Beast Tide!

Time passed in the blink of an eye, and another two years of winter and summer had gone by.

On this day, Li Qingshan slowly withdrew his cultivation within the stone room. The surging aura around his body retracted into his core like a receding tide, and through the conversion of the Turtle Breath Technique, he revealed only the faint fluctuations of someone at the third level of Qi Refining.

He opened his eyes, the divine light within them contained and deep, like the waters of an ancient, bottomless well.

"So, I am already one hundred and five years old?"

Li Qingshan muttered to himself.

Today was his one hundred and fifth birthday.

There were no well-wishers, no wine, and no banquet; only he remembered this number, which was a miracle for a mortal but merely a starting point for a cultivator.

Through two years of bitter cultivation, relying on the endless supply of top-tier medicinal pills from the Wish-Fulfilling Gourd and the formidable power of the Longevity Technique, his cultivation had quietly broken through to the ninth level of Qi Refining!

The Longevity mana within his dantian was as vast as a lake, refined and condensed, its sheer magnitude no longer inferior to that of an ordinary cultivator in the early stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm!

He only needed to stabilize his foundation a little longer before he could attempt to charge toward the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.

"In two more months, the mission period will end, and it will be time to return to the sect." Li Qingshan whispered to himself, his fingers tapping unconsciously on his knees. "Zhang Hongxiu... I wonder what her cultivation is now? Has she reached Foundation Establishment? Whether this return brings fortune or disaster, it is time to bring things to an end."

He already had several strategies in mind: to borrow influence, to flee, or perhaps... a thunderous counterattack!

Everything would depend on the situation once he returned to the sect.

Just as he was deep in thought, the sound of hurried footsteps and panicked shouts suddenly erupted outside, shattering the tranquility of the courtyard.

"Manager Li! Manager Li! It's bad! Something terrible has happened!" It was the young disciple named Wang Hai, his voice trembling with obvious fear.

Li Qingshan frowned slightly, quickly stripping away the composure that belonged to a powerhouse and replacing it with his usual look of a slightly dazed and submissive old man before pushing open the stone door.

"Junior Brother Wang? Why are you so panicked?" he asked in a hoarse voice, looking out toward the courtyard.

He saw Wang Hai's face deathly pale, gasping for air as he pointed toward the direction outside the market, speaking incoherently: "Beast... beast tide! So many demon beasts! They've surrounded the market! The grand formation... the grand formation is about to collapse!"

Li Qingshan's heart gave a sharp jolt.

A beast tide?

Qingyang Market was located in a relatively safe area; although there were occasional disturbances from demon beasts, a siege of this magnitude was extremely rare.

He immediately followed Wang Hai, walking quickly toward the fence wall at the entrance of the market.

At this moment, many people were already standing on the wall, including the deacon Zhao Kun, the four outer sect disciples, and some rogue cultivators who had been conscripted. Everyone wore a grave expression, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Li Qingshan raised his eyes to look outside, and even with his century-old state of mind, he couldn't help but gasp!

Outside the market, a dark, dense mass had gathered, consisting of thousands of low-level demon beasts of all shapes and sizes!

Green Wolves, Demon Foxes, Iron-Hide Boars, Venom-Drool Pythons... ranging from first-tier low-grade to first-tier high-grade, their eyes were blood-red and restless. They let out deafening roars and screeches, crazily slamming against the thin layer of spiritual light shielding the market.

The light of the barrier flickered violently, dimming and brightening, emitting an "om-ing" sound as if it were under unbearable strain; it was clearly pushed to its limit.

"How could there suddenly be so many demon beasts?" Li Qingshan squeezed over to Zhao Kun's side and asked with feigned panic.

Zhao Kun's face was ashen. He stared fixedly at the herd outside, gritting his teeth. "I don't know! There was no warning! It's as if they were driven or attracted by something! And look at their attack formation—there seems to be a method within the chaos. This is definitely not the spontaneous behavior of a normal herd!"

He paused, his voice so heavy it seemed it could drip water. "There must be a second-tier demon beast driving them from behind! Otherwise, it would be impossible to form a beast tide of this scale!"

"A second-tier demon beast?!" The nearby disciples lost all color in their faces upon hearing this, their eyes filled with despair.

First-tier demon beasts corresponded to the Qi Refining Realm, while a second-tier demon beast possessed strength equivalent to a human cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Realm!

For them, whose highest cultivation was only at the eighth level of Qi Refining, the Foundation Establishment Realm was an insurmountable chasm!

"I have already sent a distress signal to the sect!"

Zhao Kun forced himself to remain calm and shouted, "But it is unknown when reinforcements will arrive! Everyone, listen to my orders: defend the formation eyes to the death! Pour in your mana; hold on for as long as you can! Wait for rescue!"

Upon hearing this, everyone gritted their teeth and rushed to their respective formation eyes, pouring their mana into the formation beneath their feet without reservation.

Li Qingshan mingled among them, arriving at a secluded formation eye. He pretended to output his weak "third-level Qi Refining" mana while his gaze sharply scanned the chaotic herd outside.

His divine sense far exceeded that of others. Under careful perception, he indeed sensed a hidden yet heart-palpitating, massive demonic aura behind the herd!

That demonic aura was cold and violent, carrying a king-like majesty that commanded all the low-level demon beasts in the vicinity.

Just as the market barrier's light flickered and trembled violently, yet still struggled to hold on:

"Awoooo--!"

A long, domineering wolf howl that could pierce metal and shatter stone suddenly erupted from behind the herd!

The pressure contained within the sound instantly drowned out the roars of all the other demon beasts, causing even the market fences to tremble slightly.

Following this howl, the frenzied herd paused their assault as if receiving an order, parting to the sides to create a path.

A giant wolf, exceptionally majestic and comparable in size to a young ox, stepped out slowly.

Its entire body was covered in silver-white fur that flowed like moonlight. A tuft of golden fur on its forehead formed a vague crescent moon pattern, and its pair of wolf eyes were deep green, filled with cold intelligence and cruelty.

The demonic power fluctuations radiating from its body were like mountains and peaks; it was undeniably a second-tier low-grade demon beast!

It was the king of this herd—the Moon-Howling Wolf King!

Beside it, it was surrounded by more than a dozen slightly smaller, yet equally ferocious, first-tier high-grade Moon-Howling Wolf guards.

The Moon-Howling Wolf King swept its emerald pupils coldly over the teetering market barrier, a flicker of anthropomorphic disdain crossing its gaze.

It raised a forepaw slightly and swiped casually at the spiritual light shield!

A crescent-shaped, incredibly condensed blade of silver demonic energy instantly tore through the air, accompanied by a sharp whistle, and struck the weakest point of the barrier with pinpoint precision!

"Crack—BOOM!!"

Like shattering glass, the already precarious defensive formation of the market let out an unbearable groan under the force of a demonic blade equivalent to the full-strength strike of a Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator, instantly exploding into a sky full of dissipating light particles!

"It's over..."

"The formation is broken!"

"A Tier 2 demonic beast... we're dead for sure..."

Desperate cries and wails erupted instantly from within the market, every face etched with terror and despair.

Having lost the protection of the formation, they were like lambs waiting for the slaughter in the face of thousands of frenzied demonic beasts and a Tier 2 Wolf King.

Zhao Kun's face was deathly pale, yet he still forced himself to brandish his magic tool, roaring hoarsely, "Form up! Defend! Fight these beasts to the death!"

After a brief silence, the beast horde let out an even more fanatical roar, surging toward the unprotected Qingyang Market like a burst dam!

A fishy stench assaulted their faces, and the scent of death instantly shrouded the entire market.

Li Qingshan stood amidst the chaotic crowd, watching the surging tide of beasts and the Moon-Howling Wolf King standing proudly in the rear, watching coldly from the sidelines; deep within his eyes, however, there was only icy calm.

A Tier 2 demonic beast, is it?

He clenched his fist inside his sleeve, feeling the surging, roaring Changsheng spiritual power within his body, which far exceeded that of an ordinary ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivator.