Blood stained the vast expanse of the sea, and chunks of flesh fell into the water, their white bone fragments starkly visible against the night.
Everyone was stunned into silence by the sight.
They had never imagined that Ying Chen possessed such a brutal side!
For so long, Ying Chen had been aloof and ethereal, seemingly untouched by the mundane world.
Yet now, Ying Chen had resorted to tearing his enemies apart with his bare hands.
This shattered everyone's preconceived notions.
While stunned, the onlookers couldn't help but feel a greater sense of fear towards Ying Chen.
Qing Qiu had only betrayed Ying Chen once before being torn apart by him.
How many times had these people betrayed Ying Chen?
It seemed to be only once as well.
Would they too be torn apart by Ying Chen?
In an instant, thoughts swirled in everyone's minds, each one fearing for their own safety.
At this moment, if anyone dared to incite them to betray Ying Chen again, they themselves would likely kill that instigator before Ying Chen could even lift a finger.
Drip.
Drip.
Most chillingly, Qing Qiu was not yet completely dead!
Its body was still moving!
Its two enormous eyes slowly rolled, filled with hatred.
The severed spine continuously struck the seawater, as if trying to muster the strength to drag Ying Chen down with it.
Unfortunately, not only could it not do so in its current state, but it wouldn't have been able to even if it were unharmed.
Ying Chen looked at Qing Qiu coldly and said, "You should be grateful to me. At least I gave you a swift end."
"Otherwise, I would have followed the example of the legendary rebellious child Nezha, flayed your skin and drained your sinews, and tortured you to death alive, leaving you without even the strength to hate me!"
Upon hearing this, Qing Qiu couldn't help but shudder.
It knew the story of Nezha well, and knew how tragically the third prince died at Nezha's hands!
If Ying Chen had treated it that way, it truly would have lacked the strength to resent him.
For it would have been begging for death, unable to live and unable to die, only wishing for Ying Chen to end its suffering quickly!
Qing Qiu's eyes, once filled with intense hatred, slowly closed.
It was unclear if it regretted its momentary choice.
In any case, its eyes never opened again, and its body ceased to show any reaction.
Only copious amounts of blood dripped into the sea, attracting the predatory gaze of bloodthirsty sharks.
However, the moment the sharks tasted the bloody water, their bellies flipped, and they all died.
Qing Qiu's blood was a potent poison to them!
If Ying Chen wished to utilize it, he would have to refine it using special methods.
"Master Ying, quickly pull the corpse aboard. Otherwise, all this blood will be wasted!"
"It's all money!"
On the cruise ship, He Chongxu cried out with anguish, urging him repeatedly.
In his eyes, let alone the poisonous blood, even if the blood were mixed with excrement, he wouldn't want to waste a single drop!
This was because years ago, he had seen a serpent in the Xuanmen black market that was only one-fifth the size of Qing Qiu.
The price offered by the seller for the blood and flesh of that large serpent was comparable to gold!
One gram of snake blood for one gram of gold!
He Chongxu had been astonished at the time.
How much snake blood could such a large snake yield?
The seller was practically sitting on a mountain of gold!
And now, Qing Qiu's blood would be even more valuable.
Yet, so much was flowing into the sea for free, like gold coins sinking into the water. How could He Chongxu not feel heartache?
Hearing He Chongxu's shouts, Ying Chen flicked his arm.
With a splash!
Qing Qiu's two halves were lifted into the air.
Then, with a plop, they landed on the deck.
Qing Qiu, which had held on to its last breath, was instantly killed by Ying Chen's throw.
This naturally mutated creature, which had lived for over two hundred years, thus ended its serpentine journey and returned for reincarnation.
As Qing Qiu's corpse was brought onto the ship, everyone flinched backward in fear.
Only after confirming that Qing Qiu was dead did they muster the courage to approach.
The more they looked, the more astonished and terrified they became.
If it hadn't been for Ying Chen, even if all of them combined, they wouldn't have been able to kill Qing Qiu!
This was a complete dimensional reduction attack between two different species!
It was like a dinosaur facing humans!
"Don't touch it!"
At this moment, someone reached out, intending to feel Qing Qiu's texture with their own hands.
He Chongxu quickly stopped them.
But it was too late.
The person's finger had already touched Qing Qiu's skull.
The person shot He Chongxu an annoyed glance, "It's just a touch, why are you shouting so loud? I'm not planning on stealing a piece of meat to cook and eat at home..."
He Chongxu rolled his eyes in exasperation, "Can't you see what happened to the sharks that swallowed Qing Qiu's blood? I'm doing this for your own good! You ungrateful wretch!"
"Who are you calling ungrateful? Besides, stop trying to scaremonger! Look, I touched it and I'm fine. This proves..."
The person spoke defiantly.
However, before he could finish his sentence, a faint gleam of light flashed.
The next second, the person's expression turned blank, his eyes filled with terror, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud!
He was dead!
"Ah!"
Instantly, the surrounding onlookers scattered, curling up in the corners of the cruise ship like frightened quails.
He Chongxu also looked surprised, unfurling his Immortal Daoist robe and using it as a shield.
He himself hadn't seen clearly how the person had died!
He only saw a flash of light, and then the person immediately kicked the bucket!
Could it be that Qing Qiu wasn't dead?
Was it faking its death all along?
But Qing Qiu had been torn in half. If it could survive that, its vitality would be too terrifying!
Was it like the alien creatures in the movie 'Alien'?
For a moment, the entire cruise ship fell into a profound silence.
Everyone trembled, staring at Qing Qiu's corpse lying on the ground.
If they hadn't been trapped on the cruise ship with nowhere to hide, they might have already run several kilometers away!
"What's going on?"
Finally, Ying Chen returned to the cruise ship from the sea.
Seeing He Chongxu looking as if facing a formidable enemy, he asked in surprise.
He Chongxu did not explain, but simply pointed to the dead person on the ground.
Ying Chen's brow furrowed instantly.
His first thought was that Qing Qiu hadn't died completely and had seized the chaos to kill someone.
So, Ying Chen clenched his five fingers, and a force instantly transmitted into Qing Qiu's body.
As the force intensified, with a bang, Qing Qiu's corpse exploded again.
From its original two halves, it became four.
With this, even if Qing Qiu's vitality were incredibly resilient, it could not be deader.
However, even so, the onlookers still dared not approach.
He Chongxu also shook his head, "No, Master Ying, I feel like something is still not right."
"That sense of danger still lingers in my heart, refusing to dissipate."
"And I suspect it wasn't Qing Qiu acting out of its lingering death throes to kill just now. It's more like there was something else."
"Because when that person died, there was no sound, only a faint stream of light. If Qing Qiu possessed such an ability, it would have used it during its fight with you. There's no reason to save it for now; it doesn't make sense."
Hearing He Chongxu's words, Ying Chen also heightened his vigilance.
If it wasn't Qing Qiu's doing, then perhaps there was another spirit lurking within Qing Qiu?
Like a hermit crab, appearing as a whelk shell on the outside, but actually containing a crab within.
"What did he do to Qing Qiu's corpse just now?"
"Which part did he touch?"
Ying Chen stood by Qing Qiu's corpse and asked one by one.
After clarifying everything, he did as he was told, extending his finger and touching the same spot where the other person had touched!
As Ying Chen's finger extended, everyone's hearts hung in their throats.
Some were so scared they closed their eyes!
However, nothing happened.
It was as if that thing was bullying the weak and fearing the strong, knowing that Ying Chen was not to be trifled with, and did not appear before him!
Let alone killing Ying Chen stealthily!
Ying Chen sneered, then deliberately turned his back to Qing Qiu's corpse.
The moment Ying Chen turned, a faint light suddenly appeared!
It shot directly towards the back of Ying Chen's head!
Its speed was incredibly fast, almost like lightning!
Unavoidable!
"Master Ying, be careful!"
He Chongxu couldn't help but shout.
But Ying Chen hardly needed He Chongxu's reminder. The moment that faint light appeared, golden light flowed around him, activating his Imperishable True Body.
And his five fingers clawed like hooks towards that faint light!
Clang!
To Ying Chen's surprise, his grasp did not catch it!
Instead, his knuckles ached, emitting a sound like metal striking metal.
It seemed that thing was extremely tough!
Swish!
The faint light flashed and disappeared.
It vanished without a trace once more.
Ying Chen coldly scanned his surroundings, his gaze finally returning to Qing Qiu's corpse.
"Hmph! Do you really think I can't do anything to you?"
Ying Chen snorted coldly.
His pupils suddenly narrowed.
Instantly, a terrifying and immense spiritual pressure descended.
He Chongxu, who was closest, changed his expression upon feeling this pressure.
It was too powerful.
So powerful that He Chongxu couldn't help but suspect that Ying Chen was not human!
Staggering...
He Chongxu, unable to withstand this spiritual pressure, instinctively retreated three steps.
If He Chongxu at the edge of the pressure was like this, the situation was even worse for Qing Qiu's corpse at the center of the pressure.
Qing Qiu's corpse, as if being suppressed by an invisible giant hand, gradually flattened.
The blood within gushed out.
But after emerging, the blood did not splatter, behaving like a viscous colloid under immense pressure, showing a state of being condensed yet not dispersed.
In this manner, Qing Qiu's corpse was completely flattened.
Only two halves of the skull remained.
The skull could withstand more pressure than flesh and blood.
But pressure was different from other forces; it could bypass the hard bones and seep through the holes and crevices of the bones!
Crack!
A sound of cracking bone was heard as the pressure that had seeped into the skull's interior directly split it open from within!
Seeing more and more cracks forming, and the skull about to shatter completely.
At this moment, a milky white light suddenly erupted, emitting a strange hum, like a swarm of bees taking flight.
Then, something flew out of Qing Qiu's skull!
"Finally, you won't hide?"
Ying Chen sneered.
He was prepared.
All the spiritual pressure was instantly compressed around that thing.
It was like injecting a large amount of viscous gel into an empty glass bottle; the fly, which could previously fly rapidly within the bottle, was instantly unable to even flap its wings, let alone fly.
That thing was the same.
Its originally lightning-fast speed instantly slowed down.
Until it could no longer fly and was frozen in mid-air by the immense spiritual pressure!
Only then did people get a clear look at what this thing was, and they were all shocked!