Chapter 41: The Devouring of the Dragon Whale

“Not good!”
“There’s another Dragon Whale Beast!”
Just as she broke through the surface and entered the sea, Si Mingyue felt an immense suction drawing her in. In that instant, she realized that another Dragon Whale Beast was lurking beneath the waves.
“This Dragon Whale Beast must have come together with the one I just killed!”
“It simply cannot fly, so it’s been hiding underwater all along.”
A dragon can shrink or grow, ascend or vanish.
The Dragon Whale Beast possessed the bloodline of the dragon, and some could awaken abilities unique to dragons.
Some could soar from the sea, others could conceal themselves without a trace.
Evidently, this one hiding beneath the waves was a master of stealth—
Even as a Grandmaster, Si Mingyue hadn’t sensed a thing.
“If even I couldn’t detect it, this Dragon Whale Beast must be at least fourth rank!”
“And it’s using the Whale Swallowing Technique in the sea—”
“I absolutely cannot confront it head-on!”
Her body slipping into the void, Si Mingyue quickly escaped the water, breaking free from the force of the Whale Swallowing Technique—
For a Grandmaster, as long as the void isn’t sealed, escape is always within reach. This was the confidence with which Grandmasters roamed the world.
“Xie’er, quickly fly away on the Wind-Thunder Eagle!”
Gazing at the churning surface, Si Mingyue shouted with urgency, feeling a surge of relief:
If this Dragon Whale Beast could fly, or if she hadn’t just caught the other off guard with the Sea and Moon Godslaying Blade—
This battle might have turned out very differently!
“But why did these two Dragon Whale Beasts come together in the first place?”
“Could it be… for that flood dragon?”
A sudden realization struck her, her face changing as she understood why the Dragon Whale Beast had remained hidden until now, only to unleash its innate power at this moment:
“Not good!”
“This Dragon Whale Beast must have overheard my conversation with Xie’er and knows who has the flood dragon’s corpse—”
“That’s why it’s using its innate technique!”
“I escaped so easily, not because the beast’s power is weak, but because its true target—”
“Is that man named Lu Sheng!”
A fourth-rank Dragon Whale Beast possessed intelligence on par with humans.
In this world, human speech was most widely used, and most powerful beasts, whether they could speak or not, could understand it.
Clearly, the words just exchanged with Lei Xie’er had reached the beast in the sea.
So it unleashed its innate technique, aiming to swallow the human who had obtained the dragon’s corpse!

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“The suction is too strong!”
“I have to anchor myself immediately!”
Just as Lu Sheng tried to escape the area affected by the Whale Swallowing Technique, he felt the force grow even stronger—
His body was drawn swiftly toward the source of the suction!
“Damn!”
“What on earth is happening?”
“This beast seems to be after me!”
No matter how he struggled, the inescapable pull followed him relentlessly. Lu Sheng quickly realized—
This suction was targeting him personally!
He couldn’t fathom the reason; what could make this Dragon Whale Beast act this way?
“Could it be because of that flood dragon?”
No matter how he turned it over in his mind, that was all he could guess!

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He didn’t have long to ponder. A cold, clear voice reached his ears:
“Lu Sheng, I know you’re down there. Listen to me!”
“This Dragon Whale Beast overheard my conversation with Xie’er and knows you have the dragon’s corpse.”
“If you can hide, do not move. Wait for me to drive it away and then I’ll come rescue you!”
Slashing repeatedly at the sea with her crescent blade, Si Mingyue shouted loudly.
She couldn’t let go of the dragon’s corpse, nor could she bear to let someone die due to her own mistake, so she refused to give up.
But she had already exhausted herself using the Sea and Moon Godslaying Blade, and now could neither summon a second strike nor unleash any blade energy of real power—
It was impossible to break through the defenses of the Dragon Whale Beast lurking below.
Besides, though she felt some shame at how things had spun out of control, Si Mingyue couldn’t risk diving into the sea to fight the Dragon Whale Beast head-on.
Lu Sheng’s fate would depend on himself!

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Hearing Si Mingyue’s words, Lu Sheng gave a bitter laugh, finally understanding where the trouble had begun:
“So, it was them who let slip that I have the dragon’s corpse!”
“No wonder this Dragon Whale Beast is after me!”
Staring at the gaping maw now clearly visible before him, Lu Sheng had no hope left of escaping.
“Still, being swallowed doesn’t necessarily mean death!”
“I’ve been through a dragon’s mouth before!”
With a sharp crackling, Lu Sheng activated his Bone Shrinking Technique, covered himself in profound energy, and dove headlong into the beast’s maw!
As if sensing him, the Dragon Whale Beast opened its jaws even wider. After swallowing Lu Sheng, it quickly dove deep and vanished.

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“Lu Sheng! Lu Sheng!”
“Are you still there?”
From the sky, sensing the Dragon Whale Beast’s aura vanish, Si Mingyue called out for Lu Sheng, but her heart grew heavier by the moment:
“Just now, I heard someone use the Bone Shrinking Technique—”
“Right beside the Dragon Whale Beast!”
“That must have been Lu Sheng!”
“He’s already been swallowed!”
Though the sea had been raging, Si Mingyue’s senses were sharp enough to hear a sound that only a human could make—surely, it was Lu Sheng’s attempt at self-rescue before being devoured!
“But even if he managed to survive the beast’s jaws—”
“Once inside, he’ll perish sooner or later!”
The mouth of a Dragon Whale Beast was lined with dense, resilient whalebone bristles capable of filtering whatever was swallowed.
A fourth-rank Dragon Whale Beast could manipulate its bristles to shred even a Martial Lord to pieces!
Perhaps, for the sake of the dragon’s corpse it coveted, the beast would show Lu Sheng some mercy. But once in its belly, the constant churning would grind him to dust—
A fourth-rank demon beast, like a human, could control every part of its body. Getting in or out was by no means easy.

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Regretfully, Si Mingyue searched the sea thoroughly once more, but found no further trace of Lu Sheng.
As for the flood dragon’s corpse, there was no sign of it, nor any belongings or spatial equipment.
“That boy Lu Sheng really was swallowed by the Dragon Whale Beast!”
“And the flood dragon’s corpse must be in his spatial pouch.”
She shook her head, sighing with regret.
But that Dragon Whale Beast’s strength in the sea was equal to her own, and its ability to conceal its presence was formidable.
Now that it had vanished into the depths, she could not hope to give chase.
“Let’s hope Lu Sheng keeps the secret of his spatial pouch.”
“Otherwise, a powerful demon beast will soon emerge from the deep!”
Demon beasts didn’t have profound energy or force, and could only use their spiritual power to try to break the seals on spatial equipment. All Si Mingyue could do was hope Lu Sheng would keep the secret, or that he had already perished—
In that case, the flood dragon’s corpse would not be devoured by the Dragon Whale Beast, nor would its power increase!
Perhaps that was the best possible outcome.