Heaven Devourer
Mu Yu gritted his teeth to push Qiao Xue to the surface with all that he had, while those on the surface were ready and promptly pulled her out. Even Lie Shang could not sustain his signature straight face when thinking that even his two Apotheosis Realm brothers were helpless in the water.
Qiao Xue sent Water Spirit back down as soon as she caught her breath in hopes of pulling the brothers up. Unfortunately, it was impossible for her alone to pull them up as an Ascension Realm cultivator. Thankfully, A-Dai was strong enough to stop Mu Yu and Cheng Yan from sinking any deeper, affording everyone else enough time to pull the duo out.
The tentacle refused to quit even though Mu Yu and Cheng Yan were on the cusp of passing out, trying to tug them off Metal Spirit and Water Spirit, while their allies jumped into the fray.
“The hell is this thing?” Mu Yu asked from behind his pearly wall.
“Don’t have the foggiest idea. Its power has already exceeded our imaginations,” Cheng Yan answered from the gaps in his teeth.
“… How is Xiaoshuai?” Lie Shang asked.
The ocean roiled as a wave several hundred metres high rose to smash down, prompting Mu Yu to warn, “Move!”
The ocean spawned thick tentacles that could chase the group kilometres above the ocean surface, each sporting red eyes with faces resembling the foreign races they had encountered so far in their quest of life. Most troubling, nevertheless, was the fact that each tentacle was as threatening as the primordial beasts at Ancient Battleground.
“What the heck is this freak?” Chu Xiachi blurted even though nobody had the luxury to reply.
Mu Yu finally pulled Xiaoshuai, who was still snoring, up. Xiaoshuai woke up with a carefree yawn to query, “What did I miss?”
A-Dai suggested, “Xiaoshuaishuai, we need to capture an octopus. You like roast meat?”
Xiaoshuai blinked and then stared intently at the monster. “Isn’t that Heaven Devourer?”
“What’s Heaven Devourer?” everyone asked in synchrony.
“Can’t remember clearly. I think I’ve seen the freak somewhere before, though. Whatever Heaven Devourer devours will merge with it, including their cultivation. Look at the tentacles: there are humans, pigs, flesh-winged horny monsters, ghosts… See the two Apotheosis Realm human cultivators? If there’s a beast on every tentacle, then it’s devoured millions of beasts.”
The monster did not grant them a respite, pressuring them into a rainbow battle above the ocean. Everyone was forced to deploy their domain, yet that was barely enough to survive.
“A-Dai, protect Tian Ran and Qiao Xue,” Mu Yu instructed whilst dodging a tentacle swatting fast enough to generate torrid energy.
“Let’s go!” Cheng Yan splattered the horde of tentacles in front of him prior to running away.
Heaven Devourer sunk back under the water once they were out of its range. They could all stop to catch their breaths after the brush with death.
“Xiaoshuai, catch. You can eat the tentacle, and it tastes nice. I’ve ate it before,” A-Dai informed in his titan form.
“Have you encountered it before?” Mu Yu inquired.
With one hand holding onto a wriggling tentacle that he ripped off with his bare hands and scratching his head with the other, A-Dai answered, “A-Dai met it in the past. A-Dai ripped its tentacle when it tried to restrain A-Dai. A-Dai couldn’t beat it, however. For every tentacle A-Dai ripped off, another would spawn. A-Dai roasted the tentacles A-Dai ripped off last time; it tasted nice.”
“Really? Lie Shang, fire. I want to try. Don’t overdo it,” demanded Xiaoshuai, licking his lips.
“Okay, so the freak is the gate guardian. As long as we don’t pester it, it leaves us alone. What’s the plan?” Ximen Buxing verbalised.
“I don’t reckon that’s how it works. I’m of the opinion that it waits for us to tire about before it attacks us,” Mu Yu speculated. “It has all the time in the world to wait for us. We can neither fight nor retreat at the moment.”
“You think Xiang Nan and Yu Mo ran into it?” Lie Shang supposed.
Mu Yu asserted, “Not Xiang Nan. He’s a monster himself. Maybe they found another way out.”
“Let’s rest for now,” Cheng Yan recommended. “We need to be at our peak to have any chances. Still, beware of its tentacles creeping up on you.”
Besides Lie Shang, who Xiaoshuai and A-Dai forced to be their fire supplier, everyone else sat down in the air to rest.
“Shall we try somewhere else?” Tian Ran suggested.
“I don’t think it’ll make a difference. We’ve already been caught in a sealed maze. The freak will pick up on our presence as soon as we enter the water. We need an alternative method,” Mu Yu stated. Suddenly hearing the ocean roil and seeing waves rise, Mu Yu got up to peer toward the turbulence. “What now?”