Chapter 680: Grilled Squid

Although the soul can influence the body, allowing this body to continuously absorb Mutation and grow stronger, it requires a large amount of time and Mutation.

If not for that, why would he have to watch his valued experimental subject right before his eyes, yet only be able to temporarily give up?

Fang Zhiyan secretly sighed; although he also felt his earlier behavior was somewhat rash, as a researcher, how could he not be moved by such an experiment?

Invisible energy suddenly spread outward; in just a few seconds, the entire Tianmian City was enveloped by that force, yet most people noticed nothing.

"Huh?" Fang Zhiyan's hairs stood on end, a feeling of being watched covered him; before he could react, the ground beneath his feet suddenly vanished.

It was as if someone had sliced him out together with the ground beneath his feet, disconnecting him from the world; his body was no longer bound by gravity, yet an invisible line was pulling his body in a certain direction.

Fang Zhiyan immediately realized he had been thrown into a spacetime rift.

He did not struggle; the fine silver-white tentacles coiled around his cuffs, without a doubt. Although he did not know where he would be sent, after leaving this place there would surely be a trap waiting for him.

That pulling sensation lasted only about two or three seconds for him; of course, the actual time he could not know, for a spacetime rift is like that—inside it, the perceived passage of time and the distance traveled are deceptive.

He saw a beam of light; after the brief spacetime journey, the exit rift appeared before him.

Fang Zhiyan was flung out of the spacetime rift; that person probably intended to fling him to his death, and the place he was sent to was directly above a ten‑thousand‑meter altitude.

The tentacles, poised and ready, instantly extended, firmly shielding him inside, making full preparations for landing.

Although dying from a fall sounds embarrassing, the now‑weakened Fang Zhiyan who has come to this world truly could die from such a fall.

But he did not see land; instead, an endless expanse of sea sponge lay before him.

Fang Zhiyan plunged vertically into that deep‑blue water surface, sinking a distance; after entering the seawater, his tentacles spread apart and encircled his sides.

The sea in this world is clear; due to the sun's exposure, even the top layer of water is warm, starkly different from the black sea he remembered.

Was the sea, before being polluted by Mutation, really like this?

On the sea surface, the ripples raised by his fall stretched outward, soon swallowed by the undulating waves, as if nothing had happened.

Beautiful, clear, deep blue.

It's just a pity; compared to such a sea, perhaps the unseen deep sea is more suited to him.

Anyway, assimilating this body also takes time; he might as well dive to the seabed, which could be a good option—but if he did so, his experiments would have to be completely halted.

Fang Zhiyan hesitated; although he had prepared to face ambushes, it now seemed the lord of Tianmian City had merely expelled him forcibly, and the situation of that Pope indeed looked grim.

The silver‑white tentacles spread apart in the water's buoyancy; from afar they resembled a sea monster from a fairy tale, yet suddenly a ring of blue energy light flared above.

Because Mu Linyuan had greeted them, Yang Yixie had made a few extra levitation devices in advance and handed them out.

They were also not skilled at naval combat; Yang Yixie reasonably suspected that Mu Linyuan wanted to take this chance to eliminate them together with Fang Zhiyan, and it would be best if they and Fang Zhiyan perished together.

Just after emerging from the spacetime rift, Yang Yixie immediately saw, not far off, the silvery‑white octopus sinking downward.

"... He wants to go to the seabed." Yang Yixie instantly grasped Fang Zhiyan's intention; Xirensheng, to save energy for Mu Linyuan, had turned into a playing card and slipped into Yang Yixie's Game Backpack, so Yang Yixie directly threw the playing card in his hand away.

Xirensheng resumed human form in mid‑air, landing directly on the arriving flight device; several playing cards flew out, from which a few twisted‑tip spears sprang, shooting straight at Fang Zhiyan.

"Speared the fish!" Xirensheng exclaimed gleefully.

Grilled squid.

Fang Zhiyan's body was sinking; he had already seen his pursuers, and his thick silver‑white tentacles instantly raised two of them, easily grasping the spears in his tentacles.

"Don't let him go down; his Mutation Source is an octopus—letting him enter the deep sea would be troublesome." Yang Yixie said immediately.

Shen Zexi did not answer; his body had already moved.

Although it was their first use, the several people on the levitation device displayed extraordinary adaptability; aside from a little wobble at the start, by now the device turned in mid‑air and carried him toward Fang Zhiyan, leaving a light trail in the air.

Qi Hengyu chose to cut in from another direction; Chen Mo Zhi's levitation device carried him around to the flank, and poison mist condensed at his fingertips into a thin light‑gray band that spread tightly over the sea surface.

Fang Zhiyan's silver‑white tentacles around him slowly unfurled; the edges of the tentacles glowed bright white from light refraction, then suddenly his tentacles shot out from the seabed at great speed, kicking up a spray of water and sweeping toward Shen Zexi.

Before Luo Jinyou's shield could meet the tentacle attack, a jade‑stone‑shaped barrier had already been placed in front of Shen Zexi, and the tentacles were deflected outward by about half a meter.

Qi Hengyu was already in position; his fist met another tentacle, striking it with an energy‑charged impact, the point of impact striking empty and kicking up a huge spray.

Underwater, Fang Zhiyan did not hastily retract his tentacles; instead, he shifted his attention to another person.

The light‑gray poison mist swiftly sank, penetrated the water layer, and formed below a gray‑white region that was slowly diffusing.

Where that poison mist contacted Fang Zhiyan's tentacles, the silver‑white tentacles developed a ring of corrosion marks.

Fang Zhiyan suddenly abandoned sinking, instead pushing up from underwater; his tentacles rapidly gathered around his body, becoming thicker and larger, spreading behind him to support him half a meter above the sea surface.

His skin took on an unnatural pallor, and faintly one could see his flesh slowly wriggling, as if countless tiny worms were moving inside.

"This is really lively—with so many people coming, it looks like they're out to decide my fate."

Even though that face looked especially terrifying, Fang Zhiyan still bore an air of ease, that demeanor just like he used to be the minister who held all power.