Chapter 535

Chapter 535: Appearing Tranquil and Graceful, Yet Vicious and Savage

At the edge of the Ether Sea behind the dam, an eerie scene unfolded.

Crouched on the seafloor, the Outer Gods diligently tended to the newly born "Ancient Cup Gods," continuing their silent tasks without uttering a sound.

The arrogance of the Ether Minor Gods faltered before this unnerving tranquility. Rather than advancing, they swam along the periphery of the Ether Sea like a suspicious black dragon, moving in clusters as they searched for an opening.

That opening soon emerged.

"La la la!"

"Ya ya ya!"

"Wa wa wa!"

Three blood octopus Outer Gods, tentacles entwined, danced in strange circles through the Ether Sea as they approached the group.

"So much meat! Such a big crowd of meat!"

"The Abyss is truly kind! So warmhearted!"

"Bringing us all this delicious food! Delicious!"

"Thanks! Thanks!"

They spun gleefully, their voices blurring speech and song amid what sounded like "gibberish" bubbles.

Of course, only Trilobite took this as mere "gibberish" bubbles.

Every Ether Minor God understood: the blood octopus Outer Gods spoke the profoundly beguiling "Creation’s Sigh."

It was one of the three great magic languages in existence,

and the common tongue among deities.

Legends claimed these were the three primordial echoes reverberating since the world’s dawn—

frequencies understood by all gods and mortals born within this "multiverse."

Each language shared a defining trait: overwhelming allure.

Even deities felt temptation upon hearing them.

Only unyielding willpower or profound ignorance could resist their call.

Clearly, the Ether Minor Gods lacked both sufficient stupidity and sufficient fortitude to withstand the magic language.

Soon…

"Damned fools! You scorn us!"

"Teach them pain!"

"Outer Gods! You’re courting death!"

The Ether Minor Gods worked themselves into a fury.

Then…

"Swish—!"

The first Ether Minor God rushed forward.

A demonstration effect took hold.

The second…

The third…

They all charged ahead.

Many Ether Minor Gods in the back rows hadn’t clearly heard what the blood octopus Outer Gods said; some hadn’t even spotted them.

But the frontrunners were already charging…

"Guess I’ll charge too."

So this mob surged into the depths of the Ether Sea behind the dam—that shimmering, mysterious stretch blooming with "cup-shaped flowers"!

Once inside, they realized things weren’t so straightforward.

"Hiss…"

Countless glinting silver threads drifted through the Ether Sea, swaying with the currents.

It seemed…

harmless enough.

Especially since…

"Wa ha ha! Ya ha ha!"

"Furious! Livid!"

"Unbelievable! Astounding!"

The blood octopus Outer Gods flapped their large ear blade-like fins, darting nimbly between the silver threads. Even when the threads grazed them, they only quivered slightly, causing no harm.

"If they can do it, so can we!"

"What’s the hold-up?"

"Charge, charge, charge!"

"Catch those blood octopus fiends!"

"Rip them apart!"

"Boom——!"

"Boom——!"

"Boom——!"

One after another, the Ether Minor Gods crashed into the silver-threaded Ether Sea behind the dam.

"Poof…"

The lead ones lightly brushed against the threads.

The blood octopus Outer Gods had touched them without issue.

Yet when the Ether Minor Gods made contact…

"Pshhh——!"

Tiny, barbed needles hidden within the silver threads suddenly pierced the Ether Minor God. They were incredibly sharp, tearing through its scale armor, shattering the magic layer underneath, and digging deep into its flesh!

"Roar roar roar——!"

The Ether Minor God screamed in agony, thrashing wildly!

—-

"See? They took the bait…"

"In the real world, some creatures do live among jellyfish tentacles. But they’re either covered in armor, making them immune to the jellyfish,"

"or they release chemical signals that stop the tentacles from harming them."

In reality, certain fish coexist with jellyfish, like the jellyfish pomfret that partners with the lion’s mane jellyfish—one of the largest in the world. Divers sometimes film jellyfish pomfret swimming calmly among venomous tentacles packed with nematocysts.

"I’m not sure if jellyfish pomfret lure food for lion’s mane jellyfish, but these little flying elephant octopuses seem to…"

"Wow, these ancient cup animals are vicious!"

"Seems I underestimated them earlier."

Trilobite kept watching the spectacle.

Soon, he broke into a cold sweat.

He recalled that even flashy "manta jellyfish" only hunted small fish and shrimp—they couldn’t handle larger fish and got eaten by beaked turtles.

But these ancient cup animals were different.

The thirty-centimeter "Chinese true jaws fish" was manageable, about the size of a medium mackerel—something ordinary jellyfish could tackle.

Yet they hunted fifty-centimeter or even sixty-to-seventy-centimeter Calamoichthys! That was far more impressive!

When schools of lobe-finned fish surged into the tentacle-filled waters, they collided with the drifting tendrils.

Instantly, they curled up, then stretched out, tails whipping wildly, mouths gaping in silent screams.

The sight…

"Tsk…"

"Looks painful!"

"Seems ancient cup animals’ nematocysts are as toxic as jellyfish’s, delivering excruciating pain."

"A single sting was just the start of their doom…"

Fish brushed by tentacles struggled fiercely to dislodge the agonizing needles—only to snag more threads in their frenzy, driving more poisoned barbs into their flesh.

Soon, they were tangled in silver "tentacles," losing all ability to resist, barely twitching their tails.

Once the struggling stopped, the ancient cup animals slowly retracted their tendrils, dragging prey into their "cup-shaped grooves."

Venom injected into the fish served not only to hunt but also to pre-digest them.

Dissolved juices seeped from the fish, trickling into the ancient cup animals’ pores, then channeled to every cell.

"Damn it, now I’m hungry."

"I wanna catch fish too!"

"Any around here…?"

Just then, fish trailing the "school" sensed danger and darted away!