Chapter 48: Brother Octopus
The appearance of the strongest sea beast was utterly unexpected—it turned out to be a rather small octopus.
Su Xiao gazed at the octopus in the sea. His earlier speculation about the strongest sea beast was clearly inaccurate. After all, he wasn't omniscient; he could make mistakes in his deductions too.
"I've been looking for you for a long time. Why are you running all over the world with the Ancestral Horn! My tentacles are sore from swimming! Other sea beasts don't dare to approach you, so I had to search on my own."
The octopus brother in the sea... let's call him Brother Octopus for now, since he claimed to have lived for 209 years.
Brother Octopus was very angry. From what he said, it seemed that he didn't need the complete Sea King Horn to be summoned; just obtaining one segment would suffice.
Su Xiao felt that his main mission had deviated slightly. He seemed to have skipped a certain step.
"What's your purpose in finding us?"
Baha looked at Brother Octopus with confusion, while Brother Octopus glared angrily.
"Let me get on the ship first. Finally, there's a clear-headed captain of the Doom Number, but you're sailing it all over the world. Do you know how long I've been looking for you?"
Brother Octopus climbed up from the side of the ship, clinging to the railing. With a flick of his tentacles, he landed on the deck with a splat.
"I've worked with three relatively clear-headed captains of the Doom Number, and they all failed. Only one came close to success, but unfortunately, he was eventually completely eroded by the curse."
Brother Octopus's words were confusing, but after his explanation, Su Xiao understood what was going on.
First, the three soul arrows on Brother Octopus were supreme treasures. Although they had no miraculous effects, they were still treasures. Each of these three soul arrows had the function of pointing the way. The islands they pointed to held the secret to lifting the curse of the Demon Sea.
On a certain island, there was a stone cup. That wasn't the key point. The key was the water overflowing from the stone cup—it was "Primordial Water," similar to the essence of the Demon Sea, but only a small amount.
If others drank this substance, they would gain an extremely long life, conservatively estimated at several hundred years, possibly up to a thousand years. They could also control the Demon Sea to a certain extent—not the entire Demon Sea, but a specific sea area.
In the Demon Sea world, this was a terrifying power. For example, manipulating a sea area to create a tsunami and submerge islands. With such power, dominating the Demon Sea wouldn't be difficult. It truly meant "those who submit prosper, those who resist perish."
This power reminded Su Xiao of the world introduction for the Demon Sea. At the very beginning, it mentioned that the Demon Sea was submerging islands one after another, even continents.
Could this be interpreted as someone having consumed an enormous amount of "Primordial Water," reaching a level where they could fully control the Demon Sea, and then that person intended to let the Demon Sea submerge everything?
Why that person did this is now impossible to ascertain. The only known fact is that this person was once located in the massive whirlpool at the end of the Demon Sea.
The third captain of the Doom Number once sailed the ship into the whirlpool. His goal should have been to kill that person. From the subsequent drop in the Demon Sea's water level, it could be seen that the third captain succeeded.
It was inexplicable for someone to want to submerge continents and then wait stupidly in the whirlpool to be killed. If that person had tried to resist, the Doom Number would never have been able to approach the whirlpool.
The only explanation was that because that person had consumed too much "Primordial Water," he had been assimilated by the Demon Sea, losing his ability to think and judge. The only emotions left in his heart were desire, greed, and the urge to control. These drove the Demon Sea's water level to keep rising, making this world nothing but sea. In this way, the desires in that person's heart were temporarily satisfied. But human desires... are infinite, more terrifying than the Demon Sea.
The Demon Sea had no consciousness or emotions, but the assimilated person did. This was what created the disaster history of the Demon Sea world.
These weren't the main point. The main point was the small amount of "Primordial Water" on a certain island. The Demon Sea energy contained within it was so vast it was unbelievable.
Demon Sea Gold Coins could gradually lift the seal on the Doom Number by washing it with Demon Sea energy. By analogy, could the liquefied Demon Sea energy at a high concentration, i.e., "Primordial Water," wash away the Demon Sea curse on the Doom Number?
By using "Primordial Water" to wash away the curse on the Doom Number, Su Xiao's own curse would also dissipate.
This wasn't Su Xiao's speculation but a feasible method proposed by Brother Octopus. A previous captain of the Doom Number had obtained a few drops of "Primordial Water" and poured them onto the deck of the Doom Number. As a result, part of the curse was washed away. However, because the amount of "Primordial Water" was too small, the curse power on the Doom Number soon recovered.
It was a matter of quantity. With enough quantity, the Demon Sea curse on the Doom Number could be completely lifted.
As for Brother Octopus, he was the guardian of that island. The soul arrows on him were both shackles and landmarks. To be precise, Brother Octopus had never actually guarded that island. The one who had guarded it was Brother Octopus's ancestor.
A pirate once discovered that island. The stone cup on the island couldn't be taken away. It was connected to the island's veins, extending deep into the seabed. That was how the stone cup could gradually gather "Primordial Water."
To keep this secret, the great pirate ordered his men to capture the strongest sea beast of that era, control it with soul arrows, enslave it, and prevent it from leaving the island. He threatened the strongest sea beast that if it dared to leave, the soul arrows would tear apart its soul.
Complete restraint would only backfire. The great pirate cut off one of the strongest sea beast's horns, divided it into three segments, and told the beast that each segment could remove one soul arrow, giving it a glimmer of hope.
After drinking the "Primordial Water," the great pirate dominated the Demon Sea for a long time before eventually being poisoned to death.
The great pirate died, but his actions tormented Brother Octopus's ancestors for generations. Soon, a turning point came. The soul arrows were embedded in the soul. Each time the strongest sea beast died, the soul arrows would transfer to the next generation.
After several generations of "inheritance," Brother Octopus's ancestors discovered that the soul arrows could no longer bind them. They couldn't be pulled out, but they could already leave the waters around that island.
Thus, the soul arrows were passed down generation after generation, all the way to Brother Octopus.
"That's how it is. Give me the three segments of the horn, and I can pull out the three soul arrows on me. The soul arrows are connected to something on that island. Put them in seawater, and the direction the arrowheads point is the location of that island."
Brother Octopus's eyes were full of eagerness. In truth, he was inwardly stunned. Happiness had come too suddenly. He had previously prepared to use his mental power to control sea beasts of the same race to help the captain of the Doom Number seize the Sea King Horn.
Now, there was no need. All three segments of the horn were already in the captain's hands.
Through Brother Octopus's narration and his own deductions, Su Xiao sorted out the entire sequence of events.
First, the first segment of the Sea King Horn was the entry point. After obtaining it, he could cooperate with Brother Octopus to seize the remaining two segments.
Because Su Xiao had developed too quickly, he had completely missed Brother Octopus earlier. While he was negotiating and fighting with various parties, Brother Octopus was busy chasing behind. Sometimes, he would lose track of the target when the Doom Number returned to Dim Light Island. Brother Octopus's heart was bitter.
The Reincarnation Paradise wouldn't issue impossible tasks. According to the normal development: Su Xiao would first seize the first segment of the Sea King Horn, then ally with Brother Octopus to deal with the West Sea King and Twin Towers Empress, seizing the segments one by one.
After that came the trade: three segments of the Sea King Horn for three soul arrows. Using these three soul arrows, they would find the location of that island, land on it, find the "Primordial Water," and use it to lift the curse on the Doom Number.
During this process, Su Xiao would need to cooperate honestly with Brother Octopus, go through numerous dangers, and finally complete the trade.
But that wasn't what happened. Su Xiao had crushed the West Sea King, and Brother Octopus was chasing behind, doubting his own existence.
There was no cooperation, no shared dangers. The ferocity and recklessness Su Xiao displayed when dealing with the West Sea King made the Twin Towers Empress's scalp tingle. Not just her, even the Duke couldn't sleep well.
Originally, it was supposed to be the Doom Number + Brother Octopus vs. the West Sea King + Twin Towers Empress, but that scene never appeared. In reality, Su Xiao was ahead, taking down the West Sea King, while Brother Octopus chased behind. The funny thing was, he couldn't even catch up.
[Tip: You have completed the Main Mission: Second Ring: Wrath of the West Sea King.]
[Tip: You have completed the Main Mission: Third Ring: Friend of the Octopus.]
[Tip: You have completed the Main Mission: Fourth Ring: Chaos Battle of the Demon Sea (Due to changes in the situation, the chaotic battle scenario did not occur and has been defaulted as completed. As it involves the final stage, the main mission will not change based on the situation. The goal of the main mission's final stage is fixed.)]
[Tip: You have triggered the Main Mission: Fifth Ring: Victorious Trade (Required items have been obtained: Sea King Horn: Complete).]
[Tip: Due to the Hunter completing multiple rings of the main mission in a short time, the mission rewards have accumulated. Do you wish to claim the mission rewards immediately or continue accumulating?]