During the time he was unconscious, the giant octopus's tentacles had already recovered from the thundering roar echoing from the heavens.
Its previous state of falling like flower petals had changed into an inward-closing encirclement.
It wanted to drag the falling great white dragon back into the sea.
Thus, the moment Haoyuan woke up, he broke through the gaps in the closing trap.
Unyielding, rapid roars echoed continuously from the sky.
Haoyuan looked up. At some point, the azure sky had been obscured by thick, heavy clouds.
A massive figure was slithering back and forth within them.
Dragging a long body and possessing a pair of colossal wings, it screeched sharply without end, as if issuing a stern warning.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
The sound of tearing air suddenly erupted from behind. With no time to think, driven by a powerful will to live, Haoyuan harnessed Wind Grace. He swayed and dodged frantically, narrowly evading the coiling, lashing tentacles with great difficulty.
Before him was the continent he had just departed. Only by returning there would he have a sliver of hope for survival.
He quickly used Mimicry to turn into air, utilizing Wind Grace to manifest the form of a swimming dragon that darted off to one side.
His actual body remained completely still.
Sure enough, the giant octopus's tentacles fell for the trick, immediately chasing after the movement of the Wind Grace.
Seizing the opportunity, Haoyuan resolutely flew toward the continent.
The octopus tentacles had not chased far before realizing something was amiss. Leaving two or three tentacles to pursue the Wind Grace dragon, the rest lunged furiously toward Haoyuan.
Haoyuan immediately split off seven or eight Wind Grace dragons, scattering them in all directions.
The pursuing octopus tentacles were instantly bewildered.
Faced with this, it simply whipped up massive waves, seeking to intercept every trace of movement that could possibly be the great white dragon.
Haoyuan was startled by this. He gritted his teeth, preparing to dive into the water, mimic the seawater, and then manifest several Water Surge dragons to flee in different directions.
Yet before he could act on the idea, a clap of thunder exploded in the sky, rapidly reverberating downward.
Immediately after, a colossal shadow slowly blanketed the sea.
Haoyuan's pupils contracted. He instantly understood that the behemoth in the heavens had swooped down toward him the moment it cried out.
However, he was unable to move. The terrifying, thundering crack pierced through his body once more, nearly shattering his hard-won consciousness.
Yet, this time was much more bearable.
Probably because his eardrums were already ruptured, the damage to his nerves was nowhere near as horrific as the first roar.
Following the behemoth's roar, the towering wall of waves blocking Haoyuan crumbled instantly.
This was a golden opportunity, but unfortunately, his physical form had been exposed, and he dared not fly straight across.
Thus, he gracefully plunged into the water, using Mimicry to blend with the seawater while splitting off several Water Surge dragons to swim away conspicuously in all directions.
Based on everything that had happened, he seemed to realize that the giant tentacles and the sky behemoth were fighting over him.
Because they each dominated their respective domains, the sky behemoth had not dared to descend lightly, only able to emit continuous, urgent roars from within the clouds.
Only when it saw him about to reach the shore did the sky behemoth finally fly down.
“In that case, reaching the shore will be extremely dangerous!”
Haoyuan's thoughts raced.
Yet staying in the sea was not necessarily safe either. The giant tentacles were, after all, skilled in water-attribute divine abilities; its command over water was bound to be far superior to his.
Furthermore, its other abilities remained unknown. It might be able to locate him in the ocean with ease.
“A wolf in front, a tiger behind...”
Haoyuan's gaze hardened. Ultimately, he decided to head to shore.
The two super-beasts ruled the sky and the sea respectively.
Only on land might there be a sliver of hope.
With this realization, he looked toward the reef not far away in the shallow waters, planning to circle behind one of the reefs, use Mimicry to turn back into air, and sneak ashore.
Suddenly, the surrounding water grew heavy.
Haoyuan was startled.
“This familiar ability...”
He quickly commanded all his Water Surge dragons to leap out of the water, but the moment they touched the air, they began to disperse.
Meanwhile, the moment Haoyuan himself breached the surface, he gradually mimicked the air, carrying his entire concealed body out of the water.
However, this maneuver did not fool the giant octopus's tentacles. Almost instantly, it deduced the true location of the great white dragon based on the pattern of the collapsing water currents.
Surging currents rose from the sea surface, transforming into the gaping maw of a colossal beast that lunged ferociously to swallow Haoyuan.
Haoyuan's breath hitched. The rear half of his body was about to be bitten by the watery maw, yet he had pushed Wind Grace to its absolute limit.
At the critical juncture, a thunderbolt erupted from the heavens, and several incredibly thick streaks of lightning struck down, landing squarely where the octopus tentacles' main body was.
This strike seemed to break some sort of rule.
In an instant, the winds and clouds of heaven and earth shifted dramatically.
The battle between the two powerhouses had begun.
Haoyuan had not expected the two giant beasts to start fighting each other so fiercely over him.
Because of this, he luckily managed to escape disaster.
With no time to lose, he hurriedly flew toward the nearest volcano.
Engaged in combat with the sky behemoth, the giant octopus's tentacles sensed that the great white dragon had left the ocean's reach and made it onto land.
Filled with vexation, it conjured a towering tidal wave, turning it into a watery cage to trap the sky behemoth.
Meanwhile, it began to sink back into the sea.
The prize that was within its grasp had slipped away, but it would at least stall the opponent for a moment to prevent them from catching it either.
The sky behemoth had not expected the giant octopus's tentacles to pull such a trick.
By the time it struggled free, the great white dragon was already nowhere to be found.
It let out an angry screech toward the ocean, flapped its wings, and flew toward the land at top speed.
The volcano finally came into view.
“Great!”
Feeling invigorated, Haoyuan accelerated.
“I'll be safe soon.”
Right at that moment, the surrounding wind suddenly grew fiercer.
“Roar!”
A thundering roar surged down from the heavens.
Its terrifying penetration caused the creatures on land to instantly explode into mists of blood.
Haoyuan spat out a mouthful of blood. His Mimicry unraveled, and his physical form was revealed.
His consciousness felt as if it were sinking into a swamp, impossible to pull together. The world spun before his eyes in a blur of crimson.
This was the third time he had been struck by the sky behemoth.
His body was already like a candle flickering in the wind, on the verge of burning out completely.
The instant his form was revealed, the surrounding winds grew even more violent.
A gale swept down from the heavens. Its terrifying wind pressure snapped trees, whipped up the blood mist of living creatures, and sent dust and rocks flying.
The sky and earth instantly turned into a dark, bloody red. Amidst the howling gale, thunder rumbled continuously.
Haoyuan knew that the sky behemoth was swooping down toward him.
Gritting his teeth, he struggled to control his body and fly.
Swaying unsteadily, he flew toward the volcano's crater, which was illuminated by a crimson glow that filled the sky.
How could he die here? He still had a grand, unfulfilled aspiration. He still had five million years of lifespan that had not yet run dry.
He had not yet looked down upon the river of time, nor explored the mysteries of the universe's living beings.
He had not yet found Dinosaur Valley to see the dromaeosaurs that he had constantly yearned for, the ones that were waiting for him.
His past life had been such a failure, so dull and ordinary, without a proper life or a single interesting ripple that could ignite his hope for living.
Now that he had finally reincarnated and gained the chance to experience a transcendent world, was he to die prematurely like this?
Absolutely not!!
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