CHAPTER 41: CHAPTER 41: MUTATED STONE DISTANCE

Red Ruby Beach is a tourist attraction in Shangyang City that draws many visitors from out of town every year. It’s one of the most popular places in Shangyang City.

The sand here is unlike anywhere else. It has a reddish hue that glows like rubies under the sunlight, hence the name Red Ruby Beach. Additionally, the Spiritual Energy here is denser than in other places in Shangyang City, which is why many people favor it.

When Gu Qingqing and her companions arrived, there were already some tourists and vendors selling snacks and fruits, making the place quite lively.

Even though the Zhuo Family hasn’t annexed this entire area into their territory, they do have certain privileges here. There’s a portion of the beach that is exclusively the Zhuo Family’s private beach, and it’s where Zhuo Tingqiu brought Gu Qingqing and the others.

This spot is much quieter than the outside. To ensure Gu Qingqing enjoyed herself, Zhuo Tingqiu had made numerous preparations the day before, and as soon as they reached the beach, he brought out the items he had prepared.

Having communicated with Gu Qingqing for quite some time, he had an understanding of her preferences, knowing that she loved eating the most. Thus, he prepared more food, mainly pastries, specially made by the Zhuo Family chefs. Most importantly, these pastries were made with ingredients that contained Spiritual Power.

Once the pastries were laid out, they immediately captured Gu Qingqing’s attention. Her eyes gleamed as she stared intently at them.

"These pastries are specially prepared for you, Qingqing. Have some more," Zhuo Tingqiu gracefully said with a smile, seeing how much Gu Qingqing liked them.

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingqing glanced up at Zhuo Tingqiu, flashed a brilliant smile, then lowered her head and looked at the pastries on the table. After a moment of hesitation, she picked up a bunny-shaped one and popped it into her mouth.

The pastry melted right away, spreading a sweet flavor in her mouth. Gu Qingqing squinted her eyes in happiness, clearly savoring the taste.

Seeing Gu Qingqing enjoying herself, Nan Hua and the others felt their dissatisfaction with Zhuo Tingqiu for taking her out start to wane a bit.

After eating pastries for a while, Gu Qingqing was led by Zhuo Tingqiu to play by the seaside.

As a child, Gu Qingqing was curious about everything, especially since it was her first time at the beach. Just picking up shells was enough to intrigue her, let alone building sandcastles. She was having a blast.

This wasn’t something suitable for adults like Nan Hua and the others, and since Jun Wu didn’t enjoy such childish games either, only Zhuo Tingqiu played with Gu Qingqing. Watching her laugh because of him, Nan Hua and the others weren’t too pleased.

After some time, Zhuo Tingqiu felt thirsty and told Gu Qingqing he was going to get a drink from where Nan Hua was, leaving her alone to build sandcastles.

As she played, Gu Qingqing suddenly stood up and started walking straight into the sea. If Nan Hua and the others had been closer, they’d have noticed her eyes were vacant, as if under some kind of control.

By the time Nan Hua and the others realized something was wrong, the seawater had reached Gu Qingqing’s knees.

"Little Qingqing!" Nan Hua was the first to notice something off, shouting loudly without receiving a response from Gu Qingqing, prompting him to run toward her.

Hearing Nan Hua’s voice, the others called out Gu Qingqing’s name while running.

But Gu Qingqing seemed oblivious to their calls, walking straight into the sea. The water soon reached her waist. Just as she was about to keep moving forward, someone grabbed her arm.

"Little Qingqing!" Nan Hua shouted at her, pulling her arm.

Gu Qingqing’s body trembled slightly, as if suddenly waking up from a daze. She looked up at Nan Hua, filled with confusion.

"What happened just now, Little Qingqing?" Nan Hua bent down, holding Gu Qingqing in his arms, asking her.

Gu Qingqing shook her head, indicating she didn’t know.

[It seemed like a voice was telling me to go to the sea, and then I lost all awareness,] she gestured with her hands.

Hearing this, Nan Hua furrowed his brows.

"Is Little Qingqing alright?" At this time, Rong Ye also approached the two, holding Gu Qingqing’s hand as he asked.

[I’m fine, Fifth Brother,] Gu Qingqing shook her head at Rong Ye.

Mu Chen, Jun Wu, and Zhuo Tingqiu arrived a bit later but sighed in relief upon seeing Gu Qingqing was okay.

As the group headed back, the seawater behind them suddenly changed.

They saw a whirlpool suddenly appear on the sea’s surface not far from where Gu Qingqing had been. Underneath, there was a massive black shadow. The whirlpool grew larger and larger, pulling the surrounding seawater along, causing it to sway.

Nan Hua and the others soon felt the movement as well. Turning their heads, they saw giant waves looming behind them.

"Run!" Nan Hua uttered urgently, quickly leading Gu Qingqing towards the shore.

The others followed closely behind Nan Hua.

Once all six reached the shore, the giant wave in the sea had already risen tens of meters high. Strangely, the wave did not crash down but stood ominously.

Nan Hua and the others drew their weapons, shielding Gu Qingqing behind them, cautiously watching the giant wave.

"Splash!"

With a loud crash, the wave finally descended, pushing the seawater close to Gu Qingqing and the others, forcing them to retreat repeatedly.

When the sea calmed a bit, they finally saw the gigantic sea creature emerging from the water.

It resembled an octopus, its entire body black and red, with three pairs of red eyes and twelve arms. Each arm was over ten meters long and a meter thick, with suction cups on them. It appeared extremely excited, waving its twelve arms vigorously, causing the sea surface to shake continually. Huge waves crashed regularly onto the shore in front of Gu Qingqing and the others, forcing them to keep retreating.

"What on earth is this?" Rong Ye exclaimed at the giant beast before them.

"This is a mutated colossal stone-fish, an eighth-level demon beast!" Nan Hua, apparently familiar with the creature, commented sternly.

"An eighth-level demon beast?" Mu Chen exclaimed, "Shouldn’t this thing be out of place on the Xuantian Continent? Isn’t the Heavenly Dao going to do anything about it?" He asked, even glancing at the sky instinctively.

"It probably came through a space-time rift, similar to the Jiuying before. The Heavenly Dao on Xuantian Continent has weakened significantly; haven’t you all felt it?" Nan Hua raised an eyebrow, looking at Rong Ye and Mu Chen.

"A bit, but I didn’t think it would weaken this much, almost turning this place into a sieve!" Rong Ye couldn’t help but complain.

Their presence on the Xuantian Continent was due to the Heavenly Dao weakening. Although Wen Guiyun had mentioned that the Heavenly Dao would soon dissipate entirely, they hadn’t expected it to happen this quickly!

Jun Wu also knew a bit about the Heavenly Dao; his expression was only slightly unsettled, but Zhuo Tingqiu was rather baffled. Having never heard of such things, he was stunned when he heard Nan Hua mention the eighth-level demon beast. Listening to their conversation left him shocked and numb. In his mind, he marveled at how truly extraordinary Gu Qingqing’s senior brothers were!