「Several days later.」

「Dongning Sea Region.」

"It’s an honor to meet you, Zhaoxia. I’ve heard so much about you..."

"Sikong, you’re too kind..."

Thousands of meters up in the sky, two figures faced each other.

One wore a plain, gray-and-white Daoist robe, his features unremarkable. The other was draped in a Five-Colored Feather Robe, his appearance handsome and almost otherworldly.

They were none other than Sikong Xin and Zhaoxia!

At this moment, the two Crystal Realm cultivators were smiling, their tones gentle.

On the surface, they seemed quite friendly with one another.

But anyone observing closely would have noticed something was amiss.

For even as they spoke, waves of almost tangible Divine Sense surged from their bodies, clashing violently!

The two Crystal Realm cultivators’ battle of Divine Sense stirred the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, manifesting strange phenomena!

Ink-black thunderclouds, flashing with lightning, rumbled and roared.

A five-colored dawn broke, its brilliant rays stretching across the sky.

These two contradictory celestial phenomena vied for dominance above the sea, neither willing to yield an inch.

A subtle, yet far more dangerous, battle had already begun.

Meanwhile.

「Down on the sea’s surface.」

The two massive fleets belonging to the Cyan Profound Sect and the Immortal City faced each other in a tense standoff.

At the center of the confrontation were two spirit ships that had collided, their bows damaged.

A ship collision incident!

Not long ago, the two fleets had encountered each other at sea.

The Immortal City Fleet, wary of the Cyan Profound Sect, had attempted to drive them away.

However, the Cyan Profound Sect remained unmoved. They even allowed their spirit ships to draw near, engaging in provocative maneuvers at an extremely dangerous distance.

And so...

CRUNCH!

Due to a piloting error, two spirit ships collided!

Their bows were severely damaged, and several crew members were killed or injured.

Furthermore, both sides claimed that the other’s improper actions had caused the collision.

This led to the massive naval standoff.

Dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators, two Crystal Realm cultivators, nearly ten second-tier spirit ships, and even a quasi-third-tier spirit warship like the Fubo were present.

Such a spectacular lineup was locked in a standoff right here in the Dongning Sea Region.

The atmosphere was incredibly tense; a great battle could break out at any moment.

However, despite their tough posturing, neither Weiyuan Immortal City nor the Cyan Profound Sect was prepared for war.

Faced with lighting the fuse of this powder keg, the hands of both sides, holding the match, trembled in unison.

"Under no circumstances are you to open fire first! Absolutely not!"

Sikong Xin’s expression was grim as his Divine Sense transmission echoed in Bai Xiuying’s mind.

"As long as the Immortal City Fleet doesn’t fire, you are absolutely forbidden to fire! Understood?"

At the same time, Zhaoxia gave a solemn order to Xiao Sheng in a grave tone.

The standoff lasted for several hours.

The tense silence rapidly drained the energy and patience of both sides.

In the end, during this dangerous standoff, it was Weiyuan Immortal City that backed down first.

It was to be expected.

After all, Sikong Xin’s Quasi-Techniques were still on cooldown.

Zhaoxia, on the other hand, was a Crystal Realm cultivator at full strength with all his abilities ready.

The Immortal City’s top-tier combatant wasn’t at his best, so they were at a disadvantage in terms of sheer presence during the standoff.

Of course, the Immortal City Fleet did not—and could not—admit that they had chickened out.

At least, on the surface, the reason the Immortal City Fleet ended the standoff was because a second-tier sea serpent had wandered into the area around dusk.

A dozen or so Foundation Establishment cultivators attacked, and several second-tier spirit ships opened fire, instantly blasting the unlucky sea serpent to bits.

Then, claiming that "demon hunting takes priority," the Immortal City Fleet withdrew from the scene.

The Cyan Profound Sect did not pursue, simply letting them leave.

Did the naval standoff really end so anticlimactically?

But its repercussions were far-reaching.

The conflict between the Immortal City and the Cyan Profound Sect was now completely out in the open.

...

In the days that followed, both fleets were far more wary of each other than they were of the White Whale.

It was amidst this tense atmosphere that the White Whale Moby Dick revealed its trail!

"You’re saying... when you tried to venture deeper into the Chaotic Reef District..."

"...the second-tier demon beasts inside, regardless of species, banded together and attacked you?"

"And among them were second-tier demon beasts that are natural enemies?!"

Zhaoxia’s eyes glinted as he asked with great interest.

After receiving an affirmative answer, Zhaoxia took a deep breath and said decisively,

"Entire fleet, advance into the depths of the Chaotic Reef District!"

Without a doubt, the only thing that could make second-tier demon beasts cast aside their differences and unite like this was the command of a third-tier Demon King!

’The White Whale must be hiding here!’ Zhaoxia was certain.

’Find it! Kill it!’

’The Demon Pill and the Whale Brain Oil will all be mine!’

A look of excitement appeared in Zhaoxia’s eyes.

The allure of a third-tier Demon King, severely wounded and utterly spent, was unimaginable to a hunter.

Even though the spoils would have to be redistributed upon returning to Jade Dew Island after their success, Zhaoxia was confident he could exchange his share of the White Whale’s loot for an enormous profit.

’For example... I could trade for those few Spirit Pills to help me break through to Mid-stage Crystal?’

’Or maybe trade for a Crystal-grade Spiritual Object? My young son has a decent chance of reaching the Crystal Realm himself...’

Zhaoxia had entered the Crystal Realm less than a hundred years ago.

For him, resources to face the Golden Core Tribulation were not yet an urgent concern.

...

The movements of the Cyan Profound Sect’s fleet, naturally, did not escape the notice of the Immortal City Fleet.

"’The Chaotic Reef District?’ Sikong Xin mused. ’According to the sea charts... the White Whale’s hiding place could indeed be in there.’"

He thought for a moment, then made his decision.

"Relay my command! Follow the Cyan Profound Sect’s fleet into the Chaotic Reef District!"

He currently had no definite clues about the White Whale’s location.

So, why not follow the Cyan Profound Sect and try to snatch the food from the tiger’s mouth?

...

「A few days later.」

Keeping a careful distance from one another, the two fleets sailed into the Chaotic Reef District, each remaining on high alert.

Neither side was foolish. They both exercised restraint, avoiding any large-scale conflict before the White Whale was slain.

In their eyes, the real fight would begin after the whale was successfully hunted.

「Aboard the deck of the Fubo.」

"For some reason... I feel a little uneasy."

Dressed in white martial attire, Bai Xiuying’s sharp brows furrowed slightly.

"Zhaoxia has been famous for a long time."

"Even with the trump card my master gave me, I’m not very confident..."

Sikong Xin walked to her side, shaking his head and sighing.

"No... I feel like..."

Bai Xiuying bit her lip, hesitating.

She had a faint feeling that this unease wasn’t coming from the threat of the Cyan Profound Sect...

...but rather, as if something was watching her.

WHOOSH.

The whistling sound of the wind rose between heaven and earth.

Above the Chaotic Reef District, heavy, dark clouds gathered, pressing down on her heart like a black mountain range.

A storm was coming.

"The wind is picking up..."

...