Chapter 968: Master of the Waves, Lord of the Sea

A colossal wave engulfed Yunlun, stripping the sky of all color.

As darkness descended, all the trial participants in the Yunlun Mountain Range looked up, gazing at the colossal wave sweeping down from the heavens.

No one knew what was happening.

But this overwhelming wave made it easy for people to feel as if a calamity had descended from the sky and their end was near.

On the Fifth Dragon Vein.

Young Master Xu Deyie, a disguised Xu Xiaoji, had just led his subordinates to capture the Dragon Lord's banner, which was now in Xiao Jing's control.

Everyone was immersed in a celebratory atmosphere, as only four peaks remained to achieve the title of "Lord of the Nine Dragons."

With just a little more effort and the momentum on their side, who could stop the Xu Gang?

Xu Xiaoji was equally elated.

This was the second peak he had conquered, leading his own followers, since breaking free from Master Shou's control.

Although he hadn't exerted any effort throughout the process, only acting as a rear guard, the joy of this freedom was something he could never experience in the Yuanfu world.

This made Xu Xiaoji, who felt trapped in a quagmire with constant threats to his life, again reject the Yuanfu world, believing that returning to the embrace of the Sacred Spirit Continent was truly wonderful.

However, shortly after the celebratory revelry, darkness swallowed all color, and the sky began to pour down rain like hailstones.

"Look!"

"What... what is this?"

The Xu Gang members noticed the anomaly, looked up at the sky, and then their faces all turned pale.

"This... this is a sea wave?"

"No, this wave is so incredibly high, it must be a tsunami... But how can there be a tsunami in the Yunlun Mountain Range? The nearest sea... there's no sea near the Yunlun Mountain Range at all!"

"What's going on?"

Xu Xiaoji also stared blankly at the sky.

Facing such a celestial phenomenon, his first reaction was that a rare treasure had appeared.

Only then did he realize that no rare treasure appearance had ever brought about such a widespread natural disaster.

This sea wave had almost swept across the entire Yunlun Mountain Range!

"Master Shou, are you... causing trouble?"

Xu Xiaoji was mesmerized by the sight.

He again felt how dangerous the outside world was.

Why do disasters never give a warning before they strike?

If there was some warning, people could at least immediately abandon their trial status and choose to escape, right?

Xu Xiaoji wanted to resist, but felt powerless.

He felt that even a Great Void realm cultivator under such a massive wave would likely struggle to protect themselves; as for him, only at the peak of the Throne Dao realm, how could he possibly withstand such a natural disaster?

"Run—"

Among the Xu Gang members, panicked shouts suddenly erupted.

But these were only a few, and they were quickly suppressed.

After all, most trial participants who came here were not foolish; they knew that under such a massive wave, there was no place to hide in the Yunlun Mountain Range.

In this situation, there were only two ways to die:

One was to be crushed by this great wave, leaving their fate to the trial jade pendant to see if it could teleport them out of the Yunlun Mountain Range and save their lives.

The second was to crush the trial jade pendant on the spot, thus avoiding the suffering of being swept away by the wave, but such a self-termination method meant the trial path ended then and there.

"Young Master Xu!"

Xiao Jing, who had just received the title of "Dragon Lord," was completely lost and could only look back at Young Master Xu, pleading for a decision.

Whether the Xu Gang lived or died, perhaps depended on a single command from Young Master Xu.

Xu Xiaoji looked back blankly.

When had he ever experienced such a thing? Naturally, he couldn't make up his mind immediately.

But then he remembered his current identity was Master Shou; if Master Shou were here, what would he do?

Xu Xiaoji forced himself to calm down. By putting himself in Master Shou's shoes, he gained strong mental fortitude. He suppressed his slightly trembling eyes and tried to say calmly, "Wait."

Wait for what?

No one asked further, as if everyone had lost the ability to speak at that moment.

Xu Xiaoji didn't know what he was waiting for; he felt perhaps Master Shou's blessing would make this great wave dissipate on its own.

But no matter what, he absolutely could not disband with a single word the empire Master Shou had built as Young Master Xu.

Otherwise, if nothing happened afterward and Master Shou came looking for him later, he'd be in trouble...

Waiting for the unknown!

Waiting for a turning point!

Xu Xiaoji believed that all the trial participants in the Yunlun Mountain Range at this moment must be harboring the same hope.

Because this was the Yunlun Mountain Range, the location of the Royal City trial, and a battle between Saints had occurred here previously, Half-Saints should logically be paying attention!

Holding onto these thoughts, Xu Xiaoji calmed himself.

In a daze, he seemed to see a faint, indistinct figure standing at the crest of the sweeping wave.

This figure was so blurry that its specific build couldn't be distinguished; its entire body was wreathed in water vapor, like a ghost, making it difficult to discern clearly.

The only distinguishable feature was the half-beast mask on the figure's face.

The beast mask, seemingly made of gold, covered his expression, leaving only the corners of his mouth obscured by water vapor and completely unreadable. Yet, a mocking smile was clearly etched into everyone's minds through subjective perception.

"There's someone!"

"He's laughing?"

Among the Xu Gang members, a sharp-eyed person also spotted the blurry figure at the crest of the massive wave and immediately cried out in horror, "This colossal wave isn't a natural disaster; it's man-made!"

Xu Xiaoji immediately confirmed he wasn't hallucinating.

At one moment, he felt that ever since he saw that shadowy figure appear at the eye of the storm, everything between heaven and earth seemed to slow down.

The massive wave descending from the heavens slowed down...

It wasn't an illusion!

The speed at which the great wave descended had truly slowed down!

Xu Xiaoji's pupils suddenly constricted. He inexplicably understood the intention of the person standing at the wave's crest, which was similar to his own—waiting!

What was he waiting for?

Suddenly, from the other side of the sky, a faint sound of something piercing the air came.

Then, the sound grew from faint to loud as a black speck shot through, transforming into a rocket-like arrow wreathed in black and red evil energy.

This arrow pierced through time, traversed distances, and fiercely shot towards the person standing at the crest of the massive wave.

"An Arrow of the Sinister Bow!"

Among the Xu Gang members, those trial participants who had earlier used special means to break through the Cloud Realm's blockade and witnessed the battle of Saints recognized this arrow.

But...

Another arrow?

It was known that Ai Cangsheng from the Central Region's Sacred Mountain headquarters had already shot an arrow today; and in such a short time, another one?

What kind of crisis was truly unfolding in the Yunlun Mountain Range during the Royal City trial, requiring Ai Cangsheng's repeated arrows for support!

"It's here..."

Xu Xiaoji whispered silently, hope igniting in his eyes.

This was a Half-Saint!

A Half-Saint's arrow should be enough to dispel the Yunlun calamity, right?

The next second, he watched as the person at the wave's crest, just before the Sinister Bow's arrow arrived, pulled out a brilliant golden trident from within the massive wave.

Then, he thrust the trident forward.

"Boom!"

The trident tip met the arrow's light.

The massive wave, still suspended in the sky before descending, was shattered and pierced by the power of the Half-Saint's arrow, turning into a torrential downpour that rained down on the world.

"Whoosh..."

The heavy rain poured down, arriving unexpectedly.

All trial participants in the Yunlun Mountain Range who looked up were completely oblivious, because everyone was still immersed in shock.

The person wielding the trident at the wave's crest had actually taken a powerful direct hit from the Sinister Bow's arrow and was only forced back half a step.

Half a step!

The trident wielder flicked the golden trident in his hand. A good deal of the water vapor surrounding him was blasted away by the Sinister Bow's arrow, revealing the black robe beneath and, beneath the golden beast mask, a stubbled, slightly upturned corner of his mouth.

He was indeed smiling!

Everyone clearly saw that the mocking smile they had subjectively imagined earlier was indeed on the trident wielder's lips.

"A Half-Saint's strike is nothing more than that."

After taking the arrow, the person controlling the wave waved his trident and vanished from sight.

Xu Xiaoji was stunned.

Hearing this last ethereal sound, he suddenly realized that this trident wielder, who had created such a disaster, was not even a Half-Saint in cultivation, but rather below that level.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have spoken out like that, mocking a Half-Saint's strike.

But...

"He's a Great Void cultivator?"

"A Great Void cultivator can take an arrow from Half-Saint Ai Cangsheng?"

Xu Xiaoji's heart was filled with fear, and he suddenly shivered.

This world is too crazy!

Or perhaps the Yuanfu world, accompanied by cats, is more suitable for me, Xu Xiao?

Master Shou, where are you? If you don't come soon, I'm really going to be embraced as the true gang leader by the Xu Gang members!

Solitary Sound Cliff.

Everyone submerged by the overwhelming wave also saw the trident wielder who had exchanged blows with Ai Cangsheng from afar.

Unlike the trial participants, those at Solitary Sound Cliff had much greater discernment.

"The Sea-Controlling Trident!

The Sea-Controlling Trident, one of the Ten Great Anomalous Weapons, on par with 'The Mimic'!

Didn't this item disappear after Yu Mo's death? Has it fallen into the hands of a Water-Elemental Spirit Cultivator again?"

Rao Yaoyao suddenly understood something.

No wonder when she exchanged a blow with this person from afar just now, her wind attribute was completely overwhelmed by the opponent's water attribute.

No wonder this person, at the Great Void realm, could create such a near-calamitous tsunami ability and use it as a foundation to resist an arrow from Half-Saint Ai Cangsheng.

So, this was due to the power of the "Sea-Controlling Trident"!

Rao Yaoyao vaguely remembered the information submitted when the "Sea-Controlling Trident," lost for over a thousand years, was first obtained by the Sacred Temple and then conquered and taken away by Yu Mo's water-elemental profound meaning. The relevant information was:

"The Sea-Controlling Trident, the supreme divine artifact for Water-Elemental Spirit Cultivators, possesses the ability to move mountains and fill seas."

—A mere tsunami is but the tip of its capabilities.

"If a Water-Elemental Spirit Cultivator gains the Sea-Controlling Trident's recognition, they can use this as a foundation to resist a Half-Saint with Great Void power!"

This was one of the reasons why Yu Lingdi, the former head of the Spirit Division, was hailed as the leader of the Six Divisions and known as the "Great Demon King Yu Mo."

But Rao Yaoyao also remembered that after Yu Mo's death, the Sea-Controlling Trident also disappeared.

He left everything to his son Yu Lingdi, even the chance for resurrection... but the Sea-Controlling Trident vanished before it could be returned to the Sacred Temple.

"Ba Zun'an got it?

So this person is also one of the Holy Slaves?"

Rao Yaoyao had a rough conjecture.

And based on the recent exchange between this person and Ai Cangsheng, she also obtained information on the trident wielder's combat power: not yet a Half-Saint, but also at the Great Void realm.

"With my abilities and the Xuan Cang Divine Sword, I can fight him!"

Rao Yaoyao was glad the opponent wasn't a Half-Saint, otherwise, she wouldn't even have the power to fight.

As it appears now...

The only difference between her and the trident wielder was merely that the opponent had gained the "Sea-Controlling Trident's" recognition, while she herself had yet to gain the "Xuan Cang Divine Sword's" approval.

"Rumble!"

Like Rao Yaoyao, as everyone's thoughts raced, the massive wave shattered above the heavens and poured down as a torrential rain.

But at the bottom of Solitary Sound Cliff, accompanied by a booming sound, another massive wave surged forth again.

This time, the massive wave wasn't overwhelming; it only rose higher than the surrounding area of Solitary Sound Cliff, locking onto all the trial officials and infiltrators attempting to escape the area.

"Feigning an open attack to conceal a covert move!"

Xu Xiaoshou, transformed into Hua Ying, instantly saw through the trident wielder's intention:

To use the power of the tsunami, which was about to sweep across the entire Yunlun Mountain Range, as a lure to draw out Ai Cangsheng, who was observing the situation at Solitary Sound Cliff with his Eye of the Grand Dao, thus forcing him to shoot an arrow.

After clashing with the opponent's powerful attack, then, with a "small wave" that could only submerge Solitary Sound Cliff, achieve the goal of dragging everyone present to the bottom of the cliff.

"What powerful scheming!"

Xu Xiaoshou felt this plan was somewhat familiar.

He recalled that during the Royal City night battle, he had also used the lives of all the city's spirit cultivators as bait, forcing the Sacred Temple to disperse its combat power, and thereby achieving his goal of saving the people of Heavenly First Building.

Now, the trident wielder's "overt scheme" shared a remarkable similarity with his previous actions.

The only slight difference was...

The trident wielder's combat power was too high.

His so-called "small wave," after locking onto everyone, still left no one able to break free or resist. They could only let the wave sweep over them, submerging everything in their sight.

"Ah—"

Screams erupted one after another.

Countless trial officials were dragged into the abyss by the massive wave; even the Great Void realm infiltrators couldn't withstand it.

Teng Shanhai, who was struggling to resist, only managed to hold on for a moment before being seized by a ghostly figure that appeared in the wave and thrown into the abyss...

The sloppy uncle, who proclaimed, "I stand firm, and sword energy sweeps forth," had initially managed to protect himself amid the crisscrossing sword energy. But the moment the ghost appeared, it unceremoniously blasted his figure away with a trident thrust, leaving him to be swallowed by the wave...

Ye Xiaotian used spatial power to repel the wave, struggling to fend it off. Who would have thought that as his spatial profound array unfolded, a water-elemental profound array flipped open, shattering his power. Then a ghostly hand emerged, grabbing his ankle, causing Ye Xiaotian to lose his footing and fall off the cliff...

"Dragon Melt..."

Bai Lian had only uttered half of the sacred name—the words "save me" hadn't even left his lips—when he was suddenly choked by blood overflowing from his body, making him dizzy. By the time he reacted, his body was already carried by the tide towards the cloud sea within the cliff.

Mu Lin, seeing this, closed his lips, clasped his hands behind his back, and presented a calm and composed demeanor in the eyes of his junior nephew, Xu Xiaoshou. He then allowed the seawater to engulf him, as if he wasn't afraid of the unknown risks he might face after falling off the cliff.

One by one, the supreme experts of this era, under the power of the wave, were either trapped, struck, or grabbed, all falling towards the bottom of Solitary Sound Cliff.

Rao Yaoyao, holding the Xuan Cang Divine Sword, watched the ghostly figure repeatedly throw everyone towards the bottom of the cliff from the corner of her eye.

She was certain that guy wouldn't dare appear before her, because she had the Xuan Cang Divine Sword!

But at this moment, obscure heavenly secrets surged before her eyes, and the voice of Dao Qiongcang, the Head of the Sacred Temple, echoed in her ears: "Enter the bottom of Solitary Sound Cliff, retrieve the 'Sea-Controlling Trident,' ascertain the trident wielder's identity, and seize the 'Opportunity.'"

"Opportunity? What opportunity?" Rao Yaoyao was slightly startled. She could understand the first two tasks, but what was this "Opportunity"?

"Heavenly secrets must not be revealed..." The voice faded and disappeared there.

Rao Yaoyao's eyelid suddenly twitched, and she finally gave up resisting, allowing the seawater to engulf her.

"It's all gone..."

Xu Xiaoshou, transformed into Hua Ying, desperately clung to his alchemy cauldron until the very last moment, constantly feigning the exploding of protective spirit artifacts on his body under the water pressure.

His body gradually drifted towards the cloud sea within the cliff.

Finally, seeing that no potentially powerful figures were observing him, a thought sparked in his mind, and the escape technique that required no prelude or hand seals echoed in his mind:

"Vanishing Art!"