When the Escape Light landed on the reef-strewn beach on the island’s west side, the full view of the battlefield came into sight.
The island wasn’t large, spanning only five or six li in circumference. Its terrain was low and flat, with a hundred-zhang-high stone hill rising from the center. In the shallow seas surrounding the island, the figures of Demon Beasts swarmed densely—a black, crushing mass stretching from the sea’s surface all the way to the shore’s tidal flats.
They were all Tier Two Demon Beasts.
Their species were varied and chaotic: shelled sea crabs, soft-bodied tentacled jellyfish, and scaled sea serpents, all mixed together as they advanced upon the island. A rough estimate put their numbers at no less than two or three hundred, and they had surrounded more than half of the entire island.
The island’s defensive line had already been pushed back to the foot of the stone hill.
Over twenty Foundation Establishment Cultivators were split into three groups, forming arrays with their backs to the stone hill to resist the onslaught. Magic was unleashed in succession—ice cones, Fireballs, and water arrows exploded amidst the Demon Beast horde, but the rate of slaughter was nowhere near fast enough to keep up with the swarming beasts. The outer perimeter of the defense line was already piled high with the dismembered limbs and blood of Demon Beasts, and even more were climbing over their companions’ corpses to continue their advance.
Atop the stone hill, an old man in a gray-white magical robe was locked in a struggle with a Tier Three Demon Beast.
It was a four-zhang-long Black-Scaled Sea Python, its entire body covered in thick, black scales, its tail lashing out like a steel whip. The old man’s Cultivation was at the Early-stage Golden Core, but his Magic only left faint white marks on the Black-Scaled Sea Python’s body; he was clearly outmatched.
The old man’s aura fluctuated violently. The robe on his left shoulder was torn open, revealing a wound that had already scabbed over. ’He’s been fighting for quite some time.’
Li Yuan didn’t linger on the reef-strewn beach.
With a flicker of his form, he plunged into the Demon Beast horde.
The first Magic he used was the Ice Cone Skill.
Spiritual Power surged from his Dantian, coalescing in his palm into six ice cones, each the length of an arm with a sharp, translucent tip. The six ice cones shot out simultaneously, precisely nailing themselves into the gaps in the shells of six Tier Two sea crabs.
He had long ago cultivated the Ice Cone Skill to the Perfection realm; its power and precision were above the level of a Tier Three Magic. Once the six sea crabs’ shells were pierced by the ice cones, the flow of Spiritual Power within their bodies was frozen in an instant. They struggled a few times and then fell still.
Next was the Fire Python Skill.
A Fire Python, about a zhang in length, shot out from Li Yuan’s palm and dove into the densest part of the Demon Beast horde. The Fire Python rolled through a patch of tentacled jellyfish, the high temperature instantly vaporizing their soft tissues and sending a foul-smelling white smoke billowing high into the air.
As the Fire Python’s tail whipped past, it incidentally knocked down three sea serpents that were climbing the rock face. Their bodies were seared with large, blackened wounds, and they tumbled from the cliff, screeching in pain.
Golden Blade Skill.
Three rays of golden light shot from his fingertips, silently slicing through the air and cleaving the largest Tier Two sea crab in front of him in half. The cross-section of the crab shell was as smooth as a mirror, and its innards and fluids gushed out at once.
All three types of Magic had reached the Perfection realm. He cast them in rotation with extreme speed, with only a few breaths of time between each.
The Foundation Establishment Cultivators on the island were stunned for a moment, then erupted into cheers that had been suppressed for far too long.
"Reinforcements are here!"
The pressure on the defensive line instantly lessened. The breach Li Yuan had torn open on the flank by himself was wider than the frontal assault of all three groups of Foundation Establishment Cultivators combined. The Demon Beast horde’s advance was halted, and the beasts at the front began to show signs of hesitation and retreat.
Li Yuan stopped casting and switched to a different type of Magic.
Tide Sound Skill.
The Spiritual Power in his Dantian changed direction, switching from the circulation pathways of the Fire Element and Metal Element to the Water Element. The Spiritual Power then surged into specific meridians and acupoints in his throat and chest, forming a high-frequency oscillating Spiritual Power circuit near his vocal cords.
Li Yuan opened his mouth.
A low hum emanated from his mouth. It was not a frequency the human voice could produce, but a special sonic wave created by the resonance of Spiritual Power and sound waves. The sonic wave spread out in a fan shape from Li Yuan, its speed not fast, but its coverage extremely wide.
In the area swept by the sonic wave, more than a dozen Tier Two Demon Beasts froze in place simultaneously.
The sea crabs’ eight legs trembled violently, and fine cracks appeared on the surface of their shells. The soft bodies of the tentacled jellyfish began to contract uncontrollably, their internal Spiritual Power circulation thrown into chaos by the sonic wave. The sea serpents collapsed limply to the ground, blood seeping from their seven orifices.
The Tide Sound Skill used the frequency of its sound waves to directly interfere with the Spiritual Power circulation inside the Demon Beasts, breaking down their defenses from within.
It was especially effective against hard-shelled Demon Beasts.
Li Yuan cast the Tide Sound Skill continuously, one sonic wave after another sweeping across the Demon Beast horde.
With each cast, his control over the sonic frequency grew more precise. The resonance point between his Spiritual Power and the sound waves was being calibrated bit by bit through repeated combat, and the sonic wave’s penetrating power and range were visibly increasing.
The catalytic effect of real combat on Magic cultivation far surpassed that of secluded, arduous training.
His proficiency with the Tide Sound Skill was soaring rapidly.
When the seventeenth sonic wave was released, Li Yuan felt an extremely subtle change within his body.
The circulation path of the Spiritual Power in the meridians of his throat suddenly adjusted its angle on its own. The resonance frequency of the sound wave and Spiritual Power went from being a near match to a perfect one.
[Tide Sound Skill: Initiate → Adept]
’It’s a shame that making the Tide Sound Body Infusion permanent requires being in the deep sea. Right now, I’m on an island, not in the deep sea.’
The power of the Tide Sound Skill had risen to a new level.
Li Yuan raised his head and looked toward the top of the stone hill.
The old man in the gray-white magical robe was still entangled with the Black-Scaled Sea Python, but he was clearly losing his stamina. The old man’s Magic could only cause the python to pause briefly, while its every counterattack forced the old man back several zhang.
Li Yuan pushed off the ground, his figure soaring straight for the top of the stone hill.
The Black-Scaled Sea Python sensed the new threat. Its vertical pupils turned toward Li Yuan, and its tail swept over violently.
Li Yuan sidestepped the python’s tail and raised his right hand.
Tide Sound Skill.
The sea python’s body stiffened abruptly.
The sonic wave poured into its body through its mouth, spreading throughout its system along its Spiritual Power meridians. Fine cracks began to appear on the surface of its black scales, spreading rapidly from its head to its tail.
The sea python let out a muffled hiss, its body twisting violently as it tried to shake the sonic wave loose from its insides.
Li Yuan gave it no such chance.
Void-Rending Slash.
A gray fissure shot from his palm, silently slicing into the cracked scales on the sea python’s neck. The space-cutting property of the attack, combined with the internal injuries already caused by the sonic wave, rendered the scales’ defense useless.
The gray fissure pierced through the sea python’s neck. A snake head the size of a bushel basket separated from the torso and rolled onto the stone hill’s rock face.
The headless python’s body convulsed a few times before slamming heavily onto the ground, sending shattered stones flying.
The top of the stone hill fell silent for a moment.
The old man in the gray-white magical robe stared blankly at the sea python’s corpse on the ground, then looked up at Li Yuan, his expression complicated.
"Thank you for your assistance, fellow Daoist." The old man cupped his hands in a salute, his tone filled with clear relief. "This old one’s surname is Ge. I am an elder of the Ge family."
"A support mission from the Loose Cultivator Alliance," Li Yuan replied curtly.
The battle below the stone hill was also nearing its end. With the Tier Three Demon Beast dead, the remaining Tier Two Demon Beasts were left without a leader, and their offensive immediately collapsed. The Foundation Establishment Cultivators seized the opportunity to launch a counteroffensive, driving the remaining beasts back into the sea.
After the demon tide receded, the island was a complete mess. The tidal flats were littered with the remains and blood of Demon Beasts, several temporarily constructed huts had been destroyed, and the Defensive Array at the foot of the stone hill was mostly shattered.
Elder Ge walked down the stone hill and called for his clan disciples to clean up the battlefield and collect the Demon Beast materials.
He then turned back to Li Yuan and cupped his hands in a salute once more.
"If you hadn’t arrived in time, fellow Daoist, I’m afraid the Ge family would have perished here. If there is anything you need, please do not hesitate to ask."
"Materials," Li Yuan said, and then listed a few of his needs.
Elder Ge nodded and rummaged through his storage pouch for a moment.
"This old one does not have many Spiritual Materials on hand, but I have one thing that may be of use to you, fellow Daoist."
Elder Ge took out a fist-sized piece of dark golden ore. Its surface was covered in extremely fine patterns, and its Spiritual Power fluctuations were steady and profound.
"Profound Magnetite Gold." Elder Ge handed the ore over. "I mined this from a seabed vein in my early years. Its quality is not low, but this old one has no use for it. If you need it, fellow Daoist, please take it."
Li Yuan accepted the ore, feeling its heavy weight in his palm.
Profound Magnetite Gold. ’It can be used as the base substrate for the Artifact Pattern layer of a Lifebound Spiritual Artifact. It has an extremely high affinity for multi-elemental Artifact Patterns.’
’This is exactly what I’ve been looking for.’
"Thank you."
Elder Ge waved his hand, then pulled out several Mid-grade Spirit Stones from his storage pouch and pressed them on Li Yuan as well.
"It’s not much, please don’t be offended, fellow Daoist."
Li Yuan accepted the Spirit Stones and the ore and didn’t linger.
As he left the small island, the Ge family disciples behind him were busy repairing the Defensive Array and clearing away the Demon Beast remains. Elder Ge stood atop the stone hill, watching Li Yuan’s Escape Light recede into the distance, not looking away until it vanished at the point where the sea met the sky.