The "Ink Mist Strait" on the western side of the East China Sea was originally a peaceful sea area where the cuttlefish clan had lived for generations.
Now, however, it was shrouded in a gray-black feral aura. The seawater was no longer clear blue, but dyed turbid dark red. As the waves rolled, they mingled with the roars of fierce beasts and the crisp sound of scales shattering—the Primordial beast tide had finally crashed against the East China Sea's first line of defense.
"Boom!"
A hundred-zhang-long "demonized giant shark" took the lead in breaking through the clouds. Its dorsal fin glowed with black-red feral light, its once silver scales completely carbonized. Its mouth was filled with barbed fangs, and the saliva dripping from its jaws corroded the sea surface into tiny bubbles. Behind the giant shark was a dense horde of fierce beasts: Earth-Splitting Lizards migrating from the Western Wasteland, their scales still stained with stone clan blood; Bone Armor Beasts from the North China Sea ice field, their earth-yellow bone armor wrapped in gray mist; and Fire Venom Beasts spawned from the South China Sea battlefield, their flapping wings twisting the air with black-red flames.
"Black Armored Guards! Form the Black Water Trapping Formation!"
Xie Ao's roar echoed across the strait. Clad in Azure Dragon Black Armor, the dragon patterns on the armor glowing with pale blue spiritual light, he slammed his giant axe heavily into the sea surface. In an instant, countless pale blue water chains gushed out from the reefs on both sides of the strait, weaving into a net like a giant fishing net that swept toward the beast horde. This was the Black Armored Guards' most proficient defensive formation, using the strait's narrow terrain to bind beasts with water fortune power—proven effective time and again in eradicating sea demons in the East China Sea.
As soon as the water chains touched the demonized giant shark's dorsal fin, they wrapped around it instantly, trying to trap it. But the giant shark suddenly whipped its tail fin, and black-red feral aura erupted along the fin, snapping the tough water chains abruptly. The fragments splashed into the sea, turning into tiny sprays.
"The feral aura of these beasts can corrode water fortune power!" Xie Ao's pupils contracted sharply. He had never seen such bizarre energy—ordinary chaotic beasts, though powerful, were restrained by water fortune power. But the beasts before him could counter water spirits with feral aura, an unexpected change not encountered in previous patrols.
Seizing the gap in the water formation, an Earth-Splitting Lizard kicked off the reef with its thick hind legs, pouncing toward the Black Armored Guards' formation with a shrill hiss. Its sharp claws, glowing with earth-yellow spiritual light, tore through the shields of two Black Armored Guards effortlessly. Its sharp teeth bit off a soldier's neck, and black-red feral aura seeped through the wound. The soldier's body stiffened instantly, then turned into a wisp of gray mist, which the Earth-Splitting Lizard inhaled, boosting its aura even further.
"Attack!"
Xia Ji's Elite Battalion arrived just in time, their red-tipped spears glowing with crimson spiritual light in the sun. He leaped into the air, the spear tip condensing the combined power of water fortune and golden metal, stabbing fiercely toward the Earth-Splitting Lizard's eye socket.
"Pfft!" The spear tip pierced the scales and sank into the lizard's skull, spraying black-red blood. But the Earth-Splitting Lizard felt no pain. Instead, it opened its bloodthirsty maw and bit toward Xia Ji's arm. If not for a nearby Elite Battalion soldier who quickly blocked with his spear shaft, Xia Ji would have had a chunk of flesh torn off.
"These beasts feel no pain! We must shatter their feral cores!" Xia Ji shook the blood off his arm, shouting a warning. "Aim for their heads and hearts—those are the cores where feral aura gathers!"
At that moment, a deep whale song echoed from the depths of the strait. The colossal body of a Black Armored Giant Whale slowly rose from the deep sea, with dozens of cuttlefish clan cultivators standing on its back. Moyuan stood in the center of the whale's back, forming seals with both hands. As the seals changed, the seawater on both sides of the strait began to spin violently, forming dozens of black whirlpools a hundred zhang in diameter—the Nine-Turn Water Formation deployed by Moyuan!
"Nine Turns Converge to the Sea! Devour!"
Moyuan's voice carried the authority of formation arts, and the whirlpools' suction suddenly intensified. Fire Venom Beasts that drew near were instantly sucked in, their black-red flames torn apart by the water currents, their bodies shredded into pieces. The Black Armored Giant Whale opened its massive maw, spitting out a blue water arrow that accurately hit the feral core of a Bone Armor Beast. The Bone Armor Beast's body stiffened instantly, then disintegrated into a pile of broken bones.
But the number of beasts was simply overwhelming—like an endless black tide, charging the strait relentlessly. As soon as one whirlpool devoured a group of beasts, new ones crossed over the bodies of their companions. Some even detonated their own feral aura, using the explosion to tear through the whirlpool defense, allowing subsequent beasts to break through.
"The western strait is in danger! Three layers of the Black Water Trapping Formation have been breached! Requesting reinforcements!" A bloodied cuttlefish clan scout rushed over, two of his tentacles corroded by feral aura. "There's a... a Bone Dragon Beast breaking through! Its feral core is in its chest—ordinary attacks can't harm it at all!"
Before the words fell, a sky-blocking shadow covered the strait. Everyone looked up to see a beast made of spliced dragon corpses hovering in the air—its body assembled from fragments of golden-crimson dragon scales, with a black-red feral core embedded in its chest, glowing with a terrifying light. It was the "Bone Dragon Beast," mutated from the remains of fallen South China Sea dragon clan warriors!
The Bone Dragon opened its broken dragon maw, spitting out a black-red feral aura beam directly toward the Black Armored Giant Whale's back. The giant whale had no time to dodge, taking the beam head-on. The dragon patterns on its back dimmed instantly, and several cuttlefish clan cultivators were devoured by the feral aura on the spot, unable to even scream.
"Monster!"
Xie Ao roared, his black armor flaring with spiritual light. He leaped into the air, his giant axe condensing all his water fortune power, chopping toward the Bone Dragon's feral core. But as soon as the axe blade touched the feral aura, it was bounced back abruptly. Black-red feral aura spread along the axe handle, turning Xie Ao's arm gray-black instantly. Excruciating pain made him almost drop the axe.
"Commander Xie Ao! Retreat!"
A blue-gold stream of light raced over from the East China Sea Dragon Palace direction, and Ao Xuan's figure appeared above the strait in an instant. Surrounded by pale blue water vapor, the Azure Dragon mark between his brows flickering, the Azure Dragon Reverse Scale Sword unsheathed automatically. The Pangu Merit Golden Light on the sword blade blazed like the morning sun, dispelling the surrounding gray-black feral aura in an instant.
"Your Majesty Ao Xuan!" A flash of joy crossed Xie Ao's eyes. He quickly retreated, channeling water fortune power to suppress the feral aura on his arm.
Sensing the threat of the Merit Golden Light, the Bone Dragon's scarlet eye sockets flickered with brutality. It spat out another feral aura beam—three times thicker than before, carrying the power to destroy everything, straight toward Ao Xuan's face.
"Azure Dragon Roar!"
Ao Xuan's voice was not loud, yet carried authority from the depths of the dragon soul. A blue-gold sound wave erupted from his mouth, like a tangible giant wave, colliding with the feral aura beam instantly. The sound wave contained the merit of creating heaven and innate dragon power, specifically restraining evil and ferocity. The feral aura beam melted rapidly like snow under the sun, and even the Bone Dragon's body trembled slightly from the sound wave, its chest feral core glowing intensely red.
"Reverse Scale Slash!"
Seizing the opportunity, Ao Xuan's figure moved like lightning. The Azure Dragon Reverse Scale Sword, trailing blue-gold sword light like a shooting star across the sky, stabbed accurately toward the Bone Dragon's feral core. The moment the sword light pierced the feral aura, Merit Golden Light erupted. The black-red feral aura retreated rapidly as if encountering its nemesis, and the sword blade stabbed into the feral core unimpeded.
"Roar——!"
The Bone Dragon let out a shrill roar, its broken body convulsing violently. The feral core in its chest began to crack, and black-red feral aura gushed out from the cracks—only to be completely purified by the Merit Golden Light. Ao Xuan twisted his wrist, stirring the sword blade inside the feral core, then pulled it out abruptly, trailing a cloud of black-red mist. The feral core shattered instantly, and the Bone Dragon's body scattered into a pile of broken bones without feral aura support, falling into the strait.
Having dealt with the Bone Dragon, Ao Xuan did not stop. He stood mid-air, the Azure Dragon Reverse Scale Sword circling before him. The blue-gold sword light spread out like a giant net, covering the entire Ink Mist Strait. Wherever the sword light passed, the black-red feral aura was completely purified. Black Armored Guard soldiers slightly corrupted by the feral aura had the gray-black color fade from their bodies, regaining their sanity.
"Moyuan, link the Nine-Turn Water Formation with the Azure Dragon Sea-Suppressing Formation, channeling the East China Sea's spiritual vein power to form a 'Water Spirit Purification Layer'!" Ao Xuan's voice echoed across the strait. "Xie Ao, lead the Black Armored Guards to reorganize the defense line—wounded soldiers retreat to the Spirit Returning Abyss for treatment. Xia Ji, take the Elite Battalion around to the beasts' rear and cut off their escape route!"
"We obey your Majesty's order!"
Everyone replied in unison, and the chaotic battlefield quickly returned to order. Moyuan formed seals rapidly with both hands. The Nine-Turn Water Formation on both sides of the strait and the distant Azure Dragon Sea-Suppressing Formation lit up simultaneously. Pale blue spiritual light weaved into a transparent water curtain, glowing with Merit Golden Light. Any beast that approached and touched the water curtain had its feral aura purified rapidly, its body disintegrating immediately.
Xia Ji led the Elite Battalion, using the cuttlefish clan's ink mist as cover to circle behind the beast horde. The spear formation formed by the red-tipped spears, like a sharp arrowhead, stabbed fiercely into the weak point of the beast horde. Without the Bone Dragon's command and caught between attacks from front and rear, the beast horde's assault collapsed instantly. They began to flee in all directions, only to be swallowed one by one by the Nine-Turn Water Formation's whirlpools or have their feral cores pierced by the Black Armored Guards' spears.
Half an hour later, the Ink Mist Strait finally regained peace. The sea surface was dotted with the remains of beasts. The dark red seawater, guided by water fortune power, gradually cleared. The feral aura in the air was purified by the Azure Dragon Sea-Suppressing Formation's spiritual light, leaving only a faint smell of blood and sea salt.
Ao Xuan landed on the Black Armored Giant Whale's back, watching the busy soldiers below—some cleaning the battlefield, some treating the wounded, some reinforcing the formation. Everyone's face was tired, yet filled with relief at surviving the disaster. He waved his hand, and a wisp of pale blue innate water spirit poured into the giant whale's back. The whale's damaged scales began to repair slowly, and the residual souls of the cuttlefish clan cultivators devoured by the feral aura, nourished by the Merit Golden Light, turned into wisps of spiritual light, merging into the strait's spiritual veins.
"Your Majesty, in this battle, the Black Armored Guards suffered 327 casualties, the Elite Battalion 156, and the cuttlefish clan cultivators 98 deaths." Xie Ao stepped forward, his voice heavy. "But we held the Ink Mist Strait, killing over 3,000 beasts—including one Bone Dragon Beast. It's... it's a warning to the beast tide."
Ao Xuan nodded, his gaze turning toward the South China Sea, a hint of solemnity flashing in his dragon pupils. He could clearly sense that the feral aura hanging over the South China Sea was emitting even more violent fluctuations—Beast Emperor Shen Ni had noticed the East China Sea's resistance.
"This is only the beginning." Ao Xuan's voice was calm yet firm. "Issue my order: all 72 sea areas of the East China Sea enter Level 1 alert. The Water Spirit Department increase spiritual vein output to ensure the Azure Dragon Sea-Suppressing Formation's spiritual light never fades. The Formation Research Hall accelerate defenses, adding 'Water Spirit Purification Formations' at strategic locations such as straits and trenches. The Twelve Sea Generals take turns on duty—immediately report any beast movements."
He raised his hand to grip the Four Seas Dragon Seal at his waist. The golden-crimson spiritual light on the seal resonated with the East China Sea's water fortune spiritual veins. The Azure Dragon Sea-Suppressing Formation in the distance lit up again, its blue-green spiritual light like a protective sky curtain, firmly covering the entire East China Sea.
"The East China Sea must never become another South China Sea."