txolops Chapter 408 Schemes of All Parties
Chapter 408 Schemes of All Parties
Chapter 408 Schemes of All Parties
"This... the demon race has retreated?" Jiang Rufeng was the first to react, looking at the retreating demon beasts like a receding tide, his face full of disbelief.
"They're retreating already? That drumbeat just now—it was the order to retreat! But they clearly had an overwhelming advantage, and the formation was on the verge of collapse. Why are they suddenly retreating?"
He abruptly turned his head to look at Luo Ming, who was staring at Yuan Yao from afar in the air. A look of realization and deep shock flashed in his eyes: "Could it be—because of Master? What did Master do earlier?"
This conjecture filled his gaze towards Luo Ming with even greater awe. Had his master, who had disappeared for over thirty years, returned with such unfathomable power?
On Silver Shark Island, countless cultivators who had survived the calamity looked at the retreating beast tide in disbelief, and then burst into thunderous cheers and cries of relief.
They didn't know exactly what had happened, only that at their most desperate moment, a turning point seemed to have appeared, and the beast tide receded!
Silver Shark Island has been saved for now!
Meanwhile, several hundred miles away from Silver Shark Island, in a high-altitude area shrouded in thick demonic clouds, where ordinary cultivators could hardly approach.
Three imposing figures, each exuding astonishing demonic aura and far exceeding the size of ordinary people, floated silently above the clouds, separated by dozens of feet, forming a triangle. Faint fluctuations of demonic power flowed between them, isolating them from all outside observation.
The figure on the left was the short, stout, and burly demon cultivator who had previously fought Luo Ming, had his two tentacles severed, and fled into the deep sea in a sorry state.
He had now transformed back into human form, but his face was noticeably pale and his breathing was irregular, indicating that his injuries were serious and he had not yet fully recovered.
Luo Ming didn't sever the tentacles that were conjured by his demonic energy, but rather one of his eight original tentacles. Even with his current terrifying regenerative abilities, it would take him quite some time to fully recover.
The one in the middle was the largest, standing over ten feet tall, with broad shoulders and a thick waist, extremely fat, like a mountain of flesh.
His face was rugged, with a face full of fleshy muscles. His skin was a bluish-gray like deep-sea rock, covered with dense, twisted black lines like ancient incantations. His large, copper-bell-shaped eyes flashed with a fierce light when they opened and closed, exuding a violent and heavy aura.
He was one of the main forces of the demon race that besieged Silver Shark Island, a mid-stage transformed demon cultivator from the "Deep Sea Giant Whale" clan—Whale Power King.
The figure on the right was slightly "thin," but still much taller than the average person. He wore a dark blue feather robe, had a cold and stern face, a hooked nose, and eyes as sharp as knives. If Luo Ming were here, he would recognize him at a glance as the transformed demonic bird, Fire Owl, with whom he had briefly fought in the Sea King Sect's secret realm!
At this moment, the fat giant with black markings on his face turned his huge head and looked at the pale-faced, short, fat, and strong man. He spoke in a muffled voice, like rolling thunder: "Old Ghost Zhang, you said that a human Nascent Soul stage body cultivator suddenly appeared on Silver Shark Island? And he even injured you?"
Is this really true? Perhaps you yourself were careless and fell into the trap of those cunning humans, and are now exaggerating your claims?
His tone carried a hint of doubt and dissatisfaction. This siege of Silver Shark Island mobilized the demon forces from several nearby sea areas, with the intention of removing this important human obstacle in the outer sea and completely controlling all entrances to the "Sea King Sect" secret realm.
Just as the general offensive was about to begin and the defensive formation of Silver Shark Island was teetering on the brink of collapse, victory seemed within reach. However, he was suddenly forced to order a retreat due to an urgent message sent back by the short, fat, and burly man, rendering all his previous efforts futile. Naturally, he was furious.
Upon hearing this, the short, stout man's already unpleasant expression darkened further. He snorted coldly and said hoarsely, "King Whale Power, although I've suffered some injuries, I'm not so blind as to be senile, much less risk my life! That person is indeed a Nascent Soul stage body cultivator, and definitely not just a beginner! Hmph, if you don't believe me, you can go find him yourself!"
Whale King frowned, his brows covered in black lines, and said in a deep voice, "If what you say is true, wouldn't there be four Nascent Soul level human warriors on Silver Shark Island?"
"The Ninth Elder of the Star Palace, Blood Fiend of the Reverse Star Alliance, and that newly advanced yet enigmatic cultivator surnamed Yan, plus this new body cultivator—that's one more than our publicly known transformed combat force. With that, taking Silver Shark Island by force will become significantly more difficult."
Huo Xiao, who had been listening silently, frowned and interjected, "Humans are good at hiding their strengths; perhaps they have some hidden power."
Now that they have an additional combatant of the same level, this island will indeed be difficult to capture by force in the short term. It seems that we can only wait until Brother Jiao and Brother Feng have finished dealing with things in the Sea Abyss and are free to act.
"At that time, the five of us in human form will gather, and perhaps more, and we will press forward with overwhelming force. We might not only be able to destroy the island, but also seize the opportunity to capture one or two of their Nascent Soul cultivators, severely damaging the human race's strength in the outer seas."
Whale King clicked his tongue, his fleshy face twitching, and said regretfully, "Alas! What a pity! We thought it was a sure thing, that we could catch them off guard and achieve victory in one fell swoop. But this guy who appeared out of nowhere ruined everything! He ruined our grand plan! Old Ghost Zhang, did you see what that person looked like? What's his background?"
Upon hearing this, the short, stout, and burly man's eyes flashed with a sinister light. He raised his uninjured right hand and made a sweeping motion in the air.
"Whoosh—"
"6
A crystal-clear water curtain, about ten feet in diameter and composed entirely of pure water vapor, instantly formed before him.
Within the water curtain, light and shadow shifted, quickly outlining a figure in black robes, with an ordinary face but calm eyes, standing in mid-air—it was Luo Ming! The image was lifelike, even the detail of his robes fluttering slightly in the sea breeze, and the cold fighting spirit between his brows were clearly visible.
This was precisely the fragment of Luo Ming's appearance and aura recorded by the short, stout, and burly man using his innate water-based supernatural abilities combined with his powerful divine sense.
"This is the person," the short, stout man said coldly, pointing at the image in the water screen.
"He seems to cultivate the same body-refining technique as that Blood Fiend, his qi and blood are masculine and domineering. What's even stranger is that he can use a magnetic supernatural power similar to that of the Giant Race, which is quite effective against us water-attribute demons. As for whether he is related to that Blood Fiend—that's unknown. But this person's combat strength is definitely not below that Blood Fiend's, and may even be—more troublesome."
Whale King and Fire Owl both focused their gazes on Luo Ming's image in the water screen.
Whale King examined him closely for a few moments, then said in a deep voice, "His appearance is ordinary, nothing special. It's just that his eyes—they're a bit too calm. He seems to be a ruthless and experienced fellow."
The moment Huo Xiao saw Luo Ming's face, his pupils suddenly contracted! The cold expression on his face instantly shattered, replaced by an incredulous look of astonishment!
"It's...it's him?" Huo Xiao exclaimed in a low voice, his voice trembling noticeably.
Silver Shark Island, in its central area, lies a majestic hall shrouded in layers of restrictions and heavily guarded.
The hall was dimly lit, the air heavy, and filled with a solemn and oppressive atmosphere. Three figures, arranged in a triangular formation, sat on three tall jade chairs at the head of the hall.
The person on the left, dressed in the Star Palace's moon-white star robe, with a gentle face, is none other than the Star Palace representative stationed on Silver Shark Island, the Ninth Elder, a Nascent Soul stage cultivator.
On the right was a man of imposing stature, with red hair and a bushy beard. He wore a dark red, menacing armor that looked as if it had been soaked in blood. Even when he was sitting still, there was a faint aura of bloodlust and a surge of powerful blood energy around him, which made people feel awe. He was the Blood Fiend in Fengle Trading Company, second only to the Happy Old Man.
The person sitting in the center, however, appeared somewhat "unremarkable." He was thin and dressed in an inconspicuous gray outfit.
He wore an old Taoist robe and had an ordinary face, like any down-on-his-luck middle-aged man you could see anywhere on the streets.
He is a newly promoted Nascent Soul cultivator from Silver Shark Island in recent decades.
At this moment, a huge oval-shaped light screen composed of pure spiritual energy floated in front of the three of them. On the light screen, the massive beast horde surrounding Silver Shark Island was clearly displayed, slowly receding like the tide, yet still maintaining its basic formation, its demonic aura not completely dissipated.
"The demon race—have they just retreated like that?" Xue Sha stared intently at the light screen with his copper bell-like eyes, his thick red eyebrows tightly furrowed, his voice hoarse and filled with deep doubt and confusion.
"This time, they've been planning this for a long time, mobilizing far more troops than ever before. High-level demonic beasts are appearing one after another, and even a giant whale in the mid-stage of transformation is personally leading the charge. With the island's protective formation reaching its limit and victory seemingly in sight, why the sudden call to retreat? This doesn't seem like the demonic race's style. Unless—they've encountered some unexpected change, or an even greater threat?"
As a body cultivator, he was straightforward and spoke his mind. The ferocity of this beast tide had even put immense pressure on him. If it weren't for the island's protective array relying on the Silver Shark Island's spiritual veins, making it exceptionally sturdy, and the three Nascent Soul cultivators taking turns guarding the nodes, it would likely have been breached long ago. But at the most critical moment, the demon race inexplicably retreated, which was truly strange.
The Ninth Elder stroked his long beard, his eyes sparkling, and he also looked thoughtful. He slowly said, "What Fellow Daoist Blood Fiend said is exactly what I was wondering about. Just now, Fellow Daoist Yan and I were working together to deal with that giant whale demon cultivator. The opponent's demonic power was strong and its strength was immense. Although Fellow Daoist Yan and I were able to restrain it, we were still quite exhausted."
Furthermore, Fellow Daoist Blood Fiend was being held back by another early-stage Transformation Realm demonic bird. The lower-level demonic beasts below were simply too busy to attend to them. For the demon race to retreat at this moment would be unreasonable.
He paused, then turned his gaze to the silent, gray-robed middle-aged man in the center: "Fellow Daoist Yan, have you noticed anything unusual? Or received any special message?"
"I don't know either, but it's a good thing nonetheless. The demons' retreat, whatever the reason, has given us a precious chance to catch our breath. We can take advantage of this time to speed up our previous plans," the gray-robed middle-aged man said calmly.
He paused, a glint of almost fanatical brilliance flashing in his eyes, a stark contrast to his outward appearance. His voice lowered slightly: "Deep beneath the Sea King Sect's secret realm lies the Myriad Spirit Blood Pool—according to the inscriptions on the broken stele we deciphered, the primordial power of the blood essence contained within, if successfully activated and refined, would be enough to allow our cultivation to advance further in a short time!"
"At that time, let alone these few transformed demons outside, even if the Poisonous Dragon and the Rending Wind Beast that appeared decades ago came together, what would they matter? The entire sea area surrounding Silver Shark Island will belong to our human race! What do the feuds between the Star Palace and the Reverse Star Alliance matter in the face of such a great opportunity?"
Upon hearing this, the Ninth Elder and Blood Fiend exchanged a glance, both seeing a mixture of excitement and apprehension in each other's eyes. They had heard of Elder Yan's plan before and had even participated in some of the initial work on breaking the formation, but breaking the formation was far too difficult, requiring a very high level of spiritual power; otherwise, they could only use a brute-force method to slowly deplete the formation's power.
"Fellow Daoist Yan is quite right." The Ninth Elder pondered for a moment and then slowly spoke, "The most urgent task is to take advantage of the demon race's retreat to break through the last few core restrictions."
Xue Sha nodded emphatically and said in a deep voice, "Fellow Daoist Yan, the power in that blood pool is indeed tempting, but the dangers within are unknown, and the method of refining it is only deduced from incomplete texts. Isn't that too risky?"
The middle-aged man in gray robes glanced at Blood Fiend, a half-smile playing on his lips: "Fellow Daoist Blood Fiend, do you distrust my skills in formations, or—are you unwilling to share this opportunity with others? Rest assured, since I dared to propose this plan, I have some confidence in it. As for the risks—when is the path of cultivation without danger? If one fears risks, how can one speak of the Great Dao?"
Meanwhile, on the top floor of the "Bright Moon Pavilion" in the southeastern area of Silver Shark Island, in a quiet room with all restrictions lifted, Yuan Yao, Jiang Rufeng, and the others were all present. Luo Ming sat in the main seat, his brows furrowed, and asked Jiang Rufeng, "Are you saying that after I disappeared, that girl Mingyue entered the secret realm to look for me, and then disappeared as well?"
>