Chapter 20
The Fish that Slipped through the Net
Upon hearing this piercing screech that pierced through the clouds, the demon beasts on the distant coastline seemed to enter a frenzied state as they pounced toward Guang’an Prefecture.
The large number of demon beasts seemed to even form a tidal wave.
Seeing the terrifying world-shaking might of the demon beast tide, the expressions of all the cultivators present changed.
…
At the forefront…
At this moment, the faces of all the Zhou clan cultivators on the frontlines sank.
The Zhou clan never imagined that their usual practice of capturing mermaids would cause such great trouble this time.
Regardless, since the merfolk had come knocking on their door, the Zhou clan could not possibly retreat.
Otherwise, the prestige that the Zhou clan had built up within the hundred thousand miles sea region over the past thousand years would vanish in an instant.
With this thought in mind, the leader of the group, who was a Zifu realm cultivator, shouted loudly, “Disciples of the Zhou clan, listen pp! Get into formation to defend against the enemy!”
Once the order was given, in less than the time it took to brew a cup of tea, an enormous formation was formed in front of the coastline.
All of the members of the Zhou clan held their breaths, waiting for the inevitable charge and clash against the demon beasts.
“Sword array! Rise!”
At this order, one flying sword after another pierced through the heavens, forming an incomparably powerful sword array that charged toward the charging demon beasts.
At this moment, it was as if the only two things left in the world were the surging demon beasts, and the resplendent sword array that had arisen from the ground!
“Boom!!”
In the blink of an eye, the sword array and the demon beast tide collided, resulting in a loud noise that felt like the collision of heaven and earth.
In just an instant, the seawater was dyed blood-red, and large swathes of demon beast corpses floated on the surface of the sea.
This scene was also witnessed by the itinerant cultivators further behind, causing everyone’s expressions to relax.
“Low-level demon beasts are indeed low-level demon beasts. Even if their numbers are shocking, they won’t cause any waves in the end.”
Chen Xianhe, who was floating in the air, witnessed the scene of the Zhou clan cultivators fighting against the demon beasts in the sea and sighed with emotion.
“The Zhou clan’s strength is really strong.”
What Chen Daoxuan saw was the Zhou clan’s strength. This kind of strength was not only reflected in the Zhou clan’s disciples’ individual strengths, but also reflected in how well-trained the Zhou clan’s disciples were overall. They were completely different from the itinerant cultivators who could only showcase their individual courage.
At present, the most powerful attack wave of the demon beasts had been defeated by the Zhou clan. All that remained was to kill the scattered leftover demon beasts.
The defeated demon beasts were scared out of their wits and fled in all directions. No matter how hard the merfolk behind them howled and issued commands, it was useless.
“We won.”
Seeing this scene, Chen Xianhe, who had been in many battles throughout his lifetime, instantly assessed the situation.
As expected, just like Chen Xianhe assessment, the seemingly large number of demon beasts were not a match for the Zhou clan.
After just one engagement, they were utterly defeated.
After that, it was the Zhou clan cultivators and the local Guang’an itinerant cultivators who cleaned up the demon beasts that had fled in all directions.
Compared to defeating the large group of demon beasts, this kind of cleanup work seemed to be far more laborious; because these demon beasts were too good at running around randomly, the Zhou clan cultivators had to ensure that not a single one of them escaped. Otherwise, if any of the demon beasts entered the rivers of Guang’an Prefecture, they would probably pose a great threat to the Zhou clan’s mortal population.
After all, compared to cultivators, mortals did not have the ability to protect themselves when faced with demon beasts.
Even if it was a mortal warrior at the ninth level of the Xiantian realm, it was very likely that they would be killed when facing these demon beasts, much less those mortals who did not know martial arts.
Fortunately, ships were everywhere around Guang’an Prefecture’s port. At this moment, these ships formed a natural protective barrier for Guang’an Prefecture.
It was almost impossible for the scattered demon beasts to pass these boats and enter the rivers of Guang’an Prefecture.
…
On the Canglong, Chen Daoxuan and Chen Xianhe stood side by side.
Chen Daoxuan had thought that he would have the opportunity to kill a demon beast with his own hands, but it now seemed like they were just there to watch the show.
Although they could not count the number of demon beasts, one thing was certain, there were definitely not as many demon beasts compared to the number of cultivators present.
In addition, most of the demon beasts had been killed by the Zhou clan cultivators. It was now their turn to act, so one could imagine just how few were left.
Seeing the eager expression on Chen Daoxuan’s face, Chen Xianhe could not help but laugh. “Most of these are low-level demon beasts. Even if we kill them, their carcasses are useless to us cultivators. Why waste the effort?”
Chen Daoxuan chuckled. “I know, but my hands are feeling a little itchy.”
Hearing this, Chen Xianhe was speechless.
Cultivators were in closed door cultivation all year round. They had incredible strength, but often did not have the opportunity to use it. If that situation persisted for a long time, they would eventually develop problems.
This was also the reason why cultivators often fought fiercely whenever there was a disagreement.
To describe it in the words of his previous life, the desire to kill arose from the possession of a sharp blade.
Moreover, cultivators no longer simply possessed sharp blades. Instead, they possessed the power to destroy the world. How could they not be agitated?
Chen Xianhe was about to say something when the Canglong suddenly shook.
“Oh no, it’s a tiger-eyed fish!”
Chen Xianhe scanned the surroundings with his spiritual sense and found a three-meter-long, blood-red, four-eyed strange fish ramming and tearing at the hull of the Canglong.
“What a beast!”
Seeing this beast trying to destroy the Canglong, which was the only cargo ship the clan possessed, Chen Xianhe could not remain idle. He immediately took out a flying sword and slashed at the tiger-eyed fish in the sea.
“Hua!”
The sword light of the flying sword flashed. It only struck once into the sea below before it broke through the surface of the water.
The next second, the Canglong stopped shaking.
Not long after, a stream of blood surged up from under the sea. The next thing that surfaced was the corpse of the demon beast that Chen Xianhe had called the tiger-eyed fish.
Chen Daoxuan took a closer look.
The tiger-eyed fish had already been split in half.
After thinking for a while, Chen Daoxuan used his true Qi to lift the tiger-eyed fish’s corpse from the sea, and suspended it in front of him to examine carefully.
This was the first time he had examined a demon beast so carefully. Ten years ago, during the demon beast riot in Changping County, he had been consumed by fear and had not gotten a good look at the demon beasts.
“Is this a demon beast? It’s really weak!” Chen Daoxuan muttered.
When he heard this, the expression on Chen Xianhe’s face became serious. He shook his head and said, “A demon beast is not weak. Rather than saying that this tiger-eyed fish is a demon beast, it is more appropriate to say that it has been infected by demonic energy, which has turned it into a demon beast.”
“A true first-level demon beast is not so easy to deal with.”
At this point, Chen Xianhe seemed to have thought of something and warned Chen Daoxuan, “If you encounter a demon beast with the same cultivation level by yourself in the future, remember not to fight it recklessly. It is very difficult for an ordinary cultivator to fight a demon beast of a similar level alone.”
“Okay.” Chen Daoxuan nodded, indicating that he would remember Chen Xianhe’s advice.
He was clear that, in terms of experience, thirteenth uncle, this old fox of the immortal cultivation world, was far ahead of him.
Seeing the regretful look on Chen Daoxuan’s face, Chen Xianhe said moodily, “Don’t look so glum. I’ll let you kill the next demon beast. I’ll help you keep watch, okay?”
“Okay!”
Chen Daoxuan nodded with a smile. Then, he threw the tiger-eyed fish’s corpse into the sea.
“What?”
Just as Chen Xianhe finished speaking, a demon beast that exuded a strong demonic aura swam toward the Canglong.
“A first-level demonic beast!”
Not far away, some cultivators also noticed the demon beast in the sea and cried out in surprise.
“Damn it, what happened to the Zhou clan and the people in front? How could they allow a first-level demon beast to come all the way here?”
The surrounding cultivators complained endlessly.
As if attracted by the blood of the tiger-eyed fish, the first-level demon beast swam toward the vicinity of the Canglong ship and actually stopped moving. It began to munch on the tiger-eyed fish’s corpse.
The Canglong was about 500 zhang in length, which was about 160 meters long. Although it was not a large cargo ship, it was still humongous compared to a low-level demon beast like the tiger-eyed fish.
However, the length of the back of this first-level demon beast which was exposed to them was longer than the mast of the Canglong.
The length of its entire body probably exceeded 200 feet!
This was the largest creature that Chen Daoxuan had ever seen in his two lifetimes as a human.
Even with his temperament, he could not help but feel a sense of fear.
Fortunately, this demon beast was eating and did not seem to have any intention of attacking the Canglong.