"Little Fish, why do you like eating raw fish? Let me grill it for you — cooked fish tastes way better!" Chu Feng asked curiously, watching Little Fish sit beside him and skillfully handle a raw fish.
"No good, no good!" But the moment she heard Chu Feng's question, Little Fish shook her head vigorously. Then she held up the fish she had already cleaned and said, "This is the yummy kind!"
She opened her little mouth and started munching away with loud, satisfied bites. At that moment, Chu Feng noticed that although the little girl was eating raw fish, it didn't look bloody or gross at all — quite the opposite. She looked adorable, even a little mouth-watering, because she was eating with such genuine enjoyment.
But a question arose in Chu Feng's mind: the fact that Little Fish liked eating raw food and could survive on seawater alone — could it really be connected to that demonic creature that had been rampaging across the Boundless Blood Sea recently?
"Hehehehehe..."
Just then, from the very center of the Boundless Blood Sea, a strange and eerie sound suddenly rang out. It sounded like the creaking of a wooden bed swaying back and forth, or perhaps the low growl of some creature. Either way, the sound didn't seem like much at first, but when you listened carefully, it sent chills down your spine and made your whole body feel uncomfortable.
"Aiya, aiya! The big monster is out again! It's gonna catch people and eat them!!!"
"Big Brother, let's go watch the big monster eat people!" Hearing this sound, Little Fish actually shouted with excitement, completely forgetting about the raw fish in her hand.
"Little Fish, what did you say? You're telling me that sound was made by the demonic creature?" Chu Feng was stunned.
"Huh? Demonic creature? It's a monster — a people-eating monster! Every time it appears, it makes this sound, and then lots of people get taken away."
Little Fish blinked her big eyes and said with a grin. To her, people being eaten didn't seem like something scary at all — it was more like some sort of entertaining spectacle.
"Little Fish, you wait for me here. Don't wander off, and especially don't go in the direction of that monster. Got it?" Hearing this, Chu Feng stood up and said to Little Fish with a grave expression.
"Aiya, aiya, mmm~~~" The excitement on Little Fish's face was instantly replaced by a look of disappointment. But she didn't say anything else. Instead, she bent her little legs and sat cross-legged on the barrier Chu Feng had formed, gave him a resentful glare, then opened her little mouth and continued enjoying that raw fish.
Although Little Fish acted rather rebellious, her actions told Chu Feng that she had chosen to listen to him and would obediently stay behind.
"That's a good girl." Seeing Little Fish being so well-behaved, Chu Feng gave a faint smile. Then he launched himself into the air and shot rapidly toward the center of the Boundless Blood Sea.
Chu Feng hadn't come here to use the seawater for cultivation, because for someone at his level, this kind of cultivation resource was essentially useless.
He had come here to find Autumn Water Veil Smoke, and she had come to capture the demonic creature. So naturally, the areas where the creature appeared were the best places to find her.
Flying at full speed, Chu Feng soon arrived at the center of the Boundless Blood Sea once more. But before he even got close, the scene before him left him stunned.
Over the sea where he had previously fought the Cream-faced Youth and the Wild Barbarian, a massive tornado stretching from sea to sky had appeared. The area where the tornado stood was engulfed in chaos, and its coverage was enormous.
Wherever it reached, no one could escape. Chu Feng watched with his own eyes as countless people were swallowed by the tornado, their bodies eventually drawn into the colossal whirlpool on the sea's surface.
Among the figures that were screaming in agony, Chu Feng even spotted three familiar faces — the Cream-faced Youth and the Wild Barbarian he had fought before, along with the elderly Third-rank Martial Lord.
Facing that terrifying tornado, the Third-rank Martial Lord had actually tried to resist. But alas, even he stood no chance. Like everyone else, he was swept into that horrifying tornado vortex.
"Amazing… so this is the demonic creature that's been terrorizing this place? Just how powerful has it become?!" Chu Feng hovered in midair, his heart pounding with shock. Bold as he was, he didn't dare move any closer.
The tornado's might was far too terrifying. Chu Feng felt that aside from himself, anyone below the Fifth-rank Martial Lord would have absolutely no ability to resist it. One step closer, and you'd be swept right in.
"The demonic creature has shown itself — why hasn't Autumn Water Veil Smoke appeared yet? She should have arrived here before me." Chu Feng's gaze wasn't just fixed on the terrifying tornado; more importantly, he was scanning the crowd, searching for Autumn Water Veil Smoke.
"BOOM!" But just as Chu Feng was carefully observing, the tornado — which had already engulfed a sea area spanning tens of millions of meters — suddenly began expanding at an inconceivable speed, sweeping in all directions.
"Not good!" Chu Feng's face drained of color. Without a second thought, he turned and fled. He had no intention of becoming cultivation fodder for that terrifying demonic creature.
"Ugh~" But the tornado's speed was simply too fast — far beyond anything Chu Feng had imagined. Almost the instant he turned around, a colossal wave slammed into him. His vision went black, consciousness faded, and he fell into unconsciousness.
An indeterminate amount of time passed before Chu Feng's awareness gradually returned. When he finally managed to pry open his heavy eyelids and his vision cleared, even he couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.
At this very moment, he was deep beneath the ocean — and this particular pocket of water had been drained away, leaving an open area surrounded on all sides by seawater.
Within that open space, several thousand people had gathered. All of them were cultivators, the weakest among them being at the Heaven Martial realm. Three of them were even Martial Lords — naturally, those three from the Immortal Execution Archipelago.
Right now, everyone had been bound hand and foot by a strange type of seaweed. Most of them had fallen unconscious. Among the few who had come to, every single one wore an expression of panic and terror. Some were crying out for help at the top of their lungs, while others had been scared to the point of weeping.
Because beneath their feet was no simple gravel or earth — it was bone. Countless cultivators' bones. And judging by the sheen on those bones, it was clear that all these people had possessed considerable cultivation before their deaths, which hadn't occurred all that long ago.
After examining them with his Mental Power, Chu Feng discovered that the essence of these bones had been completely drained — all of it devoured and refined by something.
"Damn it — my power is gone!" Chu Feng immediately tried to break free from the seaweed binding him, only to realize he didn't even have the strength to pull himself loose.
Looking around, Chu Feng understood that it wasn't just him — every single person here must have had their power stripped away. After careful observation, it dawned on him: it wasn't that they had lost their cultivation. This area was simply special. The pocket of space enclosed by seawater was in fact a massive formation, and it was this formation that had stripped them of their power.
A bad feeling crept over Chu Feng. If he didn't even have the strength to break free from seaweed, then weren't they all just fish on a cutting board — completely at the mercy of that demonic creature?
"Hehehehehehe" — and just as worry gripped him, that terrifying and spine-chilling sound came drifting from the distance, drawing closer and closer.