No matter how much the Kun Clan pleaded, there was no response from the deep sea. It was as if their ancestor didn't exist.

"Could the legend be false?"

"Is there really no ancestor in the deep sea?"

"Are we even part of the Kun Clan anymore?"

Many of the Kun Clan's exotic beasts felt despair. Green King was too powerful. They didn't even know what his original form was. The king-level beasts among them were swallowed whole by Green King.

Moreover, Green King claimed that the Kun Clan's bloodline was exceptionally unique and continued to pursue and consume them. How could they not be desperate under these circumstances? Their only hope now was their ancestor.

However, there was no sign of the ancestor awakening. Or perhaps, there was no ancestor to begin with...

"Hehe, so you all fled here," Green King arrived, having pursued the Kun Clan to this location. Seeing so many of them gathered, he was overjoyed. Once he devoured these members, he would be able to gather enough essence blood.

Perhaps, when Lin Fei's True Dragon bloodline was complete, Green King wouldn't need to produce essence blood anymore, and he could finally be free. Hence, Green King had to give it his all.

"However, coming here is of no use. Devour!" Without any hesitation, Green King opened his massive mouth and fiercely inhaled.

A resonating hum filled the air. Many from the Kun Clan struggled and screamed, trying to escape, but it was futile against Green King's might.

"Ah..."

"Ancestor, save me!"

"Even if I die, I won't let you succeed! Explode!"

"I swear upon the blood of the Kun in me, I hope the ancestor hears my cry and saves our clan..."

Despite their dire circumstances, the Kun Clan displayed resolve. Many chose to self-destruct. Instantly, the seabed was dyed a deep red. Using their blood and lives as a price, they hoped to awaken the sleeping Kun from the legends. Yet, they were uncertain if such an ancestor truly existed. They were just giving it their all.

"Hehe, futile," Green King chuckled dismissively, "Do you really believe an ancestor is sleeping? If there were such an ancestor, wouldn't you have become the rulers of the deep sea long ago? Why would you have fallen into this state? It's better to be devoured by me and suffer less."

Green King continued his feast, unbothered. However, as the blood of the Kun Clan dyed the seabed, changes began to emerge. The seawater turned crimson and, surprisingly, started to form a vortex, reminiscent of a bottomless pit. It voraciously absorbed the blood around it. The vortex grew larger, spreading in every direction.

"Thump, thump, thump."

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At that moment, many exotic beasts had heard it, echoing from the ocean's depths. It was a faint, rhythmic beating, as though it resounded directly within the minds of the myriad exotic beasts.

"That heartbeat..."

A shiver ran through the Green King. Its visage was one of sheer horror. This was no illusionary sound; it was a genuine heartbeat. And with its emergence, the Green King felt an overwhelming palpitation. So potent was this external heartbeat that it seemed to synchronize with the Green King's own.

As the heartbeat intensified, agony etched itself across the Green King's features. Its heart was now enslaved to this external rhythm, a beat that was entirely incongruent with its very being. Such was the discord that the Green King appeared to be tearing itself apart from the inside out.

"Damnation, what exotic beast could this be? Why is the Kun clan unaffected? Could it truly be the ancestor of the Kun clan?"

Shock coursed through the Green King.

At that moment, the Kun clan too discerned the anomaly. The Green King had suddenly ceased its attack, seeming to be immobilized in the abyssal depths. Its expression was twisted in torment, as though plagued by some unspeakable dilemma.

Of course, they too had heard the uncanny heartbeat. Yet, they felt no pain. On the contrary, with each intensified beat, they felt surges of power coursing through their veins. It was as if they were being blessed by some arcane force. Furthermore, an ineffable presence, both immensely familiar yet supremely revered, began to rise.

"It must be the Ancestor awakening!"

"Our Kun clan's Ancestor has awoken!"

"How, out of the blue, has the Ancestor of the Kun clan awakened? There was no prior indication!"

"Could it be that the fresh blood within us has stirred the Ancestor, signaling its impending revival?"

"This isn't good. The heartbeat is fading. Could the Ancestor be slipping back into slumber?"

"We cannot allow the Ancestor to sleep again. He must awaken, or facing the Green King, we are doomed."

The Kun clan recognized the gravity of their situation. Their circumstances were far from favorable. The Green King seemed to be momentarily "stunned" by the Ancestor's heartbeat, granting them a brief respite.

But retreat was not an option. No matter how far they fled, the Green King would inevitably catch up. And even now, they lacked the means to vanquish the Green King. Even if it stood paralyzed, subject to their every assault, they couldn't bring it down. Their only hope was the awakening of the Ancestor, and they were prepared to pay any price.

"Awaken the Ancestor with our blood!"

In that instant, all members of the Kun clan forcibly drew forth the fresh blood from within themselves, and with resounding fervor declared, "With our blood, we summon the Ancestor!" Almost immediately, the rich hue of their blood dyed the entire ocean floor a deep crimson. Every drop of it belonged to the Kun clan.

"Hum."

In the next instant, the previously observed whirlpool expanded more than tenfold. Concurrently, that eerie heartbeat escalated ten times in pace.

And what was even more terrifying, the Green King could distinctly sense a formidable life force emanating instantaneously from that vast oceanic maelstrom. The very essence of life within instilled a deep-rooted fear in it— a suppression of life.

Only superior beings can exert such a life-dominating pressure upon those of lesser stature. And the Green King, with its true dragon lineage, was a monarch among exotic beasts. On the cusp of metamorphosing into a dragon due to its potent bloodline, yet still subject to such profound life suppression. How terrifying must this being be?

"Go, leave at once!"

Fear gripped the Green King's very soul, and it dared not linger any longer. As for its heartbeat being entranced, rendering its entire body immobile, there was a simple remedy.

"Explode!"

The Green King chose self-destruction. In an instant, it transformed into a mist of blood. However, this blood mist quickly ascended with the essence of the Green King, shooting towards the ocean's surface. For a being of the Green King's caliber, even death was a challenge. Thus, it opted for self-detonation, turning into a blood mist, and using that form to make a swift escape.

"Who has awakened me?"

From the depths of the ocean, the Green King faintly discerned an immense, mysterious, and terrifying voice that sent chills down its spine. With urgency, it made its escape towards the island of the Azure Flood Dragon clan.