Only the black threads extended from the Five Elements Sphere had just touched the water arrow shot by Xu Fu when they trembled violently. Immediately afterward, like threads passing through a needle’s eye, they attached themselves tightly onto the arrow.
At this moment, at the tip of the Five Elements Sphere beneath the beast’s head, the threads suddenly transformed into countless black strands. Each black filament, amidst the crashing waves, remained completely dry, not沾a single drop of seawater. Like a cascade of long hair, they flew upward, linking the beast’s head and the water arrow with innumerable connections.
As the water arrow curved in an arc, narrowly skimming past the beast’s head and approaching the Jieshi barrier, Zhang Liusun suddenly shouted, “Heavenly spirits separate, the purple chamber descends into darkness—now!”
At Zhang Liusun’s command, the black threads snapped one by one. Across the dozens of feet between the beast’s head and the water arrow, space seemed to collapse instantaneously, forming a vast, pitch-black void.
With a deafening roar, the beast lunged furiously toward the water arrow at the moment the threads snapped.
At first, Mei Qing was somewhat puzzled by the scene. But when he saw the threads snap and the beast charge wildly toward the arrow, he finally understood the brilliance of Zhang Liusun’s technique, and admiration surged through him.
The black threads drawn from the Five Elements Sphere were actually formed by Zhang Liusun continuously extracting the water essence from the sphere, causing the water essence from both the beast’s head and the arrow to stretch toward the collapsing void between them. At the moment the arrow and the beast’s energy touched, Zhang Liusun instantly destroyed the Five Elements Sphere, resulting in a direct collision between the beast and the arrow.
Among the Five Elements, water is the most fluid. In magical arts, water techniques are often used to shape various forms to enhance their attack power. However, water’s fluidity also brings a major drawback—it is easily influenced by external factors.
Now, on the sea’s surface, the water essence was especially dense. Thus, the two spells Xu Fu had cast were even more effective. Yet Zhang Liusun cleverly exploited the proximity of these two water-based spells, using his Five Elements Sphere to link them together. Since the water essence in the later-launched arrow was much stronger than that in the earlier water beast, the two naturally gravitated toward each other, drawing closer and closer while the water essence surged like a tidal wave from the stronger arrow into the weaker beast’s head.
As soon as the water beast made contact with the arrow, it let out a furious roar and shook its massive head violently, trying desperately to break free from the connection. However, once linked, and with such a vast difference in energy, escape was impossible. The long water arrow curved in an arc, slanting toward the beast’s enormous head, and then plunged straight into it.
At that moment, the tip of the arrow suddenly erupted with a blinding white brilliance, illuminating the beast’s head from within with a crystal-clear glow. Refracted light shimmered in countless rainbow hues, creating a strange and mesmerizing spectacle against the dark sea. The beast’s eyes bulged, its giant mouth silently opening and closing, while the water flowing over its head and face twisted and changed, gradually blurring.
With a deafening explosion, the massive beast’s head suddenly split apart. A towering white wave cascaded down from midair like the Milky Way turned upside down, roaring with a thunderous crash as it formed a celestial waterfall. It struck the sea surface, creating a crater dozens of feet wide, then surged outward in rolling waves several feet high.
The once-mighty water arrow, having poured most of its energy into shattering the beast, finally lost the strength to continue toward Jieshi. Its glowing tip flickered weakly, turned feebly in midair, wobbled a few feet toward Jieshi, then dissipated into a fine mist that scattered across the endless black sea.
In an instant, the heavens and earth fell silent, with only the faint glimmer of distant stars. The two powerful spells that had erupted with such might had been effortlessly undone by Zhang Liusun.
Such exquisite skill momentarily left Xu Fu, who had begun so aggressively, speechless.
“What do you think, old Xu? Did you enjoy that little trick of mine?” Zhang Liusun laughed heartily.
Not just enjoyable—Mei Qing, in his mind, repeatedly replayed Zhang Liusun’s technique, and no matter how he analyzed it, he had to admit that Zhang’s method of dealing with the beast and the arrow was truly brilliant. Although it might have seemed a bit clever, the precision of his thinking, the accuracy of his calculations, the dexterity of his execution, and the timing of his strike were all nothing short of divine.
Mei Qing himself often preferred to win through wit and strategy rather than brute force. Witnessing Zhang Liusun’s display today, he couldn’t help but feel he was merely an apprentice before a master.
“Clever tricks, nothing more,” Xu Fu coldly snorted from his distant ship. “You’re just a trickster, hiding and dodging—what kind of cultivator is that? If you really have the guts, face me directly and settle this in a real duel!”
Zhang Liusun laughed again. “Old Xu, you claim to be a wandering immortal of a thousand years—how can you speak like that? Do you think true cultivation is like those crude Qin-era generals, swinging swords at each other like brutes? You weren’t my match back then—how come, after all this time, you’ve only gotten worse?”
“You think I’m afraid of you? Hmph. Don’t think that just because you’ve picked up a few tricks of alchemy and the Five Elements, you’re anything special. I haven’t used my full strength yet only because I didn’t want to destroy this sacred paradise. But since you insist on showing off, I’ll let you see what true ancient immortal techniques look like!” Xu Fu’s voice remained calm and steady, carrying a hint of confidence and mockery.
“Oh really? Then I’d love to see what other tricks you’ve got hidden away, old monster!” Zhang Liusun shot back coldly. “Just don’t bring out another batch of sacrificed boys and girls again—I’ve seen that act too many times already!”
Xu Fu only snorted in response, saying nothing more, but began steering his great ship downward toward the sea.
Mei Qing strained his eyes to see. The ship seemed impossibly huge, made of unknown materials. Beneath the surging waves and mist, it looked like a dragon descending from the heavens. Its hull was covered with layers of barnacles and oysters, entangled with seaweed and kelp, so much so that its original color was no longer visible.
Xu Fu stood motionless at the bow, arms stretched straight out to either side, his wide sleeves unmoving even in the strong sea winds. From his mouth came a continuous chant of ancient, incomprehensible incantations, carried through the air by the wind and waves.
Mei Qing strained his ears, trying desperately to catch the words. Yet strangely, each syllable seemed disconnected from the next, forming no coherent meaning—yet it didn’t sound like any known dialect either.
At that moment, Zhang Liusun’s voice suddenly echoed in Mei Qing’s mind: “This old fellow seems to be getting serious. If things go badly, quickly retreat back to the stone chamber. I’ll seal the mountain gate myself to keep you safe.”
Hearing the gravity in Zhang Liusun’s tone, Mei Qing realized that Xu Fu’s spell must be something even Zhang wasn’t confident about handling. Mei Qing, knowing he would be of no help in such a situation, quietly prepared himself to flee if needed.
At that moment, Xu Fu, still standing at the ship’s bow, had finished his long incantation. His arms, previously stretched wide, slowly lifted upward. His hands formed strange mudras, and his dark silhouette stood like a statue at the bow.
Suddenly, Mei Qing sensed that the surrounding spiritual energy was rushing toward the bow at an incredible speed. Although Zhang Liusun had placed a tight barrier around Jieshi, it was meant only to defend against external attacks and did not restrict the flow of spiritual energy.
Countless streams of energy poured like a whale drawing in water into a dark vortex forming at the bow. When the vortex first appeared, it was only a few feet across, but it quickly expanded to several meters. As more energy poured in, it grew larger and larger. The surrounding seawater was sucked into the vortex, forming a massive whirlpool shaped like an inverted funnel. Even the clouds above were drawn in, condensing into thick, rolling storm clouds.
The black waters of the vortex churned like dragons and tigers, roaring loudly as they sent forth massive, serpentine water spouts, swirling chaotically. Beneath it, a bottomless abyss had opened, plunging thousands of feet into the ocean depths.
Seeing such a terrifying spectacle, Mei Qing felt a chill run through him. Just as he was about to ask Zhang Liusun what kind of spell this was, he suddenly heard a distant metallic clashing sound echoing from far below.
This ringing sound came from the ocean floor. Listening closely, it was clearly emanating from within the vortex. Each clang sent ripples through the vortex walls, and the entire structure trembled in rhythm with the sound.
“No wonder I couldn’t find it anywhere on Jieshi,” Zhang Liusun’s voice rang in Mei Qing’s mind, tinged with both shock and anger. “That old monster actually sank the thousand-jin smelting cauldron to the ocean floor!”
Startled, Mei Qing immediately turned his gaze toward the vortex. Sure enough, a massive black cauldron was slowly rising from the ocean depths.
As soon as the ancient cauldron appeared, Mei Qing felt his own small cauldron inside his body begin to spin wildly. A net of purple energy burst forth from it, extending through his meridians like a web, nearly bursting from his body.
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