Without a moment’s hesitation, Ethan dove straight off the shoreline, plunging headfirst into the chilly expanse of the ocean. He surged forward through the dark, churning water, speeding directly toward the violent abyss and the trapped mermaid.
As he closed the distance, he could finally make out her features with astonishing clarity.
Framed by a cascading waterfall of midnight-black hair and striking crystal-blue eyes, she possessed an otherworldly, breathtaking beauty.
She wore an exquisite bodice woven from luminous sea-pearls and iridescent scales, clinging flawlessly to her ethereal, curvaceous frame—an enchanting vision straight out of a classic fantasy epic, exuding a wild, oceanic majesty.
But as Ethan drew nearer, a crushing, suffocating weight slammed directly onto his soul.
It was the terrifying mental pressure radiating from the Nether World portal, acting as a direct assault on his consciousness.
Sensing a living cultivator approaching, the malevolent spirits swirling within the portal suddenly let out a chorus of unearthly, screeching laughter that reverberated deep within Ethan’s mind, causing his entire soul to tremble violently.
Seeing Ethan approach through the dark water, a sudden spark of desperate hope flared in the mermaid’s crystalline eyes. "Help me!" she cried out mentally.
For a second, Ethan felt entirely immobilized.
His soul felt as though it were being crushed beneath a mountain of invisible lead, pushing him dangerously close to unconsciousness.
Gritting his teeth, he channeled every ounce of his willpower, forcing the Blue Dragon Heart in his chest to pump a furious torrent of mana.
He used that infinite stream of mana energy to shield and purge the dark pressure weighing down his consciousness.
Slowly, his limbs began to obey him once more.
Up ahead, the dark purple and ghostly blue spirits spilling out from the Nether World portal looked terrifyingly hideous—hissing wraiths with elongated, skeletal claws and weeping cavities for eyes, lunging forward with a hunger that screamed to devour him alive.
Ethan had dealt with malevolent entities before, but these were Nether World spirits. If one of them managed to touch him, it would immediately attempt to possess his physical body.
Despite possessing the legendary dragon heart, his current five-year-old soul was still too fragile to block a direct possession attempt if they swarmed him.
His Rank-3 fire-attribute spells were practically useless underwater against spiritual manifestations, but he held one massive advantage: his immense mana pool, which had now surged to the level of a Rank-4 Mage.
While he could protect his soul from being possessed, how was he supposed to shred through these swarming spirits?
Just as he was calculating his next move, the system interface chimed in his mind.
["Host, I happen to have something perfectly suited for your current predicament."]
A digital prompt flickered, displaying an item from the system shop—a set of ten dagger-like flying blades carved from dark green spiritual jade, intricately etched with suppression runes. These were the Soul Slicing Blades.
[System: "Host, you can wield Mana Telekinesis with absolute mastery, can you not? These blades are precisely what you need."]
Ethan glanced at the blades, then straight at their price tag: 10,000 points. It was blatantly obvious that the system was trying to squeeze him dry, seizing the opportunity to exploit his emergency. Yet, he had no other choice.
With a mental command, he purchased them instantly.
Swoosh—!
Ten glowing green flying blades materialized out of thin air, spinning rapidly around him in a tight, protective orbit.
The intense spiritual hum radiating from the blades instantly sliced through the surrounding water pressure, aggressively disrupting the ambient soul energy. Ethan’s eyes lit up with satisfaction.
Channeling his explosive mana pressure and wielding the Soul Slicing Blades through absolute telekinesis, Ethan accelerated like a torpedo toward the mermaid.
As the frontline of spectral wraiths shrieked and lunged at him, Ethan flicked his fingers.
The green blades streaked forward like lethal shooting stars. The moment the blades made contact with the dark spirits, a horrific screech echoed through the water as the wraiths were violently carved apart, their formless bodies dissolving into nothingness.
Against soul-type entities, these blades were the ultimate executioner’s weapon.
"The system actually recommended something genuinely useful against souls" Ethan thought with a cold smirk.
Closing the remaining distance in the blink of an eye, Ethan utilized his supreme telekinetic control to whip the ten blades into a synchronized, high-speed rotational vortex.
A whirling barrier of green light buzzed around him, tearing through the cluster of spirits that were frantically trying to drag the mermaid back into the abyss.
Struck by the soul-cleaving blades, the spectral hands instantly withered away in agonizing pain,
screeching as they retreated back into the portal.
Freed from the deadly gravitational pull, the mermaid didn’t hesitate. With a powerful sweep of her luminous fishtail, she darted forward.
Ethan expected her to pause and offer words of gratitude, but instead, she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, using her powerful aquatic momentum and tail-pressure to shoot upward toward the ocean surface like a rocket.
Casting a final glance downward, Ethan’s pupils dilated.
Emerging from the center of the shrinking Nether World portal was a colossal, skeletal hand composed entirely of toxic green bone, dripping with abyssal sludge.
The sheer aura of death radiating from it caused Ethan’s soul to shudder violently once more, threatening to overwhelm his defenses.