Chapter 269

The so‑called worst case, of course, is the ultra‑troublesome event that exists only in Legend—the descent of a deity.

That is, the so‑called deity's descent: generally, after becoming a deity, they can only act within a great world that can contain them; to enter a capped small world they must take the form of an avatar.

In this situation, the avatar's power is usually tied to local worship and incense, making it slightly stronger than a same‑rank Legend, possessing some special abilities, but its strength is limited.

The most extreme case is, of course, a deity's descent: although the power ceiling is locked, their essence remains unchanged, still a deity's essence, merely limited, so they can still instantly slay a same‑rank Legend.

However, generally deities do not do this; the former's death causes no loss, while the latter's death is truly death.

Generally, few natives reach the world's ceiling, but this is not absolute; there are various ways to forcibly reach the world's ceiling, forcibly causing a descending deity to fall.

On the Zongnet, the deities who die by this method are the most numerous.

And for the Four Seas Dragon King, who rules the four seas, to die silently, aside from those with special anti‑dragon attributes, the only scenario Mu Yi can think of is a deity's descent.

Moreover, being noticed by Hou Tu Niangniang… may mean it isn't an ordinary deity.

Now we're truly caught in a bottomless vortex.

"Roar!"

The surging water broke Mu Yi's thoughts; now is not the time to ponder, but to face the enemy before him.

Using the water's impact, Mu Yi vaulted swiftly, leapt out of the sea, and landed back on the treasure ship.

"How's the situation?" Zheng He asked.

"Much worse than we imagined could possibly be!" Mu Yi's expression turned awkward.

Although he hadn't seen other Dragon Kings just now, the one who revealed himself and matched him in method should be the Legend's North Sea Dragon King, his whole body crimson like fire, but under the mutation he has completely lost his divine elegance, leaving only distortion.

"It's basically confirmed that the Four Seas Dragon King has been corrupted by an evil god, and the entire ocean is likely being eroded by that evil god!"

Mu Yi's words made Zheng He's expression change repeatedly; honestly, he had mentally anticipated this news, since the Four Seas Dragon King's sudden disappearance, the Celestial Deity also seemed to have unspeakable secrets, and the patriarchs of all sects kept their mouths tightly shut.

All of these, without exception, indicate how troublesome the matter is, yet when verifying, he still felt somewhat melancholy.

"Roar!"

A dragon's roar, its whole crimson‑flamed body spiraling, a massive true dragon that far exceeds the treasure ship's warning appeared on the sea surface, its body naturally emitting a dragon's awe that instantly made people gasp.

But what made it even more unbearable was the distortion and chaos that came with the true dragon.

Accompanied by a surge of raging wind, the true dragon hovered in midair, roaring at Zheng He and the others as it launched its attack.

Strangely, after the North Sea Dragon King burst from the water, the other underground evil god's minions did not appear alongside.

Zheng He and his group had no time to attend to this, as a towering wave was forming and expanding outward.

Although the wave does not reach the heavens, a wave hundreds of meters high, once it crashes, means the ship capsizes and everyone dies.

"Cloud Energy suppression, Cloud Energy attack ready, all ships coordinate Cloud Energy deployment!"

Zheng He stood at the prow; a mere North Sea Dragon King attempting to crush their fleet is simply too much to expect.

With a raise of his hand, countless chains extended from the warship's Cloud Energy storage vaults, first from the flagship, then from the flagship to the other vessels, piercing all Cloud Energy storage vaults.

After all Cloud Energy storage vaults were pierced, the Cloud Energy above the ship's deck instantly thickened to dozens of meters.

The once terrifying North Sea Dragon King, under this heavy Cloud Energy suppression, saw his aura decline repeatedly, and even the towering wave he controlled began to wane.

"Ao Mo, coordinate with me to disrupt it!"

Upon Mu Yi's call, Ao Mo at once saw his distant relative; though he is not of the North Sea Dragon clan, seeing his far‑off kin turned into such a state inevitably stirred a feeling of anger.

"Collect your mind! Do not let emotion cloud your judgment!"

Mu Yi scolded, "In this environment, a will driven by emotion is just waiting to be mutated."

Ao Mo was instantly startled, quickly collected his mind, drew the Sea‑Stabilizing Spear and began cooperating with Mu Yi to suppress the North Sea Dragon King's control of the sea.

Although the twisted North Sea Dragon King's power increased considerably, his control over the ocean was subtly weakened; after all, a deity's throne is limited by Jiuzhou consciousness, so the controlled North Sea Dragon King naturally lost that portion of authority.

The towering wave, under the glow emitted by the Sea‑Stabilizing Spear and the Mountain Water Seal, decayed faster and visibly, and when it fell, it was easily blocked by the Cloud Energy barrier.

The spell failed, and once again a roar sounded; the massive dragon tail of the North Sea Dragon King swung down heavily, directly shattering the barrier upheld by the fleet.

However, the ability to shatter the Cloud Energy barrier isn't due to how terrifying the North Sea Dragon King's body is, but because Zheng He abandoned further defense; taking hits isn't the Ming way.

"Cloud Energy attack ready!"

Cloud Energy surged along the chains between ships, wildly transmitting power; the heavy Cloud Energy solidified into luminous beams above the prow where Zheng He stood.

"Fire!"

With a roar, Zheng He commanded the ship cannon, which had condensed high‑density Heaven‑Earth essence and Cloud Energy, to launch its attack.

A torrent of violent energy burst forth like a breached river dam, not insubstantial but a pillar of light flashing with thunder.

The North Sea Dragon King's massive form was instantly devoured by the thunderlight.

Mu Yi stared blankly, feeling the flow of Cloud Energy, a manipulation more magnificent than he imagined, surpassing all his current knowledge and abilities concerning the Military Strategist.

He had to admit that when Zheng He said this was a forced dead end, a path that could not give rise to a military god, his heart was actually filled with contempt.

Mu Yi never thought he could not become a military god, yet when he truly witnessed a Military Strategist's massive army corps, far from achieving a military god, exerting its full power, he wavered.

"Can I truly surpass such great power?"

When he previously faced an evil god's avatar, it ended in an instant, giving him little real sense; but this time Zheng He fully conducted command and coordination before him, from Cloud Energy ascent to Cloud Energy attack, every process displayed before him.

He wavered; it was too strong, utterly unreasonable in its might.

Each ship, each soldier, each officer taken alone could never match the twisted North Sea Dragon King; those soldiers could not even confront the distortion and madness that enveloped the Dragon King.

Even whether Zheng He could slay the North Sea Dragon King remains a huge question mark.

But before Mu Yi, the North Sea Dragon King, comparable to He Luo, turned to ash in an instant…

Oh no, it seems that because the attack was launched hastily, the North Sea Dragon King was not turned directly into flying ash like an evil god's avatar.

When the light faded, the North Sea Dragon King, dragging a crippled body, appeared before everyone; its Dragon Scale shattered, its body broken, and the tentacles produced by the mutation were mostly blasted away.

"Continue preparing the attack!" Zheng He frowned, seeming dissatisfied with the results.

"Lord Zheng He, please prepare the underwater enemy; I will handle the North Sea Dragon King myself!"

The abbot of Bao'en Temple, with a righteous expression, stopped Zheng He from continuing the attack and openly declared his intention to claim the kill.

"The Dragon King's body has already been corroded by the evil god; the abbot probably won't be able to get anything!" Zheng He warned.

"Amitabha, Sir Zheng He, please rest assured and entrust it to this old monk!"

Seeing that he was unmoved, Zheng He did not continue to persuade.

Bao'en Temple was built by the present Ming emperor to commemorate his birth mother, Consort Hui, and it replaced Huangjue Temple as the foremost temple of the Buddhist Sect; even the abbot, if it were Zheng He, would have to give him three points of face.

Moreover, what he said made some sense; according to the current information, there are indeed many evil god monsters under the sea, and he indeed needs to make some preparations.

"Amitabha, Great Dragon King, please ascend to the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss and attain liberation!"

The abbot elder monk performed a Buddhist rite, instantly radiating Buddha light that shot toward the firmament; a vast Buddha phantom appeared in midair, and the golden Buddha palm descended from the firmament to strike the mutilated North Sea Dragon King.

This was the first time Mu Yi saw a Legend‑level expert take action; the Buddhist Sect has many problems, but in terms of strength it absolutely has none.

Reaching the first echelon of the Hundred Schools is absolutely no fluke; it is backed by genuine Transcendent power.

The golden Buddha palm struck down from the firmament, worthy of being called a meteor‑impact‑level blow; in an instant it slapped the North Sea Dragon King from midair into the sea, and the terrifying impact caused the sea surface at the point of impact to visibly sink a large amount.

"What is that? A Dharma manifestation?" Mu Yi stared at the Buddha phantom behind the abbot of Bao'en Temple, narrowing his eyes.

He felt immense power from it; the other party used the Buddha phantom as a conduit, frantically absorbing the essence of heaven and earth, then channeling that essence through his will, and together with his qi and blood launched an attack from his body.

Quite exquisite, it instantly reminded Mu Yi of the Dharma manifestation he had once tried to construct; back then he merely served as a mass of power, never expecting it could be exploited this way.

No wonder everyone loves to watch experts duel; one can indeed learn something from it.

He glanced at the treasure ship and saw that the Wudang immortals and the Confucian scholars were also on the deck, all watching the battle between the abbot of Bao'en Temple and the North Sea Dragon King.

There were no fancy spells; the abbot's attack could even be described as stiff—raising the Buddha palm high then dropping it vertically, each strike inflicting heavy damage on the North Sea Dragon King.

If it weren't for the Dragon King's body being twisted and corrupted by the evil god, making it even more bizarre, he would probably have already been slapped to death by the abbot of Bao'en Temple.

The Buddha palm was not merely a pure spell blast; Mu Yi could sense compassion, light, and other true meanings from it, which are no less than holy light and have a strong restraining effect on evil beings.

During the clash, the old abbot threw out a golden bowl that completely enveloped the North Sea Dragon King.

Under the Buddha's light, the North Sea Dragon King could not break free, as if bound in a small space; although its swift movements were visible, no matter how it struggled, the descending Buddha palm would slap it down.

"Om! Ma! Ni! Pad! Mi! Hum!"

Accompanied by the Six‑Syllable Great Bright Mantra issuing from the abbot in midair, the Buddha phantom behind him became more solid, the Buddha light grew brighter, and a huge Buddha palm descended from the firmament.

This time the North Sea Dragon King could not escape; under the Buddha's light it was gradually annihilated.

However, from within the Buddha's light, Mu Yi saw the North Sea Dragon King's dragon soul; though tattered, it was indeed the dragon soul of the North Sea Dragon King.

The dragon soul was hidden within the Dragon King's divine seat, which protected the North Sea Dragon King's spirit.

No wonder the old monk went to such trouble; it turns out he was relying on the Buddha's light to gradually purify the North Sea Dragon King.

No wonder the North Sea Dragon King came after them alone; its divine soul had not been completely lost, and a portion of its true spirit remained undestroyed.

Seeing the abbot about to seal the dragon soul in the golden bowl, Mu Yi reached out and, using the Reincarnation Barrier from the void, collected the dragon soul.

It wasn't a matter of looting spoils; he felt the North Sea Dragon King could still be saved, at least they could learn something from it.

"Supreme deity! What is the meaning of this!"

The abbot of Bao'en Temple landed back on the deck with a look of astonishment, his face faintly displeased; but recalling what the old monk under him had said—that Mu Yi's roots with the Buddhist Sect were not shallow, and given Mu Yi's special status—he could only suppress his emotions and ask.

"The North Sea Dragon King's soul has not been extinguished; perhaps we can ask him something!" Mu Yi spoke while producing the Book of Life and Death.

The Confucian scholars and Daoist immortals who had been looking over quickly withdrew their gazes, feeling their scalps tingle; their subordinates didn't recognize this thing, so how could they not know what it was?

Even the abbot of Bao'en Temple, who had originally wanted to blame Mu Yi, instantly lowered his eyes; they are indeed Legends, and from the perspective of Jiuzhou they are already earthly immortals.

Yet earthly immortals also have lifespan limits, and even some ascended deities have lifespan limits; the Book of Life and Death is to them no less a deterrent than nuclear weapons are to ordinary people.

For great gods it can be freely altered, but that does not mean they can ignore it.

With a reasonable explanation plus the deterrent of the Book of Life and Death, the abbot of Bao'en Temple obviously had no room to refuse.

The sea is full of evil god minions; he actually felt a bit worried—if he died and was taken to the Western Paradise, that would be fine enough, and thanks to his contributions, even if he couldn't become an arhat bodhisattva, he could still reforge a golden body as a guardian deity.

But if he were corrupted by the evil god, it's likely there would be no chance of reincarnation; this near‑spiritual alteration might well be irreversible.

"Wake up quickly!"

Mu Yi activated the Reincarnation Barrier and pointed a finger at the North Sea Dragon King's soul.

The originally muddled soul of the North Sea Dragon King, in the abbot of Bao'en Temple's regretful gaze, had its eyes regain clarity.