Chapter 95: The Chimera Jellyfish

The habits of sea soul beasts differ somewhat from those of their land-dwelling counterparts. Most of them live in groups, forming tight-knit communities. Even spiders, which are typically solitary creatures, cannot escape this tendency when they enter the ocean. The shipwreck before them was likely the gathering place for this colony of sea spiders.

The sea spider Fang Chang had encountered earlier, with an 83,000-year soul power, was undoubtedly the queen of this sea spider colony.

When the sea spiders near the shipwreck saw their queen returning, a glimmer of hope returned to their eyes. They each gathered their soul power to reinforce the bubble, which had been on the verge of collapsing. The bubble became more stable as a result.

Meanwhile, the strange creatures attacking the bubble also noticed something unusual. Their eyes turned in unison toward the sea spider queen.

Their bodies were semi-transparent and gelatinous, resembling jelly. Reflecting the sunlight, their surfaces shimmered with a rainbow of colors. Each of them had a dozen or so translucent tentacles, and their bodies and heads were fused together, resembling a hat with a pair of hollow eyes.

Seeing their tentacles, Fang Chang finally realized that these were likely the sea soul beasts the old man had mentioned—the ones that had attacked them.

Race: Chimera Jellyfish. Fang Chang, hiding in the distance, locked his gaze on these creatures, and their stats soon appeared before his eyes.

He frowned as he examined them. The strongest among them had a soul power of only one or two thousand years, and their attributes weren't particularly impressive. Although there were hundreds of them—two to three times the number of sea spiders—was that really enough to make the sea spiders so anxious?

Moreover, the old man had said that the sea soul beasts that attacked them had wiped out a team of soul masters sent by the Spirit Hall. He had even claimed that only a Title Douluo-level expert could handle them. But... this?

They couldn't be this simple. Fang Chang thought to himself, staying hidden and observing the situation from afar.

At this moment, the chimera jellyfish also noticed the rapidly approaching sea spider queen. They split into two groups: one continued to attack the bubble, while the other moved to surround the queen, attempting to subdue her.

The sea spider queen didn't hold back. Her eight eyes flashed red, and a dozen water arrows, each as thick as an adult's arm, materialized around her. Without hesitation, she launched them at the chimera jellyfish.

Unlike Fang Chang, the chimera jellyfish didn't have his level of defense. The water arrows struck them, instantly shattering seven or eight of them.

Seeing that they couldn't withstand her attacks, the remaining chimera jellyfish began to change. Their bodies clustered together, merging into a large, semi-transparent gelatinous mass. This mass then reshaped itself, taking on the form of a jellyfish body, complete with tentacles and eyes.

A much larger, fused jellyfish monster now stood before the sea spider queen.

Race: Chimera Jellyfish (Fused Form)

Soul Power: 81,904 years

HP: 51,695

Strength: 4,651

Attack: 4,323

Defense: 4,143

Speed: 3,977

After this transformation, although their numbers had dwindled to just one, their soul power and attributes had significantly increased, putting them on par with the sea spider queen in terms of combat strength.

Fang Chang, watching from the shadows, finally understood the meaning behind the name "Chimera Jellyfish." It was similar to the Ghost Crying Vine he had encountered in the Sunset Forest—a soul beast formed by the fusion of many weaker individuals. However, there was a key difference. The Ghost Crying Vine had a main vine that absorbed other vines to form a single entity. In contrast, the chimera jellyfish actively chose to fuse when threatened, deciding how many to merge with. It was possible that they could separate again after the battle.

More importantly, their fusion created a completely new life form, with no "main jellyfish" to speak of. This made them far more advanced than the Ghost Crying Vine.

Another point that caught Fang Chang's attention was that this fused jellyfish monster had only merged with about half of the chimera jellyfish present, yet its soul power had already reached over 80,000 years. If it were to fully fuse, its soul power could easily surpass 150,000 years.

No wonder the Spirit Hall had suffered such a devastating loss and hadn't returned to seek revenge. Dealing with such a creature would require careful planning, even for them.

The sea spider queen, however, didn't seem surprised by this development. She had clearly encountered this before. Hesitating for a moment, she glanced at the nearly collapsing bubble near the shipwreck. To protect her colony, she had no choice but to press on and attack the fused jellyfish monster.

This time, she abandoned her "Water Arrow" skill and instead charged directly at the monster, using her body to pin it down. Her eight ten-meter-long legs stabbed into its gelatinous body, churning and tearing it apart from within.

The fused jellyfish monster, in turn, extended its dozen or so tentacles, wrapping them around the sea spider queen's body. The tentacles probed for gaps in her armor or other openings, injecting toxic secretions into her body.

The queen's expression twisted in pain as the tentacles invaded every exposed orifice, the toxins causing a burning sensation throughout her body.

On the other hand, the fused jellyfish monster wasn't faring well either. The sea spider queen was clearly an old adversary and knew its weaknesses. Fang Chang watched as its HP steadily decreased, along with its maximum HP, soul power, and other attributes.

So that's her plan, Fang Chang realized. Although the chimera jellyfish fused into a single entity, they remained independent individuals internally. By attacking from within, the queen could continuously kill the individual jellyfish, weakening the monster and eventually destroying it.

However, this was a risky move. Not only did she have to endure immense pain, but she also risked being overwhelmed by the monster's toxins before she could succeed.

Her HP was rapidly dropping, now less than half. At this rate, she would be worn down before the monster.

Seeing this, the other sea spiders abandoned their defense of the bubble, allowing the chimera jellyfish to break through. They rushed forward to engage the enemy, hoping to relieve some of the pressure on their queen.

At this critical moment, Fang Chang, who had been lying in wait, finally made his move.