"Wait!"
Zi Zhenzhu, who was controlling the ship, was stunned and about to say something when Ning Rongrong's figure appeared on the display screen.
The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, radiating a colorful halo, slowly emerged from her palm.
With a "bang," the majestic mutated Striped Swordfish seemed to crash into a wall, its entire body sent flying backward, belly up, unconscious.
As if teleporting, Ning Rongrong ignored the deep-sea pressure and instantly appeared in front of the mutated Striped Swordfish, placing her hand on its abdomen.
With a "whoosh," both the Striped Swordfish and Ning Rongrong vanished from the screen.
"Rumble!"
A violent tremor shook the ship, and a fish lay motionless on the deck.
"Hurry and extract the soul ring, and let's get out of this area quickly."
It wasn't until Ning Rongrong spoke that the others snapped out of their shock.
An 80,000-year sea soul beast was effortlessly brought back by Ning Rongrong.
Hiss—terrifying!
"Young Sect Leader…"
"Move quickly, don't delay," Ning Rongrong said with a serious expression. "We might be targeted by a terrifying soul beast. There's a gaze watching us."
"What?"
Zi Zhenzhu's face paled. A soul beast that Ning Rongrong called terrifying? No one dared to imagine.
Understanding the urgency, Zi Zhenzhu sat at the control panel, steering the ship upward.
Wang Quan Fugui, meanwhile, finished off the unconscious mutated Striped Swordfish with a single sword strike and began absorbing its soul ring, trying to boost his strength as quickly as possible.
Watching Wang Quan Fugui absorb the soul ring and Zi Zhenzhu steering the ship at full speed, Ning Rongrong calmed herself.
"I've dealt with the spying eyes. Hopefully, nothing major happens."
Ning Rongrong's trip to catch the fish wasn't just about the fish—it was incidental.
Her real purpose was to sense the surroundings through the seawater.
At her peak realm, touching the seawater extended her perception.
She confirmed that the faint watching gaze wasn't an illusion but came from something—likely a soul beast—monitoring them.
The method of surveillance was similar to Nagato's control of the Heavenly Path in Naruto.
The targets being controlled were those small fish and shrimp.
By stunning the Striped Swordfish, Ning Rongrong triggered a resonance in the deep-sea water, eliminating the surrounding gazes.
In simple terms, she killed the controlled fish.
But so far, Ning Rongrong didn't know what kind of soul beast was watching them.
She found a seat nearby, quietly observing Zi Zhenzhu control the Zi Zhenzhu while occasionally glancing at Wang Quan Fugui.
Though it was only an 80,000-year soul ring, it should still be decent.
Ten minutes, twenty minutes.
After half an hour, Wang Quan Fugui slowly awoke.
His soul power aura had advanced from a quasi-Title Douluo at level 90 to a true Title Douluo at level 91.
Though he was at the lowest tier of Title Douluo, it was still a Title Douluo.
In the first Douluo era, Title Douluo carried significant prestige.
After absorbing the fish's soul ring, Ning Rongrong used spatial transfer to toss the fish's body overboard.
"How long until we reach the surface?" Ning Rongrong was genuinely worried.
Opening a spacetime portal in the complex deep sea was challenging, and teleporting to an unknown location would be troublesome.
She didn't believe she could, like Tokisaki Kurumi, recklessly provoke level 99 beings everywhere. That was no different from seeking death.
"About twenty minutes to the surface," Zi Zhenzhu replied, curious after holding back for a while. "Young Sect Leader, what exactly did you find just now?"
"Most likely a soul beast…"
"In terms of strength, it might be 100,000 years or more."
A 100,000-year sea soul beast…
Ning Rongrong's words shocked everyone again.
"Can you tell what kind of soul beast it is?" Ning Yun stepped forward. Having lived in Vast Sea City for years, he knew a bit about the 100,000-year soul beasts in nearby waters.
"No idea," Ning Rongrong shook her head. "I know it's been watching us since Zi Zhenzhu started hunting her soul ring. I sensed that gaze."
"At first, I thought it was just me being unaccustomed to the deep-sea environment, a false perception."
"But when I entered the seawater earlier, I detected faint soul power fluctuations—very profound, likely from a 100,000-year soul beast."
"Anyway, don't overthink it," Ning Rongrong reassured. "Once we reach the surface, I'll decide whether to use a portal to send you all back to Vast Sea City."
Teleporting such a large ship was quite difficult.
After all, she wasn't Bone Douluo.
Bone Douluo's soul skills naturally included teleportation, enhanced by his 100,000-year soul skill and eighth soul skill working together.
As for her, Tokisaki Kurumi hadn't awakened yet, so her spatial abilities were somewhat limited. A miscalculation in positioning could cause problems.
Still, two and a half years of training had significantly boosted her combat strength.
Even so, if a 100,000-year soul beast attacked, she couldn't protect everyone on the ship.
While Ning Rongrong was deep in thought, the Zi Zhenzhu surfaced.
The sun hung high, its light reflecting off the calm sea in fragmented glimmers.
The Zi Zhenzhu seemed tiny against the boundless ocean, a stark contrast to its vastness.
The occasional cry of seagulls made the immense sea feel less frightening.
Due to Ning Rongrong's warning, the Zi Zhenzhu continued toward Vast Sea City at high speed.
Ning Rongrong hesitated but didn't use a spacetime portal to teleport the ship and crew.
Long-distance teleportation, under current conditions, couldn't accurately target Vast Sea City.
Accidentally ending up in the Sun-Moon Continent or some unknown place, losing their bearings, would be problematic.
This was the ocean, with an ecosystem far more terrifying than the Star Dou Great Forest. The so-called three ocean overlords were just near-sea overlords, not true ocean rulers.
"I hope nothing major happens," Ning Rongrong thought.
The warm sunlight signaled the sea's calm, but it felt like the quiet before a storm.
The Zi Zhenzhu switched from diving mode to normal sailing.
The seawater began to ripple slightly, the calm surface gently rolling.
Unusual ripples and subtle changes in the water's flow were small, with waves lapping against the ship's hull, producing a muffled sound.
"Something… something's approaching," Zi Zhenzhu's pupils contracted. Through a telescope-like soul tool, she spotted a massive shadow, cloaked by some energy, only its outline visible.
The shadow took shape under the transparent water. As it drew closer, the sea's churning grew more intense.
"Could it be…"
Zi Zhenzhu trembled, her voice tinged with fear.
As the soul beast approached, the soul tool revealed a clearer outline of the creature.
A whale soul beast, at least 150 meters long.
"No, it can't be wrong," Zi Zhenzhu's voice shook. "I avoided the Demonic Whale's territory. Why would we encounter it?"
"It's not the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King."
Ning Rongrong stepped over, patting Zi Zhenzhu's shoulder to calm her. "The Deep Sea Demonic Whale King is over 200 meters long. This whale is too small to qualify!"
"No, not the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, then what is it…" Zi Zhenzhu turned to Ning Rongrong.
"Who knows," Ning Rongrong's eyes narrowed. "But it might not come with good intentions."
The massive outline on the observation soul tool vanished, as if it had never been there.
Yet Ning Rongrong keenly sensed it.
The creature was still nearby, possibly even above the surface, lurking close.
"No attack?"
For some reason, the lack of an attack was a good sign.
A figure hovering above the sea caught Ning Rongrong's attention.
Water-blue hair, a graceful figure, stunning beauty, combined with the whale's outline from the soul tool.
It's you—
The Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's wife.
One of the bosses from the Legend of the Dragon King era.
The Holy Spirit Cult's leader, the Demon Empress.