Chapter 429: Attacked at Sea

Priest Ling Feng withdrew his hand. Li Ban took a step back, looking at the replica-like Wizard Embryo Fragment in his grasp.

"This only temporarily simulates your Wizard Embryo Fragment's aura. I need it to ensure we don't track the wrong target," Priest Ling Feng said. He nodded to the group, and his figure vanished.

Priest Li He then told everyone to rest.

"Once Priest Ling Feng completes the Tracking Technique, we'll set out for the deep sea," he said. "We have a day or two to prepare. If any of you need assistance getting anything ready, feel free to ask me."

Priest Li He directed these words primarily at Li Ban.

After all, out of everyone present, Li Ban was the only one with almost no experience at sea.

Li Ban thought for a moment. "Priest Li He, I'd like to custom-order a weapon for my friend to deal with raw souls."

"Of course, no problem. What kind do you want to make?"

Li Ban described his request. Priest Li He opened his mouth in surprise.

Two days later, Li Ban and Shi Ye—both Dark Moon Priests—waited for the sea to calm before leaving the coastline and entering the deep sea.

Once they entered the deep sea region, a faint mist appeared over the water.

The haze made it feel as though they had entered the Mist Zone.

However, the spiritual rhinoceros here was exceptionally turbulent, affecting even the Flight Spell Li Ban and Shi Ye were casting.

"It seems we've reached the designated area," Li Ban said, summoning his friend from his Cubic Space.

"Is this... the Nine Heavens Sea?" Xiu Ye looked around in her giant dragon form.

Beside them, Priest Feng Ye looked over with eyes full of curiosity.

It was his first time seeing a monster like this, and he had no idea where Priest Ban had found it.

"This is indeed the Nine Heavens Sea—the deep sea region," Li Ban said. He introduced her to Shi Ye without revealing her true identity or original name, giving her a new one instead. "This is my friend, the giant dragon Dino."

This was the dragon egg's original name.

Xiu Ye didn't want the other priests to know she had survived by merging with a dragon egg just yet. Besides, since this was Dino's body, she simply adopted its original name.

After all, her life as Xiu Ye was already gone.

"Dino, the spiritual rhinoceros is turbulent here, and there are many raw souls," Li Ban said. "Spells are hard to maintain, so we'll be relying mostly on physical combat. This is your weapon."

He reached behind him and brought out the weapons Priest Li He had hastily forged for him over the past two days.

The weapon was a Knuckleduster composed of three connected rings.

There were two of them.

However, their curvature and thickness were entirely unsuited for human fingers.

Li Ban tossed the Knuckledusters into the air. The weapons, previously sealed by a spell, instantly expanded until each ring was thicker than a human thigh.

"Dino, these are yours. Slip them over your front claws. They'll make killing raw souls much more efficient," Li Ban said.

The giant dragon raised her front claws, perfectly catching the descending Knuckledusters.

They were a perfect fit.

"Dino, it's hard to fly using spells for extended periods in the Nine Heavens Sea," Li Ban said. "I'll have to trouble you to act as our mount for a while."

Dino let out a laugh. "You saved me and made up for my regrets. Let alone acting as a mount, I wouldn't refuse anything else, either."

She moved directly beneath Li Ban, lifting him onto her back.

She then approached Shi Ye on her own initiative. "You as well, Priest. Please get on."

Shi Ye nodded. "Many thanks, young friend."

He stepped up to stand behind Li Ban.

In a place like the Nine Heavens Sea, flying by physical means was the only way to endure for an extended period without worrying about the turbulent spiritual rhinoceros.

The two men and one dragon continued their journey through the deep sea region.

After traveling some distance, Shi Ye brought out a uniquely designed Compass.

The Compass had no needle; instead, it used a small fragment of stone.

The stone fragment floated suspended above the Compass, neither falling nor flying away.

After taking the Compass out, Priest Shi Ye kept his head bowed, staring at it.

Only when the small stone fragment overlapped with a specific area on the Compass did he point out a direction to Dino.

"Go this way," he said. He didn't put the Compass away, continuing to monitor it cautiously. "From now on, most of my attention will be on the Compass. I'll leave everything else to Priest Ban."

"No problem," Li Ban replied.

Li Ban wasn't the one controlling the imitation Wizard Embryo Fragment to track Du An.

If he were the one operating it, the influence of his own true Wizard Embryo Fragment would likely skew the Compass's readings.

Leaving the operation to Shi Ye, who had almost no connection to him, was the safest option.

Li Ban's responsibility was simply to escort Shi Ye on the chase and handle any monsters, raw souls, or other enemies they encountered along the way.

They flew a little further before Dino suddenly stopped.

"There's a strange smell." The giant dragon's nostrils flared.

"I don't smell anything, though your sense of smell is probably sharper than mine right now," Li Ban said. All he could smell was the briny stench of the seawater.

"This scent seems to be coming from beneath the surface," Dino said. She still wasn't entirely used to her giant dragon body.

Many of her movements had to rely entirely on muscle memory.

She lowered her head and stared into the sea, sniffing forcefully to pinpoint the exact source of the smell.

Just as they were speaking, the seawater suddenly erupted.

As the spray rained down, several milky-white spikes abruptly burst from the water, thrusting straight toward the largest target in the air: the giant dragon's chest.

Dino tried to dodge, but the spikes were too fast. She couldn't evade them on her own.

At the critical moment, Li Ban made his move.

He raised his hand. The Plain Ring on his finger reflected the sunlight, while the Bead String half-hidden in his cuff emitted a faint glow.

In the next second, several of the spikes abruptly vanished.

They reappeared thousands of meters high in the sky.

Their momentum remained unchanged, but their trajectory had been completely reversed. They plunged into the sea and vanished.

The remaining spikes were blocked by a green mist that abruptly materialized beneath the giant dragon.

Their speed slowed, their movements turning sluggish.

Though they didn't come to a complete halt, the green mist quickly corroded them into nothingness.

Seeing that all its attacks had missed, the submerged attacker finally poked its head out of the water.

To their surprise, it was a hideously ugly giant fish.

Its head was covered in bone armor, and its sides were lined with overlapping fins. Even more striking were the dozen massive white bone spikes protruding from its back.

These were the very same spikes that had just attacked Li Ban.

Seemingly realizing its sneak attack had failed, it spat a mouthful of water at Dino the moment it surfaced.

The water froze into ice crystals the moment it hit the air, reflecting a rainbow halo. There was undoubtedly some other substance mixed in.

The fine, scattered spray was far harder to defend against than the massive spikes.

Li Ban knew that relying on the Plain Ring and the Bead String wouldn't provide a comprehensive enough defense against this.

"We can't just passively defend," Li Ban said.

He immediately called down a beam of starlight, enveloping the incoming spray.

The massive splash of water was suspended in midair. With a sweep of his hand, Li Ban shoved the entire mass aside.

He then leaped off the giant dragon's back and plunged into the water.

However, upon entering the water, Li Ban discovered that the giant fish didn't have a tail. Instead, it was directly connected to the body of another massive fish.

The body beneath the surface resembled a moray eel—slender and smooth, with an independent head of its own.

The ugly fish head above the surface was connected to the eel's forehead, looking like a grotesque, elongated horn.