In the pitch-black ocean depths, an enormous mecha slammed through an invisible barrier and manifested in the water.
The crushing high pressure of the deep sea had no effect on the mecha whatsoever. Two beams of light flared from its eyes, sweeping over the surrounding waters.
"Where is he?"
Yu Xian could not find the slightest trace of Zhi'er, and his brow furrowed.
Niman analyzed, "He might possess an escape technique, and a remarkably high-grade one at that."
"Then it's definitely water escape," Yu Xian said immediately.
Although escape techniques and spatial jumps were quite similar on the surface, they were inherently different abilities.
Take fire escape, for instance. With the light of flames serving as a medium between two torches, a practitioner could slip their physical form into the fire the moment they touched it, traveling along the flame's glow from Torch A to Torch B.
Spatial abilities, on the other hand, mostly involved distorting space and overlapping two sets of coordinates to achieve relocation.
Of course, it was said that spatial escape techniques existed as well—space escape. That was an ability faster than even spatial jumping. As long as one's body remained within a given space, one could traverse freely anywhere across that space at will.
Little Nora's Realm-Breaking Skyward Body actually belonged to the category of space escape, though their underlying principles differed slightly, and Little Nora's technique was a notch higher in grade.
"Big Brother, what do we do now?" Little Nora asked.
Yu Xian annihilated a giant sea monster that was attempting to prey on him with a single punch, gritting his teeth. "Let's look around first. If we can't find him, we'll ask Auntie."
With that, he contacted the Aska parked in outer space and had Muse mark all the hidden spatial pockets nearby.
The space closest to the Bottom of the Sea lay just to its upper right, very likely another stronghold of the Ancient Sages Society. Yu Xian activated his spatial ability directly, and with a flash, vanished from the ocean waters.
Inside the Abyss of the Sea.
Amid rippling waves of golden light, Yu Xian appeared within a vast blue spatial realm.
The next instant, he saw rows upon rows of nuclear warheads occupying the center of the space. And the very moment he laid eyes on them, every single nuclear warhead detonated.
Clearly, this was a trap.
If anyone investigated the Ancient Sages Society and traced them here, mistaking this realm for the organization's headquarters, they would be greeted by the simultaneous explosion of thousands of nuclear warheads.
Moreover, upon entering the pocket dimension, Yu Xian noticed that the space itself was a trigger-based trap. The moment a living organism entered, interference measures were initiated, preventing the intruder from fleeing the area right away.
If Yu Xian had relentlessly pursued the Ancient Sages Society back in the past, stepping into this realm would have been exceedingly perilous even with Star-rank strength. After all, Edward had nearly been killed by a nuclear bomb back then.
Yet to the current Yu Xian, this was nothing more than a fireworks display.
Engulfed in flames, the King of the Abyss Battle Armor didn't even shift in color. Standing at the very center of the nuclear explosion, Yu Xian fell silent for a moment before sighing. "Looks like we've lost the trail."
"Big Brother, why don't we just ask where Helick's Great Trove is, and then head over to wait for him like waiting by a tree for a hare?" Little Nora suggested.
Zhi'er's escape technique was so formidable that even if they tracked him down again, he might slip away a second time.
Auntie Number Two could only be asked three questions a day. If they failed to catch Zhi'er after three attempts, wouldn't they have to wait until tomorrow? And what if they failed to catch him tomorrow too?
Tomorrow after tomorrow—when would it ever end?
Yu Xian shook his head. "No. Our primary objective is rescuing Shuishui; dealing with Zhi'er is only secondary. What if we wait for Zhi'er at Helick's Great Trove, but he kills Shuishui before heading there?"
"That's true too," Little Nora admitted upon reflection.
With Shui Yuetian in Zhi'er's hands, their side was undeniably at a disadvantage. But the moment they rescued Shui Yuetian, the tables would turn.
At this point, Yu Xian summoned Auntie Number Two and asked, "Auntie, please tell me Zhi'er's location."
"Zhi'er is in the Extreme Dragon Forbidden Zone," Auntie Number Two answered.
Yu Xian froze upon hearing the answer, and the others were equally stunned. Xiao Sensen had only just briefed them on how terrifying the Extreme Dragon was, and now Zhi'er was right inside the Extreme Dragon Forbidden Zone.
"Yu Xian, is there really an Extreme Dragon in the Extreme Dragon Forbidden Zone?" Niman asked hurriedly.
Yu Xian nodded. "Yeah. There really is an Extreme Dragon."
Speaking of which, he still had unfinished business with the Extreme Dragon. Clearly, the dragon's wrath had subsided by now; otherwise, with Yu Xian no longer accompanied by Zhenwo Changjing, the beast would have tracked him down long ago.
Although Yu Xian's current power was countless times greater than before, honestly speaking, the thought of facing the Extreme Dragon still gave him a creeping sense of dread.
Back when he possessed Star-rank strength and traveled all over Earth, he had never once entertained the thought of provoking the Extreme Dragon, purely out of sheer wariness.
After all, no one had any idea just how unfathomably powerful the Extreme Dragon truly was.
"Maybe we should wait for Zhi'er to come out of the Extreme Dragon Forbidden Zone before going after him," Little Nora said meekly.
This time, even Niman agreed. "Indeed, the Extreme Dragon Forbidden Zone is far too dangerous. If Xiao Sensen wasn't lying, the Extreme Dragon has the strength of at least a Mighty One. We have practically zero chance of winning."
At this moment, Yu Xian genuinely began to waver.
It wasn't that he was a coward.
Rather, the Extreme Dragon was simply too monstrous. To this day, no one had ever withstood its attacks; virtually every blow resulted in an instant kill.
If he went over and got instakilled as well, it would be far too senseless a death.
It hadn't been easy for the Extreme Dragon to finally calm its anger and stop hunting him down. He had no desire to show up before it and jog its memory.
"I have a question," Nora spoke up. "What's the relationship between the Extreme Dragon and Zhi'er? Why would Zhi'er be in the Extreme Dragon Forbidden Zone?"
Everyone was taken aback as the gravity of the question sank in.
Was Zhi'er not afraid of the Extreme Dragon's attacks? The Extreme Dragon could detect even the spiritual bodies of the Namo race; how could Zhi'er possibly conceal himself from it?
This gave rise to two possibilities.
Either the Extreme Dragon and Zhi'er belonged to the same camp, or Zhi'er possessed a concealment technique capable of eluding even the Extreme Dragon.
Naturally, neither possibility was good news for Yu Xian and the others.
"How about... we go take a look?"
Yu Xian took a deep breath and addressed the group through gritted teeth.
Though there was a chance of being influenced by the Extreme Dragon and turning into a dragonman, or being dragged into a dream realm with no escape, leaving this matter unresolved would become a persistent thorn in their hearts, potentially turning into an inner demon over time.
"Then we just take a look from far away and run?" Little Nora asked, sounding rather unconfident.
If not for burning curiosity over what was going on, it wouldn't want to set foot anywhere near the Extreme Dragon Forbidden Zone for the world.
After a round of discussion, everyone ultimately agreed to scout out the situation.
After all, they were clad in the King of the Abyss Battle Armor, which could resist even Abyss infection. No matter how powerful the Extreme Dragon was, it couldn't instantly kill them, whereas understanding the relationship between Zhi'er and the dragon was of paramount importance.
If Zhi'er was hiding, they would find a way to expose his concealment, ideally pitting the Extreme Dragon and Zhi'er against one another.
If Zhi'er and the Extreme Dragon were allies, they would have no choice but to bide their time.
Worst-case scenario, they would wait until Zhi'er was isolated, then find an opportunity to rescue the hostage and slaughter him.
Chapter 320