Chapter 323: Chapter 187: Corpse of the Profound Whale

Among all the disciples, Chi Yu and Yellow Foot were the closest. Sometimes, the West Sea Great Saint would even use his Magical Power to catch a few Demon Fish from the deep sea for the two of them to enjoy.

Upon suddenly seeing the West Sea Great Saint’s corpse, the Evil Qi in Chi Yu, which Yang Jing had been helping her control perfectly, instantly began to spiral out of control.

If not for the Black Death Seven Tribulations Scripture she cultivated absorbing the surging Evil Qi, the overflow would have already drawn out the Demonic Qi suppressed deep within her bloodline.

Yang Jing watched Yinjiao and Ji Feng escort Chi Yu into a cabin. Only then did he lead Zuoqiu Feng and Iron Head to land on Dong Xixian’s flagship across from them. Dong Xiji hesitated for a moment before flying up with a few other scions of the Noble Families.

Dong Xixian’s facial muscles twitched when he saw Iron Head’s emotionless expression.

He had never forgotten that humiliating defeat.

Yang Jing stood on the deck of the Flying Boat. From here, he could see the Profound Whale’s corpse more clearly. One of its eyes had already clouded over with a white film, having lost its vitality in death.

This made him clench one of his hands into a fist. Due to the emotional turmoil, the Great Cave True Thunder Prohibition on his arm activated on its own, and arcs of black lightning flickered across it.

"Forgive my curiosity, Minister Yang, but how did you confirm from across the way that a Celestial Demon was lurking inside this Flying Boat? Could it be that you’ve taken a fancy to this Profound Whale’s carcass and want to abuse your authority to get a piece of it? If that’s all it is, what’s the harm in sharing a slab of Profound Whale meat with you?"

Dong Jianzhi, an attendant by Dong Xixian’s side, looked at Yang Jing and said in a snide tone.

Yang Jing held back his disciple, Iron Head, who was simmering with uncontrollable anger. In the past, he might have retorted with a few sharp words, but now, he merely shot Dong Jianzhi a single, cold glare.

He had no desire to waste his time on such a small fry right now.

That one look was enough to silence Dong Jianzhi. He felt as if Yang Jing was looking at him like he was already a dead man.

’This guy isn’t just bluffing,’ he thought. ’He really has the Power to kill me with ease.’

"Minister Yang, I wonder where this Celestial Demon you speak of is? We caught this Profound Whale and must process it as quickly as possible, or the losses will be significant."

Dong Xixian said sarcastically.

At that moment, countless Cultivators had rushed out from Dock No. 7, holding pots, bowls, and basins to catch the blood pouring from the Profound Whale’s wounds below the Flying Boat.

Yang Jing took in the entire scene, and the chill emanating from him intensified. He looked at Dong Xixian and said,

"I wonder, Young Master Dong, how many Golden Core Cultivators did you lose to capture this Profound Whale?"

The West Sea Great Saint had possessed the Profound Whale, so its Power was definitely at the peak of the Golden Core Realm. Two Flying Boats would never have been enough to take it down. The Dong Family must have also dispatched several Dragon Beasts or Cultivators at the Golden Core Realm.

Yang Jing even suspected that these two Flying Boats were not the ones that participated in the battle, as they were completely undamaged. The original combat vessels must have been swapped out, and any injured or dead Golden Core Cultivators had likely been sent away.

Dong Xixian had intended to provoke Yang Jing, but Yang Jing’s words left him speechless. He shot a wary glance at Dong Xiji and forced himself to say,

"Hmph, it was just a mere Profound Whale. An easy catch. How could we possibly have lost any Golden Core Cultivators?"

Yang Jing had already marked him for death.

’But he isn’t the key.’

He knew where the real key lay. It wasn’t Dong Xixian, nor was it the Profound Whale’s corpse. It was the missing Mermaid.

How did Dong Xixian know about the West Sea Great Saint’s unique nature? And how did he track the Great Saint down in the vast, open sea? Given the West Sea Great Saint’s caution, even if the Dong Family knew this stretch of the outer sea like the back of their hand, they couldn’t have found him so easily.

Yang Jing could only think of one possibility: that Human Demon.

Its Main Soul had been destroyed by Canyuan True Monarch, but a Sub-Soul had hidden itself inside the Mermaid.

That was the only way to explain all the inconsistencies.

The thing was, he had long suspected the Human Demon might have tampered with the Mermaid, so he had specifically asked Chi Yu to feed her snacks laced with the Profound Pure Demon-Locking Spell.

He had secretly tried to activate the Profound Pure Demon-Locking Spell afterward, but the Mermaid had shown no reaction.

Judging from Canyuan True Monarch’s victory over the Human Demon, that creature was clearly helpless against the Profound Pure Demon-Locking Spell. It was only because his test on the Mermaid had revealed no issues that Yang Jing had felt at ease letting her leave with the West Sea Great Saint.

Pushing down the chaotic thoughts in his mind, Yang Jing could only hope that the Human Demon’s Sub-Soul had been arrogant enough to remain on one of these two Flying Boats.

"Young Master Dong, please have everyone on the Flying Boats come out onto the deck."

Yang Jing said in a cold voice.

Dong Xixian dug a finger in his ear, acting as if he hadn’t heard Yang Jing’s words.

"It seems I’ll have to ask our fellow cultivators from the Eastern Army Governor’s Mansion to come, then. When that happens, who knows how long everyone on these two Flying Boats will be detained."

Yang Jing said.

"Until the Flying Boat from the Eastern Army Governor’s Mansion arrives, no one is to take a single step off these vessels."

Dong Xixian’s eyes widened. Seeing Yang Jing’s unyielding attitude, he actually began to lose his nerve. Although the Dong Kingdom was a local bully in the Eastern Domain, they couldn’t go head-to-head with the Eastern Army Governor’s Mansion.

Besides, from the look on Dong Xiji’s face, the other two branches of the Dong Family might not necessarily stand with him.

"Go, get everyone in the Flying Boat up here,"

he ordered a soldier beside him.

Before long, the deck of the Flying Boat was filled with soldiers who had come up from the cabins. Yang Jing gave them a quick scan and saw that, aside from the Dragon Beasts and the Dong Family disciples, the Mermaid was not among them.

The Dragon Beast Demon King from that day was also present, sizing up Yang Jing’s group with a cold gaze.

Yang Jing never expected to flush out the Human Demon’s Sub-Soul so easily. By now, the Sub-Soul might not even be parasitizing the Mermaid anymore.

"Martial Aunt, please watch everyone and don’t let them move about freely. If that Celestial Demon appears, you must capture it at once."

Yang Jing said to Zuoqiu Feng.

Zuoqiu Feng nodded solemnly.

"Iron Head, use your Yang Fire to inspect everyone. Don’t miss a single person."

Yang Jing added, speaking to Iron Head.

The Yang Fire of a True Yang Body was even more effective at suppressing Celestial Demons than Sun True Fire. If the Human Demon’s Sub-Soul was possessing one of these Cultivators, an inspection with Yang Fire would surely reveal the anomaly.

"Yes!"

Iron Head’s expression was grave. Yellow Foot had been his junior martial brother. With the West Sea Great Saint having met with disaster, it was his undeniable duty to find the true culprit for him. If the situation allowed, he would have taken out his Seven-Star Flying Thunder Spear and run Dong Xixian through right then and there.

Yang Jing, on the other hand, stepped directly into the Flying Boat.

He didn’t believe for a second that everyone inside the Flying Boat had come out obediently.

Dong Xixian merely watched with a cold gaze as Yang Jing went below deck.

Since most of the people on the Flying Boat were now on deck, the cabins were exceptionally quiet—so quiet, in fact, that it felt sinister.

Yang Jing summoned his Demon-Catching Tripod and pushed his Grotto Dark Dharma Eye and Bright Qi Talent to their limits. He began cautiously checking each cabin one by one, searching for any possible trace of the Human Demon’s Sub-Soul. He didn’t know the Sub-Soul’s Power, so he raised his vigilance to the highest level.

The layout of this Flying Boat was vastly different from a Martial Might-level Flying Boat, which caused Yang Jing a fair bit of trouble.

One hour later, Yang Jing finally emerged from the Flying Boat’s lowest deck.

By this time, Iron Head had already finished inspecting everyone on deck. His expression was downcast; he had clearly found nothing.

"Minister Yang, any luck? I happen to be a Dong Country Navy Captain. I’m not some small fry you can just push around like before."

Dong Xixian said to Yang Jing, gloating.

Yang Jing ignored him and flew over to the other Flying Boat to conduct another careful search, but he came up empty-handed there as well.

A sliver of frustration grew in his heart. After Canyuan True Monarch had annihilated its Main Soul, the Human Demon had become much more cautious. If he couldn’t find a trace of it now, catching it later would be exponentially more difficult.

When Yang Jing came up from the lowest deck of the second Flying Boat, Dong Xixian was already waiting on its deck. He looked at Yang Jing smugly and said in a particularly mocking tone,

"Well, Minister Yang? Did you find your so-called Outer Celestial Demon?"

Yang Jing shot him a cold look. A bolt of Five Elements True Thunder suddenly flared in his palm, startling Dong Xixian into stumbling back several steps. Word of his exquisite Thunder Technique had already spread throughout the Dong Family after his defeat of Dong Shangjing.

The Dragon Beast at the Demon King Realm was about to make a move, but it realized the Five Elements True Thunder wasn’t aimed at Dong Xixian. Instead, it transformed into a lightning chain, shot into a cabin, and dragged out a vicious-looking Outer Celestial Demon.

This Celestial Demon had Dragon Horns on its head and a ferocious appearance. It was clearly a Dragon Power Demon.

For the Dragon Taming Dong Family, who specialized in raising Dragon Beasts, this type of Celestial Demon was a particularly sensitive subject. This was because Dragon Power Demons could also cultivate in the Dragon Transformation Pool, and at a much faster rate than normal Dragon Beasts.

The Dong Family had a past scandal where a disciple fell to the Demon Dao and raised a Dragon Power Demon.

"This! This is impossible!"

Dong Xixian’s eyes went wide, his expression changing drastically as he stared at the Outer Celestial Demon completely bound by the Five Elements True Thunder.

"What’s impossible? Did I foresee that Young Master Dong would be passing through here today and summon a Dragon Power Demon in advance just to frame you? Or perhaps I, Yang Jing, am secretly a Demon Cultivator with a Demon-Calling Banner, capable of summoning an Outer Celestial Demon of the Dragon Power Demon’s Tier at any time?"

Yang Jing’s eyes were fixed on Dong Xixian, not missing the slightest change in his expression.

Dong Xixian’s face cycled between pale and ashen. He knew, of course, that this was absolutely impossible. A man like Yang Jing, with such astonishing Thunder Techniques, could never have fallen to the Demon Dao.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could there be a Dragon Power Demon on my demon-subduing Flying Boat?!"

Dong Xiji, who had remained silent until now, stepped forward and said to Dong Xixian with a look of utter grief,

"Seventh Brother, oh, Seventh Brother! To think that you, in your greed for quick results and a moment’s advancement, would commit such a monstrous crime!"

He looked heartbroken, but in reality, he could barely suppress the smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Harboring a Forbidden Celestial Demon was a first-class crime in the Dong Family, to say nothing of a Celestial Demon like the Dragon Power Demon.