Human-Faced Sea Anemone

Ren Tao did not spare the Spider Crab's corpse a glance, flying swiftly back the way he had come.

With this pair of wings propelling him, he was fast underwater, too, and more agile, able to respond to any sudden danger.

As he approached the Sea Witch, Spider Crabs rose from beneath the sand one after another. Their eight claws curled inward like floating jellyfish, while eerie blue-purple, deathly white, pale green, earthy yellow, and crimson light flickered over their bodies, sinister as ghostly flames.

Only then did Ren Tao notice the face-like patterns on their bellies. Different-colored lights shone where the eyes should have been; those were probably their sources of energy.

Could these Spider Crabs all be under someone's control?

A name surfaced in Ren Tao's mind: Human-Faced Sea Anemone!

He was now almost certain that the Human-Faced Sea Anemone was behind the attacks on him and the Sea Witch. Although he did not know how it had slipped past Tang San's Spiritual Detection to reach this place, judging by its bizarre, unpredictable methods, hiding behind the beast tide and the Spider Crabs' appearance to escape the Shrek Seven Devils' notice hardly seemed difficult.

Gloomy spiritual fluctuations emanated from the Spider Crabs, linking together into a defensive net around Ren Tao. It seemed intended to cut off his probing ripples, and it began launching spiritual attacks.

Its spiritual attack was not a direct assault of spiritual force. Instead, it carried a power that stirred inner emotions, attempting to awaken Ren Tao's fear, doubt, hatred... and other negative feelings, then magnify and fuel them until he became trapped in his own imagined horrors.

What a sophisticated technique!

But Ren Tao had fallen for it once already. How could he be fooled again?

Lightning shot from his Devouring Golden Threads and the tips of his wings, instantly weaving into an electrical net. It spread in a flash, igniting the slime-like glimmers clinging to the seawater.

The Spider Crab's methods-or rather, the Human-Faced Sea Anemone's-were not flawless. This was the sea, after all. Its earlier running back and forth had served to release these substances, which it needed as a medium to stir Ren Tao's emotions. Otherwise, wouldn't its abilities rival those of the God of Emotion?

Now that these substances had been ignited, they immediately became visible. Fine, threadlike trails of fire spread rapidly outward from Ren Tao in every direction, ending at the Spider Crabs and erupting in thunderous explosions.

Far in the distance, something invisible yet perceptible seemed to have been disturbed, trembling violently.

The Human-Faced Sea Anemone's body convulsed as though electrocuted. The lightning's added paralysis effect lasted anywhere from three to eight seconds, but acting over such a great distance, and through spiritual power as a medium, greatly weakened it. Even so, the distant Human-Faced Sea Anemone briefly lost its ability to maintain control.

Sea Maiden Douluo shuddered and abruptly came to her senses.

Her flute was still in her hand, right beside her lips. She simply had not managed to play it earlier. Now that she had an opening, she lowered her eyes and immediately sounded a piercing note.

Invisible soul power burst through the seawater. A faint gleam flashed and struck the Human-Faced Sea Anemone.

This was Sea Maiden Douluo's fourth soul skill. Although its power fell far short of her eighth and ninth soul skills, it had the advantages of activating quickly and consuming little soul power.

Sprays of water splashed up and rapidly exploded against the Human-Faced Sea Anemone, but they only severed cluster after cluster of tentacles. Its enormous body bore at least seven or eight "human-head" flowers, each flower's disk a differently colored human face, with countless tentacles growing densely around every face.

What had been severed amounted to perhaps one percent.

After its brief paralysis, the Human-Faced Sea Anemone regained its mobility. Its tentacles stretched like human fingers, swiftly catching one spray of water after another and hurling them toward the Sea Witch before they could explode.

Although much of the soul power did blast its tentacles apart, even more exploded around the Sea Witch.

"You won't escape!"

The Sea Witch did not retreat. She knew Jenny and Yeonnie were here, and Ren Tao would arrive soon. Once he joined forces with her, killing this sea anemone would not be difficult.

At that moment, she seemed to have forgotten that Ren Tao wanted to devour her. Perhaps the spiritual illusion had shaken her too badly, or perhaps Ren Tao's role as the Evil Spirit Orca Group's "head of the family" had become too deeply ingrained lately. Whatever the reason, she had no doubt that he would come to rescue his little orcas.

"You're the one who won't escape! Hahaha!"

The Human-Faced Sea Anemone cackled strangely. Every face, whether deathly white, blue-purple, or crimson... radiated powerful spiritual fluctuations.

Across a broad stretch of sea, identical Human-Faced Sea Anemones appeared one after another almost in an instant. Most disturbingly, a Sea Witch stood beside every one of them, and even the two orcas, Jenny and Yeonnie, had been duplicated.

At that moment, they seemed to have entered a space surrounded by mirrors, with reflected figures everywhere.

"I refuse to believe the Evil Orca King can find you among all these reflections. By the time he gets here, all he'll see will be your corpses!"

Whoosh~

As the Human-Faced Sea Anemone finished speaking, its enormous body shook. Suddenly, a black-and-white spotted head emerged from amid its tentacles, opened a deep-red maw, and spat out a vast cloud of purple-black mist.

After expelling that cloud, the Human-Faced Sea Anemone trembled and began shrinking rapidly, as though what it had just released had taken a heavy toll. The black-and-white spotted head vanished, and its towering body, originally over ten meters tall, wilted down to a mere three or four meters. Countless tentacles fell off and quickly withered on the ground.

But now the surrounding reflections had all disappeared-or rather, the real space containing the Sea Witch's actual body had detached itself from the reflected space. A terrifying aura of evil and slaughter enveloped the entire stretch of sea. The Sea Witch's sky-blue eyes widened, her expression more grave than ever before.

"This is... how could it be...!"

Before finishing, she immediately took action. Her Seventh Soul Ring lit up, followed by her ninth soul ring. She unleashed her Martial Soul Avatar and her ninth soul ring skill, Sea-Calming Divine Melody, together.

Sensing a mortal threat, she had no choice but to fight for her life, however much she disliked combat.

Far away, in a trench somewhere a hundred li distant.

The Shrek Seven Devils were concealed within the Vast Sea Protective Shroud. Just as Ren Tao had predicted, they were lying in wait here, guarding a tree stump for the rabbit to return.

This was a basin shaped like underwater terraces, known as Hundred-Ring Mountain. It was essentially the landmark dividing the outer sea from the inner sea.

The position Tang San had chosen lay below the trench, allowing them to avoid the onslaught of most sea soul beasts as much as possible.

"The surrounding area has all been hit by the sea soul beast tide. Do you think the Human-Faced Sea Anemone might have escaped in the chaos?"

Ning Rongrong was a little worried. Tang San urgently needed his Eighth Soul Ring to defeat the Evil Orca King, so she very much hoped nothing would go wrong.

"If it has, there's nothing we can do!"

Zhu Zhuqing remained composed. It was so chaotic outside that even Xiao Bai's sense of smell and Tang San's spiritual perception were affected. Advancing blindly would not necessarily yield anything; they were better off waiting patiently.

"But how did such a massive sea soul beast tide form in the first place?"

Puzzled, Ning Rongrong turned to ask Xiao Bai.

Xiao Bai did not know either. She turned her gaze toward Tang San.

Tang San looked thoughtful. "I seem to have sensed a familiar aura, but how is that possible? Why would the aura of Slaughter City appear here?"

"Third Brother, what are you talking about?"

For Tang San, Slaughter City was a memory he did not wish to revisit, so he seldom mentioned it to his companions. Yet now, that same repulsive sensation had appeared again.

Two identical auras emerged simultaneously, one in the direction of the outer sea and the other toward the inner sea, one distant and one near. They seemed to echo each other, sending a jolt of alarm through Tang San.

At that very moment, the Human-Faced Sea Anemone had just unleashed its Secret Art, enveloping the Sea Witch, Jenny, and Yeonnie in a blood mist.