Chapter 1390: Finally Waited For

As the hundred-zhang-long Scale-Mimicking Death Worm emerged, the North Sea Demon clearly regarded it as a formidable enemy and ceased its pursuit of Zu An and the others.

Numerous jets of pink liquid shot towards the Death Worm. Zu An looked back, wondering, "Shouldn't an octopus spray ink? Why is this pink?"

A thought struck him, and he collected the tentacle slime from his dagger into a small bottle. Seeing this, Yan Xuehen couldn't help but frown. "Why are you collecting that?"

"This stuff looks unusual; it might be useful later," Zu An replied.

"Gross," Yun Jianyue said with a disgusted expression, clearly still traumatized by the giant octopus monster.

Yu Yanluo subconsciously moved a bit to the side as well.

At this point, seeing no reaction from the Scale-Mimicking Death Worm, the North Sea Demon tentatively extended a tentacle and wrapped it around the creature's body, carefully avoiding its terrifying mouthparts.

As soon as the tentacles touched the Death Worm, wisps of green smoke began to rise.

Zu An and the others watched in astonishment. They had witnessed how incredibly hard the Scale-Mimicking Death Worm's shell was, yet it was being corroded by this octopus monster.

The North Sea Demon finally confirmed the Death Worm was dead. It then used countless tentacles to coil around the hundred-zhang-long body and bring it to its mouth.

Even from a great distance, the crunching sounds were perfectly clear.

Zu An and the others felt their scalps tingle. The octopus monster's mouth was incredibly powerful; it was eating the Scale-Mimicking Death Worm whole? Without even peeling the shell?

Yun Jianyue's expression grew serious. "Xiao Anzi, what's your plan? That monster has cultivated a Yin Spirit; no matter how far we run, we won't escape its perception."

She assumed Zu An's cultivation wasn't high enough to understand the divine abilities at that level, leading to a misjudgment.

Yu Yanluo suggested, "Could it be that we're feeding the monster the Death Worm's corpse so it loses interest in us?"

Yan Xuehen shook her head. "For beings of this caliber, gluttony is a very low-level desire. Since it just fought us, it won't forget us that easily."

Upon hearing her explanation, Yu Yanluo's face paled.

Zu An said in a low voice, "Don't worry, I have a plan."

Without further explanation, he led the women and continued to sink deeper into the sea.

For ordinary people, the water pressure below would be enough to crush them flat, but their cultivation was high, and their bodies were naturally strong, allowing them to withstand the immense pressure.

As they descended further, the surrounding light grew dimmer and dimmer, eventually becoming pitch black.

"Xiao Anzi, what are you doing?" Yun Jianyue, fearless as she normally was, felt a chill run down her spine as the surroundings became utterly dark, as if a monstrous beast had opened its maw to devour them.

Zu An also felt his scalp tingle; bathyphobia was truly ingrained in human genes. "Shhh, don't make a sound."

Unbeknownst to them, they had reached the seabed, with what appeared to be an underwater cliff nearby. There was no light whatsoever, and he didn't want to descend further. So, he opened his clothes and wrapped all three women into his embrace.

Yu Yanluo was fine with it, but Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen were both embarrassed and bewildered. However, having been with Zu An for so long, they knew that while he might be a bit flirtatious normally, he would never be overcome by lust at such a critical moment. Though puzzled, none of them spoke.

Just then, a tremor ran through the water nearby, as if something heavy had fallen, causing the surrounding seawater to churn.

Their cultivation levels were high, and even in the complete darkness, they could generally sense what was happening nearby through their spiritual senses or aura.

They perceived a long skeleton, about a hundred zhang in length, lying several dozen zhang away, broken into several sections in the middle.

Many scales were scattered nearby—it was the skeleton of the Scale-Mimicking Death Worm!

Suddenly, countless dense worms emerged from the seabed. They swarmed onto the hundred-zhang-long skeleton and began to gnaw at it. Many, not content, even burrowed into the bone joints to feast.

The group watched, dumbfounded. Ordinary bones were quite hard, let alone the bones of a Grandmaster-level beast like the Scale-Mimicking Death Worm.

How powerful must these worms' teeth and digestive systems be, to be able to eat even such hard bones?

Everyone sighed with emotion, never expecting such a fearsome beast to end up with no remains.

However, the women quickly grew concerned. Although it was pitch black, even with their cultivation, they could "see" distant objects. The octopus monster's cultivation was higher than theirs, so how could it not see them?

Just then, the water stirred, and a vast, dark mass appeared nearby. The women's hearts nearly leaped from their chests, for it was the terrifying octopus monster.

At that moment, Zu An's spiritual energy transmission echoed in their minds: "Don't be nervous. I've activated my Dark Invisibility skill. As long as we're in darkness, it won't be able to perceive us. Withdraw your gaze and don't use your spiritual senses to probe the surroundings, lest you reveal our position."

"Wow, Xiao Anzi, you actually have such a powerful skill!" Yun Jianyue exclaimed, both surprised and delighted.

Yan Xuehen, however, suddenly flushed. She recalled that time when this guy hid in her quilt, and Yun Jianyue entered the room to check but found nothing. She had been puzzled then; now she realized it was due to this cultivation technique.

How did he acquire so many strange and unusual skills? And all of them were the kind suited for intimate, clandestine maneuvers!

Yu Yanluo, nestled in Zu An's arms, looked proud.

At this moment, the North Sea Demon, perhaps sensing something, slowly swam towards them, its hundred-zhang-long tentacles waving in all directions, seemingly probing for any suspicious presence.

At its closest, a tentacle was less than a foot away from them, and the distinct pungent odor from it was clearly discernible.

Even Zu An was extremely tense. Although he had tucked the women into his clothes, he wasn't sure if his Dark Invisibility would work for them as well.

Therefore, he also employed a skill that allowed them to perfectly merge with the surrounding water.

But these were merely efforts to do their best and leave the rest to fate.

The three women were equally nervous. Although they knew they should try to remain calm and minimize their heartbeats in such a situation, being so tightly nestled within Zu An's clothes was more intimate than even a typical couple.

They could clearly feel his heartbeat and the warmth of his breath.

Yan Xuehen was reminded of that night on the Great Snow Mountain, when he had held her just like this, strong and powerful...

Yun Jianyue felt even more uncomfortable. Given her status and personality, she never had such close contact with a man normally. She thought to herself that she needed to find an opportunity to distance herself from him, or he would take advantage of her completely.

The crucial thing was that he was her disciple's man; she couldn't kill him, nor could she snatch him away. It was truly frustrating.

Yu Yanluo, meanwhile, pressed her ear against Zu An's chest, quietly listening to his heartbeat, wishing they could stay like this forever.

But unfortunately, there were two bothersome women beside them. Their relationship with Azu seemed to have changed from the beginning. Humph, did they think she couldn't tell?

Meanwhile, the Demon Emperor and his party headed straight into the mountains. Along the way, Wu Liang diligently surveyed the terrain, identifying potentially dangerous areas.

He had no choice but to be diligent, as the task of scouting ahead had fallen to him after Zu An and the others went missing.

If he failed to foresee danger, his life would likely be forfeited the moment it arrived.

Even so, they still encountered several groups of monsters along the way, though none were as terrifying as those they had faced earlier at Feather Mountain.

Crown Prince Jinwu and he alone were sufficient to handle them; the Demon Emperor didn't even need to take action.

"Your Majesty, the path ahead is fraught with danger. Let's go this way," Wu Liang said, holding out his compass. Its needle spun wildly, filling him with dread.

However, the Demon Emperor gave no response and instead strode directly towards the dangerous path Wu Liang had mentioned.

Crown Prince Jinwu immediately followed. He didn't know what places were dangerous, but he knew he was safest by his imperial father's side.

Wu Liang silently groaned but had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, a mournful cold wind swept past, and a faint voice seemed to echo: "I've finally been waiting for this..."