Chapter 1015: 妖鹤

Even with his inner armor for defense, Hai Dafu was still injured by Wu Yao'er. The destructive power of lightning spells was no joke; fortunately, he dodged in time, or his head would have been split open.

His natal artifact was not purely for defense; otherwise, Wu Yao'er couldn't have so easily pierced the Sea-Suppressing Bowl's defenses.

The Sea-Suppressing Bowl, despite its mighty-sounding name, didn't possess immense power. Its greatest advantage was its ability to stabilize a body of seawater, effectively restraining water-attribute demonic beasts.

Hai Dafu had merely named his natal artifact the Sea-Suppressing Bowl out of admiration for the Zhenhai Sect.

Just as a wave hundreds of zhang high was about to crash down, a deep male voice suddenly resounded: "Hold!"

The voice wasn't loud, but all the cultivators present heard it clearly.

No sooner had the words been spoken than the massive wave, hundreds of zhang high, was suddenly suspended motionlessly in mid-air, a bizarre sight.

"It's Senior Wang!" someone shouted, and many cultivators looked towards Wang Changsheng.

They saw the blue water curtain expand to more than twice its size, with runes continuously flickering on its surface. The sea near the blue water curtain remained calm, not stirring up the slightest ripple.

The Sea-Fixing Pearl was an artifact truly capable of stabilizing an entire sea region. As a set of artifacts, its power far surpassed the Sea-Suppressing Bowl in Hai Dashan's possession.

Inside the blue water curtain, the green giant crane showed signs of pain. An irresistible water pressure assailed it from all directions, and wisps of water vapor appeared above its head, forming a blue water net over fifty zhang wide that enveloped it.

The green giant crane's claws frantically tore at the blue water net, but the net would solidify and disperse intermittently, preventing the crane from breaking free.

The zither music grew increasingly fervent, and the green giant crane felt its heart rate accelerate, its blood flowing faster as if it would burst from its body. Its vision became blurry.

"Oh no! An illusion!"

The green giant crane let out an angry screech, its body glowing brightly with green light. A strong hurricane swept forth, tearing most of the blue water net to shreds.

With a flash of green light, the green giant crane suddenly vanished, having employed the Wind Escape Art.

Wang Ruyan was playing with full concentration when a gentle breeze swept by, and a massive green giant crane appeared before her. Unable to break the formation from afar, it had employed the Wind Escape Art to close the distance, aiming its sharp green talons directly at Wang Ruyan's crown, leveraging its close-quarters combat advantage.

As a fourth-tier low-grade demonic bird, its claws were comparable to second-tier magical artifacts.

With a muffled thud, the green giant crane's talons easily crushed Wang Ruyan's head. However, Wang Ruyan dissolved into specks of spiritual light and vanished, clearly not her true form.

The formation laid by Wang Changsheng using nine Sea-Fixing Pearls was anything but ordinary in power.

Countless blue light points suddenly appeared above the green giant crane's head, swiftly forming a blue water net that enveloped it. Just as the green giant crane prepared to repeat its previous trick, a sharp zither note suddenly resonated.

The green giant crane felt a dizzying sensation. When it regained its senses, it found itself in a lush green mountain range, with countless spirit cranes soaring high above and the clear chirping of birds filling its ears.

"Oh no, an illusion!"

The green giant crane suddenly realized. Truth be told, Wang Ruyan's illusion wasn't particularly profound. The real issue was that in a battle among Nascent Soul cultivators, even a moment of distraction after falling under an illusion could determine victory or defeat.

After the green giant crane was ensnared by the illusion, Wang Ruyan's aura surged, her cultivation advancing from early Nascent Soul to mid-Nascent Soul. She pulled a zither string taut with two fingers, then released it, unleashing an invisible sound wave.

Wang Changsheng clapped towards the void, and the seawater churned violently, stirring up waves several zhang high. These waves swiftly moved towards the green giant crane. Initially only a few zhang tall, by the time they reached the green giant crane, they had swelled to over a hundred zhang, crashing down fiercely upon its body.

*Boom!*

With a loud crash, the green giant crane was sent flying backward, shedding a large number of feathers and spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood. Simultaneously, an invisible sound wave rapidly swept through its body.

With a flash of green light, a miniature green crane, looking terrified, flew out of its body – it was the green giant crane's soul essence.

As a pure-blood demonic beast, its soul essence would leave its body upon death, unlike human cultivators whose Nascent Souls would depart.

Even an attack from a second-tier magical artifact wouldn't have killed it instantly, but the sound wave attack passed directly through its body, shattering its meridians and internal organs, killing it outright.

Everything has its advantages and disadvantages; Wang Ruyan's powerful attack required time to execute. Rarely in the world are things perfect in every aspect.

Countless blue light points suddenly illuminated the void, and an irresistible gravitational force surged from all directions. The miniature green crane couldn't fly much further before it was immobilized.

A hazy blue porcelain bottle descended from the sky, emitting a swath of blue light that swept up the miniature green crane.

A blue light flared near where the miniature green crane had been captured, transforming into Wang Changsheng.

Wang Changsheng placed the green giant crane's corpse into his storage ring. This was a fourth-tier demonic bird, a treasure from head to claw. Its wings, for instance, could be refined into a wind-attribute spiritual artifact, which would be perfect for Wang Huaxu, who possessed a wind-attribute variant spiritual root, once he formed his Core.

A deafening roar erupted as a large expanse of crimson flames struck the blue water curtain, producing a vast cloud of white mist.

A deafening peal of thunder reverberated through the sky and into Wang Changsheng's ears. The sky abruptly darkened, and a massive dark cloud hovered directly above him, crackling with lightning and rumbling with thunder.

With a flash of silver light, hundreds of fist-sized silver lightning orbs descended from the sky, raining down upon the blue water curtain.

"Husband, now that we've succeeded, quickly dismantle the formation!" Wang Ruyan's voice rang out. "If you let them keep attacking, your natal artifact will be damaged."

Wang Changsheng nodded, then formed a hand seal. The suspended waves suddenly surged upward, transforming into a towering blue water pillar that shot directly towards the black thundercloud.

*Boom!*

With an earth-shattering roar, a massive rift tore open in the black thundercloud, sending vast quantities of seawater splashing everywhere.

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan glowed with blue light and shot backward with considerable speed, exiting the black thundercloud's coverage area.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, beware of that Thunder Phoenix! She is skilled in Thunder Escape Art!" came Hai Dashan's voice transmission, reaching Wang Changsheng before he could even regain his footing.

With a flash of blue light, a spherical blue light barrier, the Water Moon Profound Light, appeared around Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan, capable of reflecting most attacks.

A silver light flared behind them, and Wu Yao'er abruptly appeared behind Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan. Her hands transformed into a pair of sharp phoenix talons, lunging for their crowns.

"Thud! Thud!"

With two muffled thuds, Wu Yao'er's talons were blocked by the Water Moon Profound Light.

Wu Yao'er was momentarily stunned, a flicker of annoyance crossing her phoenix eyes, as large silver electric arcs erupted from her claws.

Wang Changsheng flipped his palm, and a shimmering golden bell appeared in his hand—the ancient artifact, the Soul-Seizing Bell.

He gently shook the Soul-Seizing Bell, and an exceptionally clear ringing sound resonated.