Chapter 1289: Spreading the Forbidden Abyssal Giant Corpse

Chapter 1289: The Remains of Mingpang, Spreader of Taboos

On the lakeside pavilion. The moment those words rang out, Chen Ling abruptly stopped.

A chilling breeze swept across the lake, making the hem of Chen Ling's large red opera robe flutter... He stared blankly at the figure before him, who wouldn't even glance at him, and a wave of anger surged within him!

On the way here, Chen Ling had thought a lot. He recalled the details of his past interactions with Chu Changqing, and even though they hadn't conversed much, he felt Chu Changqing wasn't an ungrateful person. Thus, he had considered other possibilities to explain everything Chu Changqing had done so far.

Perhaps he had suffered a severe injury, leading to a clouded consciousness and only able to transmit messages through a blind person?

Or perhaps the blind person was fabricating information, intending to exploit Chu Changqing for personal gain?

Could Chu Changqing be coerced?

Or perhaps the current Lord of the South Sea wasn't Chu Changqing at all, but someone else in disguise?

Chen Ling considered many possibilities, but upon truly arriving at the lakeside pavilion, he realized how ridiculous his attempts to find excuses for Chu Changqing had been.

Although his demeanor was completely different from what Chen Ling remembered, his appearance was unchanged. Moreover, the aura unique to one of the Nine Monarchs couldn't be faked... The person before him was undoubtedly Chu Changqing himself.

What angered Chen Ling most was that undisguised look of disgust in an instant, and that cold, absurd remark...

"Hello... Taunting Calamity."

Chen Ling smiled.

"Taunting Calamity... Heh heh."

Draped in his large red opera robe, his smile held an indescribable mix of anger and sorrow.

"Chu Changqing, you're not even willing to call me by a human name?"

"Do human names hold any meaning for you?"

Chu Changqing remained with his back to Chen Ling. With one hand, he gently held a small fish tank, while with the other, he casually scattered fish food into it. Streaks of black fish fry swam between his fingers, vying for the scarce food.

Once the fish food was gone, the remaining fry astonishingly began to cannibalize each other. Wisps of red floated up from the tank, with only the strongest fry having a chance to survive.

Chu Changqing watched this scene calmly and continued:

"Taunting Calamity is Taunting Calamity. It mocks fate, toys with humanity. If you wish, you can even make yourself part of the amusement... No matter how well you disguise yourself as human, even if you manage to deceive yourself, it still won't change your true nature.

It's astounding that in this era, some still believe you've truly become 'human.' If I hadn't awakened, perhaps they would have genuinely been deceived by you.

Unfortunately...

I am not as naive as they are."

As his voice trailed off,

Chu Changqing slowly inverted the fish tank in his hand, pouring the bloody water, along with the eight surviving strongest fry, into the lake below his feet.

Boom—!!!

A muffled thud echoed from the deep sea. The Three-Eyed Giant Turtle's body shook again, its massive form visibly tilting. If one were to descend to the seabed at that moment, they would see countless calamities continuously striking its underside, as if trying to overturn it onto the surface.

The long-winged electric eel nearby dove rapidly, as if attempting to carve a bloody path, but as more and more calamities resisted its current and climbed its body via its diving tail, its movements became precarious. Eventually, unable to withstand the overwhelming weight, it plunged into the sea, directly entangled and enveloped by seven or eight calamities, dragged towards the deep abyss...

The water spiders and black fish were also completely surrounded by a multitude of calamities. Under the absolute numerical suppression, they had no chance to assist the Three-Eyed Giant Turtle.

At the same time, an extreme coldness rose from the seabed. The entire sea area visibly froze over at an alarming rate. The already cumbersome body of the giant turtle found it increasingly difficult to maintain balance, trapped by the surrounding ice layers, with no way to escape.

As more and more calamities climbed onto the giant turtle's body, its enormous three-eyed head slowly opened its massive mouth underwater...

The next moment, several enormous figures emerged from its mouth!

One, two, three... seven, eight!

Eight strange creatures, similar to the long-winged electric eel and water spiders, rushed into the battlefield just in time. Each was larger and more bizarre than the last: some were gigantic crabs burning with fire, others were grotesque half-human, half-fish monsters, and one was a pure white, sixteen-armed octopus...

The moment these miraculous creatures entered the water, they helped the Three-Eyed Giant Turtle shatter the surrounding ice. Four of them charged forward to carve a bloody path, while the other four began clearing the calamities of the Forbidden Sea that had climbed onto the turtle's back. The Three-Eyed Giant Turtle's extremely perilous situation was thus given a crucial breathing space.

The Three-Eyed Giant Turtle's tilted body slowly regained balance. With the miraculous creatures clearing the way, it began to move forward sluggishly.

The majestic, thick ice wall was crushed by its body, transforming into countless floating ice floes. Amidst the other creatures' bloody struggle, the outline of the horizon began to faintly appear in the distance...

At this moment, all members of the Fusion Faction understood its intention:

It wanted to reach the shore.

Lakeside Pavilion.

After listening to Chu Changqing's words, Chen Ling's brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

"I don't understand," Chen Ling said in a deep voice. "How can you be so certain that I am Taunting Calamity, and not Chen Ling?"

"...Why?"

Chu Changqing sneered.

He placed the empty fish tank aside and slowly turned around.

He faced Chen Ling once more, stepping forward, his cascading long hair brushing through the sea of flowers as he walked step by step towards Chen Ling...

Two figures, one red and one blue, gradually approached each other on the lakeside pavilion. Even facing the overwhelming pressure of one of the Nine Monarchs, Chen Ling showed no fear, simply watching him coldly.

Chu Changqing's azure eyes also shimmered with an indescribable chill as he met Chen Ling's gaze.

Finally,

Chu Changqing stopped in front of Chen Ling.

"Because I understand Taunting Calamity better than you do," Chu Changqing said slowly.

"Impossible," Chen Ling retorted immediately. "You haven't even encountered Taunting Calamity. How could you possibly understand it better than I do?"

Chen Ling had dealt with Taunting Calamity for so long, had even severed its power several times, and mastered some of its abilities... In this world, it was impossible for anyone to understand Taunting Calamity better than him.

"I haven't encountered Taunting Calamity?" Chu Changqing scoffed, as if he had heard something amusing. Then he extended a hand, slowly reaching for his own cheek.

"The reason I, Chu Changqing, am as I am today... is all thanks to you, Taunting Calamity... isn't it?"

The next moment,

A face was torn off by Chu Changqing himself!!

As the thin face dissipated into the air, Chen Ling's pupils abruptly constricted!!

Before Chen Ling was a pitch-black face, a face like a shadow... It had no features, no skin, only a pair of crimson eyes startlingly close. Below those eyes, a similarly crimson mouth curled into a mocking smile.

This face was all too familiar to Chen Ling...

It was the face of Taunting Calamity.