Deep beneath the waves, inside a dome that caged Liu Xing and ten gigantic spirit beasts, the fight still raged. From the outside, the dome was dark, murky, and red. While a normal person could not glimpse what was inside, cultivators with sharp eyes could.

Only two beings remained inside. They were Liu Xing and a gigantic blue snake. On the seafloor below them lay the remains of a gigantic eel, its head exploded and its body torn apart. Similarly, the remains of a horse-dolphin hybrid spirit beast had been destroyed and the spirit beast in the shape of a plate had shattered and was still spilling black oil into the water, making the inside of the dome murkier by the second. Hidden beneath the murk were the corpses of other spirit beasts. Not all of them had been killed by Liu Xing, but most had been.

Liu Xing shot with tremendous speed toward the gigantic blue snake, his stone blade alight with a purple hue and his gun aimed forward. Three bolts of lightning flew alongside him. When he used his shield to maneuver, the bolts followed, akin to shooting stars trailing a meteor. There was no bubble of air around Liu Xing's head. It had been depleted moments ago. Still, he was confident he could kill the remaining beast right here and right now.

"Die!" Liu Xing tried to shout, hyping himself, though the sound did not travel through the water. He swung his stone blade downward, right toward the temple of the blue snake. The snake looked up, its damaged eyes glaring at him with a mix of contempt and fear. It moved its head to the side, and Liu Xing's stone blade missed. However, while the blade missed, one of the lightning bolts did not. It hit the snake square in its forehead, right in the middle of the long gashes he had inflicted earlier, knocking it backward.

The snake coiled its body to launch itself away, but Liu Xing swung his stone blade toward the middle of its body. A giant crescent of purple qi shot from the blade, splitting the water, and hit the snake, making it fold in half like a rope struck by a blunt knife. Liu Xing knew its scales were tough. He would need several more strikes to split its body in two. But he didn't need to.

"Attack!" he shouted, willing the two remaining bolts to maneuver. The first bolt circled the snake's body before landing directly on its forehead once again. When it exploded, the snake recoiled, its forehead now a mess of gashes and cauterized burn marks that prevented blood from spilling out. Before it could regain its balance, the third bolt—the one created from the absorbed qi of the giant swordfish—landed on its forehead. When this one exploded, the shockwave was several magnitudes stronger than before, and Liu Xing was thrown back by its force. He didn't mind. Because this explosion, instead of being only blue, was accompanied by red blood and chunks of meat from the snake. Liu Xing glanced at his gun, and when he saw the six stripes glowing, he couldn't help but smile.

"Finally, victory."

The fight had been hard. Each of those spirit beasts possessed a toughness beyond that of normal spirit beasts, and all of them had strong and troublesome abilities. However, in the end, Liu Xing was the victor. A surge of pride coursed through him, but he reined it in and forced his face into a calm mask.

The fight was not over. In fact, it was only the beginning.

As the snake's remains began to sink, Liu Xing summoned his shield, kicked off from it, and launched himself upward. When the dome came into view, he accelerated further and channeled qi into his stone blade until it glowed purple once more. He swung the blade five times, sending five crescents of purple qi toward a single spot on the dome. Without stopping, he absorbed the bullets that his gun had taken from the snake into his own body. He felt the qi rage through his qi paths like a giant river before using some of it to activate his Exploding Lightning Missile Technique. Instantly, the gun converted the technique into six bullets. He pulled the trigger six times, sending six blue bolts streaking after the purple crescent attacks.

When the first crescent landed, it exploded in a brilliant purple light, but the dome itself remained intact. The second, third, and the rest hit in rapid succession, making the dome tremble like a man shaking with fear. Then, the first bullet struck, and the dome shuddered hard, as if hit by an earthquake. As the second, third, fourth, and fifth bullets hit, it shuddered even harder, and when his final attack landed, it exploded in a brilliant blue light, accompanied by a deep, rumbling crack. The light vanished, revealing a giant hole above him. Cracks began to spread out from it, slowly at first, then faster and faster, until by the time Liu Xing passed through the hole, they covered the entire dome.

He emerged from the murky water into the clearer sea, and he could feel the fresh water encasing his body. He summoned his shield again and kicked it to accelerate upward, and as he rocketed through the water, a deep rumble echoed from below, a sound that signaled the dome's true destruction.

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As Liu Xing moved higher and higher, a trail of water formed behind him. The fear and anxiety he had suppressed while fighting the spirit beasts finally resurfaced. The memory of the Nether Lotus Sect arriving at the camp was still fresh in his mind, and his heartbeat began to quicken as dread crept into his mind. The time that had passed since his Eye of Lightning broke was short, but it was enough for the Nether Lotus Sect to capture all of his people and leave the way they had come.

Liu Xing gritted his teeth. Though still underwater and unable to draw a deep breath, he tried to rein in his emotions. He needed to believe that everything was still alright. After all, through the Eyes of Lightning he had left near the lighthouse, he had seen ten spirit beasts emerge from the sea and fight the Nether Lotus Sect. The moment he saw it, he had almost been bitten by the giant eel, but that vision had also brought uncertainty and hope into the fray. With such a distraction, Qing Yuan, Fang Ruxue, Su Nian, and the others must have had plenty of opportunity to run away.

Soon, Liu Xing broke the surface and shot into the sky like a dolphin leaping from the sea, a trail of water following him. His clothes and black hair clung to his skin, making the chilly night air feel even colder. He summoned his shield, landed on it, and stood for a second before inhaling deeply. The air rushing into his lungs felt amazing. His chest felt light, his body no longer crushed by water pressure, and the simple act of standing in the open air was so pleasant it made him smile.

But Liu Xing's smile instantly vanished, replaced by a serious expression and a sharp gaze. He had no time to waste. He needed to get back to that island, find his people, and kill those demonic cultivators along the way. He nodded, then looked around. Seeing no light or shadow—only the vast expanse of the dark sea—he closed his eyes and tried to sense the qi around him.

Instantly, he felt the qi behind him stirring like boiling water. Many types of qi were mixed with the ambient qi. Some felt prickly and belonged to spirit beasts, some belonged to human cultivators, and some were so dark and sinister it was as if they were made from hatred and malice. Liu Xing spun around, reactivated his Lightning Cloak Technique, and launched himself forward. The power of his jump was enough to make the sea below him explode.

Liu Xing repeatedly summoned his shield, accelerating faster and faster until the air shrieked and exploded as he passed through it. The sound was like that of a spirit beast being torn alive. He directed the remaining Eyes of Lightning to spread out and search for his people. He knew they were scattered, and he needed to find them all. To cover as much ground as possible, he moved the Eyes of Lightning in zigzag patterns.

"Hold on a little longer," Liu Xing muttered. He was moving at an incredible speed and would reach the island shortly, but he decided to be productive while there was still time before he arrived.

As he tore through the air, he activated his Exploding Lightning Missile Technique, converting qi into bullets and shooting them forward. Instantly, six bolts—Lightning Missiles—tore through the air like falling stars. The technique was versatile, as he could control their direction manually. However, it had the same drawback as his Eye of Lightning. It gave him a headache if he tried to control too many things at once. He had already decided to merge the two techniques later since their functions overlapped, and he was tempted to do it now, but he forced himself to focus on finding his people and also using Flowing Meditation to absorb qi from his Ethereal Pearl.

After a moment, Liu Xing glanced to his right, adjusted his direction, and summoned and kicked his shield again. He could feel a strange disturbance in the qi there. The ambient qi was churning and swirling, completely different from the inert ambient qi around him. Thinking it might be Qing Yuan, Liu Xing kicked his shield repeatedly, sending and cycling more qi to strengthen his Lightning Cloak Technique, and at the same time ordered the nearest Eye of Lightning toward that position.

In seconds, the silhouette of the island grew larger. Liu Xing could make out the shapes of many people on the beach. Aside from one who was standing and another who was running, the others... were lying on the sand.

His heart skipped a beat. His eyes widened, and fear began to swallow him whole. Why are they lying on the ground? They have to be okay. They're just tired from running away. But when one of his Eyes of Lightning arrived at the beach and swept its vision across the scene, that hope vanished like paper bursting into flame.

Qing Yuan was bleeding so much that blood had pooled on his back. He cried out, but blood filled his mouth, causing him to gurgle. The people he had saved—who had cared for him, fed him, and given him advice—were lying on the ground, all with severed feet. Blood gushed from their stumps, staining the sand red. They were all crying in agony. Some clutched their severed legs, while others could only cry. One person, Su Nian's mother, had her right hand severed as well, and she was dragging herself toward Su Nian, who had all of her limbs... severed.

The only one still running was Fang Ruxue. Her face was awash with fear and panic, and she extended both hands forward as if trying to clutch invisible, helping hands. Upon seeing this, Liu Xing's face twisted into a mask of pure fury. He summoned and kicked his shield faster and faster and faster, pushing past his own limits. He was late. He was so, so late. The people he cared about were hurting, and he hadn't been there to protect them. But there was still one he could save.

"Bastard!" Liu Xing roared as he moved faster still. The six Lightning Missiles following him shone with an eerie blue light.

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