During this time, Yin Sha wasn’t pulled into the Heavenly Cycle Array Sect’s dream again, which made Bai Sha understand that speaking to Gong Yuxiang’s remains was indeed effective.
And so they approached Bloodthirsty Territory.
The defining characteristic of Bloodthirsty Territory was very distinct, as a large number of special seafloor plants existed there. It was a type of seafloor plant called Bloodthirsty Bamboo, spread throughout every part of Bloodthirsty Territory.
Bloodthirsty Bamboo was bright red in color, similar in shape to ordinary bamboo, and could only exist on the seafloor.
The moment you saw Bloodthirsty Bamboo, you knew you had arrived at Bloodthirsty Territory.
“Is it up ahead?” Bai Sha looked forward.
A swath of bright red spread through the seawater. It was the color of individual stalks of Bloodthirsty Bamboo. Seen from a slight distance, it looked like strips of vivid red ribbon unfurling.
Upon arriving here, Bai Sha and Yin Sha both became vigilant, slowing their pace and advancing carefully.
But they hadn’t gone far before they came to a halt.
Because up ahead within Bloodthirsty Territory, a fish was swimming their way.
It was a Big-Belly Fish with grayish-white scales. Big-Belly Fish were ordinary fish, but the one before them was no ordinary fish, because it emanated demonic power. It was already a demon cultivator.
This Big-Belly Fish swam directly towards Bai Sha and Yin Sha. The expression on its face seemed somewhat dazed.
Why would there be a Big-Belly Fish?
Bai Sha and Yin Sha exchanged a glance.
From what they understood, the Bloodthirsty Swordfish clan was extremely xenophobic. Bloodthirsty Territory generally only contained Bloodthirsty Swordfish.
Also, wasn’t there something off about the other party’s mental state?
“You… hello, you two. I’m a Big-Belly Fish.”
The Big-Belly Fish came up close. Its mental state seemed to improve somewhat, as it showed a smile and spoke.
Neither Bai Sha nor Yin Sha spoke. They simply looked at the Big-Belly Fish.
The Big-Belly Fish didn’t mind and continued talking. “Did you know? Senior Jian Hu of Bloodthirsty Territory has finally come out of seclusion. He’s been in seclusion for a very long time, and now that he’s finally emerged, he clearly has gained something. To celebrate, he plans to hold a banquet and has invited all the demon cultivators nearby. You two must also be here to celebrate for Senior Jian Hu, right?”
Come out of seclusion to celebrate?
Bai Sha opened her mouth to deny it. “No, we’re just passing by…”
She hadn’t even finished her sentence before Bai Sha felt a wave of mental daze, rendering her unable to finish speaking.
As if the Big-Belly Fish hadn’t heard that half-sentence, it spoke again. “As expected, you’re indeed here to celebrate for Senior Jian Hu? Then let’s enter Bloodthirsty Territory together. To receive an invitation to Senior Jian Hu’s banquet is truly our honor.”
As it spoke, the Big-Belly Fish even revealed a smile. But that smile seemed to carry a hint of something eerie.
What was even eerier was that when the Big-Belly Fish finished speaking, eerie smiles also appeared on the faces of Bai Sha and Yin Sha.
“That’s right. We’ve come to celebrate for Senior Jian Hu.”
“To be able to attend Senior Jian Hu’s banquet is truly our honor.”
Bai Sha and Yin Sha, with eerie smiles on their faces, each spoke in turn.
“Then let’s go.”
The Big-Belly Fish turned around, gave a light flick of its tail fin, and headed into Bloodthirsty Territory.
Bai Sha and Yin Sha followed along.
They swam past stalk after stalk of Bloodthirsty Bamboo, entering Bloodthirsty Territory, dominated by its bright red primary color.
As soon as they entered Bloodthirsty Territory, Bai Sha’s mind cleared.
“What’s going on?”
Bai Sha’s movements came to an abrupt halt.
What had just happened? Why had she inexplicably followed the Big-Belly Fish inside?
“Bai… Bai Sha, the situation is so strange.” Yin Sha’s somewhat frightened voice came from beside her.
Clearly, Yin Sha’s mind had also cleared by now, and she too had realized something was wrong.
The Big-Belly Fish ahead seemed not to notice their change at all, still swimming on its own towards the depths of Bloodthirsty Territory.
“Let’s retreat first.”
Bai Sha said cautiously.
No matter how you looked at it, the situation here was filled with a sense of the Eerie. It was far too different from what they had imagined. They naturally couldn’t go risking themselves recklessly.
Yin Sha strongly agreed.
Ignoring the Big-Belly Fish, they turned around and headed towards the outside of Bloodthirsty Territory.
But when they passed through the forest of Bloodthirsty Bamboo, the scene that unfolded before them made them jump in alarm.
Before them was the Big-Belly Fish, swimming towards the deeper areas, and further inside, more Bloodthirsty Bamboo stood within the seawater, emanating waves of bright red.
Weren’t they heading towards the outside of Bloodthirsty Territory? How did it seem like they had gone even deeper inside?
Bai Sha abruptly turned around to look behind her. She saw the outermost Bloodthirsty Bamboo forest of Bloodthirsty Territory and the seafloor scenery beyond the territory.
“Bai Sha, what is this…” Yin Sha asked uncomprehendingly.
“Let’s go again.”
Bai Sha grabbed Yin Sha’s pectoral fin and headed directly towards the Bloodthirsty Bamboo forest over there, wanting to leave Bloodthirsty Territory.
But when they passed through the Bloodthirsty Bamboo forest, they found that their position was even deeper within Bloodthirsty Territory than before. The Big-Belly Fish was still leisurely swaying along ahead of them, not far away.
They couldn’t leave.
They simply couldn’t leave this place!
Bai Sha’s expression was grim. She asked Yin Sha, “Is it an array?”
A situation where no matter how they swam, they couldn’t swim out—in Bai Sha’s view, it could only be an array. Something like a Maze Array would have this kind of effect.
But she herself hadn’t been able to see through it at all.
Logically, with Chaotic Star Hand, even when facing an array she couldn’t solve with Chaotic Star Hand, she should at least be able to detect its existence. Yet she simply couldn’t tell what the situation here was.
She could only ask Yin Sha. When it came to arrays, Yin Sha was the true expert.
But faced with Bai Sha’s question, Yin Sha could only shake her head, a touch of panic on her face. “I haven’t detected any trace of an array at all.”
That answer was not good news.
Yin Sha was already a Foundation Establishment-level Array Master. She should be able to detect arrays at least up to the Demon Core or Transformation level. If even Yin Sha couldn’t see a problem, then either the level of the array was too high, or what was causing the effect wasn’t an array at all.
This was Bloodthirsty Territory. Its master, Jian Hu, was at best a Demon Core-level demon cultivator. Could he possess an array that surpassed the Transformation level?
So there was some other issue here?
After a series of thoughts flashed through her mind, Bai Sha’s gaze fell upon the Big-Belly Fish ahead.
Yin Sha also looked at the Big-Belly Fish. “Bai Sha, do we attack?”
“Attack!”
Bai Sha’s answer was without hesitation.
They didn’t understand the situation here, but that didn’t mean the Big-Belly Fish didn’t.
Thus, they charged over directly. As they charged, Bai Sha cast a Water Vortex, directly engulfing the Big-Belly Fish within it.
But what happened next left both Bai Sha and Yin Sha stunned.
