Chapter 57 The Eight-Clawed Immortal's Hellish Landscape

"Did you lock that woman up?"

A rough voice came through the crack in the door, where a sliver of light was visible. Bai Yuheng opened her squinted eyes, stretched her slightly sore neck, and listened carefully to the sounds outside the door. As she looked around, she could vaguely see two women lying limply on the ground.

"Don't worry! That little wench discovered our people hiding in the cabin, but luckily I arrived in time and knocked her unconscious!" A rather shrill male voice chuckled obsequiously. "So, boss, are you still going to carry out that plan? Or..."

The man's gruff voice said, "No need. We've already caught her. There's no need for the Octopus Immortal to come and catch her again!"

"What about the rest?"

"This is naturally still the work of the Octopus Immortal," the gruff voice continued. "It's about time. The higher-ups said this batch is the best, so don't make any mistakes! Otherwise, the Painted Skin Immortal won't forgive you!"

"Yes, yes, I understand."

As soon as the two finished speaking, the previously steady boat suddenly rocked and tilted to the left.

"The Octopus Immortal is about to begin! Quickly move the people in the dark room onto the prepared small boat and send them directly to Penglai Island. We'll meet there."

"Okay! You can rest assured that I'll handle things!"

As the shaking subsided, the sharp male voice drew closer, chuckled, and forcefully pushed open the door, saying, "Little beauty, while we still have time, let's get intimate..."

Having said that, taking advantage of the faint light coming in from outside the door, he groped for the person lying on the ground, chuckling as he stroked her face with his rough hands. Her skin, as smooth as tofu, made his heart pound and made him itch with desire.

"Little beauty, come on! Let's have some fun first!"

Just as the man was about to loosen his belt, Bai Yuheng woke up in time and froze him. Only his eyes and mouth were still moving. She exclaimed in shock, "You...you...how did you wake up?!"

Bai Yuheng threw away the ropes binding her hands and feet, wiped the places he had touched with disgust, and frowned, saying, "Oh, you're disappointed, I wasn't dizzy at all."

"How is this possible!" The man in front of him, with his beady eyes and pointed face, stared wide-eyed in astonishment. "How is this possible! I used a specially made sleeping potion!"

Bai Yuheng, annoyed by his excessive talking, cast a silencing spell, silencing him. She then checked the breathing of the two women, confirming they were alright, before summoning the little golden snake from her sleeve. Under his horrified gaze, she threatened, "I'll ask you questions later. Just answer me. If you have any other intentions, I'll make sure you die in my belly."

"Did you understand?"

The man could neither speak nor move; he could only blink frantically.

Bai Yuheng released his silencing spell, and the man tried to speak: "Are you human or demon? Don't kill me! These things have nothing to do with me! I'm just a servant obeying orders—"

"I told you, don't say anything useless, just answer my questions. If you say one more word, you'll never have to speak again."

Bai Yuheng threatened him slowly and deliberately. The man was clearly terrified. Just a moment ago he thought the person in front of him was beautiful and charming, but now she had turned into a demon wearing the mask of a beauty. He nodded repeatedly in fright.

Why are you arresting us? Why are you monitoring us?

"Phew, I don't know the specifics..." the man sobbed in terror. "I was just following orders. The higher-ups said they saw two stunningly beautiful women while selling tickets yesterday, and they told us to keep an eye on them and abduct you when you board the boat! We don't know the specifics of what they're going to do..."

Bai Yuheng frowned and continued to ask, "Then who are the Eight-Clawed Immortal and the Painted Skin Immortal you mentioned?"

"The Eight-Clawed Immortal is a sea monster with eight claws, who obeys the High Priest. We've never seen the Painted Skin Immortal before; it was this immortal who ordered us to capture you!"

"Then why are you arresting us?"

"have no idea……"

Bai Yuheng frowned and asked again, "What is that priest's name? Why can he command the Eight-Clawed Immortal?"

"I don't know... We're only responsible for taking the captured people to Penglai Island; the rest is not our concern..." The man wept bitterly.

"Where exactly is Penglai Island? How do we get in and out? Are there any secret passages?" Bai Yuheng kept asking him questions, and the rocking of the boat became more and more severe. The woman who was originally unconscious was now awakened by the impact.

The man answered her tremblingly.

"What drugs did you give them? Did you do anything to them?"

The man shook his head and exclaimed that he dared not: "You were all handpicked by your superiors, how could I dare to touch you... I just wanted to take a little liberty and grope you a couple of times to satisfy my urges..." The man said this under her deathly gaze.

Upon hearing this, Bai Yuheng's eyelids twitched. She knew that the mortal world placed great importance on a woman's chastity, and at this moment, she was enraged. She let the little golden snake crawl onto his shoulder and neck, hissing and flicking its scarlet tongue. The man was so frightened that his legs trembled, and he almost fainted, but Bai Yuheng used her magic to hold him up. The little golden snake wrapped around him even tighter...

Bai Yuheng carefully examined the two women's bodies and, finding no suspicious marks, breathed a sigh of relief.

The dark-skinned, thin man was so terrified by the little golden snake that he lost control of his bladder and became completely disoriented, his soul seemingly leaving his body.

Seeing that she couldn't get anything out of him, Bai Yuheng used a golden snake to coil around his body and, amidst the man's silent terror, extracted the memories from his head. A pale blue dot fell into the air and was swallowed by the golden snake.

"ah!"

The two women woke up at that moment and, seeing such a bizarre scene, couldn't help but scream in shock.

Bai Yuheng looked at them and saw that they were staring wide-eyed, crying with tears streaming down their faces.

She said softly, "I'm not a bad person. Do you remember who arrested you?" She pointed to the man who had fainted on the ground and asked, "Was it him?"

After receiving the women's affirmative nods, he gave them a reassuring smile and said, "I'm here to rescue you. I heard your cries for help and pretended to be captured to find out where you were being hidden. Do you believe me?"

The boat rocked even more violently, and the three of them had to hold on tightly to whatever was around them to stay steady and speak fluently.

Seeing that the man who had captured them was unconscious, the two women believed her and nodded repeatedly, saying in hoarse voices, "Thank you for risking your life to save us..."

Bai Yuheng made a hand seal to steady their feet.

"Don't panic, this is a spell that will make you feel like you're walking on flat ground even when you're shaking like this."

The two women breathed a sigh of relief, and seeing that they could indeed stand, they sobbed with gratitude, "Thank you so much, young lady!"

"Grab it and follow me." Bai Yuheng transformed the golden snake into a silk thread that split in two, binding the two of them together. She led the way.

"When were you captured by them?" Bai Yuheng asked as she walked.

“Last night,” the woman said, wiping away her tears. “Last night, she and I were strolling through the night market when we were accidentally separated by the crowd. Just now, that man drugged me, and when I woke up, we were here.”

Bai Yuheng turned around and stared at them intently in the bright light of the cabin. One of their faces looked somewhat familiar. She suddenly realized and said to one of the women, "Aren't you called Le Ying?"

The woman at the back paused for a moment, then nodded: "Exactly."

“We met last night; my companion was the one who stopped you and asked about the lantern.”

Le Ying calmed down and recalled that she did remember the woman who had stopped her. She was sweet-looking with dimples on her cheeks when she spoke, and next to her was... She looked at the woman in front of her and the slender figure in her memory overlapped with the one in front of her. It was her, a woman with a beautiful appearance and a purity like mountain spring water.

Overjoyed, Yue Ying burst into tears. It was as if she had seen a family member, and her previously flustered heart calmed down.

"Thank you so much for saving me, young lady! I have no way to repay you! If we can get out of here, I will definitely treat you as an honored guest. Gold, silver, treasures, power, fame... as long as you are willing, I will gladly offer them to you!"

Bai Yuheng shook her head and said, "There's no need for that, it's just a small favor."

"Can any of you swim?" Before they could say anything more, Bai Yuheng suddenly asked, "There might be a big battle later, which could very well affect you. Can any of you swim?"

"Yes, we will." Yueying and her companion glanced at each other and nodded.

"That's good."

-

The three men stepped out of the cabin and found the outside in chaos. Many people were fleeing in all directions, shouting for help and wailing everywhere. At that moment, several long, thick tentacles were waving around the ship. The foul-smelling tentacles seemed to have eyes, waving in the air but hesitating to make a move, terrifying everyone on board.

The setting sun was like blood, resembling a scene of hell on earth.

Bai Yuheng settled the two of them in a corner.

She squinted, searching for Pei Yuan and the others. She saw two people suspended in mid-air, fighting against the tentacles with flashing swords, while Cen Ying comforted the wounded.

As if sensing that all those it was after had arrived, one of the tentacles, which had been being pushed back by Pei Yuan and Li Tiankuo, suddenly unleashed tremendous energy. The tentacle, hurtling through the air, aimed at them. Bai Yuheng ran, dodging the attacking tentacle, while simultaneously drawing her bow in mid-air and firing an arrow that shimmered with golden light. The arrow struck the middle of the tentacle, and the point of impact, like a flame meeting a speck of oil, burst into a golden-red flame, burning it until it was red-hot and rapidly extending towards the seabed.

"Waaah..."

A deep, hollow wail echoed across the sea, and the massive ship was rocked by the layers of waves it was churning.

Not far away, a huge head emerged from the sea, its eyes, the size of a stone lion and emitting a faint, eerie light, staring intently at her.

"Xiaoying, watch out!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Bai Yuheng caught sight of the tentacles lurking behind Cen Ying, which were stirring restlessly. She quickened her pace and fired a series of arrows to block its attack. Meanwhile, Cen Ying, holding a crying child, rolled around a few times to avoid the tentacles that pierced the deck.

Cen Ying handed the child in her arms to Zhu He, who could barely stand and was clinging to the net.

Zhu He squatted down, holding the child in one arm and Chuan Zhi in the other.

Having failed to catch the tentacle, it attacked again.

Cen Ying inserted the silver needle into the tentacle, making a sizzling sound and emitting puffs of smoke.

Having dodged the tentacles' fierce attack, Cen Ying noticed an old man who was about to be thrown off balance. Using the momentum, she flew to his side and found that half of his body was covered in blood.

"Are you alright, sir?"

The old man looked pained and couldn't concentrate on dealing with her, so he didn't respond. Cen Ying pulled him to a corner and carefully examined his injuries.

Meanwhile, the tentacles over there, enraged by Cen Ying's burns, were violently thrashing about, causing the deck to heave and creak.

"Cen, Cen Ying..." Zhu He, a pampered young master, was already pushing himself to the limit by holding both a child and a boat girl at the same time. His arms were already numb from the pain and he could barely support himself. He let out a soft cry.

The frenzied tentacles lashed wildly, about to strike Zhu He and the child. At this critical moment, Bai Yuheng flipped over and slid in front of them, the golden snake transforming into a giant blade to block the falling tentacles.

In the blood-red twilight, a slender woman in red robes fluttered in the wind, her movements as swift as lightning as she deflected the swirling tentacles. Her jet-black hair billowed in the wind as she single-handedly shielded two people from the impact. The force of the attack sent dust flying, and the debris transformed into sharp weapons that grazed her jade-like face, leaving bloody marks.

Zhu He held the child tightly in his arms, his eyes wide open, his expression blank and astonished.

Bang!

Bang! Bang!

Bang bang bang!

A series of thunderous tremors, like a boulder falling to the ground, sent shivers down his spine, sending surging waves through his veins and limbs.

My mind was blank at that moment, only the person in front of me was imprinted with the deepest and most dazzling red.

Zhu He felt his heart flutter.