The Glory of the Sun and Moon in the Peerless Tang Sect

Xu Zihuang abruptly stood up without warning, ceasing the release of his soul-guided shield. The light distorted, and the Demon Whale suddenly appeared on the empty sea surface.

The moment the Demon Whale revealed itself, a huge whirlpool suddenly appeared on the sea surface, seemingly about to swallow the Demon Whale whole.

Immediately afterwards, a tentacle several meters long emerged from the center of the vortex and slammed down heavily towards the Demon Whale. The blood-red tentacle was covered with suckers, sending chills down one's spine.

Xu Zihuang arrived at the front of the Demon Whale and steered it to avoid the tentacle's lash and escape the vortex's pull.

"Bang—" The thick, powerful tentacles slammed into the sea, producing a terrifying explosion. Seawater splashed up dozens of meters high.

In the area where the whirlpool was located, a giant red octopus with a body diameter of over three meters and eight tentacles emerged from the sea. Its small, scarlet eyes flashed with ferocity as its eight tentacles lashed out in the water, rapidly approaching Xu Zihuang. Judging from its aura, even if it didn't have ten thousand years of cultivation, it was at least a soul beast with over eight thousand years of cultivation.

This is the most powerful sea spirit beast that Xu Zihuang has encountered in the near-shore waters in the past three days.

The giant octopus suddenly let out a sharp screech, and its eight tentacles shot into the sky, spraying out countless jets of water from the suckers covering them.

Xu Zihuang's deep purple eyes instantly turned a brilliant gold. Through the innate ability of his Golden Eye Martial Soul, he could clearly see that each water arrow was about one meter long, shaped like a date pit, and the thickest part in the center was about the thickness of an adult's arm. Their swift speed seemed to rip through the sky; there was no doubt that each of these high-pressure water arrows could leave a mark on refined iron.

Faced with such an offensive, Xu Zihuang remained unfazed.

The octopus-like soul beast before him, whose cultivation was nearly ten thousand years old, could be used to test another of his methods.

Strange dark red ripples gathered in the palm of his left hand, forming a small crystal sphere out of thin air. Unlike the dark red crystals he usually formed when using his second soul skill, Mirror Annihilation, this crystal sphere was particularly deep in color, like a ruby.

The surface of the sphere was also engraved with fine patterns, which were clearly core magic arrays.

Xu Zihuang tossed the ball up and used it as the core to quickly construct a dark red crystal shield.

Without him needing to inject his soul power, the crystal sphere, which was the core of the magic array, emitted a dazzling light that instantly spread across the entire shield. A layer of transparent dark red light expanded from the shield's surface, transforming into a massive light shield that enveloped him and the Demon Whale.

Xu Zihuang's second soul skill, Mirror Annihilation, essentially transforms tangible but intangible soul power into tangible, dark red crystal.

However, one point may have been overlooked: this process is actually reversible. In other words, if he so desires, the crystal sphere formed from compressed soul power can be transformed into pure soul power at any time to drive the core magic array inscribed on it.

Furthermore, the dark red crystal itself was formed from condensed soul power, making its ability to conduct soul power better than any rare metal existing in the world. It was also tough enough and had a strong resistance to high temperatures.

It is an excellent material for making soul tools.

Everything happening right now is based on this principle.

In short, Xu Zihuang temporarily created a shield-type defensive soul tool using his second soul skill, which could be used without requiring additional soul power.

He had actually conceived of this idea a long time ago. It was only recently, when his spiritual power broke through to a tangible and substantial level and the age of his second soul ring was increased to 40,000 years, that he was able to complete it with his exquisite control.

This was also the first time he used it in actual combat.

While condensing the crystal sphere, he imprinted several core magic arrays on it. Completing this in such a short time was quite difficult, even for him at his current level.

Therefore, Xu Zihuang could only temporarily create a level four defensive soul tool. He could also create more complex core arrays and more powerful soul tools, but that would require some time.

The high-pressure water jet struck the dark red light shield, creating bursts of light and temporarily blocking the attack of the octopus-shaped soul beast.

Xu Zihuang then threw out another crystal ball, and in the same way, a dark red crystal spear, which could be called a level four soul tool, was formed and thrown out by him.

The inner spherical core array glowed, and the red light spread throughout the entire spear.

The spear accelerated again in mid-air, its extremely sharp aura emanating out, and in the next instant, it transformed into a blur and pierced through the head of the octopus-like soul beast.

Because of its unique internal structure, this giant octopus did not die immediately, and its eight tentacles thrashed wildly.

However, not long after, the eight tentacles lost their vitality and drooped helplessly onto the sea surface.

A purple-black soul ring slowly condensed above the corpse.

As the sun rises in the east, the morning mist over the sea gradually dissipates.

Xu Zihuang calmly withdrew his gaze, bathed in the morning sun, and boarded the Demon Whale, leaving the area. The two soul tools he had hastily crafted shattered with a crash, crystal fragments falling like fine snowflakes. Under the scattered sunlight, they shimmered with a dazzling halo.

In fact, he got this method from Xiao Hongchen. Xiao Hongchen could control metal, and he could similarly control his soul power to condense into dark red crystal.

He was even better than Xiao Hongchen.

After all, he was exceptionally gifted, both at the level of a Soul Master and a Soul Instructor.

Xu Zihuang sailed along the continent in the coastal areas, significantly shortening the distance traveled compared to the original plan. In just one month, he arrived at the southern sea area where the Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire meet.

Although he hadn't ventured deep into the sea during the past month, he had still encountered many powerful sea spirit beasts. Through this intensive practical training, his control over every aspect of his abilities had gradually reached a near-perfect level.

He mastered all the soul skills and fully accomplished the purpose of this sea voyage training.

Chapter 312 Who do you think you are?

It was another morning, and Xu Zihuang, sitting cross-legged on the Demon Whale, finished his cultivation that night.

The Whale is not a large ship that can anchor to maintain its position.

Drifting with the waves overnight, he was brought to the boundary between the nearshore and deep-sea areas. Possessing the Golden Eye Martial Soul, he could easily discern these things by observing the color of the seawater and the changes in the internal currents.

After sailing at sea for more than a month, his clothes and face remained spotless. He showed no signs of the fatigue and weariness that often accompany long voyages.

Gazing at the rising sun, Xu Zihuang took a deep breath, tied his long, flowing black hair behind his back with a hairband, and then took out a map of this sea area from his storage soul tool.

Judging from the nautical chart and the direction of the rising sun, he should currently be in the southern waters of the Star Luo Empire. Sailing westward for a while longer, he will enter the southern waters of the Sun Moon Empire.

The powerful sea spirit beasts living in the deep sea have limited the development of the navies of the two great empires.

Neither the Sun Moon Empire nor the Star Luo Empire was particularly adept at naval warfare. However, this did not mean they had no measures in place at sea. Both sides had deployed a navy in the southern seas where they met. It was just that the navy was not large enough, roughly equivalent to a Soul Master Corps of five hundred men.

Comparatively speaking, the Sun Moon Empire's navy is stronger. Although it's not as powerful as a top-tier Soul Master Corps like the Sun Moon Empire's Guardian Hands, its advantage in Soul Guidance Technology is undeniable.

The navy in the southern part of the Sun Moon Empire is called the South Sea Soul Master Regiment, and its commander is a powerful level eight Soul Master. It commands four ships of around 100 meters in length, along with many more smaller escort vessels.

The ship is equipped with many powerful soul tools, making its combat strength quite considerable.

Xu Zihuang knew so much about these things because Wang Xiao and the others had carefully investigated the detailed information of this South China Sea Soul Master Corps back then.

The original South China Sea Soul Master Corps was actually under the command of his father. However, after Xu Tianran and his son took over, they quickly replaced them with their own confidants.

Moreover, he had recently learned from Keke that Ju Zi was currently training in the South China Sea Soul Master Corps. Thanks to her outstanding command and combat abilities, she had repeatedly distinguished herself in battles against the sea soul beasts, and had now risen to the rank of captain, commanding nearly a hundred soul masters. There were only five such captains in the entire South China Sea Soul Master Corps, second only to the division commander.

To avoid trouble, Xu Zihuang planned to bypass the navies on both sides in this area where the nearshore and deep sea meet. Afterwards, he would travel from Haiyue City, a major southern city of the Sun Moon Empire, to Moon Pivot Island by large ship.

It would take at least half a month to sail from the southern seas of the Sun Moon Empire all the way to Moon Pivot Island, and the journey would take them deep into the sea.

He had essentially accomplished the purpose of this sea voyage, so there was no need for him to venture deeper into the sea alone. The possibility of encountering powerful sea monsters was secondary; the main concern was his lack of extensive seafaring experience.

Sailing around the mainland at least provides a coastline as a reference point, but when venturing deep into the sea, determining one's location is not an easy task.

Xu Zihuang carefully determined the location before lowering the sail. The sea breeze blew against his body, ruffling a few strands of purple hair on his forehead and temples.

While the conditions at sea were indeed a bit rudimentary, he never skimped on his daily needs.

Breakfast today was again made with locally sourced ingredients. A few fish caught casually were boiled in water to create a sweet, white broth, then served with some fresh greens. With the development of soul tool technology, modern storage soul tools can perfectly preserve the freshness of food while storing it.

The main dish was pan-fried salmon. Gazing at the boundless deep blue sea and savoring the delicious food, my dull and monotonous mood seemed to be greatly relieved.

While eating breakfast, Xu Zihuang released a soul-guided shield to avoid several sea spirit beasts with cultivation levels exceeding eight thousand years but not yet reaching ten thousand years. Distinguishing between nearshore and deep-sea areas isn't just about the depth of the water; the most obvious difference lies in the strength of the sea spirit beasts that inhabit them.

Sea spirit beasts that inhabit nearshore waters generally have a cultivation level of a hundred or a thousand years. However, once they approach the deep sea, including the area where nearshore and deep sea meet, they may encounter ten-thousand-year-old spirit beasts.

These sea spirit beasts, whose cultivation was less than ten thousand years old, had limited perception abilities and failed to detect the presence of the Demon Whale and Xu Zihuang.

After sailing for about an hour, he officially entered the southern sea area of ​​the Sun Moon Empire. Just as he changed direction and prepared to land in Haiyue City, a coastal city in the south of the Sun Moon Empire, a sea spirit beast with a cultivation level of about five thousand years suddenly entered the range of his spiritual perception.

Xu Zihuang looked up towards the west as if sensing something, and several dazzling golden spots of light reflected off the distant sea.

The golden light reflected off the scales, which were smooth and translucent, with strange golden veins running through them. Thirteen scales overlapped to form a single tortoise shell.

The owner of the tortoise shell was a sea turtle-like spirit beast with a sharp, eagle-like beak.

"A hawksbill turtle?" Xu Zihuang raised an eyebrow in surprise as he looked at the turtle-like spirit beast.

In his past life's memories, Xu Sanshi's seventh soul ring was fused with a golden hawksbill turtle with 100,000 years of cultivation. The golden hawksbill turtle was not like the emperor-like auspicious beast Three-Eyed Golden Lion, which could influence the fortune of the entire Star Dou Great Forest, but it was also known as an auspicious beast and was like an emperor among turtle-type soul beasts.

Legend has it that this golden hawksbill turtle possesses the golden bloodline inherited among soul beasts. Unlike other soul beasts that are hostile to humans, it is actually close to human soul masters with great fortune. In ancient times, it was a symbol of auspiciousness.

Moreover, even a common hawksbill turtle holds an extraordinary position among turtle-type soul beasts.

The hawksbill turtles are naturally adapted to both marine and terrestrial environments, so it's not surprising that they have a population in the ocean.

But this hawksbill turtle was truly extraordinary. The golden markings on its back indicated that it possessed a trace of golden blood.

The hawksbill turtle swam swiftly across the surface of the sea, its mental state somewhat chaotic, as if it were fleeing danger. In the blink of an eye, it arrived in front of Xu Zihuang, and the two locked eyes.

Xu Zihuang did not attack the hawksbill turtle. He was not someone who enjoyed killing, and he would not usually make a move unless it was a sea spirit beast that attacked him first.

Besides, this hawksbill turtle didn't hold any value for him. The scales on its back were indeed highly valuable, exquisite decorative items sought after by nobles. But in his eyes, they were nothing special.

The hawksbill turtle seemed to sense that Xu Zihuang meant it no harm, so it withdrew its head and continued to swim hurriedly toward the deep sea.

Not long after the hawksbill turtle left, a warship appeared in Xu Zihuang's sight.

This warship was fifty meters long and over twenty meters wide. Its hull was covered in a thick layer of iron-gray armor. Soul-guided cannons were also mounted on the deck.

Dozens of people were standing on the deck. Leading them was a young man in his early twenties. He was less than 1.8 meters tall and not particularly robust. His skin was dark, a wheatish color, but his hair was half white and half red, giving him a very strange appearance.

The young man crossed his arms, feigning arrogance, and stared straight ahead. Noticing the Demon Whale and Xu Zihuang standing at its front, a hint of surprise flickered in his cold, amber eyes, followed by a disdainful snort.

Venturing alone into the open sea is either a sign of overconfidence or utter folly, a lack of awareness of one's own limitations. In his view, Xu Zihuang was clearly the latter.

A boy who looks no more than sixteen or seventeen years old has already reached the Soul Venerable level of cultivation at most. Not everyone can be like him, with their Martial Soul undergoing a benign mutation, and their talent surpassing that of their peers from a young age.

A lean, dark-skinned middle-aged man approached the young man. The man had a flat nose and small eyes, and his appearance was hardly flattering. However, his aura was the most profound among everyone on deck, and the others respectfully made way for him.

The lean man, Jin Hong, narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharp as a hawk's as he stared into the distance. After a moment, he withdrew his gaze and said in a deep voice, "Young leader, that hawksbill turtle has escaped to the deep sea. Continuing to chase it will likely lead to danger. Let's go and meet up with the leader first. The leader instructed us beforehand that this mission is extremely important and cannot afford the slightest mistake."

The young man sighed, his expression inscrutable.

“I know, Uncle Jin. It’s just a pity. I originally wanted to use the scales on the back of that hawksbill turtle to make a sea chart covering the entire Yue Nan Islands and give it to Grandpa. Since that’s the case, there’s nothing I can do about it. But I can’t just make this trip for nothing.”

As he spoke, he extended his right hand.

A burly young man behind him understood perfectly and revealed a cruel smile, taking a dark metal cannon barrel from the gun emplacement on the deck and handing it to the young man.

The young man raised the cannon barrel with a smile, loaded it with a fixed-mount soul-guided cannon, and aimed it at the Demon Whale, but the coldness and jealousy deep in his eyes were chilling.

"Things that are an eyesore should disappear from this world. If you have to resent something, resent the injustice of this world. A good-looking but useless person has no right to live in this world."

Jin Hong did not try to stop the young man again, as long as it did not affect the overall situation.

Crocodile Cheng is the only grandson of the leader of their Crocodile Pirate Crew, so even with his position in the Crocodile Pirate Crew, it's hard for him to say anything.

Most importantly, in his long-held belief, murder was simply the most common thing.

As his soul power was activated, the cannon barrel in Crocodile's hand began to tremble slightly. A dense black aura flowed across the surface of the barrel.

With a deafening roar, a dazzling black light burst forth from the metal tube and shot towards the Demon Whale.