# 905
Chapter 906: Whale Fall
This crimson glow swept across the entire sea area before surging onto the shore, like the annular radiation wave following a nuclear explosion, rapidly expanding in all directions!
"Soul Magic, [Heart Purification Circle]."
"Soul Magic, [Mind Stabilization]."
"Soul Magic, [Emotion Weakening Curse]."
Merlin lightly raised his magical scepter, and three white magic arrays opened above him and Lin Qiye simultaneously, flowing into their bodies.
As the crimson wave swept past the three of them, Lin Qiye felt his breath catch for a moment before quickly returning to normal.
"Lord Merlin, this is..."
"Do you know what a whale fall is?"
Lin Qiye nodded slightly. "I've heard a little about it. It refers to when a whale dies and sinks to the seafloor, and the nutrients from its corpse nourish the ocean."
Merlin gazed at the corpse of the transformed whale gradually sinking into the blood sea and spoke slowly, "That transformed whale absorbed a massive amount of Red Moon energy. After the whale fall, all the Red Moon energy stored within it was released. Given its terrifying size, the Red Moon energy impact from this whale fall is equivalent to a small Red Moon condensed over a thousand times.
If the moon in the sky represents a sustained, mild influence, then this transformed whale that fell into the blood sea is a pollution bomb that detonates instantly.
Right now, the pollution concentration here is probably over a thousand times what you encountered in that fishing village."
A thousand times the pollution?
Lin Qiye's expression darkened. He looked at the world saturated with red light everywhere around him and couldn't help but feel a chill.
That Red Moon in the fishing village had already tortured them to the point of wishing they were dead. Now, with a thousand times the pollution concentration here, humans probably couldn't survive even a single second...
"I've cast three layers of Soul Magic on you, which can barely resist the Red Moon pollution here and allow you to move freely, though it can only be maintained for one day at most." Merlin turned to glance at Jialan beside him and smiled, "As for this young lady... she probably doesn't need my help."
Jialan nodded obediently.
Lin Qiye looked at the corpse of the transformed whale in the distance, then at the Red Moon overhead. His confusion grew deeper.
"Lord Merlin, I understand less and less now." He shook his head and said, "Why did this transformed whale return to Takamagahara? Why is there a Red Moon here? Where did the gods of Takamagahara go? And what exactly is this catastrophe you mentioned?"
Merlin smiled faintly, beckoned in the empty air, and an ancient Western-style carriage appeared at his side. The silver-white carriage body glowed softly under the Red Moon, while three ghostly white horses shrouded in holy light stood quietly before the carriage.
"Get in. I'll explain everything to you gradually."
...
Wang Mian took a sip of tea and continued asking, "What exactly is the inside of Takamagahara like?"
"...Very strange." Wu Xiangnan recalled for a moment, furrowing his brows. "After we passed through that gate, we found ourselves in a vast sea of blood, with a sickening bloody smell permeating the air everywhere. It was nothing like the place where gods were said to dwell in mythology.
Moreover, there was a Red Moon hanging in the sky above... just as you described earlier. Under that moonlight, we couldn't control our emotions becoming restless."
"Red Moon?" Wang Mian immediately connected this to the crimson eyes of those beast corpses, as if understanding something, and murmured to himself, "So the Red Moon energy affecting the Human Enclosure originated from Takamagahara?"
"Under that moonlight, our thoughts became somewhat extreme. Instead of choosing to leave via the original route at the first moment, we chose to continue chasing the Yamata no Orochi.
When it initially attacked the coast of Great Xia, only three pairs of its eight heads had blood-red eyes. But after returning here, the number of red eyes increased rapidly—four pairs, five pairs... By the time seven pairs of its eyes had turned red, it actually gave up fleeing and turned to fight us ferociously.
You should know that back in Great Xia, it had already been beaten to the brink of death by your [Mask Squad] and the Sword Saint. We never expected it could still counterattack like that.
In the end, although it took considerable effort, we still managed to kill it."
Wang Mian recalled carefully for a moment, then nodded. "Now that you mention it, I do remember that the Yamata no Orochi that suddenly invaded the coast of Great Xia had a few red eyes, resembling the state of Red Moon corruption...
So it had escaped from Takamagahara back then, and invaded Great Xia while in a state of agitation and loss of control?"
"That should be the case." Wu Xiangnan continued, "After we slew the Yamata no Orochi, we also realized our own emotions seemed somewhat off and immediately chose to return via the original route... but by then, it was already too late."
"Did Japanese gods find you?"
"No, not gods... They were a group of monsters with black liquid flowing from their bodies." A memory surfaced in Wu Xiangnan's eyes. "Their eyes were blood-red, just like that Red Moon, pouring in from all directions. Their numbers were terrifying, and the lowest aura fluctuation they emitted was at the 'Unmeasured' realm."
Wang Mian thought of the monsters Yuzuri Takishiro had killed. "Corpse Beasts?"
"Yes, that's a name I gave them, because I personally saw a few of these monsters crawl out from the corpse of the Yamata no Orochi, so I called them Corpse Beasts." Wu Xiangnan continued, "There were too many of them. We were forced to keep advancing toward the depths, trying to shake them off...
In the end, we encountered him."
Wu Xiangnan took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. A glint of hatred flickered in his eyes...
"I'll never forget that scene.
Under the blood-like Red Moon, he wore a blood-stained divine robe, a red magatama hanging on his chest, wielding Ame-no-Murakumo, sitting upright atop a mountain of divine corpses that towered into the heavens...
He was Susanoo."
...
Takamagahara.
A silver carriage traveled swiftly through the crimson world.
Lin Qiye and Jialan sat on one side, while Merlin sat alone on the other side of the carriage, gazing at the two opposite him with a smile, a playful gleam appearing between his brows.
"Lord Qiye, if you have any questions, ask them now."
Lin Qiye hummed in acknowledgment and organized his thoughts. "What exactly happened to Takamagahara?"
Merlin pointed to the Red Moon in the sky and said, "More than fifty years ago, the Cthulhu gods broke a corner of their seal and projected the source of corruption here, forming this Red Moon. You just left that fishing village, so you should be very clear about what this Red Moon can do."
"Making the gods of Takamagahara kill each other?" Lin Qiye furrowed his brows. "That Red Moon can affect the gods?"
"Takamagahara's location is above Japan in the heavens, closest to the moon. The intensity of corruption it experiences is far greater than that fishing village.
Moreover, when you were in the village, what you saw wasn't a complete full moon. What was truly illuminated by the full moon lasted only the final instant before the closed loop ended..."
---
Initially, he didn't believe he needed to draw his weapon against such an opponent. Yet suddenly, he found himself compelled to unsheathe his blade, for he could barely withstand the relentless assault. The Phoenix Rebirth technique demanded continuous energy expenditure, and excessive consumption of his bloodline power would inevitably damage his fundamental essence.
"I must admit, you've exceeded my expectations. However, I shall now unleash my full strength." As Cao Yuan spoke, the Phoenix True Fire converged upon him like a tide rushing into the sea, withdrawing the Phoenix True Flame Domain.
The intense Phoenix True Fire coalesced around him, forming a magnificent golden-red armor that encased his entire body. With a battle blade in hand, he resembled a demonic god, glaring intently at Mei Gongzi.
Mei Gongzi did not pursue. She stood in the distance, slightly settling her somewhat agitated emotions. Although this battle had been brief, her feelings were becoming increasingly exhilarated.
Before truly facing a Great Demon King-level Undying Phoenix, she hadn't known if she could withstand such an opponent. Her confidence stemmed from what Tang San had imparted to her. As the battle progressed and she actually began suppressing her opponent, protecting herself from the Phoenix True Fire with the七彩天火液, she realized she truly could do it.
Over the past hundred years, Tang San had guided her through numerous combat techniques, each tailored specifically for her use. Like the previous Phantom Strike and Phantom Hundred Claws. And that technique that had just severed Cao Yuan's finger for the first time - the Sword Star Cold. According to Tang San, these were genuine divine techniques, slightly modified by him and taught to Mei Gongzi, perfectly suited for her to execute.
The more she used these abilities, the more Mei Gongzi found herself genuinely convinced by Tang San. Initially, when Tang San first told her these were divine techniques, she had harbored some doubts. But now, being able to continuously wound and oppress an opponent while surpassing realms - how could this be possible without divine techniques, given the cultivation gap?
At this moment, the numerous monarchs standing atop the皇天柱 all regarded this young girl with newfound respect. When the Phoenix True Flame Domain appeared, they had been contemplating how long Mei Gongzi could endure under that domain.