The eruption of battle made the seawater boil, sending a stream of bubbles rising to the surface.
Seeing this, the Profound Water Turtle couldn’t help but sigh. “Truly befitting the Bloodthirsty Swordfish Clan. They say they are short-tempered, easy to anger, and bloodthirsty. It’s all true.”
The Tiger-Striped Seal let out a hearty laugh. “Hahaha! Good! Let them fight it out! Kill all those damn Wind-Thunder Observatory Cultivators!”
The Purple Horn Electric Eel swam over, hope glimmering in her eyes. “Will we have a chance to escape?”
“Who knows? We’ll have to keep watching.”
Bai Sha watched the battle outside with a calm gaze.
If she could use this opportunity to break free, it would naturally be the best outcome. But would things be that easy?
Among the Wind-Thunder Observatory Cultivators, the strongest was the Foundation Establishment Cultivator, Ding Lei. Unsurprisingly, he was targeted by Jian Yun.
As long as he eliminated Ding Lei, Jian Yun could easily handle the remaining Wind-Thunder Observatory Cultivators. He shot toward Ding Lei, carving a long white trail through the water.
Ding Lei understood Jian Yun’s intent. He could only retreat hastily, using Wind-Thunder Spells to block while backing away.
He was clearly no match for Jian Yun.
“It seems the Bloodthirsty Swordfish will win,” the Profound Water Turtle judged. “But after their victory… I wonder if they’ll let us go.”
As he spoke, the Profound Water Turtle glanced at Bai Sha.
Whether the other Demon Beasts would be spared was uncertain, but Bai Sha definitely would not be.
The turtle figured Bai Sha knew this very well. So why did she still seem so composed?
Ultimately, whether victory came or defeat, it didn’t matter much to Bai Sha.
Things had reached this point, and she was already prepared to spend one Simulation attempt. But what happened next caught her completely by surprise.
…
Under Jian Yun’s fierce assault, Ding Lei was struggling to keep up.
Human cultivators were already somewhat restricted fighting in the sea, unable to exert their full power. Moreover, Jian Yun’s strength was naturally superior to his.
Jian Yun cast spells, and one Water Vortex after another materialized around Ding Lei, pulling at him and restricting his movements. It was only a matter of time before he was defeated.
Watching the ferocious Jian Yun attacking him, Ding Lei gritted his teeth and pulled out a lump of Black Mud from his robes.
The Black Mud was palm-sized, easily held in one hand.
Gripping it, Ding Lei shouted, “Bloodthirsty Swordfish! Do you dare answer me?”
“Why would I not dare?” Jian Yun scoffed and spoke.
The moment his reply fell, the Black Mud in Ding Lei’s hand instantly transformed. In the blink of an eye, it took the exact shape of a Bloodthirsty Swordfish, even changing color to a deep, bloody red.
Seeing this bizarre sight, Jian Yun’s eyes contracted sharply. A profound sense of unease rose in his heart.
“Too late. You shouldn’t have answered.”
Even Ding Lei, usually stern-faced, couldn’t help but smile. He extended his other hand toward the mud figure, now a miniature Bloodthirsty Swordfish, and squeezed it, twisting the shape grotesquely out of form.
Immediately, Jian Yun’s body contorted as if gripped by an invisible hand. It twisted violently, the sound of snapping bones cracking through the water. Blood rapidly clouded the sea.
In a flash, Jian Yun’s body had been twisted just like the mud in Ding Lei’s hand.
The mud could be twisted into any shape without harm, but a living being twisted into such a shape was beyond hope of survival.
With Jian Yun dead, the twisted mud reverted to its original form of a simple lump.
Ding Lei looked at the Black Mud with lingering fear, then carefully put it away before charging toward the remaining Bloodthirsty Swordfish.
Jian Yun was the only one in the Bloodthirsty Swordfish group to reach the Foundation Establishment Stage. The rest were no match for Ding Lei. The tide of battle had turned decisively.
…
The Demon Beasts inside the Cage watched this unfold in disbelief.
Jian Yun was dead?
Just like that? So easily?
Between the Bloodthirsty Swordfish and the Wind-Thunder Observatory, the beasts had overwhelmingly hoped the Swordfish would win. After all, they were all Demon Beasts. But reality had twisted against their hopes, plunging their eyes back into despair.
“What was that?” Bai Sha couldn’t help but ask.
Seeing Ding Lei put the Black Mud away, she turned toward the other beasts in the Cage.
She was intensely curious. Not only because the Black Mud had effortlessly killed Jian Yun, but because a deep, intense desire had surged within her the moment it appeared. A desire to possess that Black Mud.
She knew it wasn’t her own feeling. It came from the Simulator. The Simulator wanted that Black Mud.
At Bai Sha’s question, both the Profound Water Turtle and the Tiger-Striped Seal looked blank. They clearly didn’t know what the Black Mud was.
“It’s an Ancient Forbidden Artifact,” the Purple Horn Electric Eel answered in her soft voice.
“Ancient Forbidden Artifact?”
Bai Sha and the two other Demon Beasts all turned to look at her.
Their sudden attention made the eel a bit nervous, but she still explained. “Ancient Forbidden Artifacts are essentially Magical Tools from ancient times. But they are very different from the Magical Tools we know today.”
The Purple Horn Electric Eel explained that, at the same rank, Ancient Forbidden Artifacts possessed far more astonishing effects, which often seemed incredibly bizarre.
Furthermore, using an Ancient Forbidden Artifact came with a price. The exact cost varied wildly, sometimes even being fatal.
Finally, Ancient Forbidden Artifacts had a strange uniqueness. No two identical artifacts had ever been found, completely unlike modern Magical Tools which are often mass-produced.
“You’re quite knowledgeable,” the Profound Water Turtle said, surprised.
“I just heard it all from my father,” the Purple Horn Electric Eel replied shyly, sounding much like a bashful young girl.
Bai Sha looked at the eel thoughtfully.
At that moment, a question came to mind. If she could carry an Ancient Forbidden Artifact back to the very start of her time travel, would it break the artifacts’ uniqueness by creating a duplicate, or would the original simply vanish?
Such an experiment would have to wait for another time.
By now, with Ding Lei freed up, the Wind-Thunder Observatory Cultivators had captured all the Bloodthirsty Swordfish they could. Those who resisted fiercely were killed on the spot. Victory was complete.
Although the Wind-Thunder Observatory had won, they had lost several of their own. When their gazes turned toward Bai Sha, the instigator of it all, their killing intent was completely unconcealed.
