Chapter 273

A terrifying black shadow appeared.

It surged up from the deepest seabed, and even before its full form was revealed, it already evoked a deep sense of fear.

Right after the black shadow approached the fleet, hundreds of thick tentacles stretched out from the sea, completely wrapping the cloud-energy barrier that was holding up the fleet.

Even the chaotic minions of an evil god can make the correct choice when facing a powerful enemy.

Its appearance was a mix of fish, mollusk, and eel, with numerous huge, powerful tentacles; six spiral-arranged feelers surrounded a large mouth full of sharp teeth that opened, letting out a terrifying roar.

"What the hell is this thing?"

Mu Yi's face looked grim, yet no one could give him an answer; the aura emitted by the monster before him was strong and deadly, a creature even more terrifying than the evil god's lackey he had once encountered on the coast.

"Damn it!"

Seeing the monster before him, Mu Yi felt his scalp tingle, for he realized a fact: even this monster before them was not their ultimate target.

In the deep sea, the true mastermind behind everything still lurks.

Yet even this monster before them is hard to deal with; those legendary creatures in the ocean are almost being toyed with by it, just like the giant turtle Mu Yi slew.

At best they could only exchange blows with its tentacles; if they really fought, a legendary creature of the giant turtle's caliber could probably only serve as a snack for that huge thing.

The worst part is that this creature is simply enormous; those tentacles capable of enveloping the entire fleet are merely part of its massive body.

Even if they kept their distance, Mu Yi doubted whether the fleet could muster a full-force strike to blast this thing to death.

"Screw it, at times like this we can only give it our all!"

Mu Yi's hand had already touched the token, but in the end he gave up the fantasy of summoning the Underworld's great army.

Before seeing the true master, everything is still variable; he absolutely cannot take chances and waste this precious opportunity.

"Creak—creak!"

The cloud-energy barrier condensed by the fleet, under the powerful squeeze of the thick tentacles, emitted a sound of being unable to bear the load.

The chaotic aura permeating those thick tentacles was like the world's deadliest poison, leaving very obvious corrosion marks on the cloud-energy barrier.

Ordinary weapons would be instantly corroded by that chaotic element if they cut into its body and got this chaotic aura on them.

"General, I'll hold it off, first take care of those little lackeys!" Mu Yi shouted loudly.

Zheng He's face looked a bit grim, but he didn't say much, merely focusing more intently on maintaining the cloud-energy barrier.

In the current situation, if no one steps up to deal with this big guy, the fleet can't break free from its bonds, let alone smash it to pieces.

At times like this, he could only hope that Mu Yi possessed some special means.

"Asura Sword Rain!"

Mu Yi had the North Sea Dragon King and Ao Mo continue to restrain the sea beasts that weren't blasted dead, while he himself jumped into the sea, using a long sword condensed from Asura, and unleashed a volley of countless arrows.

Countless Asura long swords fell on the giant monster's body, leaving wound after wound that seemed to have punched a portion of its tentacles full of holes.

However, before Mu Yi could recall the Asura long swords, these swords began to dissolve due to the chaotic aura clinging to the tentacles, and the wounds on the giant monster's body also healed at breakneck speed.

"What a troublesome thing!"

Mu Yi's face also looked grim; his attack had basically no effect at all.

Several thick tentacles broke free from their restraint on the fleet and slapped toward Mu Yi's direction; Mu Yi drew his bow, beginning to frantically charge power.

He himself didn't move, but the seawater around his feet seemed to be pushing him forward, easily dodging the tentacles' assault; Mu Yi shot the fully charged arrow in his hand directly into one of the tentacles.

The thick tentacle was blown apart in a roaring sound; the severed tentacle was immediately collected by Mu Yi into the Reincarnation Barrier, and the next second the broken tentacle had already begun high-speed regeneration.

"Damn, this simply isn't a solution!"

Mu Yi's expression wavered; he took a deep breath, ready to go all out, and at times like this he could only choose to drag this big monster into the Six Paths Barrier—gaining even a few seconds was worthwhile, and Mu Yi never thought the barrier could trap such a colossal being.

"Six Paths Reincarnation Barrier!"

Mu Yi unfolded the barrier, and the colossal beast lurking beneath the sea surface vanished instantly from its spot.

"Subject, I request the imperial edict to suppress the evil god!"

Zheng He did not betray Mu Yi's sacrifice; he directly produced an imperial edict and half-kneeled in obeisance at the bow.

Between heaven and earth, in the dark depths, a grand assent resounded.

"Approved!"

"Subject, receive the edict!"

Zheng He, rising from his half-kneeling pose, saw the edict in his hand instantly burst forth with ten-thousand-zhang light, and a reassuring power descended vertically from the firmament.

Zheng He unfolded the edict.

"Now there are the evil god's minions, defying Heaven and breaking order, endangering the Great Ming! They shall be executed!"

"By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor's edict declares!"

"The saintly virtue is vast, its power shakes the four seas."

"Heed this!"

"After Zheng He finished reading the imperial edict, a booming fervent chant instantly rose among the fleet."

"The saintly virtue is vast, its power shakes the four seas."

"The saintly virtue is vast, its power shakes the four seas."

"The saintly virtue is vast, its power shakes the four seas."

"Amid the fervent slogan, a tremendous power radiated brilliance from the edict."

"The originally dense Cloud Energy began to boil, and each ship seemed like a massive vortex drawing the essence of heaven and earth, then converging toward the direction of the edict."

"Steady!"

"Zheng He tossed the edict into the sky."

"The edict shone brilliantly between heaven and earth, then emitted endless golden light spreading toward the four seas."

"The Legend sea beast that had been roaring in the vortex, terrified, found itself enveloped by endless golden radiance, utterly unable to move."

"Cloud Energy attack, prepare!"

Three, two, one, release!

At this moment, Zheng He had already completed the preparation for a Cloud Energy attack, giving the legendary sea beasts in the vortex no chance; the Cloud Energy attack, mixed with power leaping across great distances, hit them with precision.

Almost without a sound, the overwhelming force gradually erased those legendary sea beasts that had become the evil god's minions; when the last strand of flesh was extinguished by the Cloud Energy attack, the sea beasts, whose regenerative ability was immense, turned into pure ash and were wiped out directly in the ocean.

"The next moment, the Dragon King cannot move!" After the Great Scholar had taken a heap of miraculous elixirs, his strength partially returned, and he loudly proclaimed to the heavens, "The next moment, the Dragon King cannot move!"

"Cloud Energy Attack, prepare!" Zheng He roared and ordered.

The two Dragon Kings still battling in midair suddenly became rigid, as if the entire world were pressing down on their heads.

Steady!

The true immortal of Wudang Mountain unhesitatingly took out a precious talisman and flung it; the immobilized Dragon King was instantly enveloped by the talisman.

Zheng He also controlled the fleet's Cloud Energy, launching a devastating assault on whichever Dragon King it was.

The radiance brought by the imperial decree enveloped the entire fleet, imbuing each of Zheng He's Cloud Energy attacks with a vast will, making their destructive power even more astonishing.

"Roar!" the Dragon King let out an unwilling bellow, then was annihilated by the Cloud Energy attack.

On the other side, the abbot, seeing the scene, dared not delay; he pulled a relic from his chest, a flash of facial pain crossing his features, then crushed it and hurled it toward the opposite Dragon King.

Divine Palm of the Tathagata!

A gigantic Buddha's palm descended from the heavens, flipping the Dragon King upside down within it.

Cloud Energy Attack!

Without any hesitation, Zheng He once again commanded the fleet to unleash Cloud Energy, annihilating that Dragon King as well.

Roar!

At the instant Zheng He erased the Dragon King, a massive monster shattered out of the Reincarnation Barrier.

……

"Mader, what a monster!"

Mu Yi, up to now, has seen more than one monster, yet he still couldn't help uttering a curse.

After using the Reincarnation Barrier to contain this thing, he realized just how massive the monster was; skyscrapers might be mere toys to it, and the portion previously revealed was only the tip of the iceberg.

A single tentacle stretched over a hundred meters, and there were tens of thousands of such tentacles; the monster's size dwarfed the sea area occupied by an entire fleet.

Its main torso resembled a gigantic deep diver, but the chaotic, disordered shape and the myriad bizarre deformities left Mu Yi uncertain what kind of thing it truly was.

He could only distinctly feel a dizzying discomfort, his stomach churning and his brain throbbing.

Celestial Path! Human Path! Asura Path!

Numerous warriors riding the blood sea launched a repeated assault on the colossal beast; the divine augmentation of the Celestial Path ensured their clarity, yet they could not endure for long.

But that was no issue, for when faced with the boundless tentacle onslaught, they could not possibly fall into chaos.

Cloud Energy Attack!

Mu Yi also tried to gather the Cloud Energy of the various units, following the new technique taught by Zheng He: absorbing the essence of heaven and earth in response, infusing his own will, then compressing it and striking out fiercely.

The exploding celestial essence snapped a few tentacles, which, for the massive monster, amounted to no real damage.

Hell Path!

Flames rising from the ground ignited the entire Reincarnation Barrier, instantly turning its interior into a soaring sea of fire, as if to burn and purify everything within.

However, this was not in the main world; the Hell Path's flames lacked the aid of nether power, and relying solely on Mu Yi and the barrier's strength, they could not inflict real damage on the monster, only suppress its chaotic aura.

Animal Realm! Hungry Ghost Path!

Mu Yi fully rotated the Six Paths, unleashing endless evil spirits and countless beasts that swarmed toward the monster.

It seemed as if they would drown the monster, yet before the absolute power gap, even the Six Paths Reincarnation Barrier's force could not bridge it.

The swing of a massive tentacle could destabilize the barrier, and its chaotic aura was essentially toxic to the Human Path soldiers, Animal Realm beasts, and Hungry Ghost Path spirits.

Just approaching the monster caused fatal injury; their utmost effort was to, under the stacked conditions of Cloud Energy suppression, Hell fire, and Celestial divine nature, use their lives to launch a final blow.

The relentless attacks left countless clear wounds on the monster, but compared to its massive body, those marks were mere specks, causing no fatal damage at all.

Mu Yi's mouth twitched; the gap was simply too great. Even giving his all, he could only inflict minor harm, or rather harassment. Even with the aid of the Death Ledger's power, he could see only a pitifully few death lines on the monster.

And those death lines were almost entirely hidden within the endless tentacles; trying to surpass them was a fool's dream.

Mist!

Mu Yi could only invoke the divine technique taught by Chi You, doing his utmost to restrain the opponent.

Compared with the boundless harassment, the mist proved more effective; the chaotic mind became even more confused amidst the all‑covering fog, losing all sense of its surroundings.

It even halted its movements, standing dumbfounded in the mist, as if pondering what had occurred.

Continue the attack!

Although Mu Yi could not sense the monster's presence, its massive form was evident; without needing to shrink the barrier, he could still command Cloud Energy to harm it.

That was almost all he could do.

Roar

Like a beast irritable after being swarmed by flies, the colossal entity let out a sky‑splitting roar; terrifying sound waves rippled outward, shattering the barrier with the chaotic aura mixed within, cracking it to pieces.

Before the barrier shattered, Mu Yi exhausted his strength to redirect the barrier's impact point to the heavens.

Freed from the mist's shroud, the monster roared excitedly, then plunged into the sea.

A towering wave began to spread!

Mu Yi tried to hurl it into the air as much as possible, but its massive body fell into the ocean at once, instantly raising a hundred‑meter‑high wave, as if a city wall had risen and slammed down on you.

The fleet that had already slain other foes quickly responded, using Cloud Energy attacks to shatter the giant wave.

Radiant Heavenly Might! Transform into Divine Thunder! Guide it with the sword!

At the moment the wave subsided, the true immortal of Wudang Mountain swung his sword; a massive bolt of thunder split the heavens, guided by the sword aura toward the monster.

The sword aura grew denser, the thunder became even more massive, and the world between heaven and earth was illuminated by the lightning.

The sky filled with thunder bombarded the monster's torso in a frantic barrage.

The monster's tentacles jabbed toward the sky; the once‑dense sea of thunder was shredded by the tentacles in an instant, and although the thunderbolts that filled the heavens blackened the tentacles, they were of no use.

Cloud Energy attack!

Zheng He roared, the distance was simply too close; activating self‑circulation is a boost for the fleet, but it is equally a boost for the monster.

Zheng He could only wield Cloud Energy for bombardment, but fortunately, unlike any previous attack, when the Cloud Energy attack struck the monster, the monster finally let out a wail.

That sound pierced straight to the soul, inflicting massive will damage; even Mu Yi could not resist, as if someone were wildly hammering his skull with a massive hammer—the dizziness and discomfort were beyond words.

Imperial Will is effective against it!

Zheng He squinted, finally getting a bit of good news, though it wasn't exactly great news.

After all, this place lies thousands of li from the Great Ming, and over such a distance, the projected Imperial Will could not produce such a strong effect.