With a great splash, Long Ao burst from the water’s surface, hauling the corpses of two Wave-Chasing Shrimp Spirits onto the deck of the Calyx Boat.

He immediately noticed something was off about Jiang Chen’s expression.

Long Ao dropped the carcasses. “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Chen gave him a clipped summary of the situation. “It’s Zhao Wuji…”

Long Ao was stunned. “How could he have possibly found us?”

“Have you forgotten?” Jiang Chen mused, his eyes cold. “The man has a dragon beast.”

The realization dawned on Long Ao. “Right, that juvenile Thunder Kui Dragon Beast!”

Though not a true dragon, it was a rare hybrid of a Thunder Kui and an Earth Dragon. Thanks to its Thunder Kui lineage, it possessed a natural and potent affinity for lightning. The beast must have sensed the lingering auras of the Dragon Whisker Brocade Carp and the Golden Fin Dragon Carp, leading Zhao Wuji straight to their prize spot.

As for why he would go out of his way to antagonize disciples of the Cloud Sea Sect, only Zhao Wuji himself knew the answer.

“He’s heading straight for us now,” Jiang Chen said, his voice low and dangerous.

Long Ao raised an eyebrow. “Surely he wouldn’t be foolish enough to start a fight.”

A frigid smile touched Jiang Chen’s lips. *That would be perfect.*

It wasn’t long before a large ship came slicing through the waves. The vessel was easily dozens of feet long, its hull a sleek, streamlined form carved from deep brown Profound Iron Sinking Wood. Silver-gray scars, like fossilized lightning, were embedded in the wood grain, glinting with a cold, metallic light.

Most striking were the intricate lightning patterns that covered the ship. They writhed from bow to stern, converging into a complex magical seal shaped like the character for ‘thunder’. As spiritual energy coursed through them, they pulsed with a silver-purple glow, as if countless vipers of pure energy were slithering across its surface.

The bow was sharpened to a razor’s edge, arcing with ambient electricity. When the main sail was unfurled, it resembled the gaping maw of a void behemoth, voraciously inhaling the surrounding air currents. The stern tapered like a beast’s tail, from which hung a massive bell forged of Profound Iron. Its surface was etched with inverted lightning runes. Instead of a clear chime, the bell resonated with the ship’s vibrations, producing a low, bone-deep hum that seemed to press down on the very air.

More astonishingly, Jiang Chen and Long Ao noticed that the filthy water of the Turbid Flow Zone was actively repelled by the vessel, forming a clean, shimmering pocket around its hull.

In moments, it moored about thirty feet from the Calyx Boat. Two figures emerged on its deck, both clad in the robes of the Dragon Tiger Immortal Sect.

One was Zhao Wuji. The other was an unfamiliar disciple.

From his deck, Zhao Wuji called out, his voice laced with a feigned warmth. “Fairy Beiyun! That fishing spot of yours is a true treasure. I’ve never seen so many Dragon Whisker Brocade Carp in one place!”

Silence. The Calyx Boat remained utterly still, as if deserted.

Inside, Jiang Chen and Long Ao exchanged a look. “What now?”

“He thinks we’re Fairy Beiyun,” Long Ao realized with a start. “No wonder he pursued us so aggressively.”

Jiang Chen’s brow arched. “If we ignore him, a man like that will only become more brazen.”

Long Ao considered this for a moment, a sly grin spreading across his face. “I have an idea. You stay here and pretend to be Fairy Beiyun. I’ll go out and meet him alone.” He quickly laid out his plan. “Since Zhao Wuji is so infatuated with her, let’s use it to our advantage. We can trick the fool into helping us hunt water demons and sea monsters!”

Jiang Chen was genuinely surprised. “Is this the same Senior Brother Long I know?” he thought, bemused. *When did everyone around me become such a conniving bastard?*

With the plan set, Long Ao stepped out onto the deck alone.

Hearing the movement, Zhao Wuji’s eyes lit up. A joyful expression began to form on his face, only to freeze into a look of utter confusion. “Fairy Beiyun… is a man?”

“I am Fairy Beiyun’s companion,” Long Ao stated, his face a mask of indifference. “My name is Mo Sha.”

Zhao Wuji and his sect brother exchanged a baffled glance. They had never heard the name.

Long Ao pressed his advantage, his tone a clear warning. “You have disturbed Fairy Beiyun’s cultivation.”

Zhao Wuji’s expression shifted. “My apologies! We had no intention of doing so.”

A ghost of a smile played on Long Ao’s lips. “In that case, perhaps you could…”

He never finished his sentence.

The entire stretch of water fell deathly silent. A suffocating pressure descended upon them, heavy and absolute. A low hum, like the rumble of distant, subterranean thunder, vibrated up from the depths. The sea began to churn violently, the crests of the waves sparking with silver-purple electricity.

A hundred meters away, the sea swelled impossibly, erupting into a wall of water that towered over thirty feet high. A fissure split the top of the watery precipice, and a massive, serpentine head emerged.

Its snout was as long and sharp as a sword, flanked by three gill slits on each side. As they flexed, they expelled not water, but a viscous, ozone-stinging plasma. Where the substance struck the sea, the water hissed and boiled, the bursting bubbles releasing smaller arcs of electricity.

The creature had no eyes. In their place, a semi-translucent thunder crystal was embedded in its forehead, pulsing with a core of purple lightning as thick as magma. As the crystal rotated, it shot out countless micro-bolts, weaving a crackling web of death across the ocean’s surface. When it opened its maw, it revealed two rows of serrated fangs, between which danced threads of pale violet energy.

Even more terrifying was its tail fin. It was as broad as a ship’s sail, its edge rimmed with a layer of silvery-white keratin. With every swing, the water around it was electrolyzed into a white mist of charged droplets. From a distance, the beast appeared to be shrouded in a thundercloud, its very presence causing the air to crackle and pop.

By a conservative estimate, it was at least sixty feet long.

“So, the Thunder Bell I hung from the stern worked after all,” Zhao Wuji murmured, his voice filled with avarice. “With its core, I can finally enter secluded cultivation and break through to the Earth-Grade Golden Core!”

Everyone was momentarily stunned by the colossal creature. Jiang Chen and Long Ao’s eyes widened in shock. Sea monsters typically remained in the Raging Waves Domain; their appearance in the Turbid Flow Zone was exceptionally rare. Yet, from Zhao Wuji’s words, it was clear he had deliberately lured this Lightning Eel King here.

Long Ao couldn’t believe his luck. He had only planned to rope Zhao Wuji into hunting a few water demons. He never dreamed they’d stumble upon a sea monster worth a full 50 points.

Before he could speak, Zhao Wuji made his offer. “Fellow Daoist Mo Sha, I invite you and Fairy Beiyun to hunt this beast with me. We will split the points evenly. However,” he added, his tone final, “I will be taking its core. What do you say?”

Long Ao was ecstatic but masked it well. He feigned deep thought for a moment before answering, “I will participate. As for Fairy Beiyun…”

“What about her?” Zhao Wuji pressed, clearly anxious.

“Fairy Beiyun is at a critical juncture in her cultivation,” Long Ao said with a helpless sigh. “She cannot be disturbed to cooperate at this time.”

Understanding dawned on Zhao Wuji’s face. “Ah, so that’s why she wouldn’t see me. She’s cultivating. Very well, the three of us will be enough.” He then asked, “What is your cultivation realm, if I may ask?”

“Foundation Establishment Perfection,” Long Ao replied without hesitation.

A confident smirk spread across Zhao Wuji’s face. “Two at Foundation Establishment Perfection, one at the late stage, plus my *Thunderclap* and my three-hundred-year-old Thunder Kui Dragon Beast. Even without Fairy Beiyun’s help, the Lightning Eel King is as good as dead.”

Inside the Calyx Boat, a cold sneer formed on Jiang Chen’s face.

As the trio boarded the *Thunderclap* and set off to hunt their prize, he slipped away unnoticed. Finding a secluded spot, he summoned the Water-Avoiding Demon Dragon Boat. He donned the Phantom mask, instantly altering his features and aura to that of the Fire Spirit Root cultivator, Zhu Rong.

With a silent flicker, both man and vessel submerged, vanishing into the inky, polluted depths.

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