"Who goes there? How dare you provoke our Demon Race!"
"Judging by this pressure, I can't sense any cultivation realm. He seems to be just a Taiyi Immortal."
"Hmph, a mere Taiyi dares seize our Demon Race's territory? Could he be one of those Witch Race bastards?!"
For a time.
The demons all began voicing accusations.
Several old monsters who had established cave abodes on the seabed paid no heed to Mu Chen's words.
They had lorded over this place for tens of thousands of years.
How could they possibly leave just because of some unknown fellow?
Even if they couldn't beat him, wasn't this rogue cultivator afraid of the Demon Race's revenge?
The old demons exchanged glances, smug smiles appearing on their faces.
No fear!
At worst, they would lie low.
Half an hour later.
A young man abruptly appeared on a massive reef above the sea, surveying the distance with his hands behind his back.
His long robes fluttered in the wind, lending him an air of otherworldliness.
After countless tens of thousands of years of secluded cultivation, Mu Chen had gradually become an old monster of the Primordial World himself, his eyes filled with deep, intimidating emotions.
He swept his gaze around.
Only a few members of the Demon Race had left these waters.
Most demons had simply ignored his words, hunkering down on the seabed to wait and see what happened.
Those several ancient demons in particular were hiding in their cave abodes, indulging in pleasures, thinking they would be fine as long as they stayed inside.
"Stubborn to the end. Then die."
Mu Chen shook his head and gently extended his right hand.
Samadhi True Fire erupted in an instant.
In a mere moment, terrifying, surging true fire swept across the sea for ten thousand li around.
A raging blaze boiled the ocean!
A scorching heat instantly spread over the ocean.
Every demon who had reached the Heavenly Immortal realm or above was melted outright.
Even the seawater was utterly useless.
The old demons hiding in their cave abodes were roasted alive!
Their faces were filled with bewilderment as they died.
A little under half an hour later.
Mu Chen withdrew his Samadhi True Fire.
If he kept roasting it, the entire stretch of sea would probably burn away.
At that point, peace returned to the waters.
The ordinary little demons were scared out of their wits, hiding on the seabed and trembling.
Too terrifying!
This divine ability made them feel fear deep in their souls.
With a thought, Mu Chen moved.
He arrived beside a turtle demon trembling atop a rock.
This turtle demon was quite old and had awakened his intelligence, but was exceptionally timid by nature.
Seeing Mu Chen arrive, he immediately kowtowed and begged for mercy.
After hearing Mu Chen's words earlier, he had fled toward the edge of these waters without hesitation.
But the problem was...
He was too slow.
So slow that he still hadn't made it out...
Mu Chen was somewhat speechless at this, too.
He spoke indifferently.
"What is your name?"
The turtle demon prostrated himself and said.
"Prime... Prime Minister Turtle."
The corner of Mu Chen's mouth twitched.
This...
What a coincidence.
Clearly, this wasn't the Prime Minister Turtle of the East Sea Dragon Palace.
Rather, he was his ancestor.
Mu Chen nodded and said.
"From today onward, you will help me oversee the waters within ten thousand li of here."
"As a reward for helping me, I will give you some cultivation techniques and magical treasures. You must not pass them on."
The turtle demon hadn't expected this.
His face filled with delighted surprise, and he immediately nodded.
The next moment.
Mu Chen gave Prime Minister Turtle the High-Level Breathing Technique and the Demon Suppression Pagoda.
After teaching him how to use them.
Mu Chen returned above the sea of clouds.
"Home really is the most comfortable place."
Mu Chen stretched lazily.
Whenever he went out, even if it was right beneath his feet, he still felt his heart hanging in his throat.
He was a little scared even at his own doorstep.
Wouldn't going farther afield be even worse?
Mu Chen became even more determined.
Until he was invincible, he would never leave home!
In the days that followed.
Mu Chen continued fishing.
This time, it was another hundred thousand years.
The reward for finishing this round of fishing was a divine ability called Shrinking the Earth into Inches.
Mu Chen was extremely happy.
For a mighty figure with his temperament, the more lifesaving methods he had, the better.
And Shrinking the Earth into Inches was a Quasi-Sage divine ability!
During his days of fishing.
Mu Chen also began researching fire-type divine abilities.
Samadhi True Fire alone wasn't particularly destructive.
With Mu Chen's current aptitude, he had already reached the point where he could create divine abilities himself.
He spent eight hundred years.
Mu Chen finally succeeded in creating a fire-type divine ability of his own.
Once unleashed, true fire would shroud his entire body, rendering him impervious to all arts, and even a casual punch could send out a hundred-zhang wave of fire.
"I'll call it the Body-Protecting Fire God Art."
Mu Chen said, rather pleased with himself.
Suddenly.
Two terrifying pressures rose within his waters.
Though they fell short of a Quasi-Sage's, they were still extremely powerful.
Mu Chen used a divine ability to look.
One was tall and powerfully built, his entire body wrapped in raging flames, with little crimson snakes coiled around his hands and feet.
Where he stood upon the sea, the seawater had all been melted away by the raging flames.
Compared to him, Mu Chen's Body-Protecting Fire God Art was rather painful to look at.
The other had a human face and a serpent's body, fiery-red hair, and a ferocious, irascible countenance.
Thick columns of water twined around his body with great affection.
The Twelve Ancestral Witches.
Zhurong.
Gonggong.
"Internal strife between two of the Twelve Ancestral Witches detected. Please choose." "One: remain indifferent and continue fishing." "Two: fan the flames and make the two fight to the death. You may obtain both their divine abilities." "Three: find a way to stop the internal strife between the two Ancestral Witches, gaining the Witch Race's goodwill and likewise obtaining both their divine abilities."