Just as Yun Ming was unleashing his might, striving to secure the right to be heard by Ao Tian, a pair of massive eyes opened ten thousand meters beneath the sea, dozens of nautical miles to the east of the Dragon Nest Sea Area, and gazed toward the direction of the Dragon Nest Sea Area.
A voice filled with a hint of surprise echoed through the silent seabed.
"Has a divine miracle manifested?"
With that, the owner of the voice began to advance rapidly toward the Dragon Nest Sea Area.
Meanwhile, back at the Dragon Nest Sea Area.
Regarding Ao Tian's question, Yun Ming did not answer immediately, instead shifting the conversation to another matter.
"Those questions can wait. Before that, there is a prerequisite issue, which is..."
"Do you believe that Soul Beasts can become gods?"
"Only if you answer this question can we have the possibility of cooperation."
Upon hearing this, Ao Tian seemed to recall something; his dragon eyes dimmed, and he sighed helplessly.
"They cannot!"
This question had always had a standard answer among the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast community: 'Soul Beasts cannot become gods.'
In his early years, Ao Tian did not think so; he felt he would be different. But as his cultivation grew, he began to perceive the suppression of the heavens and the earth.
This reminded him of the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King.
About a few thousand years ago, the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King had already reached his current level of cultivation. Yet, even today, despite the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King having taken a half-step toward becoming a dragon, he still had not broken through, remaining stuck at the final hurdle.
Given the cultivation method of the Deep Sea Demonic Whale species (devouring), Ao Tian did not believe he lacked the foundation. So, was it that the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King did not want to become a god? Clearly, that was not it either. In the end, there was only one possibility: he was incapable of doing so.
Aside from the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, there was also the Golden Eyed Black Dragon King, whom he had once caught a glimpse of. That dragon's bloodline rank was comparable to his own, though purer, and his aura intensity back then was only slightly inferior to the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King. Yet, over these years, Ao Tian had likewise not sensed that black dragon becoming a god.
With two living examples before his eyes, coupled with the fact that there had never been a precedent in Soul Beast history of a Soul Beast becoming a god, even someone as arrogant as Ao Tian had to face the objective fact that Soul Beasts could not become gods.
Hearing Ao Tian's answer, Yun Ming nodded and continued.
"It is much the same as the information I have gathered. With this as a premise, the subsequent questions have their answers."
"No Soul Beast has ever succeeded in becoming a god. However, it is feasible for humans to become gods, so..."
At this point, Yun Ming stared into Ao Tian's massive dragon eyes and said earnestly.
"So, if a Soul Beast wishes to become a god, there appear to be only two feasible methods at present."
"One, the Soul Beast transforms into a human and attempts to become a god."
"Two, the Soul Beast attaches itself to a human, assists the chosen human in becoming a god, and ultimately, their soul ascends to godhood alongside them."
Hearing this, how could Ao Tian not know what Yun Ming's goal was? This person was indeed as he had suspected, harboring ill intentions. Ao Tian said coldly.
"So, you want this king to sacrifice himself to you, betting on the possibility of you becoming a god?"
Seeing that Ao Tian only spoke without attacking, Yun Ming knew he had listened, so he did not shy away and responded directly.
"Yes, and I believe I am qualified enough for you to stake your life on it."
Ao Tian fell into deep thought as he looked at the incredibly confident Yun Ming. He had met the Sea God, and he felt that the Sea God was inferior to the Yun Ming before him, so what he said was indeed a feasible method. It was just that he was still somewhat unwilling to sacrifice himself just like that.
Just as Ao Tian was considering whether to drive Yun Ming away first so he could clear his thoughts and make plans later, he suddenly felt a terrifying wave of Soul Power from the east approaching him rapidly.
Yun Ming also sensed the unexpected visitor. Feeling the vast, ocean-like, and terrifyingly surging Soul Power from afar, Yun Ming's expression changed, and he hurriedly activated the Sky Support Mark left on Ya Li to return to the ship.
Ya Li and the others were overjoyed to see Yun Ming return, but before they could speak, they heard Yun Ming shout instructions.
"Quick! The ship is to proceed west at full speed. All water-attribute Soul Masters, assist with water manipulation immediately!"
"Hurry, hurry, hurry!!"
Seeing Yun Ming so urgent, Ya Li knew that something very troublesome must have happened and hurriedly urged Hai Lan, who was about to ask for the reason, to get to work.
After Hai Lan received the order and went down to make arrangements, Ya Li looked at Yun Ming, who was wearing a grave expression and staring fixedly to the east, and asked.
"Brother Ming, has something happened?"
Yun Ming frowned, his eyes not wavering as he said.
"A super ferocious beast with at least six hundred thousand years of cultivation is heading in this direction."
Upon hearing this, Ya Li's expression changed drastically.
What did six hundred thousand years mean? It was the level of the fourth-ranked of the later Ten Great Ferocious Beasts. If converted into a human Title Douluo, it would roughly enter the realm of a Limit Douluo. Now that such an entity was rushing toward them, running even a little slowly would be a sign of disrespect to them. The current Yun Ming could not block a full-fledged Limit Douluo.
Yun Ming could only wish Ao Tian good luck for now; after all, he really could not defeat an enemy of this caliber at the moment.
On Ao Tian's side, he had no reaction to Yun Ming's departure; what concerned him more now was the one who was about to arrive.
Through this somewhat familiar wave of Soul Power, he had already identified which beast was coming.
As the mysterious ocean beast approached, the sea, which was already gloomy, saw countless water elements begin to condense frantically above and below. The sky and the sea became increasingly dark, without a single ray of light penetrating through.
Feeling that the opponent had arrived close by, Ao Tian let out a high-pitched dragon roar.
Ao Tian asked aloud.
"Demon Empress, visiting my Dragon Nest Sea Area, may I ask what business you have!"
The massive voice traveled over a dozen nautical miles and reached the ears of the mysterious ferocious beast known as the 'Demon Empress'. The beast surfaced from the sea and revealed herself in the ocean.
It was a whale-type Spirit Beast with a body length reaching over 130 meters, its entire form shimmering with the color of a sapphire, and two enormous eyes on its head, each over three meters in diameter.
Her species was known as the Deep Sea Demonic Whale, the representative of the top-tier Sea Soul Beast hierarchy and the strongest Sea Soul Beast in the current ocean; the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King was born of this lineage. At the same time, she was also the wife of the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King.
Currently, the ocean referred to her as the 'Demon Empress', the queen of the King of the Ocean. However, twenty thousand years later in the original timeline, she would become consumed by extreme hatred toward humanity after her husband died at the hands of Tang San, choosing to cooperate with the Holy Spirit Church and becoming the sect leader of the Holy Spirit Church, the great terror known to the world as the 'Demon Emperor'.
The Demon Empress surfaced, attempting to locate the aura of the deity that had previously lured her here.
Seeing that the other party ignored him and began searching around the moment she arrived, Ao Tian's already dark dragon face turned even darker.
He roughly knew the reason for her arrival. It was likely drawn by that strange aura from Yun Ming. In his heart, he cursed the other party for being a jinx, bringing him trouble the moment she appeared. However, this Demon Empress treated him as if he were invisible, not even acknowledging him at his own doorstep; was she not looking down on him too much?
Thinking of this, Ao Tian spoke up once more.
"Did the Demon Empress drop something at my place?"
Having searched a circle and found nothing, the Demon Empress finally turned her gaze toward the master of this place, Ao Tian. A cold and noble voice rang out across the ocean.
"Speak, where is the object of the deity!"
The Demon Empress had no intention of wasting words, directly demanding the item. Other Beasts who had survived two or three tribulations might be wary of this kid in front of her, but she was not afraid. In terms of status and strength, she was superior to Ao Tian, so there was naturally no need to be polite.
Hearing this old woman in front of him look down on him so much, demanding he hand over items the moment she arrived, Ao Tian was also burning with rage. She was merely an old fish that hadn't even transformed into a dragon yet; what kind of status did she have to dare speak to him like this?
"What object of the deity? Are you not awake yet! If you want to dream, go back to your own home." Since the other party refused to show respect, the arrogant Ao Tian naturally would no longer speak kindly.
Seeing that this Turtle Boy dared to be disrespectful to her, the Demon Empress's tone grew noticeably colder as she continued.
"Ao Tian, you had best do as I say, otherwise don't blame me for being impolite."
As she spoke, surging dark purple Soul Power began to rise from her massive body; the meaning was clear: if Ao Tian dared not to cooperate, she would take action.
But would Ao Tian yield because of this? Clearly, he would not.
Although the prerequisite for making him listen was indeed having formidable means, that did not mean he would accept threats. Seeing that the Demon Empress actually wanted to threaten him, Ao Tian did not hold back at all, and countless deep yellow lights lit up on his massive body.
"Is that so? I'd like to see how you intend to be impolite!"
Without waiting for the Demon Empress to move, countless ancient and profound patterns on Ao Tian's turtle shell lit up in their entirety. A faint, mysterious yellow halo covered his undulating turtle back. At the same time, the dark sky, previously completely covered by water vapor, saw a heavenly river descend, blessing his turtle back and making it appear as if it had truly transformed into a continent of rolling mountains and endless rivers.
Preparation complete, Ao Tian shouted his technique name and charged fiercely toward the Demon Empress.
"Mountain Dragon Crash!"
Seeing Ao Tian take action without a word, the Demon Empress was not surprised. After all, they were Spirit Beasts; how could they survive and live well if they weren't fierce?
However, she did not hold back either. With a whale cry, the entire sky above her head instantly turned dark purple, and countless dark purple light patterns began to spread across her massive body, her aura also rising crazily. Carrying boundless seawater, she slammed into Ao Tian.
One mysterious yellow and one dark purple, two behemoths launched a head-on collision in this Dragon Nest Sea Area.
"BOOM--"
A sound like Heaven Falls and Earth Cracks erupted from the center of the collision and spread in all directions. The ocean in this realm immediately produced a terrifying riot far exceeding the previous one. The seawater was sent flying by their earth-shattering collision, turning into a sky-high wave that swept toward the surroundings.
The group from Martial Soul Hall, who had just moved some distance away, turned deathly pale with fright as they saw the monstrous wave approaching from behind.
Some crew members slumped on the deck, waiting for death to arrive; others were terrified and tried to find a way to survive, only to realize they were in the lair of Sea Soul Beasts, with no way to heaven and no door to enter, cursing and swearing; still others ran into the ship's hold, putting on all the maritime escape equipment they could, hoping that if the ship were destroyed by the waves, they might have a glimmer of hope, even though they knew these items might not be enough to escape this sea area teeming with Sea Soul Beasts.
In the face of death, all forms of life were revealed, and for a time, the ship was in complete chaos.
Ning Rongrong was also anxious, hurriedly proposing her plan to Oscar.
"Little Oscar, quickly make Mushroom Sausage. As long as we fly over the waves, we can avoid the greatest impact."
After hearing Ning Rongrong's plan, Oscar shook his head with a bitter smile and said.
"It's useless, my Third Soul Skill can't fly that high."
Seeing the only plan she could think of rejected, Ning Rongrong looked fearful; she didn't want to die!
Oscar had learned his lesson this time. Looking at Yun Ming, whose expression was solemn but otherwise unchanged, he comforted Ning Rongrong.
"Boss is still calm, he should have a way, don't panic yet."
Hearing Oscar mention him, Yun Ming also comforted the two of them.
"With me here, don't worry."
Seeing Yun Ming take a stand, Ning Rongrong nodded.
Watching the massive, boundless, sky-high waves now right before their eyes, Yun Ming finally moved.
Three Spirit Rings appeared and lit up on Yun Ming one after another.
'Atlas Overlord Spear', 'Void Power', 'Source of Void', Yun Ming's fourth, third, and first Soul Skills were activated.
Yun Ming's aura began to surge, and his affinity with the surrounding space reached a new limit. The others on the ship sensed the sudden surge in Yun Ming's momentum. Looking at his current power-up mode and recalling the golden phantom they had seen from afar, they suddenly realized they might still have a chance of survival, and could not help but focus their attention on the changing situation.
After the boost was complete, Yun Ming turned his back to the crowd and said.
"Don't be afraid, I will take you home."
Although Yun Ming's tone was flat and his words brief, they brought peace to everyone's hearts.
Hai Lan was also conquered by Yun Ming's current momentum and his powerful mindset of not fearing even when disaster was imminent. Believing that the other party would surely succeed, he hurriedly went down to continue stabilizing the crowd.
After calming everyone down, Yun Ming began his rescue plan.
The golden light and white flame on the Atlas Divine Spear dissipated together, replaced by a deep, mysterious, and terrifyingly vague black flame. Furthermore, the black flame began to leak from the Atlas Divine Spear, forming a pitch-black shield that enveloped the entire ship. The interior of the ship was plunged into total, impenetrable darkness.
Fortunately, Yun Ming had the foresight to calm everyone down beforehand; otherwise, this sudden darkness would have inevitably triggered further panic.
What Yun Ming had deployed was not fire, but his strongest offensive technique, the Atlas 'Annihilation'. Utilizing his peerless mastery over space, he transformed the power of Annihilation, which was usually concentrated at the tip of his spear, into a barrier that moved in tandem with the ship.
The very moment Yun Ming completed the defense, a colossal wave reaching the heavens crashed down upon the vessel.
"BOOM--"
The sea wave descended, slamming into the surface of the ocean with a deafening roar, leaving it unknown whether Yun Ming had managed to withstand the impact.
On the other side, the main battlefield between Ao Tian and the Demon Emperor.
"BANG--"
Ao Tian gritted his teeth, resisting the terrifying power of the Demon Emperor, which felt like the ocean itself overturning, but in the end, he was still outmatched and sent flying back several nautical miles, crashing heavily into the sea.
Although, due to their respective races, the Demon Emperor was significantly smaller in size than Ao Tian, who possessed the bloodline of the Mountain Dragon, she was far stronger than this 'little brat' who had only lived for a few tens of thousands of years. Even in terms of pure physical durability, a Deep Sea Demon Whale of the same rank might be slightly inferior to a Mountain Sea Dragon Turtle, but the disparity in their cultivation levels was simply too vast!
Having gained the upper hand with a single strike, the Demon Emperor continued to demand.
"Will you talk or not?"
Yet, Ao Tian clearly would not surrender so easily. He steadied his figure once more and roared at the Demon Emperor.
"Talk my ass! If you have the guts, then kill this King!"
He then lunged at the Demon Emperor again. His massive Dragon Claws were raised, and endless elemental energies of space, water, and earth condensed upon them, carrying the weight of the Mountain Sea Boundless and the edge of an unstoppable force as he slammed them toward the Demon Emperor.
'Mountain Sea Dragon King Claw'
Regarding Ao Tian's refusal to know his place, the Demon Emperor's patience was nearly exhausted. Seeing that he was still courting death, she decided to grant his wish. She said coldly.
"Since that is the case, then go to hell."
--
───────────────
Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: DaoistReader