Immortality and cultivation begin with drawing talismans.

Chapter 194 The beast tide is coming
Two months later.

In the boundless depths of the sea near Wulong Island and Xingji Island, enormous creatures swim.

The sky was covered with dark clouds, the sea was turbulent, and in the dark waters, there were countless terrifying figures.

"Puch!"

Amidst the splashing water, a colossal creature, three zhang long, crashed onto a deserted island, immediately unleashing a piercing roar.

Then one after another, giant skeletal sea monsters appeared, crowding onto the shore. The male sea monsters, however, were putting on a show of their powerful bodies in the storm.

It attracted a variety of sea creatures of different sexes.

This sea area is too vast. Even though countless cultivators have come to this deserted island to form groups and hunt monsters, the island has not even covered one percent of the area.

Another point is that the deserted islands that human cultivators search for are not too far apart from each other, since no one is afraid of encountering any unforeseen circumstances.

Jade Spirit Island.

"The beast tide is coming. All cultivators, prepare yourselves."

During the beast tide, merchant ships that usually sail the seas have long since disappeared.

Meanwhile, the island's protective array slowly activated, and a twilight glow shimmering with spiritual energy gradually formed a barrier, sealing off the entire island.

Meanwhile, on the island, one can also see groups of strong mortals and Qi Refining cultivators, venturing out to hunt at the array barrier.

"As expected, the people are simple and honest; even these mortals are used to hunting sea monsters."

Seeing this, Lin Chang'an nodded secretly. This formation was specially set up by the Bihai Palace, and he had studied it before.

Taking advantage of the terrain is purely defensive.

It's old, yet very practical.

"But I really didn't expect that I could earn spirit stones from rogue cultivators and mortals during a beast tide."

Recalling what happened on the island some time ago, Lin Chang'an couldn't help but show a strange expression.

These ordinary people and independent cultivators wanted to rely on array formations and barriers to hunt sea beasts, which greatly increased their safety, so naturally many of them were willing to do so.

This generates profits.

The three major families discussed with them that the leading cultivators could register and pay the fees using the array jade tokens.

In this way, one can use the jade token to pass through the formation and hunt down monsters during the beast tide.

Once the beast tide has passed, the three major families' merchant guilds will collect countless monster resources and trade them together, while also taking a cut of the profits.

Of course, they all received a share of this expense.

"Indeed, whether they are mortals or cultivators, the strongest instinct is survival."

Lin Chang'an's attitude towards the way of life of ordinary people in this place has evolved from initial amazement to understanding and acceptance.

If ordinary people weren't so tenacious, they wouldn't have been able to develop like this.

"coming!"

Just then, from beneath the raging waves, one after another ferocious beast appeared.

The larger ones were three zhang in size, while the smaller ones were over one zhang long, each revealing its crimson pupils amidst the lightning and thunder.

"The male giant bone sea fish beasts of this period are also at their most aggressive."

One by one, sea beasts climbed onto the island. Their speed was no longer as fast as in the water, but their hard scales and extremely large bodies still made them incredibly powerful once on land.

The sea monsters crashed against the water curtain barrier, producing a dull thud.

Many sea monsters, after failing to break through, would turn and go elsewhere, but some naturally violent and powerful sea monsters would not give up and would break through frantically.

Some rogue cultivators and powerful mortals formed small teams to pass through the formation and attack lone sea beasts. If they sensed something was wrong, they would quickly hide inside the formation.

Moreover, the array jade tablet can only open an entrance about six feet wide, which completely restricts the entry of even sea beasts due to their enormous size.

Dark clouds filled the sky, and lightning flashed and thunder roared.

Beneath the dark, raging waves, pairs of crimson beastly eyes emerged, sending chills down one's spine.

……

"Most of them are first-tier demonic beasts, with only one or two second-tier ones, and they are all quite cautious."

Outside his own array tower, Lin Chang'an calmly walked out of the array barrier.

The next moment, countless sea beasts in the distance revealed their bloodthirsty eyes, as if they had smelled the scent of food.

For human cultivators, demonic beasts are also a great source of nourishment.

However, Lin Chang'an was too lazy to even make a move against these sea monsters.

With a single moo, the imposing mid-stage second-tier spirit pet, the Azure Horned Ox, charged out.

With its sharp horns, it can easily pick off a bull's head; with its strong hooves, it can crush even the hardest head when stepped on.

It was a complete stomp.

The phoenix transformed into a golden light, darting back and forth, each time accurately piercing the hard head, instantly killing the victim.

"Alright, let's finish this quickly, this battle has only just begun."

With a calm expression, Lin Chang'an infused a stream of magical power into the two beasts.

His magical power not only helps himself, but also has a miraculous effect on his spirit pets.

It accelerates the recovery of mana and provides immunity to toxins of the same level.

Then Lin Chang'an took out a bone conch-shaped magic artifact, which he had bought at the market.

It was made from the throat bone of a second-tier female giant bone sea fish beast. It had no other function than to produce this special sound.

As he blew on it with his magic, the conch shell emitted a strange sound. The sound wasn't loud, but it was extremely attractive to the giant skeletal sea fish beast.

This was also his weapon for luring second-tier sea beasts.

Although second-tier demonic beasts are not weak in intelligence, even adult cultivators are prone to lust and sexual urges, let alone demonic beasts.

"coming!"

Amidst the dark, surging waves, pairs of crimson beastly eyes pierced the Green Horned Ox, causing its fur to stand on end and its eyes to widen in astonishment.

It wasn't afraid of a dozen or even several dozen first-tier demonic beasts, but a densely packed group of first-tier demonic beasts would make even it feel fear.

Not to mention the presence of several second-tier demonic beasts lurking in the darkness.

The phoenix flew directly onto Lin Chang'an's shoulder, looking as if it were fighting alongside its master, but its bright eyes shone through.

It was clearly a plan to escape with their owner under the pretense that things were going wrong.

"Alright, I've raised you for so many years and you've consumed so many of my spirit stones, it's time to pay back the debt."

Lin Chang'an smiled calmly, then waved his hand, and instantly a thick fog rose up, connecting the mountain forest to the beach.

As the fog slowly dissipated, it was as if nothing had happened.

Within the formation, however, a barrier covering an extremely large area could be clearly seen.

The array barrier began to absorb spiritual energy and transform it into rich fire-attribute spiritual energy.

In an instant, countless fire-devouring demon spirits began to gather above the formation.

However, these Fire-Devouring Demons are different from the formations we encountered in the secret realm, not only in their power, but more importantly, they are missing something.

"The formation is not yet perfect. We can use this beast tide to sharpen it and increase its power."

The array plate and array flags are still lacking in malevolent energy, which is why his array is not yet perfect.

As the sound of the conch shell artifact echoed in the sea, countless sea beasts surged toward this place from the dark waters.

As the sea monsters came ashore, their ferocious roars intimidated the weaker ones.

This caused many weaker sea creatures to instinctively flee back into the sea in fear, continuing to seek out weaker competitive territories.

Once ashore, the sea beasts, their eyes blazing red, charged toward the sandy mountains and forests ahead.

The enormous sea monster disappeared into the grass as if it had vanished, as if a deep abyss was hidden there, devouring everything.

Using formations to hunt sea beasts is the choice of most cultivators with resources, while many others cannot afford to buy formations and can only rely on their passion and experience.

……

Inside the Blood Fiend Crimson Sun Formation.

One after another, fiery demon spirits radiating intense heat surged forward, and the sea beasts that rushed in panicked as if they had entered a world of flames.

Although water can overcome fire, under the favorable terrain of the formation, fire overcomes water.

"These sea beasts have thick hides and are equipped with both water and earth attributes. Even the Fire Devouring Demon Spirit can only suppress them for a while, and it will also damage its scales."

Lin Chang'an, who was in charge of the formation, frowned. If he operated the formation at full power, he could summon several second-tier fire spirits, the power of which would be controlled according to the consumption. "Perfect, I'll use this to test the limits of my divine ability and the recovery power of my self-healing body."

Since preparing to relocate from Tianxuan City, he has exchanged most of the resources he acquired for spirit liquid to cultivate his natal spirit plant.

Thanks to the nourishment from his natal spiritual plant, his self-healing ability has been greatly enhanced in the past two years.

As he thought of this, a cold glint flashed in Lin Chang'an's eyes, and the top-grade magic weapon, the Azure Scale Sword, appeared. In an instant, a sword beam disappeared in a flash.

Sword Shadow at Will: This divine power condenses a sword beam.

He pierced through a second-stage early-stage demonic beast directly, and the remaining force did not diminish. Under his mental control, the beast moved rapidly.

Upon witnessing the power of the sword's edge, Lin Chang'an revealed a satisfied smile.

This supernatural ability is highly valued even by the Blood Fiend True Man, who is in the late stage of Core Formation.

Condensing a sword beam requires a significant amount of his magical power, but once the sword beam is condensed, as long as it is not destroyed, it does not consume much magical power to operate.

At least for him, it wasn't much.

"Moreover, I can feel the speed at which my internal mana is recovering."

The cultivation technique he practices, with its self-healing body nurtured by his natal spiritual plant, excels at protracted battles and wars of attrition.

However, once his mana is depleted by half, Lin Chang'an will cautiously retreat and rely on the formation and his spirit pets to fight.

He himself began to regain his magical powers.

Although he wanted to try, he wouldn't put himself in danger.

"Based on past experience with beast tides, this beast tide will last for a maximum of two months."

Two months is enough time.

When cultivators are under prolonged high-intensity combat, both their mana recovery and spiritual consciousness will slow down.

These two months are enough for him to try out how far he can go with long-term high-intensity operation.

"However, dealing with these monsters is really troublesome."

Looking at the corpses of the monsters scattered on the ground, Lin Chang'an was helpless. If he left them inside the formation, they would be dried out and their value would be greatly reduced.

One or two might not be worth much, but in large quantities, they are all glittering spirit stones.

Therefore, the only option was to use the manipulation technique to transport all the monster corpses to the outside of the array barrier behind them.

There's no need to worry about the flesh being damaged, since Qi Refining cultivators can achieve a state where their bodies don't decay after they pass away.

These demonic beasts, by absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, can naturally do the same.

Of course, this is all predicated on having a good environment.

He froze it with magic, enough to preserve it perfectly.

Inside the formation, the Green Horned Ox and the Phoenix Bird gradually learned to cooperate and conserve their energy.

Using its agility, the Green Horned Ox directly knocked over the massive sea beast, while the Phoenix Bird cooperated by piercing through the softest part of its abdomen.

It was easily killed by the Phoenix Bird.

Even second-tier sea beasts have almost no power to resist in front of these two beasts.

The other Foundation Establishment cultivators on the island also used formations to hunt down demonic beasts.

The difference is that after hunting monsters for a while, they all carefully recover their magic power, adjust themselves to their best condition, and then continue hunting.

After all, any danger can be encountered in a beast tide.

Some cheered, while others screamed in agony.

Unexpected events always occur when hunting monsters.

Human cultivators can be easily torn into pieces and swallowed by demonic beasts.

……

As the rabbit runs and the crow flies, the sea may experience either a raging storm for half a month or a clear, cloudless sky.

Climate change is unpredictable.

"Old Lin, I've finally encountered a mid-stage Tier 2 sea beast..."

Inside the Blood Fiend Crimson Sun Formation, upon hearing Old Hu's voice transmitted through the sound transmission talisman, Lin Chang'an couldn't help but show a speechless expression, though there was still some envy in his eyes.

"Old Hu is really lucky; he actually managed to encounter a mid-stage second-tier demonic beast."

In the past month or so, he has encountered very few early-stage second-tier demonic beasts, let alone mid-stage second-tier demonic beasts.

However, he was mentally prepared for this.

"As a demon beast's cultivation level increases, its intelligence also increases. Due to its natural instinct to seek good fortune and avoid misfortune, highly intelligent demon beasts will avoid islands inhabited by human cultivators."

In particular, the instinct of monsters to sense danger is also a great advantage.

However, the greatest strength of the beast tide is its sheer number.

As the phoenix sang, it excitedly carried a demon core over, which brought a satisfied smile to Lin Chang'an's face.

"Another early-stage second-tier demonic beast, well done."

In the past month or so, including this one, a total of twenty-seven second-tier sea beasts have been killed, all of them being in the early stages of the second tier.

There were a bunch of first-tier sea beasts, which he didn't count; they would be handed over to the three races' merchant guild for processing later.

"Although the quality is not as good, the quantity is not bad."

Lin Chang'an was already quite satisfied. If he wanted to hunt high-level monsters, he would have to risk going to the outer sea.

Especially on the deserted spirit island, once you are exposed, the near-third-tier demonic beasts will not run away if they sense that you are the only one there.

It could even attract a large number of high-level monsters.

In the eyes of human cultivators, demonic beasts are resources for cultivation, and in the eyes of demonic beasts, human cultivators are also food that greatly enhances their cultivation.

"There's no need to take that risk. What I need now is to proceed steadily and surely."

Looking at the twenty-seven early-stage second-tier demon cores in the beast pouch, Lin Chang'an nodded in satisfaction.

The profit from the demon core alone is nearly two thousand mid-grade spirit stones.

Foundation Building Pills are priced at around 7,000 low-grade spirit stones in the Demon Beast Sea Abyss, while a second-tier early-stage demon core costs 70 mid-grade spirit stones.

The cost of refining Foundation Establishment Pills, including all the materials, is around 90 mid-grade spirit stones. The success rate is generally two or three pills, and sometimes the furnace explodes if you're unlucky.

This doesn't even include the value of leather armor, teeth, and monster meat. For an ordinary cultivator, during the beast tide frenzy, two months of good luck could earn them the equivalent of ten years' worth of income.

A cautious and careful cultivator can earn enough for several years' worth of income.

Similarly, during the beast tide, countless cultivators also became food for the monsters.

"But this self-healing body is really outrageous."

After fighting at high intensity for more than a month, Lin Chang'an could clearly feel that his body and mind were not tired at all.

"Once we get into a protracted war of attrition, even without using any talismans, I can wear down a pseudo-core cultivator to death."

Let alone ordinary cultivators, even Core Formation cultivators will experience a gradual decrease in mana recovery after intense and continuous battles.

But he was just a cultivator in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, yet he was able to maintain this peak state for so long.

"This trip was very fruitful."

The "Sword Shadow at Will" divine ability, when used normally, generates sword light that attacks with power comparable to a top-grade offensive spiritual weapon. If it self-destructs, its power is comparable to a small talisman.

At the same time, as the battle raged, a large amount of malevolent energy was absorbed by the array plates and flags. The previously pure, fiery red array flags were now tainted with traces of malevolent energy.

"Although the formation has consumed a lot of spirit stones in the past month or so, it has also increased the power of the formation and killed so many sea beasts."

Looking at the sea beast corpses scattered all over the ground behind him, Lin Chang'an was helpless. A cultivator's storage bag could only hold his own everyday items.

These are monsters that can easily be several meters in size; even one of them would be difficult to contain.

"After I digest what I've gained this time, I'll accumulate enough to support my breakthrough in seclusion."

Lin Chang'an couldn't help but nod secretly.

The beast tide was terrifying at first, but as time went by, more and more sea beasts returned to the sea after they finished, making it increasingly rare for sea beasts to be lured up again.

But this also became an exciting time for countless low-level rogue cultivators, as they could form groups to hunt as the beast tide was about to end.

……

As the beast tide was about to end, on a deserted island, the Lu family and the Jiexiu Wang family boarded merchant ships and sailed towards Jade Spirit Island.

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(End of this chapter)