...
"The ocean is vast, but an entity of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's caliber creates quite a commotion whenever it moves."
"If we put in the effort, there's a very good chance we can track it down within a year!"
Hearing Xiao Bai's assurance, Luo Nan's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed.
With the help of these scouts of the deep, the biggest obstacle was easily resolved.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Xiao Bai." Luo Nan smiled and nodded at her.
"It's no trouble at all; serving you is an honor for our Demon Soul Great White Shark clan, My Lord!"
At this moment, the Sea Horse Douluo, who had been standing aside unable to get a word in, finally found his chance.
He stepped forward and spoke respectfully to Luo Nan:
"Lord Luo Nan, you have just gone through a series of intense battles and absorbed a God-Bestowed Spirit Ring; you must be quite exhausted."
"We have prepared the finest guest quarters for you. Please go and rest for a while to restore your condition."
"As for the search for the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, leave that to us and Lady Xiao Bai."
Luo Nan nodded; he did indeed need some time to consolidate his recently surged cultivation base.
He also needed to familiarize himself with the brand-new Spirit Ability granted by that 550,000-year Spirit Ring.
"Very well, I'll leave it in your hands."
Guided by the Sea Horse Douluo, Luo Nan followed the group toward the luxurious courtyard deep within Sea God Island—a place reserved specifically for distinguished guests.
The guest quarters arranged by the Sea Horse Douluo were the finest on the entire Sea God Island. After a night of meditation and breath regulation, he had not only fully consolidated his peak-level Rank 98 spirit power...
...but had also perfectly integrated that God-Bestowed Spirit Ring—boasting an astonishing age of 550,000 years—into his Dark Demon Dragon Martial Soul.
The first rays of the morning sun streamed through the window lattice, casting a glow upon the desk.
Luo Nan walked over, spread out a sheet of parchment that exuded a faint, delicate fragrance, and picked up his quill.
He had been on Sea God Island for some time now; though the place was isolated from the outside world, his thoughts remained with old friends far away in Heaven Dou City.
"Yuehua, reading this letter is like seeing me in person..."
Luo Nan's strokes were gentle, and his words carried a rare, tender warmth.
In the letter, he briefly recounted his journey across Demon Shark Bay to Sea God Island and assured Tang Yuehua that he was doing well.
He explained that he had settled in for the time being and had even encountered a monumental stroke of fortune; he urged her to live her life at Moon Pavilion with peace of mind and not to worry about him.
Of course, there were certain things Luo Nan kept to himself—such as the fact that he was undertaking the Sea God's Top-Tier Nine Trials.
It was better not to mention such matters in the letter; it would be far better to tell Tang Yuehua in person once he returned.
After finishing his affectionate message to Tang Yuehua, Luo Nan took out a fresh sheet of parchment.
This letter was addressed to Dugu Bo, the Poison Douluo.
"Old Poison, while I am away, the safety of Moon Pavilion rests entirely in your hands."
"The situation in Heaven Dou City is treacherous and unpredictable; the self-righteous fellows from the Upper Three Sects, in particular, certainly won't sit idly by."
"Especially the Clear Sky Sect! They've had friction with Moon Pavilion in the past, and after biding their time for so long, they've also welcomed back Tang Hao—the Clear Sky Douluo."
"I can't guarantee that they won't try to pressure Moon Pavilion or forcibly demand concessions once they learn I'm not there."
"So, you must keep a close watch on them. If anyone dares to threaten Moon Pavilion, show no mercy—I'll settle the score for any consequences when I return!"
After carefully folding the two letters and placing them into a specially made waterproof envelope, Luo Nan stepped out of the guest room.
He sought out the Seahorse Douluo and asked him to arrange for a reliable procurer from Sea God Island to find a way to forward this personal letter to Moon Pavilion in Heaven Dou City.
Naturally, the Seahorse Douluo spared no effort to fulfill the request of this important figure—someone highly likely to succeed as the High Priest of Sea God Island.
With the letter sent off, Luo Nan devoted his full energy to the Sixth Trial: the mission to hunt down the Deep Sea Demon Whale King.
Xiao Bai, the King of the Demon Soul Great White Sharks, was incredibly diligent; not only did she mobilize the elite forces of her own clan,
but she also utilized the unique communication methods shared among sea spirit beasts to issue a bounty to other populations in the surrounding waters, launching an exhaustive, all-encompassing search for the Deep Sea Demon Whale King.
Luo Nan, for his part, did not remain idle. Every morning, he would unfurl his golden dragon wings—vast enough to blot out the sky—
and transform into a brilliant streak of golden light, patrolling the skies above the boundless ocean.
Given his current cultivation level of Rank 98 and his immense spiritual power...
As long as the Deep Sea Demon Whale King appeared within a radius of several hundred li, it would be impossible for it to escape his detection.
However, reality left him feeling a touch of resignation.
He failed to locate the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, though he did encounter quite a few other high-level sea spirit beasts.
One afternoon, while hovering above a deep-sea trench three thousand nautical miles from Sea God Island, Luo Nan sensed an incredibly powerful water-attribute fluctuation.
He dove to the seabed and was astonished to discover a deep-sea dragon-turtle stretching over a hundred meters in length.
This dragon-turtle possessed not only an exceptionally pure dragon bloodline but also a cultivation age that had reached a staggering 150,000 years.
In the past, had he encountered a spirit beast with dragon bloodline and over 100,000 years of cultivation,
Luo Nan would have charged in without hesitation to slay it and absorb its spirit ring.
But now, as Luo Nan hovered in the deep sea, looking at the trembling dragon-turtle—which was cowering as if facing a mortal threat—he merely cast a casual glance at it before turning to leave.
"150,000 years... too low."
Luo Nan shook his head, his heart remaining completely unmoved.
Having absorbed that 550,000-year God-Bestowed Spirit Ring, his standards had been raised significantly.
Ordinary 100,000-year spirit rings no longer held any appeal for him.
His only target now was that overlord of the deep sea, whose cultivation was approaching a million years!
Of course, a God-Bestowed Spirit Ring would be ideal.
It was just that there were very few spirit beasts nowadays that actually caught his eye.
Of course, it wasn't that there were *none* at all; take Di Tian, for instance—both his age and species would be a perfect match for Luo Nan...
In the days that followed, Luo Nan encountered several more sea spirit beasts with over 100,000 years of cultivation, including a sea dragon that had reached 170,000 years.
Yet, without exception, he lost interest in them and let them all escape unscathed.
Spring turned to autumn, and the sea breeze continued to blow.
Before he knew it, Luo Nan had been living on Sea God Island for nearly half a year. For the past six months, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King seemed to have completely vanished from the oceans of Douluo Continent; there had been absolutely no sign of him.
Neither Xiao Bai's Demon Soul Great White Shark clan nor Luo Nan's own daily patrols had turned up even the slightest clue regarding that old whale.
At the summit of Sea God Mountain, in front of the Sea God Hall.
Luo Nan stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing out at the vast, magnificent azure ocean, his brows slightly furrowed.
"I've searched for so long, yet there hasn't been a single trace."
...
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