Just as the old patriarch forced me to my death, I achieved the unity of Dao and fruition.

Outside the Whalebone Palace.

Two figures gazed at each other across the dark sea.

After a moment of silence, Tuntian took the lead and walked forward, causing the surrounding seawater to automatically part to both sides.

The Vast Sea Glazed Dragon did not stop them; it simply stood still with a faint smile on its face.

"senior."

"Are you here to persuade me to give up as well?"

Tuntian paused, having prepared many things to say before coming.

The spirit beast race is not yet ready for a full-scale war with the human race.

The Jade Silver Dragon King has other plans.

The wars on the Martial Spirit Continent cannot fundamentally change the rules set by the God Realm.

Even if the Vast Sea Glazed True Dragon gathers all the spirit beasts in the outer sea, in the end it will only cause more spirit beasts to die in vain.

Tuntian understood these principles.

But when he actually stood in front of the Vast Ocean Glazed Dragon, he found himself at a loss for words.

It was he and the Jade Silver Dragon King who told all the spirit beasts this.

Humans seize spirit cores and hunt spirit beasts.

This blood feud is irreconcilable.

One day, the spirit beasts will rise again and reclaim their rightful place in the world.

Countless spirit beasts have struggled to survive to this day because of this belief.

Now he has to tell the Vast Ocean Glazed Dragon in person.

Stop fighting, it's pointless.

No matter how you look at it, this statement sounds ridiculous.

In the end, Tuntian could only sigh.

"You should understand."

"With its current strength, the Outer Sea cannot truly shake the human race."

"Even if you have cultivated for 990,000 years and gathered countless sea spirit beasts, it won't change anything."

"If the great war breaks out in three months, you won't be the only one to die."

"Those sea spirit beasts that follow you will also be transformed into the spirit cores and spirit bones of human spirit masters."

"This is like a mantis trying to stop a chariot."

"There is no need to drag the entire open sea into war because of a moment of anger."

After listening quietly, the smile on Han Hai Liu Li Zhen Long's face deepened, but there was not much joy in that smile.

"senior."

"But you were the ones who told us that in the first place."

"The spirit beast shall rise to prominence."

"The blood feud between humans and spirit beasts is irreconcilable."

"It was you and Lord Jade Silver Dragon King who personally promised that one day you would lead us to reclaim everything from the human race."

"It is you who made us wait."

"Let us gather our strength."

"Let us believe that as long as all the spirit beasts unite, they will be able to reclaim their rightful place in the world."

The Vast Ocean Glazed Dragon looked at Devouring Heaven, its voice remaining calm.

"Now we are finally willing to stand up."

"Why are you telling me that all of this is meaningless?"

Devouring Heaven opened its mouth.

In the end, he didn't say anything.

The Vast Sea Glazed Dragon did not wait for his reply.

He slowly turned around and looked at the endless dark sea behind the whalebone palace.

He had been hiding in this open sea for far too long.

So long ago, I can't even remember how many years have passed.

In the beginning, he was just a weak sea serpent, without a powerful bloodline or any kind of clan to protect him.

Human spirit masters ventured into the outer sea to hunt spirit beasts.

Powerful sea spirit beasts, when vying for territory, will also readily devour their weaker counterparts.

He could only hide.

They hid in the crevices of the reefs, in the deep sea silt, in places where powerful spirit beasts refused to set foot.

On one occasion, a human spiritualist discovered the sea serpent clan he belonged to.

Those spirit masters were simply searching for a suitable hundred-year-old spirit beast.

However, to prevent the news from leaking, they decided to kill the entire tribe.

The aged sea serpent king, dragging his broken body, stood in front of all the young serpents.

At that moment, it turned around and said its last words to the Vast Sea Glazed Dragon.

"Sea serpent boy, you must be careful of humans."

"Leave us alone."

"Run!!"

He ran away.

He didn't dare turn his head back.

Later, he met his godfather.

That abyssal whale king who dominates the entire outer sea.

The other party did not despise his weak bloodline. Instead, they kept him by their side, teaching him how to cultivate, how to absorb spiritual energy from the sea, and how to survive one great calamity after another.

Those years were among the few peaceful times in the life of Han Hai Liu Li Zhen Long.

Until the man who inherited the throne of the sea god stepped into the outer sea.

In that battle, the seawater was dyed dark red, and the spiritual core that the adoptive father had accumulated over millions of years was eventually transformed into the opponent's body.

The Azure Dragon of the Vast Ocean dared not appear.

They could only hide thousands of miles away and watch helplessly as that familiar figure fell.

In the years that followed, he would dream of his adoptive father and recall the events of that time.

It was as if he had traversed an endless sea and seen the Vast Sea Crystal Dragon, which had been hidden in the darkness.

"My son."

"Have the Sea Spirit Beasts... revived?"

The Vast Sea Glazed Dragon could not answer.

At that time, he was not yet capable of reviving anything.

He couldn't even collect his adoptive father's remains.

We can only keep running and hiding.

He told himself that now was not the time.

As long as one cultivates to be powerful enough, one will eventually be able to take revenge.

However, later, her adoptive mother was possessed by the Eternal Holy Lord.

The once familiar gaze turned cold and unfamiliar, and in the end, not even a trace of his soul remained.

He still couldn't hold on.

Later, the younger sister whom her adoptive father had entrusted to him grew up.

The little girl who had followed him around since childhood, calling him "brother," also made her own choice.

"Brother."

"Ever since we became sworn brothers, I have always followed behind you."

She once said that.

In the end, however, she fell in love with the son of her father's killer.

The Vast Sea Glazed Dragon did not blame her.

Everyone has the right to make their own choices.

But at that moment, he suddenly realized...

It seems I've lost another person I needed to protect.

He continued to hide.

From hiding for 100,000 years to 200,000 years.

They hid for 300,000 years before moving to 500,000 years.

They survived countless calamities.

Time and again, I watched the familiar spirit beasts around me die.

He grew stronger and stronger, but fewer and fewer people surrounded him.

Finally, the spirit beasts from the outer sea gathered outside his palace.

They don't have particularly noble bloodlines, and some don't even have complete intelligence.

But when the Vast Sea Glazed True Dragon proposed to launch a final war against the human race, no one backed down.

An old whale, nearing the end of its lifespan, lay prostrate before the palace.

"grown ups."

"Even if we sea spirits have to sacrifice ourselves, we will still lend you a hand, sir."

There was also an old sea dragon that had accompanied him for hundreds of thousands of years.

Despite being covered in wounds, it still raised its head on the sea and roared at all the sea spirits.

"Sea Dragon!"

"The spirit beast shall rise!"

"The spirit beasts should flourish!"

On that day, the entire open sea responded.

The Vast Sea Glazed Dragon suddenly understood.

Some things are not worth doing just because they can be successful.

If everyone knows that the hope is slim, they choose to continue hiding.

Then the spirit beast race will only slowly disappear through repeated concessions.

No one will remember that they ever rebelled.

No one would know that they, too, were unwilling to become spirit cores beneath someone else's feet.

"senior."

The Vast Sea Glazed True Dragon looked at Devouring Heaven again.

"I know we might lose this battle."

"I also know that what truly determines the fate of spirit beasts has never been the Martial Spirit Continent."

"The moment the Dragon Lord was defeated, we lost our voice in the realm of gods."

"As long as the rule that spirit beasts cannot become gods remains, we will never have a real chance of winning."

Devouring Heaven's expression shifted slightly.

"Since you understand all this, why continue?"

The Vast Ocean Glazed Dragon remained silent for a while.

Then he laughed.

This time.

There was no sadness or resentment in her smile.

There was a sense of ease I had never felt before.

"Because I've been hiding long enough."

"I hid when my godfather died."

"I hid when my adoptive mother got into trouble."

"People around me left one by one, and I told myself that as long as I live, there is still hope for the future."

"But I've lived for 990,000 years."

"What awaited us was only the loss of more things."

The Vast Sea Glazed Dragon raised its head.

My gaze pierced through the deep sea, reaching towards the distant sky.

"senior."

"I spent my whole life on the run."

"From a small sea serpent that could be slaughtered at will, it has cultivated itself into a ferocious beast that has existed for 990,000 years."

"This time."

"I don't want to hide anymore."