Nine Star Hegemon Body Art (WN)
chapter-4056

“So soon?”

Long Chen was startled. They were not even half a day into the heavenly river. As this area was still the border of the heavenly river, there shouldn’t be any fiend eyes here yet.

When Long Chen and the others arrived at the head of the ship, they were shocked to find a giant whirlpool in the distance sucking their battleship in. The immense force was not something that the battleship could resist.

“No, this isn’t a fiend eye.”

Long Chen’s heart shook. The whirlpool was giant, but it didn’t have the sinister aura of a fiend eye.

Just then, giant fish jumped out of the water, causing huge waves. Every single one of them was the size of a mountain.

These fish had powerful auras. Using the human race’s standards, they could be considered World Kings.

More and more fish began to jump from the water. Amongst them were various sea demons, some of them with auras comparable to three-flower Earth Venerates.

Within this giant sea region, countless sea creatures were in a panic, seemingly trying to flee into the sky.

“We can’t control the battleship! If it gets sucked in, it’ll be crushed.” Xia Chen’s expression changed.

The heavenly river had special laws over its space, so most people were unable to fly through the air here. That meant that if their battleship was crushed, they would be lost in the sea. They would then either die inside the stomachs of some fish monster or be smashed apart by one of their stronger members.

Just as everyone was panicking over this terrifying phenomenon, they suddenly felt the ship rise. An immense force then tossed the battleship into the sky.

“There’s something in the water! Grab the railing!”

Long Chen's heart pounded fiercely, as he had never experienced anything like this before. To ensure the safety of everyone on board, he instructed them to grip tightly onto the battleship, preventing them from being thrown off by the intense turbulence.

BOOM!

As the battleship was flung into the sky, the sheer force exerted within the confined space left the passengers dazed, their blood churning within. They watched in awe as the vessel soared several miles upward.

However, what awaited them was an indelible sight, forever etched in their memories. From the depths of the sea emerged a gigantic mouth that swallowed the entire whirlpool space in a terrifying display.

All those giant fish and sea demons were devoured by that giant mouth, stunning Long Chen and the others.

Fortunately, they had been on the outer edge of the whirlpool, so they were not devoured.

They observed in awe as the colossal mouth closed and gradually submerged back into the sea, leaving behind tumultuous waves that continued to rage for an extended period.

As the battleship descended, Xia Chen skillfully utilized talismans to regulate their descent. With precision, he guided them to land on the crest of a massive wave, ensuring a safe touchdown.

Even though they weren’t struck head-on by the wave, the battleship still endured a rough ride, resulting in numerous cracks appearing on its surface. Thus, even the process of landing on the back of one of these terrifying waves almost destroyed the battleship.

Even once the mouth had vanished and the giant waves settled, they remained in a state of shock and disbelief.

Although they could all count as experienced people, they had never seen such a horrifying sight before. How could millions of powerful lifeforms be devoured just like that?

For a moment, they could only look at each other in dumbfounded silence. Almost in unison, they asked:

“What was that?”

Everyone looked at Long Chen.

“It was a whale. It is said to be the largest lifeform in the world, larger than the Kunpeng and the dragon,” said Long Chen, taking a deep breath.

“Bigger than a dragon and Kunpeng? How is that possible?! The Kunpeng was originally a fish, the overlord of the sea! How could it permit another lifeform to be bigger than it?” asked Guo Ran.

“I don’t know. I only read something in an ancient tome that said that the biggest lifeform in this world is the whale. It can hide in the deep sea or high in the heavens. Those in the sea are called sea whales, and those in the sky are called heaven whales. Sea whales are ferocious and capture sea kings for food, capable of devouring the sun and moon. The heaven whales, on the other hand, swim beyond the Heavenly Daos, and only those with destiny can see them. As for their size, they eclipse the nine heavens,” said Long Chen.

“Eclipse the nine heavens?!”

Everyone once more jumped in shock. What thing could grow that big? How was it even possible?

“To be honest, I can't be certain about what we just encountered. The information in that ancient record was more like a legend than a factual knowledge. It’s not that trustworthy, so I can’t say for sure if it was really a sea whale. But in any case, that’s all I know.” Long Chen shrugged.

After all, Long Chen had only read a vague introduction to it, so his understanding of a sea whale’s form or characteristics was limited.

Furthermore, they hadn’t really gotten a clean look at the mouth. Its sudden appearance had twisted the space, making it impossible for them to describe its shape or size accurately.

However, the frightening experience left them with a newfound respect for the sea. There were many secrets hidden within the nine heavens and ten lands, and all they had witnessed was merely a tiny drop in the ocean of hidden wonders yet to be explored.

Once the waves settled, Xia Chen skillfully assessed the correct direction they needed to follow, and the journey resumed. However, the unsettling experience had left everyone much more cautious and alert.

If that monstrous mouth had targeted them, then even a Heaven Venerate would be no match, reduced to a mere snack with no ability to resist.

“Don’t worry. We’ll just travel normally. It could be a blessing, and if it’s a disaster instead, well… it can’t be avoided. What will come will come,” said Long Chen with a smile.

Long Chen knew just how amazing his luck was; it had nothing to do with being careful or not. Thus, he could only charge ahead blindly and face what he met.

Xia Chen skillfully navigated the battleship as usual, while he and Guo Ran continued to repair it during their journey. Fortunately, the path ahead remained peaceful, and apart from occasionally encountering formidable sea demons, they faced no imminent threats.

In fact, they ended up going over the head of some enormous entity one time, and it only glanced at them before ignoring them.

Not all the lifeforms in the heavenly river were violent. Occasionally, some dolphins would appear and frolic around the battleship. They seemed very friendly.

Curiously, after the dolphins appeared, they no longer encountered any of those ferocious sea demons.

Thus, Long Chen had a thought and had Xia Chen follow the dolphins. He felt that these were kind lifeforms, and they should be familiar with the surroundings. Most likely, if they followed the dolphins, they would be able to avoid some dangers.

As expected, they enjoyed a peaceful journey for ten days, faithfully following the guidance of the dolphins. However, on the eleventh day, Xia Chen had to make the difficult decision to part ways with their marine companions, because if they continued to follow the dolphins, they would only go astray.

They had no choice but to venture alone now. The dolphins then bid them farewell and continued to swim in the distance until they vanished from sight.

As they continued onward, the seawater gradually transitioned from its familiar blue hue to an unsettling shade of black. The darkness sent shivers down their spines, leaving them on edge as they continued their voyage.

“There’s another whirlpool up ahead!” called out Xia Chen. In an instant, everyone directly tensed up.

“Now this is a true fiend eye.” Long Chen eyed the giant whirlpool and waved his hand. “Let’s go see it.”