"What is that?!"
"It's a giant monster whale!"
"Watch out!"
Panic rippled through the cultivators as colossal shadows surged beneath the waves, their massive forms casting eerie, shifting outlines against the turbulent surface of the sea.
The monstrous whales, larger than any ship and armored with barnacle-crusted hides, circled ominously around the flying boat, their gaping maws occasionally breaching the surface to reveal rows of jagged teeth.
For a moment, fear gripped everyone aboard. Weapons were drawn, spells half-formed in trembling hands. Yet before chaos could erupt, someone shouted, "Wait! Look—the runes!"
As if awakened from a collective nightmare, the cultivators' gazes shifted to the luminous symbols etched along the ship's hull.
The runes pulsed gently, a soft, soothing glow weaving an unseen net around the boat. To their astonishment, the sea monsters hesitated.
