Deep within the Great Dream Marsh, pale gray mist coiled like a gauzy veil, drifting silently across the water.

In this uninhabited, perilous sea region, endless waves surged and thundered, as if a thousand armies were galloping and roaring. From time to time, terrifying tsunamis rose up like monstrous beasts.

There, more than ten Core Formation cultivators stood in formation. Their auras linked together, and each held either a formation banner, a formation disk, or a monster-hunting crossbow. Together, they manipulated nine massive chains—each as thick as a water barrel—glowing in blue and gold.

These chains were covered with dense, complex runes, wrapped tightly around a gigantic creature, its body pitch-black and mountainous—none other than the Sea-Rending Mystic Dragon Whale.

Its body was scorched and wounded, bleeding profusely. It thrashed and roared constantly, but aside from stirring more crashing waves, its struggle was useless.

On closer inspection, apart from the nine enormous chains, several huge crossbow bolts—shaped like jagged fangs—were embedded deep into its flesh, violently suppressing its terrifying demonic power.

Each time it struggled, those fang-like bolts shimmered with dark light. That light intertwined with the glowing runes on the chains and the black formation banners in the distance, forming blinding array patterns that held the beast in place.