Chapter 2565: At Bay

At this moment, a rotary-mouth shark happened to be exhausted near the water surface, its belly about to flip over, unable to swim.

It was a huge creature, over two zhang tall.

It had just stopped moving, not yet begun to sink, when that snake-like huge shadow lunged forward and swallowed it whole in one bite!

He Lingchuan finally understood why these rotary-mouth sharks dared not stop harvesting algae—slow down even a little and they might get swallowed by these big fellows.

After swallowing the rotary-mouth shark, the huge shadow surged upward with momentum, instantly rising to be level with the cliff face.

Duan He Yun then heard "Hu Xin" behind him exclaim in surprise: "Python!"

It indeed looked like an extremely thick python body, with mottled grayish-white patterns, but no scales were visible—only smooth skin.

Its head, however, resembled that of a giant crocodile or giant eel, covered in wart-like protrusions, with very small eyes, and inside its long, sharp, large mouth were several neat, dense rows of razor-sharp teeth, each comparable to a surgical scalpel!

It rose six zhang from the sea, but He Lingchuan did not see its forelimbs; only near the chest was a pair of very short fins, like a pair of small wings.

Before he could finish observing, the sea water splashed with a "hualala" sound, and another giant snake emerged, similarly raising its large head above the cliff, its small eyes glowing with cold, ruthless light, fixed on He Lingchuan without letting go.

That was the gaze of a predator eyeing its prey.

"Do not be rude, this is Chang Lin Xian Zun." Those who had previously entered Liuli Hai were all Hu Xin's direct superiors, Deng Yan Long; Duan He Yun knew he was unfamiliar with this place, "Xian Zun, he is temporarily acting in Deng Yan Long's stead, here to collect the divine body fragments."

Saying this, Duan He Yun also displayed the seal in his hand to prove his authenticity.

Chang Lin Xian Zun glanced twice, confirmed it was correct, one head sank back into the sea, the other remained, resting on the solid rock, eyes closed in rest.

Well, now there are two immortals in this small world—who knows what dangers lie hidden beneath the calm sea surface?

Duan He Yun said to He Lingchuan: "Chang Lin Xian Zun is so strict that even though I see it every few days, if I come without my talisman, it will hesitate not to devour me."

He Lingchuan asked softly: "Is this Xian Zun not a native immortal of Liuli Hai?"

"Of course not. How could such a small world sustain such a giant beast?" Duan He Yun explained: "The water of Liuli Hai also comes from Yan Xiawan, which is why it has an endless supply of nutrients."

The blood demon, silent for a long time, suddenly exclaimed: "I remember now—this Chang Lin Xian Zun is not a python, but a Fu Yu!"

Jing Zi wondered: "What wooden fish?"

"Fu Yu! The 'Fu Yu' in 'Fu Yu Kang Kang'!" the blood demon mocked it for being uncultured, "It usually dwells in seaside cliff caves, loves dark corners, and devours any passing living being. In youth it has only one head, but as age and cultivation grow, it can grow a second, even third head."

"What second, third head?!" Jing Zi retorted: "I saw the underwater python shadows crisscrossing—there are at least five or six!"

"Maybe it's seaweed." Giant seaweed also grows strand by strand, drifting with the waves, resembling both python bodies and the Fu Yu's form.

"You doubt my eyesight?" Jing Zi displeased: "You use your eyes to look—I do not!"

The blood demon did not want to argue further: "I've heard Fu Yu also has a niche ability called 'Shen Shou Yi Chu'—the head and long neck can detach from the body to hunt independently, then return and rejoin the trunk. Thus, its range is not limited to the seaside cliffs."

"In other words, this thing can climb cliffs and attack like a giant python?" Jing Zi shivered: "And we don't even know how many there are!"

Duan He Yun walked to the side of the four large carts, reached out not knowing which mechanism to press, and suddenly the seawater inside the carts gushed out from the bottom with a "hualala" sound!

The carts likely had filtration devices installed; the seaweed did not flow out with the water, but merely accumulated at the bottom as the water level dropped.

When the water had mostly drained, he personally saw these layered piles of seaweed begin to turn sticky and slippery, permeating each other, some even swaying back and forth.

A new shape was forming, completely different in form and texture from the seaweed, becoming thick and rough.

If only a small sea tray cart were needed, now would be the time to quickly divide them into small batches, like the filling for dumplings. So this task is usually done when transported to Lian Gu or Bai Wan Shan, but Hu Xin came here to seek the great sea star, so for now, just watch and wait.

Once the state basically stabilized, each of the four large carts contained only one sea tray cart: one was a sixteen-spined crown sea star, covered in cactus-like spines all over; the other was an eleven-spined nebula sea star, its surface bearing beautiful spiral patterns.

The other two were also of various forms.

He Lingchuan finally witnessed the full transformation process of the Yin Shen Jun fragment. Its body changes as soon as it leaves the sea, and the change is rapid, requiring the Ling Yun Palace to process it quickly.

This is indeed a super-large project consuming immense manpower.

As for why the Yin Shen Jun fragments in the terraced fields are not kept in seaweed form—because seaweed is too prone to sticking together and will also spray spores.

Duan He Yun then said: "These four large ones—you take them back to store in jars, for use tomorrow morning. This time, don't make any mistakes again."

"Yes."

Several pieces of seaweed still clung to the inner wall of the cart; He Lingchuan casually peeled them off and threw them to the cart bottom—actually, he had secretly hidden one piece in his sleeve and sent it straight into the Dou Ke Garden.

Inside the garden, everyone cheered in unison: "Here it comes!"

Dong Rui immediately grabbed it in his hand, took out the dagger he usually used to dissect yaoguai, and sliced back and forth—yet not even a white mark remained.

The texture was ten times more flexible than cowhide.

Ming Ke Xianren pointed forward with his left hand, and his personal treasure sword flew out automatically, stabbing straight into the seaweed in Dong Rui's hand.

With its sharpness and vigorous energy, the first thrust actually failed to pierce through.

Ming Ke Xianren exclaimed in surprise; under everyone's gaze, feeling a bit embarrassed, he then pinched two sword formulas, activating the long sword for a second strike.

This time, the sword tip emitted a dense, clear green light; those nearby felt their body hair stand on end—obviously, Ming Ke Xianren had also exerted great effort.

Dong Rui feared stabbing himself, so he quickly flung his arm outward, striking a pose like a bullfighter's red flag.

With a "bu" sound—a dull thud—the green light flew past, swirling around the seaweed twice, and sliced off a small corner.

Ming Ke Xianren breathed a sigh of relief.

But those nearby, hearing this sound, knew cutting was difficult—the Yin Shen Jun's body was this hard: not only immune to water and fire, even Ming Ke Xianren's natal magic weapon had to saw back and forth twice to cut off a single leaf.

No wonder the rotary-toothed sharks underwater work so hard.

"Indeed special." Dong Rui glanced twice, turned the seaweed leaf to another angle, so everyone could see it faintly reflecting metallic sharpness: "This thing looks soft, but its toughness is astonishing. Its plasticity is extreme, yet it cannot be destroyed—no wonder it's the top choice for crafting divine descent bodies!"

(End of chapter)