Chapter 85: A Sudden Upheaval

"Difficult."
Xie Mu'an's clouded eyes narrowed slightly as he sighed. He instinctively glanced sideways at Su Yuanbai, who stood by his side, but saw nothing at all.

"When did he appear over there?"
Xi Chunxue exclaimed in surprise.

Su Yuanbai, who should have been standing behind her, now occupied the spot she had just vacated, barely an inch away from the three-headed serpent sea demon.

"You seem to be the one in charge here. Could you take me to your Dragon King?"
Su Yuanbai addressed the Mandarin Fish General standing behind the three-headed serpent sea demon.

"Serpent Bear General, eat him!"
The Mandarin Fish General, gazing at Su Yuanbai's handsome face, suddenly grew fearful and shouted to the sea demon before him.

"Alright."
The three-headed serpent sea demon replied in a muffled voice. It looked down at the diminutive human at its feet, detecting no fragrance from him—his aura was as ordinary as any fisherman on the shores of the Azure Sea.

The left serpent head abruptly enlarged, its gaping maw like a blood-red cavern, and swallowed Su Yuanbai whole.

Bang.

"Disgusting."
Su Yuanbai wiped the green, foul-smelling slime from his body with a look of distaste. His dark blue robes, stained by the viscous fluid, instantly lost their luster.

The white jade tiles on the ground, likewise touched by the slime, dulled and lost their sheen.

"Qu Hanchen, throw me your outer garments and trousers."
Su Yuanbai turned and addressed Qu Hanchen.

Before Qu Hanchen could react, Xi Chunxue had already pointed at him with one hand. His belt loosened, and his clothes and trousers slipped off, flying toward Su Yuanbai, whose dark blue robes were being corroded.

Clutching his underclothes, Qu Hanchen blushed furiously. Luckily, his skin now had a bluish hue, hiding his embarrassment.

Su Yuanbai changed into the fresh garments and glanced at the spot where he had stood moments ago.

It had become a foul, green poisonous marsh.

The other shrimp and crab soldiers splattered by the slime were not so fortunate—their armor and helmets corroded, and even their skin began to rot and decay.

Before long, their lives were forfeit.

"You! You injured me!"
The sea demon's left serpent head bore a gaping hole atop its skull. The right serpent head stared fiercely at Su Yuanbai, shooting a piercing grey light from its eyes that enveloped him.

Su Yuanbai's body transformed into a human-shaped stone statue before their very eyes.

"Without a drop of blood from the central serpent head of the Serpent Bear General, no matter your powers, you can't return to normal."
The Mandarin Fish General emerged from among the shrimp and crab soldiers. Having hidden away at the first sign of trouble, it now dared to mock Su Yuanbai, emboldened by his petrification.

The sea demon, enraged, didn't wait for further orders. It raised a massive limb and kicked Su Yuanbai hard.

Crack.

A fissure appeared across Su Yuanbai's stone body.

Unperturbed, the sea demon watched, knowing that soon the human's body would shatter like stone, though it regretted not being able to consume his flesh.

This was why it hadn't petrified Xi Chunxue outright earlier, but only her arm—it wanted to eat her fresh meat.

But then, the sea demon was stunned.

The fissures multiplied, but only stone skin and petrified clothing fell away, not the body beneath.

"A pleasant surprise, indeed."
Su Yuanbai looked down at himself. His entire skin radiated dazzling golden light, ancient and intricate runes intertwined to form golden chains, a halo floating above his head.

On his back, dark, enigmatic patterns unfurled in spiral stairways, forming black lotus blossoms. Two enormous black lotuses merged beneath his feet.

A phantom with nine human faces and the body of a green snake appeared on his chest, biting at the black lotuses beneath his feet, then snapping at the golden chains above his head.

A lotus petal fell from the black lotus, and the halo dimmed.

The phantom gradually faded, while the sea demon's three serpent heads exploded one after another, leaving only shattered flesh—no slime, no blood.

Thud.

The sea demon collapsed, utterly lifeless, its body shriveled as if drained of all blood.

Silence.

"May I borrow your robe?"
Only when Su Yuanbai spoke did time seem to resume, and the shrimp and crab soldiers surrounding them began to flee in panic.

Those three fish demons blocking the golden-nailed vermilion doors vanished, leaving the doors of the Azure Sea Dragon Palace wide open.

Even the silver-scaled shad demon left its silver hammer lying on the ground, forgotten.

The Mandarin Fish General paid no heed to his "borrowed" robe or his disheveled appearance, transforming into a massive mandarin fish and darting quickly toward the main hall.

"It's quite spacious."
Su Yuanbai shook out the pale-blue, wide-sleeved robe, surprised by its roominess. The only flaw was its brevity—it didn't cover his ankles, only reaching his knees.

Still, it was enough.

"Was that commotion just now a bit too much?"
He turned to the three motionless figures—Xi Chunxue, Xie Mu'an, and Qu Hanchen.

Xie Mu'an hugged the soul-summoning banner tightly, swallowing hard. He glanced at the banner; just now, it had revealed the words "Taiyi, the Heavenly Lord who seeks voices and relieves suffering," and had nearly escaped his grasp to cover Su Yuanbai's head.

Qu Hanchen stared, mouth agape, forgetting to cover his underclothes, utterly shocked by the bizarre scene that had just unfolded around Su Yuanbai.

For a moment, he wondered if he was hallucinating.

But seeing the awe in Xi Chunxue's bright eyes, Qu Hanchen was certain he hadn't been mistaken.

"Who... are you, really?"
Xi Chunxue sighed softly, finally voicing the question she'd asked countless times.

"I don't know."
Su Yuanbai smiled gently.

"But you should stay close to me, or I may not be able to protect you."
He glanced sideways at the distant, sprawling palaces of the Azure Sea Dragon Palace. Scarlet dragons coiled around golden pillars, slithering toward them.

Above, the barrier separating them from the sea had turned crimson, streaked with lightning.