Ignorant Islanders?
Yuyang Island covers an area of over a thousand square miles, with its terrain sloping from east to west.
The mountains to the east are steep and difficult to climb; the terrain to the west is flat and suitable for ordinary people to live on.
On the western side of the island, a Human Race of tens of thousands has lived and thrived.
They made a living by fishing, farming, and gathering.
The island and the surrounding waters are sparsely populated with Spiritual Qi, and cultivators and Demon Beast rarely set foot there.
Although the islanders lived a simple and honest life, they were content and peaceful.
This tranquility was suddenly shattered more than thirty years ago.
A monster that travels by water descends upon this island every so often to prey on Human Race.
The weak and ignorant islanders were no match for the powerful Tidal Demon. Gradually, they came to regard the Tidal Demon as gods of the sea and worshipped them.
The islanders built a temple and erected a statue for the Tidal Demon.
They viewed the Tidal Demon's predation on blood creatures as punishment from the sea god, believing that their killing of sea fish had angered the deity and brought about this disaster.
To seek peace, the islanders hold a grand and solemn sacrificial ceremony on the night of the full moon each month to beg for the forgiveness of the sea god.
During the sacrificial ceremony, the islanders would select a young virgin, who would be called a 'jade maiden'.
When the Tidal Demon arrive, the Jade Maidens are offered up by the islanders to atone for their sins.
Hidden in the dark Ye Kong, Song Wen watched the islanders' sacrificial ceremony below, and the girl bound to the altar, lamenting the islanders' ignorance and folly.
He had been on Yuyang Island for several days.
Fearing that Shan Yue had deliberately lured him here, he did not show himself for the first two days.
Only after the Sacred Beetle Gu had searched the entire island several times and found no trace of any cultivators did it reveal itself to observe the islanders.
The islanders' actions were exactly as reported in the intelligence, which reassured Song Wen considerably.
Leaving behind two Sacred Beetle Gu to monitor the islanders, Song Wen flew to the mountains to the east of the island.
Song Wen casually carved out a Cave to serve as a temporary cave abode.
Half a month later.
The day was sunny and the sea was calm, making it a perfect time to go out to sea and fish.
A Sacred Beetle Gu suddenly flew back to the cave abode, bringing Song Wen a message.
Unusual waves appeared on the distant sea.
Song Wen knew that it was most likely the Tidal Demon that had arrived.
Tidal Demon are skilled in water-based Technique Method and love to ride the waves.
Song Wen stepped out of the cave abode, concealed his aura, and arrived at the highest point of the entire island, looking down at the western part of the island.
A wave several tens of feet high surged towards Yuyang Island from afar.
Above the waves stood Demon Beast with the body of a fish, the tail of a snake, and two arms.
Not far ahead in the waves, there was a fishing boat out fishing.
The four fishermen on the fishing boat, upon seeing the waves, did not flee. Instead, they knelt on the deck and prayed continuously for divine protection.
In fact, even if they struggled to swim, they could not escape the fate of being swept into the deep sea by the waves.
The god they prayed to did not grant their request.
The fishing boat was mercilessly swallowed by the waves!
The ship instantly disintegrated, turning into pieces of rotten wood that drifted on the blue waves.
The Tidal Demon grabbed a fisherman, hung him upside down, and put him in its mouth.
It bit off the islander's head, chewed it up in a few bites, and swallowed it.
Its fish eyes were slightly narrowed, as if it were enjoying the delicious taste of Human Race and blood.
It extended a sharp claw, gently sliced open the islander's abdomen, pulled out his internal organs, and casually threw them into the sea.
Then, it swallowed the fisherman's remains whole and began to chew them.
In a moment of carelessness, a foot slipped from the corner of his mouth and fell into the sea.
The Tidal Demon raised its hand, and a column of water surged up, bringing another fisherman to its side.
A dozen or so breaths later, all four fishermen were swallowed by the fish.
At this moment, the waves had reached the island, Tidal Demon leaped off the crest of the wave and landed on the beach.
The islanders who had long observed the unusual waves on the sea had already fled to who-knows-where.
The once bustling beach has become deserted.
The beach was littered with dried fish and overturned fishing gear...
On this ravaged beach, a young girl stood all alone.
The girl was tied to a stone pillar, and no matter how much she struggled, it was to no avail.
The girl's dark cheeks had turned deathly pale from excessive tension and fright.
She stared wide-eyed, as if terrified, watching the Tidal Demon with its mouth full of sharp teeth slowly approach.
The sand beneath her was already wet and yellow, and a foul stench emanated from her.
The Tidal Demon approached the girl and sniffed a few times.
"Roar!"
It suddenly opened its mouth wide and roared at the girl, as if it was very dissatisfied with the stench emanating from her.
It raised its right hand, which had only three sharp claws, and slapped the girl.
The girl, along with the stone pillar behind her, was smashed to pieces.
The severed limbs flew far away, leaving behind a pool of blood.
Unsatisfied, the Tidal Demon twisted its snake tail and charged toward the islanders' dwellings.
Unbeknownst to it, six tiny Gu Worm slowly surrounded it from behind.
The islanders were terrified when they saw the Tidal Demon arrive and fled in all directions.
Screams and cries filled the air.
Just as the Tidal Demon was feasting, it suddenly panicked, carelessly tossed aside the mangled remains in its hands, and with a flick of its tail, charged toward the shore.
It had only rushed a few feet when it suddenly stopped, its fish eyes darting around warily.
A Sacred Beetle Gu suddenly appeared to the right of the Tidal Demon.
The Tidal Demon hurriedly summoned a massive torrent of water, which swept towards the Sacred Beetle Gu.
At the same time, in several other locations, a Sacred Beetle Gu appeared and charged towards the Tidal Demon.
The Tidal Demon was only at the late stage of the second tier, no match for six peak second-tier Sacred Beetle Gu. It was quickly defeated and died after its head was bitten open.
Song Wen flew to the side of the Tidal Demon's corpse and used Corpse Dao Secret Art to seal it.
He collected the Tidal Demon's corpse, rose into the air, and was about to leave.
Many islanders knelt down and worshipped him, shouting prayers.
"The sea god has descended!"
"The true sea god has descended!"
"The sea god has slain the sea monster!"
"Sea God, please bless your devout people."
Looking at these islanders, Song Wen couldn't help but feel a sense of doubt.
Are these islanders truly ignorant, or do they understand how to assess the situation and know when to yield to the powerful?
Perhaps, beneath their seemingly weathered, simple, and honest faces, lies an exceptionally cunning heart.
To submit to the strong.
This is probably the real reason why they have been able to thrive and multiply in this treacherous sea for countless years without perishing.
Sudden.
A sound exploded in the sky.
"Fellow Daoist, hand over the Tidal Demon, and I will allow you to leave An Ran."
Song Wen's expression changed, and he looked up in the direction of the sound.
A female cultivator appeared on the horizon dozens of miles away.
The female cultivator possessed an extremely powerful aura, and her cultivation level far surpassed Song Wen's.
However, judging from his speed, he should be a Golden Core cultivator who has not yet broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm.
Lightning crackled around Song Wen, and he suddenly accelerated, fleeing into the distance.
"Fellow Daoist, you can't escape. Hand over the Tidal Demon obediently, and I won't make things difficult for you."
The female cultivators behind them were in hot pursuit.