That night, Fang Chang prepared to infiltrate Sea God Island as usual. However, before he could even reach the island, he noticed something unusual—there wasn't a single sea soul master in sight. This was highly abnormal.
Cautious by nature, Fang Chang decided to remain underwater, quietly observing the movements on Sea God Island.
The island was eerily quiet that night. All the coastal sentry posts had been removed, and the sea soul masters who should have been stationed there were now gathered in a central location on the island.
Faced with this situation, Fang Chang didn't dare act recklessly. He stayed hidden outside the island, even retreating slightly to maintain a safe distance.
Over the past few days, after devouring several sea soul masters, Fang Chang's soul power had significantly increased, reaching over 190,000 years and nearing the 200,000-year mark. If it weren't for his grand plans regarding the second heavenly tribulation at 200,000 years, he might have already chosen to break through.
During this time, Fang Chang had also made a delightful discovery: devouring the martial souls of human soul masters provided far greater gains than devouring soul beasts of the same level.
After repeated testing, he concluded that devouring a human soul master's martial soul yielded soul power roughly equivalent to the total years of all their soul rings combined.
For example, if Fang Chang devoured a Soul Saint in their seventies, and that Soul Saint had a 40,000-year soul ring, two 10,000-year soul rings, and several others ranging from hundreds to thousands of years, it would be equivalent to devouring a soul beast with 60,000 to 70,000 years of cultivation.
However, a soul beast of that level, no matter how weak, would still possess strength comparable to a powerful Soul Douluo.
In a way, these high-level human soul masters were like walking experience packages for Fang Chang.
Unfortunately, with the heavenly tribulation approaching, Fang Chang had to restrain himself. Apart from the initial few sea soul masters whose martial souls he had devoured, the rest were imprisoned on a small island near the shipwreck, kept as reserves to be consumed after he survived the tribulation.
As Fang Chang pondered these matters, movement finally resumed on Sea God Island.
Dawn was approaching, and Fang Chang had been about to return to the shipwreck when he sensed that about half of the sea soul masters were moving from the center of the island toward the coast.
After a moment of thought, Fang Chang decided to stay and observe, moving closer to the direction the sea soul masters were heading.
He saw a group of people, led by three Titled Douluo, walking slowly from the center of the island toward the coast. Among them, one figure stood out with a soul power level of 95.
This group consisted of over two hundred sea soul masters, with the weakest being at least Soul Ancestor level. They represented the majority of Sea God Island's elite forces.
What are they planning? Have they discovered what I've been doing? Fang Chang wondered.
The group moved closer, gathering briefly at the edge of the island before jumping into the water and swimming toward a specific location in the sea.
Fang Chang's heart sank as he realized they were heading straight for the shipwreck, where Little Gold, her sisters, and the rest of the Sea Spider clan were currently located.
If he revealed himself now, he would undoubtedly face a fierce assault from the three Titled Douluo. Even with his current strength, he wasn't sure he could withstand their combined power.
Reluctantly, Fang Chang decided to follow the group cautiously, trailing them as they moved southeast toward the shipwreck.
The sea soul masters moved with purpose, ignoring any rare sea soul beasts they encountered along the way. When they were about twenty miles from the shipwreck, they finally stopped to rest.
"Elder Sea Dragon, do you think the Sea God might have made a mistake? How could the Sea Spider clan be responsible for the disappearances?" one of the Titled Douluo, known as Sea Ghost, whispered to the leader, Sea Dragon.
Sea Dragon shot him a glare. "You dare doubt the Sea God?"
"No, no, of course not," Sea Ghost quickly backtracked. "It's just that the Sea Spider clan has always been so weak. It's hard to believe they'd dare to mess with Sea God Island."
"If it were the Deep Sea Demonic Devil Whale clan, I'd believe it," he added.
Fang Chang, hiding about twenty to thirty meters away, couldn't hear their conversation, but he could read their lips well enough to understand the gist of it.
"Tch, Sea Ghost, you weren't there for the battle over a year ago," the third Titled Douluo, Sea Illusion, chimed in. "The Devil Soul Great White Shark clan's massacre was mainly carried out by the Deep Sea Demonic Devil Whales, but the Sea Spiders were accomplices."
"Really? I had no idea," Sea Ghost said, looking surprised.
"Of course. The Sea Spiders must have allied with the Deep Sea Demonic Devil Whales, cutting off the Great White Sharks' retreat and leading to their near-extinction," Sea Illusion explained.
Sea Ghost nodded, his earlier doubts about the mission fading. If the Sea Spiders were indeed allied with the Deep Sea Demonic Devil Whales, then this expedition made sense.
"But if the Sea Spiders are allied with the Deep Sea Demonic Devil Whales, won't we be walking into a trap? With our current forces, we'd struggle against the Deep Sea Demonic Devil Whales," Sea Ghost worried.
Sea Illusion smirked and glanced at Sea Dragon. "That's why we have Elder Sea Dragon here. A few Deep Sea Demonic Devil Whales are nothing to him."
Sea Dragon tapped Sea Illusion on the head. "Are you praising me or mocking me?"
Though he pretended to be annoyed, Sea Dragon couldn't hide the pleased smile on his face.
"Praising you, of course," Sea Illusion said with a grin. "Who would dare mock the future strongest on Sea God Island?"
Sea God Island, as the legacy of the Sea God, had a special connection to the divine realm, a secret known only to the High Priestess, Poseidon.
Earlier that day, the High Priestess had gathered all the sea soul masters and announced that the Sea God had revealed the truth: their missing comrades had been taken by the Sea Spider clan, and this clan would become a great threat to Sea God Island if not eradicated soon.
This was the reason for the current expedition.
Fang Chang, having pieced together their intentions, knew he couldn't delay any longer. He quickly returned to the shipwreck, instructing Little Gold and the others to prepare for battle.
He then selected several of his strongest offspring and hid them in a reef about five miles from the shipwreck.
After completing these preparations, Fang Chang returned to secretly follow the sea soul masters as they resumed their march toward the shipwreck.