Chapter 968: The One Who Controls the Waves, The Lord of the Sea

Great waves swallowed the Yunlun Mountains, merging the heavens into a single color.

Darkness descended upon them at that moment, and every trial participant in the Yunlun Mountains couldn't help but look up at the colossal waves surging down from the nine heavens.

No one knew what was happening.

Yet, these towering waves easily evoked a sense of impending catastrophe, as if death was imminent.

On the fifth dragon vein.

Xu Xiaoji, transformed into Xu Shao, had just led his subordinates to seize the Dragon Lord flag, which was held by Xiao Jing.

Everyone was immersed in a festive atmosphere, as only four mountain peaks remained before claiming the title of "Lord of the Nine Dragons."

With a little more effort and momentum, who could stop Xu Bang's advance?

Xu Xiaoji was equally elated.

This was the second mountain peak he had conquered leading his forces since breaking free from Shouge's constraints.

Though he hadn't lifted a finger throughout, merely overseeing the battle, the joy of freedom was something he could never experience in the Yuanfu world.

This made Xu Xiaoji, who felt trapped in the mud and constantly at risk of death, even more repulsed by the Yuanfu world, convinced that returning to the embrace of Sheng Shen Dalu was true bliss.

However, shortly after the victory celebration, darkness engulfed all colors, and the sky began to pour down raindrops as large as beans.

"Look quickly!"

"This, what is this?"

The members of Xu Bang noticed the anomaly and looked up, their faces turning pale in an instant.

"This, is this a wave?"

"No, it's so high—only a tsunami could describe it... But how could there be a tsunami in Yunlun Mountains? The nearest sea... there's no sea near Yunlun Mountains at all!"

"What's going on?"

Xu Xiaoji stared blankly at the sky.

His first reaction to this heavenly phenomenon was that a rare treasure had emerged.

Only then did he realize that no treasure's appearance would bring such widespread disaster.

These waves were nearly engulfing the entire Yunlun Mountains!

"Shouge, is this... your doing?"

Xu Xiaoji stared in a daze.

He felt the outside world was incredibly dangerous.

Why didn't disasters come with a warning?

If there were some forewarning, he could at least argue or immediately abandon the trial identity to escape.

Xu Xiaoji wanted to resist but felt utterly powerless.

He thought even Tai Xu might struggle to survive such massive waves, and as a Wangzuo Daojing at best, how could he withstand this disaster?

"Run—"

Panic-stricken shouts erupted among the Xu Bang members.

But this was only from a few, and it was quickly suppressed.

After all, the trial participants here were not fools; they knew that under such waves, there was no safe place in Yunlun Mountains.

In this situation, there were only two ways to die:

One was to be smashed by the waves and rely on the trial jade pendant to see if it could teleport them out of Yunlun Mountains, saving their lives.

The other was to crush the trial jade pendant on the spot, avoiding the agony of the waves, but that meant the end of their trial journey.

"Xu Shao!"

Xiao Jing, who had just earned the "Dragon Lord" title, was completely lost and turned back to look at Xu Shao, seeking a decision.

The fate of Xu Bang might hinge on one command from Xu Shao.

Xu Xiaoji turned back in confusion.

He had never experienced anything like this and was momentarily indecisive.

But thinking of his current identity as Shouge, he wondered what Shouge would do.

Xu Xiaoji steadied his mind, drawing strength from empathy, suppressed his trembling expression, and tried to speak calmly: "Wait."

Wait for what?

No one asked further, as if everyone had lost the ability to speak at that moment.

Xu Xiaoji didn't know what he was waiting for; he thought perhaps Shouge's protection could make the waves dissipate on their own.

But regardless, the domain that Shouge had built as Xu Shao could not be disbanded with a single word from him.

If nothing happened afterward and Shouge returned, he would be in trouble...

Wait for the unknown!

Wait for a turnaround!

Xu Xiaoji believed that all the trial participants in Yunlun Mountains were harboring the same hope.

Because this was Yunlun Mountains, the site of the Wangcheng trial, and there had been a sage battle before, so there should be Ban Sheng watching!

With this in mind, Xu Xiaoji calmed his nerves.

In a daze, he seemed to see a vague figure standing on the crest of the descending waves.

It was a figure so blurred that its exact shape was indistinguishable, enveloped in mist like a ghost, making it hard to see clearly.

The only identifiable feature was the half-beast mask on its face.

The beast mask, seemingly forged from gold, covered its expression, leaving only the corners of its mouth obscured by mist, yet somehow evoking a mocking smile in everyone's minds.

"Someone's there!"

"He's laughing?"

Among the Xu Bang members, a sharp-eyed person also spotted the vague figure on the wave's crest and exclaimed in shock: "This massive wave isn't a natural disaster—it's being manipulated by someone!"

Xu Xiaoji confirmed he wasn't seeing things.

At a certain moment, after spotting the shadowy figure at the wave's peak, everything around him seemed to slow down.

The motion of the waves crashing from the nine heavens became sluggish...

It wasn't an illusion!

The waves' descent had truly slowed!

Xu Xiaoji's pupils contracted sharply; he inexplicably sensed the figure's intent on the wave's crest, just like his own—waiting!

What was he waiting for?

Suddenly, from the other side of the heavens, a faint whistling sound approached.

Then, the sound grew louder as a black dot shot toward them, transforming into an arrow wreathed in black-red evil aura.

This arrow pierced through time and space, hurtling straight at the figure on the wave's crest.

"It's the arrow from the Xie Zui Bow!"

Among the Xu Bang members, some trial participants who had previously used special means to bypass the Yunjing world's seals and witness the sage battle recognized the arrow.

But...

Another arrow?

They knew that Ai Cangsheng from the Zhongyu Sheng Shan headquarters had already shot one arrow today—how could there be another so soon?

What kind of crises were unfolding in Yunlun Mountains during the Wangcheng trial that required Ai Cangsheng to fire arrow after arrow for support?

"It's here..."

Xu Xiaoji murmured silently, hope igniting in his eyes.

This was from a Ban Sheng!

A single arrow from a Ban Sheng should shatter the Yunlun disaster, right?

In the next second, he watched as the figure on the wave's crest drew a dazzling golden trident from the waves just before the Xie Zui Bow's arrow arrived.

Then, he thrust it forward.

"Boom!"

The trident's tip met the arrow's energy.

The waves, still hanging in the sky, were blasted apart by the Ban Sheng's arrow, dissolving into a torrential downpour that drenched the earth.

Whoosh...

The heavy rain poured down unexpectedly.

Yet, all the trial participants in Yunlun Mountains who had looked up were oblivious, still lost in shock.

The figure wielding the trident on the wave's crest had withstood the powerful strike from the Xie Zui Bow and only retreated half a step.

Half a step!

The wielder flung the golden trident, shaking off much of the mist from his body to reveal a black robe and, beneath the golden beast mask, a stubbled chin with a faintly curved lip.

He was indeed smiling!

Everyone clearly saw the mocking smile they had imagined etched on the corners of the wielder's mouth.

"A Ban Sheng's strike is merely this."

After blocking the arrow, the wave-controlling figure swung his trident and vanished into the human realm.

Xu Xiaoji was stunned.

Hearing that final faint voice, he suddenly realized that the one causing this disaster with the trident was not a Ban Sheng but likely below that level.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have mockingly dismissed a Ban Sheng's strike.

But...

"Is he Tai Xu?

"Can a Tai Xu withstand a arrow from Ban Sheng Ai Cangsheng?"

Xu Xiaoji's heart raced with fear, and his body shuddered.

This world was too insane!

Perhaps the Yuanfu world, with its cats for company, was more suitable for me, Xu Xiao.

Shouge, where are you? If you don't come soon, the Xu Bang members might truly make me their leader!

At Guyin Cliff.

The crowd overwhelmed by the massive waves had also witnessed the trident-wielder's clash with Ai Cangsheng from afar.

Unlike the trial participants, the people at Guyin Cliff were more knowledgeable.

"The Yu Hai Shen Ji!

"The Yu Hai Shen Ji, one of the top ten anomalous weapons alongside the 'Imitator'!

"Wasn't this thing lost after Yu Mo's death? Has it been obtained by a water-attribute Lian Lingshi again?"

Rao Yao Yao suddenly realized something in her daze.

No wonder her earlier remote clash with this person had resulted in her wind attribute being completely overpowered by his water attribute.

No wonder he, as a Tai Xu, could create such a near-disaster-level tsunami and use it to withstand a arrow from Ban Sheng Ai Cangsheng.

It turned out he was empowered by the Yu Hai Shen Ji!

Rao Yao Yao vaguely recalled the records submitted when the Yu Hai Shen Ji was first acquired by Sheng Shen Dian Tang and then conquered by Yu Mo's water-attribute mastery:

"The Yu Hai Shen Ji, the supreme divine object for water-attribute Lian Lingshi, possesses the power to move mountains and fill seas."

—A mere tsunami was just the tip of its capabilities.

"If a water-attribute Lian Lingshi gains the Yu Hai Shen Ji's recognition, they can use it as a foundation to challenge a Ban Sheng with Tai Xu power!"

This was one of the reasons Yu Mo, the former head of the Ling Department, was hailed as the "Great Demon King Yu Mo" and leader among the six departments.

But Rao Yao Yao also remembered that after Yu Mo's death, the Yu Hai Shen Ji had disappeared.

He had left everything to his son Yu Ling Di, even his chance of revival... yet the Yu Hai Shen Ji had vanished before it could be returned to Sheng Shen Dian Tang.

"Did Ba Zun An obtain it?

"So this person is also from the Sheng Nu?"

Rao Yao Yao formed a rough guess.

Based on her earlier exchange with the trident-wielder, she deduced his combat level: not yet a Ban Sheng, same as her, at Tai Xu.

"With my abilities and the Xuan Cang Shen Jian, I can fight him!"

Rao Yao Yao felt relieved that her opponent wasn't a Ban Sheng, or she wouldn't even have a chance to fight.

As it stood...

The only gap between her and the trident-wielder was that he had gained the Yu Hai Shen Ji's recognition, while she had yet to earn the Xuan Cang Shen Jian's.

"Boom!"

While everyone was lost in thought, the shattered waves from the nine heavens turned into a heavy rain.

But at the base of Guyin Cliff, another massive wave surged amid thunderous roars.

This time, the wave wasn't towering; it merely rose above the surrounding area of Guyin Cliff, locking onto all the trial officials and stowaways trying to escape.

"Openly attacking while secretly crossing elsewhere!"

Xu Xiaoshou, transformed as Hua Luo, instantly saw through the trident-wielder's intent:

Use the impending tsunami to engulf all of Yunlun Mountains as a lure, forcing Ai Cangsheng, who was watching Guyin Cliff with the Dao Eye, to fire an arrow.

After countering the strong attack, follow up with a smaller wave to drag everyone at this location into the cliff's depths.

"What strong scheming!"

Xu Xiaoshou felt the plan was eerily familiar.

He recalled the Wangcheng night battle, where he had used the lives of all the city's Lian Lingshi as bait to force Sheng Shen Dian Tang to scatter their forces, allowing him to save the people of Tian Shang First Tower.

The trident-wielder's "overt strategy" was strikingly similar to his own past actions.

The only slight difference was...

This trident-wielder's power was far too great.

His so-called "small wave," after locking onto everyone, left no one able to break free or resist; they could only be swept away as the waves engulfed everything in their sight.

"Ah—"

Screams echoed one after another.

Countless trial officials dragged into the cliff's depths, even the Tai Xu among the stowaways, couldn't hold out.

Teng Shanhai struggled fiercely but only lasted a moment before a ghostly figure in the waves grabbed him and hurled him toward the cliff bottom...

The disheveled uncle, who declared "I stand firm as a mountain, with sword energy everywhere," managed to protect himself with his sword energy, but as soon as the ghostly figure appeared, it struck him with a halberd, sending him flying into the waves to be swallowed...

Ye Xiaotian repelled the waves with spatial power, barely holding on, but then a water-attribute array unfolded, shattering his defenses; a ghostly hand emerged, seizing his ankle and pulling him off his feet to plummet into the cliff...

"Long Rong..."

Bai Lian had only half-shouted the sacred name when "save me" was cut off; suddenly choked by surging blood, he lost consciousness and was carried away by the tide into the cliff's sea of clouds.

Mu Lin watched, his lips pressed together, hands behind his back, maintaining an air of calm indifference in Xu Xiaoshou's eyes, then allowed the seawater to engulf him, as if unafraid of the unknown dangers below the cliff.

One by one, these supreme experts of the era were trapped, struck, or seized by the wave's power and fell toward the bottom of Guyin Cliff.

Rao Yao Yao gripped the Xuan Cang Shen Jian, catching glimpses of the ghostly figure repeatedly acting to throw people into the depths.

She was certain he wouldn't dare appear before her, because she had the Xuan Cang Shen Jian!

But just then, a vague heavenly sign surged before her eyes, and she heard the voice of Dao Qiong Cang, the head of Sheng Shen Dian Tang: "Enter the bottom of Guyin Cliff, retrieve the 'Yu Hai Shen Ji', uncover the trident-wielder's identity, and seize the 'Opportunity'."

"Opportunity? What opportunity?" Rao Yao Yao was slightly stunned; she understood the first two tasks, but what was this "Opportunity"?

"Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed..." The voice faded into nothingness.

Rao Yao Yao's eyelids twitched, and in the end, she gave up resisting, letting the seawater swallow her.

"It's all gone..."

Xu Xiaoshou, transformed as Hua Luo, clung desperately to the Dan Ding until the very last moment, continuously depicting images of his protective spiritual artifacts being crushed by the water pressure.

His figure gradually drifted toward the sea of clouds at the cliff's edge.

Finally, seeing no possible observers left, he stirred his thoughts, and his mind echoed with the escape technique that required no prelude or seals:

"Disappear Technique!"