Chapter 65: Self-Sufficient
A gaping maw opened, poised to swallow both Xu Qingsui and the dolphin whole.
Its enormous body moved with absolute certainty, but just as it bore down, Xu Qingsui dug in her heels, leaned back, and shot backward.
It had seemed as if Xu Qingsui had let down her guard to play with the dolphin, but ever since discovering this place was unlike other Seas of Consciousness, she had remained vigilant.
’Anything this unusual had to be a trap.’
’This place is so different; there must be a catch.’
Guessing that everything she was seeing might just be a lure to deceive her, she decided to play along, deliberately acting as if she’d let her guard down while frolicking with the dolphin.
But while she played with the dolphin, she remained completely focused, paying close attention to her surroundings.
So when the dark clouds gathered in the distance, she noticed but gave no sign.
She kept her cool, wanting to see what the spirit body hiding in this Sea of Consciousness was planning.
As the dark mass crept closer, she pretended not to notice, but her feet were already poised for a quick getaway.
In a flash, Xu Qingsui retreated several meters, and she finally got a clear look at the enormous creature’s form.
It was a giant whale. In one gulp, it swallowed the dolphin that had just been playing with Xu Qingsui in the shallows.
The whale plunged directly into the sand, its massive body vanishing from Xu Qingsui’s sight once more.
By now, the once bright and sunny sky had vanished completely, replaced by oppressive, dark clouds.
The whale spirit body had hidden itself again, secretly plotting its second attack.
Xu Qingsui scanned her surroundings warily, not daring to relax for a second.
Suddenly, a sound came from behind her. Xu Qingsui spun around in surprise as the massive creature burst from the sand again, bearing down on her.
Thankfully, she was always ready to move. Xu Qingsui repeated her earlier maneuver and shot backward again.
But this time, the whale seemed to anticipate her move, lunging its body forward intentionally.
It landed back on the sand just centimeters from Xu Qingsui.
Watching the massive body burrow into the sand right before her eyes, Xu Qingsui couldn’t help but exhale sharply.
’That was too close!’
But before she could even catch her breath, another sound came from her right. Xu Qingsui’s eyes widened, and she shot away again.
Learning from the last close call, she deliberately put more force into her leap, covering a greater distance.
But as she kept increasing her force, the whale was doing the same.
Again, she was just inches away from falling into the whale’s mouth.
Giving her no chance to breathe, the whale launched several more consecutive attacks.
Although Xu Qingsui managed to luckily dodge them all, she was getting closer and closer to the whale’s gaping maw.
She frowned. ’This can’t go on.’
’My stamina is limited. Once I run out of energy, or if the whale increases its attack range again, I’ll fall right into its mouth.’
For a moment, Xu Qingsui’s mind was in turmoil.
"Host, don’t forget you can use attribute attacks now."
The Golden Octopus piped up again. Its words reminded Xu Qingsui, but what exactly was she supposed to do?
She could only use the Thunder Attribute and Fire Attribute right now, but she needed to be able to see her target to use either one.
The whale was appearing and disappearing without a trace. Even if she could sense it beforehand, by the time she launched an attack, the whale might have already hidden somewhere else.
Therefore, she had to find a way to guarantee a hit on the whale.
As she dodged, Xu Qingsui began to observe her surroundings.
’The whale is hiding in the sand, so I can’t attack it at all. But what if it’s hiding in the sea?’
’The Fire Attribute would be useless.’
’But the Thunder Attribute would work!’
’I can summon lightning. Water is conductive, so no matter where the whale is hiding, it will get electrocuted.’
A solid plan formed in Xu Qingsui’s mind, and she immediately began to change direction.
While dodging, she began to lead the whale toward the sea.
Xu Qingsui was half-submerged in the seawater when the whale’s enormous body finally landed in the water as well.
Seizing the opportunity, Xu Qingsui quickly channeled the Thunder Attribute in her body, and a ball of lightning appeared in her palm.
Without worrying if she would be caught in the blast, she forcefully slammed the ball of lightning onto the water’s surface.
RUMBLE!
Instantly, peels of thunder echoed across the sea, and arcs of lightning spread out rapidly from Xu Qingsui’s position.
Water is conductive, and since Xu Qingsui was standing in it, she naturally couldn’t escape.
But in this situation, she really couldn’t worry about that. She had to take a gamble that the lightning she summoned wouldn’t affect her.
Just then, the lightning spreading around Xu Qingsui unexpectedly converged back onto her body.
But it didn’t harm her in the slightest. Instead, she felt the Thunder Attribute she had just expended being replenished, even more abundantly than before.
Xu Qingsui’s eyes widened. ’Isn’t this the equivalent of generating my own power to recharge myself?’
’Doesn’t that mean my Thunder Attribute is inexhaustible as long as I’m in the water?’
Xu Qingsui was faintly excited, but she knew deep down that the most important thing right now was whether the attack had affected the whale.
Xu Qingsui scanned her surroundings. Based on the whale’s previous attack frequency, it should have struck again by now.
But at this moment, the sea was calm, without the slightest trace of the creature.
After waiting a little longer and still seeing no sign of an attack, Xu Qingsui realized her plan had worked.
But if the whale could still lurk and hide in the sea, it meant it could still fight back.
She would never give an enemy the chance to rest, recover, and counter-attack.
Pressing her advantage, Xu Qingsui immediately gathered another ball of lightning and slapped it onto the water.
Thanks to the recent replenishment, this ball of lightning was even more powerful than the last.
Furthermore, by releasing the attack while in the sea, she took advantage of her surroundings, and the Thunder Attribute in her body was rapidly replenished.
Without much hesitation, Xu Qingsui began gathering balls of lightning again, slamming them onto the sea’s surface one after another.
After several consecutive strikes, the entire surface of the sea was covered in electrical currents, which occasionally flared with a brilliant light, illuminating the gloomy sky.
The whale, however, never reappeared, as if it were no longer there at all.
For a moment, Xu Qingsui suspected the whale might have already gone into hiding.
After all, whales are mammals; they are intelligent.
Besides, it seemed this whale was a psychic-type Mutant.
It probably used its wits after being attacked and found a place to hide.
Xu Qingsui looked toward the beach. ’Could it have burrowed back into the sand?’
’Sand can’t conduct electricity, but it’s vulnerable to fire.’
Xu Qingsui edged closer to the shore but kept her body in the seawater.
The seawater was now filled with electricity, so she didn’t have to worry about the whale lunging out to attack her.
Then, she channeled her Fire Attribute and flung flames onto the beach.
The fire began to spread across the sand as Xu Qingsui stared intently at the beach, searching for any trace of the whale.