This justified the Mysterious Heavenly Palace's fear and caution surrounding the Dreadfiend Sea Naga, as well as the need for a long preparation time. The Blackfiend Dragon was already so powerful and the Dreadfiend Sea Naga's cultivation base was even higher than that of the former's. The battle was to be fought in the sea, which was definitely favorable to the Dreadfiend Sea Naga. The full extent of the heavenly beast's power was something no one had personally seen before.
Zhou Weiqing was arranged to take the centermost spot on the Blackfiend Dragon's back because his cultivation was the lowest. In front of him was Palace Master Dongfang and Meng Xing. Perhaps it was a coincidence that Meng Xing was just less than one meter away from where he was placed.
It was another form of enjoyment to be able to appreciate this beauty from behind. Meng Xing had a slim waist, according to the usual standard of beauty. Her dark hair cascaded straight like a waterfall down her back. The shifting current occasionally would part her hair like a hand stroking through a curtain of water to reveal her slender and the attractive curve that extended below her waist.
It was bouncy and upright! He did not notice before that the view from her back was so alluring. Zhou Weiqing gulped his saliva unconsciously.
It was also at the same time that Meng Xing's icy voice drifted into his ear, "If you continue to stare in such a lascivious manner, I swear I will gouge out that disgusting pair of eyes from their sockets."
Zhou Weiqing lowered his head helplessly. Fine, if she didn't want him to stare, then he wouldn't. However, he did take a peek occasionally and Xing Meng did not really chastise him for that.
The Blackfiend Dragon's flight speed was so fast that even though they were gliding through the sky, none of them were able to catch the scenery beneath them clearly at all.
The heavy demonic clouds blocked the warmth of the sun and if looked from afar, the Blackfiend Dragon's body was like a black arrow that shot through the sky.
In less than two hours, the expansive ocean that stretched to the horizon appeared before their very eyes. The rays of the sun danced ever gracefully on the surface of the water.
The weather that day was fine; there were no huge waves and the coastline seemed to be carved out of Earth itself, especially in contrast with the azure of the sea.
The element of water in the air around them became noticeably more concentrated. Even the demonic clouds around the Blackfiend Dragon seemed to decrease in size, as they were affected by the change in atmospheric elements.
This was the power of nature! Zhou Weiqing was secretly struck with awe. No wonder even the Blackfiend Dragon was wary of the seresiding Darkfiend Sea Naga. After all, the sea was the naga's territory.
Right then, Meng Xing's voice appeared again through telepathy, "When the battle begins, use your Demonic Transformation to get as far away as you can. No one will be able to take care of you in the middle of combat."
Zhou Weiqing chuckled and replied through telepathy, "Are you worried about me?"
Meng Xing did not answer. Zhou Weiqing continued, "Actually, what happened that day was just a misunderstanding. Can you blame me for wanting to live? That was my survival instinct kicking in; I had no choice but to use that as the last resort."
Meng Xing finally replied, "Misunderstanding? You mean jumping off the cliff that day was also a misunderstanding? Your Demonic Transformation can form wings for flight so why were you so flustered from falling off the cliff?"
Zhou Weiqing had quite the gift of the gab and in his twisted ways, he made his own version of sense, "Things were different that day; everything happened too suddenly. Furthermore, every man loves beauty. You were right by my side and it was completely subconscious that I hugged you. When I realized what I was doing, you were already in my arms. If I had let go of you then, wouldn't it appear to be too fake? Therefore, I had no choice but to continue hugging you. You can't really put the blame on me, especially when you make it so comfortable to hug you."
Meng Xing was fuming. This scoundrel was truly shameless. It was obvious that he had taken advantage of her but now it sounded like he was the one being taken advantage of. However, her nervousness from having to face Darkfiend Sea Naga soon was indeed slightly relaxed due to her little quarrel with Zhou Weiqing.
"This conversation is over. Later, just be on the lookout for yourself," Meng Xing grumbled in conclusion.
Zhou Weiqing chuckled and said, "Does this mean that you are not angry with me anymore? Do you know how sad I was when you didn't come and play with me for the past few days? I could barely sleep from missing you too much."
Meng Xing responded angrily, "Shut up! You are always so lovey-dovey with your wife day in and day out. So, why would you miss me to the point of sleep deprivation? Do you really think I'm that gullible?"
Zhou Weiqing mumbled his explanation, "This… fact that I miss you doesn't seem to conflict with my wife and I's intimacy... will it?"
Due to the low volume of his voice and Meng Xing's enraged state, she misread him and whipped around to glare at him angrily. She spat, "You sleazebag, how dare you think about me when you're in bed with your wife?"
"Er… That was not what I meant," Zhou Weiqing was quick to explain.
Even though they could not hear what the two was talking about, the group of people who stayed on the Blackfiend Dragon's back were all intelligent people. Neutrally, they knew Zhou Weiqing and Meng Xing was communicating through telepathy. When they saw Meng Xing, who stood in front, turning back to glare angrily at Zhou Weiqing, the group of elders frowned with interest and curiosity.
Ever since Zhou Weiqing arrived, the elders could spot the anomaly between them, especially whenever Zhou Weiqing and Meng Xing appeared in the same room. These elders at the Mysterious Heavenly Palace were all ancient beings with great experience and wisdom. They might not manifest their thoughts on their faces but what they thought from within, was a different thing altogether.
From their perspective, after a few years, this handsome young man would come into his own and would be quite a match for Meng Xing, but the issue was that he came with his wife.
Zhou Weiqing seemed to wilt under his glare as he lowered his head in shame, a sign of repentance and contrition.
This was the first time Meng Xing saw this side of him. She was honestly startled. In her mind, this ruffian had always been extremely arrogant, rude and pompous!
Looking at him acting this way had softened her heart and with a final harrumph, she turned away from him.
At this time, the Blackfiend Dragon had almost reached the middle of the ocean. The surface of the water underneath them was a deep blue color. The demonic clouds around them had dispersed. This was not the result of the heavy water element in the air but the Blackfiend Dragon had concealed his energy.
What is he doing? Zhou Weiqing's interest was piqued.
After another half an hour of travel into deeper ocean, the dragon slowed its pace. By then, not only the Blackfiend Dragon, but even the people from the Mysterious Heavenly Palace had concealed their energy.
Zhou Weiqing was not part of the battle strategy discussion. He did not know what the plan was so he resigned to waiting and watching.
The Blackfiend Dragon's deep voice rang out, "Let us begin. I can roughly sense its presence. I will try my best to conceal your energy fluctuation but you still have to be fast."
The Mysterious Heavenly Palace Master nodded and with that, everyone on the dragon's back stood up in unison.
Zhou Weiqing followed suit and he turned to the Palace Master to ask, "Palace Master, do you need me to do anything?"
Dongfang answered, "You can just wait here. When the combat happens, retreat as far away as you can. Just look. Try not to get involved."
"Okay." Zhou Weiqing promised easily. After all, he did not mind watching the fight from the sidelines; he found it to be quite cozy, in fact.
Then, the group of elders from the Mysterious Heavenly Palace mobilized. Of this group of people, the weakest among them was still a Heavenly King-tier Master. The thirteen of them lifted off at the same time and flew down to different directions. They stopped on the sea surface when they were about one thousand meters away. From Zhou Weiqing's position, they had morphed into tiny black dots.
The Blackfiend Dragon idled at his position. A layer of spectacular soul fluctuation radiated from his body. The fact that it strong soul fluctuation managed to cover all the Mysterious Heavenly Palace's Elders in just a blink of an eye went to show the strength of a Heavenly God Tier powerhouse.
Rays of black lights lit up from different directions simultaneously. Despite Zhou Weiqing's impressive eyesight, the distance was still too far for him to be able to make anything out. Especially when he was blinded by the glare of black lights, he was unable to tell what the Mysterious Heavenly Palace's Elders were up to, as he could only sense that the energy fluctuation coming from them was incredibly powerful.
"Senior, what are they doing?" Zhou Weiqing asked.
The Blackfiend Dragon obviously had a good impression of him, "They are preparing to face the Dreadfiend Sea Naga. The Dreadfiend Sea Naga is extremely powerful and we are in the ocean. If we just dive in to face it head on, even if on the off-chance that we are able to defeat it, we will suffer immense losses. Furthermore, we might be able to ensure that it won't escape. What they are doing now is called a Ward of Darkness. It is a type of ancient seal technique, which requires ten powerful individuals of the Blackness Attribute with at least a Heavenly King-tier cultivation base to complete. After one is trapped in the ward, even for a Heavenly God-tier opponent, they will need to kill every single individual responsible for laying down the seal, should they want to escape. Other than that, the Ward of Darkness will greatly decrease the power of all attributes other than darkness, and that hopefully will be able to diminish the power that the Dreadfiemd Sea Naga obtained from the ocean."
Comprehension dawned on Zhou Weiqing as he said, "So they have been preparing for the ward this entire time! Looks like constructing this ward requires a lot of preparation and resources!"
The Blackfiend Dragon nodded to confirm, "This ward can also increase my power. To defeat the Dreadfiend Sea Naga, the Mysterious Heavenly Palace had brought along more than half of the Darkness Magic Crystals we have in storage this time around.
In preparation, they had to inscribe the ward onto the crystals and form a blood connection with them. Only then, would they be able to unleash the Ward of Darkness' power to its maximum level. Later, you have to retreat further away and you have to be out of the Ward of Darkness. As long as you are outside the ward, you shan't be affected."
"Thank you senior, for your teachings," Zhou Weiqing said respectfully.
The Blackfiend Dragon suddenly issued what sounded like chuckles. He asked Zhou Weiqing, "Child, you have your eyes set on Meng Xing, that girl, haven't you?"