Chapter 605 - 512: Nascent Soul! Yehai

"Ugh…"

Su Ye slowly came to, his consciousness hazy.

His nose twitched as a familiar smell filled his nostrils.

The scent was distinctive—a blend of damp wood, the crisp salt of the sea breeze, the sharp smell of anti-corrosive oil, a faint hint of mold, and the inescapable, almost indelible stench of fish.

'Hmm…'

'This is… a Demon Hunting Ship?'

Su Ye blinked, and a flood of information surfaced in his mind.

His name was Su Ye, a cultivator at the third layer of Qi Refining. He was currently serving on a Demon Hunting Ship as a non-family member affiliated with the Luo Family.

However, as he processed the clear, vivid memories in his mind, Su Ye frowned. He couldn't shake a strange sense of dissonance.

"Mr. Su, dinner's ready!"

"Come on, let's go! We're having lobster tonight! The meat is super tender, and the captain said the ice hold is too full, so it's all-you-can-eat!"

Zhao Li came over and clapped Su Ye on the shoulder with a dark, sturdy arm, his face alight with excitement.

"Alright… let's eat first."

Su Ye nodded and followed Zhao Li toward the mess hall.

Amid their casual conversation, the faint sense of dissonance in his heart quietly faded away.

Soon, several days passed in the blink of an eye.

Su Ye adapted very well to life on the Demon Hunting Ship.

Yet, for some reason, the inexplicable sense of dissonance in his heart grew more intense.

「On this day.」

The sea was churning with violent winds and rough waves, dark clouds pressing down from above.

A massive shadow patrolled the waters near the Demon Hunting Ship. A scarred shark fin, a good ten feet high, sliced through the surface like a razor, radiating an immense pressure.

Beneath the waves, the shadow could be seen to be well over a hundred feet long!

"It's a Tier One Peak Demon Fish—the Giant-tooth Shark King!" The first mate stepped onto the deck. His expression changed the moment his focused gaze fell upon the enormous fin.

Tier One demon fish, even a Tier One Perfect Demon Fish, were within the Demon Hunting Ship's normal hunting parameters.

But the Giant-tooth Shark King was different. This species was social; a king was typically accompanied by ten to fifteen other giant-tooth sharks!

Indeed, more than ten giant-tooth sharks could now be seen in the water, circling the Demon Hunting Ship!

The school of sharks was clearly treating the Demon Hunting Ship as prey!

"Arm the ballistae! Move it!"

"Prepare for battle!"

The ship's bell rang!

The deck went on high alert!

SPLASH.

The waves churned as the massive Giant-tooth Shark King suddenly charged, its razor-like fin slamming into the ship's side!

THUD!

The hull shuddered violently, its keel damaged!

The many crew members on deck found it difficult to keep their balance.

"Hold on! Tie yourselves down if you can! Don't fall overboard!"

Su Ye staggered but managed to grab a cable to steady himself. He immediately tossed the line to Zhao Li and a few other crewmen who were too far from anything to hold on to.

But in the next moment…

CRUNCH!

The ship was rocked by another violent tremor!

The Giant-tooth Shark King's fierce ram caused cracks to appear all over the Demon Hunting Ship's hull.

Seawater flooded in through the cracks like a torrent, ignoring the crew's futile attempts to patch them with planks and tar.

Pressing its advantage!

BOOM!

The Giant-tooth Shark King struck again, and the keel snapped!

The Demon Hunting Ship splintered apart, plunging every crew member into the sea!

"It's over!"

"We're dead!"

Expressions of pure despair washed over the crewmen's faces.

Lost in the vast ocean with their ship sunk and sharks circling, mere Qi Refining cultivators, who lacked the ability to fly, were facing certain death.

"Mr. Su, save me!"

Zhao Li's face was a mask of terror. A long wooden splinter was embedded in his arm, which was bleeding profusely.

Drawn by the scent of blood, several giant-tooth sharks were speeding toward him. In his panic, all he could do was scream for help!

But at some point, Su Ye's expression had turned completely cold.

"Are you done with your act?"

"Mr. Su? What are you talking about? Just save me already!" There was no change in Zhao Li's expression; he just kept screaming in panicked terror.

"Outer Demon."

Su Ye stated calmly, exposing "Zhao Li's" identity.

He had remembered. He was in the middle of his Boundless Heart Demon Tribulation, and this was nothing more than a Heart Demon Illusion Realm.

"Hmph!"

Its identity revealed, the Outer Demon no longer bothered with its disguise.

The Outer Demon snorted. "Human, your willpower isn't bad. However, the Boundless Heart Demon Tribulation is limitless. This first part is always the simplest. Waking up from it is hardly an accomplishment!"

"Heheheh…"

"I'll be waiting for you in the illusions to come…"

The Outer Demon cackled, making threats.

But Su Ye just sneered.

"A cur like you dares to use such a lofty title?"

VMMMM.

The next moment!

The surrounding illusion began to collapse and dissipate… and no new illusion appeared to take its place!

Su Ye had already passed the Boundless Heart Demon Tribulation!

"This is impossible!"

The Outer Demon's eyes bulged. It could no longer maintain the illusion of "Zhao Li," its form melting away to reveal an ugly monster resembling a transparent gelatinous sphere with a brain floating inside.

"Die."

Su Ye snorted coldly, with no intention of explaining.

Outside the Heart Demon Illusion Realm, this Outer Demon's actual combat strength was pathetically weak. Crushed by Su Ye's Magical Power, it instantly turned to dust and dissipated.

'A Heart Demon Tribulation… I really didn't expect this.'

Having crushed the Outer Demon, Su Ye reflected on how easily he had passed this Heart Demon Tribulation.

Even he was surprised by how effortless it had been.

The Boundless Heart Demon Tribulation required a cultivator to completely see through its illusions.

If even a sliver of their mind clung to the scenes presented, the Heart Demon Illusion Realm would continue to generate new scenarios, endlessly grinding away at their spirit until their soul was annihilated.

And yet, Su Ye had escaped the Boundless Heart Demon Tribulation after only its very first illusion.

'Thank you, Heart Intent Soul Seed Skill. And thank you, panel!'

That was right.

The thought anchored by his Heart Intent Soul Seed Skill was his panel.

With the panel to act as verification, distinguishing the illusion had been incredibly simple for Su Ye.

'Seriously? I've been busting my butt swabbing this deck for days. How have I not gained a single experience point?'

Coupled with his own formidable Divine Sense, which already gave him a high resistance to illusions, this Outer Demon Illusion Realm had actually been simpler than his Golden Core tribulation.

'Not bad at all.'

'Is this what they call "luck turning the world to one's side"?'

Su Ye smiled. His dark robes whipped in the wind as he raised his head to gaze at the tribulation clouds.

The Boundless Heart Demon Tribulation had passed, and the Five Elements Immortal Thunder Tribulation followed!

But this stage of the tribulation would prove even easier for Su Ye to handle.

The Tier-Five Ghostly Flood Dragon was not just for show!

Besides, he also had the Daoxuan Tribulation Artifact he'd prepared beforehand.

And if the worst came to pass, there were nearly ten million subservient demonic beasts within the gates of Tingchao Pavilion. As their progenitor, he was close enough to forcibly draw upon their life energy with a single command to bolster his own.

Relying on these consumables, he could absolutely activate the Dao Embryo Dharma Aspect one more time!

With so many aces up his sleeve, Su Ye wasn't the least bit worried.

As expected, things unfolded exactly as he had anticipated.

Thanks to his thorough preparations, the Fifth Realm Immortal Thunder Tribulation was over within half an hour.

Once the tribulation was over, five-colored clouds of rosy light descended from the heavens.

A reward from the Celestial Dao!

BOOM!

Su Ye's Magical Power surged, transforming into that of the Nascent Soul realm!

The Erosion Flow Skill was also perfected, becoming a complete Law.

Furthermore, with this major breakthrough, Su Ye's physical body and soul were strengthened in kind.

Both advanced to the mid-Tier Five!

Feeling the power coursing through him—enough to overwhelm and kill a Late-stage Nascent Soul expert—Su Ye's heart swelled with heroic pride. He clenched his fist in satisfaction.

"From this day on, I shall be… Yehai!"