Chapter 768 - 769: Nothing

Chapter 768: Chapter 769: Nothing

The white rainbow gradually faded, and the sea churned.

Half of Xu Linglong’s clone had been severed by that single stroke. The remaining half twisted grotesquely before condensing into a complete Xu Linglong noticeably smaller in stature.

"The Integration realm... then I suppose you’re not much to look at."

Xu Linglong spoke while retreating rapidly, then smiled faintly:

"Fortunately, I have other preparations. I couldn’t let you leave unsatisfied today."

As her words fell, a colossal wave erupted beneath Xu Linglong’s feet. Several crimson tentacles of bizarre shape rose from the sea, shielding her.

As the tentacles emerged from the ocean floor, their owner revealed its true form.

If Chu Xingchen were to describe it, he’d probably say—an enormous, grotesquely shaped octopus with red skin tattoos.

Xie Lingyu’s expression didn’t change. Her spiritual consciousness had already detected this massive creature lurking beneath the surface.

Its aura was extremely peculiar, and its cultivation system seemed altered. If one were to judge it by cultivator realms, it would be roughly equivalent to Spirit Transformation.

Sometimes, a gap in cultivation couldn’t be bridged simply by being bigger.

That earlier sword stroke had struck the octopus squarely. One tentacle had been severed and sunk to the ocean floor.

As Bai Xuanling’s only true disciple, Xie Lingyu had been cultivated to core disciple standards.

She was the one who killed across realms—how could she possibly be injured by some wild creature?

Xie Lingyu’s gaze remained calm. If Xu Linglong’s so-called preparation was merely this octopus, then forget about being satisfied—this creature couldn’t even force her to take things seriously.

"Lamentation — Ceaseless."

Xie Lingyu murmured softly, and the hand gripping her spirit sword moved slightly.

Before any white light appeared, the sword intent had already arrived.

Xie Lingyu’s figure dissolved in place. Her spirit sword hadn’t even appeared to lift, yet every tentacle shielding Xu Linglong was erased from existence by invisible sword intent.

Xu Linglong’s eyes widened. She’d seen this move before—Bai Xuanling had once used this very stroke to sever her hand.

She hadn’t expected to see it wielded by Xie Lingyu today.

Inelegant... but it truly carried Bai Xuanling’s flair.

Given time, this Xie Lingyu could very well become the next Bai Xuanling.

Indeed, when the Heavenly Dao shifted, prodigies sprouted like rain. Time was not on their side.

The octopus had no chance to deploy any ability. Pure instinct drove it to slam its head toward Xie Lingyu.

Xie Lingyu didn’t even spare it a glance. Her spirit sword didn’t change its trajectory, yet the octopus’s head was cleanly severed by an invisible arc of sword intent.

Blue blood splattered in all directions, falling like a heavy rain.

Invisible sword intent surged around Xie Lingyu, blocking all the filthy blood. Her gaze locked onto Xu Linglong—but in the next instant, her eyes shifted slightly to Xu Linglong’s side, and her spirit sword finally changed.

BOOM!

Xie Lingyu’s long sword swept aside and fell.

A single stroke pierced through the vast ocean.

White light descended, sword intent pushing back the sea.

Within the white light and sword intent, a sea demon’s form emerged—clad in crimson heavy armor forged specifically for it, wielding a trident-shaped spirit treasure weapon, with the blood-source power of a Celestial Demon manifesting across its body.

The sword pressure crashed down. Before the sea demon could even move, Xie Lingyu’s strike shattered its armor and snapped its trident.

Xie Lingyu leaned slightly forward, standing at a distance, and slowly delivered another descending stroke.

In the next moment, the sea demon that had been holding its ground was decapitated.

Sometimes the methods of a high-level sword cultivator were unfathomably strange.

Xu Linglong’s figure used this brief opening to shift far away. Her expression of surprise surfaced once more:

"I underestimated you. An Integration-realm sea demon didn’t even last a few exchanges against you."

Xie Lingyu raised her gaze slightly but didn’t answer. Her sword intent pointed straight at Xu Linglong.

Master had taught her: in the moment between life and death—

No one wastes words. There’s never time for idle chatter to distract oneself.

Those who talked were either a full realm above and wanted to toy with their prey before killing them.

Or they were stalling, seeking changes and pulling dirty tricks.

If you yourself had no hidden moves, not answering and simply killing the opponent with everything you had was the only choice.

Xu Linglong clearly wasn’t the first type—so she must be the second.

Xie Lingyu had nothing to say to Xu Linglong, but the sword in her hand had several threads of sincere sword intent it wanted to express.

Xu Linglong’s eyes remained calm. Then four more Integration-realm sea demons revealed themselves.

Xie Lingyu’s performance far exceeded expectations, and she had no interest in banter. Playing the escalation game would fail even at stalling for time.

The East Sea did have Mahayana-realm sea demons, but because humans had purged them in the past, the few that remained held nothing but terror toward humanity.

The higher a sea demon’s cultivation, the stronger this fear. Back when humans had slaughtered demons with red-eyed fury, they had been true butchers.

Mahayana-realm sea demons, aside from ones Xu Linglong had to personally capture, also required additional methods to control their minds—a tremendous burden on her Sea of Consciousness.

Moreover, they were extremely rare, widely scattered, and possessed excellent concealment abilities. By comparison, ones she’d cultivated herself were far more convenient.

This was also why Boluo had said the East Sea held no forces worth mourning.

Based on Xie Lingyu’s current performance, unless Xu Linglong went and captured a Mahayana sea demon on the spot, or came in person, this engagement really wouldn’t let Xie Lingyu get her fill.

But...

The real card in her hand wasn’t these sea demons.

It was Donggua, who Chu Xingchen had brought aboard. Chu Xingchen had managed to turn poor little Donggua against her—so why couldn’t she win him back?

Xie Lingyu had pressed far from the ship to protect it.

Now only Donggua and Chu Xingchen remained aboard.

So what if he had the Primordial Chaos Twin Spirit Beads? Xu Linglong had planted a thread of power in Donggua’s Sea of Consciousness.

If Donggua was willing, and if Chu Xingchen’s cultivation truly hadn’t recovered, then a single strike might just take Chu Xingchen’s life. Even if it didn’t kill him, as long as the blow inflicted serious injuries—

Then...

Xu Linglong would naturally be willing to come in person, end Chu Xingchen’s life on the spot, and call it an even trade.

Without Chu Xingchen standing behind the title of Child of Heaven, the Eighteen Immortal Sects falling into complete disarray was entirely foreseeable.

Xu Linglong’s lips curved into a smile.

A seed planted casually all those years ago could always sprout at some overlooked critical moment.

All those years of maintaining the habit hadn’t been in vain.

Aboard the great ship.

The aftershocks of the Integration-realm battle ahead were violent. The entire ship had triggered its protective ritual array.

And this array, buffeted by the aftershocks, was glowing so intensely it seemed on the verge of overloading.

Donggua was still in charge of controlling the great ship—partly to keep it steady, partly to adjust the state of the formation array.

The battle ahead had only just begun. Having witnessed Xie Lingyu’s prowess, Donggua was filled with genuine admiration.

But in the next instant—

Donggua, who had been watching, suddenly stiffened. The great ship lurched as well.

Donggua’s terrified mind hadn’t yet recovered when Chu Xingchen’s confused voice came through:

"Donggua, what’s wrong?"

Donggua was stunned, but answered reflexively:

"Nothing... nothing."

Only after the words left his mouth did Donggua realize what he’d actually said.

He’d said... nothing.