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Chapter 595: True Armored Whale (Bonus Chapter for Subscription)

Chapter 595: True Armored Whale (Bonus Chapter for Subscription)

"Everyone, I'm afraid we won't be able to enjoy our drinks today. Please, I urge you to leave this area immediately."

Fang Xi put down his wine cup, his expression somewhat grave.

"What?"

Meng Zhuzi was somewhat puzzled, but seeing Fang Xi's solemn expression, he dared not neglect it. He bowed and returned to his spirit boat with his four sworn siblings.

Immediately. . . they saw Fang Xi's spirit boat weigh anchor and set sail, leaving the sea area without a backward glance.

"Why did that senior leave?"

Tao Zhilan was full of doubt: "Could it be that he decided to give us this sea area?"

"For a Nascent Soul Grand Cultivator to be like this. . ."

"Yes, Big Brother."

Zhu Hong gritted his teeth, took out the token for controlling the spirit boat, thought for a moment, then waved his hand.

Spirit talismans were affixed to both sides of the spirit boat.

Whoosh, whoosh, gusts of azure wind appeared, converging on both sides of the spirit boat, as if granting it a pair of azure wings.

"Second Brother. . . you actually took out even these high-grade 'Divine Movement Talismans'? Didn't you say these talismans were our trump card, capable of escaping a Nascent Soul cultivator's pursuit?"

Tao Zhilan's face was full of surprise.

"Go!"

Zhu Hong couldn't be bothered to say more. This spirit boat's speed was incredibly fast, only slightly slower than Fang Xi's spirit boat.

The two parties, one after the other, traveled over a hundred li away.

Bwwooom!

At this moment, a clear and resonant whale song suddenly echoed in the ears of Meng Zhuzi and the other four!

All five instantly froze, but it was Meng Zhuzi who recovered first, madly injecting his magic power to make the spirit boat's escape speed increase once more.

At this moment, Zhu Hong also recovered from the whale song, his face full of disbelief: "A fourth-tier great demon beast? !"

"The other party didn't intend to attack us, yet just the ripple effect was like this. . ."

Meng Zhuzi's face was filled with worry as he looked at Fourth Sister and Fifth Sister, who had fainted: "I fear it's a Soul Transformation-tier demon beast. . ."

"Soul Transformation? !"

Zhu Hong felt a bitter taste in his mouth, and he understood. No wonder that senior had run.

If it were him, he would only run faster!

Bwwooom!

The next moment, from the Ghost Gate Reef a hundred li away, an enormous whale, over ten li long, leaped out of the water.

A jet-black horn protruded from its forehead, and its body was covered in immensely thick, dark armor plates, piled together like blocks, as if it wore a full suit of mail.

Bang!

This demon whale leaped high, then plunged headfirst back into the Ghost Gate Reef sea area.

Crash!

Those countless incredibly hard, jet-black reefs, capable of shattering spirit boats, now broke apart as easily as tofu.

The boundless Dark Nether Black Water receded, then surged violently upwards, transforming into unbelievably tall giant waves that fiercely crashed outwards in all directions!

Even a hundred li away, its momentum showed no sign of diminishing!

"Quick, activate the shield, prepare for the giant waves!"

Meng Zhuzi shouted. Zhu Hong and Third Brother, who was at the early Core Formation stage, immediately frantically poured their magic power into the spirit boat's formation, preparing to face the coming monstrous waves.

At the same time, their hearts were filled with even greater horror: "That's a 'True Armored Whale'! Wasn't it rumored to always be active in the misty sea and abyssal eye deep within the Xuanming Abyss? How did it come to Ghost Gate Reef? Alas. . . those fellow cultivators who haven't escaped yet are surely in grave danger. . ."

This fifth-tier 'True Armored Whale' was renowned in the Xuanming Abyss. After all, it was an ancient Soul Transformation beast, and it was even rumored that a Soul Transformation cultivator from the Black Water Sect had once tried to eliminate it, but found themselves utterly helpless.

According to later leaked intelligence, this ancient beast, hiding within the unique environment of the Xuanming Abyss, was likely capable of contending with a late-stage Soul Transformation cultivator.

Fortunately, this ancient beast had always only been active in the deep parts of the Xuanming Abyss, and few cultivators dared to venture deep, allowing for peaceful coexistence.

But if it emerged for a patrol when it was in a good or bad mood, any cultivator who encountered it could only consider themselves unlucky.

"Is this because. . . it discovered me?"

Aboard the spirit boat.

Though Fang Xi had some confidence in his concealment secret art, he wasn't certain if it could deceive this 'True Armored Whale'.

After all, while ancient beasts might not be able to transform into human form, they often possessed extremely powerful innate divine abilities, and this ancient beast's cultivation was far superior to his.

However, Fang Xi sensed that this ancient beast had no intention of attacking.

It was likely just passing through the vicinity, sensed his aura, and specifically came to drive him away. . .

Yes, merely to drive him away.

After all, in the True Armored Whale's view, this place was its territory, but even so, it was unwilling to contend with a peer-level existence.

Since Fang Xi had yielded and left, it was content to let him go.

"It's probably the same among high-tier cultivators in the Earthly Immortal World. Aside from large-scale clan wars, they generally try not to be lethal. After all, they are all beings who seek eternal life; who would willingly give up their longevity to fight and kill?"

Fang Xi felt he had gained a deeper understanding of the rules of the Earthly Immortal World.

...

Kungsang Market.

At the docks.

Spirit boats were moored here, one after another, awaiting repairs from formation masters and artifact refiners.

The cultivators on board were all sporting expressions of having narrowly escaped death.

"This time, we really hit rock bottom. To think we'd encounter that True Armored Whale on patrol. . ."

A Core Formation cultivator's eyes were somewhat red: "This old man's Daoist companion, disciples, and two beloved sons all perished at its hands. . . This enmity is irreconcilable!"

Though he claimed they perished at its hands, it was actually an exaggeration.

If they had directly collided with that Soul Transformation ancient beast, the entire spirit boat would likely have been pulverized, leaving no survivors.

This old cultivator was probably caught by a distant wave stirred up by the True Armored Whale, which capsized his spirit boat. His lower-cultivation disciples fell into the black water, their magic tools and spirit artifacts were all corroded, and then they were besieged by black water demon beasts, leading to their unfortunate demise.

"Sigh. . . among us who venture out to sea, who doesn't hold a grudge against that True Armored Whale? But who can actually kill it?"

Another cultivator, seemingly recognizing this person, shook his head and sighed: "Old Man Hai. . . given your state, don't venture out to sea again in the future. Just live a peaceful life. . ."

"Sigh. . . how I wish I could, but I still have a large family to support. Where would I get the resources for cultivation?"

Old Man Hai's face was full of bitterness, yet he looked towards the Xuanming Abyss with a hint of ruthlessness: "This old man can still live for a hundred years. Even after I die, there are my descendants. Generation after generation, we will surely see the day this fierce beast falls."

"Give it a rest. . . that 'True Armored Whale' is a treasure from head to tail. If it could be killed, why do you think the Black Water Sect didn't make a move back then? Wasn't it simply because they couldn't defeat it or kill it?"

The cultivator who spoke first said: "In the Xuanming Abyss, unless a Void Amalgamation Grand Being takes action, it would likely be difficult to subdue this fierce beast. . ."

"A Void Amalgamation cultivator. . ."

At the mention of such a high-tier grand master, the surrounding cultivators all fell silent.

At most, they were at Foundation Establishment or Core Formation. Normally, when they saw a Nascent Soul cultivator, they would respectfully address them as 'Senior. ' They had barely seen a Soul Transformation ancestor a few times, let alone a Void Amalgamation Grand Being?

Just then, two more spirit boats slowly sailed into the harbor.

"Many thanks, Senior, for saving our lives."

Meng Zhuzi, leading Tao Zhilan and the others, sincerely thanked Fang Xi.

Along the way, amidst the monstrous waves and 'Unfixed Winds', if Fang Xi hadn't lent a hand, at least those two Foundation Establishment cultivators would surely have died.

"No bother, it was merely a small matter of convenience."

Fang Xi briefly inspected his own spirit boat, found it didn't need to be sent for maintenance or repair, and then formed a hand seal.

The spirit boat rose into the air, steadily shrinking, transforming into a streak of black light, and vanished into his storage bag.

"This senior 'Qing Hezi' is a true gentleman, performing kindness without expecting repayment. But we cannot be so ungrateful. . . From what we heard, he seems to reside in the Kungsang Mountain Range. In the future, we should visit him with generous gifts."

Zhu Hong said, fanning himself with his folding fan.

His sworn siblings all nodded in agreement.

Firstly, it was to repay their life-saving grace, and secondly, they wished to establish a connection with this Nascent Soul cultivator.

Rogue cultivators like them were like rootless duckweed. If they could have a connection with a Nascent Soul senior, their days in the Xuanming Abyss would be much easier.

This wasn't scheming, merely human nature!

Meanwhile, Fourth Sister 'Zuo Xiaoxuan' pondered for a moment, and a bitter expression appeared on her face: "Big Brother. . . I'm afraid we don't have enough spirit stones."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Hong first looked at their battered spirit boat, then recalled their fruitless voyage, and his expression slowly fell.

"Not only that. . . " Third Brother 'Ke Pingyuan' smiled bitterly and rolled up his sleeve.

A black line was clearly visible on his arm, seemingly deeply embedded in his skin.

"Water poison invading the body?"

Tao Zhilan exclaimed: "Third Brother, was it because you saved me back then that you ended up like this. . ."

"Sigh. . . what more is there to say? Let's go to the 'Black Water Pavilion' first and buy 'Purifying Water Pills'. . ."

Meng Zhuzi loudly said: "I'll pay for the spirit stones first. We can't delay Third Brother's injuries. . . For every day this black water stays in his body, his cultivation will be weakened by a point. We can't drag this out. . ."

"But in that case, Big Brother, your Nascent Soul Spiritual Item. . . " Zhu Hong couldn't help but interject.

The five of them had worked together with one heart, always being very frugal, precisely to gather enough resources to first enable Big Brother to condense his Nascent Soul, and then it would be easy to support Fourth Sister and Fifth Sister in achieving Core Formation.

However, fate did not cooperate with their wishes. Although they had accumulated some family assets, unexpected incidents kept occurring periodically, requiring large expenditures of spirit stones.

This 'Purifying Water Pill' was a high-grade spirit pill, and its price was steep.

"It wasn't enough anyway, so are we to delay Third Brother's cultivation?"

Meng Zhuzi glared: "The spirit boat can be repaired later, but the Purifying Water Pill must be bought first!"

"Big Brother. . ."

Ke Pingyuan was deeply moved, and Fourth Sister and Fifth Sister beside him also had shining eyes.

That Meng Zhuzi could rally a group of sworn siblings naturally showed his extraordinary qualities.

...

Time flew by, and ten years passed in a flash.

On this day.

Fang Xi steered a streak of escape light, arriving within Kungsang Market, at the Black Water Pavilion.

"Daoist Qing Hezi!"

Steward Liu's face showed a hint of a smile upon seeing Fang Xi.

"The recent harvest has been good, so I've come specifically to sell it. . ."

Fang Xi tossed a storage bag to Steward Liu.

Steward Liu swept his divine consciousness over it, and a smile appeared on his face: "To think, Daoist, you have quite an accomplishment in the path of a spirit plant master. This harvest is excellent. . . Now, just relying on the spirit rice and spirit herbs from this cave abode, Daoist, you can probably afford the rental fees with plenty to spare."

"Sigh. . . cultivation is not easy. Renting a cave abode is merely the simplest part; one also needs to purchase various cultivation resources, and mostly, it's about making a living from the Xuanming Abyss."

Fang Xi feigned a sigh.

Steward Liu couldn't help but chuckle. Over the years, he had confirmed that Qing Hezi harbored no ill intentions; he was merely a dedicated cultivator, and his conduct was very steady. Even when venturing out to sea, he would go no further than Ghost Gate Reef, becoming quite famous in Kungsang Market. . .

Though, this reputation wasn't exactly flattering.

Fang Xi, however, didn't care about this. What did others' praise or censure have to do with him?

It was enough to simply do his own thing.

Just then, a flash of light appeared outside the Black Water Pavilion, and a Nascent Soul-tier magic power fluctuation rapidly approached.