Encountering the Sea Beast Tide Again
The siren blared like a death knell, instantly shattering the calm of the sea.
"All Qi Refining Realm and above, immediately proceed to the deck to meet the enemy!"
The Grandmaster's majestic yet urgent voice boomed in everyone's ears. He himself stood like a pillar of strength at the bow of the ship, his gaze fixed solemnly on the surging black tide in the distance.
In an instant, the cabin was bustling with people, and dozens of figures darted out one after another, landing on the deck, their true energy surging and their expressions solemn.
"Brother, looks like our luck isn't so good!" The previously overly friendly Qi Refining martial artist had also dropped his joking demeanor. He tightened his grip on his longsword and said to Dongfang Yueming with a wry smile, "My Wang Pangzi. If the fight breaks out later, let's look out for each other?"
Dongfang Yueming nodded noncommittally, his gaze calmly fixed on the distance.
Standing at the very front of the group were the members of the Bai family. The young scion, Bai Feng, held a gleaming spear in his hand. Although there was tension on his face, there was more of an arrogant eagerness to try his hand at it.
"Feng'er, don't be careless!" His father, Bai Zhanxiong, the head of the Bai family, warned in a deep voice, "This attack is by a swarm of ' Black-Scaled Sea Serpent,' and their scale is extraordinary!"
His eyes were filled with deep worry. A swarm of snakes of such size often meant that a true king—a demonic beast—might have been born within! That was a terrifying existence comparable to a human martial arts grandmaster!
As Dongfang Yueming watched the approaching black tide, his heart remained calm, even stirred by a hint of curiosity.
[Demonic Beast? I've never seen one in person before.]
"They're here!" someone shouted.
Beneath the surface of the sea, countless enormous serpentine shadows, each over ten zhang long and covered in chilling black scales, emerged, stirring up towering waves. They charged towards the giant ship in swarms, like a well-trained underwater army!
"Thank goodness!" Wang Pangzi said with a mix of caution and relief. "Most of the people going back on this ship are experts at the Qi Refining Realm or above. Dealing with these low-level Black-Scaled Sea Serpent shouldn't be a problem."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the sea serpents at the forefront shot off like arrows, crashing violently into the protective shield of the giant ship with a series of muffled thuds. Even more impressively, some of them, with their astonishing leaping power, sprang directly from the sea, their massive serpent bodies lashing out at the deck like black whips!
"Kill!"
At a command, the warriors on the deck immediately took action.
A martial artist, his inner energy surging, wielded his broadsword, creating a curtain of blades that sliced a swooping sea serpent into several pieces mid-air, its foul-smelling blood spraying down.
Another martial artist swiftly struck out with both palms, creating two powerful palm prints that struck a sea serpent squarely at its vital spot. The immense force shattered the serpent's internal organs, causing it to slide helplessly back into the sea.
Wang Pangzi also shouted loudly. He moved nimbly, dodging the venom spewed by a sea serpent. His long sword moved like a snake emerging from its hole, his true energy shooting along the blade, precisely piercing into the sea serpent's wide-open mouth and exiting from the back of its head! Having dealt with his opponent, he raised an eyebrow at Dongfang Yueming with a smug look.
Meanwhile, Bai Feng's spear moved like a dragon, striking with lightning speed. A precise thrust pierced the eye socket of a sea serpent. But a malicious smile curled at the corner of his mouth. With a flick of his wrist, he swept the spear horizontally, seemingly to repel another sea serpent, but in reality, he cleverly used the butt of the spear to deflect the sea serpent's attack trajectory, causing it to rush straight towards Wang Pangzi behind him.
Wang Pangzi had just succeeded, and his old strength had been exhausted while his new strength had not yet been generated. Seeing that the blood-red mouth full of sharp teeth was about to bite him, he was so frightened that his soul almost left his body!
At this critical moment, an ordinary-looking figure appeared before him like a ghost.
Dongfang Yueming raised his hand, his fingers forming a sword shape. Without any fluctuation of true energy, he simply touched the sea serpent's brow.
"Puff!"
With a soft sound, as if a bubble had been popped, the ferocious Black-Scaled Sea Serpent ceased all its movements abruptly. Its massive body slid helplessly back into the sea, a deep, bottomless bloody hole now visible between its brows, the surrounding flesh charred black from the extreme force.
"Thank you so much, brother, for saving my life!" Wang Pangzi said gratefully, still shaken.
Dongfang Yueming did not turn around, but merely glanced indifferently at Bai Feng not far away.
Bai Feng felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at the man's calm, unwavering gaze, muttering to himself, "This man in the straw hat seems rather unusual."
As the battle continued, even more powerful enemies appeared!
"It's the ' Black-Scaled Savage Serpent '!" someone exclaimed.
A dozen or so savage snakes, noticeably larger than the rest, with metallic sheen on their scales and a ferocious aura comparable to human martial artists at the Internal Force Realm, broke through the pack of beasts and leaped onto the deck!
As soon as they stepped onto the deck, they displayed a destructive power completely different from ordinary sea snakes. One savage snake swept its tail across, and a Qi Refining Realm artist was unable to dodge in time. He was directly whipped away, his protective true energy shattered instantly, and he spat out blood. His life or death was unknown!
"The seniors at the Internal Force Realm have made their move!" Wang Pangzi exclaimed in surprise as he watched several figures approach the Savage Serpent.
Bai Zhanxiong roared, unleashing his Inner Force. A layer of solidified qi appeared on his longsword, and the blade flashed like a streak of light, clashing head-on with a Black-Scaled Savage Serpent! The clash between the blade and the serpent's scales produced a metallic clang! He pressed his advantage, his blade flashing and leaving deep, bone-revealing wounds on the serpent's hard scales. He even had the strength to unleash a sharp backhand strike, cleaving another sea serpent attempting to ambush the Bai family guards in two.
"See that? That's the strength of the head of a major family in the Central Continent!" Bai Feng boasted to Wang Pangzi and the others, his face full of pride. "My father's strength is top-tier even among those in the Internal Force Realm! Unless you're one in a million young geniuses, he's rarely matched at the same level!"
Under the leadership of numerous experts with Inner Force, the sea serpent swarm's offensive was gradually contained, and they even began to retreat. The warriors' morale soared, and victory seemed to be just around the corner.
Dongfang Yueming continued to calmly and efficiently clear away the sea snakes that had rushed onto the deck, his movements clean and swift, without a single wasted effort. But a sense of unease lingered in his heart.
Something's not right.
He raised his head and looked at the Grandmaster- level expert at the bow of the ship who had not yet made a move. He saw that the Grandmaster stood with his hands behind his back, his expression several times more solemn than before the battle, and his sharp eyes were fixed on the unfathomable dark sea.
As if responding to his gaze.
Sudden--
An indescribable aura of terror, like an ancient behemoth awakening, suddenly rose from the deep sea beneath the giant ship!
That aura was cold, violent, and filled with a will to destroy everything!
"Boom--!"
The entire giant ship shuddered violently, as if gripped tightly by an invisible hand! The protective light shield groaned under the strain, its light flickering rapidly!
On the deck, all the martial artists, including those arrogant Inner Force masters, were struck dumb at that moment, their faces turning ashen, their internal energy surging, and they almost lost their footing.
A massive, dark shadow, so large it blotted out the sky, slowly emerged from the deep sea.
It was a... giant sea serpent, half the size of a ship, with only its head showing! Its scales were no longer black, but had taken on an eerie deep purple color, and two imposing horns had even sprouted from its head!
This was none other than Purple-Horned Demon Serpent that had already entered the realm of Demonic Beast!