309: Chapter 309 Three-Headed Serpent Dragon

"Fellow Daoist Chen, focus on what's ahead of you. Leave the other direction to me," Yu Hongyuan said.

Chen Lingyang nodded. A water arrow was less than a hundred feet away from him; he controlled the chiyang sword and thrust it out in a strike.

The two attacks collided. The chiyang sword was sent flying back, but the water arrow was also deflected, blasting into the sea surface not far from him.

The water arrow was immensely powerful, but its attack pattern was too simple and required a long charging time. As long as one dodged or blocked it, the enemy would be unable to strike again in a short period.

However, it seemed there were more than just one or two of these Rank-Two Water Arrow Fish—there were at least ten or more.

Nearby, Yu Hongyuan also deflected an incoming water arrow. He was knocked back by the force of the impact, but fortunately, he was prepared, so he didn't head-on block the attacks and almost get taken down like Chen Lingyang had initially.

Aside from these Water Arrow Fish, there were other Rank-Two Sea Demons. A giant serpent with three heads emerged from the sea. As its three gaping mouths opened, three columns of water blasted forth.

Chen Lingyang dodged while controlling the chiyang sword to counterattack.

Seeing that its opponent could still counterattack, the Three-Headed Serpent Dragon stopped its meaningless bombardment. It opened its massive mouths, sucking a huge amount of seawater into its abdomen like a dragon drawing water, and then spat it out toward Chen Lingyang.

This attack was even faster than the previous water columns, and each column was significantly larger than before.

Yu Hongyuan watched Chen Lingyang locked in fierce combat. He wanted to go over and help, but he was targeted by other Rank-Two Sea Demons as well.

Seeing this, Ning Qingluo left Chen Lixuan in charge of protecting the Formation, while she stepped outside the Formation to assist Chen Lingyang in dealing with the Three-Headed Serpent Dragon.

The Three-Headed Serpent Dragon's cultivation had reached the Peak of Rank-Two Medium Grade, making it even stronger than Chen Lingyang. Alone, he would never be able to defeat it, especially while having to dodge sneak attacks from other Rank-Two Water Arrow Fish.

With Ning Qingluo's help, the pressure on Chen Lingyang reduced significantly. The two combined their efforts against the Three-Headed Serpent Dragon, beating it into continuous retreat.

Had the Water Arrow Fish not intervened, the two of them might have actually been able to slay the Three-Headed Serpent Dragon right then and there.

After exchanging blows for several full hours, the Rank-Two Sea Demons ceased their attacks, and Chen Lingyang's group returned to Sihai Island.

The Rank-Two Sea Demons significantly outnumbered them, but most were not particularly strong, having only reached the Realm in cultivation level alone.

Coupled with a few Talismans given by Chen Changqing—which allowed them to kill several Rank-Two Sea Demons along the way—they were able to hold out for so long.

Besides these factors, there was another even more crucial reason: although a considerable number of Sea Demons were besieging them, even more had actually bypassed Sihai Island and headed toward the inland. For some unknown reason, they seemed to be fearful of something.

These Sea Demons that hadn't left weren't truly unwilling to leave; rather, their flee route to the inland passed right through Sihai Island. If they hadn't fought back, the Sea Demons would have trampled Sihai Island flat.

Furthermore, most Sea Demons possessed low intelligence. Once attacked, they viewed it as a provocation. Many Sea Demons were naturally cruel and quick-tempered, and since the Human Race was a prime supplement for certain Sea Demons, they naturally attacked any humans they spotted.

Of course, not all Sea Demons were like this. Many were mild-mannered and generally wouldn't attack humans unless provoked. Some even maintained good relations with the Human Race.

Among the Human Race, some Sect forces even raised Sea Demons as Spirit Beasts to guard their Sects.

Getting a rare moment of rest, Chen Lingyang's group returned to their Immortal Caves and immediately took Healing Medicinal Pills to recover.

Meanwhile, Chen Lixuan sat cross-legged in the center of the market, keeping the Formation safe while listening to reports from the subordinate Qi Refining Cultivators.

"Reporting to Senior, a total of 147 Qi Refining Cultivators from our Sihai Island participated in the battle. Among them, seven are at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, thirteen at the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining... and as many as thirty-seven at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining."

"Out of these 147 Qi Refining Cultivators, ten squads comprising fifty Qi Refining Cultivators left the Formation to kill Yao Beasts. Over half were killed or injured, with only twenty-one returning alive."

"Additionally, we killed a total of 762 Rank-One Sea Demons and six Rank-Two Sea Demons—including three at Rank-Two Low Grade, two at Rank-Two Medium Grade, and one at Rank-Two High Grade," Yu Pengqi reported steadily.

Chen Lixuan nodded and instructed, "Those Rank-Two Sea Demons won't attack again anytime soon. Make the arrangements as you see fit."

"Understood," Yu Pengqi said, cupping his hands in respect and nodding.

Watching him depart, Chen Lixuan pushed all other thoughts aside and began meditating to Cultivate.

A few more days passed. After the initial panic and chaos on the Human Race's side, the beast tide was finally brought under control.

However, many Sea Demons had attacked the coastal borders of various kingdoms, and the initial island archipelagos in those sea regions were destroyed. So even though it was contained, the losses remained significant.

Many coastal Families were wiped out by the beast tide. In this battle alone, over a hundred Foundation Establishment Families and Qi Refining Families in the Han Kingdom were destroyed.

A massive number of Sea Demons had also swarmed the area around Chenwu Mountain. Fortunately, Sihai Island had diverted over half of the Sea Demons, and most of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators from the Chen Family and three allied Families were still present. With Foundation Establishment Cultivators participating and utilizing the Rank-Two Top Grade Formation provided by Chen Changqing, it was enough to withstand the attacks of these Sea Demons.

In another mountain range adjacent to theirs, most of the local Foundation Establishment Cultivators had been drafted by the Jiayi Sect, leaving no capable leaders to manage the situation. The tragic state over there was something the few Families didn't even dare to imagine.

Besides, they could barely look after themselves, let alone have spare energy to care about others.

Even several Qi Refining Families under their command had been destroyed.

The Qi Refining Cultivators from these Qi Refining Families had directly abandoned their ancestral lands, seeking protection from the Foundation Establishment Families instead.

Chen Changxuan stood at the Peak of Chenwu Mountain, watching Chen Lingzhi take action.

Aside from being one of the most outstanding cultivation Geniuses on Chenwu Mountain today, Chen Lingzhi's cultivation had reached the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, with strength only second to Foundation Establishment Cultivators like them.

As the one in the Chen Family with the potential to become their third Foundation Establishment Cultivator after himself and Chen Lixuan, she naturally needed extra protection. If she died here, he wouldn't be able to answer to the rest of the Chen Family.

Chen Changxuan cared for Chen Lingzhi to a degree that even his own children couldn't match.

Even though Chen Lingjing was already leading a squad of Cultivators to guard one of the Chen Family's fronts.

Besides them, the Chen Family's Patriarch, Chen Changqi, was also leading a team to guard a front. As Patriarch, he had to lead by example in a situation like this, so he guarded the main front.

As they were fighting, a Rank-Two Sea Demon launched a sudden surprise attack. Seeing this, Chen Changxuan acted immediately, striking down with his sword and slashing the Rank-Two Sea Demon back into the sea.

Seeing this, all the Cultivators turned their eyes toward Chen Changxuan.

The younger generation in particular stared intently with bright eyes at their Old Ancestor.