Chapter 335 Breaking Out of the Fog
Zhao Xin stood at the bow, the sea wind rolling the salty scent against his face.
Behind him were two young disciples, Lin Qi and Fang Yuan.
All three were martial artists and could have made a name for themselves in the Martial World, but Zhao Xin had grown tired. He was tired of the flash of swords, tired of dynastic machinations, and tired of those endless grievances.
"Master, can we really cross the Fog Sea?" Lin Qi asked in a low voice, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the short knife at his waist.
Zhao Xin did not answer, only looking at that gray expanse of sea in the distance.
It was shrouded in thick mist all year round, and legend said that no one who entered could come back alive.
Some said there were giant beasts lurking in the fog, some said that sea area would swallow a person's sense of direction, and others said the end of the fog was a completely new world.
"If we don't try, how will we know the truth?" Zhao Xin finally spoke, his voice low and firm.
The giant ship slowly departed from the harbor, and the crowd on the shore gradually turned into black dots, finally disappearing from sight.
At first, the sea surface was relatively calm.
But when their ship truly sailed into the range of the fog, the sky suddenly darkened. The originally clear sky was obscured by heavy mist, sunlight could not penetrate, and the surroundings fell into a weird gloom.
The waves began to surge, the ship shook violently, as if something were churning under the sea.
"Steady the helm!" Zhao Xin shouted sternly, while he leaped onto the mast, trying to see the situation ahead.
But the fog was too thick, and visibility was less than ten Zhang.
The seawater was no longer azure blue, but a murky gray-black, as if polluted by some power.
Suddenly—
"Boom!"
The ship shook violently, as if it had collided with some enormous creature. Lin Qi staggered, nearly falling into the sea.
"What thing?!" Fang Yuan exclaimed, his hand already on the hilt of his sword.
Zhao Xin narrowed his eyes, staring fixedly at the sea surface. Under the water, a huge shadow slowly swam past, its length at least three times that of the ship.
It did not attack immediately, only quietly circling beneath the hull, as if observing.
"Do not act rashly." Zhao Xin warned in a low voice, "If it doesn't move, we won't move."
But in the next second, the seawater suddenly churned, and giant waves struck. The ship shook violently, and the sailors on the deck grabbed the ropes tightly, yet some were still thrown into the sea.
"Ah—!" A young sailor had not reacted before being swept away by a giant wave, his figure instantly disappearing into the black seawater. His scream stopped abruptly, as if swallowed by some invisible force.
"Steady! Don't let go!" Zhao Xin roared, but before his voice fell, another giant wave struck.
"Crack!"
The railing on the side of the ship was snapped off, and a middle-aged sailor could not dodge in time, his abdomen pierced by broken wooden spikes. He groaned, fresh blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, his hands still dead gripping the shipboard, but the next instant, a thick tentacle suddenly wrapped around his waist!
"Save... save me..." His pupils dilated from fear, but before he finished speaking, the tentacle suddenly tightened—
"Pu chi!"
Blood sprayed, his body was brutally twisted into two sections, internal organs mixed with blood water splattering on the deck. The tentacle flung, and the broken corpse was thrown into the sea, stirring up a spray of scarlet water.
"Old Zhang!" Another sailor, eyes splitting with rage, grabbed a harpoon and rushed up, but before he got close, a tentacle covered in suction cups suddenly swept across!
"Bang!"
His head exploded like a watermelon, brain matter and bone fragments splattering in all directions. The headless corpse swayed and then collapsed heavily.
On the deck, blood flowed freely, broken limbs and severed arms scattered everywhere.
A young sailor curled up in a corner, trembling all over, his crotch already soaked through. He watched helplessly as his companions died miserable deaths one by one, a desperate whine issuing from his throat.
"No... I don't want to die..."
But the monster had no mercy.
A tentacle pierced like a spear, instantly penetrating his chest and lifting him high. He widened his eyes, fresh blood spilling from the corners of his mouth, his limbs twitching powerlessly, until the tentacle flung, his corpse falling into the deep sea like a broken rag.
In just a short moment, the deck had become a scene of carnage.
Zhao Xin's eyes were bloodshot, and the veins on the hand holding the knife bulged violently.
"Beast..."
He gritted his teeth and leaped up, the knife light like electricity, instantly severing a section of tentacle. Black liquid sprayed out, carrying a pungent fishy stench.
The sea surface boiled completely.
In pain, the monster finally revealed its true form—it was a giant octopus-like creature, but its head grew a twisted human face, its eyes glowing with an eerie green light.
Its tentacles danced madly, every strike making the ship tremble violently, and the planks began to crack.
"Master! The ship can't hold!" Lin Qi shouted.
Zhao Xin gritted his teeth; he knew that if they could not fight a quick battle, they would undoubtedly die.
"Fang Yuan, you take the others to steady the helm! Lin Qi, come with me!"
Before his voice fell, Zhao Xin had already leaped up, the knife light like a waterfall, striking straight at the monster's head. Lin Qi followed close behind, his short knife stabbing toward the monster's eyes like a poisonous snake.
The monster issued a piercing shriek, its tentacles whipping frantically, the seawater churned into a turmoil.
Zhao Xin's movement technique was extremely fast, shuttling through the gaps of the tentacles, every fall of the blade bringing up a spray of black blood.
But the monster was simply too big, and their attacks seemed to only provoke it.
"Boom—"
A tentacle smashed heavily onto the deck, and the ship finally could no longer withstand it, cracking open a huge gap.
Seawater frantically surged in.
"It's over..." Fang Yuan's face was deathly pale.
Zhao Xin, however, suddenly smiled.
"Not yet!"
He abruptly pulled out a crimson red pill from his bosom and swallowed it without hesitation. In an instant, his aura surged, and the True Qi around his body burned like a flame.
"Burning Blood Pill?! Master! You will die!" Lin Qi screamed in horror.
Zhao Xin did not answer, only leaping up, the knife light turning into a crimson meteor, stabbing straight into the monster's head!
"Pu chi—"
The blade pierced the monster's eye, deep into the brain marrow. The monster issued a final mournful roar, and its huge body slowly sank into the sea bottom.
The sea surface finally returned to calm.
The ship was already half-sunken, but they were still alive.
Zhao Xin sat paralyzed on the deck, the side effects of the Burning Blood Pill causing him severe pain all over, but his eyes stared fixedly ahead.
"Master... we..." Lin Qi's voice trembled.
"Look." Zhao Xin raised his hand and pointed into the distance.
The fog was dissipating.
A ray of sunlight pierced through the cloud layers and sprinkled onto the sea surface.
The wind stopped, the waves calmed, as if the life-and-death struggle just now was merely an illusion.
"We... broke out?" Fang Yuan could not believe it.
Zhao Xin slowly stood up and looked at that calm sea area. There was no fog there, no giant beasts, only a stretch of water surface that was peaceful to the extreme, smooth as a mirror.
He took a deep breath and walked toward the bow.
"Go, let's go over and take a look."
But just at the instant his foot was about to step onto that sea area—
The entire world froze.
The wind stopped, the waves stopped, even breathing solidified in the chest cavity.
Zhao Xin's pupils suddenly contracted.
He could not move anymore.
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