Chapter 270: Mystery of the West Sea

"Thank you, Supreme Deity!"

The North Sea Dragon King's dragon soul took human form and solemnly performed a grand bow to Mu Yi.

Although, in a sense, they are of equal rank, he was rescued by Mu Yi, so he must show more respect; otherwise he might have been taken by the Buddhist Sect to forge some Eight Heavenly Dragons.

Even though he is dazed, he still senses external events to some degree; otherwise he wouldn't have rushed out to sacrifice himself the moment he saw Mu Yi and the others.

Only this way can it find release and a sliver of hope.

Zongwang Prompt: You have awakened North Sea Dragon King Ao Xi; in this world, the North Sea Dragon Clan's reputation reaches Respect, and the North Sea Dragon King's reputation reaches Respect!

After the North Sea Dragon King assumed human form, his dragon head on a human body seemed no different from the statue in the Dragon King Temple.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Mu Yi asked succinctly.

"The little deity is not very clear either; sometime recently, a bizarre source emerged at the far West Sea, and yaksha, shrimp soldiers, crab generals, etc. could not enter. The sea clans sent to investigate suffered heavy casualties. We, the Four Sea Dragon Kings, are puzzled and have agreed to go to the far West Sea to investigate!"

At this point, a hint of fear flashed in the North Sea Dragon King's pupils.

"My dragon soul's memory stops here; I cannot recall what happened then, but I can confirm that we encountered an unspeakable great terror!"

"Since then, I have hidden part of my dragon soul within the divine throne, barely clinging to life. After sensing the army's presence, I frantically forced my body to leap onto the sea surface!"

"The West Sea, huh?"

Mu Yi mused; this is important news—at least they have identified the source of the evil god's spread, and if nothing unexpected occurs, the source should still be at its original location.

"Can you recall where in the West Sea it is?" Zheng He, evidently having thought of this, asked aloud.

"In the southwest direction of the West Sea Dragon Palace, there are many indescribable monsters along the way; we did not clear them all at the time!" The North Sea Dragon King recalled briefly before returning to his words.

Zheng He took out the Sea Map and, based on the North Sea Dragon King's account, drew a route on it; judging from the route, the distance to the West Sea Dragon Palace is rather far.

"Reverse course, head southwest, full speed ahead!"

Zheng He waved his hand grandly and directly ordered the fleet to change heading.

"How shall we deal with those undersea evil‑god minions?" Mu Yi asked Zheng He with some doubt.

According to the North Sea Dragon King's account, there are no other Four Sea Dragon Kings' traces beneath the sea.

What the towering general saw was merely a blend of reality and illusion; though it held some truth, most of it was false delusion.

Nevertheless, even without more Four Sea Dragon Kings, the undersea evil‑god followers are troublesome; in the ocean they are far stronger than on land.

Moreover, most Supernormal Beings suffer a drop in combat power after entering water.

"You'll find out soon enough!" Zheng He said without turning his head.

Mu Yi nodded and again asked the North Sea Dragon King for some detailed accounts.

Such as the Four Sea Dragon Kings' strength, the sea clan's army strength, and the approximate appearance and power of those indescribable monsters they have seen.

Good news: the strength of the evil‑god minions and followers has not reached the level where Legends roam everywhere and Transcendent beings are worse than dogs.

Even at the far West Sea, the main forces are deep divers, with monsters such as black goat cubs as support.

Legend-level creatures are rare on the evil‑god side; at least the Four Sea Dragon Kings have not encountered many, so their journey to investigate the source has been smooth sailing.

Occasionally one or two Legend or semi‑Legend evil‑god minions surface; the Four Sea Dragon Kings jointly command the sea, and the opponent has no resistance at all.

"Secret Art—Great Vortex!"

While Mu Yi was asking for information, Zheng He made a move.

In fact, with the North Sea Dragon King causing such a stir while those evil‑god minions and followers stayed hidden, Zheng He had already guessed a thing or two.

But guessed or not, these monsters still need to be eliminated; otherwise they might later spread around the Great Ming periphery.

The previously calm sea surface suddenly churned, and a massive vortex began spiraling on the water, continuously expanding.

Within the huge vortex, those deep‑sea evil‑god minions were directly engulfed by the vortex's powerful force,

Mu Yi, thoughtful, cast the Mountain Water Seal; Water Vein Power spread into the vortex, turning the once ordinary flow into razor‑sharp blades.

Those weak deep divers could not withstand the slicing water flow; layer by layer they were cut away, turning the sea crimson.

The vortex acted like a meat grinder, crushing the evil‑god minions caught within into minced flesh, with thick blood and shattered limbs surfacing on the sea.

This horrific scene shocked the Supernormal Beings with keen sight; the impact was not far from the evaporation of reason.

Thick death aura spread across the ocean, causing the North Sea Dragon King a pang of sorrow. Zheng He's move indeed shredded those evil‑god minions, but the mess left behind might take years to clean up.

Even without considering the flesh of the evil‑god minions corroding marine life, this deathly silence alone would prevent the sea region from normal sea‑clan growth for a decade.

Nevertheless, it knows this is the quickest method; there is no time to linger further.

If all evil gods originate from within the West Sea, they have already spread here; one can imagine how utterly collapsed the situation is.

Homage to Amitabha, the Tathagata, the Dhyani, Amitabha, Amitabha, and the Perfection.

The old monk of Bao'en Temple seemed to intend to ease his relationship with the North Sea Dragon King, and perhaps truly for monastic reasons, he sat cross‑legged on the treasure ship, chanting the Afterlife Mantra to transmute the death aura spreading in the sea.

Mu Yi shook his head; the souls of those evil‑god minions were already twisted, and after being shattered they usually dissipate completely, so the Afterlife Mantra cannot transmute them.

As for the death aura pervading this sea, either nature will gradually wear it away, or it will slowly sink into the netherworld.

Unconcerned with the old abbot's actions, Mu Yi asked the North Sea Dragon King a few more questions, then sealed him within a Reincarnation Barrier, using its unique properties to nourish his dragon soul.

Mu Yi isn't just idle after a full belly; rather, he has received a relevant mission.

Zongwang Prompt: You have triggered North Sea Dragon King Ao Xi's commission, protect him to reach the Four Sea Dragon Clan's native Dragon Pool, and re‑transform him into a dragon.

"Mission Reward: The North Sea Dragon King's treasured relic!"

Although not particularly fond of the Four Sea Dragon Clan, there is an old saying: never claim a Dragon King has no treasure; he is still quite interested in the North Sea Dragon King's collection.

However, the subsequent voyage was not as smooth as before.

As Mu Yi and his party drew nearer to the source, the attacks they faced grew increasingly frequent.

Deep divers, black goat cubs… wave after wave of evil‑god minions and followers launched fearless assaults on the fleet.

When they reached the West Sea, the once lofty, cloud‑spanning sky had at some point become shrouded by a pitch‑black leaden cloud.

Within the dark clouds, lightning flashed and thunder roared.

Drizzling rain poured from the heavens, making the ocean restless, and the wind and waves expanded without limit.

「The other side seems to know we're coming, trying to stop us from moving forward? 」 Mu Yi stared at the dark clouds in the sky, his expression somewhat solemn.

Within the dark clouds, at least one black true dragon exists; according to the North Sea Dragon King's words, it should be the West Sea Dragon King.

But unlike the North Sea Dragon King, this dragon king can clearly summon wind and rain; either its dragon soul has been completely twisted, or even the heavenly and earthly divine positions have begun to be eroded by evil gods.

Of course, the trouble isn't only the true dragon in the sky; there are also plenty of troubles in the ocean.

In the sea, not only are the Four Sea Dragon Kings legends; likewise, in some remote corners, some legendary creatures also live.

A bolt of lightning struck down, hitting the cloud energy barrier, illuminating the dim sky brightly.

The shining light illuminated a huge creature beneath the sea surface.

The next moment, only a resonant howl was heard.

Beneath the dim sea surface, suddenly a wave hundreds of meters high rose, and within the surge the silhouette of a huge creature appeared.

With a body the size of a mountain, it stepped on the waves and came to engulf the fleet.

「Just a giant turtle! 」 the North Sea Dragon King's face was displeased; a lowly sea beast dares to stir up wind and waves before them.

Although they have lost their physical forms, and even their dragon souls are not entirely intact, with the divine position in hand, the sea remains their dragon clan's main battlefield.

A wave hundreds of meters high surged forward from in front of the fleet, straight toward the opposing wave.

「Boom! 」

The two opposing waves collided, triggering a thunderous roar that shook the heavens.

In that instant, the flood spread in all directions; the fleet bearing the cloud energy barrier was pushed back a distance.

A giant turtle the size of a mountain emerged from the sea surface; like all evil god minions, its body was suffused with tentacles and a mutated form, indicating its condition.

Accompanying its emergence, a slender figure also faintly appeared within the dark clouds; as it appeared, the thunder in the cloud layers became increasingly dense and loud.

Bolts of lightning fell from the sky like free wholesale, leaving no gap, continuously attacking the cloud energy barrier.

「Can we leave the sky dragon king to the True Person, the Abbot, and the Great Scholar to handle? 」 Zheng He turned to the three top combatants and said.

「We only need to restrain it for a moment; the cloud energy can then destroy it in one strike! 」

「Good! 」

The True Person from Wudang Mountain immediately rose into the air; a brilliant sword light appeared in midair, splitting the dark clouds directly in two.

The West Sea Dragon King was also forced to reveal its true form, more severely twisted than the North Sea Dragon King; even its original appearance was becoming indiscernible, and if not for its wind-and-rain ability holding it together, some would say it was some kind of monster.

「This giant turtle will be rid of you, Exalted One; likewise, we only need to restrain it for a while! 」

Mu Yi nodded, took out the Mountain Water Seal, and launched an attack at the giant turtle.

The North Sea Dragon King let out a high-pitched dragon roar, and a huge vortex instantly formed around the giant turtle, entrapping it.

Mu Yi showed no courtesy, directly smashing the Mountain Water Seal in his hand down; the Water Vein Power within the seal condensed into an immense dharma form that crashed down onto the giant turtle.

With just one strike, the giant turtle staggered and fell; its limbs could not support its massive body, and it collapsed with a crash onto the sea surface.

Before it could get up, the Mountain Water Seal fell from the sky again, smashing it back into the sea, sending up countless waves that spread in all directions.

The giant turtle seemed to change tactics, intending to burrow into the ocean; the vortex controlled by the North Sea Dragon King couldn't stop it, and even though it inflicted countless wounds, it still couldn't hinder its steps.

The drawback of having only a dragon soul remained, continually limiting the North Sea Dragon King's exertion.

Whether it's nature or something else, the giant turtle, unlike other evil god minions, actually wanted to flee.

「Want to escape? 」

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Mu Yi's mouth; facing a Military Strategist who wants to flee, that's really overthinking it.

「Don't even think about escaping! 」

Mu Yi activated the set skill attached to the Glory Set—Divine Challenge—directed at the giant turtle.

A beam of light descended, enveloping Mu Yi and the giant turtle.

Like an octagonal cage, Mu Yi and the giant turtle were imprisoned together.

Mu Yi could feel that the cage formed by this light was hard to destroy; the only way out was to end this Divine Challenge.

Whether successful or not, one could exit from it.

And just as Mu Yi had the giant turtle under control, the fleet's cloud energy finished charging, and a massive cloud energy attack pierced the sky.

Unlike the previous hasty attack where the North Sea Dragon King could still leave a remnant, this full-power strike, with the West Sea Dragon King bound by the three experts working together, annihilated it completely.

The heavy dark clouds hanging over the sky dispersed directly; the sun reappeared, its light once again illuminating heaven and earth.

But I don't know if it's an illusion; Mu Yi always felt the sun's temperature seemed to have dropped several degrees.

Mu Yi looked with some heartache at where the West Sea Dragon King vanished; sometimes an attack's power being too great isn't good, for the West Sea Dragon King's dragon pearl and dragon soul were both vaporized outright, resulting in an intangible great loss.

Of course, the North Sea Dragon King's dragon pearl wasn't any better; it had already turned to ash under the fleet's bombardment.

However, just as Mu Yi felt heartache, a streak of spiritual light flew toward him; after being blocked by the light of Divine Challenge, it lingered briefly in place, then rushed toward Ao Mo on the deck.

「Huh? There's still this kind of good fortune? 」

Mu Yi felt somewhat delighted; even if they couldn't take it away, gaining an extra Legend-level combat force on their side was still a good thing.

You should know, their territory is the West Sea, and Ao Mo has accepted the West Sea Dragon King's divine position; the power he exerts might even surpass that of the North Sea Dragon King, which has only a dragon soul left.

「That side is settled; you may also go on your way! 」

Mu Yi didn't wait for Zheng He's intention to fire; once Divine Challenge begins, it cannot be stopped, and only one of him and the giant turtle can survive.

Used well, this is a captive-enemy Divine Skill; used poorly, it could just be giving away heads.

Compared to the giant turtle, he still has the chance to voluntarily concede.

However, the giant turtle before him is still not enough to make him admit defeat.