Black Tide

Ye Yun hadn't expected the beast tide to arrive so suddenly. By the time he reached the city gates, they were already closed. Only a small postern gate remained for people to enter and exit, and the soldiers guarding it would issue a jade pendant to everyone leaving the city. Ye Yun knew these were used to record the number of wild beasts and demonic beasts slain. One wild beast was worth one point, and one demonic beast was worth fifty points. These points could be exchanged with the court for wealth, official titles, rare treasures, and even cultivation techniques. This was one of the reasons why many cultivators gathered at the border town every year.

After receiving, binding, and activating his jade token, Ye Yun walked out of the city gate. As soon as he was outside, he saw many people constantly patrolling. Once a fierce beast appeared within their line of sight, they would swarm it, unleashing a barrage of swords, spears, clubs, and cudgels upon the beast. By the time the crowd dispersed, the beast would already be dead beyond recognition.

"I didn't expect it to be so lively outside the city. I'll join in the fun, but I can't go too deep, or it'll be troublesome if I get surrounded by demonic beasts." Watching the people outside the city enthusiastically hunting the wild beasts rushing towards the border town, Ye Yun couldn't help but sigh.

Ye Yun knew the principle that the tallest tree catches the wind, so this time he didn't display his full strength, only revealing his Jade Purity fourth-layer cultivation. Otherwise, it would be easy for demonic beasts to target him. After all, demonic beasts weren't stupid; they understood the logic of eliminating the enemy's top combatants first to reduce their own casualties. Moreover, appearing too outstanding might attract the attention of Demonic Cultivators. It was very necessary to keep some trump cards hidden, otherwise, he might die without even knowing how.

Although he only displayed Jade Purity fourth-layer strength, these were just ordinary wild beasts, no match for Ye Yun's casual attacks. This was especially true when Ye Yun used his sword energy. With one swing of his sword, several ordinary wild beasts would often fall.

After slaughtering another group of red-eyed wild bulls, Ye Yun frowned. The wild beasts around him were becoming denser. He had just finished off a herd of over twenty wild bulls when a herd of about forty wild horses entered his vision. However, after scanning his surroundings, Ye Yun still drew his sword and charged into the wild horse herd because the other cultivators nearby had not retreated, meaning the real beast tide had not yet arrived.

Amidst the horse herd, Ye Yun weaved left and right. Every swing of his sword inevitably brought down a red-eyed wild horse. Every time his sword light flashed, several horses were sliced in half by his sword energy. The more than forty wild horses were instantly slaughtered, and Ye Yun, apart from his clothes and hair being slightly disheveled, was not stained with a drop of blood.

Seeing no more beast herds charging at him, Ye Yun breathed a sigh of relief. He planted his sword in the ground and tidied his clothes and hair. He had been out of the city for over two hours, and during that time, he had killed no less than three thousand wild beasts, which translated to three thousand points. If these three thousand points were converted into wealth, they could be exchanged for thirty thousand taels of silver, and five taels of silver were enough for an ordinary family of three to live comfortably for a month.

If these three thousand points were converted into meritorious deeds, they could earn him a seventh-rank military officer position with some leftover. A seventh-rank military officer could command fifty soldiers and had an annual salary of three hundred taels. However, those with over a thousand points generally disdained the first two options; most of them were after those rare treasures and cultivation techniques. Ye Yun was no exception. These three thousand points were enough for him to acquire the other spiritual medicines needed to refine the Spirit Ascension Pill (a pill refined using Vermillion Fruit).

Just as he finished tidying his clothes, Ye Yun saw an even larger beast herd charging towards him. The dust rising behind them indicated that the number of beasts in this herd was definitely not small. When he clearly saw the types of beasts in the herd, he was immediately startled because this herd was no longer of a single species but a mixture of several types of beasts. Ye Yun even saw several horned sheep running into a wolf pack, which greatly heightened his vigilance, and he quickly flew into the air.

After flying up only a few dozen meters, Ye Yun witnessed a shocking sight. In the wilderness a few hundred meters away, herds of beasts, each numbering over a hundred, were continuously surging towards this direction, kicking up dust that filled the sky. Further in the distance, it was a vast expanse of black, like a surging tide. What shocked Ye Yun even more was that even the sky was a sea of black, making it impossible to distinguish which beasts were in the air and which were on the ground.

"Retreat! Quick, retreat! The beast tide is here!"

Ye Yun's voice, amplified by his magic power, could be heard by everyone within a thousand-meter radius. His earth-shattering words also brought the surrounding people, who had been killing with bloodshot eyes, back to their senses. They supported each other and quickly retreated towards the border town. No one turned and fled directly, as those who did were usually dead, crushed into a bloody pulp by the beast horde. In such a situation, unless one possessed Jade Purity fourth-layer strength, they would eventually be knocked down by the impact of the swarming beasts and die miserably due to their inability to defend themselves.

Although Ye Yun had issued a warning, retreating in the face of the beast tide was not easy. Fortunately, as the pressure from behind increased, most people chose to form small teams to cooperate in fighting the enemy. However, there were always a few self-important fools who acted alone. Ye Yun usually granted their wishes, letting them slaughter their way through alone, only to be extinguished in the black tide.

Watching more and more people being knocked to the ground by the ever-increasing number of beasts, and then being trampled into meat paste while screaming, Ye Yun began to attack frantically, trying his best to clear the surrounding beasts to cover the retreat of others, giving them enough time to escape. The other cultivators with Jade Purity fourth-layer strength were basically doing the same. After all, every bit of fighting strength preserved would make the defense of the city easier.

A few minutes later, there was basically no one left around Ye Yun except for a few cultivators with Jade Purity fourth-layer strength. At this time, the aerial forces of the beast tide were not far away, only about a thousand meters. It was at this moment that a loud and powerful horn sounded from the border town. According to the shopkeeper, after three blasts, all the city gates of the border town would be closed, and the protective formation would be activated. Those unable to enter the city before the defensive formation was raised would only face death.

The moment the horn sounded, the cultivators with Jade Purity fourth-layer strength flew back to the border town. Kind ones would even bring along one or two people who were fleeing towards the city. On his way back, Ye Yun also saved two cultivators who were about to be trampled to death by beasts and brought them back into the city. Less than two minutes after Ye Yun and the others entered the city, a huge circular barrier suddenly rose, enveloping the entire border town. Those who failed to enter the city in time were all blocked outside the protective shield.

Seeing the yellow defensive barrier, the faces of those still outside the city instantly turned ashen. The smarter ones quickly fled along the defensive barrier towards the Great Wilderness. The rest either foolishly turned to attack the beast tide or desperately attacked the defensive barrier, only to be crushed into meat paste by the pursuing beast horde.