Crack.
The sound of the fishing boat's dragon bone breaking resonated.
The middle part of the ship gradually sagged, lake water rushed into the hull, and the constant sound of snapping planks could be heard.
The middle of the fishing boat gradually got pressed into two parts by the lake water, sinking into the lake surface, while the bow and stern were still floating above.
This created a significant slope with the middle sinking and both ends still high.
There were eight or nine students left from the martial arts school. Some could not hold onto the objects around them and were slid towards the center of the boat.
If it were any ordinary day, these martial artists could easily maintain balance and stability. But today, their Vitality and Blood were not flowing smoothly, they were unable to draw strength from their limbs.
The eight-armed creature was attacking the boat body violently, making them toss and turn even more.
Only after a few breaths, two more men slid into the center and fell into the water.
Bang! Bang!
Two enormous claws shot out of the water, quickly grabbed the two disciples, dragged them down, and after creating a few bubbles, there was silence.
Even though the eldest martial brother and the young helper were adept in Anjin, they now struggled to fend for themselves and watched helplessly as their brothers fell into the water.
Meanwhile, Qi Ying, standing near the stern, was immensely worried. She shouted Chen Yi's name out loud,
Turning her head and body around repeatedly towards the direction of the boat's body and head, but to no avail, she could not find Chen Yi anywhere.
Her body felt somewhat weak. Although she was in the Late Stage of Mingjin, her Vitality and Blood Power was barely enough for her self-protection.
She saw two more giant claws reaching out to take away two more disciples.
Qi Ying gritted her teeth, released her hold, and started running in the direction of the boat body:
"Junior Brother Chen, I brought you here. I promised to protect you and I would never abandon you!"
...
In the cabin,
Chen Yi sensed something wrong when he saw the red piece of flesh in the center of the dragon bone that smelled of blood.
"This thing is causing all the trouble!"
He was then, hit persistently with such force that he was thrown around the cabin.
Fortunately, his robust Vitality and Blood Power and years of experience on the water allowed him to steady himself by clutching the hull.
Then things escalated even quicker than he had anticipated.
The next moment, Chen Yi saw the dragon bone starting to crack from the center after several ferocious hits.
An enormous octopus leg shot out from the crack and frantically stretched towards the bloody flesh.
But it was stuck there temporarily, unable to fully extend into position.
Chen Yi was frightened to see a claw monster of such magnitude for the first time.
The first thought in his mind was to flee!
With the break in the dragon bone growing, water began to flood the cabin, and the claw also grew longer.
Seeing the boat was about to break from the middle and noticing that he was the only one in the cabin,
Chen Yi quickly drew out a piece of snakeskin cloth, jumped down at once, wrapped the bloodied flesh in the snakeskin,
and the next moment, Chen Yi appeared directly on the Spirit Mist Lake in the Immortal Cultivation World.
I'll run away now. Wait, once I have mastered my training, I will come back and kill you, you eight-armed octopus!
Then, he wrapped the snakeskin several times, tied it tight to ensure it wouldn't leak blood, and hid it in a piece of oilcloth on the small fishing boat.
Once all was prepared,
Chen Yi managed to slow his heartbeat and focused his mind on the jade token in his brain, observing the situation in the Martial World lake.
His observation made him take a sharp intake of breath.
First, he saw the eldest martial brother and the young helper being whipped into the air by the giant claw. Then, two more familiar disciples were shaken from the boat and fell into the water, disappearing without a trace as two claws tangled them and pulled them under the water.
Next was when the boat split from the middle, and the large ship, tens of meters long, gradually sunk into the water from the middle.
His brothers and sisters on the boat looked as if they were drunk, their hands unable to grasp objects and their feet able to steady themselves.
In this chaos, two more slid towards the center of the boat.
And then these two were grabbed by the claws and disappeared beneath the water.
After the dragon bone broke, the fish claw, as thick as a water bucket, directly punctured the bottom of the boat and stretched towards the place where the bloody flesh had been!
But found nothing?
The thick claw paused for a moment, seemingly contemplating.
The next moment it started wildly stretching into the cabin, conducting a thorough search through the entire cabin.
The next moment, it seemed to realize that the smell of the meat, which had attracted it here, was fading away, almost disappearing.
It suddenly realized: The flesh was surely taken by other creatures that got there first!
At that moment, the octopus went mad!!
It thrashed wildly inside the cabin.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
In a few breaths, the entire cabin was swept into a total mess, splintered wood was everywhere!
Seeing this scene, Chen Yi felt a chill down his spine, thanking his quick escape. Otherwise, a swipe of that giant claw, and he likely wouldn't have had a chance. He would have been wiped out.
Chen Yi had just heaved a sigh of relief when he saw two more disciples dragged underwater at this point, pulled down by the enraged fish claw. They gradually disappeared without a trace.
This monster was too ruthless. Luckily he could hide in this world. He would return when it was safe.
Then, he saw Qi Ying voluntarily let go of the high-end of the ship and run towards the cabin.
Stupid woman. Are you crazy? Going down there will kill you?!
Anxiety filled Chen Yi's heart as he quickly zoomed in on the area where Qi Ying was.
Yet he saw Qi Ying passing by two people, tugging and questioning anxiously before quickly letting go. In the end, she gritted her teeth and jumped down after glancing at the turbulent location of the cabin, which had already sunk beneath the water's surface.
Looking at her mouth shape, Chen Yi understood her urgent reason:
"Have you seen Chen Yi?"
"Where is Chen Yi?"
I'm safe here, you dumb woman, just take care of yourself!
...
The octopus, failing to find its prey, was furious, thrashing the interior of the ship into tatters.
The water gradually submerged the ship.
Now, the only ones still standing on the bow and stern of the ship were just the eldest brother and the junior master, along with only three or four others.
The junior master, standing at the bow of the ship, was frantically signaling his own fishing boat in the distance, urging them to hurry and sail over to save him.
But firstly, big ships are slow to turn, and secondly, the disturbance over here was too great and the claws of the monster fish too frightening, discouraging the others.
Thirdly, under the deliberate inaction of the fishing team leader Li Baitiao, the speed at which the boat came to the rescue was simply not sufficient.
No matter how the junior master yelled, the others moved very slowly.
"Damn it, when I survive this, I'll skin you alive!!"
The few people on the ship stared despairingly as they were about to sink into the lake, becoming sacrifices under the rage of the monstrous star.
The smiling faces of the third elder brother and Li Baitiao were full of mirth as they watched this scene from somewhere in the ship's cabin.
"Hahaha, Brother Baitiao, the junior master wants to skin you alive!"
"Don't worry, Brother Biao, they stand no chance. Even I didn't expect that today would call forth this ferocious beast. In front of such a creature, there's no chance for the Anjin martial artists to survive!"
"Haha, congrats then, Brother Baitiao, with this big event accomplished, your status in the gang will surely ascend. Remember to support us in the future!"
"You're too polite, Brother Biao, should they disappear, you'll be the eldest martial art school brother. I'll need your help even more!"
The two men exchanged glances and then broke out into raucous laughter.
On this end,
Qi Ying, bearing the icy chill of the lake water, dove in and opened her eyes, hoping to spot Chen Yi amidst the chaos.
Slap!
A long claw struck towards her in the water. Qi Ying saw that it wasn't fast, but her debilitated state left her unable to evade. The claw hit her squarely.
She was immediately dazed.
Then, she was wrapped up by a claw and pulled downwards.
As a late-stage Mingjin, Qi Ying still had some fight left in her. She thought Chen Yi might be at the bottom of the lake, so if she followed the pull of the claw, she might spot Chen Yi. Then, she could muster her strength, wriggle free, and save Chen Yi as well.
Regrettably, she descended more than twenty meters, passing several martial school disciples, but they were not Chen Yi.
Qi Ying lost hope. Right now, she must escape, not worry about Chen Yi.
But just when she began struggling,
Slap, another claw wound around, snaring her upper and lower body tightly.
She was immobilized.
Qi Ying struggled frantically but couldn't muster any strength.
Gradually, her face turned red from lack of air,
The claw had almost squeezed out all the air in her lungs, and she was suffocating. If she didn't get air soon, she would drown!
Could it be that I'm going to die here today?
Just as Qi Ying's eyes began to blur and her face turned purple,
Suddenly,
She seemed to see, not far ahead, a human figure rapidly swimming towards her.
The figure made a few twists and turns like a fish and was in front of her in a jiffy.
Then,
The figure kissed her, prying open her teeth with their tongue and passed a breath of air to her.
At this moment, Qi Ying felt an indescribably pure air enter her lungs. Her near-death state vanished instantly, and she came back to her senses.
Her vision refocused, and she clearly saw that the person in front of her was Chen Yi!