Nine Astra Skies
chapter-266

Other than the bunch of elders in the Tribunal Council as well as those Daemon King and Godly Venerable combatants, Qi Nan treated everyone else with nothing less than disdain. Wherever he was within the Great Eastern Continent, as long as he bandied about the Tribunal Council’s name, everything would be smooth sailing. This had caused Qi Nan, Lin Qiu, and the rest to feel that they were a cut above the rest whenever they went outside.

Ye Chen’s pet was nothing more than a Heavenly Adept Rank mystical beast, so he was probably not some super powerhouse. Fighters above Daemon King or Godly Venerable Rank would not deign to capture a Heavenly Adept Rank mystical beast.

The warship passed by the island where Ye Chen was, around a thousand meters away from the island.

The two people on the warship were standing at the bow and staring at the island.

Ye Chen’s Astral Body extended toward the warship and he noticed the lofty, arrogant manner of Qi Nan and Lin Qiu. He frowned. ‘Where did these two come from? They’ve hurt my Golden Sun Condor and still act so arrogantly.’

They were two mid-Mystique Venerable Rank experts!

Although Ye Chen’s Astral Body had reached beginner Mystique Venerable Rank, facing off against two mid-Mystique Venerable Ones at once would be very strenuous. His gaze landed upon the golden sword embroidered on the warship’s sails, committing this logo to mind. What did this logo represent?

They had intentionally steered the warship to a distance less than a thousand meters away from the island. They must be intending to establish dominance because a distance of a thousand meters could be crossed over through thin air by an expert above Heavenly Venerable Rank.

This was clearly a provocation!

Ye Chen clenched his fists. He understood that he must not act impulsively now but this matter would not end just like this! Ye Chen was not someone who was cowardly or easily bullied!

“You injured my Golden Sun Condor, so I’ll wreck your warship!” Ye Chen’s Astral Body dove into the depths of the sea. These days, the octopus monsters had been coming from all over to look for Little Squido, groveling as they trailed behind Little Squido. Each of these sea monsters had Heavenly Adept Rank strength at least and there was even one which was beginner Mystique Adept Rank.

A Mystique Adept Rank sea monster was enough to be a huge headache to these two mid-Mystique Venerable experts, particularly at sea.

Ye Chen’s Astral Body shifted and transmitted a message to Little Squido.

Upon receiving Ye Chen’s message, Little Squido beamed with its eyes and nodded rapidly. It waved its tentacles and more than ten octopus monsters immediately formed a line like well-drilled soldiers. They turned around orderly, whoosh whoosh whoosh, swimming toward the path of the warship.

Ye Chen was not prepared to attack near the island because if he did, then even if the warship sank, the two Mystique Venerable experts could travel through the air to reach the island. That would be a vicious battle indeed. Ye Chen watched as the warship went further away, disappearing on the distant sea.

Ye Chen’s Astral Body watched as more than ten octopus monsters tailed the warship. Thereafter, Ye Chen paid no more attention to this matter.

Ye Chen bound up the Golden Sun Condor’s wound, then in a few leaps, reached a rock and stared off into the distance. The vast, boundless sea was glittering and magnificent, opening up Ye Chen’s heart. He looked around nearby and noticed a reef that was before him.

The sea wind whistled, incessantly rousing up massive waves that slammed upon that nearby reef. The reef was submerged again and again. Even though the waves were incomparably overwhelming, the reef did not budge. After the waves had receded, the reef revealed itself once more.

When Ye Chen saw this scene, he had a flash of insight. ‘Let the storms and waves do what they will. My heart will be like a boulder, holding fast to my core principles.’

This reef set Ye Chen upon the right path. He had gained a deeper comprehension.

With this in mind, Ye Chen sprang up and landed upon the reef in the midst of the waves. Crossing his legs, he sat down.

The waves were turbulent and fierce, their tips reaching a few meters high into the air. Then, with a rumble, they battered Ye Chen’s body. Even with Ye Chen’s Heavenly Venerable Rank strength, he was unable to remain stable while sitting and he felt gloomy.

Water was the softest element in the world yet it contained the greatest strength. Dripping water could penetrate a stone, let alone massive waves.

After a long time, Ye Chen could only mobilize his Celestial Chi to resist the waves and was thus unable to sit still and cultivate.

“Boom, boom, boom!”

Wave after wave from the sea surged up and crashed against Ye Chen. The vigorous force contained in the waves slammed against him again and again.

“I won’t turn to the demonic side anymore!” Ye Chen diligently stabilized his heart and circulated the Nine Astra in his body. He activated the Flying Dagger and the burst of Celestial Chi swept out.

The giant waves constantly pounded Ye Chen’s body. The hidden force of the water was like countless palm forces hitting him in an unbroken loop.

Ye Chen activated Celestial Chi to protect his body. His body was now like a magnet, firmly stuck upon that reef. ‘These massive waves can crash to the heavens and I still won’t move, just like a mountain!’

The waves constantly swallowed Ye Chen but would recede after a moment. Ye Chen would still be sitting there steadily.

Of course, throughout this process, Ye Chen did not have a good time. His body was incessantly battered by the waves, which were like internal palm force that was extremely penetrative. If he was careless, his internal organs might be hurt.

After sitting for a long time, Ye Chen entered a cultivation state at last. He sat cross-legged with his palms to the sky. Under the direct sunlight, the drops of water on his body were like specks of starlight.

Time slowly slipped away until the sun had descended behind the mountain and the stars glinted in the night. The waves roared even more fiercely while Ye Chen still sat there unmoving, like an old, meditating monk.

Currently, far away in the sea region, the warship which carried both Qi Nan and Lin Qiu was silently traveling across the ocean’s surface. At nighttime, their vision was poorer. To prevent running into a reef, the ship had slowed down.

Qi Nan and Lin Qiu were both sitting in the ship’s hold, each cultivating. They had also brought along a few beauties for this trip but for some reason, they kept feeling uneasy as if something was secretly stalking them. Thus, they did not even have the mood to fool around with those beauties and were on guard at all times.

In the sea below the ship, the ten or so octopus monsters had followed the warship through its journey. They stared at each other for a long moment, then sped up and swam toward the warship.

Octopuses were among the most intelligent creatures in the sea. Moreover, these were octopus monsters with over a century of cultivation. Their intelligence was akin to that of a seven, eight-year-old human child. To them, Little Squido was their boss. Whatever it asked them to do, they would do.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh, more than ten humongous octopus monsters swiftly swam around, immediately stirring up fierce undercurrents. The warship on the sea was endlessly jolting. Following that, the octopus monsters attached the suckers on their tentacles to the hull of the warship, then started to drag it downward.

The ship’s hold started to quake violently as strange creaking noises sounded. Qi Nan and Lin Qiu were instantly destabilized.

“What’s going on?” Both of them were immensely surprised.

The warship swayed ceaselessly as if it was going to topple. This was a large warship over thirty meters long. Its body was forged from metal. Even if it crashed into a reef, it would not topple so easily!

These octopus monsters dragged the warship, doing their best to pull it down. There was a loud “bang”. One of the octopus monsters, upon hearing this loud sound, was so frightened it shrank its head back. Then, it lifted its head and saw that it had ripped a steel plate off the ship.

It blinked its eyes just like Little Squido did and with a fling of its tentacle, threw the steel plate away and continued pulling at the warship. The smallest of these octopus monsters were more than ten meters long, plus they were creatures with more than a century of cultivation. Each of their strength was astounding. How could a single warship possibly survive the dragging of so many sea monsters?

Rumble, rumble. Eight pieces were soon ripped off at various points of the warship. If Ye Chen saw this, he would have marveled at how the destructive power of these octopus monsters was, even greater than building demolishers.

“Water is getting in!” The alarm within the warship wailed as the sailors of the Tribunal Council within the ship’s hold panicked. They saw that the sea monsters’ tentacles had reached into their ship’s body.

However, after a moment, the warship sank slightly, then continued sinking.

Swoosh swoosh, two figures leaped out and stood in the air. They noticed the sea monsters and were instantly angered.

“D*mn sea monsters, you dare to attack my warship!” Qi Nan’s face was ashen as he drew a long sword which gleamed icily. This sword was a Tier Five spiritual artifact at least. He brought down the blade. With a “swish”, one of the octopus monster’s tentacles was sliced off. However, unexpectedly, the octopus monster’s tentacle promptly grew back and snaked toward Qi Nan.

When Lin Qiu saw the situation beneath the sea, his expression changed greatly. When they were on their previous journeys, they had encountered sea monsters too but were able to kill those off. In most cases, a sea monster was unable to endanger the warship. However, beneath the churning, ferocious sea, there were more than ten octopus monsters. With a lineup like that, it was not surprising that he would turn pale with alarm.

Lin Qiu took out the arrows behind his back. “Whoosh whoosh whoosh.” One arrow after another whizzed toward the sea.

“Splash splash splash!”

There were loud crashes from the sea as blooms of dark red blood spread out. Even so, those octopus monsters were merely injured. Their fighting powers were still astonishing. Soon, the entire warship had vanished beneath the sea.

“Lin Qiu, why did so many sea monsters attack us?” Qi Nan asked miserably. Then, he suddenly thought of something and his face twisted into a dark, snarling expression. “It’s him, it must be him! We’ve injured his Golden Sun Condor. No wonder I kept feeling something was off during the daytime as if we were being followed by something!”

They immediately recalled their encounter with Ye Chen half a day ago. At a distance of a thousand meters, they had seen what Ye Chen looked like and guessed that he was a transformed Celestial Beast. Most Celestial Beasts could tame three mystical beasts at most, so Celestial Beasts were very selective with their followers. If it was a Mystique Adept Rank Celestial Beast, it would not want a Heavenly Adept Rank Golden Sun Condor. Therefore, they had guessed that the Golden Sun Condor’s owner was only a Heavenly Adept Rank Celestial Beast, which was why they would shoot at the Golden Sun Condor so fearlessly. However, they had never imagined that Ye Chen could mobilize so many sea monsters.

Qi Nan was endlessly remorseful. The warship had sunk. The mission given to them by Second Elder could not be completed now. Furthermore, on this sea, with so many sea monsters below, whether they could escape alive was also an issue. Although they were Mystique Venerable Rank experts who were able to walk on air, five or six thousand meters was already their limit. On this boundless sea, where should they fly to?