Chapter 21: Chaos

In a certain area of the inland sea near Nan Yin Island, the sea surface has been abnormal recently. Ever since the appearance of the blood-red clouds a hundred days ago, this region has been in turmoil, with giant waves rising at any moment.
Above this sea area, many cultivators have gathered. Most of them are at the Divine General stage, with a few at the Divine Marshal stage as well. Precious treasures are desired by everyone, and especially those that cause such extraordinary phenomena in the world, making people extremely eager to see them and seize any opportunity.
A hundred thousand cultivators have already gathered in the air. However, they dare not enter the sea yet, as this inland sea is dominated by sea beasts. Entering recklessly would mean facing an attack from these beasts, something no one dares to confront. Thus, they wait for the right moment, waiting for the precious treasure to appear—by then, the sea beasts will be engrossed in fighting and have no time to bother those who enter the sea.
Qu Yi had already arrived, but instead of staying in the air like the others, he had entered the sea long ago.
The Wu Lan Sea Snake was waiting in a mountain range beneath the sea, a thousand meters deep, and spotted Qu Yi immediately. Qu Yi approached the Wu Lan Sea Snake.
“Powerful one, you’ve come,” said the Wu Lan Sea Snake, lying flat on the mountain peak. Upon seeing Qu Yi, it relaxed greatly and called out right away.
At this time, many sea beasts were swimming in the sea. There were numerous sea beasts at the Divine General stage, acting as regional lords, and occasionally, some at the Divine Marshal stage, acting as regional overlords. The Wu Lan Sea Snake was worried that Qu Yi might not come, in which case it would have to leave.
Qu Yi nodded and then spread his spiritual sense to sense the surroundings beneath the sea.
The sea was different from the air above. In the air, the chaotic energy of the five elements suppressed his spiritual sense, but here in the sea, his spiritual sense could operate freely, allowing him to sense everything within a hundred thousand miles.
Thus, Qu Yi’s spiritual sense detected tens of millions of sea beasts in the surrounding area, of various cultivation levels. Of course, the majority here were at the Divine General stage, with a few at the Divine Marshal stage.
Qu Yi’s chaotic body merged completely with the sea water, making it impossible for those sea beasts to detect him. This was why he could enter the sea unharmed.

“Wulan Sea Snake, I have a spatial artifact. I’ll enter it now, and it will attach itself to you. You just need to swim near where the Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma grows, then follow my instructions,” said Qu Yi with a smile.

There are also some peculiar species among sea beasts, and Qu Yi wasn’t entirely sure he could reach the Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma without being detected by certain sea beasts. So, as a precaution, he decided to enter the Dimensional Sphere and go with the Wulan Sea Snake.

“Yes, mighty one,” replied the Wulan Sea Snake, now braver and excited.

Immediately afterward, Qu Yi entered the Dimensional Sphere, which turned into a grain of sea sand and entered the Wulan Sea Snake’s mouth.

※※※

Boom! Boom! Boom!

On the seabed, there was a flat valley where a jade-like fungus as tall as a person grew. It resembled antlers, was crystal clear like jade, and emitted a bright white light, standing out sharply in the dark depths.

Upon closer inspection, a thread of blood could be seen within the fungus. Whenever this blood thread appeared, the aura it emitted was like that of a divine dragon, awe-inspiring and commanding reverence.

This fungus was the Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma.

Suddenly, the Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma began to rise from the seabed, and an earth-shattering sound filled the area, as if the entire seabed were about to crack. Cracks spread across the seabed like a spider web.

This thunderous noise undoubtedly signaled to the sea beasts that the Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma was about to mature and emerge.

Haw… Gah… Chir…

The sea beasts, which had been swimming around, now let out various strange sounds as they rushed toward the Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma, quickly forming four camps.

Each of these camps was led by a sea beast of dominion-level, surrounding the Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma from all sides.

In the east, it was led by the Thunder-Eyed Ice Crocodile, with no fewer than three million sea beasts in its camp.

In the south, it was led by the Four-Armed Water Ape, with nearly three million sea beasts.

In the west, it was led by the Earth-Shaking Crab, with almost three million sea beasts.

In the north, it was led by the Nine-Headed Imperial Snake, with only over two million sea beasts.

The Wulan Sea Snake was part of the northern camp.

All four camps emitted immense pressure, and their combined forces created a powerful field that drained all the water from the valley where the Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma lay.

As soon as the Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma sensed the seawater retreating, it stopped moving and remained quietly buried in the ground. The sea beasts from all four factions were now focused on the Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma. Seeing that it hadn’t emerged, they knew it had already matured. All that was left to do was eliminate the sea beasts from the other factions so they could claim it for themselves. Especially the four sea domain overlords, who were already at the Divine General level, desired nothing more than to swallow the Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma and evolve into divine beasts, thereby gaining human form to continue their cultivation and possibly reach the Divine King level. “Attack! Seize the Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma right away.” … Unisonously, the Thundereye Ice Crocodile, the Four-Armed Water Ape, the Earthshaking Crab, and the Nine-Headed Imperial Snake—all four sea domain overlords—issued orders to their respective factions. These sea domain lords at the Divine General level meant nothing to the four overlords; they were mere pawns in their struggle for the Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma. Their deaths were insignificant. Thus, the overlords gave their orders without hesitation, with cold determination. With a roar, all the Divine General level sea beasts from the four factions rushed toward the Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma in the center. The sea beasts from all factions collided and crowded together. Soon, there was no longer any distinction between them, and they began a frenzied slaughter. With a roar, a Rockhead Savage Ape threw a punch, unleashing all its divine essence. Millions of spiritual bodies scattered instantly, turning the surrounding sea beasts into bloody messes. The scent of blood from this first attack immediately triggered the violent instincts within all the sea beasts. Their minds became clouded, and they frantically unleashed their powers. Each sea beast used its strongest strength to release its divine essence, casting fierce spells that struck the surrounding sea beasts, quickly causing mass deaths. In this state of lost sanity, driven only by instinct, none of the sea beasts could control themselves; they could only attack wildly to survive. In no time, the entire area was filled with floating flesh and blood, spreading into the ocean. “Wulan Sea Snake, don’t resist. I’ll put you inside my spatial artifact.” Of course, as a member of the Northern faction, Wulan Sea Snake had no choice but to enter this chaotic battlefield. Seeing that the sea beasts were attacking each other indiscriminately, Qu Yi didn’t dare let Wulan Sea Snake stay in this chaotic scene any longer.

If not for Qu Yi constantly reminding it, the Wu Lan Sea Snake would have lost its senses long ago. Hearing Qu Yi’s message now, it hesitated no longer and immediately released its consciousness, entrusting its fate to Qu Yi. Suddenly, the Wu Lan Sea Snake disappeared. At the moment it vanished, dozens of sea beasts around it simultaneously cast their spells, sending intense magical waves toward the area where the snake had been. If it hadn’t disappeared, it would likely have been struck by those spells and died. Its sudden disappearance also went unnoticed by the four sea domain lords nearby. They merely extended their senses to prevent any sea beasts from escaping the battlefield but did not send their senses into that already chaotic area, so the snake’s disappearance drew no attention from any of the sea beasts. Nearly ten million sea beasts, in this frenzied act of self-destruction, were wiped out in little time, leaving less than a hundred barely alive, scattered across the seabed. These survivors had no strength left; they were covered in wounds and had exhausted their spiritual energy. “Haha, these annoying creatures are finally all dead. Now it’s our turn to fight over this Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma,” roared the Nine-Headed Imperial Snake, creating three water channels with its roar that led straight to the other three sea domain lords. The four sea domain lords were wise enough to realize that the battle for the Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma should have been fought among them. However, they didn’t want to be attacked by these sea lords while fighting among themselves, so they let them kill each other first to ensure their own safety. “The Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma is destined to be mine,” suddenly shouted the Thunder-Eye Ice Crocodile. With its powerful 100-meter-long tail slapping the water, it rushed toward the Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma like an arrow piercing the sky. “Despicable!” “Scumbag!” “Dareful!” The Four-Armed Water Ape, the Earth-Shaking Crab, and the Nine-Headed Imperial Snake all shouted in anger and rushed toward the Divine Blood Jade Ganoderma like arrows leaving their bows. ※※※ How could the activities on the seabed escape the notice of those cultivators from the divine realm above? “It seems that precious artifact is about to appear, and the sea beasts are fighting among themselves. Now is the perfect time to descend to the seabed.” The hundred thousand cultivators in the air understood what was happening on the seabed instantly and made up their minds. Whoosh… Immediately, the hundred thousand cultivators dived into the sea to search for the treasure.