The Wan Yang Sect's second team consisted of six people. All six were near-Grand Masters, each possessing at least one high-grade material defensive artifact. Whether they had any soul-type defensive artifacts was unknown. However, three of the six did bring out high-grade material offensive artifacts, and the remaining three were surprisingly mid-grade soul-type offensive artifacts!
One of them was Ye Li, the personal disciple of the Golden Wheel Monk, a trusted confidant who looked young. He appeared to be around thirty years old, with long, light blue hair. However, he was actually under sixty, making him quite young among the near-great masters.
In fact, Ye Li is the only one who possesses the most high-level magical artifacts: one high-level physical defense artifact, one high-level soul defense artifact, and one high-level soul attack artifact—three high-quality items! Whether in defense or offense, Ye Li is the most outstanding.
The other five people were only guessing, not certain, about this high-level soul defense artifact, but it was pretty close to the truth.
Attacking the beast with its soul is indeed a very effective method, destroying the beast's soul directly without resorting to bloodshed. It at least buys them some breathing room.
"We underestimated the power of these ferocious beasts! Destroying their souls only attracted more beasts to devour their own kind, leaving a bloody scene. It attracted even more ferocious beasts!" Ye Li contacted the five people through a special magical artifact.
The battle had been fierce, with no casualties, but the resistance was immense and the dangers were numerous. They killed hundreds of ferocious beasts, but unexpectedly, these beasts became food for other beasts, being devoured whole. Even with the water-repelling artifacts protecting them, the stench of blood was still palpable.
The six of them were sinking towards their destination, but each of them felt an increasing sense of danger surrounding them—it was definitely a horde of ferocious beasts closing in. At a depth of several thousand meters, their eyes were useless. They could only rely on their senses and spiritual awareness, but no matter how fast they retreated, they couldn't shake off the beasts' precise pursuit.
"Senior Brother Ye, what do we do now? These ferocious beasts are everywhere, and they seem to know where we are. If this continues, our life force will be depleted even faster, and we definitely won't be able to hold out until we reach the bottom of the sea at ten thousand meters!" one of them said anxiously. They only mentioned life force and not magic power because although the near-great masters had touched the edge of magic power and had transformed a trace of life force into a seed of magic power, it was too little and could not be used unless absolutely necessary.
In this respect, even the near-master level experts are no match for Zhang Guodong. Zhang Guodong's magical power is formidable, comparable even to a level 60 master; their magical strength is essentially equal. The difference lies only in the quality of his magical power; Zhang Guodong's magical power contains more impurities, naturally reducing its power significantly.
For top-tier experts, even the most complex magical power is a seed of hope. They dare not waste it. The wonder of magical power might just save their lives at a crucial moment.
"Junior Brother Ren is absolutely right! Among these dozens of people, four forces are the strongest. The Fangshi group originally had eight, but one more joined—a person said to be invincible among great masters, not to be underestimated—making their team even stronger! The Lei family also has eight, each possessing high-level magical artifacts. This time, the leader is said to be the top-ranking near-great master of the Lei family, 'Kun Zhong.' Moreover, the second, third, seventh, eighth, and ninth near-great masters of the Lei family have all come! The Extreme Dao Sect, that perverted 'Extreme Dao Saintess,' also brought four people. Our strength is roughly equal to that of the Extreme Dao Sect; we absolutely cannot fall behind!" another person said in a deep voice.
"I wonder, how far have they gone? Have they reached ahead of us yet?"
"Impossible! We haven't seen any bloodshed along the way. If they were ahead of us, how could they have avoided the ferocious beasts?!" a fat old man said disdainfully.
Just as he finished speaking, a thick stench of blood spread out not far away. Six spiritual senses immediately rushed over.
"It's that perverted woman from the Extreme Path Sect!"
"Let's go!" Ye Li said immediately.
The fact that another force was at the same level as them made the Wan Yang Sect very anxious. This "Supreme Saintess" was practically invincible among great masters; even Ye Li was slightly inferior. It would be best if they could avoid encountering her.
That "Supreme Saintess" was adorned with magnificent magical artifacts, all of them high-grade. Moreover, she was extremely skilled in alchemy. She was the one who crafted a mid-to-high-grade pill called the "Material Essence Pill," specifically designed to replenish life force and demonic energy instantly, with extremely potent effects. Anyone who fought her would simply exhaust their life force and demonic energy, eventually wearing them down to death.
That's almost a top-grade pill! The five members of the Supreme Saintess team, after forcefully breaking through the horde of ferocious beasts, immediately submerged and disappeared. This was their method. They showed no lingering attachment to the battlefield, using minimal bloodshed to deter other ferocious beasts from pursuing them; once they were in their way, they immediately vanished.
As soon as Ye Li and his group of six left, the Extreme Dao Sect members noticed them. However, they didn't care whether there were other forces nearby; leaving as soon as possible was the best course of action.
"Hiss hiss hiss!"
The corpses of those ferocious beasts were quickly devoured by other ferocious beasts, and blood was scattered everywhere.
At this moment, the Wanyang Sect and the Jidao Sect are basically at the same seawater depth, two thousand meters!
Two thousand three hundred meters away, another battle broke out. This time it was between the eight members of the Lei family, now part of Black Wind City. They too encountered fierce fighting. Fortunately, the situation was critical, but no one was injured.
The brothers, leading seven people, were quite composed, though their life force and demonic energy were significantly depleted. Compared to the Wan Yang Sect and the Ji Dao Sect, they weren't much stronger in this respect.
The seawater suppressed spiritual senses, and even near-masters could only detect distances of about fifty or sixty meters, while the best could only detect distances of about a hundred meters.
What about the near-masters of some independent cultivation factions?
Some groups were of three or four, others of two or three. A very few even ventured out alone! There were nearly twenty rogue cultivators, near-master level, putting them at a disadvantage compared to the four major powers. But surprisingly, some of them bravely and successfully navigated the trials, descending faster than the groups!
Someone has already reached a depth of 2,800 meters in the sea! And it's a single person!
However, this person was consuming elixirs to replenish his life force and demonic energy along the way, while numerous ferocious beasts were pursuing him. The situation was far from optimistic. Being alone made it easier to evade the hordes of beasts, as one's agility made it slightly easier. But there were simply too many ferocious beasts in the sea; even if one tried to avoid them, it would require exerting all one's strength and desperately dodging, resulting in a tremendous drain on one's life force and demonic energy!
At what sea depth were Zhang Guodong and his group?
4,800 meters! The journey is now halfway delayed!
They left the other second-tier teams far behind, and along the way, they didn't fight at all, relying on Zhang Guodong's command to avoid danger.
This is nothing short of a miracle. In this hasty group, Xi Tiehan, Huang Song, and others have utter faith in Zhang Guodong, a stark contrast to their previous disdain and contempt. Even Ziyan, who harbors hatred for Zhang Guodong, reveals a complex mix of emotions beneath her cold exterior.
"Master is right, this person is indeed very powerful. Just the fact that he led everyone safely here, avoiding danger and disaster, is remarkable!" Kou Na Chun understood what he relied on to achieve this. It was his unique divine sense. As the depth of the seawater increased, his divine sense was also suppressed more severely. At this depth of 4,800 meters, the original 18-mile coverage area had been continuously expanded with his cultivation level. At level 48, the coverage area of his divine sense had also increased, from 18 miles to less than 6 miles!
This coverage area still wasn't enough for him to lead the eight people safely to this place, avoiding both good and bad fortune.
However, he continued to follow the trail of the nearly twenty powerful experts who had gone down ahead of him. Unfortunately, he encountered no bloodshed along the way, nor any trace of them. Clearly, Emperor Mu and his group were far ahead of them, perhaps already at a depth of six or seven thousand meters.
"Stop! Move 500 meters to the left!"
It was Zhang Guodong who issued the order via telepathy, and it was very urgent. However, the eight people now respected Zhang Guodong greatly and obeyed him in this regard.
They moved in unison, traversing five hundred meters laterally. This consumed a tremendous amount of their life force and demonic energy. Everyone was extremely tense, as if facing a formidable enemy.
After everyone had finished moving, the sea returned to calm. Two miles away, two streams of water rushed downwards.
Zhang Guodong was shocked. Such speed! It was more than twice as fast as their movement speed! Those ferocious beasts simply couldn't keep up with that speed!
Two top-tier experts?!
There's actually a top expert hiding behind them!
After the clip was edited, Zhang Guodong transmitted his voice to everyone, saying, "This is too strange. Liu Cai actually passed through two rapid currents a thousand meters away and went down. I suspect there is someone hiding behind him. His diving speed is more than one and a half times faster than ours!"
The eight men's expressions changed drastically, but since there was no way to communicate, Zhang Guodong could only guess the meaning behind their expressions.
Xi Tiehan waved anxiously to Zhang Guodong, not caring whether Zhang Guodong could see him or not. But Zhang Guodong could indeed "see" him. He instinctively went over and put his arm around Xi Tiehan's.
The water-repelling artifact is very practical; it still works even at such a depth.
“Junior Brother Xi, let’s discuss who those two people who descended just now were. Didn’t Emperor Mu mention them to you?” Zhang Guodong asked, feigning concern.
The water-repelling artifact also enveloped Zhang Guodong, allowing Xi Tiehan's voice to be transmitted.
"That was close! Those must be two top experts. At least on par with Senior Uncle Duanmu, no. Maybe even on par with Senior Uncle Feng! But how is that possible? Senior Uncle Mu said that all the top experts who came this time have arrived, and none of the ones he knew have been missed! There's only one possibility: someone has been hiding all along!" Xi Tiehan said. "But Senior Uncle Duanmu's diving speed is already about twice that of the nine of us. Even if it's faster, it's only slightly more than twice as fast. Senior Brother Zhang just said that our diving speed is more than one and a half times faster. They could very well be at Senior Uncle Feng's level, or even at the same level as Senior Uncle Mu, both top-tier experts?!"
Zhang Guodong was utterly astonished. The Wind Emperor was rumored to be a level 69 expert, only one step away from level 70, the threshold for a true master. Around level 70. And there were two of them! If he encountered them, his only option was to flee for his life; a moment's hesitation, and he might be surrounded and slaughtered.
Swallowing hard, Zhang Guodong said, "It seems we're in even greater danger ahead!"
There are about twenty top experts ahead of them, and even more advanced experts like Xiao Qifeng. Once the battle starts, those in the second echelon will likely suffer.
Not only Zhang Guodong felt heavy-hearted, but everyone else on this side also felt extremely heavy-hearted.
Some even considered giving up. They wondered what the seabed beneath Sumi was like. If the water pressure increased with depth, they wouldn't be able to withstand the dangers of ferocious beasts and other cultivators. The water pressure alone would only allow them to barely protect themselves, preventing them from performing any further actions.
“But no matter what, we’ve come this far, we can’t give up! Uncle Mu said that ancient cultivators’ sects should have protective barriers, so even the pressure of this deep sea shouldn’t be able to break through them. Once we get down there, the pressure on us might be gone!” Huang Song also came over at Zhang Guodong’s invitation, and the three of them chatted together.
"Junior Brother Huang, where did you get this idea from? Is the protective barrier really there?" Zhang Guodong asked hurriedly.
"Uncle Mu said these are some secret records. They shouldn't be wrong! These secrets are usually kept by major powers and not made public. Uncle Mu only occasionally had the opportunity to see such records!" Huang Song hesitated for a moment before saying. "This kind of protective barrier is very common in water. It's said to be a special kind of magical artifact barrier. As long as the artifact exists, the barrier exists, and it won't disappear even after ten thousand years!"
"That's good! In that case, there's no reason to give up!" Zhang Guodong laughed heartily. If there really is a protective barrier that isolates water pressure, that's a good thing.
After a discussion, the nine people decided to continue their dive.
Unbeknownst to them, at this very moment, there truly was a massive, watertight barrier ten thousand meters below the seabed. This barrier was hemispherical, inverted on the seabed. Inside the barrier, a white mist shrouded everything, and a series of buildings could be vaguely seen. But the next second, they were no longer buildings; they transformed into mountains, a paradise for fish, birds, insects, and beasts, ever-changing.
Outside the barrier, several powerful ferocious beasts were entrenched, greedily drawing something from it. Apart from that, all was peaceful.
Just then, several streams of water rushed down, and when the water stopped, several people appeared!
It was actually Mu Di, Feng Huang, Duanmu Qingyun, and You Lanfu who arrived at the scene immediately. Their depth of descent far exceeded Zhang Guodong's expectations. The strength of a master like Mu Di also exceeded Zhang Guodong's estimation.
A fierce, menacing voice echoed in the minds of the four. This voice was incredibly powerful; even the seemingly weak You Lanfu felt a slight dizziness, causing her to pale. It was a ferocious, pure white shark king that had been enraged. With a roar, it addressed the fact that the area where the four were located was its territory.
As soon as the Shark King gave the warning, the other three ferocious beast kings also stopped absorbing and became frenzied.
Chapter One: King of Ferocious Beasts, Casualties
Ten thousand meters below the sea, outside this barrier reside four ferocious beast kings: the White Shark King, the Orca King, the Sea Octopus King, and the Black Tortoise King. They are distributed outside the barrier, each having designated a territory as their own, thus dividing up their spheres of influence outside the barrier.
Here, ordinary ferocious beasts dare not even dive down. Even the most powerful ferocious beasts, thousands of meters away from this territory, stop and remain, filled with immense fear and dread towards the four kings.
Generally speaking, ferocious beasts are classified into three levels. The first level is the common ferocious beast, which comes in many varieties and reproduces rapidly, like the beasts encountered by Zhang Guodong, Xuan Qingbo, and Liu Meigui. Of course, within this level, there are also powerful individuals of the same rank, such as the Star Devouring Treasure Beast, which is a prime example.
The Star Devouring Treasure Hand, as its name suggests, actually enjoys devouring magical artifacts and treasures. A single piece of it can significantly enhance one's defense, making even a large arrow seem insignificant. It's a monstrous weapon; even a simple collision can kill a ferocious beast of the same level. In reality, it's a truly freakish creature.
Magical artifacts and treasures contain a trace of profound mystery. Over time, they develop intricate patterns on their surfaces. The ones Zhang Guodong encountered were of the type containing the laws of life. There are also those with different attributes, but they haven't appeared yet or haven't been seen before.
This is the ocean, a world of water.
The second tier, known as "Great Ferocious Beasts," consists of generals among the ferocious beasts, far more powerful than ordinary ones. They command countless other beasts, acting as regional rulers. In terms of strength, Great Ferocious Beasts are ten times more powerful than ordinary ferocious beasts!
The third tier is the King of Ferocious Beasts. This area is home to four such kings. They too grew from great ferocious beasts. Their strength is comparable to a newly promoted grandmaster, and because they live in a water-based world, they are no match for a level 60 grandmaster!
The King of Ferocious Beasts stood out among countless ferocious beasts, and even Emperor Mu and the others dared not be careless. At the same time, they felt heavy-hearted.
If these ferocious beast kings are allowed to grow, given time, perhaps a supreme beast king will emerge from among them, and humanity's future will be bleak.
"Big brother, should we kill this ferocious beast king?" You Lanfu asked, feeling a little scared after her initial dizziness.
At an altitude of six or seven thousand meters, they no longer encountered groups of ferocious beasts, but they did run into several large, ferocious beasts, engaging them briefly before managing to escape. They hadn't expected there to be even more powerful ones here!
"No need! Let's enter the barrier!" Emperor Mu said decisively. "Let's go!"
Emperor Mu took the lead, followed immediately by Emperor Feng, Duanmu Qingyun, and You Lanfu. The four of them were instantly trapped in the barrier and then disappeared.
The scene inside was invisible from the outside. When the great white shark lunged at it, it roared, but it couldn't break through the barrier. It couldn't get in!
Even so, it stirred up the seabed, making it incredibly dark and chaotic. It took a long time for the sediment to settle.
Soon, more people arrived outside the barrier. As they arrived, their eyes lit up upon seeing the barrier. They exchanged glances, said nothing, and entered it, disappearing from sight.
Most people did the same, but a few were taken aback for a moment, but then followed suit and put it on as well.
By the time Zhang Guodong and his nine companions arrived, their faces grim, a quarter of an hour had passed. Zhang Guodong hadn't expected that the ferocious beasts, some six or seven thousand meters tall, would be so powerful, far surpassing the strength of other beast packs. These massive beasts weren't just driven by instinctive bloodlust; they possessed powerful, artifact-like attack methods.
Of the nine people, even with Zhang Guodong's repeated efforts, some were still injured, and behind them, more than a dozen ferocious beasts chased after them all the way. If it weren't for Zhang Guodong's intervention, two or three of them would probably have had to be laid off.
"It's the Great Barrier! Haha, it's the Great Barrier! It really exists! We've arrived!" As soon as everyone saw the barrier, with its faint white light, they understood that the huge hemispherical covering was the barrier! They had reached their destination!
"Whoosh!" At this moment, a loud roar shook the nine people, making them dizzy.
"not good!"
A tremendous crisis! Zhang Guodong's spiritual sense had been compressed to a range of less than a mile! After the dizziness quickly subsided, his spiritual sense detected a giant shark, a hundred meters long, rushing towards him at such a speed that there was no time to react.
Zhang Guodong, who was the first to wake up, paled drastically. It was too late!
"Go!" came a loud shout, Zhang Guodong's voice transmission! He intended to use this to wake everyone up.
Zhang Guodong was closest to Ziyan, Xi Tiehan, and Huang Song, so he didn't care about anything else. He kicked Xi Tiehan toward the barrier, grabbed Ziyan and Huang Song, and rushed toward the barrier.
Zhang Guodong's soul-stirring roar jolted everyone back to reality. But the moment they regained their senses, they were met with an immense crisis; their pores bulged, and their souls seemed to scatter. "Run!"
"Ah, what kind of monster is this? Help!"
A tremendous suction force descended upon the group. Except for Zhang Guodong and his group of four who escaped and immediately approached the barrier, the other five felt the immense suction force upon them as soon as they regained consciousness, making them unable to resist and instantly turning pale with fear.
"burst!"
Seeing that there was a way to escape, one of them roared and self-destructed a high-level magical artifact!
The self-destruction of a high-level magical artifact is extremely powerful. The White Shark King immediately sensed the danger, slightly loosening its suction, and actually used its massive body to withstand the self-destruction of this high-level magical artifact!
"boom!"
A powerful shockwave enveloped the area, followed by several loud bangs, and the stench of blood emanated from it.
Then a figure emerged from the barrier in a disheveled state and ran towards it.
"Pfft!" A large amount of blood splattered down along that path.
"Buzz! A violent tremor ran through the turbid water, and a colossal creature a hundred meters long emerged, its ferocious eyes, the size of millstones, burning with madness—it was the Great White Shark King!
Its body was only slightly injured, with blood seeping through a patch of its body, but it was not a serious injury.
However, the other four people were nowhere to be seen in the original area.
"Pfft!" The White Shark King opened its massive jaws, and a torrent of water shot out, spewing out more than a dozen items—the magical artifacts and other belongings of the four people from before. However, they were now tattered and damaged, as if something had corroded them.
Inside the barrier was a fairly large plaza.
With a few loud bangs, four people appeared. They were Zhang Guodong, Ziyan, Xi Tiehan, and Huang Song. Having escaped with their lives, they passed through the barrier and landed on a plaza paved with blue stone slabs.
"Ah!" came the voice of Ziyan, her face deathly pale.
"Oh, it's Ziyan. You four little ones actually came here too?! Where is the others?" It was the voice of the Wood Emperor, who was quite surprised.
As soon as Zhang Guodong entered the barrier, his mental focus tightened even more.
But then he heard the voice of the Wood Emperor.
Zhang Guodong quickly got up, but was stunned by what he saw. There were already nearly twenty people standing in the square, all looking at them in surprise. These people were all top-level experts. The four of them were the first to arrive in the second group.
Before he could answer, there was another thud behind him. A person, whose life force was rapidly dissipating, fell to the ground.
"It's that little guy Wang! Oh no, he's suffered a fatal injury!" Emperor Mu frowned immediately upon seeing this. As he spoke, Emperor Mu and his three companions had already reached Zhang Guodong and the others. Ignoring the situation, Emperor Mu took out a pill and gave it to the newly arrived Junior Brother Wang.
"Five people came into the market, four are missing!"
"These little guys are quite impressive, arriving first, but they must have run into that ferocious white shark king!"
The group of experts were talking.
Duanmu Qingyun smiled slightly at Zhang Guodong and walked over. (For more chapters and to support the author, please visit [website name] and read the original version.)
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