Jiang Chen sat silent, as though lost in meditation. Without warning, he leapt up from the Vermilion Bird Divine Avian's back, transmitting his thoughts: "Vermilion Bird Elder, let's coordinate our attack."
The Vermilion Bird Divine Avian replied with pride, "No need. I'll deal with this abomination myself."
As an ancient divine avian, it naturally carried the arrogance befitting one. Even now, when it was far from its peak, it refused to regard this massive undersea fiend as an opponent on its own level.
The Vermilion Bird Divine Avian let out a proud cry. Its dharma body surged with the wind, swelling to over ten times its size in moments. Wings raised high, wave after wave of fiery bladed energy swept outward.
At that moment, the Vermilion Bird Divine Avian's wings were like two colossal blades, rolling forward with devastating force.
The two arcs of fiery edge carved through the air, tearing space itself apart as they crashed down onto the towering wall of water.
BOOM!
The red-edged light vanished into the water curtain at lightning speed.
An instant later, a crack appeared in the curtain.
BOOM!
In the blink of an eye, the entire towering wall of water collapsed with a thunderous crash.
As the water fell away, the hideous behemoth was laid bare — its colossal body stretched across the sea like a long reef, dominating the waters before them. It raised its massive head, opened its cavernous maw, and unleashed a roar that shook the heavens, making the surrounding sea seem to tremble.
Though the creature's body was enormous, within the ocean — harnessing the currents and rhythms of the water — its movement speed was astonishingly fast.
One moment its tail was swaying behind it, and the next, its colossal maw darted forward like lightning, lunging straight at the Vermilion Bird Divine Avian.
"Pathetic!" The Vermilion Bird Divine Avian was hardly intimidated by such a crude attack. Its dharma body flickered, wings sweeping once more, and a blade-like surge of fire lashed straight at the creature's gaping jaws.
The creature tilted its head, dipping it slightly. A mysterious glow appeared across its forehead, as if a defensive barrier had materialized from thin air. The fiery blade struck squarely against that area.
A muffled boom.
The fiery attack had been blocked outright by the creature's forehead. Most terrifying of all, the impact left only a series of strange ripples across that area — it hadn't cut through, let alone inflicted any serious wound.
This sight gave the Vermilion Bird Divine Avian pause. Even though it wasn't at its peak, it had been fully confident it could slay this enormous monster.
But that last exchange forced it to reassess the creature. Its forehead bore some peculiar defense capable of withstanding attacks at the Vermilion Bird's level.
Suspended in the air, Jiang Chen watched this scene in shock. In his estimation, an attack from the Vermilion Bird Divine Avian was something even a mid-sky-realm powerhouse wouldn't dare take head-on.
Yet this massive creature had not only tanked the blow but emerged completely unscathed. Even Jiang Chen found it almost inconceivable.
"Vermilion Bird Elder, that creature's forehead is abnormal. Avoid frontal attacks — use your speed, your agility advantage, and strike at its other weak points."
Jiang Chen transmitted the thought.
In truth, the Vermilion Bird Divine Avian already knew what to do without being told. It knew that at its peak, even with that strange defense on the creature's forehead, it could have slain it without issue.
Still, the Vermilion Bird Divine Avian decided to fight with cunning rather than brute force.
Its speed was naturally far greater than the creature's, and its movements considerably more agile.
Although the creature kept churning up massive waves and sending them hurtling skyward in an attempt to hinder the Vermilion Bird, this tactic proved largely ineffective.
After several exchanges, the creature's body had been struck repeatedly.
However, the creature was simply too massive, with thick skin and dense flesh. Even the Vermilion Bird Divine Avian's devastating attacks could only wound its surface, failing to deliver a lethal blow.
The creature was cunning as well. Once it realized its enormous body made it a target, it became slippery, sinking its massive form beneath the waves and exposing only its head and neck, using the advantages of its aquatic domain to maneuver against the Vermilion Bird.
Seeing this, Jiang Chen called out, "Vermilion Bird Elder, there's no need to stay and fight. Let's pass through first — we can deal with this creature on the way back."
But the Vermilion Bird Divine Avian replied, "If we slip past now, it'll only come after us at the Corpse Hell Island. That's how these demon spirits are — you either subdue them or you kill them. There's no turning an enemy into a friend."
Seeing how resolute the Vermilion Bird Divine Avian was, Jiang Chen considered its reasoning and found it sound. He said no more.
For a time, the Vermilion Bird Divine Avian and the colossal monster reached a stalemate.