The disaster that befell the Three Rivers Sky-Constraining Pythons was entirely unexpected. Their habitat, in the western part of the continent near the Northern Sea, had been contaminated by the poisonous waters. Most of the land-based spirit beasts there fled to other regions.
The Three Rivers area was already a toxic zone, so the ones that escaped were mostly low-level spirit beasts.
But the Sky-Constraining Pythons, masters of venom and ranked among the deadliest snakes aside from the Serpent Emperor Medusa, craved toxins.
Their rapid cultivation relied on absorbing poison. When the chaotic sea's toxic waters drifted into the Three Rivers estuary, the entire python clan gathered there to absorb and refine the poison.
The 100,000-year-old Three Rivers Sky-Constraining Pythons praised the toxin endlessly. Yet poison was both their strength and their weakness.
Aside from the 100,000-year-old elder pythons and a few that were eighty to ninety thousand years old, the younger, weaker pythons were backfired upon by the very toxins they absorbed, entering a bizarre, almost comically sleepy state.
Because of this, three ten-thousand-year spirit beasts had gathered together to track and hunt Ignaz.
Surprisingly, instead of staying inland among humans, he dared to venture into the sea to hunt spirit beasts, targeting the weakest yet most domineering 100,000-year-old Evil Whale.
For the beasts, this was the perfect chance to avenge their fallen kin by killing Ignaz.
Seeing the three approaching ten-thousand-year beasts, Ignaz quickly collected the corpse of the Evil Whale King into his spirit conduit.
"Senior Sea Dragon, let's split up. Please escort them back to Sea God Island while I draw them away."
"You? That's impossible," the Sea Dragon said in disbelief. Three ten-thousand-year spirit beasts were closing in, each a sovereign of its vast domain, and individually stronger than the Evil Whale King.
Facing all three at once—even if the seven Grand Sacrificers joined forces—they could only guarantee survival for fifty rounds. And Ignaz intended to lure them away himself to let the others escape. Such audacity!
The Sea Dragon, worried, said, "Ignaz, the Grand Sacrificer oversees everything in the ocean. She already knows about this crisis and will come to save us. There's no need to risk yourself."
Though he longed for Ignaz's safety, the Sea Dragon couldn't bear to see him die. After all, he was a rare spirit master who particularly pleased the Sea Spear.
Before the three girls could persuade him to retreat with them, it was already too late. The three ten-thousand-year spirit beasts were nearly upon them.
"There's no time to explain. Even if the Grand Sacrificer were here, she couldn't face all three of them at once. They're coming for me. Only if I split from you can you be safe. I have my own escape method."
Before Dugu Yan could respond, Ignaz mounted the Raging Bite Shark and sped due west.
The shark, just recently fully matured and slightly more intelligent, had tasted little of the Evil Whale King's meat.
It glared at Ignaz with resentment—why assign such a dangerous task to it? Wasn't it just asking for the wrath of these ferocious spirit beasts to fall on its head? Nevertheless, it lashed its tail furiously and surged forward.
As Ignaz steered their escape, the three ten-thousand-year spirit beasts altered their pursuit, aiming for him. Meanwhile, with the Sea Dragon's help, Shui Bing'er and the others had already reached a mid-sized island, evading the beasts' attacks.
Ignaz kept glancing back, measuring the distance between himself and the pursuing beasts. But suddenly, from the south, where massive waves roiled, the Scarlet Flame Red Dragon appeared just 1.5 li away, flying at twice the speed of the shark in the water.
"Not good!" Ignaz's worst fear had come true. He urged the Raging Bite Shark forward.
"You reckless human, today we will destroy you completely to avenge our destroyed homeland and fallen kin!" the Scarlet Flame Red Dragon roared.
As soon as it spoke, the three spirit beasts unleashed their attacks. A pillar of fire erupted like a towering sky column, aimed straight at Ignaz. The Three Rivers Sky-Constraining Pythons fired venomous black beams, while the Nine Heavens Dragon Centipede, not adept at swimming, became the slowest of the trio, creating a whirlwind of sand in the water as a barrier ahead.
Ignaz dove the Raging Bite Shark underwater, using the resistance of the sea to neutralize the three ten-thousand-year spirit beasts' attacks. He sped through a 100-meter-deep zone toward the only escape route to the west.
"Think you can escape? I won't let you get away so easily," the Three Rivers Sky-Constraining Python hissed, diving to give chase and releasing its deadly poison. Any contact would end Ignaz's flight.
At the critical moment, Ignaz teleported, vanishing from the shark's back.
The shark, relieved of some weight, nimbly dodged the python's minor attacks. Ignaz reappeared 300 meters ahead, leaving even the relentless python momentarily baffled.
The other beasts didn't care—they had only one goal: kill the human, no matter how slippery he seemed.
Each time the beasts launched attacks, Ignaz teleported at the last moment, narrowly avoiding harm. The constant teleportation churned the ocean space until, after over 200 jumps, Ignaz's spirit energy was nearly exhausted. Suddenly, the space ahead warped, and a black hole appeared.
From the frequent teleportation, Ignaz didn't even have time to react before he was pulled inside. The Raging Bite Shark, which had just fled and was being chased, was also sucked in on its return. When the three ten-thousand-year spirit beasts attempted to follow, the black vortex closed, leaving them grasping at empty water.