A Fire Carp was actually just a carp. It was only called a Fire Carp because its whole body was crimson, like flames, and it lived in a fire vein.
It truly was a divine-beast-level life form; otherwise, it would not have lived for tens of thousands of years without reaching adulthood. That was why it called itself the Fire Carp King.
But in truth, it was still a child.
It looked timid and shrank from trouble, often feared the strong when it wanted to bully the weak, and wore an innocent expression yet chattered endlessly, all because it had lived underground for tens of thousands of years without meeting many people or having anyone to talk to. But that did not mean it was stupid.
It was a divine beast born of fire just like the Vermilion Bird. Even if it could not enlighten sages and transform heaven and earth as the Vermilion Bird could, it was still supremely intelligent, with an innate ability to sense heavenly secrets and danger. After following White True Person into the Netherworld, then ascending against the rain to reach the depths of the sea, how could it look at those beads of blood in the sky and not know what awaited it?
The beads of blood joined into lines, the lines joined into a net, and the net was a formation.
This grand formation was filled with an aura of bloody baleful intent and terror. The mangled pieces of corpses in the water and the stench of demon blood that a full day and night of sea winds had failed to disperse all clearly indicated that this was a powerful formation requiring a blood sacrifice.
It let out a faint sigh, thinking with self-pity and a touch of self-regard that there were few