Shao Feng turned his head sharply, dodging the attack.
The shadowy figure lunged from the deep pit, emitting a strange roar. Its immense size caused its tail to smash the surrounding reef as it moved.
"What is this thing?" Shao Feng frowned. "It's too bizarre."
It was neither demon nor monster. It possessed demonic energy, yet also a faint trace of immortal aura. Its body was enormous, but Shao Feng couldn't recall ever seeing such a type among the monsters in his memory.
Seeing the creature charge at him with lightning speed, Qi Yu's eyes widened. She immediately manipulated her barrier to protect herself.
To her surprise, the roaring monster easily shattered the barrier.
At some unknown moment, Yan Hua appeared behind Qi Yu and struck the monster with a palm.
Yu Yuan stood nearby, grabbed the monster, and lifted it.
Soon, the monster was bound tightly by Yan Hua and Yu Yuan.
Despite being securely restrained, the creature continued to roar incessantly.
Qi Yu leaned closer to observe, only then realizing the monster had dragon horns on its head. It was of the dragon race, just like her!
"This is what a dragon looks like after falling into demonhood," Yan Hua said with a frown. "Dragons are supposed to be auspicious beings. When they are tainted by impurity, or when their emotions fester and they lose control of their powers, they can descend into madness. If no one intervenes, they will gradually fall into the abyss and become like this."
Si Qing gasped.
When the demonized dragon had charged at Qi Yu, his speed had been insufficient to intercept it.
Shao Feng and An Nuo, who had been unable to reach them in the nick of time, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Qi Yu safe and sound. The West Sea Dragon King and his wife beside them were utterly terrified.
"This demon dragon suddenly appeared from that opening. Could my son be down there?" the West Sea Dragon Queen asked, trembling as she rushed forward.
Below the opening lay a deep sea trench, dark and frigid, where visibility was nonexistent.
Even throwing a stone down would take an eternity to hear it land.
"Every opening here is like this," the West Sea Dragon King finally said, his voice tinged with urgency. He looked at Yan Hua with a pleading gaze. "Which opening did my son fall into? Can he be found if we jump down? Will he be able to get back up? Lord Yan Hua..."
"What is this place down there?" An Nuo asked Yan Hua, Chen Xi, Jin Yan, and Yu Yuan. "Have the four of you been there before?"
Yan Hua nodded. "I've been there once. It's a dark cave. I'm not entirely sure what it looks like, but it's not particularly dangerous."
"The problem is, we don't know which opening Chu Xian and Jing Xiu fell into," Yu Yuan said, scanning their surroundings. "Look at these openings, they're like a game of whack-a-mole. Who knows which one they fell through?"
"Ah, there's another possibility," Chen Xi suddenly chimed in. "This abyss is very deep, and the caves below seem to have something wet, perhaps seaweed or something else. What if, just what if, they are still falling?"
At this, everyone fell silent.
The West Sea Dragon King suddenly reverted to his dragon form and let out a dragon roar into the depths.
Dragon cubs were highly sensitive to their parents' voices, able to hear them from afar, even from the Nine Heavens.
Thus, the West Sea Dragon King and his wife began to call out loudly for Chu Xian.
Yet, there was still no response from the surroundings.
Just as everyone was at their wit's end, and Qi Yu was preparing to create multiple clones to search the caves one by one, the West Sea Dragon King suddenly raised his hand. "Wait, wait!"
Everyone stopped their actions.
Qi Yu and Si Qing looked at the West Sea Dragon King together.
The West Sea Dragon King followed the sound and carefully approached a seemingly very narrow opening. He pointed with his finger and said:
"Here! I heard Xian'er's cry for help!"
Qi Yu walked over and was taken aback by the size of the opening. She couldn't help but wonder:
"How did Chu Xian manage to fall into such a small opening? It would be difficult in his human form."
Unless he reverted to his true form and squeezed in.
But that made no sense.
Chu Xian might not be intelligent, but he wasn't foolish. Why would he randomly crawl into a hole?
Unless...