Chapter 30: The Profane Behemoth

"Is this the Endless Sea?" Chu Qiuci gazed at the horizon, her voice filled with wonder.

"This is merely the edge of the Endless Sea," Jing Hong replied, his expression grave as he watched the water. "The true dangers lie further within."

Qiuci nodded and summoned her system, ordering a real-time scan of the maritime area. She then patted the person beside her and said, "Let's go, little social recluse. Remember to keep up and don't stray too far."

Jing Hong was speechless. *Wait, have I even lost my name now?*

The two set off into the endless expanse. The journey was silent, save for the rhythmic sound of waves below. It appeared to be a truly perilous region; they hadn't encountered a single living thing. Moreover, whether it was a trick of the mind or not, Qiuci felt that the deeper they ventured, the quieter it became, and the surface of the sea seemed to grow unnaturally still.

They flew for nearly two hours. At their speed, they should have crossed a normal ocean long ago, yet all that remained before them was an infinite stretch of azure, as if the sea had no end. In the distance, there was nothing but seawater shrouded in layers of white mist.

Wait!

"Is this mist getting thicker?" Qiuci stopped and remarked.

Jing Hong paused, glancing around in agreement. "It is indeed. If it continues like this, we will soon lose our sense of direction."

Qiuci frowned and decided to play it safe. She asked the system in her mind, "System, scan the composition."

[Scan result: Primary components are H2O, water vapor. Non-toxic!]

"Water vapor?" Qiuci blinked. Not mist? The two were distinct; water vapor was the result of water heated to its boiling point, while mist was caused by air cooling and condensing. If such a massive amount of water vapor appeared here, there could only be one explanation...

She quickly performed a hand seal, instantly condensing the air into ice, and erected a defensive barrier around them both.

Jing Hong shivered as the sudden ice-attribute barrier formed, and he looked at Qiuci in confusion. "Senior, what is this..."

"There should be a big one ahead," she explained casually. "And likely the kind that spits fire."

Jing Hong immediately grew vigilant, summoning his spirit sword and drawing two talismans.

They continued forward. Before long, the temperature rose sharply, and the calm sea began to bubble and churn. Crimson matter flowed beneath the surface, as if something were boiling the entire ocean. The surrounding mist thickened until visibility dropped to less than half a meter. The two had to rely on their spiritual senses to navigate, their caution mounting—what kind of creature could boil the sea to this extent?

Just as they pushed forward, a loud splashing sound erupted, as if something had broken the surface, followed by a wave of searing heat at their backs.

"Watch out!" Almost by reflex, Qiuci grabbed the socially anxious Jing and retreated hundreds of meters.

A series of deafening booms echoed. Where they had been hovering a moment ago, water erupted dozens of feet into the air as massive pillars, seemingly made of molten lava, punched through the surface.

Before they could recover from the shock, the sound of splashing rang out from all directions. Scores of red lights ignited as countless lava spikes burst from the water, surrounding them and launching an assault like a barrage of ten thousand swords. The spikes were gargantuan, each like a stone pillar, radiating a heat so intense it felt as though it could melt their very essence.

As Qiuci prepared to cast a spell, the system perched on her shoulder let out a shrill alarm.

[Beep! Warning! Warning! Biological lifeform detected! Large-scale life signs detected!]

"What is it?" Qiuci was stunned.

[Master, Master! It's big—a super-sized thing! It's right beneath the water!]

"What?"

There was no time to ask further; the lava spikes were already upon them.

"Unrivaled Sword Formation, activate!" The socially anxious Jing reacted quickly. With a flick of his spirit sword, he summoned thousands of blades that materialized in the air around them. As the sword tips shifted, they swirled to intercept the incoming lava spikes.

With a thunderous crash, the sharp sword energy tore through the mist, colliding with the lava spikes and shattering several instantly. However, there were simply too many—it was an omnidirectional, saturated attack that the sword energy could not fully block.

Qiuci made an immediate decision. She grabbed Jing and flashed forward, darting through a gap in the barrage to escape the onslaught.

The spikes that missed plunged back into the sea like falling dumplings, kicking up massive sprays of water, only to turn around and burst from the surface again, targeting the duo as if they had eyes.

She was about to retaliate when Jing beside her suddenly exclaimed, "What... what is that?!"

Qiuci turned around, and her eyes widened in shock. The sword energy had dissipated the water vapor, revealing what lay above the sea. It was a monster as tall as a mountain, its entire body wreathed in burning red lava, resembling an active, erupting volcano.

Yet, it was a creature—a colossal being capable of standing in the deep sea. What they had seen earlier was merely the top of its head, and the flowing lava-like matter they had encountered throughout the journey was all part of its body.

Seemingly enraged by the two who had trespassed into its territory, it opened a mouth billowing with thick smoke and let out a roar.

No sound reached their ears—it was a strange, low-frequency roar beyond human hearing—yet they could see the sound waves rippling outward. The surrounding sea surged violently, instantly whipping up tsunamis.

[Master, it's cursing at you!]

The system suddenly piped up in anger, its little light-orb flickering with indignation.

"You can understand it?" Qiuci asked while dragging the social recluse to dodge the giant's attacks.

[Yes. Its sound is below 20Hz, inaudible to human ears, but the system can analyze it.]

"What is it saying?" If it could speak, it could communicate.

[It says: 'Damn you, traitors! You thousand-cut betrayers, you godforsaken idiots! Get out! Leave my sea!']

"Ho—that's a pretty dirty mouth."

"Senior Chu!" While she was deep in thought, the ever-clutched Jing pointed to the right, speaking with excitement. "I feel that summoning again! It's right ahead, under the water!"

*They found it this quickly?!*

*ROAR—*

The giant beast opened its mouth again, triggering another tsunami.

Qiuci decided to abandon the idea of communication and shouted toward the beast while waving her hand. "Stop cursing! We're leaving right now!"

She accelerated, rushing toward the direction Jing had pointed.

The beast paused, seemingly stunned by her response. Even the barrage of lava spikes stalled for a moment. Seeing that the two were about to escape, it seemed to snap out of its stupor. Its massive body twisted as it gave chase, causing the entire sea to boil and the earth to quake with tsunamis.

*Damn it!*

*It's still chasing! Does it have to be so angry?*

[Master, that volcano wants you to stay!]

*Stay my foot! Time to run!*

Qiuci pushed her speed to the limit, hurtling toward their destination.