"Uh!"
Almost instantly, the shockwave of the explosion shatters two layers of the frontal-focused barrier—throwing the Machina Frame backwards.
And upon the Machina Frame coming into contact with the waters—
*Siiiiiiii!!!* the water boils due to the extreme heat that is shrouding the frame.
"…"
Amidst the Machina Frame's constant tremor, Tian Cheng deactivates its overdrive mode—causing the split portions of its armor to close, along with extinguishing its energy wings.
Gradually coming to a stop, the fully deactivated Machina Frame floats on the surface of the boiling waters.
...…
Seemingly with Hai Zang's death, the vast seas have turned calmer—causing a sense of tranquility to loom over the air.
"Ugh…"
Rubbing his head in pain, Long Hua looks to the evolution interface, and—
"…30. …30. ...…Uh!"
Regaining his wits, and seeing the total mutation point count still remaining at 30, Long Hua immediately emerges from the cockpit with Shui Yue in hand.
"…"
Rotating the Tranquil Heart Incantation to keep his composure, Long Hua uses his divine senses to scan the area for anything unusual.
(How the hell is this thing still alive after all that?)
"…"
Emerging from the cockpit as well, Tian Cheng holds Kun in her right hand.
Pressing their backs together, Tian Cheng has the remaining combat bodies gather.
"…"
Peering into the steam-filled area of the seas, Long Hua narrows his eyes.
Through his divine senses, he sees chunks of charred flesh floating about in the crimson waters.
"…Hm?"
Seeing an unusual ripple on the surface of the seas, Long Hua leaps off the Machina Frame, and dives into the waters.
Utilizing his power over the water elements, Long Hua moves through the waters at a rate that is more efficient than a fish, and upon closing in on the location of the disturbance—
"…"
Halting his advancement, Long Hua widens his eyes at the sight before him.
Although smaller than before, a "Hai Zang" is absorbing the blood that is mixed into the waters—causing its body, which is less than ten meters in length, to expand in volume.
Compared to before, it currently possesses less than ten tentacles, and its body is covered in deep blue scales.
"…"
As his eyes flash with a cold gleam, Long Hua immediately uses Moons Dwelling within the Lake—causing a bloodstained crescent moon to appear behind the smaller Hai Zang's back.
Closing in on the monster, Long Hua lunges Shui Yue forward, to which—
*Aaaooouu!* snapping open its six eyes, Hai Zang opens its maw in preparation to spew something out; however, Long Hua is quicker to press his left hand out to throw an Immortal Suppression Palm, and at the wave of his finger—
(Divide!)
The giant black and white handprint splits itself into ten smaller portions, and in the next instance, they smash themselves directly onto Hai Zang.
Without wasting any time, Long Hua closes the remaining bit of distance, and stabs Shui Yue through Hai Zang's forehead.
This simultaneously detonates the crescent moon—to unleash a scalp-numbing amount sword Qi threads, which pierce through Hai Zang's back!
(Hm?)
Placing a bit of distance from Hai Zang, Long Hua frowns with wariness—for a portion of the former's body is bulging outwards; and momentarily—
*…!!!* bursting out of the bulge is a cobra with six eyes and a pair of wing-styled pectoral fins.
(That's the main body!)
Raising his left hand, Long Hua summons an Immortal Suppression Palm beneath Hai Zang's main body.
And rather quickly, the Immortal Suppression Palm hits Hai Zang's main body—forcefully pushing it towards the ocean's surface at extreme speeds.
*Pah!!!* almost as soon as Hai Zang's main body had emerged from the waters, on top of the Immortal Suppression Palm—
"Fire!"
*Boom! Boom! Boom!* it is immediately bombarded by the remaining combat bodies under Tian Cheng's command.
Leaping out of the waters, Long Hua points to the Immortal Suppression Palm, and shouts—
"Detonate!"
*Boom!!!* following the Immortal Suppression Palm's detonation, Yin and Yang energy erupts—folding in on Hai Zang's main body.
"…"
Just as Hai Zang's mangled main body falls from the air, Long Hua glances at the evolution interface, which shows a mutation point count of 40—signifying the genuine end of this battle.
"…Hm?"
Even before Long Hua can raise a sigh of relief, a pillar of light appears in the center of the world, and faster than anyone could hope to react to it, this pillar begins to expand outwards.
Almost immediately, the expanding pillar of light washes over Long Hua and the combat bodies.
And for a brief instance, Long Hua feels as if he is experiencing a freefall, but as the white light that clouds his vision dissipates—
"…?"
Looking around, Long Hua finds himself standing on solid ground again; and surrounding him are the remaining combat bodies and Tian Cheng, along with the Machina Frame and its weapon.
"…"
Recognizing the empty island that they're standing on, Tian Cheng remarks—
"Seems like killing that thing has restored everything back to how it original was, master."
"Finally over…"
Recognizing this to truly be the end, Long Hua leans backwards, but he doesn't land onto the ground, instead—
"Hm?"
Feeling a curved surface behind him with his hands, Long Hua turns around to see a treasure chest, causing him to remark—
"…He really is just treating all this like a damn game."