Chapter 645: Slaying the Evil Dragon Whale, Shi Tianhao Escapes
Shen Mo frowned, forced to use the Heavenly Treading Void Step to evade.
The Evil Dragon Whale was massive and terrifyingly strong.
Without knowing its limits, he wouldn't dare take its charge head-on.
Boom!
The creature's enormous horn tore through the sea, brushing past Shen Mo by a hair's breadth.
With a deafening crash, a nearby reef was instantly shattered.
Shen Mo raised an eyebrow.
These reefs had endured countless years of deep-sea pressure and were likely as tough as Nirvana Realm cultivators who focused solely on body refinement.
Yet the Evil Dragon Whale had reduced them to rubble with a single blow.
It was enough to show how brutally powerful the whale's strength was.
Fortunately, he had dodged just in time. If he had taken the hit, his inner energy and blood essence would have been thrown into violent turmoil, difficult to control.
Shi Tianhao and Hu Xinyue also saw how terrifying the Evil Dragon Whale was and were inwardly horrified.
If the creature had slammed into them, there would have been no chance of survival.
Shi Tianhao was shocked.
Why had the Evil Dragon Whale charged straight at Shen Mo?
But he had no time to ponder.
That attack had given him the perfect opportunity.
He immediately bit the tip of his tongue and spat out essence blood to activate an escape technique.
Within mere breaths, he had fled over a hundred li.
This was already hindered by the crushing water pressure of the deep sea.
If it had been on the surface, in the blink of an eye, he could have escaped three to five hundred li.
Ordinary Nirvana Realm cultivators couldn't catch up even on horseback.
Shen Mo frowned deeply and immediately gave chase.
However, the Evil Dragon Whale once again charged at him for no reason at all—
As if it bore an ancient, irreconcilable grudge.
Shen Mo scowled and was forced to turn and face it head-on.
Roar!
A towering, mighty Primal Elephant Manifestation suddenly appeared.
Its long trunk curled, and a spear that seemed capable of piercing all things in the world shot like lightning toward the Evil Dragon Whale.
It was the Biluo Huangquan Divine Spear.
From the mouth of the Primal Elephant, ancient and obscure syllables echoed.
Where the sound waves swept, all allies and favorable forces gained fortune and clarity of mind.
All enemies and adverse forces suffered misfortune and confusion.
This was the Sacred Void Heavenly Melody Technique.
The Evil Dragon Whale, never known for its intellect, was immediately stricken—dazed and disoriented, unsure of whom to attack.
The Divine Spear flashed and struck with precision, piercing into the whale's soft underbelly, avoiding the tough hide of its head and back.
In an instant, blood gushed forth.
The surrounding sea turned crimson.
Shen Mo brought his fingers together, issuing another command.
The spear rampaged within the whale's belly, tearing through it relentlessly.
In the Evil Dragon Whale's massive eyes, unbearable agony appeared.
Its body thrashed violently, twitching uncontrollably.
Even the seawater surged and rolled in reverse.
The creature was driven farther from Shen Mo.
But the Biluo Huangquan Divine Spear was formed from Shen Mo's blood essence—when too far, it naturally dissipated.
Grabbing Hu Xinyue, Shen Mo hid behind a reef, evading the berserk creature.
Then, he abruptly hurled out the Black Dragon Shears.
"Kill!"
The Black Dragon Shears suddenly transformed into two pitch-black true dragons, spiraling forward to kill.
The Evil Dragon Whale, instinctively intimidated, froze on the spot.
The Black Dragon Shears surged through the wound in its abdomen, joining the Divine Spear in shredding it from within.
In mere moments, the shears reached its skull—grinding the brain into paste!
With overwhelming force, the Evil Dragon Whale was slain.
Shen Mo turned back.
But Shi Tianhao was already long gone.
He could only shake his head.
Though both were Nirvana Realm cultivators with similar cultivation, Shi Tianhao had a fate-defying constitution that shielded him—it wouldn't be easy to kill him.
Had Shen Mo forced a chase, it might not have been just the Evil Dragon Whale—countless bizarre and monstrous sea beasts could have emerged from the Spirit Sea depths, all to hinder his pursuit.
Hu Xinyue opened her eyes with great effort.
The first thing she saw was Shen Mo's calm expression.
She didn't know why, but although this human cultivator always wore an emotionless face, every time she looked at him, she felt inexplicably at ease.
There seemed to be a strange aura about him.
As if he already knew everything that would happen.
Always composed. Always unshaken.
It was the very quality her mother had always hoped she would learn.
Unfortunately, she never could.
"Fellow Daoist Shen, that Hao Tianshi…"
Hu Xinyue struggled to sit up and looked around.
All around was still the dark, unfathomable sea, chilling to the bone.
"His real name is Shi Tianhao. He's the young island lord of Hidden Dragon Island. I have a bit of enmity with him."
Shen Mo replied calmly.
Hu Xinyue said sincerely, "Thank you for saving my life."
Shen Mo waved it off. "It was just a passing effort. I didn't save you—this little beast in your arms did."
Hu Xinyue looked down.
The snow-white little beast was already fast asleep.
But it didn't look like normal sleep. It seemed more like it had passed out from sheer exhaustion.
"It bit its own paw and fed you a lot of its blood. That's how you survived."
Shen Mo said plainly.
Everything that Ze Sheng had done earlier, he had seen but hadn't intervened.
This void beast was Hu Xinyue's fated opportunity.
Unless he had encountered it before she did, it no longer belonged to anyone else.
Now that it had signed a contract with her, no one could take it away.
And he had no intention of doing so.
"Thank you—still, thank you. The Heavenly Fox Clan of the Blood God Demon Court will not forget your kindness," Hu Xinyue said seriously again.
Shen Mo nodded. "Let's go. Once we reach the surface, we part ways."
"The sea surface is still dangerous. I won't protect you."
Hu Xinyue was startled.
He clearly knew she was the Saintess of the Heavenly Fox Clan under the Blood God Demon Court, yet he still wasn't eager to curry favor?
This human cultivator… was truly unusual.
"Fellow Daoist Shen, please ensure my safety—just escort me out of the Azure Abyss Grotto. I can give you a Silver Moon Mind Orb," Hu Xinyue offered earnestly.
The Silver Moon Mind Orb was one of the Heavenly Fox Clan's prized treasures.
Once used, it could divine a major future event.
Many cultivators would go to great lengths to obtain one.
Shen Mo, however, shook his head. "I don't need it."
Hu Xinyue was stunned.
He didn't want that either?
She thought for a moment and then said, "What about a trial token for the Burning Heart Hall?"
Burning Heart Hall was a secret realm controlled by the Blood God Demon Court.
Within it remained the residual flame power of the Zhao Wo Burning Heart Flame, ranked thirty-third on the Exotic Flame List.
Those who entered would endure three years of soul-burning torment, followed by three years of inner demon tribulation.
If they could survive six years, the number of Dao markings they possessed would skyrocket.
Burning Heart Hall was never open to outsiders.
Only the other top powers in the Southern Archipelago could obtain a handful of slots once every ten years.
"Still don't need it," Shen Mo shook his head again.
His willpower and soul were already so strong that he had no need to suffer the torment of flame or demon.
The remnant flame of the Zhao Wo Burning Heart Flame was an excellent choice for burning others' manifestations—
But for his own, it wasn't ideal.
"Then what do you want?" Hu Xinyue asked helplessly.
"The Eight Desolations Combat-Breaking Talismans," Shen Mo said flatly. "The Blood God Demon Court should have channels to trade with the Heavenly Talisman Sect. I want three of them."
What he wanted wasn't the talismans themselves, but the residual Eight Desolations Combat-Breaking Flame within them.
It was the perfect flame to burn his Battlefiend Manifestation.
"Three is too many. One—I should be able to get you one," Hu Xinyue thought for a long moment before nodding.
Shen Mo nodded. "Deal."
He had asked for three just to bargain high. He never expected her to agree fully.
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