113: Chapter 113 The Beast Tide is Coming, Time to Rip Off!

...

Two men and a bear rented an Immortal Cave and temporarily settled down there.

Daoist Yun Du went out to gather information, while Perfected Qing Shan stayed in a secret room, regulating his breathing and circulating his Qi, constantly consuming Blood-Replenishing Medicinal Pills to delay the decline of his vitality.

Shi Jian was happy to be idle and Cultivated in another secret room.

Several days later—

Daoist Yun Du returned, but his expression was quite solemn.

"Something is not right."

Daoist Yun Du casually set up a Soundproofing Barrier, his brow furrowed.

Perfected Qing Shan opened his eyes: "What's wrong?"

"Prices in the city are skyrocketing, especially for healing pills, Defensive Talismans, and Formation Plates; the prices have more than tripled."

"Many forces that make a living hunting demons are frantically recruiting manpower, and all the large Spirit Ships in the harbor have been requisitioned by the three major Sects."

Daoist Yun Du took a deep breath, his tone heavy:

"I found a branch manager of the Tianji Pavilion and spent a fortune to buy a piece of inside information."

"Frequent abnormalities have been occurring in the depths of the North Sea, and high-level sea demons are appearing often in shallow waters. The presiding True Monarch of Zhenhai Immortal City has already issued a maximum alert order."

"It has been over three hundred years since the last time a sea demon tide swept across the continent."

Daoist Yun Du looked at Perfected Qing Shan and said word by word: "The beast tide that occurs once every four hundred years might break out early..."

The room instantly fell into a dead silence.

Beast tide.

In the world of cultivation, these two words represented a meat grinder.

Every time a beast tide broke out, it would last for several years, even over a decade, or even longer!

Hundreds of millions of low-level sea demons, driven by various Demon Kings, would charge at the Human Race's defensive lines regardless of life or death...

In a war of that scale, if a Golden Core Master were dragged in, they would just be a slightly larger ripple; a single moment of carelessness would lead to their death and the dissipation of their Dao.

"The Black Wind Abyss is in deep-sea territory. If we go out to sea now, it's equivalent to plunging straight into the beast tide."

Daoist Yun Du shook his head and politely declined: "This trip is too dangerous. Fellow Daoist Qing Shan, my White Cloud Temple cannot do this business anymore."

Daoist Yun Du was very clear-headed; no matter how great the benefits, one had to be alive to take them.

To Face an impending beast tide in the deep sea just for an ally's promise was pure suicide. He still had two hundred and fifty or sixty years to live and didn't want to go looking for trouble now.

Seeing this, Perfected Qing Shan's Face turned grim, his expression fierce:

"Fellow Daoist Yun Xiao, you and I have sworn Great Dao Oaths. To say you won't do it just like that—where in the world is there such a good deal?"

"What Fellow Daoist Qing Shan says is true."

"But when we swore the oath, we also said that if we encounter a life-or-death crisis, we can terminate the transaction ourselves. This was agreed upon beforehand."

Daoist Yun Du did not back down at all: "The beast tide is coming; this is a life-or-death crisis. I, Yun, do not feel that this trip is worth gambling my life for."

Perfected Qing Shan froze in place, the light in his eyes quickly dimming.

He knew Daoist Yun Du was right.

He turned to look at Shi Jian, who hadn't spoken, as if grabbing onto a final straw.

"Fellow Daoist Shi... what about you? Are you also afraid?"

Hearing this, Shi Jian lay on the ground, his purple-gold thunder pupils calm and rippleless.

"Afraid? Not necessarily."

Shi Jian spoke, and the corner of his mouth hooked into a curve:

"It's just that the price we originally discussed was for the risks of hunting demons in normal times. Now that a beast tide is coming, the risk has increased several times over."

"It's even asking us to risk our lives!"

"Fellow Daoist Qing Shan, that little Deposit of yours doesn't seem enough to buy this seat's life in a beast tide. Risking one's life isn't at this price."

"You have to add more money!"

Raising the price on the spot, a blatant extortion.

Shi Jian didn't care about some beast tide at all. With his current Thunderous Speed and powerful Physical Body, if he really couldn't win, running away wouldn't be a problem.

He was just waiting, waiting for this old fellow whose end was near to completely break down, so he could squeeze out more treasures. Anyway, he didn't care about Face.

Perfected Qing Shan fell into silence. After considering for a long time, he let out a sigh, as if all his strength had been drained...

His Lifespan was limited; he couldn't afford to wait!

If he wanted to live, he could only choose to gamble. That way, he might still have several decades to live.

"Good... good."

Perfected Qing Shan gave a miserable laugh and suddenly tore off the Storage Pouch at his waist, pouring everything inside onto the table in one go.

Clatter.

Instantly, countless treasures emerged, piling up into a small mountain.

Piles of Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, dozens of bottles of Third-Tier Medicinal Pills, several pieces of Low Grade and Medium Grade Magic Treasures shining with spiritual light...

There were also various profound fragments, Spiritual Materials, and even a wisp of heaven and earth qi!

Perfected Qing Shan's hand trembled as he reached into the deepest part of the pile of treasures and pulled out a jade box sealed with nine golden Seal Talismans.

He tore off the Talismans and opened the jade box.

An extremely violent and pure aura of destruction instantly filled the entire room.

If Daoist Yun Du hadn't set up the soundproofing and concealment barriers beforehand, this aura would have definitely alerted the Nascent Soul True Monarchs in the city.

It was a piece of charred, withered wood only the size of a palm.

On the surface of the withered wood, faint arcs of dazzling golden electricity flowed. That was no ordinary lightning, but contained a trace of the aura of Heavenly Tribulation Lightning!

"Fourth-grade Spiritual Material... Tribulation Lightning Spirit Wood?"

Daoist Yun Du gasped, exclaiming in shock.

Fourth-grade—that was a top-tier treasure that only those at the Nascent Soul Stage could come into contact with!

Shi Jian's gaze instantly locked onto that piece of withered wood, and the nine-patterned thunder core inside his body let out a hum of extreme longing.

"This is something I obtained at the risk of my life in an ancient ruin in my early years."

Perfected Qing Shan sighed and continued as if resigning himself to fate:

"This item, plus my life's savings on the table, I will give it all to you, as long as you can help me get that eye."

"I only ask for my life!"

An old monster nearing his end had no room for bargaining.

He emptied himself of several hundred years of accumulation just to exchange for a chance to linger on for a few more decades. The older people get, the more they fear death; this was no exaggeration.

When the moment of death truly arrives, one can give up everything just to survive!

Shi Jian looked at that piece of Tribulation Lightning Spirit Wood, suppressing his urge to laugh.

"Deal!"

Shi Jian waved his sleeve and took a quarter of the treasures on the table, along with the piece of Tribulation Lightning Spirit Wood, which also vanished instantly.

"Fellow Daoist Daoist Yun Du, the bold feast while the timid starve."

"I'm wading into these muddy waters."

Daoist Yun Du looked at Shi Jian and sighed slightly, knowing it was inevitable. At the same time, seeing the treasures on the table, he was indeed tempted.

Shi Jian took the Tribulation Lightning Spirit Wood and a quarter of the treasures.

As for the rest, Daoist Yun Du took two-quarters and also took a wisp of Earth Dao heaven and earth qi, named: Primal Earth Murky Dust Qi!

The remaining quarter was clearly to give Perfected Qing Shan some Face, as they were mostly lower-valued Spirit Stones and herbs.

It could be considered leaving the other party some dignity.

"Since Fellow Daoist Shi has decided, then I shall risk my life to accompany a gentleman."

Daoist Yun Du flicked his Fly-Whisk and finally agreed.

...

Early the next morning, as the stars were still out.

A disguised Spirit Ship, pitch-black as ink, silently sailed out of the harbor and plunged headlong into the turbulent North Sea.

The sea breeze was salty and bone-chilling.

The sky was so gloomy it seemed it might collapse, and the black seawater was like a deep-sea behemoth, ready to swallow everything at any moment.

The Spirit Ship plowed through the waves.

Shi Jian stood upright on the deck, letting the sea breeze buffet him. From time to time, the shadows of hundred-zhang-long behemoths passed beneath the ship...

The sense of oppression from the deep sea reached its peak at this moment.

"Black Wind Abyss..."

"I wonder what the flesh of these sea beasts tastes like. I really want to try..."