Seeing the Hundred-Tentacled Blood Octopus launch its attack, the violet-robed elder's pupils contracted sharply. He could no longer spare any attention for Lin Feng and An Yuexi. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes as an overwhelming aura erupted from his body. With a swift gesture, he summoned a magic treasure—a simple, unadorned golden alms bowl.
The moment it left his hand, the bowl resonated with a clear, melodious chime, as if struck. Ripples of golden light emanated outward, instantly forming a massive, translucent bowl-shaped shield over ten meters wide. It inverted itself, encasing both the elder and Qin Huangtian within its protective glow.
"DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG!..."
In the next instant, dozens of crimson tentacles slammed into the golden shield, unleashing a series of thunderous, muffled impacts. The elder maintained a complex hand seal, his expression stern. With every collision against the shield, his body visibly trembled slightly. It was clear that enduring this barrage was no easy feat for him.
"Hah!" Qin Huangtian wasn't idle either. He let out a sharp cry, channeling his true essence explosively. He raised his hand, summoning a dark golden ritual scepter about the length of his forearm. Intricate, densely packed mystical runes covered its surface. As the scepter materialized, these runes flared with light, seemingly detaching and swirling around the weapon, radiating a powerful, unyielding aura. The scepter shot forward like a bolt of lightning, striking one of the tentacles squarely.
"CLANG!"
A crisp metallic ring echoed. The scepter recoiled violently, sent flying back. The tentacle it hit merely shuddered slightly. A thin, bloody gash appeared on its surface—akin to a shallow cut from a small knife on human skin, nothing more.
Qin Huangtian's pupils shrank to pinpricks, his face a mask of stunned disbelief. He couldn't accept that his full-powered strike hadn't even significantly injured a single tentacle...
"Don't interfere!!" The violet-robed elder snapped, casting a sharp glance at Qin Huangtian, his teeth gritted. "I'll handle this beast! You find a way around—keep tracking those two!!"
The reminder jolted Qin Huangtian. Lin Feng and An Yuexi! His expression shifted as he frantically began scanning the surroundings. But just then, the Hundred-Tentacled Blood Octopus unleashed its second assault.
Dozens more tentacles hammered against the golden bowl shield. The impacts were so violent that cracks seemed to appear on some tentacles themselves. Torrents of foul, crimson blood gushed out, instantly staining the surrounding seawater a deep, murky red. This blood-tainted water abruptly shifted its flow, swirling like a vast, expanding net, threatening to engulf the entire golden shield.
Seeing this, the violet-robed elder's face paled dramatically. He grabbed Qin Huangtian's arm and yanked him backward, clearly terrified of being trapped by the bloody water.
They retreated at blinding speed, barely escaping the encroaching crimson net in the nick of time. The elder abruptly shoved Qin Huangtian far away with a surge of force from his right arm, shouting, "Flank them from a distance! Go after those two!"
Before his words fully faded, a terrifying "WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!" filled the water ahead. Dozens of tentacles surged from the churning red cloud, pursuing them relentlessly.
"HUMMMMMMMM..." "BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!..."
A cacophony of deafening explosions erupted across the seabed. The violet-robed elder's figure vanished into the billowing crimson mist. Two immense auras clashed violently, punctuated by the elder's furious roars and the blood octopus's ear-splitting shrieks.
Qin Huangtian scrambled back several thousand meters like a frightened animal. He glanced back, his heart pounding, then gritted his teeth and charged forward in a wide arc, desperate to bypass the chaos.
"Where are they... WHERE ARE THEY?!"
Qin Huangtian's eyes burned with ferocity as he pushed his divine sense to its limit, sweeping the area. But the traces of Lin Feng and An Yuexi had vanished completely...
...
Meanwhile, not far to the right of where the Hundred-Tentacled Blood Octopus had emerged, on the opposite side of the trench amidst a dense thicket of unknown seaweed, Lin Feng and An Yuexi remained utterly still. Concealed beneath the Invisibility Cloak, they scarcely dared to breathe.
When the monstrous octopus had first appeared mere moments ago, the sheer, overwhelming pressure emanating from it had almost caused them to lose control of their true essence. Such terrifying power, so close, was far beyond their current capacity to withstand. Only the fact that the beast's immediate fury was focused on Qin Huangtian and the violet-robed elder had allowed them to cling to their concealment.
"R-Rank Five... late-stage... Hundred-Tentacled Blood Octopus..."
Lin Feng felt the cold sweat plastering his back. He wiped his forehead with his right hand, the words escaping his lips in a strained whisper. His eyes reflected profound fear, swiftly followed by a wave of relief and elation. Luck hasn't completely abandoned me, he thought. The 'plan' actually worked!
Indeed, he had known beforehand about the formidable Rank Five late-stage beast lurking within this trench. This crucial information came directly from the map jade slip obtained from the Great Wave Alliance Nascent Soul cultivator he had killed. In fact, that very cultivator had been forced to retreat from this exact spot after discovering the terrifying creature inhabiting the trench and fleeing in terror.
When Lin Feng learned this detail, the idea of using the beast against their pursuers had taken root. Using the Invisibility Cloak, he had led An Yuexi to the edge of the trench, specifically to the spot above the beast's lair marked on the map. His original plan involved deliberately creating a disturbance to rouse the beast once the pursuers arrived. He hadn't needed to lift a finger; the powerful divine sense fluctuations emitted by Qin Huangtian and the elder as they approached had instantly alerted the creature below, provoking it to surge upwards.
A Rank Five late-stage demon beast possessed incredibly acute senses. A threat nearly matching its own strength encroaching on its territory? It detected it immediately and was enraged. And demon beasts don't negotiate with uninvited guests. It attacked with lethal intent from the first moment.
It was entirely possible the Hundred-Tentacled Blood Octopus had sensed Lin Feng and An Yuexi hiding nearby. However, it was akin to a sleeping tiger spotting another tiger invading its domain. Even if it also noticed two ants hiding nearby, they were utterly beneath its notice. Even Qin Huangtian, at Nascent Soul late-stage, was little more than a mouse in comparison—similarly insignificant to the blood octopus.
Maybe... we could wait for the enemy and this beast to weaken each other... and reap the benefits...
Watching the churning crimson waters across the trench, feeling the shockwaves of the titanic clash, the thought surfaced in Lin Feng's mind. He dismissed it instantly. Even tigers wounded fighting each other can easily crush an ant...
"Miss An, while the enemy is occupied... we should go." Lin Feng finally tore his gaze away, speaking softly.
"Mmm..." The response was a faint, almost inaudible whimper. Only then did Lin Feng register the sensation of two soft mounds pressed firmly against his left arm. He turned his head to find An Yuexi slumped against him, half her weight leaning on his body as if her strength had deserted her. Her face was pale, the terror in her eyes still lingering. Her resilience was far weaker than Lin Feng's; the oppressive aura radiating from the battle between the Rank Five beast and the Soul Transformation cultivator had nearly suffocated her.
Feeling Lin Feng's gaze, An Yuexi shifted uncomfortably, a flush rising on her pale cheeks. She pushed herself away from him with visible effort. Lifting a trembling hand, she pointed in a specific direction. "The ruins... they're not far that way... Let's go..."
"Alright." Lin Feng felt a wave of awkwardness, but this was no time for it. He nodded, offering her a steadying arm. Together, they moved swiftly and silently in the direction she had indicated.
...
Sometime later, when even the distant sounds of the battle had faded completely, the two arrived amidst a sprawling field of vibrant coral formations rising from the seabed.
An Yuexi had fully recovered her composure. Standing beside Lin Feng, she pointed downwards, unable to contain her excitement. "It's here. We need to descend another two thousand meters. The entrance to the ruins should be there."
"Descend further?" Lin Feng blinked, surprised. "You mean... use Earth Evasion? The ruins are underground?"
This was yet another unexpected twist. He had assumed the ruins lay exposed on the seabed surface. The realization that they were buried deep beneath the ocean floor explained why they had been so incredibly difficult to locate.
An Yuexi instinctively reached for an Earth Evasion Talisman. Lin Feng stopped her with a gesture. "No need." He channeled his true essence. With a wave of his hand, an orange, spherical barrier of light enveloped them both. Slowly, steadily, their figures sank into the solid seabed, disappearing from view without a trace...