Chapter 84: The Fish in the Northern Sea (Part 2)

  That lightning bolt struck the giant fish backbone in the divided ink-colored seawater, and all of a sudden, Shen Baiying's nose caught a whiff of a strange smell. The smell was mixed with the salty sea air, both charred and fragrant, and upon closer inspection, it seemed somewhat like the aroma of roasted fish. In the midst of the intense battle, this thought suddenly popped into Shen Baiying's mind, and he couldn't help but chuckle at himself. Yet, he couldn't resist looking through the turbulent waves for the strange fish's shadow. Amidst the churning water, he indeed spotted a large patch of charred black on the fish's body, amidst its beautiful bright blue color.

  The strange fish also felt something, twisting its huge head to look at its own back, only to see that the wound was not only ugly but also had many scales falling off. Suddenly it raised its head towards the sky, opened its mouth and let out a sharp scream, mixed with extreme anger and a hint of shame, and rushed straight into the clouds.

  Murong Ziyin's eyebrows and eyes remained still, her expression as cold as ice as she continued to gaze down at him. However, the tips of her two fingers had quietly begun to gather a faint purple glow once again, accumulating energy for her next attack.

  Shen Bailian had already flown to his side, and the feeling was even more intuitive. The young man on his side was practicing the thunder spirit technique of the Qionghua school, and from his ability to drive the heavenly thunder just now, it can be seen that he is extremely talented and has a deep understanding of immortal techniques. At this moment, the purple light reappeared in the air, entwining itself around the white and slender hand, flickering on and off, gathering and dispersing. The bright lightning grew stronger as it flashed, and the gathered thunder spirit energy also became more dense.

  The huge fish monster in the sea water seemed to have also sensed this breath very keenly, and was worried that its beautiful scales would not be preserved. The fish eyes that were originally staring round and round searching for enemies suddenly flipped over, and with a flick of its tail, it turned its head and dove into the depths of the sea. But Mu Rong Ziying didn't let it escape so easily, and without hesitation, she shouted loudly and swung her hand again, striking down another bolt of lightning.

  In the midst of the thunderous roar, a wave of dark water over a zhang high was blown up, and that strange fish was also struck by lightning again, letting out an even more anguished wail. The scene was quite tragic, but Murong Ziyu's handsome face remained cold and unmoved, his hand waving down several bolts of purple lightning, striking the strange fish until it let out a series of strange cries, rolling about in the water without cease, its scales shedding by the half, transforming in an instant from a beautiful azure-scaled fish into a blackened mud eel, truly pitiful.

  Shen Bailian heard and saw, suddenly feeling a thread of reluctance. After all, he himself had half of the demon tribe's bloodline. If he had to watch Mu Rongziying kill the fish demon, it would be somewhat unbearable. Moreover, this fish demon was born in the underworld sea and probably hadn't committed any evil deeds among humans. A light punishment would suffice; why must it be killed by the sword?

  Just as he was about to open his mouth to stop him, another strange movement occurred in the water. It turned out that the strange fish had been beaten to the point where it could no longer withstand it, and several times it tried to dive into the seabed but was struck by lightning again and again, seeing its own scales becoming more and more sparse, finally unable to hold back, the fish tail slapped the sea surface with force, and in a shrill scream, it actually rose into the air, pouncing towards the sky!

  Murong Ziyin's sword eyebrows slightly raised, coldly laughed and said: "You've come!" Raised his hand again, a purple lightning bolt struck past.

  However, the strange fish shook its head and tail in the air for a while, rolling up large ink waves, wrapping itself inside, and the purple lightning shot past but hit the sea wave, splashing water flowers, but never managed to hurt the strange fish again.

  Murong Ziyin's eyes condensed, and he immediately had a new plan. He saw that his hands simultaneously pinched the handprint, and the Xianjian under his feet responded to it. In an instant, dozens of sword shadows appeared out of thin air, swooshing through the air, with their tips pointing inward, surrounding the black water waves in a ring, and in the blink of an eye, they had already surrounded that group of ink-colored water waves.

  However, at this moment, a loud whistle came from the bunched up waves again, and this time it was much clearer. Shen Bailian's heart skipped a beat as she suddenly felt something was off. She looked up to see a pair of huge wings rapidly unfolding in the scattered waves!

  "In the northern darkness there is a fish, its name is Kun. The Kun's size is unknown, it may be several thousand miles... It transforms into a bird, angry and flying, its wings are like clouds hanging from the sky... Its name is... " Those wings spread wider and wider, dispersing the surrounding waves, revealing the huge shadow beneath. Shen Bailian stared blankly at the giant bird bursting out of the waves in the sky, her eyes widening, her heart beating faster, a somewhat unbelievable answer gradually emerging in her mind, "This... this is actually..."

  As he muttered to himself, the blue giant bird opened its beak and let out another screech, its long neck curved into a very elegant shape. But just one glance at its own large wings revealed many patches of bald skin, and the two bird eyes that had been shining brightly were suddenly filled with anger. The screeching changed to a different tone halfway through.

  "Squeak, squeak screech!"

  "Go!"

  The moment the bird's cry sounded, Murong Ziyin made a swift and decisive shout, and the sword shadow in the air danced with it, swooshing towards the blue giant bird.

  Suddenly, only purple sword shadows flashed by, lightning radiated in all directions, and ink waves splashed about, with blue feathers flying wildly... What a chaotic scene. Shen Baiyun stood amidst this chaotic scene, her eyes wide with wonder, and muttered to herself: "This is actually the legendary Kunpeng...?" It was truly a case of searching high and low without finding anything, yet achieving everything effortlessly...

  The words had barely fallen when the world around them suddenly fell silent for a moment. The sound of waves, wind, and thunder seemed to be sucked away, and the originally turbulent dark blue waves slowly calmed down, the swirling black clouds in the sky also dispersed, and for an instant, the winds died down, the thunder stopped, and the surroundings returned to a clear and peaceful state, leaving only the half-naked youth with a cold expression and drenched clothes standing in mid-air, and a giant bird that had lost most of its feathers wailing sorrowfully.

  The bird's cry lingered on the surface of the sea, making the sudden calmness even more eerie. Mu Rong Ziying's face changed slightly as he looked around hastily, and when he turned his head, he accidentally met Shen Bai Lian's equally astonished gaze. The two exchanged a glance, both feeling extremely strange.

  "It is a pleasure to have friends coming from afar... but as soon as we meet, you two take advantage of me, this useless junior, and bully me into such a state. You two little friends are somewhat too overbearing, aren't you?"

  Suddenly, a voice sounded simultaneously beside the ears of the two people. The tone was not young but also not very old, without anger or joy, yet the meaning of the words seemed to have some connection with this monster that could transform into birds and fish. Mu Rong Ziying immediately furrowed her sword-like eyebrows and said in a low voice: "To slay demons and eliminate evil, why come to deceive people with empty talk? Hiding in the dark and being sneaky doesn't seem very brilliant either."

  "Sneaking around?" The voice chuckled, "I'm afraid revealing my true form will shock you all, but since the little friend wants to see me, it's no big deal."

  Before the words had fallen, the originally high and surging center of the Ink Sea suddenly surged, like a giant wave that had been standing upright like a wall, suddenly missing a corner, and then a huge black shadow flew out from within.

  Shen Bailian only felt a darkness in front of her eyes, and then she was under the huge shadow. The back of Pengzhi was unknown for thousands of miles, this Kunpeng really lived up to that ancient saying, just the shadow it cast had already covered the entire sea area. Just now, that blue giant bird encountered it, and it could be called small and delicate.

  Could this be the Mr. Kunpeng he's been searching for? Shen Bailian's heart skipped a beat as he pondered.

  "Squeak, creak, squeak-creak!"

  The half-bald blue bird opposite saw the big fish and suddenly seemed to have seen a savior, excitedly chirping and calling out, although it couldn't understand bird language, but judging from its behavior, it was probably reporting to this elder, however, the flapping of its wings was a bit exaggerated, causing several loose feathers to fall off.

  Just as Shen Bailian couldn't help but laugh, a faint voice whispered in her ear: "Shen...Bailian, don't act rashly."

  This... is Murong Ziyin? Shen Bailian was taken aback, looking sideways at the young man not far away. Murong Ziyin's expression didn't change, his lips moved very slightly, but that voice clearly echoed in Shen Bailian's ear: "Don't be surprised, I'm just gathering my voice to transmit it to you... Bailian, this demon is much stronger than the one before, even if we join forces, it's unlikely we can win. Wanting to retreat whole and unscathed won't be easy either. After some thought, there's only one way: take advantage of its carelessness and strike first. I've made up my mind, later I'll initiate a sword array to restrain it, taking this opportunity you quickly leave, and I can also rest assured."

  Shen Bailian was taken aback, and hastily replied in a low voice, "Then how did you escape? Am I, Shen Bailian, the kind of person who would abandon friends and prioritize my own well-being?"

  Murong Ziyin's eyes flashed slightly: "I didn't expect you to also know the Qionghua Sect's secret transmission technique? Never mind, let's put this aside for now. The priority is how to deal with the demon in front of us. If we can save one of us, it's already a blessing. Don't argue anymore, I'll launch my sword array!"

  Fool, the one you're willing to sacrifice your own life for is precisely the demon you've been talking about. How can Shen Bailong bear it?! Shen Bailong was both moved and helpless at the same time, his eyes sank, and he unconsciously reached into his pocket to touch the letter. As long as he showed it to Kunpeng, he and Murong Ziyin would be safe, but this way, his own demon body would also be exposed, and the friendship he had established with the young man on their journey would naturally dissipate...

  His fingers gently stroked the envelope, and he felt it was surprisingly heavy. Shen Bailian looked at Murong Ziyin again, and the young man nodded slightly to him, his sleeves moved slightly, revealing two white jade-like fingers under them, and a purple light was slowly spreading from the fingertips.

  Shen Bailian let out a sigh in her heart, gritted her teeth and took out the letter, shouting loudly: "Kunpeng——"

  The conversation was cut off, and the voice in the air seemed to interrupt them with a smile: "Two little friends are chatting so happily, but it's better to move less spirit arrays on the Sea of Death."

  Did this Kūnyō actually hear their transmission? Shen Bailian was greatly shocked, and with a glance, she saw that Mùróng Zǐyīng had also lost color. She didn't think that this Kūnyō gentleman's demonic power would be so robust, truly worthy of being a great demon with a thousand years of cultivation...

  Shen Bailian was thinking to himself when he heard a lazy and languid voice above his head: "Blue, color, mysterious, dream..." Then a cluster of blue mist fell down, just wrapping him and Murong Ziyin in the middle.

  "What is this?" Shen Bailian hurriedly held her breath, but the blue mist seemed to penetrate through her skin and into her body, a wave of dizziness still attacked her mind. In a daze, she only heard Lord Kunpeng's words with a hint of urgency: "Exhausting your strength will harm your body, you'd better sleep for a while."

  Then he fell into a darkness.