Polluting the Ocean

New York County. Winnie, who was leading the Enforcement and Supervision Departments on a mission to handle a terrorist attack, felt a violent jolt in her chest. She snapped her head up and saw the sky blanketed by dense purple clouds, billowing and spreading like thick smoke, blotting out the sun. The entire city plunged into gloom. Every Spirit Realm walker from both the orthodox and evil factions—Winnie Berrent included—felt a terrifying pressure crush down on them simultaneously, stirring an overwhelming dread within their hearts. Yet this dread soon dispersed, and the crushing pressure from the skies vanished. Before the orthodox and evil practitioners present could even breathe a sigh of relief, an intense palpitation struck them once again. Pale-faced, they looked toward the Port of New York. Something horrifying was approaching the harbor. *** A colossal island sat anchored roughly a dozen kilometers off the coast. A white man clad in a black suit and white dress shirt walked out of the dense forest, arriving at the sandy beach at the island’s edge. He gazed toward the port for a few seconds, loosened his tie, took off his polished leather boots and suit, and neatly folded them on the sand. Stripped completely naked, he walked along the beach and stepped into the ocean. From the jungle behind him, scaled monstrous birds, three-headed giant bears, pit vipers with vibrant, human-like faces, nine-tailed white tigers… hundreds upon hundreds of aberrant monsters surged out like a raging tide, hurtling forward in succession to slam directly into his body. As the man absorbed the aberrant monsters, he waded deeper into the sea. With every stride he took, his stature swelled by ten feet, while pairs of eyes and arms sprouted across his flesh. His short blonde hair morphed into slender snakes, hissing with flicking tongues. He moved farther and farther out, his frame becoming increasingly bloated, while the monsters in the ocean converged on him in waves, making themselves part of his form. Before long, the man had transformed into the thousands-of-feet-tall Smoker. The ocean only reached his waist, and foul pus oozed from his swollen flesh, turning the surrounding sea pitch-black. He strode unhurriedly across the water, making landfall at the Port of New York, and marched toward the grand cathedral dedicated to Poseidon, the Sea God. The moment the Smoker set foot in the port, deep within that spired cathedral, thousands of tons of seawater vaulted into the heavens like a spectacular fountain. Instead of falling back down, parts of the fountain coalesced into a hundred-fathom giant, while others formed a magnificent chariot drawn by eight steeds. The hundred-fathom giant wore a crown and a leather skirt, his bare torso covered in dark greenish-black scales. He possessed a thick, bushy beard and finned ears, and in his grip was a sapphire-blue trident. The trident was not condensed from seawater; it was a bona fide demigod-grade item, representing one of the administrator permissions. Forged from an unknown sapphire steel and studded with multicolored gems, it exuded sheer might through its splendor. The giant gently tapped the trident, raising a barrier that enveloped the church's entire headquarters. The Smoker’s advance was halted, blocked outside the barrier. Just then, the sky seemed to turn into a giant mirror, reflecting an identical yet completely inverted world. That world descended slowly, pressing into reality. Space began to splinter. The barrier shielding the Sea God Church held for only a few seconds before shattering to pieces. The Realm of Distortion! A tall, white-haired old man appeared in the Sea God Church's plaza. Holding a wine glass, he chuckled and said, "Sea Emperor, when an old friend comes knocking, how can you shut him out? I'm far more generous than you—I came to treat our friends from the Sea God Church to a drink." He drained the red wine in his glass and sprayed it out with a puff. A dense mist of alcoholic vapor drifted outward, flooding every corner of the Sea God Church. The wind could not scatter it, nor could water bar its way. Inside the church, members who had taken refuge—whether Transcendents, Saints, or Dominators—began to sway, their steps staggering. One after another, they collapsed, hopelessly drunk and dead to the world. *Wuuu…* A mournful, ghostly wind howled as two black-robed figures swept in from the distance. Wherever they passed, ordinary citizens of New York County perished without a sound, their spiritual bodies wrenched from their flesh and swept up by a mysterious force to trail behind the robed figures. Translucent souls drifted through the sky, their shrieks and wails making it seem as though hell had arrived on earth. Immediately after, Fear Heavenly King of the Soldier Master sect and two Witch Doctor demigods arrived one after another, manifesting into a three-headed, eight-armed god of war and a clawing, thrashing Gu Dragon. These colossal powerhouses with terrifying auras arrayed themselves on all four sides. In their center stood the Sea Emperor, trident in hand. The Sea Emperor raised his trident high and let out a thunderous roar: "All of you shall be buried beneath the boundless ocean!" *** Above the waters of the Port of New York, a figure in a wine-red suit appeared out of thin air. Looking down at the blackened, polluted surface teeming with aberrant monsters, he cursed: "Damn it, what kind of degenerate goes around polluting the ocean? "That bastard Ling Tuo—first destroying Heaven's Punishment, now trying to wipe out the Sea God, huh? Just you wait until I cultivate the Lord of the Sun. Together, we'll skin you alive!" While he was grumbling, the foul, pitch-black water suddenly began to slosh like an unsteady bowl of soup. At the edge of the horizon, a streak of white foam surged toward the harbor. It was a wave a hundred meters high. A tsunami had arrived! Mr. President started in alarm, immediately turning his gaze to New York County, now cloaked beneath the barrier. He muttered, "The Sea Emperor has been backed into a corner… With this lineup, even summoning a succubus wouldn't do any good." Evidently, the Sea Emperor intended to unleash a tsunami to smash the barrier, turning the entire city into his home turf so he could draw upon the ocean's might to contend with the evil faction. Yet if that happened, the more than eight million souls living in New York County would inevitably drown beneath the sea. "Fuck! My only choice is to go to the Spirit Realm for reinforcements." Gritting his teeth, Mr. President snapped his fingers and teleported away. *** Experienced as the Nine Elders were in weathering massive political storms and crises, the news made them feel as though their chairs were scorching hot. The First Elder of the Red Fire Sect slammed the table, rising to his feet in utter shock. "The evil faction is hunting the Sea Emperor?! None of the five alliance leaders are in the real world—what are we supposed to do?" *What can we do?* The same question flashed through the minds of the Nine Elders. Against a single demigod, they might have gritted their teeth and joined forces, but when demigods mobilized en masse, it was no longer something peak Dominators could meddle in. No matter how many went, they would only be throwing their lives away. The Sword Pavilion's First Elder from the White Tiger Guards smiled bitterly. "First sealing the Twin Gods of Wind and Thunder, then pinning down the five alliance leaders and the Taiyi Sect Master in the Spirit Realm… Seventy to eighty percent of the orthodox faction's demigods were neutralized before they gathered their forces to hunt down the Sea Emperor. Ling Tuo's calculations are brilliant—truly brilliant." As a peak Dominator of the Scout class, he swiftly deduced the evil faction's methodical plotting: one move chained into the next, conspiracies and open stratagems complementing each other seamlessly. Fu Qingyang immediately ordered, "Contact the Sea God Church. Keep monitoring the situation." A female clerk shook her head repeatedly, saying anxiously, "We can't establish contact! We can't reach Heaven's Punishment, the Sea God Church, or the Association of God of Beauty in New York County. The entire city is sealed under a barrier!" A chill ran through the scalps of the peak Dominators present. The entire city had been locked within a barrier, turned into a battleground for demigods. New York County's population exceeded eight million; they were all very likely to become collateral damage in a clash of demigods. In the history of mankind, this ranked among the top three greatest catastrophes. And scenarios like this might continue to unfold repeatedly. The conference room lapsed into dead silence. Suddenly, the communicator beside Fu Qingyang buzzed. His stern countenance visibly lifted. "It's a call from the Grand Marshal." Under the delighted gazes of the Nine Elders, Fu Qingyang grabbed his phone and connected the call. "Ling Tuo swallowed the Merit Board, and Morality Points are gone. You have three seconds to report the situation in the outside world," Fu Qingxuan's cool, murderous voice came through. Fu Qingyang said in a heavy voice, "Order has collapsed. Rivers of blood and mountains of corpses—it's like the Middle East." "Understood!" Fu Qingxuan said. "The Void demigod brought us out. He told us the evil demigods have gathered in New York County to besiege the Sea Emperor." Fu Qingyang frowned. "Have the issues inside the Spirit Realm been settled?" "There's no time to care about that now. Ling Tuo already achieved his objective, so staying in the Spirit Realm serves no purpose. Besides, the Spirit Realm possesses strong self-repairing capabilities and will recover after a while. Rescuing the Sea Emperor is the priority." The Grand Marshal sounded exceedingly annoyed. "Damn it all. The hot milk tea I bought this morning is stone cold, and I didn't even get a single sip." Fu Qingyang replied expressionlessly, "I am in a meeting!" Fu Qingxuan shifted her tone. "You sounded too tense, so I was just joking." With that, she hung up directly. *** Inside the Spirit Realm, having lost the stabilizing influence of the Five Emperors Dharmakaya, the black full moon resumed devouring trials. Trials vanished into the 'black hole' one after another like stars. These trials had not ceased to exist; rather, they had been 'shielded' by the administrator, akin to a server maintenance notice in an online game. During this shielding period, players entering them would receive neither rewards nor quests, and the same applied to players already inside. In plain terms, the trials had been disconnected from the Spirit Realm's 'host server.' At the edge of the Spirit Realm, Lady Sandao had no choice but to leave her trial and roam the starry river. She retreated all the way to the distant frontier, frowning as she watched the sea of stars morph into a vortex, centered around that gigantic celestial body. Lady Sandao was not worried about the Spirit Realm collapsing; she was worried about her disciple, who had entered the killing trial. Once the killing trial was swallowed by the Taiyin, Yuanshi's hopes of ascending to Dominator would be crushed, and he would very likely be sealed inside the trial forever. Suddenly, a silhouette materialized beside her, draped entirely in golden light with blurred features. Lady Sandao glanced sideways, her expression curious. "Why are you back again?" She appraised the golden figure. "Your power is nearly exhausted." The figure sighed. "Clinging to life for so long hasn't been easy. Once my power runs dry, I will return to the Spirit Realm for good. Before that, I must see this last matter through. Lady Sandao, my promise to you remains valid, but you'll have to go to him to redeem it." With that, his body disintegrated, scattering into specks of golden light. *** *Hum!* Xiao Yuan's wings flapped, kicking up a gale as she shot toward the Witch Doctor statue like a flash of lightning. She reached out and touched the divine dharmakaya. The Spirit Realm's notification sounded in her ears once more. Without the slightest hesitation, she spent her points and chose to fuse. The next instant, the divine dharmakaya shed its stony exterior, turning into a phantom of pure light that automatically adhered to Xiao Yuan's back. Xiao Yuan threw her head back and shrieked, her eyes turning blood-red. Black demonic patterns surfaced across her yellow-and-black skin, and streams of black, dust-like substance spewed from her mouth. The substance swirled around her like countless tiny flying insects. Her normal eyes sank beneath her skin, while a deep blue vertical pupil split open on her forehead. A piercing, eerie light erupted forth, instantly flooding the entire temple with an aura of corruption and filth. The spiritual power of the four divine dharmakayas plummeted violently.