Xu Mingxi was unaware of what was happening around Star Luo Mountain.
He had done all the preparations he could. The rest depended on the outcome of the hunt.
Now, he was leading the team, following the guidance of the directional soul guide in his hand, thousands of meters above the sea, and tightly suppressing the fluctuations of his soul power to the limit as they sped through the air.
Because he had nearly gotten lost the last time he went to the Sun and Moon Continent, the elder worked hard and eventually found a soul beast called the "mother-child silkworm." A directional soul guide was developed based on its traits.
Xu Mingguang held the "child" device, while Xu Mingxi held the "mother" device. With the guidance of these instruments, everyone successfully arrived above the Swordfish.
Then, a faint starlight emerged from Xu Mingxi's hand, emitting a soft glow in the night sky.
The sect master and Xu Mingguang under the sea raised their heads at the same time, exchanged glances, and nodded before controlling the Swordfish to slowly float upward.
As star crown soul masters attuned to starlight, they could naturally detect the special signal in the night sky and knew it came from someone of their sect.
Xu Mingxi carefully led everyone down from the air, passing through the hidden shield, and landed on the Swordfish, lowering his voice to a whisper.
"Brother Mingguang, where are they now, and what's the situation?"
"Bo Saixi personally went into the sea to search for a soul beast for Tang San. There should be results in a day or two."
"Really? And she hasn't discovered you yet?"
"Probably not. We're still far from her. Unless she happens to come near while hunting, it's unlikely she can detect us."
"That's fine, then."
Xu Mingxi felt relieved and controlled the Swordfish to submerge again, waiting for Bo Saixi to return with a sea soul beast so Tang San could begin absorbing its soul ring.
He believed that with Bo Saixi's power, once she locked onto a sea soul beast, it would be nearly impossible for it to escape. They wouldn't need to go far at all.
Just as Xu Mingxi had expected, Bo Saixi had targeted the habitat of a poisonous seaweed dragon.
Not long after diving, she found traces of the poisonous seaweed dragon tribe. With her powerful strength, she had even greater control over the ocean currents than the sea soul beasts.
In other words, while the 90,000-year-old tribe leader was formidable and approaching 100,000 years, she didn't need to capture it—just drive it away.
Knowing it was no match, the tribe leader could only offer a 39,000-year-old clan member and quickly fled with the rest of the tribe.
With the water in her hand surging, Bo Saixi moved quickly through the ocean, riding the currents. The underwater flow turned into her ally as she burst from the sea.
She casually threw the unconscious seaweed dragon onto the deck. With a thud, its green slime splashed, some of it landing on Tang San and Tang Hao.
"Tang San, this seaweed dragon is a 39,000-year-old soul beast, and its bloodline is much stronger than Blue Silver Grass. Think carefully."
"Don't worry, senior. I've thought it through. If I want to avenge Senior Hailong, this is what I must endure."
"Very well. Proceed."
Tang San held the Zhuge Divine Crossbow in his hand and was about to strike. The unconscious seaweed dragon suddenly woke up and struggled violently on the deck.
At this critical moment, Tang San remained calm. Blue Silver Grass emerged in his hand, and his sixth black soul ring lit up.
"Sixth soul skill, Blue Silver Cage."
Blue Silver Grass sprang up from the deck, tightly binding the seaweed dragon. Tang San was confident that this soul skill, derived from a 20,000-year-old crypt spider, could firmly trap it.
He raised the Zhuge Divine Crossbow heroically, aimed at the creature's eye, and was about to deliver the fatal blow—when a sharp cracking sound snapped him back to reality.
The Blue Silver Grass binding the creature quickly shattered, and even the crossbow bolts he fired failed to injure it.
"It's strong."
As soon as Tang San said this and before he could dodge, Bo Saixi—unable to stay still—acted.
Streams of water coiled around her, extending to the seaweed dragon, binding it tightly, exposing its vulnerable neck, and presenting it in front of Tang San.
Tang Hao was stunned by the turn of events, but he said nothing. He comforted himself: once Xiao San advanced to Title Douluo, with the help of the Killing God Domain, he could bear the energy backlash of the twin spirits. Then, with the Clear Sky Hammer's ring installed, he would be invincible and would no longer need the useless Blue Silver Grass.
Tang San's expression turned cold for a moment before he returned to his usual calm. He warmly thanked Bo Saixi and then killed the seaweed dragon with his sword.
As the black soul ring floated up, Tang San sat cross-legged on the deck, channeling his soul power to absorb the ring—all witnessed by Huo Quan from afar.
Under the command of the young man with spiritual eyes, the Swordfish began to move toward Tang San. When he saw Bo Saixi looking over cautiously, he knew it was time.
"Your Majesty, it's time."
"Alright, everyone—whether the Douluo Continent can be fully controlled by our two forces depends on this moment."
The Swordfish floated upward, and the Title Douluo Doppelganger took off. Under the illusionary shield of Xu Mingguang, they quickly approached Tang San and the others.
Bo Saixi, standing on the wooden sailboat, frowned and looked out toward the calm sea. She felt as if something was watching them from the distance.
A sea soul beast? Or a person?
Bo Saixi suddenly had a bad feeling. She looked back at Tang San, who was absorbing the soul ring, and the unease grew stronger.
"Everyone, turn around and return to Sea God Island immediately!"
The sea soul masters on the ship were confused, but quickly responded to the High Priest's order and began steering back to Sea God Island.
Tang Hao, unaware of what was going on, feared the ship's movement might affect Tang San. He looked at Bo Saixi anxiously and asked, clueless.
Bo Saixi ignored him. Her unease deepened. She spread her soul power, but found no suspicious soul beast or human.
She tapped the deck with the Sea God Staff, and invisible ripples spread out. The ship suddenly accelerated, yet stayed perfectly stable, causing no disruption to Tang San's soul ring absorption.
Suddenly, she seemed to sense something, looked up at the sky with a frown, and the magnificent Sea God Trident appeared in her hand.
"Where are you going, Sea God Douluo? Why don't you stay and sit with us for a while?"