into the groove at the bow of the boat. The cover lit up and connected with the array patterns of the Dragon Abyss Boat. The boat trembled slightly, and the sense of direction became clear.
Tang San said, "Hold on tight, we're coming."
With a low hum, the Dragon Abyss Boat broke through the sea surface and sped off in the direction indicated by the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud. Its speed was even faster than that of an ordinary soul-guided speedboat, cutting through the waves and leaving the coastline behind in the blink of an eye.
Ning Rongrong leaned against the side of the boat, watching the rapidly receding sea, and sighed, "Those five hundred Gold Soul Coin were well spent..."
Xiao Wu also leaned over to look, her eyes sparkling. "The seawater is so clear! You can even see the fish at the bottom!"
Zhu Zhuqing sat at the stern of the boat with her arms crossed, her expression calm, only occasionally glancing at the shadows that flashed across the sea, remaining vigilant.
Shui Bing'er sat in the middle of the boat, closing her eyes to regulate her breathing, while Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan also settled down.
The Dragon Abyss Boat cut through the waves and sailed into the deep sea. In just half a day, the sky gradually darkened.
The sea was getting rougher, and the boat was bobbing up and down with the waves. Ning Rongrong was leaning on the side of the boat, her face turning pale. Xiao Wu was not much better off, and she was leaning listlessly on Tang San's shoulder.
Tang San held Xiao Wu with one arm and placed the other on the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud at the bow of the boat, continuously probing it with his spiritual energy to sense the direction. Suddenly, he frowned and said, "Stop."
Li Xun around. "What's wrong?"
"There's something ahead." Tang San stared intently at the sea. "It's huge, right in our shipping lane."
Before the words were even finished, the dark seawater below the bow of the boat suddenly churned.
A massive, suffocating shadow slowly rose from the depths of the water. The surface of the sea seemed to be pushed up from below by something, forming a huge bulge of water. Then, the bulge exploded with a deafening roar!
A terrifyingly large Sea Soul Beast burst out of the water.
The creature was covered in a thick, dark green carapace, resembling a giant crab magnified countless times. Its carapace was covered with jagged spikes and barnacle-like parasitic patterns. Its two enormous claws were astonishingly large, with serrated teeth growing on their jaws. A pair of protruding eye stalks stood upright, and its dark yellow eyes coldly scanned the sea surface.
What's most terrifying is its size; the part that's above water is several times the size of the Dragon Abyss Boat, like a moving reef.
A 100,000-year-old Sea Soul Beast – the Deep Sea Demon Armor Crab.
The giant crab let out a deep, thunderous hiss, raised its two massive claws high, and slammed them down fiercely towards the Dragon Abyss Boat!
Golden Crocodile Douluo snorted coldly, stepped onto the hull of the boat, and shot into the air like a cannonball. His Soul Power exploded, and golden Soul Power condensed into the phantom of a ferocious giant crocodile. He punched the falling giant claws!
"Bang--!!"
A thunderous roar exploded on the sea surface, and the violent shockwave churned the seawater upside down.
Golden Crocodile Douluo's punch deflected the giant claw's landing point, and the claw grazed the side of the Dragon Abyss Boat before crashing into the sea, creating a towering wave.
The Light Feather Douluo moved almost simultaneously.
He glided lightly to the stern of the boat, raised his hand and made a grasping motion. A silver-white arrow of light, refined to its extreme, condensed in his palm and then shot out as a stream of light, accurately embedding itself between the crab's eyestalks and exploding into a blinding burst of silver light.
The giant crab, in pain, roared furiously, its massive body thrashing violently in the sea, its giant claws flailing wildly, but it could no longer get even half a step closer to the Dragon Abyss Boat.
Golden Crocodile Douluo stood in mid-air, his second punch poised to strike, and roared, "Get lost! Don't force me to use my deadly move!"
The Light Feather Douluo also fired several light arrows in quick succession, accurately hitting the gaps in the giant crab's shell. Although they did not penetrate, they forced the crab to retreat repeatedly.
Fear finally showed in the crab's dark yellow eyes. With a muffled thud of resentment, its massive body slowly sank into the sea, and the huge whirlpool it created took a long time to subside.
Golden Crocodile Douluo landed back on the boat, patted the water off his hands, and said gruffly, "The Soul Beast in this sea area are quite temperamental."
The Light Feather Douluo calmly withdrew his Soul Power: "They didn't chase after us anymore, they know what's good for them."
Tang San steadied the Dragon Abyss Boat again and continued sailing in the direction indicated by the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud.
Ning Rongrong slumped onto the boat, patting her chest, and said, "Luckily, we had two elders here. Otherwise, with a bunch of people, we wouldn't have been enough to fill its teeth."
Xiao Wu breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back against Tang San's shoulder, "That crab was terrifying..."
Li Xun gazed calmly at the sea surface where the giant crab had disappeared. "The number of Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in the deep sea will only increase. We should avoid them if possible. Xiao San, can the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud sense large Soul Beast nearby in advance?"
Tang San nodded. "Okay, I'll expand my perception range beforehand and try to avoid it in advance."
The Dragon Abyss Boat continued to cut through the waves. As darkness fell, only the faint blue light emanating from the patterns on the boat's hull and the starry sky above remained on the sea surface.