Chapter 241: Crimson shell dragon
“Woo!”
The moment Zhao Manyan opened the helicopter door, the gale and rain slammed into the cabin like a collapsing waterfall. Cold seawater spray mixed with torrential rain, instantly soaking the interior. The helicopter shook violently, its warning lights flashing red across the faces of everyone inside.
Zhao Manyan’s hair whipped wildly in the wind. His expensive coat snapped behind him like a wet flag, and when he looked out, there was no clear sky, no visible sea, only a pitch-black horizon swallowed by storm clouds and raging water.
For a moment, his throat tightened.
He was really about to jump.
Beside him, Mo Fan looked much calmer.
“Regretting it?” Mo Fan asked.
Zhao Manyan cursed, “Shut up. I’m building courage.”
Then, before his courage could collapse, Zhao Manyan took a deep breath and leapt out.
Mo Fan followed immediately after.
Inside the cockpit, the Zhao Family pilot gripped the controls with trembling hands. When he saw the two of them jump out without parachutes, his soul nearly left his body.
“Damn, are you two asking to die?!”
But his voice was instantly swallowed by the storm.
Zhao Manyan heard nothing except the roar of the wind and rain. His body plummeted through the darkness, the feeling of weightlessness expanding endlessly in his chest. For a moment, it felt as if he were falling into a black hole—directionless, lightless, and terrifying.
Whooooom!
The storm pushed him sideways.
The rain struck his face like tiny blades.
Below him, the tumultuous waves finally appeared, black and enormous, rising like mountains beneath the storm. Zhao Manyan clenched his teeth and forced his Water Star River to move.
North Underworld Heavy Water stirred inside his spiritual world.
Dark-blue water light erupted from his body.
At the same time, Mo Fan’s eyes flashed silver. Space Magic formed beneath them, layering invisible platforms in the air. Zhao Manyan stepped onto one of those platforms with a heavy thud, then immediately spread his Water Magic downward.
Boom!
A dark-blue tide exploded beneath his feet.
The lingering downward force became a shockwave that carved a massive depression hundreds of meters wide into the ocean surface. The surrounding waves paused for a heartbeat, as if the sea itself had been pressed flat by an invisible palm.
Then everything shattered.
Fwhoosh!
Layer upon layer of waves swept outward, growing higher and higher. Water surged around Zhao Manyan, but instead of swallowing him, it bent to his will. Tide circulated around his body, Extreme Yin chilled and weakened the chaotic impact, and Mystic Weight made every drop of water surrounding him feel dense and heavy.
Zhao Manyan hovered hundreds of meters above the sea, standing on a dark-blue current supported by Mo Fan’s Space platform.
His breathing was heavy, but his eyes were bright.
“This…” Zhao Manyan looked down at his own hands. “So this is North Underworld Heavy Water.”
He had never felt so stable in the ocean before.
The storm was violent. The waves were monstrous. Yet the water around him no longer felt like an enemy trying to crush him. It felt like a vast beast he could barely guide, dangerous but responsive.
Mo Fan landed beside him lightly, Shadow and Space fading around his body.
“Not bad,” Mo Fan said. “You didn’t die.”
Zhao Manyan glared at him. “Can your praise be less cursed?”
Mo Fan ignored him and looked across the sea.
All around them, the storm raged like doomsday. They stood alone in it, separated from civilization, with the helicopter already fleeing into the distance like a tiny speck swallowed by rain.
Zhao Manyan steadied himself and scanned the surrounding sea.
Hundreds of grotesque water-monkey demons floated on the surface, their bodies limp and broken by the shockwave of his landing. They had been scouts from the deep sea, hidden in the storm currents, but the sudden burst of North Underworld Heavy Water had crushed them before they could react.
“Scouts?” Mo Fan frowned. “The Sea Monster Empire really is here.”
Zhao Manyan’s expression became tense again.
He focused on the massive waterspout ahead.
It was tens of kilometers wide, connecting the black sea and storm clouds like a pillar of destruction. Lightning cracked inside the clouds, and the entire ocean seemed to rotate around the vortex.
Suddenly, Mo Fan’s pupils contracted.
A great crimson pillar crashed into the ocean from within the storm, creating a terrifying shockwave.
Boom!
The wave of force struck them even from far away. Zhao Manyan’s Water Shield trembled violently, and Mo Fan had to reinforce the space around them to stop the two of them from being thrown too far back.
Zhao Manyan stared in shock. “What was that?”
The storm cleared slightly for a moment.
Only then did they realize it was not a pillar.
It was a tail.
A gigantic crimson tail covered in hard red shells and jagged spikes swept across the ocean. Through the darkness, they could vaguely make out a colossal crimson-scaled serpent-dragon winding through the storm. Its body was long and majestic, covered in shell-like armor, while two enormous claws extended from its front limbs.
If not for those strange crustacean-like features, it might truly have resembled a dragon.
Mo Fan narrowed his eyes.
“Crimson Shell Dragon Lord.”
Zhao Manyan’s face stiffened. “Dragon Lord? As in Monarch?”
“Yeah,” Mo Fan said. “And not an ordinary one.”
The Crimson Shell Dragon Lord carried dragon blood. Its combat power far exceeded typical Monarch-level creatures, and in the ocean, with the storm and tides as its battlefield, it was even more dangerous.
Zhao Manyan swallowed.
“With one tail sweep, it pushed us back from this far away…”
“Scared?” Mo Fan asked.
“Of course I’m scared!” Zhao Manyan snapped. “That thing looks like a lobster that became a dragon and then decided to end the world!”
Mo Fan gave him a strange look. “You still have the mood to think about food?”
“I’m venting stress!”
Just then—
Ding!
A clear, melodious hum rang out from the depths of the waterspout.
The sound was soft, but the moment it appeared, the storm seemed to pause.
The tidal winds weakened.
The rain thinned.
Even the black waves lost some of their madness.
Zhao Manyan’s expression changed immediately. With his current Water Element control, he could clearly sense that all the Water Element in the surrounding sea had been seized by another will.
Not forced.
Commanded.
As if the ocean had heard the voice of its queen.
The immense Crimson Shell Dragon Lord suddenly shuddered. A column of starlit water erupted beneath its upper body and slammed it upward, then smashed it heavily back onto the ocean surface.
Boom!
Cracks appeared across its hardened crimson shell.
Zhao Manyan was stunned.
“What kind of Water Magic is that?”
Mo Fan’s gaze sharpened. “Not ordinary Water Magic.”
Soon, within the enormous water vortex, they caught sight of a beautiful towering figure.
She was dozens of meters tall. From the waist up, she resembled a graceful human woman formed from pure water and starlight. Her skin carried a faint ocean-blue glow, her long hair flowed like a river under moonlight, and her lower body extended into a long dragon-like fishtail covered in scales that shimmered like a skirt of stars.
She stood in the center of the vortex, tall and dignified.
Every movement carried divine authority.
The Queen of Water.
A being commanding the sea with unrivaled grace.
Zhao Manyan stared blankly.
“This… is the Water Elemental Spirit?”
Mo Fan also frowned.
This was the first time he had seen her true form.
A mermaid-type Water Elemental Spirit.
And clearly, she was at the Monarch level.
Although she had not reached her peak, she was already in her full form. No wonder the Sea Monster Empire had sent a Crimson Shell Dragon Lord to hunt her. A Water Elemental Spirit of this level was not merely a treasure. She was a strategic threat.
Zhao Manyan’s excitement quickly cooled.
A Monarch-level spirit.
That was far beyond his current cultivation.
Contracting with a spirit too far above oneself, especially one with a mature mind, was extremely dangerous. Even if he somehow saved her, he would not have the power to force a contract, and forcing one would be meaningless anyway. A being like this would never submit to a High Tier mage just because he wanted her to.
Mo Fan saw Zhao Manyan’s expression and said calmly, “Don’t think about contracting her. You can’t hold her.”
“I know,” Zhao Manyan said bitterly. “I’m not stupid.”
The larger Water Elemental Spirit was completely off the table.
Even if she helped them, she would be an existence they could only respect from afar.
Zhao Manyan was about to sigh when the situation suddenly changed.
Behind the towering Monarch mermaid, another smaller figure appeared on the sea surface.
She was far smaller than the Monarch mermaid, but her appearance was almost identical in outline. Her upper body resembled a young girl formed from clear water and soft blue light, while her lower body was a delicate fishtail shimmering with young starlit scales.
Her expression was serious and unyielding.
She stood behind the Monarch mermaid like a young guardian princess, small compared to the towering queen, but her aura was already extraordinary.
Ding!
The Monarch mermaid moved to shield the smaller one.
Her song turned angry, echoing across the dark water toward the Crimson Shell Dragon Lord and the sea monster army hidden beneath the waves.
The sight of the two Water Elemental Spirits, one large and one small, made Zhao Manyan’s eyes brighten.
A family.
The larger one was impossible.
But the smaller one?
Her aura had only just entered the Commander level. She had clearly developed well, with tremendous potential, but her mind was still young enough to accept recognition and companionship.
She was not a newborn infant, but she was not yet a fully independent Monarch spirit either.
For Zhao Manyan, she was perfect.
Mo Fan’s eyes also lit slightly.
“That one,” Mo Fan said.
Zhao Manyan clenched his fists.
“I know.”
The smaller Water Elemental Spirit had the purity of the Water Element, the dignity of royalty, and the potential of a future Monarch. More importantly, she was being protected by the older spirit while hunted by the Sea Monster Empire.
If Zhao Manyan wanted recognition, this was the moment.
Not by force.
Not by money.
Not by the Zhao Family’s resources.
He had to prove that he could protect her.
The Crimson Shell Dragon Lord let out a furious roar. Its enormous body twisted through the storm, crimson shell plates grinding against one another like mountains colliding. Beneath the waves, countless sea monsters surged forward, their auras gathering into a dark tide.
The Monarch mermaid sang again.
Columns of starlit water rose around her, striking the sea monster army and forcing back the first wave.
But Mo Fan could see it clearly.
She was injured.
The earlier pursuit had already consumed much of her strength. The Crimson Shell Dragon Lord was not fighting alone. It was supported by an entire sea monster army, and hidden among the waves were several Commander-level creatures waiting for an opening.
If this dragged on, the larger Water Elemental Spirit might still escape alone.
But protecting the smaller one would be difficult.
Zhao Manyan’s breathing grew heavy.
Mo Fan glanced at him. “Still going?”
Zhao Manyan stared at the smaller Water Elemental Spirit.
The storm reflected in his eyes.
He was afraid.
Of course he was afraid.
A Monarch-level dragon-lobster was ahead. A sea monster army was below. The storm itself looked like it wanted to crush him to death. Any normal High Tier mage would turn around immediately.
But Zhao Manyan remembered the empty Merfolk nest.
He remembered the Water Elemental Spirits being hunted across the oceans.
He remembered what he had said before.
If Water accepted, endured, and protected, then he had to prove he could protect too.
Zhao Manyan slowly raised his hand.
Dark-blue water gathered around him.
North Underworld Heavy Water awakened fully, and the surrounding waves sank slightly, becoming heavier and calmer under his control.
“I came all this way,” Zhao Manyan said. “I’m not leaving after seeing her.”
Mo Fan smiled.
“That sounds more like it.”
Zhao Manyan glanced at him. “You’re helping, right?”
Mo Fan’s smile widened.
Fire flickered in one hand.
Purple-black lightning gathered in the other.
“Obviously.”
The Crimson Shell Dragon Lord roared again, its massive tail rising from the sea like a crimson mountain.
Mo Fan stepped forward.
Space trembled beneath his feet.
Zhao Manyan followed, his Water Magic spreading into layers of dark-blue defense around them.
In the storm ahead, the Monarch mermaid seemed to notice them. Her gaze swept over the two humans, cautious and cold.
The smaller Water Elemental Spirit also looked over.
Her clear eyes landed on Zhao Manyan.
For one brief moment, Zhao Manyan felt as if the entire ocean had gone silent.
Then the Crimson Shell Dragon Lord’s tail came crashing down.
Mo Fan’s eyes sharpened.
“Zhao!”
“I know!”
Zhao Manyan thrust both hands forward.
“North Underworld Heavy Water—Tide Wall!”
Dark-blue water surged upward in layers, each wave heavier than the last. The Tide effect circulated through the wall, Extreme Yin weakened the force pressing into it, and Mystic Weight made the entire defense as heavy as a deep-sea mountain.
Boom!
The crimson tail slammed into the Tide Wall.
The ocean exploded.