Chapter 51 Duck Beak Zhong Daya, you took my hand first!

Not long after Bai and the others left, countless cultivators poured out from all the passages of the walled village, and various spirit boats and magical artifacts took off one after another, rushing into the raging hurricane.

Many cultivators with lower cultivation levels also chose to take a different path. They leaped into the surging sea and darted through the raging waves like fish.

In an instant, the sky above the entire sea was ablaze with light, and shadows rippled beneath the water. Everyone was heading toward the same goal: the legendary Hidden Dragon Abyss, which was about to appear in the world.

Not long after the spirit boat left Storm Island, the setting sun sank completely into the abyss. The bright moon hung high in the sky, its light spilling onto the surging sea, shattering into countless silver glitters.

Bai Ye and Jiao Jiao were lying on the gunwale, with most of their bodies hanging out of the boat.

"Big White, hurry up and catch it!" Jiao Jiao urged, pointing at the golden threadfin bream that had just surfaced in the sea.

Bai also condensed a wisp of spiritual light from his fingertip and shot it into the sea. The light, like a net, caught the large fish that was at least ten feet long and carried it back to the deck.

"Quick, Big White, another glass shrimp has come out! This shrimp looks delicious." With a flick of her little paw, Jiao Jiao scooped up a sea creature onto the boat.

Before long, the seafood on the deck had piled up into a small mountain.

"Alright, Jiaojiao, we'll catch more tomorrow. This is enough for today." Bai stopped, and both the human and the turtle looked at Zhong Jiuli expectantly.

Zhong Jiuli met their gazes, helplessly rolled up her sleeves, and with a light tap of her fingertips, a white jade stove table appeared out of thin air.

The bright red flames in the oven ignited as soon as they were exposed to the wind. Everyone pitched in to clean a pile of shrimp and crabs and put them on the oven to roast.

Soon, an enticing aroma filled the entire spirit boat.

"Raise a glass to celebrate our meeting!" Bai laughed loudly, raising his glass filled with spirit wine high.

Zhong Jiuli's lips curled up slightly, her eyes filled with the bright smile of the little tiger.

"Cheers~" Liu Xianyue lazily raised her glass.

The Chu sisters looked at the group with slight unease, then raised their wine glasses. Finally, everyone's gaze fell on A-Lian.

The blue-haired girl's cheeks flushed, appearing even more shy under the moonlight. She carefully picked up her glass, the glasses clinking together with a crisp sound. "Wishing you a happy meeting and a smooth journey for everyone."

"Success! Jiaojiao wants one too!" The little turtle hurriedly picked up its cup, stretched out its short claws, and clinked them together with everyone else's cups.

The bright moon over the sea shone on the young faces, making their smiles even more radiant. This group of young people, who had met along the way, shared their first drink since becoming acquainted. Even though the future was uncertain, everyone's face was filled with joyful laughter.

Bai finished his drink, exhaled a breath of alcohol, and laughed, "My mother always says that meeting is fate, and since we've met, we're friends! Second Aunt, Third Aunt, and Ah Lian, don't worry, if you follow me, I'll definitely keep you safe."

"Haha, you little rascal, talking nonsense again." Liu Xianyue chuckled.

But the three of them didn't realize it. The Chu sisters all knew that Bai Ye had risked his life to pull them out of the sea. A-Lian looked at Bai Ye with sparkling eyes. This guy who touched her scales had such a beautiful smile. It was a pity she already had an owner.

"Haha, I'm the boss, so of course I have to protect my little sisters!" Bai Ye said, grabbing a piece of golden threadfin bream. "Eat quickly, or it'll be gone!"

The fish skin was roasted to a perfect crisp; as soon as she bit into it, she heard a crisp "crunch." The tender, juicy fish meat mixed with the crispy skin entered her mouth, so delicious that she almost swallowed her tongue along with it.

"Hmm, Zhong Daya, your cooking skills are so good, I would call you the second Grandma Jiang!" Bai Ye's cheeks puffed out like a hamster's, and he didn't forget to praise Zhong Jiuli between bites.

After swallowing the food in her mouth, she picked up the spirit wine on the table again and drank it all in one gulp, then sighed with satisfaction, "It's so delicious."

Zhong Jiuli ignored her compliments and simply took the wine glass from her hand. This girl's alcohol tolerance was terrible, yet she kept drinking one glass after another; she was probably going to turn into a drunken tiger soon.

Even though the Chu sisters and A-Lian were born and raised in Dongzhou and were used to eating all kinds of fish and seafood, they were still speechless with amazement at the deliciousness of the food.

Liu Xianyue ate without any regard for her image, clutching a crab bigger than a washbasin in her hand. Hearing this, she rolled her eyes and said, "You stinky tiger, do you really think Zhong Daya is your mother? All you do is have people cook delicious food for you all day long."

"Even eating can't shut you up," Bai retorted without looking up.

She quickly peeled a crystal-clear glass shrimp, extracting the tender white shrimp meat intact. She placed the shrimp meat in a bowl and pushed it in front of Zhong Jiuli, saying, "Eat quickly, this is the last one left. If you're any slower, they'll eat it all."

Zhong Jiuli lowered her eyes, looked at the shrimp meat in front of her, picked it up with her chopsticks, and slowly chewed it.

The shrimp meat becomes sweeter the more you chew it. Freshly caught shrimp combined with Baiwei Zhenjie's cooking methods maximize the original flavor of the food, making it truly delicious.

Whether the shrimp is so sweet because it was peeled by a little tiger is unknown.

Before the seafood feast was even halfway over, a sudden change occurred: the ship began to shake violently.

Bai didn't even have time to think about what had happened; his first reaction was to collect all the unfinished barbecue on the table.

His foodie nature was on full display.

Below the sea, a water column several meters in diameter shot into the sky without warning, whistling past the edge of the spirit boat. Although it did not hit the spirit boat, it caused the spirit boat's protective shield to flicker.

Almost simultaneously, more than ten equally thick water columns burst forth from the sea from different directions, forming an encirclement that trapped the spirit boat in the center.

Zhong Jiuli's expression changed slightly. She placed her palms together, and a silver moon appeared in her palms. The silver disc was initially no bigger than the palm of her hand, and its surface was covered with mysterious law patterns.

As she raised her arm and pushed it out, the silver disc swelled in the wind and instantly transformed into a bright moon with a diameter of nearly a hundred feet, hanging between the sea and the sky.

"Freeze!" The moment the clear voice rang out, all the water columns froze in mid-air as if solidified. Upon closer inspection, one would find that each water column was covered with a layer of silver light; it wasn't freezing, but rather time being frozen in place.

Even the water droplets splashing in mid-air defy gravity, hovering suspended in mid-air, creating a dazzling and spectacular sight.

Liu Xianyue reacted extremely quickly. The instant the water column was frozen, she made a hand seal to control the spirit boat, which narrowly passed between the two frozen water columns at an almost vertical angle.

At the same time, a series of explosions came from behind. Bai turned around and saw that a small spirit boat, not very big, had its keel pierced by a column of water. The entire spirit boat exploded in mid-air, and countless fragments, along with turbulent spiritual energy, scattered in all directions.

More than ten cultivators fled in panic from the explosion, their protective spiritual light standing out conspicuously in the night sky, like fireflies of various colors. Before they could regain their footing, the sea began to churn violently, and dozens of purplish-black tentacles covered with suckers burst forth from the water, each as thick as a person could hug.

The tentacles moved with lightning speed, instantly wrapping around the waist of the cultivator in the air. A Golden Core cultivator who reacted quickly swung his sword, and sparks flew as the blade struck the tentacles.

"Ahhh!"

Screams rose and fell, some were strangled in the waist by tentacles, their internal organs mixed with blood and flesh spilling onto the sea, and some were dragged straight into the water without even making a sound.

Regardless of how they entered the water, all the cultivators who were dragged into the sea fell silent instantly, and none of them were able to surface.

A golden glint flashed in Bai Ye's eyes, gone in an instant, but in that instant, she saw clearly what kind of monster was lurking underwater.

It was a gigantic octopus that exceeded the limits of human imagination.

It resembles a colossal, purplish-black mountain slowly moving on the seabed, with countless tentacles extending from its body. The thinnest of these tentacles is as thick as an embrace, while the base of the thickest tentacles is comparable to a small island.

Those thick tentacles lurk in the depths of the ocean, stirring up the underwater currents and creating water columns to attack the spirit boat above, while the thin tentacles extend out of the water to hunt, a very reasonable division of labor.

At the very bottom is its hidden head, a massive skull covered with hideous eyeballs, making it extremely terrifying.

Bai wanted to see more clearly, but suddenly everything went black. Zhong Jiuli raised her hand to cover her eyes, "Don't look."

"That is the Primordial Demonic Chapter, which has been entrenched in the depths of the endless sea since the Primordial Era. It ranks eighth among the most ferocious creatures in the Nine Provinces and is extremely infamous. Every eye on its body is entangled with the resentment of the dead. Ordinary cultivators who look into it are easily affected. At best, their Dao heart will be clouded; at worst, they will fall into demonic possession."

Smelling the cool fragrance emanating from Zhong Jiuli's hands, Bai Ye realized that his pupils were twitching, as if the fleeting image from just moments ago was already etched deep into his mind.

"Zhong Daya, can you beat it?" Bai asked vaguely, her head was a little dizzy, she didn't know if it was because she had just glanced at that ghostly thing, or because she had drunk too much at dinner.

Zhong Jiuli pondered and said, "Deep in the sea, it has a 60% advantage. In shallow waters like this, I might have a better chance of winning."

Upon hearing this, Bai exclaimed, "Isn't that a 40/60 split? Goodness, his wife is quite concerned about saving face, putting it so subtly!"

It seems this giant octopus is really strong. This is the first time she has heard Zhong Jiuli say that she can't beat the other side. "Then let's run quickly, or we'll get entangled."

"It must have been heading towards Qianlong Abyss as well, but it just happened to run into our route, so it launched an attack."

As the two were talking, the explosions behind them continued unabated, with spirit boats being hit by water jets and exploding in mid-air.

In the blink of an eye, only a dozen or so spirit ships remained surviving on the sea. The most striking of them all was the blood-red warship.

Many cultivators stood on the nine-story ship's upper deck. Together, they set up a spiritual energy shield, which blocked the attack of the water column.

Even from a distance, one could still hear many cultivators whose spirit boats had been shattered shouting for help.

"True Master Chi Lian, save me! This junior is willing to offer up a priceless treasure!" A late-stage Golden Core cultivator desperately chased after the ship on his flying sword.

Before he could finish speaking, a thick tentacle pierced through the air, penetrating the man from bottom to top. The cultivator's wide eyes still reflected the departing shadow of the ship as he was dragged into the sea.

Without pausing, the crimson ship suddenly increased its speed, leaving a blood-red afterimage in the air, and caught up with Bai Ye and the others' spirit boat in the blink of an eye.

On the deck, the Crimson Serpent Master stood with his hands behind his back, his scarlet robes fluttering in the wind. He slightly turned his head, his gaze sweeping over Bai Ye like a blade.

"So this is the Crimson Serpent Immortal. He looks rather fierce," Bai muttered to himself.

She wasn't scared, but she felt that this person's aura was a bit terrifying, as if even his soul was soaked in blood, and she didn't know how many people he had killed.

Zhong Jiuli reminded her, "This person's blood energy comes entirely from killing people for alchemy. Since you have already incurred his wrath, do not hold back if you encounter him next time."

"Don't worry, Zhong Daya, I never hesitate to kill those who are obviously bad guys."

Bai Ye's gaze fell on the spirit boat that had escaped from behind. When he saw Hai Qingyue escape, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Fortunately, she hadn't been swept away by the giant octopus, otherwise the Chu sisters would have had no one to take revenge on.

As the spirit boat sped forward, the hellish sea behind them gradually receded into the distance. Perhaps it had already eaten its fill, for the ancient demonic octopus did not pursue them any further.

The group, still shaken, spent a night in fear. Not long after dawn the next day, a dark cloud suddenly drifted in from the horizon. As it drew closer, they realized it was a flock of tens of thousands of iron-beaked eagles. Each eagle had a wingspan of two or three zhang (approximately 6.6-6 meters), and their iron-gray beaks gleamed coldly in the morning light.

“I recognize this big bird. They peck at people’s heads and suck out their brains,” Ah Lian exclaimed in surprise.

"Little A-Lian, don't be afraid, this boat of yours is very fast." Liu Xianyue made a hand seal with her fingertips, and the speed of the spirit boat indeed increased a few more times.

The dozen or so surviving spirit boats on the sea also displayed their unique abilities and sped away to escape.

The dark flock of birds pursued relentlessly until nightfall, when a high-level sea beast leaped out from the depths of the ocean once more to attack the spirit ship, and only then did the flock disperse.

"This is really strange. Why are they attacking us? When we came here, everything was calm. Now it's like we've stirred up a hornet's nest!" Bai also leaned over the ship's railing and looked out at the sea.

Countless colorful giant pythons burst out of the water, raising their heads high and using their enormous heads to ram the rapidly flying spirit boat.

“They were all attracted by the Hidden Dragon Abyss.” Zhong Jiuli flicked her hand and sent out a silver light, repelling the approaching snake head. “The Eastern Continent Sea is unfathomable. No one knows how many ancient species are lurking there. If even one of these ferocious beasts appears, it could easily wipe out most of the people present.”

Bai also keenly noticed that Zhong Jiuli's mood was off, and reached out to tug at her sleeve, "Zhong Daya... are you worried?"

“Perhaps I shouldn’t have brought you here.” Zhong Jiuli’s voice was almost inaudible, but Bai still caught it.

"Do you remember what we said inside the giant mushroom?" Bai Ye lowered his voice, his warm breath brushing against Zhong Jiuli's ear. "As long as the two of us are together, we can brave even the most dangerous places."

Bai was very confident in their protagonist aura; the protagonist's immortality law applies everywhere.

Zhong Jiuli was stunned for a moment, looking at the energetic face in front of her. The little tiger's eyes were unusually bright, as if they contained the entire Milky Way, without the slightest fear.

She realized she had fallen into a strange trap. Ever since she encountered that ancient demonic octopus yesterday, her heartstrings had been unconsciously tightened. She worried that the great demon in the sea was too powerful, that Bai was not capable of protecting himself, and that she could not protect this guy.

“I was being too attached to appearances.” Zhong Jiuli’s lips curled up slightly as she grabbed Bai Ye’s hand.

Bai also leaned closer with a smile, "Zhong Daya, you took my hand first!"

"You are not allowed to use that name."

"Don't you like it? Zhong Daya~ Zhong Daya~" Bai deliberately dragged out the tone, her eyes and brows full of smiles.

Clearly, the more Zhong Jiuli forbade him to shout, the more he deliberately wanted to shout.

"......"

"Zhong Daya~" Bai continued to act cheeky.

Zhong Jiuli raised her hand and precisely pinched Bai Ye's incessantly chattering mouth, instantly turning his originally beautiful lips into a flat, duck-like beak.

"Say it again, and we'll have braised tiger paws tonight!"

Bai also stared wide-eyed at Zhong Jiuli.

"Do you dare to do it again?"

"Waaah~" Bai also shook her head, sobbing.

"You need to be taught a lesson!" Zhong Jiuli finally couldn't hold back and chuckled. After fooling around with Bai Ye for a while, she did feel much more relaxed. No wonder Liu Xianyue always played around with her.

Bai rubbed his slightly numb lips, a carefree smile on his face, "I was just teasing you."

As the two of them playfully bickered, the spirit boat successfully flew over the sea area teeming with giant snakes.

Over the next few days, everyone witnessed the true terror of the Eastern Sea. The closer they got to the direction of the Hidden Dragon Abyss, the denser the demonic beasts that gathered from all directions became.

These sea beasts attacked the spirit ship above with all their might, as if trying to prevent the human cultivators from getting closer.

Before even approaching the Hidden Dragon Abyss, the numerous cultivators were forced to stop. Not because they had reached their destination, but because they were unable to proceed.

From afar, one could see that an island had inexplicably appeared outside the previously bottomless Qianlong Abyss. But no, calling it an island wasn't quite right either; Bai felt it looked more like a circular mountain road stretching across the abyss.

The giant ring rises from the bottom of the abyss, suspended high between the sea and the sky, with rushing water cascading down its body to form a ring-shaped waterfall that blocks out the sun.

A-Lian looked at the island that had suddenly appeared before her, somewhat surprised. "Strange, there shouldn't be an island here. I heard that Qianlong Abyss is a deep abyss, unfathomably deep. How come an island has suddenly appeared?"

Bai Ye's eyes flashed with a golden light. Upon closer inspection, she realized something. Every thousand feet, there was a protrusion, jagged and irregular, like the spine of a gigantic reptile.

"Could this be dragon bone?" Bai murmured softly.

Everyone was taken aback when they heard this.

If it really is dragon bones, then what kind of enormous creature must this dragon have been?

The circular skeleton before us covers an area of ​​more than ten thousand miles; the portion that has just surfaced is already so large that it blots out the sky.

If it were to appear in its entirety, wouldn't it be able to encircle the entire ocean?

There were many other cultivators who were also stunned by the scene before them.

Countless eyes gazed at Dragonbone Island with fascination, their gazes filled with awe, but even more so with greed.

While everyone was still in a daze, several spirit boats couldn't contain themselves and suddenly accelerated towards Dragonbone Island. However, before they could even get close, countless water arrows shot out from the circular waterfall, each one like a dragon emerging from the sea, carrying immense power, instantly shattering the spirit boats into pieces.

Amidst the flying sawdust, cultivators fell into the sea like dumplings being dropped into boiling water. Before they could even scream, they were swallowed whole by the gaping maw that suddenly emerged from the abyss below.

The sea surface churned for a moment, then returned to calm, as if nothing had ever happened.

After that, no one dared to make any rash moves.

"Is it impossible to fly in this place?" Bai also saw very clearly that after the spirit boat exploded, many cultivators were prepared. Those people wanted to fly, but they seemed to be subject to some kind of restriction.

Zhong Jiuli gave a soft hum, her gaze fixed on the distance. From the other side of Dragon Bone Island came a series of whooshing sounds. Dozens of spirit boats sailed in a mighty procession, their hulls shimmering with spiritual light, exuding an imposing aura.

Liu Xianyue said in a low voice, "So there were others who arrived before us?"

The spirit boats did not approach, but stopped steadily when they were still several hundred meters away from the group. A large blue flag was displayed at the bow of the boat, and the two characters "Lianyun" could be vaguely seen shimmering in the sunlight.

A middle-aged male cultivator dressed in a dark blue robe with cloud patterns stood with his hands behind his back, his voice booming: "I wondered who had such a grand entrance, it turns out it's True Person Chi Lian who has arrived."

A glint flashed in his eyes as he subtly swept his gaze over the crowd, stroking his beard with a meaningful smile. "Since you've rushed here in such a hurry, do you possess the key to access the island?"

Upon hearing this, True Immortal Chilian burst into loud laughter, his laughter containing spiritual power that caused the nearby sea to churn continuously. "So it's True Immortal Qingjiao from Lianyun Water Village who has arrived. What, do I need to tell you whether I have the key or not?"

"Haha, Master, you jest. We are just waiting for all those who possess the key to gather before we can set foot on Dragon Bone Island," Master Qingjiao replied.

Bai, too lazy to listen to the two old men's probing back and forth, pulled Jiao Jiao out of his arms. "Jiao Jiao, how about we go down for a buffet? The sea is teeming with powerful demons right now, freshly killed and eaten—it'll be incredibly fresh!"

Jiaojiao clung tightly to her fingers with all four paws, her big, beady eyes wide open, "You dare, you little brat!"

She puffed out her cheeks angrily, and golden light shimmered on her gleaming tortoise shell. "Believe it or not, I'll transform back into my true form and drag you and this spirit boat to the depths of the sea!"

"Slap!" "Slap!"

Liu Xianyue flicked each of them on the forehead, "If you keep making trouble, I'll tie you both together and throw you down!"

Bai also covered his forehead, which had been hit red, and muttered softly, "Liu Xianyue, you didn't hit Jiaojiao's head, you hit her turtle shell."

She blinked, giving him an innocent look that said, "This is unfair of you, you have to do it again."

"You heartless brat, I can't keep you anymore." Jiao Jiao was very angry. Her golden tortoise shell glowed red. With a kick of her four short legs, she flew directly to Zhong Jiuli's shoulder and snuggled up to Bai.

Zhong Jiuli couldn't help but chuckle and patted the sulking Jiaojiao, "We won't hold it against her."

In stark contrast to the relaxed atmosphere of their playful banter, the power struggles between the major factions on the other side finally came to a conclusion.

After much back-and-forth probing, the old men's fake smiles were almost crumbling. They finally reached a consensus: since everyone had the key, there was no need for a big fuss; they should work together to open the secret realm.

So the old men sent Hai Qingyue to invite Bai Ye and the others. After all, only Hai Qingyue came to contact Bai and didn't get beaten up. The others either died or were crippled, and none of them had a good ending.

Bai did not refuse and boarded the crimson ship with Zhong Jiuli.

As soon as the two stepped onto the deck, they felt several hidden divine senses sweeping over them.

Zhong Jiuli snorted coldly, and this snort, like a thunderclap, exploded in the minds of those old guys.

The divine senses that were secretly probed were all crushed by Zhong Jiuli. Several muffled groans immediately rang out on the deck. Several old men with insufficient cultivation turned pale and blood trickled from the corners of their mouths.

Zhong Jiuli's counterattack made these people dare not make any more rash moves.

Bai also looked at the group of old guys, "It seems you guys aren't very welcoming to us? Shall I leave?"

After she finished speaking, she actually took Zhong Jiuli's wrist and wanted to go back.

The group of old men were dumbfounded. Why did this young man lack martial ethics? Weren't we all supposed to test each other like this, so why did he flip the table at the drop of a hat?

Under the watchful eyes of the old men, Hai Qingyue awkwardly stepped forward to stop the two.

"Fellow Daoist, you've misunderstood. The seniors were just... uh..." Hai Qingyue hesitated for a moment.

"Old and blind? Unable to control your own consciousness?" Bai also chimed in considerately, "In that case, it's best if you all don't wander around. After all, I'm not a very moral person, and I just like to beat up you old folks who love to pretend."