The beast hide was split apart by the golden war halberd, over a hundred people exploded into bloody mist that filled the air. The headless entity was too powerful; no one could stand against it directly.
“Run! Staying means death! This is an ancient saint who fell in battle in these waters—his killing intent remains unextinguished!” Even the divine servants paled, realizing they were no match.
“Woo woo…” One of the elderly divine servants retrieved a beast horn, a supreme treasure, and blew into it. The mournful sound sent rippling waves outward, striking the headless knight. The others summoned their treasures and scattered in all directions, fleeing for their lives. If they stayed, they would all perish.
The horn’s sound was deafening, emitting multicolored light as silver ripples spread across the sea, stirring towering waves that surged into the sky. Yet, the headless entity was formidable. With a sweep of its golden halberd, it shattered all the ripples.
“Boom!” The thunderous sound of hooves shook the heavens as the black steed galloped across the water, leaping into the sky. The divine servants shuddered, unable to withstand its assault. They fled in terror, no longer daring to resist.
But the headless saint was unstoppable. With a swing of its golden halberd, thunderous winds tore through the clouds, and the raging sea roared upward, obliterating everything. Six or seven divine servants exploded instantly, their bones and blood scattering in all directions.
This was an invincible might—merely the lingering killing intent of an ancient saint, yet it stirred the heavens and crushed all opposition.
Only those holding the ancient beast horn managed to escape, their figures wrapped in its protective glow as they fled at breakneck speed.
“Run!” The others scattered in panic, realizing they were outmatched. The golden halberd cleaved through the air, blood spraying in the distance.
The purple-robed girl, the azure-haired youth, and others were heavily guarded by divine servants, using treasures to shield themselves as they fled. Yet, even they were attacked. The headless saint pursued, and with a flick of its halberd, two divine servants who stayed behind to cover their escape were obliterated.
Even the strongest among them could not resist—attempting to block meant certain death, their treasures shattering into glowing fragments that fell into the sea.
This was the true, unrivaled might of an ancient saint—yet even such a being had fallen in battle long ago, sinking into these very waters.
“Regroup in the waters near the Kun Peng’s nest! Split up and flee!” With no other choice, everyone scattered, charging deeper into the forbidden sea. Survival was the only priority now.
The holy terror, Shi Hao, was also pursued. But as the divine servants near him fell one by one, he realized he was oddly safer. The headless knight turned to chase others, galloping away into the distance.
“He has no head, no consciousness—only an unyielding battle intent. The stronger the being, the more danger they attract. Is that how it works?” Shi Hao muttered to himself before sealing his lips. He summoned the golden Dragon-Shears and swiftly fled the battlefield.
The headless saint, after all, was long dead. Now, it was merely a vessel for a malevolent killing intent, not a complete being. After a brief pursuit, it sank back into the sea, vanishing.
Even so, the losses were devastating. Of the three hundred from the Divine Mountain, only a few dozen survived.
Hours later, deep in the sea, the survivors gathered, their faces etched with grief and horror. They had barely entered the depths, not even reaching the forbidden zone, yet most had already perished.
“This expedition is cursed,” someone muttered, a sense of foreboding hanging over them.
After two more hours, no one else arrived. Only fifty or so remained alive. Among the fallen were even the direct descendants of the Divine Mountain, their divine servants and guards slaughtered alongside them.
Now, only the purple-robed girl, the silver-haired girl (Yin Xue), the crimson-haired youth (Chi Huo), Shi Hao, and the hostile azure-haired youth (Qing Yun) remained.
“My lady has fallen… How will I face our master?” A bloodied divine servant wailed, kneeling beside the lifeless body of a pure-blooded maiden.
“How could this happen? We haven’t even reached the Kun Peng’s nest, yet it feels like we’ve stumbled into hell itself.”
The mood was grim. Even beings from the Divine Mountain were not invincible in these waters.
“Can we still succeed?” Yin Xue asked, her voice heavy with sorrow.
“We’ve come this far. We can’t turn back now,” Chi Huo declared, his eyes burning like twin suns.
“We must obtain the Kun Peng’s divine technique—the supreme art of one of the Ten Calamities of antiquity. It could shift the balance of power in the wasteland,” Qing Yun said coldly.
The divine servants sighed. The path ahead was perilous, but retreat was no longer an option.
As they pressed forward, the sea grew eerily silent. The further they went, the more oppressive the atmosphere became.
Then, they spotted it—a massive, shattered warship, its broken hull drifting on the water.
“That’s the warship of the Southern Fall Divine Mountain!” Chi Huo recognized it.
The sight sent chills down their spines. If even a force like that had been destroyed, what hope did they have?
The mist thickened, obscuring their vision. In the distance, ghostly ships loomed—some as large as mountains, others no longer than a man.
“Those are ancient vessels, lost to time… Ghost ships. Do not approach them, or we’ll meet the same fate!”
But before they could react, the sea erupted. A monstrous black creature, its tentacles stretching into the sky, attacked.
The beast horn trembled under the assault, its protective glow flickering.
“Watch out!” Yin Xue screamed as a massive tentacle lashed toward the purple-robed girl.
Shi Hao reacted instantly, his Kun Peng wings flaring as he hurled her to safety—just as the tentacle smashed into the spot where she had stood.
In the chaos, Shi Hao was forgotten. A shockwave sent him flying overboard.
“Damn it!” He barely had time to react before another tentacle came crashing down.
With no other choice, he sprinted across the water and leaped onto one of the ghost ships—a vessel lost to time.
The moment his feet touched the deck, an eerie silence enveloped him.
He was now aboard a ship of the dead.
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