Chapter 143: Myriad-Transforming Trace

Qingxue was slightly startled for a moment before her expression returned to calm. "Mr. Lei asks a good question; it was my oversight. According to the report from our organization's on-site inspection team, this Myriad-Form Track should be around a tier-six demonic beast, comparable to a human cultivator in the late Core Formation stage. However, with the combined efforts of the three of you, it will be more than enough. Coupled with Master Huohong having one foot already stepped into the Nascent Soul stage, our chances of winning should be well over eighty percent."

Hearing this, Lei Xiang nodded slightly. If it was only a tier-six demonic beast, it was not particularly terrifying. If the capture failed this time, at least they would be able to retreat unscathed. Wasn't it just a matter of firing a shot in exchange for a thousand premium spirit stones? This deal was well worth making.

Seeing that the three had no objections, Qingxue gave an order, and the super towering ship operated at full power, accelerating to maximum speed. This time, Lei Xiang saw clearly that inside this nearly thousand-meter-long ship, there were at least a hundred cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage. They each manipulated a small portion of the machinery through spells, jointly serving as the driving force of the vessel, which was why the ship could move as swiftly as the wind.

Five days later, the ship docked beside a barren island. This small barren island was no larger than the towering ship itself; strictly speaking, it was at best a slightly larger reef. Let alone humans, there were not even animals or plants—only bare mountain rocks, as if they had been washed by the sea for countless years. The rock surface was as smooth as a mirror, and anyone standing on it would slip and slide with no footing whatsoever.

Looking at the huge reflection of the ship in the sea, Qingxue spoke thoughtfully, "This is the place where the Myriad-Form Track is about to appear. According to our calculations, it will show up here in another two to three days, so our time is not abundant. Please prepare, the three of you. Mr. Gu, could you set up the formation as soon as possible?"

The bald Gu Tu did not waste words. He pulled out a stack of formation flags and formation disks from his bosom, flew up like a giant bird, and circled the ten-nautical-mile area to begin his formation-setting work. Meanwhile, Master Huohong and Lei Xiang sat cross-legged at the bow of the ship, closing their eyes to channel their energy and meditate, conserving their strength while awaiting the fierce battle about to begin. Qingxue, on the other hand, carefully took out a white, lingzhi-like object and very solemnly dropped it into the sea at the center of the grand formation. That white lingzhi floated on the water's surface, unable to be washed away by the tides.

"This item is called the Night Fragrance Lingzhi. It has nothing special during the day and only emits a unique fragrance at night. It is one of the Myriad-Form Track's favorite foods, and it is practically irresistible to it. But for us humans, the fragrance is not very strong even at night. In other words, the scent of the Night Fragrance Lingzhi can only be perceived by the Myriad-Form Track..."

Time ticked away second by second. After about two hours, Qingxue suddenly flew up, reached out to take out a Water-Splitting Wolf-Tooth Awl, and cried out anxiously, "Not good! That beast has arrived ahead of schedule. Everyone, get ready! Mr. Gu, how is the formation coming along?"

Gu Tu's voice drifted over from afar, "The formation is only two-thirds complete. Lady Qingxue, why did it come so fast?"

Lei Xiang and Master Huohong stood up simultaneously, magical treasures appearing in their hands at the same time. The one Lei Xiang grasped was naturally the Immortal-Shooting Spear in his palm, while Master Huohong held a glowing red iron rod horizontally across his hands, looking very much like a poker used for stoking a fire.

Several people cast spells to conceal their figures and even masked their auras. To avoid arousing Qingxue's suspicion, Lei Xiang only used a Concealment Talisman instead of the "Heaven-Obscuring Demonic Art." After all, the Heaven-Obscuring Art was the trump card of the Grin Fang organization; once used, how could Qingxue not know? Everyone held their breath and watched quietly, waiting for this Myriad-Form Track to fall into the trap.

After a long while, the sea remained calm, and there was no anomaly whatsoever beside the Night Fragrance Lingzhi. Gu Tu was losing his patience and transmitted his voice to the other three, "Did this beast really come? If it is still far away, I will go down and continue setting up the formation. Give me another quarter of an hour and I can finish it."

Qingxue transmitted back, "This fiend is exceptionally cunning and moves at a tremendous speed. I just received a voice transmission from the person in charge of scouting; this fiend is less than five hundred nautical miles away from us. Judging by its speed of travel..." She did not finish her sentence, nor was there any need to, because everyone saw the change happening at the location of the Night Fragrance Lingzhi.

The white, lingzhi-like spiritual object suddenly sank and submerged into the endless sea, never to surface again. Yet, the group truly had neither seen nor sensed the presence of the Myriad-Form Track.

It was currently dusk, not yet night, and the Night Fragrance Lingzhi had not yet exerted its maximum seductive power. Originally, Qingxue and the others judged that the Myriad-Form Track would arrive here tomorrow night, but the Grin Fang members on watch would not make a mistake—it must have been attracted by the scent emitted by the Night Fragrance Lingzhi. The fact that the Night Fragrance Lingzhi had disappeared for no apparent reason further proved the point, but why was there still no sign of the Myriad-Form Track?

Everyone gazed doubtfully at that patch of sea when Lei Xiang's voice transmission suddenly echoed in their ears, "Left front at 45 degrees, this fiend is fleeing at full speed. Mr. Gu, quickly close the net." A trace of shock crossed everyone's hearts. Gu Tu also looked hesitantly at Lei Xiang, seeing that Lei Xiang's eyes were flashing wildly with a dazzling blue light, emitting an eerie blue radiance as if he were employing some kind of secret technique. At the same time, Qingxue also held a disk in her palm; under the infusion of spiritual power, a burst of white light erupted, and a pointer on the disk jumped with a "shua," pointing precisely to the left front at 45 degrees.

"Mr. Gu, make your move quickly! This fiend is indeed fleeing in that direction; it seems to have discovered us. Daoist Huohong and Young Master Lei, let us give chase."

At this, Gu Tu no longer hesitated. The hand seals and incantations in his hands shifted with brilliant light, and the ten-nautical-mile sea area underwent a transformation. First, a huge circular barrier, inverted like a giant ocean bowl, capped over this region. Without any warning on the left front at 45 degrees, with a "pop," a white water arrow shot out, stabbing directly at the massive protective barrier. Under Gu Tu's control, the barrier remained motionless. Gu Tu changed his hand seals once more, and layers of white mist rose from the sea surface to the left. Everyone felt an overwhelming chill, and instantly a thin layer of ice formed across the water.

Excitement flashed in Qingxue's eyes as she swung the Water-Splitting Wolf-Tooth Mace in her hand. "Good! Mr. Gu has trapped this fiend. Next, all we need to do is surround and monitor it. If it breaks free, we will strike together to capture it."

Lei Xiang and Master Huohong also flew over, forming a tripod formation to monitor the icy surface beneath their feet. Suddenly, they received a voice transmission from Gu Tu in their minds, "Get ready, it's about to break through the restriction. It's a pity the formation wasn't completed, otherwise it wouldn't have been able to run." Immediately following the sound of "crack, crack, crack" like shattering glass, a beam of white light burst through the ice, and everyone laid eyes on the true appearance of the Myriad-Form Track for the first time.

It was entirely snow-white without a single stray hair, its fur oily and glossy, indicating that it was extremely well-nourished. Not a single droplet of seawater clung to its coat, showing just how precious this pelt truly was. Viewed from afar, it resembled a giant white eel. But now was not the time for appreciation, so Qingxue took the lead in smashing down her Water-Splitting Wolf-Tooth Mace, targeting the fiend's left shoulder while shouting urgently, "Try to capture it alive! Preserve its primordial spirit." Master Huohong's fire poker also thrust forward simultaneously, winding around the lower body of the beast like a fiery snake.

The "head" at the very top of the Myriad-Form Track shook, and its soft, large white body stiffened straight, bouncing Qingxue's Water-Splitting Wolf-Tooth Mace right back. Qingxue's body flew backward in mid-air, then twisted rapidly to dodge the horizontal sweep of the fire poker. Master Huohong reached out with a large hand to absorb the force from Qingxue, but when he looked back, he saw that the transformation of the Myriad-Form Track was still ongoing. The beast, which was originally less than ten feet long, was now fifteen or sixteen feet in length, and its huge tail was spinning rapidly.

This all-white tail was three feet long, spinning like a whirlpool. A fierce look flashed in the eyes of the Myriad-Form Track, and its tail spun furiously as it charged toward the group. Judging solely by the white gale-force wind it whipped up, they knew this collision could not be met head-on. At Qingxue's call, the four of them retreated through the air. Who could have expected that the Myriad-Form Track was not attacking them, but instead swung its tail to crash directly into the trapping formation.

"Boom, rumbling!" With a tremendous roar, the grand formation set up by Gu Tu was easily breached. The plump body of the Myriad-Form Track began to shrink, and the small eyes on its face cast a remarkably anthropomorphic glance at Lei Xiang and the others before its body slipped back into the seawater once more.

"Pursue! We cannot let it escape!"

The four figures transformed into four-colored streaks of light, instantly locking onto the Myriad-Form Track in the sea and giving chase at high speed. A hundred or so nautical miles were crossed in the blink of an eye. The Water-Splitting Wolf-Tooth Awl and the fire poker launched a coordinated front-and-rear pincer attack, but suddenly they lost their target. Master Huohong hastily pulled back his fire poker in mid-air, otherwise, it would have directly collided head-on with Qingxue's Water-Splitting Wolf-Tooth Awl.

What was going on? The fiend had clearly been locked onto by their spiritual senses, so how had its aura suddenly vanished completely?

Just then, a drastic change occurred in this expanse of the sea. The waves churned wildly and soared into the sky. From the northeastern corner, wave after wave of white, foam-like substance surged forward with two-story-high giant waves, crashing relentlessly toward Lei Xiang and the others.