The First Immortal of Destiny

At the depths of the ocean, sunlight no longer penetrated. It was like being shrouded in night, so profoundly dark that one could not see their own hand before them. However, the creatures inhabiting these abyssal depths had long adapted to this environment. Their eyesight might have degenerated, but they could still navigate and hunt using other senses, refined over hundreds of millions of years of evolution, following the trajectory of life in the deep sea as they had for eons. Many species had even evolved organs that emitted light, dotting the darkness like myriad stars in the night sky. The difference was, these starlights were mobile, adding an extra touch of the fantastical.

One day, the age-old tranquility was shattered by uninvited guests. A terrifying dark aura, suffused with murky Demonic Qi, spread out expansively, engulfing all directions. Numerous sea creatures sensed the imminent danger and scrambled to escape this hazardous region. Yet, many were still caught by the dark aura; they shriveled rapidly in agony, eventually becoming desiccated corpses, utterly drained of vital essence and blood.

At this moment, the culprit finally emerged from a Coral Mountain. It was a Class III middle-stage Demon-corrupted member of the Marine Race! It resembled an octopus, its body immense, and each of its tentacles was extraordinarily thick. It casually snatched a large, flat-bodied fish that was barely alive, stuffed it into its mouth, and began to chew ferociously, splattering blood everywhere and dyeing an area with a radius of ten zhang crimson.

"These are all common sea creatures with hardly any demonic essence; they're not much of a mouthful," the Octopus Heavenly Demon said, its voice human-like, its eyes glinting with greed and cruelty, its demonic nature utterly exposed. "Damn Human Cultivators! If not for their interference, this entire sea region would have become a breeding ground for my kind... Members of the Marine Race who have cultivated demonic power taste far better than these small fry!"

If only I could run into one or two clueless demonic beasts from the sea! Eating this ordinary blood food every day, when will I ever advance to the Class III late-stage?

As it was fantasizing about high-class Marine Race members, a brilliant, pale gold streak of light pierced the gloom of the sea, swiftly approaching it. Its gnosis was no less than that of a Human Cultivator, so the Octopus Heavenly Demon immediately realized a cultivator was coming. To possess such overwhelming power in the deep sea, it couldn't be a weakling!

Inheriting the cautious nature of its original octopus form, its first instinct was to evade. It tossed aside the half-eaten flat-bodied fish and then spat out a gob of thick ink, saturated with Demonic Qi. The ink was incredibly turbid, capable of obscuring a cultivator's sense. Simultaneously, it sucked in a large volume of seawater through its gills. Then, by expelling the water, it used the repulsive force to propel its massive body swiftly into the Coral Mountain.

The complexity of underwater terrain far surpassed that of land. Even powerful human experts, who could roam unhindered on land and in the sky, might not be able to track it in the deep sea. Furthermore, its Demonic Qi-infused ink had clouded a large expanse of seawater, capable of obscuring a cultivator's sense.

Yet, in the next instant, it found a Crystal Clam big demon blocking its retreat into the Coral Mountain.

BOOM!

Its tentacles, carrying the force of myriad tons of seawater, lashed violently at the Crystal Clam. However, the Crystal Clam was naturally protected by a hard shell, and having cultivated demonic power, it had continuously nourished and refined its two crystal shells. The Octopus Heavenly Demon's strike only knocked the Crystal Clam big demon back a few zhang, but it still stubbornly blocked its path.

Ordinarily, this demon head had plenty of ways to kill such a defensively strong but offensively weak big demon of the Marine Race and enjoy it as a delectable blood meal. But now, this delay meant the pale gold light was already tens of miles away. Moreover, the ink it had spat out seemed ineffective; a terrifyingly brilliant sword light flared, slashing directly towards it.

"Damn cultivators!" the Octopus Heavenly Demon roared, spitting out its Demon Core, which had been corrupted by its demonic primality. The Demonic Qi within it was exceptionally dense, even containing traces of unrefined demonic power, making it considerably more powerful than the original octopus's Demon Core. But, this potent, Demon-corrupted Demon Core was utterly useless!

SPLAT!

The sword light flashed, and the Demon Core split in half. Along with it, the massive demonic body of the Octopus Heavenly Demon was also cleaved in two. Benefiting from the original octopus's traits, this demon head didn't perish immediately. Instead, its body split in two, each half fleeing in opposite directions.

CLANG!

CLANG!

Two more beams of sword Qi shot out from the faint gold light. In the blink of an eye, they traversed the endless seawater and struck the two halves of the fleeing demonic body. As if caught in an incredibly sharp net of blades, its unusually resilient demonic body was instantly minced into myriad tiny pieces of flesh, which scattered into the depths with the surging undercurrents. Wisps of Demonic Qi seeped from its severed flesh, but they would soon be eroded and purified by the seawater.

What a pity. I couldn't obtain any spiritual materials for Forging from this demon head!

The faint gold light receded, revealing Shen Mo's imposing figure. His body was enveloped by the faint glow of a Primordial Canshui Monkey phantom. This was the Can Palm, one of the Seven Constellations of the Western White Tiger, which possessed a divine water-repelling effect. If one were a novice cultivating the *Constellation Great Hand Seal*, even with this Palm's protection, it would be difficult to withstand the terrifying pressure at the bottom of the ten-thousand-zhang sea. But who could blame Shen Mo for cultivating this spiritual-level cultivation method to the Elite Realm, a level more profound than even Stars Peak Master Zhou Shili?

The Crystal Clam big demon that had obstructed the Octopus Heavenly Demon also stirred the currents and swam towards him. She was a big demon of the Marine Race on her way to a gathering on Golden Turtle Island, the younger sister of the Crystal Clam Ming Zhu, Clam Girl Ming Yu herself, possessing Class III middle-stage strength! Of course, their Clam Girl clan specialized only in defense, not offense. If she had encountered the Octopus Heavenly Demon alone, she would likely have been killed and become its blood food for advancing to the Class III late-stage.

"Shen, the Octopus species doesn't have many spiritual materials," a clear voice sounded. "At most, you can get an Ink Sac, which you Human Cultivators can refine into a magic artifact that releases an inky black mist. But you already have a similar magic artifact; an extra one would be useless!"

A delicate face emerged from the translucent clamshell. She bore a seventy to eighty percent resemblance to the big demon Ming Zhu, but this Ming Yu possessed a greater gentleness than her elder sister, like a young lady from a wealthy family raised in the seclusion of a deep courtyard.

Shen Mo glanced at her once, then looked away. He had been fortunate enough to see Ming Yu's body beneath her clamshell; generally speaking, it was indeed no different from that of a human woman. Furthermore, the body beneath her shell was utterly bare, without a single thread. In the eyes of Human Cultivators, this would naturally be seen as scandalous and improper! But the Clam Girl clan had lived this way for millions of years and naturally found nothing strange about it; on the contrary, it was Human Cultivators who seemed odd. Moreover, having their shells to cover their bodies was both safe and comfortable, far more practical than the painstaking efforts Human Cultivators went through to refine robe armor and defensive magic artifacts. Additionally, their bodies beneath the shells were as soft as if boneless, supported entirely by the clamshells. This was equivalent to the skeletons within humans and land-dwelling demonic beasts. Thus, when speaking with Shen Mo, Clam Girl Ming Yu would, at most, only show her face.