Douluo Continent: A Thousand Miles of Cultivation

If the previous Sea Demon Douluo was incredibly ugly, then the current Starfish Douluo is just plain ridiculously ugly.

His limbs instantly extended, transforming into enormous tentacles. Each tentacle was covered with countless pale white circular suckers. His limbs were his four tentacles, while his fifth tentacle, which looked incredibly dirty, was actually his long hair. His hair instantly became tangled together and transformed into tentacle-like entities as well.

'Ugh! I'm getting goosebumps!'

Fear is something ingrained in human genes, like the uncanny valley.

People have a fondness for creatures that resemble humans, such as cats, which are said to have cheek features and meows that are very similar to human babies, thus evoking people's affection.

But if they look too much like Sadako, it won't work; that's how horror movies manipulate people's minds. It's said that this is because human ancestors weren't the only primates, but coexisted with other primates, and the branch that survived was the victor.

Therefore, humans are afraid of things that look very similar to them, but are not the same as them. This is an innate wariness of human-like species that has been ingrained in our genes since the evolutionary war of millions of years.

Soft-bodied disgust stems from a fear of snakes. Trypophobia stems from a fear of swarms of bees. These are fears of death etched into our genes by countless natural selection processes.

At least that's roughly how the research on Earth is. Douluo Continent's Qian Shui doesn't know, but she's really going crazy because she's seen a composite entity—a human, with soft limbs and dense suction cups.

Hai Xing Douluo was miserable. As a control-type Soul Master, he couldn't even touch Qian Shui because she was so intimidated that she wouldn't give him a chance to get close.

"Eighth Soul Skill, Mirror Annihilation! Raging Whale Tremor! Left Leg Soul Bone Skill, Orca Demon Axe! Orca Shattering Fang Slash!"

It's all about long-range bombardment, using the eighth soul skill's physical control and stun abilities, plus the soul bone skill's area-of-effect cutting or single-target cutting soul power blade for crazy output.

The eighth soul skill consumed a lot of energy, so he took out the Heart-Questioning Technique and bombarded with sword energy like a madman. Starfish Douluo was also the first to try Thousand Water's eighth soul skill and soul bone skill, and he was completely exhausted!

In short, after Hai Xing Douluo activated the Sacred Pillar, Qian Shui ran away without looking back.

"It's not my fault I'm ugly!"

Chapter 144 Cleverly Defeating the Mermaid

"Ah~ the mermaid sister is still the most beautiful!"

The design of the Sea Witch's Sacred Pillar is very simple, just a square platform. However, the sacred pillar in the center of that platform is still quite unique.

Rather than a pillar, it is more like a statue. The sacred pillar is entirely white like jade, and is a statue of a young girl kneeling on the pillar platform, her hands clasped together in front of her chest, worshipping in the direction of the Temple of the Sea God.

Although it is just a sculpture, the devout expression on her face is so clear and lifelike. On the edge of the Sea Witch's sacred pillar, a young girl sits there, and surprisingly, she has a huge fish tail, with a beautiful arc that extends all the way to her waist.

At this moment, her fishtail was gently slapping the surface of the sea. She wore a small black top that didn't even cover her navel. She had a pair of large, sky-blue eyes that resembled the sky more than the ocean, and her stunningly beautiful face always had a faint smile on her lips.

The fish slapped its tail against the water's surface, playing with great interest. As if sensing Qian Shui's arrival, it raised its head and looked towards the shore. "Are you here to challenge me?"

A silvery voice, tinged with laughter, drifted over; the melodious sound made it impossible for anyone to feel any hostility.

Although the girl in front of them looked young, everyone knew that as the guardian Douluo of the Sea Witch Holy Pillar, the Sea Witch Douluo, her actual age was no less than that of the other guardian Douluos of the Sea God.

"Huh? You have such a strange expression on your face, yet you're not thinking about anything?"

'Goodness, could this mermaid's special ability be mind reading?! It's probably just because my mental strength is strong enough. Thank goodness~ I almost gave myself away~'

Looking at the sea witch's innocent yet confused expression, Qian Shui secretly rejoiced that she hadn't read her strange thoughts, otherwise she would have been in real trouble.

The sea witch suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Wow! You seem to be very strong! I can't even read your mind!"

Her beautiful eyes were full of curiosity, and she quickly noticed the golden trident mark on his forehead. Then she realized and said, "So that's it. You are the human who received the glory of the Nine Trials of the Sea God! With the protection of the Sea God's light, no wonder I couldn't see through you."

"It's all because of the Light of the Sea God?"

Qian Shui touched his chin, a little embarrassed. "If I guessed wrong, I guessed wrong. It doesn't matter."

The sea witch showed no intention of attacking Qian Shui. "Little brother, you're so handsome! There's something strange about you that makes it impossible for me to dislike you!"

"Hehe, he's not that handsome~"

As expected, Qian Shui was completely absorbed in the calls of "little brother" and didn't realize there was anything wrong with the young man.

The Sea Witch Douluo's long fishtail rose from the seawater and landed on the sacred pillar platform, truly transforming into legs, with a long black dress covering them. "Little brother, you're so handsome, let's not fight and kill each other, okay? I'll play a tune for you, and if you finish listening, you'll pass the test, how about it?"

"Hmm... sure, but you have to play my tune~"

"what?"

The sea witch clearly hadn't expected Qian Shui to give such an answer, but he had already taken out his own bamboo flute and started playing it.

When the song ended, Qianshui asked with expectant eyes, "Did you get it?"

But the sea witch puffed out her cheeks early on, her face full of reluctance, "I don't want to!"

As she spoke, she took out her black magic flute and began to play it.

The Seven Pillars communicate in a special way, and the Sea Witch naturally already knew that Thousand Waters's mental power was extremely strong. She dared not relax at all, so how could she not go all out?

The black magic flute was held horizontally in front of his chest, and the black seventh spirit ring suddenly shone brightly.

Her seventh soul skill, Martial Soul True Body, was also extremely unique. The light released from the black flute simultaneously enveloped both the flute and the sea witch's body. Then, black light surged and soared into the sky, and the sea witch's body actually grew larger, along with the black flute in her hand.

However, as the body grew larger, the person appeared more transparent and ethereal.

The sea witch's body swelled to over ten meters in length on the sea surface before stopping. Her large fish tail gently stirred the waves, and she lay horizontally on the sea.

'The true form of a weapon spirit?'

A soft whirring sound echoed in Qian Shui's ears.

'Goodness, a sonic attack! Is that considered a physical attack or a magical attack?'

Sound waves affect the human body through vibration and require a physical medium to propagate. Qian Shui knows this, since infrasound of a certain frequency is the same as that of the human body and can cause resonance that damages the body. This is basic junior high school physics knowledge.

'That's easy, sound doesn't travel in a vacuum!'

That's perfect. Qian Shui floated in the air, released his soul power, and after enveloping his entire body, he began to generate wind pressure, pulling the molecules in the air to form a thin layer of vacuum cavity, directly isolating the sea witch's sonic attack.

Poor sea witch, she's really putting on a great show. Sea witch's ninth soul skill, the Sea-Suppressing Divine Song, is a super-wide-range attack skill.

The attack, powered by the sound of the flute, renders its listeners utterly powerless to resist, causing them to perish within the melodies. Because the skill is transmitted through sound, even a vast attack range does not diminish its effectiveness.

Qian Shui had heard Xiao Bai say that when the group of demonic orcas chased the group of demonic great white sharks to Seagod Island, the sea witch had scared them away with this sea-suppressing melody, which shows how terrifying the melody was.

But Qian Shui couldn't hear such a beautiful melody; her eyes widened as she admired the sea witch's alluring figure.

As the song ended, Qian Shui removed his protective gear and clapped, "The blue sea rises with a bang, startling heaven and earth; the blue sea falls with a bang, making even ghosts and gods weep."

"Why? You feel absolutely nothing?"

"Hmm, applying the laws of nature, so easy~ No way, you're not going to let me pass?"

"All right…"

"No problem~"

Golden magic runes were branded onto Qian Shui's body, thus ending the battle of the first six Holy Pillars.

"Here you go, next time I want to hear different songs. Also, your skill is too restrictive. If you can even hit me once, I'm done for."

The vacuum layer hardened by soul power is very fragile and can be easily broken, at least in the current state of development, something Qian Shui is well aware of.

He gave the sea witch a playlist of Earth songs, and then flew off to his final destination in a flash.

"What a strange young man..."

Chapter 145 Dragon Claw vs. Terror Claw

The Sea Dragon Sacred Pillar corresponds exactly to the Sea God Mountain, and Qian Shui, looking down from the air, noticed the difference in the positioning of the sacred pillar.

"The central axis, that's where the Sea Dragon Pillar is strongest and holds the highest position. It's probably also the oldest."

Qian Shui found it hard to believe that the sea witch was probably a hundred years old and was still acting coy. However, age is not a problem in the fantasy world, and he still fell for her act!

Compared to the six seas within seas I had seen before, this sea area was significantly larger. The clear water was crystal clear, and I could see some very small marine creatures swimming in it.

There seemed to be no sea spirit beasts present. The entire sea within the sea was circular, with various plants lining the shore. Blue sky, green trees, and azure sea intertwined to create a captivating scene.

The altar in the center of the Sea of ​​the Sea seems to echo the Sea of ​​the Sea, also being circular with a diameter of about thirty meters and a central pillar that is over twenty meters high.

Its entire body is the color of seawater, and the fine scales are carved as if they were real. On the round holy pillar, a blue dragon is coiled, and on the edge of the holy pillar stands a man with his upper body naked.

He was extremely tall. In Qian Shui's memory, only Qian Daoliu had such a physique, except that he was the 'refined scoundrel' type, sacred yet gentle, simply an invincible handsome old man.

However, it is probably true that appearance reflects the heart. Qian Daoliu is gentle at heart, but he is also somewhat indecisive and not ruthless enough. Otherwise, the Spirit Hall would have unified the continent under his leadership. Even someone as strong as Tang Chen is just one person.

At this moment, Hailong Douluo was facing away from Qianshui. His entire body was like an inverted triangle, with broad shoulders, granite-like back muscles, and a head of dark blue, medium-length hair that just reached his shoulders, naturally curly.

Qian Shui can be described in just two words: "A real man!"

On his strong back muscles was a blue dragon tattoo, the shape of which was almost identical to the dragon coiled on the Sea Dragon Pillar.

His age was impossible to tell from behind. Without a doubt, he was the guardian of this place, the most powerful Sea Dragon Douluo among the Seven Sacred Pillars of the Sea God.

At this moment, although the golden light in the sky still exists, it is only supported by the Sea Dragon Holy Pillar in front of it. The light shoots straight into the sky from the top of the circular holy pillar, and the golden light is reflected on the sea surface, making it sparkle.

Just then, the Sea Dragon Douluo standing on the edge of the Sacred Pillar Platform slowly turned around, revealing his true face to Qian Shui. He had an ancient face and looked to be only in his thirties. His thick chest and abdominal muscles shone with a healthy bronze glow, like armor. His deep blue eyes also gazed intently at Qian Shui in the air.

"You arrived even faster than I expected; only three hours have passed."

Although on the surface Qian Shui is only an 87th level Soul Douluo, this does not accurately summarize Qian Shui's overall strength. At least in the eyes of a super Douluo like Hailong Douluo, Qian Shui is strong enough to make him wary.

"I heard that you condensed a soul core when you advanced to the Soul Saint realm?"

"That's it!"

Qian Shui cultivates both immortal cultivation and martial soul cultivation simultaneously. These two methods are compatible. When he reached the Golden Core stage, the condensation of his soul core and the condensation of his golden core occurred almost simultaneously. It can be said that they complement each other perfectly. This also means that Qian Shui's soul power is not much less than that of a Super Douluo.

"I am aware of your previous assessment, which ended exceptionally well. You have earned the unanimous approval of the other six Holy Pillars, and your strength is unparalleled in my life."

The Sea Dragon Douluo had a very high opinion of Qian Shui; at least, he himself would never have been able to do it.

Out of respect, Qian Shui landed on the ground and slowly activated her primordial spirit. Her ethereal aura began to blend with the light and dust. In the battle of the Holy Pillars, Qian Shui used her highest level of cultivation to deal with the strongest Holy Pillar for the first time.

"I am Qian Shui, a level 87 agility-based Soul Douluo. Please enlighten me!"

As Qian Shui released his martial soul, the Sea Dragon Douluo's body also began to change. The blue dragon tattoo on his back shone brightly, and the intense blue light instantly enveloped his body. A violent energy surged forth, and in an instant, the seawater around the Sacred Pillar Platform simultaneously surged outwards in a giant wave.

The upper body of the creature was quickly covered with blue scales. The scales were round, and each one had raised edges. Soon, all of the Sea Dragon Douluo's exposed skin was covered with scales.

His already imposing body swelled even more, and a dark blue crystal resembling an eye emerged from his chest. In the shadows, a huge blue dragon phantom appeared behind him. Without a doubt, the Sea Dragon Douluo before him was a powerful attack-type Soul Master.

'Tsk, an offensive type, huh? Below the Super Douluo level, they're basically all just dumb idiots. It's hard to say for sure about the above; the most well-rounded and versatile Soul Master type.'

Qian Shui had already made a judgment years ago. The most obvious thing is that all three peerless masters in the world are of the power attack type, but there is only one super Douluo of the agility attack type. This is definitely not a coincidence.

At least in Qian Shui's view, the so-called division into factions is just a way for people who are forever bound to the truly strong to concentrate their resources for development, with the aim of achieving a higher ceiling.

However, this method itself almost completely limits the development ceiling of Soul Masters, and the vast majority are permanently stuck below the Super Douluo level. Even the so-called development of ultimate attributes ten thousand years later only resulted in stronger attacks at the same level, while cultivation was severely restricted.