Chapter 22: Earth-Shaking Crab

“Thundereye, if you want to take the Divine Blood Jade Mushroom, you first have to pass through me.”
Seeing Thundereye Ice Crocodile take off first and charge straight at the Divine Blood Jade Mushroom, the Earth-Shaking Crab raised its eyes, stomping wildly with its four pairs of legs. Its pair of golden claws, glowing with light, slashed through the underwater currents as it let out a shrill cry.
As the Earth-Shaking Crab stomped all eight legs at once, the seawater beneath was emptied once again. The ground, already resembling a spider web, collapsed instantly, and hundreds of soil thorns as thick as a human rushed upward, attacking Thundereye Ice Crocodile, Four-Armed Water Ape, and Nine-Headed Imperial Snake at the same time.
With no other choice, among these four sea beasts that dominated the ocean, the Earth-Shaking Crab was the slowest, so it could only use its magic to slow down the other three.
Sure enough, as the hundreds of soil thorns flew toward them, Thundereye Ice Crocodile, Four-Armed Water Ape, and Nine-Headed Imperial Snake had no choice but to stop. They used their divine essence to form protective auras to block the attacks.
Seizing the opportunity, the Earth-Shaking Crab took a few steps forward and quickly reached the Divine Blood Jade Mushroom, ready to use its golden claws to pull it out.
“Crab, how dare you!”
Seeing the Earth-Shaking Crab about to swing its claws, Thundereye Ice Crocodile, Four-Armed Water Ape, and Nine-Headed Imperial Snake shouted angrily.
Immediately, Thundereye Ice Crocodile’s eyes widened, and a lightning bolt as thick as a human shot out. Four-Armed Water Ape moved its four arms, forming a large water ball that glowed with a crystalline light and emitted cold air, which it then threw at the Earth-Shaking Crab. The Nine-Headed Imperial Snake inhaled and exhaled simultaneously, sending nine black water balls flying at the Earth-Shaking Crab at once.
“You three brutes, bullying others!”
The Earth-Shaking Crab had fought these three sea beasts for years and was well aware of their magic. Seeing them use their most powerful spells, it could only let out a cry of frustration.
“Source of the Earth!”
The Earth-Shaking Crab roared, and instantly, yellow energy surged from the seabed like a mother’s milk, covering its massive body. The three spells hit the yellow shield, causing cracks but failing to harm the Earth-Shaking Crab itself.
However, this defense cost the Earth-Shaking Crab a great deal of divine essence. Its strength was greatly weakened, and it temporarily lost the ability to compete with the other three. It could only watch angrily as they rushed forward to fight over the Divine Blood Jade Mushroom.
“Thundereye, Nine-Headed, this time, just let me have my chance.”

The Four-Armed Aquatic Ape took the lead, already reaching in front of the Divine Blood Jade Mushroom, ready to pull it out. The Thunder-Eyed Ice Crocodile and the Nine-Headed Imperial Snake immediately flew into a rage. Without saying a word, they cast spells—one unleashing ice and lightning, freezing the soul with its chilling aura, while the other sent nine water balls in a series of attacks, generating immense force that pushed the seawater aside once more. Seeing how quickly these two beasts reacted, the Four-Armed Aquatic Ape realized that attempting to pull out the Divine Blood Jade Mushroom again would surely turn it to flesh pulp, so it had no choice but to dodge instantly and hide behind the Earth-Shaking Crab. The two attacks missed the Four-Armed Aquatic Ape but struck the Earth-Shaking Crab’s back once again. Crack! The crab’s golden, hundred-meter-wide back split open, forming a “V” shape—a terrifying sight. “I hate you both! I’ll fight to the death!” Injured and enraged, the Earth-Shaking Crab quickly raised its entire body on its eight legs, swinging its two golden claws—one at the Thunder-Eyed Ice Crocodile and the other at the Nine-Headed Imperial Snake. The golden light was razor-sharp; wherever it passed, the void trembled, as if about to be torn apart by those claws. Realizing the power of those claws, the Thunder-Eyed Ice Crocodile and the Nine-Headed Imperial Snake immediately flew back, just managing to avoid the attacks. Seizing the opportunity, the Four-Armed Aquatic Ape leaped over the Earth-Shaking Crab’s body and reached in front of the Divine Blood Jade Mushroom, stretching out an arm to pluck it. “Haha, you sea beasts think you can possess the Divine Blood Jade Mushroom too?” Suddenly, a figure moved through the sea at lightning speed, arriving at the seabed and charging straight at the mushroom. As it approached, the figure already held a red long sword in hand. Despite the bone-chilling environment, the sword emitted intense heat as it was thrust at the Four-Armed Aquatic Ape. The newcomer was Yan Feng, an outstanding disciple of the Yan clan from the Fire Departure Divine Realm. Although he was only at the Divine General level, as one of the top 30 on the Earth Ranking, he possessed as many as 20 million spiritual entities within his body. At that moment, Yan Feng activated his Divine General-level divine weapon, the Fengyan Sword. The aura emanating from the sword made the Four-Armed Aquatic Ape tremble. “Danger!” Realizing he couldn’t stay even for a moment, the Four-Armed Aquatic Ape immediately chose to retreat, vanishing and hiding behind the Earth-Shaking Crab again. “Four-Armed, you’re framing me again.”

The Earth-Shaking Crab was in a panic. It let out a furious roar. Earlier, when the Four-Armed Water Ape dodged the attacks of the Thunder-Eye Ice Crocodile and the Nine-Headed Imperial Snake, it had also taken evasive action, causing the Earth-Shaking Crab’s shell to tear. Now, realizing that the Four-Armed Water Ape was choosing to dodge, the Earth-Shaking Crab would have to fend off Yan Feng’s attacks alone—this was truly killing it.

Yet, no matter how angry it was, the Earth-Shaking Crab had to save itself. It quickly cast “Source of the Earth” once again, covering itself with a yellow shield that blocked one of Yan Feng’s sword strikes.

Of course, Yan Feng had come to the seabed not to assassinate these four sea rulers, nor had he used his full strength. Seeing the Four-Armed Water Ape retreat and the Earth-Shaking Crab fend for itself, with the other two sea beasts far away, Yan Feng immediately swung his sword, aiming to cut down the Divine Blood Jade Mushroom and take it.

“Yan Feng, are you getting too confident too soon?”

Suddenly, before Yan Feng could rejoice, two more powerful auras descended rapidly to the seabed. Soon after, two people—one man and one woman—each holding a long sword, attacked Yan Feng at the same time.

“Gongye Ping, Gongye Jing, you’re despicable!”

Yan Feng didn’t dare be overconfident either. He immediately stopped trying to harvest the Divine Blood Jade Mushroom and raised his Fengyan Sword. A flash of fire appeared, blocking the attacks of Gongye Ping and Gongye Jing in an instant.

Gongye Ping ranked 33rd on the Earth List, with nearly 20 million spiritual entities gathered within him, slightly less than Yan Feng. Gongye Jing ranked 45th on the Earth List, with 18 million spiritual entities within him, also possessing great strength.

After the clash among the three, they stood calmly on the seabed, with none taking further action.

Although Yan Feng was near the Divine Blood Jade Mushroom, he didn’t dare reach for it. As for Gongye Ping and Gongye Jing, if they wanted to harvest it, they first had to overcome Yan Feng. Thus, the three could only stay quiet.

The hundreds of thousands of cultivators from the Divine Realm who had descended from the sea surface had now arrived at the seabed and saw the Divine Blood Jade Mushroom.

“Wow, that’s the Divine Blood Jade Mushroom! I heard it can evolve sea beasts, fierce beasts, and barbaric beasts into divine beasts.”

“Not only that—if you have the Divine Blood Jade Mushroom, it can help these sea beasts evolve into divine beasts while also allowing you to turn them into your slaves.”

“Heavens! In that case, if we get the Divine Blood Jade Mushroom, we might be able to own a divine beast pet in the future.”

……

After some discussion, all the cultivators stared greedily at the Divine Blood Jade Mushroom. They quickly took out their divine weapons, intending to seize it and then capture a sea beast.

But when these monks saw Yan Feng, Gongye Ping, and Gongye Jing, they didn’t dare be the first to take action. They could only wait for the three of them to engage in a fierce battle before seizing the Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma.
The Earth-Shaking Crab no longer had the strength to fight and quickly scurried away, withdrawing from the competition for the Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma.
The Four-Armed Water Ape approached the Thunder-Eyed Ice Crocodile and the Nine-Headed Imperial Snake, and they began communicating through their mental senses.
“These human monks are only at the Divine General level, yet they dare to come to our underwater realm to steal things. Should the three of us join forces to slaughter these hundred thousand people?” the Four-Armed Water Ape transmitted calmly.
“Four-Armed, don’t rush. Since these humans dare to enter our underwater realm, they must have their own advantages. Especially those three—each of them likely has over ten million spiritual entities gathered within them. If they really fight us, they might not necessarily lose to us.”
“Four-Armed, it’s better not to take action now. This underwater realm belongs to us sea beasts. If we wait long enough, other sea beasts will arrive, and those hundred thousand monks will end up trapped in our encirclement.”
The Thunder-Eyed Ice Crocodile and the Nine-Headed Imperial Snake replied calmly.
After hearing this, the Four-Armed Water Ape nodded. It also understood that acting now would only cause chaos, allowing some human monks to seize the Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma, and by then it would be too late to regret it.
As long as the Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma remained intact, the Thunder-Eyed Ice Crocodile, the Four-Armed Water Ape, and the Nine-Headed Imperial Snake would not attack.
The entire underwater realm fell into a dead silence.
※※※
The Earth-Shaking Crab knew its strength had weakened, and it had already lost its chance in this competition for the Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma. To avoid being ambushed by other sea beasts or human monks, it chose to retreat on its own.
At that moment, it arrived at a sea trench.
Suddenly, Qu Yi appeared and threw a punch, sending twenty million gold, wood, water, and spirit entities directly into the Earth-Shaking Crab’s body. The unprepared crab was instantly knocked unconscious, falling heavily to the ground with a thud.
Immediately afterward, Qu Yi put the Earth-Shaking Crab inside the Dimensional Sphere.
Inside the Dimensional Sphere, the Earth-Shaking Crab remained unconscious, while the Black Wave Sea Snake nearby was absorbing large amounts of sea beast essence.
Indeed, during the chaotic battle among those sea beast lords at the Divine General level, Qu Yi controlled the Dimensional Sphere to collect the essence left behind by the dead sea beasts—no less than ten million drops.

With these ten million drops of vital essence, there are already many aggregated spiritual entities of ten different attributes, enough to increase the number of such entities in the 19,000 Divine General-level members of Tianfeng Fort to ten million. Qu Yi himself, of course, also has enough vital essence to increase the number of the three aggregated spiritual entities within his body. Now, as Qu Yi looked at the Wu Lan Sea Snake and then at the Earth-Shaking Crab, a faint smile appeared on his lips.