NOVPUB
Chapter 602: Chapter 608: A Lesson
The Monohorn Behemoth closely followed, emerging from that realm shrouded in darkness, its vast Divine Sense explodingly searched every corner in great detail.
Regrettably, it did not find Li Zhirui and the others’ whereabouts.
It had no choice but to give up.
"Roar!"
The bellowing of the Monohorn Behemoth resonated in all directions, and the other behemoths rushing towards it immediately responded.
Instantly, a series of roars spread outwards.
From afar, one could also hear the voices of different Water Devils.
Li Zhirui’s expression turned extremely ugly, for within the Monohorn Behemoth’s and the distant Water Devils’ sounds, a message was being conveyed, warning all nearby Water Devils that members of the human race had entered the Outer Sea!
Although Li Zhirui had been prepared in his heart for their whereabouts to eventually be exposed, it all happened too suddenly, and much too soon!
They had only been in the Outer Sea for a few days, and had yet to gain anything.
"Jiu, I know I was wrong; I shouldn’t have ignored your advice and acted on my own, ruining your scheme," said Xiaoqing, walking up to Li Zhirui with a face full of shame, bowing his head to admit his mistake.
"Sigh," Li Zhirui didn’t say much, but let out a gentle sigh.
However, this reaction only made Xiaoqing even more panicked and uneasy, and he hurriedly spoke: "Jiu, just scold me harshly if you need to, and if you think that’s not enough to vent your anger, it’s okay to hit me too."
"It’s not that serious; even if my scheme had worked, we might not have been able to take down that giant octopus anyway."
Li Zhirui didn’t reprimand him, but instead spoke with a smile, comforting him: "It’s fine, just remember not to be so impulsive and anxious next time."
"Yeah, I got it, I’ll definitely restrain myself!" Xiaoqing said, head bowed, eyes brimming with tears.
This time, he truly understood how his impulsive actions could lead to such consequences.
"Go back to the bow and keep a watchful eye ahead," Li Zhirui instructed.
Looking at Xiaoqing’s dejected departure, a hint of regret flashed in Li Zhirui’s eyes. He knew he shouldn’t scheme against someone close to him, but if he didn’t do so, he was worried that Xiaoqing would stray further down the wrong path.
Why hadn’t he spoken plainly before? It was to provoke Xiaoqing’s impulsiveness, letting him act out and sabotage his own ’stratagem.’
But in reality, Li Zhirui had never thought about how to actually take the Deep Sea Mysterious Ice from the giant octopus because he couldn’t track the beast. All he knew was that the giant octopus possessed a racial Divine Power that allowed it to escape by shedding a limb.
Given the circumstances at that time, if the giant octopus did not want to be surrounded by the Monohorn Behemoth, its only option was to use that Divine Power to escape, which is why Li Zhirui had urged Xiaoqing not to be hasty.
However, for Xiaoqing, who already harbored rebellious thoughts, such words would not only fail to dissuade him but would also provoke him to take action.
And the outcome was predictable!
With Xiaoqing’s strength, a sudden intervention merely disrupted the rhythm, having no significant effect. Mainly, it was Li Zhirui’s exposure as a human that distracted the Monohorn Behemoth, giving the giant octopus a chance to escape.
And Xiaoqing never considered that all this was Li Zhirui’s ploy; he simply blamed himself for not obeying orders, letting the giant octopus escape and missing out on the Deep Sea Mysterious Ice.
The onlooker sees clearly.
Da Qing, who observed the entire process from the outside, guessed Li Zhirui’s scheme but had no intention of pointing it out, because if this could change Xiaoqing, it would be a cause for great joy!
In the following days, Li Zhirui kept a close watch on Xiaoqing’s condition and found that indeed he had calmed down considerably, which made him very happy. If Xiaoqing could continue to maintain this, then Li Zhirui could rest assured.
"Jiu, I’ve detected a surge of intense spiritual energy up ahead. There must be another water devil in battle," Xiaoqing, who was sitting cross-legged at the bow of the boat, immediately informed Li Zhirui upon noticing something amiss.
"Let’s go have a look first." If it had been the old Xiaoqing, he would have urged Li Zhirui to rush over immediately.
"Huh?"
The Spirit Boat drifted closer, and when they approached the battlefield, they discovered among the two battling water devils an ’acquaintance’—the dark octopus that had obtained the Deep Sea Mysterious Ice.
"It’s gotten the Profound Ice, but instead of finding a place to consume and refine it, why is it fighting with another water devil?" Li Zhirui watched the two fiercely clashing water devils with a perplexed expression.
The dark octopus needed no further introduction, and its relentless opponent was a Yellow-patterned Thunder Snake, dozens of feet long, which in size was not much inferior.
Moreover, in the battle, the Yellow-patterned Thunder Snake held a slight advantage. Under the powerful strikes of thunder, the dark octopus seemed to be in a rather sorry state.
The dark octopus cursed its bad luck internally. It had originally thought itself fortunate, having escaped the Monohorn Behemoth’s attack with hardly any cost.
But its good luck turned out to be only temporary!
On its way back to its lair, it had unexpectedly encountered its blood feud, the Yellow-patterned Thunder Snake!
The dark octopus and the Yellow-patterned Thunder Snake, both water devils, prey on each other, a hatred ingrained in the depths of their bloodlines, as well as a pursuit for gourmet satisfaction, thus once they met, it would result in a fight to the death!
Concerns such as murdering for treasure had to be set aside for the moment.
And the dark octopus, being slightly less powerful, was at a disadvantage in this skirmish.
"Jiu, should we wait for them to both suffer losses before we make a move?" Xiaoqing asked quietly.
"Just wait."
Li Zhirui was aware of the hatred between the two species, but he didn’t know if the Yellow-patterned Thunder Snake had a way to counter the dark octopus’s limb detaching escape trick.
If it did, they might witness the situation Xiaoqing spoke of, after all, if the dark octopus couldn’t escape, it could only fight desperately for survival.
But if the dark octopus managed to flee successfully, then they would just be spectators to an intense and thrilling battle without any gains.
Because Li Zhirui was neither fast enough to catch the desperately fleeing dark octopus nor a match for the Yellow-patterned Thunder Snake, a late fourth-stage Great Devil.
As time passed, the dark octopus’s situation became increasingly difficult, with two severe wounds appearing on its body. The loss of blood and energy further weakened its power.
The dark octopus knew that if the battle continued, it would probably not escape death. It could only use its race’s Divine Power to try to escape from this place.
A giant tentacle detached from its body and instantly transformed into its likeness, while it and the original dark octopus were both enveloped by Spirit Light, speeding away in opposite directions.
Two streams of Spirit Light, identical in size, aura, and every other aspect, made it impossible to distinguish between the two.
"I’ve been waiting for you!" The Yellow-patterned Thunder Snake grinned, its terrifying vertical pupils flickering with cruelty and confidence.
As a foe entwined for so many years, how could it not know the weakness of the dark octopus’s Divine Power?
As the octopus used its Divine Power, about to flee the scene, the Thunder Serpent’s body suddenly erupted with a burst of intense electricity, spreading out through the seawater in all directions.
The formidable electricity did not harm the dark octopus that was defending in time, but it completely erased its doppelganger!
