Molting the Mortal Coil

Chapter 881: Open Water

Chapter 881: Open Water

After his transformation, he shot through the water like a missile, putting his former speed to shame. This first form was very elongated, smooth and built to pass through the water with ease. It was also one he was quite familiar with from all the time hed spent in the Great Pod. His intention for this first form was to maximize underwater speed. Whether it was escaping, pursuing others, or just traveling long distances there were plenty of reasons for having such a form. While building the Master Seal he found that his own compatibility with fish was quite low and it was actually far higher with cetacean body types. He guessed it had something to do with them being mammalian like his original human body was.

He started with the body of a dolphin, but it was far from the ideal solution on its own. Despite their sleek bodies, smooth skin, and powerful muscles, Dolphins were far from the fastest thing in the seas. Once something started to move too fast under the water it created cavitations in the water from the change in pressure. The water in front had to be pushed out of the way while a low pressure zone was created behind. This differential manifested as tiny bubbles, but they werent as harmless as they sounded. These were also the same type of bubbles created when a Pistol Shrimp moves its claw so fast it can fire a pressure bubble that travels at 70 miles per hour and then generates 8000 degrees of heat when it bursts.

Suffice it to say, these bubbles were not harmless and moving too quickly underwater caused damage to those trying to do it. Of course, Cultivators and Demonic Beasts were far stronger and more powerful than mortal humans and beasts, but the principles still remained. In order to go faster and faster he not only had to make his body stronger and have faster reaction times, he also had to make it tougher. This was apparent in the fish that were far faster than the Dolphin as they had hard bony tails and fins to resist the damage to their extremities, where most of the cavitation takes place. These fish, like the Sailfish, Marlin, Swordfish, and Tuna all have very sharp blade-like tails and fins. Three of them also had long sword-like noses and Sage applied these changes to the otherwise dolphin-like body.

Along with these obvious changes to the physical form there were also many unseen alterations. First of all, the majority of the natural abilities from different beasts and creatures were removed. Only three of them were retained, first the Poison Meridians. Since he relied upon them to use Poison Qi without interfering with his normal Qi it would be a very extreme body form for him to not include them. The second ability that remained was for a similar reason, not wanting to lose such an important ability. The eyes of the Sea Locust could provide so many unique benefits that he didnt want to lose them in any form. Last of all, he kept the Fluid Power Lines from the Genesis Spider. He hadnt actually used them to the fullest extent in the past and while they were powerful they might not be worth the bodily investment for him. The Genesis Spider was so familiar with them that he didnt want to get rid of the capability. Now that he had the Master Seal and could swap to many specialized forms he also didnt plan to keep them all the time.

Only, this time was one of the cases where they were worth the inclusion. Perhaps on land he wouldnt bother, but underwater they were very extraordinary. While he had mostly used them as pipes to direct his Divine Breath to release from parts of his body other than the mouth, it wasnt all they were good for. They werent just air jets, they could also be water jets. It was the same form of propulsion that squid and octopi used for escape situations. There was also a mechanical equivalent to create one of the most fun vehicles, a personal watercraft. Jet ski, sea doo, wave runner. All examples of this excellent device that drew in water and then shot it out the back as a compressed jet to create propulsion.

Since he pursued the greatest underwater speed, then why not add an additional form of propulsion?

The Fluid Power Lines didnt just have to release jets of air, they could also be used with water. It was also how the Genesis Spider had used them in the first place, so using them as a water cannon was nothing new for it. Firing jets of water to provide a boost of speed was exactly what other sea creatures did. It was especially useful because he had more than one nozzle he could release it from. It didnt just push him in one direction. It could also be used like verniers to propel him sideways to avoid attacks, or shoot forward to work like a brake. He could also do the same thing with air which not only added propulsion but a sort of confusing smoke screen of bubbles and tiny cavitations.

This last use also led to another discovery. If he released air in front of himself while swimming it pushed the water away and reduced the drag he felt. With help from the researchers and further testing it turned into a series of Fluid Power emitters around the tip of his nose. The released air created a sort of shield around him, one that greatly reduced the drag he experienced and allowed his speed to multiply.

As a high level Cultivator he could use his Qi to compensate for breathing and remain under the water indefinitely. It would be even easier if he used a fish type body equipped with gills, but this new technique of using air in such a way restricted him once again. Of course, given his Divine Breath and the vast amount of air he could compress into his lungs he could go many hours without returning to the surface. Additionally, that time only ticked down when he was actively using the higher speeds. So this dolphin actually had to surface for air every now and then just like a mortal one.

Once this additional ability was discovered there were some changes made to the Fluid Power Lines of this new body, separating them into two systems. One of them connected his lungs and the emitters on his nose with a blowhole and mouth. The other was optimized for water and another set of emitters for maneuverability and propulsion. It was connected to some internal organs used to pump the water in, then to compress and shoot it out again. Both of these systems were enhanced with specialized Qi Techniques. Last of all, there were some refinements made to the Jade Mantle to make it simpler to maintain holes in what was usually a completely encompassing aura. It needed these openings to allow for the flow of air and water in and out of his body.

All these specialized adaptations were everything, his physical attributes had all been focused in maximizing his speed. Even without any Qi abilities or use of any inborn abilities he could swim many times faster than his human form. With the combination of them all he swam so fast that he left the arctic water behind in mere minutes and entered the warmer open sea areas.

He even caught the eye of a shark the size of a battleship, but he shot away from it so quickly it couldnt do more than turn towards his direction before he left its sensing range.