After storing the massive carcass of a Tier 3 Ring-Headed Turtle into his storage bag, Gu Shaoshang cast his gaze beneath the surface of the sea.
With just a single glance, he noticed something amiss.
That surge of spiritual energy fluctuation was no sign of a Red Rock Crab detonating itself.
“Baleful qi?”
Just as the doubt crossed his mind, his brows twitched. He pulled back at once and melted into the void.
Beneath the surface of the sea.
Luo Chen was slightly taken aback. A cultivator?
And a grand cultivator at the seventh layer of Golden Core, no less!
Suddenly, his expression shifted. Retracting his Blazing Fire Miasma, he silently slipped into the deep sea.
On the nearby large island, the battle was drawing to a close, and the Red Rock Crab clan would soon be able to spare forces to sweep the battlefield. This was no place to linger.
Long after both had departed, a figure flew over this stretch of sea.
After patrolling a circuit, confusion showed on his face.
Gone?
Neither his clansman nor the Demon King of the Ring-Headed Turtles was anywhere to be seen.
Could his clansman have been slain, and even the corpse carried away?
After searching a while longer, the Red Rock Crab Demon King could only return empty-handed. Fortunately, this large island had ultimately been conquered, bringing them one step closer to storming Xuanyan Island.
……
On a desolate island.
The moment Luo Chen returned to his cave dwelling, he wasted no time retrieving the recently slain Tier 3 Red Rock Crab from his storage ring.
Maneuvering a magical tool with a surge of magic power, he dismantled the carapace from the carcass, then immediately immersed it in a specially prepared medicinal solution.
Only when this step was complete did Luo Chen let out a breath of relief.
A Tier 3 demon crab no longer required live refinement for medicinal use.
Correspondingly, however, the materials harvested from its body had to be treated promptly in advance to prevent death qi from corrupting them.
If too much death qi seeped in, even if Black Emperor Paste were refined later, its quality would be extremely poor. In that case, the fish he had caught in troubled waters would have been caught for nothing.
All told, this was already the third Tier 3 demon crab he had quietly hunted down in recent months.
Luo Chen had almost abandoned the idea earlier.
Who could have foretold that the offensive of the demon crabs would suddenly change?
From being orderly and coordinated at the very beginning, their movements had grown disjointed, gradually degrading into every clan fighting for itself.
Combined with the increasingly fierce resistance put up by the Ring-Headed Turtles, the situation grew ever more chaotic!
This, in turn, gave Luo Chen ample opportunity.
With the Tier 3 Hidden Action Array engraved upon his body, as long as Luo Chen did not unleash grand-scale techniques, his strikes were virtually soundless and untraceable.
The previous two times, he had encountered two Tier 3 demon crabs that were heavily wounded after pyrrhic victories.
After quietly deploying his natal magic treasure, the Hunyuan Cauldron, he had captured them with ease.
This time had been easier still!
Thinking back on how the strike had unfolded, the youthful face of that grand cultivator surfaced in Luo Chen’s mind.
“Someone else is copying me and playing the mantis-stalking oriole?”
“A late-stage Golden Core…”
With a stir of his thoughts, Luo Chen sent out a sound transmission.
After a long time, an ordinary-looking gull circled in the sky a few times before alighting on this nameless deserted island.
Following a specific path, she made her way forward until she entered the cave dwelling where Luo Chen was.
“Master, Tianxuan has returned. What are your orders?”
The young man facing away from her turned around, holding a painting that depicted a lifelike portrait of a man.
Before he could speak, Tianxuan caught sight of the portrait and blurted out, “Gu Shaoshang!”
“It truly is him.”
Luo Chen nodded slightly. A flame flared in his hand, burning the freshly painted portrait to ashes.
He knew it. In this Xuanyan Sea Domain where humans rarely set foot, why would a grand cultivator of the seventh layer of Golden Core appear out of nowhere?
If it was Gu Shaoshang, it came as no surprise.
After all, Gu Shaoshang had arrived long ago and had even collaborated with the royal crab clans.
The only strange thing was that while the Feiyun Ravine cultivators had clearly evacuated the Xuanyan Sea Domain, Gu Shaoshang had returned alone, playing the oriole behind the mantis just like himself.
“His objective is clear—he is after Tier 3 Ring-Headed Turtles.”
“Just as I am after Tier 3 crab kings!”
“Yet, since he had already allied with the demon crabs earlier, why stoop so low as to mimic my stealthy tactics?”
Murmuring to himself, Luo Chen fell into deep thought.
Tianxuan stood respectfully by, not daring to disturb him in the least.
After a long while, Luo Chen came to himself, speaking hesitantly.
“Returning alone to act as the oriole… Did he fear the demon crabs would slaughter the donkey once the grinding was done, and so chose to rely on his cultivation to act alone?”
It had to be said that Luo Chen’s speculation was practically identical to the truth.
Or rather, arriving at this conclusion was hardly difficult.
Concealed by Luo Chen’s stealth arts, the Tianxuan Battle Gull wheeled perpetually high in the heavens, monitoring the tide of the great war on his behalf.
During this time, she had seen Feiyun Ravine cultivators loading Ring-Headed Turtle carcasses onto demon-hunting ships multiple times.
This was clearly one of the terms of cooperation between human and demon.
Previously, he had assumed the Feiyun Ravine cultivators had earned their fill and hurriedly departed.
Now, it appeared Gu Shaoshang possessed an appetite that was far from small.
Naturally, Gu Shaoshang was also very cautious, sending away the weaker disciples of his sect first before returning alone to hunt more Ring-Headed Turtles.
This led Luo Chen to another thought.
“Should I take advantage of his being alone to kill him and avenge Tianxuan?”
The grudge involving Tianxuan was not merely a matter of pride.
It was because the Tianxuan Battle Gull had been captured that three Demon Spider Crab Demon Kings stormed Tianxuan Island, thereby exposing Luo Chen’s location.
Otherwise, he would not need to take such risks now, personally venturing onto the battlefield to hunt demon crabs.
After careful consideration, Luo Chen shelved the idea for the time being.
“Never mind!”
“The priority right now is still to quietly hunt more Tier 3 demon crabs, securing more Black Emperor Paste to temper my physique for the late Desolate Ancient Tier 3 stage.”
“Creating unnecessary complications would only do more harm than good.”
Luo Chen knew how to distinguish the primary from the secondary.
The current battlefield was chaotic and convoluted, perfect for him to fish in troubled waters and reap profits.
If he stirred up side issues and alerted the five royal crab clans, he would easily invite even greater trouble.
Furthermore!
To deal with a late Golden Core grand cultivator, his current abilities would require him to bring out every trick in his repertoire.
Whether he could take him down was one matter; causing too great a commotion was quite another.
After all, the master of the evil flood dragon and the thieving gull was a sworn enemy of the crab clans!
Having established his priorities, Luo Chen looked at Tianxuan.
“What is the current state of the war between the crabs and the turtles?”
Tianxuan replied without hesitation, “Fifty-four islands have fallen; only eighteen remain under the control of the Ring-Headed Turtle clan. From what I have observed, the five royal crab clans are determined to win this battle, having dispatched nearly all the elites of their clans. Conquering the remaining eighteen islands is only a matter of days!”
Only eighteen large islands left?
Luo Chen turned the number over in his mind, a contemplative look appearing on his face.
The Nine Palaces Bagua Array used nine islands as a single formation eye, divided into eight sectors to form a Bagua formation that guarded Xuanyan Island at its core.
In other words, the eighteen large islands represented the final two formation eyes.
They would either hold or break; once broken, the chain reaction would seal the outcome of this war once and for all.
There was not much time left for him either!
“Continue monitoring the battlefield. Notify me immediately once a major battle erupts.”
“Yes, Master!”
“How are things on Black King’s end?”
“According to the formation diagram Master provided, Big Black has gotten very close to Xuanyan Island. However, infiltrating it might prove somewhat difficult.”
Hearing this, Luo Chen nodded.
The Nine Palaces Bagua Array appeared grand, but was rather unrefined in practice.
Otherwise, Gu Shaoshang would not have found its flaws so easily and broken them one by one.
On his side, with Han Zhan’s guidance and the Fengshen Compass’s Spirit-Searching Soul-Seeking method, the flow of the grand array was even more transparent and clear.
Thus, long before this, he had instructed Black King to take advantage of the raging war to quietly slip into the inner array as a contingency.
“Inform Black King that once he reaches Xuanyan Island, he should follow the formation diagram I gave him, go to the designated location, and bury the Fengshen Compass.”
Tianxuan asked in surprise, “Master, are you planning to go to the island as well?”
Luo Chen smiled freely. “If it truly comes to that, I too would like to witness with my own eyes how this war concludes. Such a spectacle should be magnificent, I imagine!”
Personally observing the rise, fall, and survival of a race could be considered a wondrous experience in one’s cultivation life.
Even if he gained nothing tangible, it would still serve as excellent conversation material when conversing with fellow Daoists in the future.
……
Time flowed by slowly.
Deprived of Gu Shaoshang’s command, the demon crabs’ attacks became chaotic.
Yet as each clan formed its own independent army, eliminating mutual friction, the command chaos was also effectively alleviated.
The price paid for this was that each of the five royal crab clans saw their casualties increase by thirty percent.
Not only did low-tier crabs suffer, but even the losses among their higher-tier combatants spiked sharply.
A Great Demon King had personally tallied the losses: the five clans had sacrificed nearly twenty Tier 3 Demon Kings throughout this campaign.
On the side of the Ring-Headed Turtles, the losses were even more devastating!
Even so, the resistance of the Ring-Headed Turtles never ceased; in fact, it grew all the more resolute, contesting every inch of territory.
The five royal crab clans were equally unyielding!
The battle line steadily advanced.
From the initial seventy-two islands, to thirty-six, then down to eighteen.
Without realizing it, the campaign of shattering formations and conquering islands had dragged on for nearly a year.
Until, at last, the patriarchs of the five royal clans set foot on Kongshe Island together.
Jin Hun, Chi Yan, Zhu Xiang, Jiu Zhua, Lü Xiu.
The five immense bodies, revealed in their full forms, towered over Kongshe Island.
Behind them stood an army of millions of demon crabs.
Before them lay a massive island spanning a thousand li in circumference!
Seen from the air from afar, it resembled a vast continent.
This was Xuanyan Island!
“Decades of plotting, five years of bitter warfare, and we have finally reached this place. Everyone, success or failure rests entirely upon this final battle!” Jin Hun boomed. There was no trace of weariness in his voice, only surging, boundless ambition.
Beside him, the other four demons harbored complex feelings of their own.
Some of them had simply seized the opportune moment, joining the war only near the end.
Others had prepared long beforehand, secretly tracking the progress of the Overlord Crab clan all along.
Regardless, the price each clan had paid was immense.
Lü Xiu blinked her eyes, speaking with a touch of melancholy, “To reach this point, my Qingdi Crab clan has lost seven Tier 3 clansmen, not to mention countless Tier 2 and Tier 1 brethren. Even now, the corpses of several Tier 3 clansmen have yet to be recovered.”
Zhu Xiang said impassively, “All sacrifices are worth it. So long as we take Xuanyan Island!”
“Whining and weeping—anyone listening would think you were one of those frail human cultivators indulging in sentimentality,” Chi Yan sneered.
Jiu Zhua, however, was already unable to contain himself, baring the fangs in his maw.
“When do we strike?”
Jin Hun raised his giant pincer high. “With only the final step remaining, there is no need to delay. No day is better than today—let it be today!”
As he spoke, his giant pincer crashed down.
“Attack!”
With that roar, he leaped into the sky.
Rising with him were the other four patriarchs.
Under the gaze of millions, the five demons tore through the air, charging straight toward that expansive, colossal island.
As they surged forward, the island shuddered violently, and a pillar of light shot up from the ground.
Majestic spiritual energy erupted from the depths of the earth.
A terrifying suction force permeated all directions.
Alas, this suction lacked any resonance.
The Nine Palaces and Bagua were already broken. The remaining central palace, devoid of resonance from the outer positions, was nothing more than an isolated island.
Before that pillar of light could fully unfurl and take shape, the five patriarchs struck simultaneously, unleashing matchless demon qi to shatter it completely.
With the pillar of light blasted apart, waves of tremors echoed across Xuanyan Island.
Several lofty mountains on the island collapsed.
The earth churned, as though an earth dragon were turning in its sleep.
Torrents of seawater surged in from all directions, gathering momentum like sweeping tsunamis.
Before anyone knew it, cold-eyed Ring-Headed Turtles had surfaced across the island, primed and ready to fight to defend their homeland.
No words were wasted!
At the command of the five patriarchs, millions of demon crabs began their amphibious assault on Xuanyan Island.
In an instant, war cries shook the heavens and earth.
An endless rain of blood fell, and foul-smelling demon qi choked the air.
……
“Time for me to go ashore as well.”
Amidst the demon crab army, a Tier 2 demon crab moved at a sluggish pace, looking slightly out of place.
Beneath its carapace, inside its abdomen, Luo Chen wore a look of mild wonder as he piloted this demon crab puppet slowly forward.
Yes, a demon crab puppet!
This demon crab was a simple puppet Han Zhan had taken the time to craft for Luo Chen.
Its offensive and defensive capabilities were mediocre at best, but its virtue lay in concealing its presence.
Furthermore, after attaining great accomplishment in the Breath Concealment Spiritual Art, Luo Chen had acquired the technique to draw in the aura of others to disguise and imitate them.
With the two combined, unless scrutinized closely, almost no one would notice anything amiss about this demon crab.
As Luo Chen piloted it, a bizarre sensation welled up in his mind.
“It feels a bit like piloting a mecha from the sci-fi stories in my past life.”
Muttering to himself, the demon crab puppet moved its eight legs and matched the pace of the advancing army.
Yet once on the island, rather than joining the fray immediately, it picked a direction, detached from the main force, and quietly slipped away.
As he advanced, clashes broke out constantly along the way, but Luo Chen avoided them as much as possible.
Suddenly, Luo Chen paused in his tracks and directed his gaze toward a certain spot.
There, amid shifting spiritual light, a figure slowly coalesced.
“It’s him!”
Gu Shaoshang had come as well.
Yet compared to Luo Chen’s soundless advance, Gu Shaoshang’s whereabouts were somewhat exposed.
Under normal circumstances, when demon beasts were few, it might have been fine, but on a battlefield teeming with beasts, the sudden appearance of a human cultivator was far too conspicuous.
No sooner had he appeared than Gu Shaoshang was forced to personally slay two demon beasts.
Luo Chen cast a glance in that direction with no intention of getting involved, steering the demon crab away from the heart of the battlefield.
“Strike!”
On the battlefield, Gu Shaoshang held his fingers like a sword, controlling a flying sword to reap the lives of nearby demon beasts.
He felt rather helpless.
He was not skilled in stealth techniques to begin with, nor had he anticipated that so many demon beasts would take part in this final decisive battle.
With a single misstep, he had ended up exposing himself.
Seeing two Demon Kings flying toward him from a distance, he had no choice but to pull back and fly outward, away from Xuanyan Island.
“In this final battle, I fear I won’t even have the chance to spectate.”
In his helplessness, a glance from the corner of his eye caught a mismatched demon crab scurrying in the opposite direction.
What a strange demon crab—disobeying even the orders of its clan’s kings?
Luo Chen naturally had no idea that for a brief moment, he had fallen under Gu Shaoshang’s gaze.
All he knew was that everything was proceeding smoothly.
Along the way, by deliberately taking detours, he steered clear of skirmishes large and small.
Finally, the demon crab puppet came to a halt in a miasma-shrouded swamp mire.
Its eight legs stopped.
The miasma seemed to part as if blown by a breeze, opening a path.
A giant python with a single horn on its head poked its head out inquisitively, eyeing the demon crab with confusion.
Yet when a divine sense transmission reached its ears, it reacted immediately.
“Welcome, Master!”
The demon crab gave no reply, stepping forward into the swamp.
The moment it entered, the carapace popped open, and Luo Chen stepped out.
Looking left and right, he showed a satisfied expression.
“Though harsh, this place connects to a deep-sea spring, providing an orderly retreat or advance. It will serve well as our base! Black King, you have done well!”
As he spoke, he casually tossed over a jade bottle.
Black King caught it as if receiving a priceless treasure.
“Master, are we going to join the battle?” he asked tentatively, cradling the jade bottle.
The corners of Luo Chen’s mouth curled slightly.
Join the battle?
Of course he would, but he could not act rashly.
The priority right now was to observe the battlefield’s situation first!
Without answering Black King, Luo Chen found a dry patch within the swamp and sat cross-legged.
The Fengshen Compass surfaced before him.
Circulating his natal cultivation method, he drew in the surrounding worldly spiritual energy and cast a spell before even converting it.
Soon, a massive water mirror slowly took shape.
Within the mirror, battles across the island were depicted vividly.
Yet due to the violent eruptions of demon qi and spiritual energy, the water mirror began to ripple incessantly, appearing rather unstable.
“Even with my divine soul rivaling the late Golden Core stage, I cannot sustain the Water Mirror Art amidst a battle of this scale?”
Murmuring to himself, Luo Chen could only accept reality.
However, he had other means.
“Senior Han, I must trouble you to lend a hand.”
From within the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, Han Zhan reluctantly manifested his form.
“You rascal…”
As he spoke, he pointed a finger through the air toward the water mirror.
In an instant, the mirror surface became as steady as solid stone!
Chapter 552