Not only had this dragon whale, worth two thousand contribution points, appeared right before Li Fan of its own accord, it had even snatched away the spoils of his task.
How could Li Fan endure this?
Foundation Establishment cultivators might be helpless against this dragon whale, but that did not mean Li Fan could not kill it!
Li Fan narrowed his eyes slightly, and his Formless Killing Intent instantly locked onto the dragon whale.
The whispers in his ears and the hallucinatory visions before his eyes surfaced once more.
Only this time, the side effects were considerably milder than when he had locked onto Protector Wan.
Li Fan recovered quickly. Seeing the dragon whale's figure about to vanish in the distance, he swiftly gave chase.
The monstrous dragon whale had no inkling that it had been targeted by a deadly intent.
At this moment, it was hunting through the deep sea.
The pulsing sensation from the bulge atop its head told it that the time was drawing near.
As long as it kept hunting like this, it would not be long before an earth-shattering transformation occurred within its body.
It would be able to break free from this hideous form forever and assume the sacred image etched into its mind.
The dragon whale patrolled the deep sea, as relaxed and leisurely as if it were strolling through its own garden.
Before long, it discovered prey ahead—one of its own kind.
Another dragon whale.
Only, this one was female.
Attracted by the powerful male scent, the female dragon whale swam forward ingratiatingly.
Looking at this creature, who would certainly be considered "beautiful" among their kind, the monstrous dragon whale felt only a wave of nausea and revulsion.
*This is my kin?*
*How absurd.*
A dangerous light gleamed in the monstrous dragon whale's eyes.
Once the female dragon whale drew near, it opened its gaping maw and swallowed her whole without mercy.
*Pathetic creature!*
Silently digesting the flesh and blood in its belly, the monstrous dragon whale could not help recalling its past.
Once, it too had been like that pitiable wretch, roaming the ocean floor in an addled daze.
Feeding, mating, and living purely by instinct.
Yet from a certain day onward, everything had suddenly changed.
As if waking from a long nightmare, its consciousness began to awaken.
It gained a purpose of its own.
It wanted to grow strong—as strong as those creatures that flew through the air above the sea all day long.
A wealth of knowledge appeared out of nowhere in its mind.
Thus, it came to understand what to devour and digest to grow the fastest.
Its premonitions grew increasingly accurate as well.
Whenever it drew near several particular spots on the seabed, it felt an overwhelming sense of danger.
So it always skirted around those places when feeding.
It grew faster and faster, becoming increasingly clever.
Gradually, from the depths of the sea, it could even sense things on the water's surface that would aid its growth.
And so, for the first time in its life, it burst out of the sea and feasted to its heart's content on an island.
Then, just as danger was about to arrive, it swiftly made its escape.
From that point on, a bulge formed on its forehead.
Moreover, the image of an incomparably mighty beast emerged in its mind.
An obscure intuition told it that this was a power buried deep within its bloodline.
As long as it continued to devour, it too could become as powerful as its ancestor!
Yes! Devour without mercy! No one could stop it!
A dangerous aura snapped the monstrous dragon whale out of its memories and back to the present.
It suddenly noticed a colossal sea serpent blocking its path forward.
In its memory, this sea serpent had lived for a very long time.
Back when the whale was first born, the serpent had already been the overlord of this stretch of sea.
In the past, for the sake of safety, the whale had always steered clear of it.
Now, however, times had changed...
A glint of greed flashed in the monstrous dragon whale's eyes, and it lunged at the sea serpent.
After a fierce struggle, blood dyed the ocean floor red.
The monstrous dragon whale swallowed the sea serpent's most prized parts into its belly.
Gentle energy surged continuously from its stomach, mending its wounds.
The dragon whale grew rather excited.
Though it had sustained some injuries, it was entirely worth it.
Once it fully absorbed the sea serpent's energy...
Before it could daydream further, another dangerous aura rapidly approached from nearby.
*Is that the giant octopus?*
*Why are they all crowding in today?*
*Then I'll just swallow all of you.*
The dragon whale let out a roar and tangled in battle with the giant octopus.
After a long while, the octopus's massive body was torn to shreds.
Yet the monstrous dragon whale was also covered in wounds.
Before it even had time to devour and absorb the octopus, the dragon whale felt three or four more dangerous auras rushing toward it from nearby.
*What rotten luck today!*
It picked up speed, wanting to put distance between itself and these vexing creatures.
However...
It never ended.
No matter where it went, it encountered enemies attacking it.
Even those who were clearly no match for it charged forward like madmen just to throw their lives away.
At first, it had intended to teach these creatures a lesson, but before long, it could only flee in panic.
There were simply too many of them, and having gone without rest for so long, it was growing increasingly exhausted.
The dragon whale felt that something was amiss.
Yet it had no idea where the problem lay.
The relentless hunting by the other creatures of the deep seemed as though it would never cease.
The dragon whale's consciousness began to blur.
Until the moment right before death, it vaguely saw a phantom glowing with blue light materialize before it.
Then, its consciousness froze over completely.
***
Having unleashed the Blue Flame phantom spirit to deliver the finishing blow to the monstrous dragon whale, Li Fan finally let out a long breath of relief.
As the lock of the Formless Killing Intent dispersed, the surrounding sea creatures that had been glaring hungrily lingered in confusion for a moment before turning away and advancing no further.
Hunting this dragon whale had taken far longer than Li Fan had imagined.
This monstrous beast was simply too formidable.
Recalling the battles between underwater behemoths he had witnessed while following it along the way, Li Fan still felt a lingering chill.
Fortunately, no matter how powerful it was, it could not withstand endless attrition.
It had taken a full twenty-odd days to wear the monstrous dragon whale down to death.
That alone showed how tenacious its vitality truly was.
"Only someone like me could pull this off. An ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator really wouldn't have had any way to deal with it."
"The Formless Killing Intent—truly worthy of being something I comprehended from the killing intent of heaven and earth. Formidable indeed."
Having hunted the monstrous dragon whale without shedding blood and secured two thousand contribution points, Li Fan could not help feeling rather delighted.
"The dragon whale is too large; the storage ring won't hold it. I can only cut off a few distinctive and valuable parts..."
Li Fan looked at the dragon whale's carcass before him, pondering silently.
After a bout of hard work, Li Fan dismantled it.
Just as he was preparing to leave, another thought suddenly crossed his mind.
"I've heard that these dragon whales often have indigestible things left in their stomachs. Over years and months, they clump together into a mass. It can serve as a rare material for artifact refining and is worth quite a few contribution points."
In keeping with the principle of never letting an opportunity slip by, Li Fan began rummaging through the monstrous dragon whale's stomach.
"This dragon whale's stomach is truly a chaotic mess; it has everything in here..."
"Wait, what's this..."
Li Fan picked up a bead-like object that was already half-digested, instantly finding it somewhat familiar.
Very quickly, he realized what it was.
"Isn't this a liuli pearl..."
Chapter 76