Entrance Canyon of the Mariana Trench.
Two Great Monarch–level Devil Ray Monarchs lay vertically against the rock walls on both sides. Their eyes swept the surroundings, yet they found nothing and could not help revealing puzzled expressions.
Just a moment ago, they had clearly felt a slight touch on their bodies. The fluctuations in the water flow had also seemed wrong. Yet no living creature had entered.
After a while, the Devil Ray Monarchs closed their eyes again and returned to silence, clinging to the cliff walls as the disturbances gradually subsided and tranquility returned once more.
Under the concealment of True Dreamscape, Lu Jun and the others seemed separated by another layer of space-time, unaffected by the outside world in the slightest, which allowed them to evade the Devil Ray Monarchs' perception.
Seeing the Devil Rays fall back asleep, Ye Mei let out a breath of relief and said with lingering fear,
"The Sea Demon Empire truly has formidable strength. Just a single entrance is guarded by two Great Monarchs."
Hearing this, Lu Huan remained silent. Over the past few years his strength had grown. In the past he could slay Mid-Level Monarchs, and now he did not fear Great Monarchs either.
But once they made a move, the entire Sea Demon Empire would be alerted. At that time, hundreds of Monarchs, or even Emperors, would hunt them down.
Lu Jun's expression was grave. The level of Great Monarchs could not be ignored. The Devil Ray race itself excelled at lurking. The current situation was that he could not sense the Devil Rays, and they could not sense him either, essentially a zero-sum stalemate.
He whispered a warning,
"Be careful. The Sea Demon Empire is not simple."
Everyone nodded and cautiously circled around the two Great Monarchs before continuing to descend.
Every time Lu Jun's group descended further, the light grew dimmer. They could no longer see the path above, nor could they tell how deep the trench extended below. Even their sense of time began to blur, while the coldness within the seawater deepened.
No one knew how much time had passed when the soldier Bai Lang stared into the depths and suddenly said,
"There's light ahead."
Hearing this, Lu Jun and the others' brows twitched. After descending a little more, they finally saw faint multicolored glimmers that grew brighter the closer they approached.
When they truly reached the bottom, they saw a vast expanse of colorful, dreamlike seaweed fields, covering a hundred miles in all directions, as though blocking the entire dark bottom of the trench.
Seeing this scene, Lu Jun's expression changed drastically as he whispered,
"This is bad. Do not expose yourselves. These are Demon Trench Sirens."
Countless strands of colorful algae drifted across the seafloor. At first glance the scene looked beautiful and tranquil, but in reality they were the lower-body tentacles of the Sea Demon Prophet race.
Upon hearing this, Ye Mei and the other mages who understood the abilities of the Demon Trench Sirens grew solemn. If they were killed here and the Pacific Empire stole their identities to infiltrate the Nine Provinces, that would truly be an unforgivable disaster.
They carefully moved through the dense seaweed strands, not daring to touch even a single tentacle.
Fortunately, Chen Zhen made his move. He used his Water Element Transcendent Power — True Water Convergence and Dispersion, allowing his body to transform into flowing water, immune to most damage and capable of re-forming when encountering water.
He extended this Transcendent Power to everyone, allowing them to easily slip through the narrow gaps between seaweed strands that were only as wide as an arm.
Lu Jun praised him,
"What a miraculous ability."
"Hahaha, it still has its limitations. Only Water Element mages can have their bodies transformed into soft water by me."
Chen Zhen laughed heartily, his expression showing a trace of pride.
The six of them slowly descended. Within the vast "seaweed forest," they indeed saw hundreds of graceful female silhouettes floating among the colorful algae strands.
They remained completely motionless, all with their eyes closed, like solemn statues one after another, wrapped in seaweed and scattered throughout the area.
Lu Huan could not help swallowing. Any one of the Demon Trench Sirens here had an aura no weaker than an advanced-stage Commander, while there were more than a dozen Monarch-level presences. This was clearly the nest of the Sea Demon Prophet race.
After conquering the Mermaid Holy Spirit race, the Demon Trench Sirens had relocated their entire tribe here.
When Lu Jun and the others moved through the depths of the colorful seaweed forest, they suddenly lost their sense of direction.
They opened their eyes and looked around, only to find that everything within their sight was filled with dazzling colors. Up, down, left, right, front, and back had all become completely inverted at that moment.
Seeing this, Lu Jun frowned deeply. His Eighth Realm spiritual power had become ineffective in this area. It was being suppressed by some mysterious force, making it difficult to extend. Moreover, even if it could, he would not dare to explore recklessly.
The Demon Trench Sirens possessed extremely high attainments in Psychic power, and there was no guarantee they would not detect it.
Lu Jun's group had become lost. Bai Lang observed for a moment before saying in a deep voice,
"This is the Demon Trench Sirens' method. They link their minds together and unify as one. The passive protective power produced by that unity is affecting us."
Bai Lang's ability was roughly related to reconnaissance. It was unclear which magic element it belonged to, but it was certainly not Psychic magic. Perhaps it was Light or Sound Element?
Hearing this, Lu Jun recalled descriptions from the original records. The Sea Demon Prophet race functioned like a network, linking together layer by layer.
When he and Ding Yumian combined their minds, their spiritual power could reach the peak of the Ninth Realm. And here there was an entire group of Monarch-level demons joining their minds together.
"Wait… could they have already detected us?"
Suddenly Lu Jun lost confidence in his True Dreamscape concealment method and said grimly.
President Xiao remained calm, but his spiritual attainments might not necessarily exceed Lu Jun's, so he hesitated as well.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Suddenly, a strange change erupted within the seaweed forest. The "algae tendrils" beneath them spread apart by the hundreds, revealing a graceful female figure at the deepest point.
This Demon Trench Siren opened her eyes and stared directly at the group.
"Not good—we've been discovered!"
Lu Jun's expression changed drastically. He suddenly looked around and realized that, without them noticing, hundreds of graceful figures had surrounded them from all directions. Scattered yet layered upon each other, they all opened their eyes and stared at the group.
A vast and boundless spiritual force surged forth, making Lu Jun feel suffocated. Before it, he felt like a mere drop of water.
The actual difference was not quite that exaggerated, it was the effect of a spiritual attack.
Soon, as he looked at the seaweed forest, the colorful scenery began to twist, tremble, and intertwine. Yellow, red, and blue colors blended chaotically as a buzzing filled his mind.
When Lu Jun turned back to look at his companions, he realized that at some unknown moment, their figures had disappeared.
He had fallen alone into the seaweed forest and was about to be surrounded and crushed.
Clang! Slash—! Slash—!
Fortunately, at the critical moment, the Taibai Golden Feather Robe covering Lu Jun's body shone brilliantly. It unleashed billions of divine rays that shot outward in all directions like ten thousand beams of light tearing through darkness. The colorful illusion shattered like a canvas being ripped apart, leaving countless holes.
Splash!
The seawater churned violently. Countless seaweed tendrils were cut apart, severed strand after strand.
Lu Jun no longer concealed himself. He decisively unleashed his combat power, wielding the Tai'a Sword while commanding the surrounding waters with a single thought, turning them into surging black torrents resembling true dragons that crashed in every direction.
Yet no matter how much disturbance he caused, he was the only one fighting here. His companions seemed to have vanished entirely, showing no reaction.
Countless tentacles were severed, yet more surged forward one after another, endless and unceasing as if infinite.
Lu Jun's heart sank to the depths. He stared toward the deepest part of the ocean abyss, where that tall and graceful figure stood, her strange eyes chilling to the bone.
"Damn it… the Supreme Prophet is actually guarding this place?!"
He cursed inwardly, having guessed the identity of that figure. Her cultivation must be above a Supreme Monarch, perhaps even an Sub-Emperor.
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