After these six lines of brilliant light entered the seawater, Ning Rongrong’s expression instantly changed, speaking in a low voice:
“My Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda boost is suffering some unclear interference from the seawater, the effect is reduced by thirty percent, the actual amplification for third brother is less than sixty percent.”
In fact, her current boost should have reached eighty percent. After being weakened by thirty percent, the real boost was only fifty something percent.
The Blue Silver Domain light Tang San emitted illuminated his surroundings. Besides carrying out mental probes, it also let his comrades see the circumstances in the water from the Seagod Mountain.
His whole body instantly immersed in seawater, Tang San also immediately discovered the problem. Soaking in the seawater, there seemed to be a special energy in the water, slowing down his body, and accelerating his spirit power consumption. Even the Blue Silver Domain’s probing range was substantially reduced in the sea. Currents constantly buffeted Tang San, and further adding his considerable buoyancy in the seawater, it instantly put him off balance.
Fortunately Tang San had once cultivated beneath the waterfall, and still had some understanding of the nature of water. Otherwise, carried forward by the Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone he might have immediately lost control of his body.
Even though Tang San’s control was formidable, it was still a bit difficult to adapt when suddenly drowned in water. This naturally wasn’t Tang San’s first time under water, but he clearly sensed that the seawater in the ring sea was out of the ordinary. Besides that somewhat restraining energy, the drag resistance was also extremely large. Most important was that Tang San didn’t know how he should move forward in the water. Even though the Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone’s flying ability could push him forward, he still needed to adapt to the drag in the water to advance smoothly.
However, before Tang San could start getting used to it, he was already in danger. The arrow shaped fish that appeared and attacked Bai Chenxiang when they crossed to Seagod Mountain, appeared in all directions from Tang San. They were exceptionally fast in the water, even faster than when they leapt out of the water into the air back then. In practically an instant, there were already circle after circle of more than a hundred arrow shaped fish in his surroundings. Blue purple light revolved around them, rich spirit power fluctuations weaving a vast web in the seawater, sealing all avenues for Tang San to advance or retreat.
Tang San had faced innumerable crises, and suddenly being surrounded like this didn’t leave him flustered. He had confronted many situations more dangerous than this in the past. Even though he was extremely unsuited to the underwater environment, he could still make the most proper decision in the shortest time possible.
Holding one’s breath underwater wasn’t any problem for him with cultivation past the seventieth rank, Mysterious Heaven Skill inner strength circulated swiftly and unimpeded through his eight extraordinary meridians, forming a perfect internal respiration state. In such a state, Tang San could persevere for at least an hour before feeling choked.
However, at this moment Tang San also recognized the importance of the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud to him. If he had the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud now, he basically wouldn’t need to be this passive. Not only could he quickly sink into the water and not be influenced by the roaring sea and currents, at the same time he wouldn’t need to use internal respiration to resist drowning.
Moderating the energy eruption in the Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone, black light flashed in his hand, and the glittering, faintly magic lined Clear Sky Hammer appeared in Tang San’s left palm. The Clear Sky Hammer that had accompanied Tang San along his rise in strength already weighed more than a thousand jin. Its sudden appearance in his hand instantly drew him to swiftly sink towards the bottom of the sea.
While Tang San didn’t make any move before, those arrow shaped fish spirit beasts had only encircled him. Now that he moved, those arrow shaped fish instantly moved as well, charging at him simultaneously. In an instant, more than a hundred arrow shaped spirit beasts were like countless spirit power covered sharp arrows shot at Tang San. Judging by their attitude, they wouldn’t rest until Tang San was skewered.
The Shrek Seven Devils on the shore could clearly see that these arrow shaped fish completely turned the same kind of purple blue as their surroundings when they charged, like line after line of flowing light, extremely dazzling. And Tang San, completely underwater, basically couldn’t dodge this numerous arrow shaped fish in seawater with nothing to take cover behind. His Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step basically couldn’t show its advantages with the drag in the water.
The hearts of Dai Mubai and the others unconsciously clenched. They of course wouldn’t believe these arrow shaped fish were enough to harm Tang San. After breaking through to the Spirit Sage realm, Tang San’s current strength could only be described as terrifying. These arrow shaped fish seemed to be only thousand year level or so, and even though numerous, they still weren’t enough to threaten Tang San’s life. But what was important was that, in the course of this second trial, one important rule was that they couldn’t harm a single of the sea spirit beasts within the ring sea. This forbade Tang San with the Clear Sky Hammer in hand from killing them. And judging by the charging speed of these arrow shaped fish, even if Tang San didn’t launch any attack, as long as he let any of them attack him, there would be a tragic result. These arrow shaped fish attacks were clearly suicidal. What would Tang San do? What could he do?
Tang San very quickly provided the answer. The Clear Sky Hammer in his hand moved as light s nothing, sweeping from lower left to upper right, and at the same time his body spun once in the seawater, even the seawater with that drag resistance couldn’t influence his current speed.
Deep black light erupted from the Clear Sky Hammer. Even though the Clear Sky Hammer had no spirit rings, at this moment it still revealed the terrifying explosive might of a first rate tool spirit. Wherever the black light passed, the seawater bubbled violently. Everyone on the shore, already rushing over, clearly saw the seawater around Tang San distort fiercely, and all the arrow shaped fish charging towards him were swept off by a great incorporeal force in the water, scattering in all directions. They charged quickly, but were washed away even faster. They dispersed like countless blue purple rays of light shot by Tang San. Tang San currently no longer sank, but rather floated evenly in the water. He was clearly relying on spirit power to control the weight of the Clear Sky Hammer.
However, the attack of the arrow shaped fish had only just begun. After being abruptly scattered, they very quickly balanced themselves in the ring sea, and once again charged towards Tang San. Only this time they didn’t charge simultaneously. The arrow shaped fish extremely intelligently arranged themselves into ten teams, charging towards Tang San in a close to seamless attack pattern. Each group of ten sea spirit beasts attacked, and after the first was scattered by the Clear Sky Hammer, the second immediately charged in. They seemed to have clearly identified that Tang San didn’t dare harm them, and each wave was more violent than the last, swifter than the last. Distorting halos of light constantly appeared in the stirred seawater.
Confronting the changing tactics of the arrow shaped fish spirit beasts, Tang San’s face was as undisturbed as an old well. The Clear Sky Hammer in his left hand swung up and down, and the force used each time he shocked away these arrow shaped fish was just perfect, not letting them charge near him, then again exploiting the deep current caused by the Clear Sky Hammer to jolt them away without harming them.
As time passed, Tang San’s body swiftly adapted to the pressure and drag force in the seawater, as well as that peculiar restraining energy. He was already a bit impatient with the arrow shaped fish constant attacks. After so many attempts, even if he still didn’t clearly understand the depth of these arrow shaped fish endurance, he still had his own ways.
The Clear Sky Hammer kept s
winging, but the infused spirit power also began rising. The distance the arrow shaped fish spirit beasts were shocked back each time they charged grew longer and longer, and at the same time, their originally swift attacks also began to reduce along with Tang San using more force.
In fact, Tang San currently possessed Ning Rongrong’s six great support boosts. The intensity of his spirit power absolutely wasn’t any less than that of a Spirit Douluo level power, and the free flow of his eight extraordinary meridians made his strength recovery speed incomparably fast. The threat these arrow shaped fish provided grew more and more insufficient, what truly consumed his spirit power was this choking ocean. Even though internal respiration could let him endure for longer, at the same time it would also constantly increase his spirit power consumption as time passed.
Coldly snorting inwardly, he secretly thought, I won’t keep playing with you. Light flashed in his eyes, and his spirit power was reinforced once again. Simultaneously, the Clear Sky Hammer issued a strange rhythmic oscillation as it swung. Even everyone on the shore could clearly see how pure black light rippled out with each swing. When the arrow shaped fish spirit beasts once again charged towards him, with one touch with that black light, they swiftly shot back as if shocked by lightning, shuddering and convulsing, having lost all ability to move. They were unexpectedly shocked unconscious.
What Tang San used now was precisely the Jolt character of the Clear Sky School secret skill Tang Hao taught him, the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes. That really didn’t refer to nine kinds of abilities or styles, but rather to nine kinds of methods for the Clear Sky Hammer to exert force, each kind with its own characteristics. This was the true secret skill of the Clear Sky School. Compared to the somewhat chicken ribs Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer Method, the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes were truly formidable abilities for combat use. Originally, back when Tang San fought that Clear Sky School seventh elder, that seventh elder didn’t use the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes, or Tang San absolutely couldn’t have won.
Not everyone could inherit the nine absolutes even among the Clear Sky School’s directly descended disciples, it could only be taught after the unanimous approval of the school master and the elders. Just like the Tang Sect’s most profound hidden weapon skills back then.
After carefully examining the endurance of the arrow shaped fish spirit beasts, Tang San relied on the jolt word arts to defuse this continuous attack. Close to half of the more than hundred arrow shaped fish were successively shocked unconscious, and the remaining didn’t dare charge again, only showing off their bravado nearby, constantly travelling back and forth and disturbing Tang San’s surroundings.
Tang San’s swimming ability really wasn’t up to much, but he had his own methods. A very simple method was to rely on spirit power control to balance himself in the water, then again using spirit power to propel himself forward. Even though this would cause considerable consumption for his spirit power, and wouldn’t be particularly fast either, it was the only method he could think of with his present capability.
Having forced back the arrow shaped fish, Tang San kept going deeper after stabilizing himself. Right now he had only entered twenty something meters into the ring sea, still very far from the opposite shore. Immediately, while familiarizing himself with moving in the sea, he cautiously observed his surroundings.
The two shores of the ring sea were just two hundred meters apart, and Tang San had now crossed a tenth of that, with one hundred eighty meters left to the other side. One hundred eighty meters. On dry land it was only an instant’s work for him, but even though he had routed the arrow shaped fish in front of him, the remaining distance clearly wasn’t so easily crossed.
With a flash, Tang San suddenly disappeared from his original position. As he reappeared once again, he had shifted five meters forward. Indeed, he used his teleportation ability from Xiao Wu’s spirit bone.
When Tang San reappeared in the sea, his face had turned somewhat ugly. He finally understood what that indescribable restricting energy in the sea did. If it was on land, Tang San’s teleportation could completely manage to teleport anywhere within a hundred meters, that was the limit of Xiao Wu’s spirit bone. And with the ring sea being only two hundred meters wide, under ordinary circumstances it would only require teleporting twice to land on the other shore. Tang San still hadn’t used this close to abnormal ability since coming here. But using it just now made him angry. It wasn’t that he didn’t use his full strength, but rather that while using his full strength he only managed to shift five meters. The one hundred meter teleportation ability was actually suppressed by twenty times. The restraint of this seawater could well be imagined. Tang San understood that the restricting energy in the sea might be aimed at abilities like teleportation and acceleration, not giving the people on his side any chance for shortcuts.
At the same time as Tang San was inwardly disappointed after testing his teleportation, he suddenly discovered a strange fluctuation in his surroundings. That was a kind of energy pulse, but also like a voice. Where did voices come from in the sea?
The next moment, Tang San immediately became aware that he had run into trouble. Because, the arrow shaped fish that were constantly circling around him even if they didn’t dare attack again, suddenly dispersed in all directions. These thousand year spirit beasts very loyally even brought away their unconscious comrades. For a moment, the sea near Tang San instantly turned quiet. In this instant a choking pressure also spread through Tang San’s whole body.
A giant shadow came from the distance. Before Tang San could even see it clearly, an irresistible enormous force came through the seawater. Tang San only had time to raise the Clear Sky Hammer to block, but not to do anything else, before he was struck flying by that surging current strike.
With a splash, Tang San left the water, shooting straight at the Seagod mountain. Even though the Seagod’s Light wouldn’t cause any pressure to anyone that had passed the first trial, its task to protect the Seagod Mountain still hadn’t disappeared. Tang San instinctively went limp, as if sinking into cotton. The next moment, he was as if embedded in the Seagod’s Light, and slowly slid down.
At this moment, Tagn San clearly felt his qi and blood surge violently, his whole body indescribably uncomfortable, as if every meridian was damaged.
The injuries weren’t serious, but Tang San felt like one of the arrow shaped fish before. He had jolted them away, and now he had also been jolted off by the sudden force, his whole body aching. Swiftly circulating spirit power, this numb feeling gradually faded.
Defeat wasn’t scary, and Tang San himself hadn’t thought he could directly pass the trial, he was just trying it out. But what depressed him was that he didn’t even know what thing had expelled him from the ring sea. The moment he suffered the ambush, his spread out Blue Silver Domain had turned chaotic.
“Little San, you’re alright.”
Instantly rushing over, Dai Mubai grabbed Tang San and pulled him up.
“I’m alright. What was that just now? Did you get a look at it?”
Tang San asked impatiently.
Hearing his question, the expressions of everyone coming over close behind Dai Mubai turned serious, and Dai Mubai’s expression was even extremely heavy.
Ma Hongjun said furiously:
“Even if we expected this trial to be abnormal, I still didn’t think it would be to this degree. We watched carefully, and apart from those arrow shaped fish that attacked you at the start, we only saw one other type of sea spirit beast, that’s where the last attack came from. And there was only one.”
Dai Mubai took over:
“It was a white shark. About twenty five meters long, but its enormous size still didn’t influence its agility. Incomparably fast. It only appeared for a few eyeblinks, we practically just had time to think about it before you had been blasted out of the sea by a blue light attack it made. Then it turned and left.”
Tang San drew a cold breath,
�
�Devil Spirit Great White Shark? In this ring sea, there’s actually Devil Spirit Great White Sharks.”
Dai Mubai smiled wryly:
“It’s not just as simple as a Devil Spirit Great White Shark. Remember what Purple Pearl said. She said that the waters outside Seagod Island have always been guarded by a hundred thousand year Devil Spirit Great White Shark around twenty five meters long. The Devil Spirit Great White Shark that appeared just now was definitely more than twenty meters long. Even if you can’t use spirit abilities right now, and are enormously restrained in the water, just now you were still boosted by Rongrong. To be able to throw you out of the water with no ability to resist, that alone declares its identity.”
Listening to Dai Mubai’s explanation, Tang San’s dizzy mind instantly sobered up, the light in his eyes immediately turning a lot more solid, speaking in a low voice:
“Don’t tell me, that attack just now actually came from the king of Devil Spirit Great White Sharks, that hundred thousand year Devil Spirit Great White Shark guarding Seagod Island? But, why would it come to the ring sea?”
Oscar said:
“There are several inland seas on Seagod island, and none of them is desalinated potable water. One can imagine that the water of these seas also comes from the ocean outside. Therefore, there might be some passages beneath Seagod island connecting these seas. If that’s true, it wouldn’t be hard to explain how the Devil Spirit Great White Shak King can show up here. It’s definitely our trial that drew it to the ring sea, to stop us from completing our mission. However, looking at the ability it used to attack you just now, it seems it doesn’t mean to harm us, only to stop us from crossing the sea.”
Tang San nodded:
“That seems to be the case, that’s the only rational explanation. Hundred thousand year spirit beast. The lord Seagod really thinks highly of us! Having us face the test of a hundred thousand year spirit beast in our second trial.”
Douluo Dalu: Volume 33: Seven Devils Avatars Page 8