Chapter 1322: Chapter 1322: Mentality Expansion
After Hai Cangming left, Qin Sisi came to Xuemo’s side. The two women exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with heavy worry.
Hai Cangming opened the white doors of Cang Ming Pavillion and walked out, only to see the exterior of Cang Ming Pavillion swarming with mermaid tribe warriors holding weapons from the flat position upwards.
Ye You stood shoulder to shoulder with the Sea King, facing the doors of Cang Ming Pavillion, directly confronting the emerging Hai Cangming.
Hai Cangming’s gaze swept across Ye You and the Sea King’s faces, then slowly moved past the stern-faced mermaid tribe warriors, feeling an endless sadness in his heart.
"Sea King, what do you intend to do?" he glared at the Sea King and asked sternly.
The Sea King gripped the Unwarranted Divine Axe tightly and shouted loudly, "Hai Cangming, you’ve lived for thousands of years and are the guardian of the No Delusion Deep Sea. We all respect you. We hope you don’t make another mistake. As long as you hand over Princess Xuemo, Patrones Sisi, and the Life Divine Water, we can continue to coexist peacefully."
Hai Cangming erupted in a wild laugh, retorting contemptuously, "What gives you the right to threaten me? Do you really think you can defeat me with these little fish and shrimp?"
Upon hearing Hai Cangming’s reference to his warriors as "little fish and shrimp," the Sea King turned livid with anger, and the mermaid tribe warriors showed expressions of indignation, instinctively tightening their grips on their weapons, ready to attack at any moment.
Ye You’s expression remained unchanged as he looked at Hai Cangming and said blandly, "Hai Cangming, don’t be too arrogant. It’s yet to be determined whose hand the deer will fall."
Hai Cangming snorted coldly and replied, "Jiuxi Yeyou, if your ancestor the Phoenix were here, of course, I wouldn’t be so arrogant, but you’re merely a descendant of unknown generations. The noble blood of the ancient deities has long been sullied by lowly humans. If you want me to curb my arrogance, let’s see if you have the ability."
As he finished speaking, Hai Cangming spun his palm, and a powerful force of magic gathered into a fierce sea current that attacked Ye You, causing the surrounding seawater to tremble.
At this moment, Hai Cangming was no different from six months ago. However, Ye You was no longer the Ye You who had initially arrived at the No Delusion Deep Sea.
He had lived here for over half a year and had fully adapted to the environment of the No Delusion Deep Sea. He used the rich and magical underwater resources to refine many effective pills.
Qin Sisi also forged many magical defense equipment using materials from the underwater world. As Ye You was the main force in this siege against Hai Cangming, Qin Sisi gave him many defensive artifacts. Though they couldn’t completely fend off Hai Cangming’s attack, they could at least mitigate part of it.
Additionally, Ye You participated in the trials of the Sky Scar Labyrinth, passed thirty-five levels, obtained many reward items, and received three magic inheritances, successfully advancing to become a Magic Lord. His magic power had significantly changed.
Facing Hai Cangming’s attack, Ye You leaped up and first summoned a piece of magical defense equipment.
Qin Sisi had been a fifth-level Forgemaster in the Demon Sacred Realm. Over the past half-year in the No Delusion Deep Sea, she continuously practiced forging techniques, and her level was nearing the sixth.
This level was quite high in the Demon Sacred Realm, but it was still too weak to withstand Hai Cangming’s attack.
The defensive artifact shattered at the instant of impact from the fierce sea current, reducing the power of the sea current slightly as it continued to surge towards Ye You.
Ye You immediately released the Earth Attribute Defense Skill, Stone Turtle Armor, to thoroughly protect his body.
Earth restrains water, and Hai Cangming’s strongest magic attribute is Water Attribute, so using Earth Attribute magic skill is the best choice.
At the same time, the figures of the Sea King and the other mermaid tribe warriors vanished, disappearing silently and swiftly, without causing even a ripple in the water.
Hai Cangming looked at this unbelievable scene, furrowing his brows deeper.
His magic level was that of a High-level Magic Lord. A thousand years ago, when he first came to the No Delusion Deep Sea, he was an Intermediate Magic Lord. Over the years, his magic power had only improved by one grade.
This was not because he lacked talent. Being a deity, he had a strong insight into magic.
The most important reason was complacency.
Both humans and gods have a tendency towards complacency.
From the moment he arrived at the No Delusion Deep Sea, he was the most superior existence here. Merely a flick could cause the strongest Sea King of the Mermaid Tribe to dissipate into thin air. All creatures before him were insignificant weaklings.
Anyone in such an environment would inevitably have an inflated mentality.
He was already the strongest being here. Everyone who saw him would bow respectfully. He could decide their fate, choose life or death. The rarest and most precious things in the submarine world were all within his grasp.
Given this, why continue to painstakingly practice?
Advancing his magic power another step held no significance. After all, life remained unchanged. Even if his magical strength remained static forever, no creature here could surpass or defeat him.
Among the twelve deities who created the entire Demon Sacred Realm, including the Phoenix, eight deities sacrificed themselves to create the Eight Great Families possessing magical power (the Divine Dog Panhu is not among the deities).
The other four deities each took on the role of guardians, entering into four places of greatest mystery and harshest environment, giving those places new life and making them sacred grounds.
The four deities had similar strengths and different specialties. Wanting to conquer another’s territory was no easy feat, so they harbored no ambitions to invade each other’s domains, nor did Hai Cangming.
He gradually grew accustomed to the respect, admiration, and fear he inspired in No Delusion Deep Sea. Over his lengthy lifespan, he only sought a carefree and pleasant existence here, abandoning the patience and motivation for arduous practice.
Since he is the most powerful entity in the No Delusion Deep Sea, with no creature able to surpass him, he no longer needs to exert effort.
Hai Cangming’s sea current attack hit Ye You, and the energy from the sea current competed with Stone Turtle Armor’s energy, ultimately allowing Hai Cangming to gain the upper hand, shattering the Stone Turtle Armor on Ye You.
Hai Cangming’s brow relaxed slightly, and he smirked, but his smile quickly froze because, at the moment the Stone Turtle Armor shattered, Ye You, like the Sea King and those mermaid tribe warriors, vanished silently.
"So it really was a Defensive Array," Hai Cangming finally understood completely.
Throughout these half-months while Ye You led the mermaid tribe’s warriors in laying out the Defensive Array outside Cang Ming Pavillion, he was not entirely oblivious. He simply paid it no mind.
His attitude had inflated, always believing he was the undefeated presence in No Delusion Deep Sea, whether it was the mermaid tribe’s Sea King or the Demon Sacred Realm’s Sage Ruler, he didn’t care what tricks they pulled.
