Chapter 335: Chapter 335: The Path to Escape, Will the Empress Be Pulled Out?

In the Spiritless Sea Region, night fell, plunging everything into complete darkness.

The temperature plummeted!

A giant Black Eagle with a wingspan of several meters flew low over the turbulent sea, streaking past like a black Ghost.

On the eagle’s back, three figures stood against the salty sea wind, their expressions solemn.

Shen Yixuan stood at the very front, his gaze as sharp as a hawk’s, scanning every churning wave below, refusing to miss the slightest anomaly.

His face was still pale, but the determination in his eyes had not wavered in the slightest.

The same was true for Luo Qingyu.

"Captain, I actually saw Gu when the plane was crashing."

Just then, Qin Feng, the military academy Beast Tamer piloting the Black Eagle, suddenly broke the silence.

His voice was somewhat fragmented by the wind, but it still reached the other two’s ears clearly.

Shen Yixuan and Luo Qingyu whipped their heads around, their eyes locking onto him.

’He saw her?’

Qin Feng soothed the Black Eagle beneath him, which was slightly fatigued from the long flight, and began to recall the event.

"It was too chaotic at the time. I only managed to say a quick word to her."

"She seemed to have some special means of flight, too. She was standing on... uh, a strange-looking big black bird, and she was flying very steadily."

"I saw that she seemed able to protect herself, so I figured I should rescue the students with no flight abilities first. I just gave her a heads-up and went down."

"I really thought she’d be fine..."

As he said this, a hint of confusion and self-reproach crept into Qin Feng’s tone.

In his view, since Gu Yuexi had the ability to fly, landing safely on the sea or a small island shouldn’t have been a problem.

So why had she now vanished without a trace?

Hearing this news, the taut strings of Shen Yixuan and Luo Qingyu’s hearts finally loosened a fraction.

She had a way to fly!

That meant, at the very least, she wouldn’t have fallen to her death from ten thousand meters in the air like Xiao Tian, completely powerless to resist.

As long as she was still alive, as long as she hadn’t been eaten by the Demon Beasts in the sea, there was still hope!

’This is great news.’

It seemed likely she had simply landed somewhere else or encountered some other mishap that had temporarily cut her off from everyone.

However, just as a flicker of hope ignited in their hearts...

SPLASH—!

Without any warning, the sea to the Black Eagle’s left suddenly exploded!

A ferocious figure, over ten meters long and covered in blue-black scales, shot out of the water like a crossbow bolt loosed from its string!

It was a bizarrely-shaped fish-type Demon Beast. A sharp, spiral-shaped bone spike that glinted with a cold, metallic light grew from its head, aimed straight for the Black Eagle’s abdomen!

A sneak attack!

It was too sudden, too fast!

And this Thorny Fish Demon Beast was clearly extremely cunning. It had lurked in the water, perfectly concealing its aura, only erupting with its full power at the very last moment of its attack!

"Look out!"

Qin Feng’s pupils contracted as he roared a warning.

The Black Eagle beneath him sensed the mortal danger instantly. Its survival instinct made it let out a sharp cry as it flapped its wings violently, forcibly pulling its body upward and to the right!

WHOOSH—!

The bone spike, sharp enough to pierce steel plate, grazed past the Black Eagle’s talons, a hair’s breadth away!

The sharp gust of wind it created even left a clear scratch on the eagle’s feathers!

’That was close!’

Just a little more, just a tiny bit closer, and the Black Eagle would have been disemboweled on the spot!

Its attack having missed, the Thorny Fish Demon Beast let out a frustrated roar, slammed back into the sea with a BOOM, and vanished without a trace, as if it had never been there.

On the eagle’s back, all three had broken out in a cold sweat.

The level of danger in this sea region far exceeded their imagination.

Not only was the sky suppressed by the Spiritless rule, but the sea below was fraught with peril, with powerful Demon Beasts ready to launch a fatal blow at any moment.

The Black Eagle circled in the air once, confirming that the Thorny Fish Demon Beast had retreated, before continuing its search, still shaken.

But this time, everyone’s heart was in their throat.

If even a target flying in the air like them could be ambushed, then what if... what if someone had fallen into the sea...

Shen Yixuan didn’t dare to think about it any further.

He gazed down at the deep, cold, black ocean that seemed capable of swallowing everything, and the hope that had just been kindled in his heart was once again shrouded by a thick shadow.

’Sister Gu...’

’Where on earth are you?’

...

The Demon Beasts in the sea, especially those in the depths of a forbidden zone rarely visited by humans, had always been an unknown and terrifying existence for Martial Artists from the land.

And,

The Nether Sea Ancient Whale was precisely such a creature.

In its eyes, Gu Yuexi and that strange "Insect Bird" were nothing more than a sweet little snack that it had happened to swallow as they passed by.

At this moment, it was leisurely swimming toward its lair, its massive tail fin swaying.

Meanwhile, inside the Nether Sea Ancient Whale’s big mouth... no, its massive mouth.

Next to a giant tooth that resembled a stone pillar.

Chu Sheng let out a satisfied burp.

’Awesome!’

That one mouthful had netted him a full 30,000 Qi Blood Value. It felt incredible! 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

However.

He might have felt incredible.

But Gu Yuexi’s expression had turned somewhat grim!

As the Nether Sea Ancient Whale swam deeper into the sea, the invisible suppressive force of the rules grew stronger and stronger.

Furthermore, as they descended deeper, the pressure of the deep sea would also intensify!

Fortunately, they were currently inside the giant whale’s body, so the pressure they experienced was greatly reduced.

But.

The pressure was reduced inside the whale’s mouth... but so was the air.

Chu Sheng looked back and saw Gu Yuexi clutching the tooth, her brow slightly furrowed, her breathing growing a little ragged.

Martial Artists could breathe internally, but that didn’t mean they didn’t need to breathe at all.

At least, not at Gu Yuexi’s Qi Blood Realm.

"This won’t work. We have to find a way out!"

Gu Yuexi finally spoke.

Her cool, clear eyes were calmly analyzing their current predicament.

There were only three ways out of here.

The first, and simplest, was to exit through the mouth.

They just had to wait for the giant whale to open its mouth again, whether to hunt or to breathe, and they could seize the opportunity to escape.

This was the opportunity Gu Yuexi had been waiting for since she was swallowed.

However, this Nether Sea Ancient Whale was like a clam; ever since swallowing them, it had kept its mouth shut tight, single-mindedly rushing through the deep sea with no intention of opening it.

Well then, the second path was to follow the abyss-like gullet into the whale’s digestive system, and then... come out the other end.

The moment that thought appeared, Gu Yuexi immediately snuffed it out.

’Are you kidding me!?’

’Putting aside how terrifying the digestive abilities of a beast this size must be—its stomach acid could probably melt an Earth-tier Spiritual Artifact.’

’And just the manner of exiting...’

’How could she, the future Empress, accept being... pooped out... like a piece of waste?’

’Absolutely not!’

’That’s worse than death!’

Since the first two paths were unworkable, that left only the final option.

Break through the giant whale’s body and fight their way out!

At the very least, they had to force the whale to open its mouth!

This was the most direct, but also the most difficult, method—because this thing was just too big!

Even if its internal flesh was relatively fragile, it had to be hundreds of meters thick!

But things had come to this. No matter how hard it was, it had to be done!

A resolute glint flashed in Gu Yuexi’s eyes. She let go of the tooth and landed steadily on the slick tongue below.

BUZZ—

A form-fitting suit of Battle Armor, shimmering with iridescent light and covered in arcane runes, instantly enveloped her entire body.

The Empress Battle Armor!

She was preparing to forcibly draw upon her suppressed Mental Power, combine it with the Battle Armor, and launch an Attack!

However, just as she was about to act, Chu Sheng’s voice rang out:

"BZZ! (Wait! Let me handle this!)"

Gu Yuexi froze.

’What is this damn mosquito up to now?’

She watched as Chu Sheng hovered in mid-air, a thought crossing his mind!

The next second, a scene that made even Gu Yuexi’s scalp tingle appeared!

BZZZZZZZZZZ—!!!!

Inside the pitch-black mouth, a dense, endless black torrent materialized out of thin air, like a bursting dam!

Bloodthirsty Demon Bees!

Not hundreds, not thousands, but tens of thousands! Over a hundred thousand of them!

Gu Yuexi knew Chu Sheng could summon Insect Beasts!

But... she remembered him having only a few thousand, right?

Even if he’d gotten more recently, it should have been around ten thousand at most, shouldn’t it?

But now!

There were so many!

This mouth... no, the whale’s mouth was almost too small to hold them all!

Soon! The entire space of the Nether Sea Ancient Whale’s mouth was packed full of Bloodthirsty Demon Bees!

That’s right!

This was Chu Sheng’s plan!

He couldn’t drink any more himself, so he’d have the Bloodthirsty Demon Bees collect the blood! Then he could extract Qi Blood Crystal Balls and stockpile them!

Chu Sheng chuckled inwardly and issued the command:

’My children! Dinner is served!’

’Suck it dry! Start gnawing!’

’Drain its blood! Harvest it all!’