plumnovel Chapter 7 retreated behind the crowd.
Chapter 7 retreated behind the crowd.
"A gibbons!"
Upon seeing the massive, mountain-like figure of the sea monster, a look of delight immediately appeared in Gong Chengyuan's eyes.
According to the "Records of Sea Beasts", the Spirit Whisker Whale is a late-stage first-tier demon beast, equivalent to the seventh to ninth level of a human cultivator at the Spirit Gathering stage.
Although its level was only one level higher than the previous Crimson Scale Shark, its size was more than ten times that of the Crimson Scale Shark, reaching nearly ten zhang in length!
What truly captivated Gong Chengyuan was that large sea monsters like the Spirit Whisker Whale possessed extremely potent demonic power, which would most likely condense into a demon core.
Even the lowest grade demon core is worth at least two thousand spirit stones!
In addition, there's whale meat and blubber, as well as whale bones that can be used to build spirit ships.
It's fair to say that the value of this single spirit whale is almost equal to the entire profit from this voyage!
Faced with such a huge temptation, how could Gong Chengyuan not be tempted even though he had already decided to return?
"Steward, immediately gather all the crew members and prepare for whale hunting!"
Gong Chengyuan took out the array plate for controlling the Cangyun from his storage bag. While controlling the demon-catching ship to approach the Spirit Whisker Whale at full speed, he shouted orders to Gong Lin behind him.
"But Captain, this Spirit Whale is enormous and incredibly destructive. We're afraid our Cangyun alone won't be able to hunt it down..."
Gong Lin hesitated for a moment, clearly not wanting to cause any unforeseen complications at the critical juncture of their impending return.
In his view, it didn't matter if they didn't hunt the Spirit Whale, or even if the crew were killed or injured. But if the Cangyun was damaged or even sunk by the Spirit Whale, the loss would be huge!
"The family's other demon-hunting ships have all returned to port ahead of schedule, and this year's profits have already dropped significantly. If we let this spirit-whiskered whale escape..."
Gong Chengyuan did not continue speaking, but Gong Lin had already been persuaded.
As a member of the Gong family, he could not disregard the family's interests.
In fact, there was no need for Gong Lin to summon them; the fifty-odd crew members on the Cangyun had already gathered on the deck.
After all, a whiskered whale is as big as a small mountain, so it's impossible for anyone who isn't blind not to see it.
"This is a spirit whale? It's really big!"
"Hmph, so what if it's big? Can it withstand our ship's demon-hunting crossbows?"
The crew pointed and gestured at the approaching Spiritbeard Whale, while Chen Ye's expression remained somewhat somber amidst the crowd.
He had never participated in hunting whales, but he had heard some members of the Gong family mention it.
Five years ago, a spirit-whiskered whale also appeared in the waters near the main island of the Gong family, Jinwu Island. At that time, the Gong family dispatched three demon-hunting ships and several late-stage Spirit Condensation cultivators to successfully hunt down the spirit-whiskered whale.
Currently, the Gong family only has one ship in this sea area, the Cangyun, and the only cultivator at the late stage of the Spirit Condensation realm is Captain Gong Chengyuan.
The others, including several stewards, had a cultivation level of no more than the sixth level of the Spirit Gathering Realm. In addition, the Spirit Whiskered Whale was huge and had powerful demonic energy, so its true strength often exceeded that of an ordinary demonic beast of the same level by half a level!
Going to hunt rashly like this would likely be far more dangerous than rewarding!
But with his interests at stake, Gong Chengyuan clearly couldn't care less about anything else.
He steered the Cangyun straight toward the Spirit Whisker Whale, which seemed to sense the danger. Its massive tail suddenly created a wave, and its huge, gray-black body with streaks quickly slid toward the surface.
"Activate the Spirit-Binding and Demon-Sealing Net!"
Upon seeing this, Gong Chengyuan immediately roared.
At this moment, the Cangyun was less than a hundred feet away from the Spirit Whisker Whale. As soon as he finished speaking, the magic array engraved on the bow of the ship, under the control of several Gong family crew members, immediately shot out a beam of light like a giant fishing net, which directly covered the Spirit Whisker Whale that was constantly diving in front of it.
This demon-hunting ship was built by the Gong family specifically to obtain resources from the sea. In addition to the formations engraved on the hull, such as "Riding the Wind," "Breaking the Waves," and "Solid," it also has formations to deal with sea monsters!
For example, this "Spirit Binding Net" will shoot out a net of magic after it is activated. As long as it hits the target, it can control it for a short time, preventing the monster from diving and forcing it to float on the surface of the sea to wait to be hunted.
This spirit-whiskered whale clearly hadn't experienced the cunning of human cultivators. The deeper its massive body descended, the tighter the invisible fishing net binding it became. Ultimately, it had no choice but to abandon its descent and rise and fall on the surface of the sea.
"A great opportunity!"
Gong Chengyuan's eyes lit up, knowing that the Spirit Whisker Whale was temporarily unable to break free from the control of the Spirit Binding and Demon-Binding Net!
He hurriedly went to the Demon-Hunting Crossbow, took out several dark red crossbow bolts from his storage bag, set them up, and immediately turned the crossbow around, aiming it at the Spirit Whisker Whale that was surfacing.
"Whoosh!"
The next moment, as Gong Chengyuan activated the demon-hunting crossbow, the dark red bolt pierced the air and struck the back of the spirit-whistling whale with a sharp whistling sound!
"boom!"
With a loud bang and sparks flying, the dark red crossbow bolt exploded the moment it struck the Spirit Whisker Whale, the immense force blasting a gruesome wound three feet deep into the whale's broad back!
These crossbow bolts, called "Flame Burst Arrows," were also crafted for hunting large sea monsters.
In a sense, it can already be considered a one-time use magic weapon. Each one costs ten spirit stones to make. Although it is expensive, its power is indeed great enough.
Only the thick-skinned, massive spirit whale could withstand it; if it had landed on a human, it would probably have been blown to pieces.
Even so, the sudden attack caused the spirit whale great pain. Streams of blood gushed from its hideous wounds, staining the surrounding seawater red. Its massive body began to struggle violently.
"Everyone, launch an attack!"
Gong Chengyuan turned around and gave orders to the crew. At this moment, with the tightening of the Spirit Binding and Demon-Binding Net, the Spirit Whisker Whale was less than fifty feet away from the Cangyun. Even Luo Chen, who had the lowest cultivation level, could easily throw the harpoon in his hand.
Whoosh whoosh!
Gong Chengyuan controlled the Demon-Hunting Crossbow to fire a series of Flame Burst Arrows, causing blood to splatter continuously on the back of the Spirit Whisker Whale. In just a short while, at least a dozen bloody and hideous wounds were blasted out.
Although the crew members also began to attack, they did not have a weapon as powerful as the Flame Burst Arrow, and the damage caused by dozens of people was not as great as that caused by Gong Chengyuan alone.
However, just when everyone thought that the whale hunt would end without any danger, Chen Ye suddenly sensed a strong fluctuation of spiritual energy coming from the direction of the Spirit Whisker Whale.
"Something's not right!"
Chen Ye's expression changed slightly, and he immediately stepped back, silently protecting everyone in front of him.
Almost as soon as Chen Ye retreated to the mast, he saw the spirit whale, which had been struggling in pain, suddenly stop.
Immediately afterwards, its massive, rock-like head suddenly rose, and a visible sound wave, accompanied by a soul-stirring low roar, instantly spread in all directions from the head of the spirit whale!