Fading Fang was the largest boat of the Nalupu Kingdom. As such, it was around 130 chi* long and it weighed more than fifteen thousand dan*. And yet, the shadow beneath Fading Fang made it look small. Indeed, the shadow was almost ten times as big as the entire ship. Of course, it might have been due to the way light was affected by the water itself. But as the beast began to appear, it was clear that it was indeed much larger than the boat.

The dome of raging water and winds all around the ship and the demonic beast was thirty to forty times larger than the ship. As such, it left enough space for the creature to move around. But at the same time, there wasn't enough space for the ship to escape or avoid the creature.

Jing Baiyu remembered what had happened when he had first met this beast. Indeed, he knew exactly what this demonic beast was. And right now it was their bane. Under those circumstances, they couldn't do a thing. The only reason why he had been able to survive his encounter with it and save most of his ships was because they had not been trapped under this dome. Thankfully, he had felt something was odd and had ordered his entire float to change course. One ship was destroyed by the dome itself when it formed while two others had been trapped inside of it, never to be recovered.

That being said, the rest of the float had not been saved that easily either. Jing Baiyu had been forced into a long and strenuous battle against the demonic beast. In the end, he had literally led his float into a Blood Storm to escape the demonic beast. Even in the Blood Storm, they had been chased for several hours until the demonic beast finally let them go. Most likely, it had found a better or easier prey. Otherwise, it would have kept on chasing them until it had devoured them all.

Apparently, Jing Baiyu had postponed his fate, but he had not prevented it. Already, he could see his death. Worse than that, he could see the death of his entire crew who had put their lives in his trust. He didn't want to betray that trust but there was nothing he could do. No matter how much he was trying to think of any solution, he couldn't.

Suddenly, everyone felt the intense killing intent of the 9-core demonic beast. It even crushed some of the smaller masts. Indeed, it was so powerful and dense that it had a physical presence. Everyone on board could feel that they were heavier both physically and mentally. Terror began to overcome their reasons. Even Jing Baiyu fell under this tyranny. He was the only one who could calm down his crew, but his own despair had made him vulnerable.

Cao Yun perceived the true strength of the demonic beast through its killing intent. Thankfully, it was no Immortal Beast or they would truly be dead. But it was indeed a 9-core demonic beast. In the lower decks, Hongyu also felt this huge monster. Under this crushing pressure, her own cores reacted. In her chest, there was a tiny stone. It was the seventh core she was currently forming. Under this assault, it vibrated insanely. Only through the use of her other cores was she able to calm it down and prevent it from rupturing. Fortunately, her Wrath Core and Evil Core were sturdier than the cores of the giant monster.

Being the only one with his senses intact, Cao Yun slapped Jing Baiyu. Within his hit, he had poured some of his Qi and even spiritual senses. Now that they were attacked by such a powerful demonic beast, there was no reason to suppress his aura in any capacity. After all, no other demonic beast would be suicidal enough to approach this dome. That meant that Cao Yun and Hongyu could go crazy as much as they wanted.

"Boy..."

Jing Baiyu came back to the real world. Most of his paralyzing terror was gone. However, he was still full of despair. There was no way they could escape or survive. In a way, he even resented Cao Yun. He would have preferred to die without having a clear mind. Immediately, Cao Yun grabbed him and looked straight in his eyes.

"Captain! There is still a way. As long as we're alive, we'll fight. Even if we can't kill that thing, I am confident I can at the very least pierce through the dome. If I can open a breach, I need you to go through it. Can you do that? Or are you going to abandon your ship and your crew without trying everything you can?!"

"You... You're right! Everyone, to your stations!"

Jing Baiyu's scream literally caused the ship to shake. Honestly, it was already shaking because of the large demonic beast beneath it, but it still shook under Jing Baiyu's scream. Now that they heard their captain, the crew came back to reality as well. Without even thinking, they obeyed. They didn't need to hear any plan or anything. If their captain needed them, they would be there. The crew trusted him fully.

Now that the crew was back to work, Cao Yun could do what he had promised. Even with all his strength, he wasn't delusional. He knew he couldn't kill such a thing, especially while protecting the ship. And even if he miraculously killed the 9-core demonic beast, he would be stuck in the middle of the Divine Blood Ocean, probably injured so much he couldn't save himself from other threats.

Although he didn't want to risk Hongyu's life, he needed her. Besides, she would die with the rest of the crew and himself if they didn't do anything. Thus, he called her and she immediately left the lower decks. In fact, she quite literally broke through it despite the recent repairs. However, no one blamed her for it. There was no time for patience. And there was no time for superstitions either.

Cao Yun and Hongyu both flew in the sky. Under the dome, the winds were not to their advantages, but they didn't mind at all. Cao Yun could use his spiritual senses to fly and protect himself while Hongyu was probably the fastest flying beast on the entire Piaolu planet. But Cao Yun's main concern was about saving Fading Fang. Even if he tried to breach through the dome right now, the ship would be destroyed and his plan would fail. First of all, he had to somehow distract the beast or lure it away. For that, he would have to attack.

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Spreading his spiritual senses all over the place, Cao Yun was able to engulf the entire dome in them. He had to spread them a bit thin, especially under the water. But he could now perceive everything that was going on. In his mind, he made several simulations of what could happen just as he was acting them out, revising his predictions. The battle had already started.

Thousands of swords appeared behind him, forming several circles rotating in different directions and with varying speeds. At the same time, he had two spears in hand, including his 'Tainted Heavenly Pillar'. Above the dome, there were his Seven Piercing Stars, three of whom were full Constellations. Cao Yun was also circulating 'Dragon's Heart' to its fullest as well as his mind cultivation. Both of his spears were surrounded by a golden aura that was barely visible. But the weapons seemed much more dangerous while they were in Cao Yun's hands.

The boy gave orders to Hongyu who immediately obeyed. With all her flames, she flew straight toward the dome. As they were in the center, she chose a random direction. Jing Baiyu knew this was where he was supposed to go.

From the depths, large sharp columns began to rise. Those were spikes on the demonic beast's shell. They immediately formed a large maze around the ship. Jing Baiyu was able to avoid a direct collision but the flank of Fading Fang crashed against one of them. They were huge and sailing through them in this violent wind was tough. But Jing Baiyu and his crew were motivated.

Thankfully, Cao Yun acted.

'Fish in the Galaxy'!

His second spear flew from his hand. All around it, dozens of sword were rotating as though the spear was a star and the swords planets orbiting it. As it flew toward the monster below, the spear turned into a large dragon made of seven stars linked together by golden lines and runes. The spear collided with the giant shell and it went right through it. With all of Cao Yun's strength, and because the beast wasn't expecting such resistance, the spear literally went through and through. The ocean around the beast shook as the demonic beast moved around violently. The water even turned a bit reddish with its own blood. Cao Yun had aimed at one of its cores. And he had not missed at all. Unfortunately, the core was strong enough. It had altered the trajectory of the spear. That being said, the ninth demonic core was indeed cracked, diminishing slightly the demonic beast's strength.

On the other hand, the demonic beast was now full of rage against Cao Yun.

From the water, a large tail looking like a giant eel erupted. It tried to slap Cao Yun out of the sky and into the Divine Blood Ocean.

Cao Yun turned into lightning for an instant as he reached the surface of the ocean. In fact, Cao Yun was now literally standing on the shell of the beast. It was so huge it looked like a small rocky island. But it was indeed its natural shell. That 9-core demonic beast was known as the Stormriser Leviathan Emperor. Cao Yun was the only living man to have seen its entire shape in the Piaolu planet. But he had read books about this creature from previous generations.

The demonic beast looked like a large sea snake but it had a large shell in the middle of its body it could retract into. Besides that, there were strange natural armor plates all over its body. Its very head looked like a giant rock with many sharp edges. It could crush or cut through its opponents.

When the Stormriser Leviathan Emperor screamed, it sounded like thunder. The dome became more and more agitated as the Stormriser Leviathan Emperor was being attacked by Cao Yun.

Now that the young man was on its back, he did not hesitate at all!

'Cracking the World'!

His 'Tainted Heavenly Pillar' fell on the shell of the beast and cracked it open. For an instant, the spear looked like a giant pillar that was holding the sky and the ocean. The mere shock of Cao Yun's weapon with the shell caused a terrible storm. It was followed by even worse weather as the Stormriser Leviathan Emperor went back underwater. This sudden movement almost caused Fading Fang to be swallowed into the ocean. Thankfully, Jing Baiyu had been warned and was ready for it. Fading Fang was going straight in Hongyu's direction. The Sky Tyrant Fenghuang used all her flames to try and pierce through the dome. She was successful but only for an instant. And it wasn't big enough for Fading Fang.

Hongyu focused all her Evil Qi and the intent of the Drop of Wrath she had received. Then, her flames shined in black, red and even golden lights. She was slowly focusing all her flames to breach the dome just as Fading Fang would arrive.

Although he was ready for it, Cao Yun got engulfed in the ocean with the Stormriser Leviathan Emperor's sudden movement. Now, the demonic beast was solely focused on Cao Yun. That was good for Fading Fang but terrible for the young man. It was as if he was facing a 9th-grade Accomplished Demon, someone even stronger than Lord Wanghuo, but who wouldn't suppress their cultivation. His only advantage was that demonic beasts lacked any knowledge of martial arts, array formations, or anything complex. On the other hand, the Stormriser Leviathan Emperor was a killing machine.

Cao Yun was stuck in a whirlwind created by the demonic beast. Although it couldn't use martial arts, it could instinctively create strange phenomenons, just like Hongyu. She could produce flames without using martial arts, it was just natural to her. Stormriser Leviathan Emperor could naturally control the water, the winds and even thunder and lightning. In a sense, it was the embodiment of Cao Yun's 'Three Storms'. The irony wasn't lost on Cao Yun.

As the young man broke free from the whirlwind, he received a rock. It struck him with incredible force.

'The Son of Heaven's Spear and Shield'!

Many of the swords around him formed an armor while his own Wei Qi turned into dragon scales. The rock was just a distraction though. Once again, the tail of the giant monster came for the young man. Under water, it was much faster than before. But Cao Yun had absorbed the force behind the rock and he directed it toward the tail while trying to move away. Although he avoided the direct attack, he suffered from the shock wave caused in the water.

As his entire body was suffering from the intense pressure, Cao Yun found himself right in front of the head of the Stormriser Leviathan Emperor. Its eyes were almost as big as the young man's torso. The sheer size of the demonic beast was terrifying. On the other hand, it hindered the beast's fighting abilities. It had a hard time catching Cao Yun. Against small preys, it was at a clear disadvantage. On the other hand, it could probably kill Cao Yun in one or two moves, if it could actually strike him.

Now that the young man was right in front of its head, the Stormriser Leviathan Emperor charger forward. Its entire body got surrounded by lightning. As electricity flew everywhere, Cao Yun suffered a lot as water was conducting it. His movements were slowed down terribly, preventing him from moving out of the way in time.

The large head of the colossal snake hit Cao Yun. The sharp rocks cut through his chest.

'Dragon's Chest'! 'Imperial Throne'!

The young man was using everything he could to reduce the impact and protect himself but he was already covered in blood.

* 130 chi ~= 130 ft ~= 40 m

* 15k dan ~= 750 tons