"Daoist Li, have you found Chu Tianle?" Bai Shengyi asked, pointing out their positions to Li Shiqing.
However, Li Shiqing gave her a strange look and didn't answer. Instead, she quickly moved in the direction Bai Shengyi indicated to rescue Chen Qiyang and Zhu Wu.
Bai Shengyi was utterly bewildered.
But she figured that since Li Shiqing had gone, Daoist friends Chen and Zhu were likely out of immediate danger. She turned to find the weakness of the Sun-Devouring Corpse.
Just as she was about to leave, she heard a familiar, rather plaintive voice.
"Shengyi..."
Bai Shengyi got goosebumps all over. She looked left and right, then looked again, only to discover a person floating in front of her!
And it seemed he had been there all along!
"Don't you recognize me?"
Bai Shengyi's eyes widened in disbelief. "Chu Tianle? What happened to you!"
His entire body was almost the same color as the seawater!
Not only had she not recognized him just now, but she hadn't even sensed his presence. It was likely that Chu Tianle had been following Li Shiqing the whole time.
No wonder Li Shiqing had looked at her so strangely earlier.
"It's all that damned, pitch-black, messy stuff!" Chu Tianle gritted his teeth, a hint of sorrow in his voice.
"Forget it, let's not talk about it. Big Sister Li told me about the spirit beast. Time is short, I'll go with you to find its weakness first."
He was actually a little happy because Li Shiqing and Shengyi hadn't become estranged or enemies, as he had imagined after yesterday's events.
"Alright, I'll go this way, and you go that way, okay?" Bai Shengyi said directly without delay.
Chu Tianle had no objections. He nodded, and after a brief exchange of important information, they tacitly split up to investigate the Sun-Devouring Corpse.
According to Chu Tianle, the Sun-Devouring Corpse had not moved from its spot. The black mist was emanating from beneath its feet, appearing formless yet tangible. The clumps were incredibly viscous, and once touched, one could not break free.
The two of them quickly scanned the area but found nothing. Bai Shengyi propped her chin on her hand and guessed, "It hasn't moved at all. Could it be underneath its feet?"
"Its feet are covered in water," Chu Tianle disagreed.
Although the Sun-Devouring Corpse appeared to be floating on the surface, half of its body was still submerged, tightly wrapped in black mist. Black threads surrounded it and extended infinitely downwards.
Bai Shengyi wondered, "That's not right, aren't there still so many black mists?" As she spoke, she and Chu Tianle swam to the seabed and looked up at the Sun-Devouring Corpse.
Suddenly, a flash of red light appeared within the black mist!
"What is that!" Bai Shengyi exclaimed. "Chu Tianle, I just saw something red. Could it be its eyes?"
"I'll go take a look. You stay back," Chu Tianle waved at Bai Shengyi, signaling her to move aside, and swam towards the Sun-Devouring Corpse.
However, at that very moment, the Sun-Devouring Corpse seemed to be in immense pain and began to struggle violently, churning the seawater into a furious boil!
"Whoosh!"
Gigantic waves surged, and the entire deep sea was instantly plunged into chaotic turbulence as if being destroyed.
"Did you find its eyes and attack it?"
Li Shiqing, Chen Qiyang, and Zhu Wu swam over, surprised and delighted. The commotion, like a mountain collapsing and a sea surging, didn't seem so terrifying anymore.
Bai Shengyi and Chu Tianle, still bewildered, shook their heads. "We haven't confirmed it. It's doing this on its own."
"Could it be that the people above found something?" Li Shiqing guessed.
"Possibly." Bai Shengyi frowned tightly. "But my net probably can't trap it anymore... Bad! Quickly dodge!"
"Bang!"
The sharp cry of the Sun-Devouring Corpse and Bai Shengyi's exclamation sounded simultaneously. A fierce, black-and-blue light erupted from the Sun-Devouring Corpse, exploding outwards!
It had inexplicably self-destructed!
"Pfft!"
In the critical moment, Bai Shengyi only had time to erect a barrier with her spiritual power to protect the other four. Her internal energy surged, her dantian became unstable, and she spat out a mouthful of blood.
The blood mist dispersed, and in a place unseen by the others, the crimson droplets were instantly enveloped and devoured by black mist...
"Shengyi!"
"Daoist Bai!"
The sudden turn of events caught the other four completely off guard. Seeing Bai Shengyi's face instantly turn pale, they all looked at her with concern.
"I'm fine. Let's go up. It's not safe in the sea," Bai Shengyi said gravely. She instinctively felt that the Sun-Devouring Corpse's sudden self-destruction was no small matter, and it was unlikely to be because the people outside had found its eyes. Instead, it was highly probable that there was something even more formidable in the sea.
Due to the Sun-Devouring Corpse's self-destruction, the seawater was churning violently, so the four had no objections.
After Bai Shengyi took a pill to treat her internal injuries, they all struggled to swim upwards.
However, at this moment, a sudden change occurred!
"Ah!" Zhu Wu screamed. "Are these black mists chasing us?"
He had merely turned his head habitually, only to see the seemingly stationary black mists lunging at them like claws and teeth.
The despair of being stuck to them was still fresh in his memory, and he trembled with fear.
"They really are!" Chen Qiyang exclaimed in alarm. "There are some in front too!"
Above their heads, a large patch of black mist had gathered at some point, "menacingly" closing in to surround them.
"It's all my fault. I'm too unlucky and have dragged everyone down..." Zhu Wu mumbled with immense guilt.
But at this moment, no one in the group had the mood to comfort him; they were all urgently trying to devise a plan.
"I'll cover the rear. You all go first!"
Li Shiqing pulled out the hairpin from her hair. The hairpin instantly transformed into a sharp sword. With a single slash, flames surged in the seawater, and the black mist scattered.
But after only a moment, the mist, like sticky candy, clung to them again.
The path forward was blocked once more!
"Damn it! This lingering nuisance!" Chu Tianle cursed.
Bai Shengyi had used most of her spiritual power. Now she could only barely construct a small barrier to protect herself from the black mist.
She said, "Daoist Li, this black mist fears fire. You have fire spiritual roots. You lead the way, bringing Daoist Zhu and the others up first. Chu Tianle and I will cover the rear!"
Chu Tianle had metal spiritual roots and decent defensive capabilities, so covering the rear was not a problem. However, both he and Li Shiqing disagreed with Bai Shengyi leaving the dangerous tasks to herself again.
But now was not the time to waste. Seeing Bai Shengyi's insistence, they had no choice but to swallow their words of persuasion.
Chen Qiyang and Zhu Wu knew that Bai Shengyi was looking out for them and tried their best to keep up with Li Shiqing, not to be a burden.
Zhu Wu, being meticulous, observed the direction of the black mist as they moved. This observation revealed something amiss.
"Daoist Chen, why are they all going to the rear?"
Chen Qiyang looked back and was shocked to realize that Bai Shengyi and the others had fallen far behind.
Around Bai Shengyi, the area was blackened, thick like ink, with countless layers of black mist surrounding her. What was strange, however, was that around Chu Tianle, there were only scattered traces.
This was too abnormal!
"You all go up first! I'll go check."
They were already not far from the sea surface. Li Shiqing repelled the remaining black mist, allowing them to return to the surface, and then turned back.
"Chu Tianle, what's going on?"
"Big Sister Li, thank goodness you're back! Shengyi is trapped by this stuff!" Chu Tianle quickly explained.
They had only walked for a short while when the black mist around Bai Shengyi grew more and more numerous. In a short time, Bai Shengyi could no longer move.
Bai Shengyi had used some method to protect herself, and he couldn't hear her voice. Now, surrounded by the black mist, he could barely see Bai Shengyi's figure!
Chu Tianle anxiously circled around Bai Shengyi, but he was helpless against that disgusting stuff, and he was almost driven mad with worry.