The three elderly array masters looked at Branch Master Jing, their faces a mask of profound disbelief and worry. To willingly open the seals that were straining under the assault of a peak Core Formation beast was an act that went against every instinct they possessed.
"Master Jing, are you certain?" the lead elder asked, his voice trembling slightly, not from fear, but from the sheer strain of maintaining the array. "The moment we create an opening, the full force of the Behemoth's rage will be focused on that point. It could destabilize the entire formation!"
"I am certain," Jing replied, his gaze fixed on Li Yu's calm, unwavering expression. That serenity was a strange, infectious thing. "Guest Elder Li understands the risks. Prepare to open a passage. Only for a moment. Just long enough for him to pass through."
With a heavy, collective sigh, the three masters nodded. They began to chant in low, resonant tones, their hands weaving a complex series of ancient gestures. The web of glowing runes on the black stone structure began to shift and flow. The light intensified, focusing on a single point on the circular seal.
With a deep, grinding groan that seemed to shake the very foundations of the city, a narrow, vertical seam of darkness appeared in the stone. It was not a physical door, but a shimmering, watery portal, a controlled parting of the ancient array. Through it, Li Yu could feel the raw, chaotic energy of the grotto, a pressure so immense it felt like standing at the bottom of the deepest ocean trench.
Without a word, Li Yu stepped forward. To Elder Quan and Branch Master Jing, he gave a final, reassuring nod, then walked calmly into the shimmering darkness. The moment he was through, the portal snapped shut behind him with a resounding boom, the runes on the seal flaring once more as they struggled to regain their equilibrium.
The world Li Yu entered was one of darkness, pressure, and sound. He was floating in a colossal, underwater cavern, the only light coming from faint, phosphorescent moss clinging to the distant walls. The water was not still; it was a vortex of chaotic currents created by the thrashing of the immense creature that dominated the space. The pressure was immense, enough to crush a Foundation Establishment cultivator's bones to powder, but Li Yu's Core Formation body, honed by the purest form of water energy, adapted to it with ease.
And then there was the sound—a constant, low-frequency moan of pure agony that vibrated through the water, a sound that bypassed the ears and sank directly into the soul.
Before him, coiling in the vast darkness, was the Tidal Wrath Behemoth. It was even larger than his senses had suggested, a living mountain of stone-plated flesh and ancient power. Its massive, reptilian head, larger than his entire body, was turned away from him, slamming repeatedly against the far wall of the grotto in a futile attempt to escape its own torment. Every impact was a ground-shaking tremor, the source of the quakes that plagued the city above.
Its eyes were squeezed shut, its entire body tense with a pain that had clearly been its only companion for months. It hadn't noticed his entry yet, lost in its own world of suffering.
This was his chance. Li Yu closed his eyes, centering himself. He reached out, not with his spiritual sense, but with the very essence of his Koi Martial Spirit. He projected a wave of pure, life-affirming tranquility, the very concept of calm, clear water, a silent offering of peace.
The effect was instantaneous. The Behemoth's thrashing paused. Its massive head lifted from the wall, turning slowly in the dark water. Two eyes, each one a vast, luminous orb of molten gold, opened and fixed on him. They were clouded with madness and pain, but for a single, fleeting moment, a flicker of confused recognition, of ancient, instinctual longing for the pure aquatic energy he represented, shone through. It was the attention of a creature in agony, momentarily distracted by the first soothing touch it had felt in an eternity.
Li Yu pushed the feeling of calm, of peace, trying to deepen the connection. 'I am here to help you,' he projected, his thoughts simple and direct.
But his attempt was a fatal miscalculation. The moment his focused, benevolent energy touched the Behemoth's spirit, it acted like salt on a wound. His pure energy clashed violently with the two foreign afflictions tormenting the beast. The spiritual poison flared, sending a fresh wave of maddening irritation through its channels. Simultaneously, the parasite on its core, sensing an outside influence, tightened its grip, its crystalline teeth digging deeper in a possessive, defensive spasm.
The flicker of recognition in the Behemoth's eyes vanished, consumed by a fresh, overwhelming tsunami of agony. It couldn't distinguish the source of the pain anymore. All it knew was that this small creature, this new presence, had appeared, and its suffering had immediately intensified.
A roar of pure, unadulterated fury erupted from the Behemoth, a silent blast of concussive force that sent shockwaves tearing through the water. It no longer saw a potential savior. It saw the source of its torment.
Its massive tail, a hundred-ton cudgel of stone and muscle, whipped through the water, aimed directly at Li Yu. It moved with a speed that defied its size, the displaced water creating a crushing wall of force even before the tail itself arrived.
Li Yu's calm expression finally broke, replaced by one of grim necessity. His method had failed. Reason was lost. There was only one option left.
'Khaos!' he yelled internally, his thought a sharp, urgent command. 'It's too far gone! I need you to restrain it! Now!'
A deep, rumbling, and profoundly arrogant voice echoed in his mind, laced with a smug amusement. "Hmph. So the little fish whisperer's gentle touch fails him. You mortals and your sentimental methods. Very well. Witness the power of a true sovereign. Restraining this overwrought lizard is a simple matter."
As the Behemoth's tail was about to obliterate him, something impossible happened. From Li Yu's position, an invisible, intangible wave of power expanded outwards. It was not spiritual energy; it was something far more profound, a ripple in the very fabric of space itself.
The Behemoth's tail stopped dead, a mere ten feet from Li Yu. Its entire, colossal body froze mid-lunge, locked in place as if it had been turned to stone. The water around it, which had been a raging vortex, became preternaturally still. The only sign of movement was the faint, terrified twitching in its massive golden eyes. It was still conscious, still trying to move, but its body was no longer its own. It was a fly caught in the amber of Khaos's absolute spatial lock.
Outside, the observers felt the violent tremors cease with an unnerving suddenness. The pressure on the seals vanished.
"What's happened?" Elder Quan breathed, his face pressed against the stone.
"The tremors… they've stopped," one of the array masters said, his voice filled with disbelief. "The pressure is gone. It… it's as if the beast has fallen asleep."
Branch Master Jing could only stare at the seal, his heart pounding in his chest. He didn't believe for a second the beast was asleep. He believed he had just witnessed a miracle, performed by the young man he had doubted only an hour before.
Inside the grotto, Li Yu let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He looked at the frozen leviathan, a new level of respect for Khaos's power dawning on him. To so effortlessly restrain a peak Core Formation beast… the gap between their realms was vaster than he had imagined.
'Thank you, Khaos,' Li Yu projected, his calm returning.
"A trivial exercise," the crab sovereign grumbled, though Li Yu could feel a distinct undercurrent of pride for himself in his voice and of utter disdain for Li Yu being so weak.
'That parasite on its core,' Li Yu continued, his mind already working on the next step. 'Can you remove it? And more importantly, can you capture it for me? I've never seen a creature like it. It could be… useful.'
There was a pause, followed by a mental scoff from Khaos. "You wish to keep that disgusting leech? Your hobbies are as strange as ever. But yes, its life force is tenacious. Removing it without killing it requires a delicate touch. A touch that only this king possesses, of course."
Li Yu watched as a tiny, almost imperceptible distortion appeared in the water beside him, a pinprick of shimmering void. From this distortion, a shadowy appendage emerged. It was shaped like a massive, razor-sharp crab's pincer, but it was made not of flesh or energy, but of pure, starless darkness.
The void pincer glided through the water and phased directly through the Behemoth's stone-like hide, causing no wound, no disturbance, as if the beast's body were nothing more than a ghost. It moved with an unerring, surgical precision, guided by Khaos's will, plunging deep into the creature's spiritual core.
Li Yu felt the Behemoth's mind flinch in terror, but it was utterly helpless to resist.
The void pincer reached the core, and with two swift, decisive snips, it severed the crystalline teeth and feeding tendrils the parasite had embedded into the beast's essence. Then, the pincer clamped down on the parasite's armored body and began to withdraw.
The parasite, a creature of pure, instinctual malevolence, writhed and struggled, but it was helpless in the grip of the void. It was pulled, squirming, out of the Behemoth's body through the same ethereal path it had entered, leaving the beast's physical form completely unharmed.
The void pincer retracted back into the spatial distortion, holding the thrashing, lamprey-like horror. The distortion swirled, and a shimmering cage of black, spatial energy formed around the parasite, silencing its struggles. The cage then collapsed in on itself and vanished, deposited by Khaos into a secure, isolated corner of the Koi's Sanctuary.
The entire, terrifyingly complex operation was over in less than ten seconds.
The moment the parasite was gone, a wave of profound relief washed through the Behemoth's mind. A significant portion of its pain had vanished. It was still tormented by the spiritual poison, but the deep, draining agony at its very core was gone. Its frantic, terrified thrashing against Khaos's spatial lock lessened, replaced by a deep, weary confusion.
Li Yu knew he had a small window. With the beast's mind slightly clearer, he had to deal with the second problem. He had to earn its trust.