Translator: AnubisTL
Gu Feng appeared to be slacking off on the surface, but in reality, he was keeping a close eye on the entire battlefield.
These were all Heaven's Chosen from the Grand Harmony Academy. If there were heavy casualties, it would be troublesome. Moreover, they had all gotten along quite well along the way, and Gu Feng couldn't just stand by and watch them fall.
The tentacles of the Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid were extremely lethal. When it shot out blue beams, even a Heaven's Chosen at the fifth level of Nurtured Spirit would be severely injured if not killed outright.
Gu Feng activated his Immortal Eye. Void Break. As soon as the Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid showed signs of firing its beams, he secretly used the second soul Secret Technique he had comprehended from the Bright Moon Nether Visualization Art—Netherworld King Steps on Nine Nethers—to intimidate its soul and interrupt its attack.
Of course, all of this was done in secret. Apart from Monk Wu De, who was closest to him and had a slight inkling, the other Heaven's Chosen were completely unaware.
They still thought that the Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid couldn't fire its blue beams at a high frequency.
"Hahaha, these Sea Demons are nothing special. Aside from their decent defense, they're quite unremarkable."
"As long as we watch out for their tentacles, there's basically no danger."
"It must be because we're too strong. After all, we're the elites of the Great Chu Dynasty. If we can't even handle these trash Sea Demons, we might as well find a block of tofu to crash into."
"..."
With Gu Feng's covert assistance, the two hundred Heaven's Chosen miraculously suffered no casualties. Only about a dozen of them were slightly injured, none fatally.
The one-sided slaughter enraged the Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid, which was being besieged by five Heaven's Chosen. It continuously let out strange sounds from its mouth.
At one point, it forced out a mouthful of essence blood and sprayed it onto the expanding coral stone.
The coral stone erupted with a dazzling light, a breathtakingly beautiful color that, in an instant, expanded more than tenfold.
The strange light scattered, as if creating a gravitational magnetic field in the space. The Heaven's Chosen within its range suddenly felt an immense pressure on their bodies, and their Spiritual Power seemed to stagnate slightly.
In contrast, the Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid, as if it had taken a stimulant, saw its combat power increase significantly.
With this shift, what was once a one-sided massacre became a more evenly matched battle.
Fortunately, after the initial period of slaughter, there were fewer than a hundred Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid left.
The Heaven's Chosen paired up and fought with difficulty, but they didn't fall into a disadvantage.
The outer battle was almost decided, so Gu Feng turned his attention to Hua Wenyue and the others.
Five Nurtured Spirits soared, their roars echoing like dragons and tigers, their sword light swirling. The five of them, at the mid-sixth level of Nurtured Spirit, were besieging a Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid at the peak of the seventh level. With the strange magnetic field of the coral, Zong Shixuan and the others were not gaining the upper hand and were struggling.
Gu Feng shook his head. Even though they were fighting ten thousand meters beneath the sea, the commotion they were causing was immense. The surface of the sea must have already been stirred into towering waves.
If a powerful expert passed by, it could lead to unforeseen complications.
Thus—
He silently activated Netherworld King Steps on Nine Nethers and directed it at the Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid at the peak of the seventh level of Nurtured Spirit.
The once arrogant and domineering Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid suddenly felt an inexplicable pressure surrounding it.
In its mind, an image of a Netherworld King appeared—a figure of indescribable majesty and terror.
The Netherworld King's phantom stood tall in its consciousness, its expression neither joyful nor sorrowful. With a gentle lift of its leg, it seemed poised to step down.
In an instant, a feeling of insignificance and irresistibility surged from the depths of its heart, spreading throughout its body, causing its soul to tremble. The blue light flickering on its tentacles dissipated in a flash.
"It's exhausted! This is our chance to kill it!"
The Prosperous Colorful Lotus bloomed, its nine petals unfurling, and an indescribably dazzling light gathered together, stirring up immense waves that surged toward the eyes of the Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid.
"Immortal Slaughtering Annihilation!" A low shout rang out as Wu Sheng's long sword suddenly turned into nothingness, as if it had broken through the constraints of time and space. In the blink of an eye, it appeared above the pair of tentacles.
A fierce sword strike cleaved a massive fissure in the seabed, splitting the entire sea surface into two. A sliver of sunlight penetrated through the crack into the depths of the ocean.
What a stunning strike! It cleanly severed one of the tentacles.
Zong Shixuan, Duan Yansheng, and Dugu Ao also unleashed their most powerful attacks.
After this wave of assaults, several terrifying puncture wounds appeared on the chest of the Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid. Crimson blood gushed out like a fountain, spilling freely.
Its pair of tentacles were severed by Wu Sheng and Dugu Ao respectively. Severely wounded, its aura rapidly declined, and it seemed on the verge of death.
On the other side, the other Heaven's Chosen, inspired by the ferocity of the five, also unleashed their full power, killing the Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid before them.
At this point, the outcome was decided.
Fearing a last-ditch counterattack from the peak Spirit Nurturing Realm Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid, Hua Wenyue and the others did not rush to attack. Instead, they surrounded it, quietly waiting for its demise.
Perhaps realizing its fate, the creature attempted to break through several times but failed, revealing a look of despair and resentment.
"Boom—"
After the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the five joined forces to deliver a final attack, annihilating the peak Spirit Nurturing Realm Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid!
Hua Wenyue and the others gasped for breath as they returned to the group. Seeing that no one had perished and only half of the cultivators were injured, none seriously, they were slightly taken aback.
In their view, this group of Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid was quite formidable. Even if they won, they expected to lose at least several dozen lives.
They hadn't anticipated this outcome.
It was somewhat strange, but they didn't dwell on it. After all, they were all Heaven's Chosen, capable of challenging opponents above their level. Achieving such a result was within reason.
Only Monk Wu De pursed his lips and gave Gu Feng a deep look. The latter was gazing around in confusion, his face pale, as if he were frightened.
This left Monk Wu De even more bewildered. Gu Feng was really getting into his act! No wonder he could brazenly rob people during the exam, leaving the victims dumbfounded, and then shift the blame onto Dugu Ao while walking away unscathed.
You had to admire it!
"Everyone, take a moment to recover, then we'll head inside to search for treasures!"
Gu Feng followed suit, sitting cross-legged to recover his strength, but his gaze remained fixed on the coral stone before him, which had now expanded to the size of a mountain range.
A sense of unease crept into his heart. Earth-grade Artifacts in the Great Chu Dynasty were all in the hands of Soul Core Realm experts. No matter how wealthy the Sea Demons were, it was impossible for someone in the Spirit Nurturing Realm to wield such a high-grade artifact.
There must be something strange about this.
Unfortunately, his Immortal Eye. Void Break couldn't penetrate Earth-grade Artifacts. He also considered the possibility that during the racial war, the experts of the Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid might have deliberately allowed their juniors to carry the treasures away to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. With this in mind, he didn't dwell on it further.
After about an hour of recuperation, everyone had returned to their peak condition.
Everyone stared at the coral stone the size of a mountain range before them, feeling the awkwardness of having a treasure mountain right in front of them but not knowing where to start.
Gu Feng smiled slightly and stepped forward, "At this moment, are you regretting not having learned Weapon Crafting?"
"Do you know how to get inside?" Hua Wenyue glanced at him, her face full of disbelief.
"My Weapon Crafting skills aren't great, but in the past few months, I've read no less than ten thousand ancient texts on Weapon Crafting..." Gu Feng said confidently, and everyone's eyes lit up.
"This object is a Low-Grade Earth Artifact, a spatial treasure, likely used for mass migration of a species. Based on my judgment, it probably doesn't belong to the 'Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid' clan."
After carefully examining the coral stone, Gu Feng realized a problem: this treasure couldn't belong to the 'Blue Cloth Star Glow Squid,' otherwise, they would have taken refuge inside it earlier.
"Getting inside isn't difficult, but there are probably traps and mechanisms inside, so we must be cautious!" Gu Feng said solemnly.
"Brother Gu, after all the battles we've been through, we finally have this opportunity. No one is likely to give up. Why not just tell us how to get in?" Zong Shixuan spoke calmly.
"Mm," Gu Feng nodded, not surprised by everyone's choice.
If they didn't seize such an opportunity right in front of them, what was the point of cultivating martial arts?
"Find the entrance and force our way in!"
"Is it really that simple?" Dugu Ao was taken aback, glancing at Gu Feng.
"Simple?" Gu Feng tilted his head, looked at him, and then scanned the group.
"This coral stone is too big and uneven. Every part of it looks like an entrance, but it might not be any of them!" Wu Sheng frowned slightly. At least for him, finding it might take a day or two.
"Gu Feng, don't mind this fool!" Hua Wenyue, after observing for a while, also realized that finding the entrance without a lot of time was almost impossible.
"Follow me!" Gu Feng stopped keeping them in suspense and leaped forward, with everyone following behind.
In fact, he didn't know where the entrance was either. He activated his Immortal Eye. Void Break and walked while observing.
Luckily, after about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, he found a spot that seemed like the entrance. Only here did faint light seem to come from behind.
"Everyone, attack this spot!" Gu Feng directed the group.
The combined attack of two hundred Heaven's Chosen was devastating. At the entrance, a transparent, water-like barrier appeared. By now, everyone knew this was the real entrance.
Next, they continued to attack, trying to break the barrier.
After about a dozen waves of attacks, the barrier made a cracking sound, and a spiderweb-like crack appeared on its surface.
Soon, the entire barrier exploded, revealing a dark passage before everyone.
Five Heaven's Chosen nodded simultaneously and led their teams inside.
Hua Wenyue walked a few steps and noticed Gu Feng wasn't following. She turned back, looking at him in surprise.
Gu Feng shrugged, "I think it's too dangerous inside. I won't go in. I'll stay outside and keep watch for you. If anyone comes, I'll warn you in advance."
"Alright, any treasures our team finds will include your share!" Hua Wenyue thought for a moment and agreed with Gu Feng's reasoning, so she didn't insist on him entering.
"Bald donkey, aren't you going in either?"
"Little monk is detached from all things and has no great pursuit for treasures. I shall stay outside to protect Benefactor Gu!" Monk Wu De lowered his head and chanted a passage of 'Amitabha Buddha.'
With his kind and serene expression, he appeared as an otherworldly master, unmoved by external temptations, which made Gu Feng's hair stand on end.
This damn monk is quite the actor!
As the figures of Hua Wenyue and the others completely disappeared from sight, Monk Wu De revealed a lecherous smile, taking small, hurried steps to approach Gu Feng.
"Benefactor Gu, when shall we enter?" he asked with a fawning grin, looking as sleazy as one could imagine.
"I'm enjoying the scenery outside and wasn't planning to go in!" Gu Feng blinked at him.
The monk looked utterly unconvinced. "Then little monk won't go in either."
Damn it—
This bald monk is clinging to me, Gu Feng thought, feeling somewhat speechless.
"Let's enter through another entrance!"
"Alright!"
The two of them flew at an incredible speed, quickly circling to the back of the first entrance.
Gu Feng didn't bother to look at Monk Wu De, focusing his aim and throwing a punch with overwhelming force.
The light barrier, which previously required the combined efforts of two hundred Heaven's Chosen and over a dozen attacks to break, was shattered into dust by just two punches from Gu Feng alone.
Monk Wu De's pupils contracted, and he kept swallowing nervously, his lips trembling. "Ben... Benefactor Gu, have you already comprehended the Great Perfection of Martial Intent?!"
"Not that exaggerated—beyond Small Perfection but not yet Great Perfection!"
Hearing Gu Feng admit it himself, Monk Wu De couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
This was too outrageous, defying the principles of martial arts. It was universally acknowledged that the limit for a Spirit Nurturing Realm cultivator was the Small Perfection of Martial Intent. Even in the place of his birth, no one had ever broken this ironclad rule.
He had always known that Gu Feng was strong, but he never imagined it was to such a terrifying extent.
If Gu Feng wanted to monopolize the treasures, he could likely kill everyone present. Strength itself wasn't frightening; what was truly frightening was how low-key he remained.
Even if he told Hua Wenyue and the others about Gu Feng's true strength, no one would believe him. They might even call him crazy.
"Ben... Benefactor Gu, have you ever thought about killing everyone here?" Monk Wu De asked, trembling with fear.
"I've thought about killing you because you know too much!" Gu Feng glared at him. "What are you standing around for? Lead the way!"
"Oh... oh!"
Monk Wu De hunched over, walking ahead with a subservient posture, sweat dripping down his spine!
(End of the Chapter)
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