Chapter 1985: Detour

Over a vast, endless sea, a blue meteor streaked across the sky at an incredible speed. Seven streaks of light followed closely behind, with one silver streak being the fastest.

A sharp, piercing beast's roar suddenly echoed across the entire expanse of sky and sea. The blue meteor abruptly halted, revealing Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan. Their heads buzzed, their bodies felt weak, and their True Essence was somewhat chaotic.

A tremendous roar reverberated from high above as a massive thundercloud, spanning a hundred li, suddenly materialized. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed, creating an astonishing display of power and a heavy sense of oppression. Amidst the rumbling thunder, hundreds of thick silver lightning bolts tore through the sky, striking directly at Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan. Simultaneously, a hundred-li wide purple fire cloud swept in, carrying an astonishing heat wave. As it passed, vast amounts of seawater evaporated, filling the air with mist.

Wang Changsheng snorted coldly, his fists glowing with a dazzling blue light, as he struck down towards the ocean surface below. His fists streaked through the air, producing a piercing whoosh, and the very space around them subtly trembled. Two massive blue fist-shadows shot forth, descending with the force of a collapsing mountain, and slammed into the sea. With a series of thunderous explosions, the sea surface erupted, creating towering waves that shielded them. The purple fire cloud and silver lightning struck the enormous waves, vanishing without a trace as if swallowed by the ocean.

Facing seven opponents with only two, Wang Changsheng wasn't so arrogant as to fight. Their immediate priority was to escape. Unfortunately, they lacked a Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure for flight; otherwise, they would have fled long ago.

Wang Changsheng's brow furrowed. Simultaneously, a dazzling blue light enveloped both him and Wang Ruyan, and a spherical blue water barrier, the Water Moon Profound Light, materialized around them. Suddenly, a silver lightning bolt flashed in the void before them, revealing a bird-headed, human-bodied creature with a pair of silver wings on its back. By its aura, it was clearly a Mid-Stage Soul Transformation alien. The alien's hands transformed into a pair of sharp silver claws, striking the Water Moon Profound Light, which instantly warped inwards. A tremendous crackle of thunder emanated from the alien, and countless silver electrical arcs surged forth, engulfing Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan.

The next moment, an agonizing scream pierced the air as the alien was sent flying backward like a broken kite, spitting copious amounts of blood. Its right claw was shattered, bleeding profusely.

"A body cultivator! Be careful, the male is a body cultivator; his strength is comparable to Daoist Xiong!" The alien gritted its teeth against the intense pain and issued the warning.

The eyes of a bear-headed, human-bodied orc, whose arms were covered in red bristles, lit up. He wore a shimmering red cloak. As countless red runes illuminated on his cloak, its spiritual light surged. With a whoosh, the orc vanished.

The silver lightning dissipated, revealing Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan, unharmed. Wang Changsheng's fists were enveloped in dazzling blue light, his right fist tinged with blood. The Water Moon Profound Light was slightly dim, but still protected Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan. Having consumed three Blood Dragon Rice grains, Wang Changsheng's strength had surged, proving the enormous investment worthwhile.

An unbearable hot wind swept past, and the bear-headed orc suddenly reappeared directly in front of them. The orc roared skyward, unleashing a deafening beast's bellow that caused the void to ripple and distort. A reddish sound wave swept forth, striking the Water Moon Profound Light, which buckled and deformed, seemingly on the verge of shattering. The orc's right hand erupted with crimson flames, emanating an astonishing heat wave. With the power to shake mountains and displace seas, it lunged towards Wang Changsheng.

Wang Changsheng snorted, his right fist enveloped in countless icy blue wisps, meeting the attack head-on. With a muffled thud, the two fists collided. The icy blue energy met the crimson flames, unleashing a powerful shockwave. A hundred-thousand-zhang long rift abruptly appeared on the sea surface, splitting the water in two, and several small islands directly exploded, sending dust and debris billowing. With a hiss, the crimson flames instantly froze into a rapidly spreading blue ice layer. The orc then opened its mouth and spewed forth a stream of crimson-gold flames. This struck the blue ice layer, instantly melting it, and the fiery blast continued directly towards Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan.

With a thunderous roar, surging flames engulfed Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan. Simultaneously, six Soul Transformation stage aliens caught up. The orc's eyes were cold. No matter how strong their opponents were, instantaneous death was impossible. If he could just hold them for a moment, their demise would be certain.

Just then, the crimson-gold sea of fire abruptly dissipated, and a shimmering blue giant fist flashed out, hurtling towards the orc's head. Startled, the orc manifested sharp blades on its hands and lunged to grasp the blue giant fist. With a dull thud, the orc let out a cry of pain. It felt its palm shatter, and its body was sent flying backward like a broken kite, spewing a large mouthful of blood.

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan transformed into a streak of blue light, piercing through the air and covering immense distances in an instant. Just then, a golden light illuminated the void above them, and a constantly glowing golden bowl suddenly materialized directly over their heads. The golden bowl bore the image of a golden goat on its surface. An extremely strange beast's roar echoed, and the golden bowl rapidly expanded to hundreds of zhang in size, casting down a vast golden radiance that enveloped Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan. As they tried to evade, a world-shaking beast's roar erupted, causing their True Essence to become chaotic and their heads to spin. This brief delay allowed the golden radiance to ensnare them.

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan struck the golden radiance, feeling as though they had slammed into an impenetrable wall of bronze and iron. Wang Changsheng frowned, his aura surging as his cultivation rapidly ascended from Mid-Stage Soul Transformation to Late-Stage Soul Transformation. With a movement of his fists, countless dense blue fist-shadows shot forth, continuously pounding the golden radiance. After a series of muffled thuds, the golden radiance cracked and shattered like fragile paper. Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan transformed into a streak of blue escape light and shot out.

A deafening roar thundered from high above as hundreds of thick silver lightning bolts tore through the sky and struck towards them. Simultaneously, a bird-headed, human-bodied orc suddenly appeared without warning, blocking their escape route. If they continued fleeing towards Golden Toad Island, it would be difficult to reach their destination safely.

Wang Changsheng made a swift decision: at worst, they would take a longer route and spend more time. Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan's bodies flared with spiritual light, their escape speed surged, and they flew northwest, severely deviating from Golden Toad Island.

As the seven aliens prepared to pursue, the sea surface abruptly erupted, sending colossal waves skyward. These waves transformed into enormous blue hands, slapping towards the seven Soul Transformation stage aliens. The seven aliens hastily moved to defend themselves, and a series of thunderous explosions rang out as shockwaves rippled like a tide. After the colossal waves subsided, Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan had already vanished.

"Pursue them! We absolutely cannot let them return to Golden Toad Island." The bear-headed orc stated coldly, then with a sweep of his sleeve, he gave chase. The other six aliens quickly followed suit. The nine figures vanished into the sky, as if they had never been there.