Upon seeing that the eighth-stage demon beast in the distance had already finished off one of the Core Formation Cultivators, they gave the order to retreat.
Moments later, the remaining dozens of cultivators retreated toward Wanli Island along with the Star Palace's eight middle Core Formation cultivators.
The two remaining Star Palace stewards approached the grievously wounded Revered Master Wanli.
"Senior, are you all right?" one Guardian asked.
Revered Master Wanli twisted his neck.
Realizing that the question seemed rather inappropriate, the Guardian immediately drew back.
"Revered Master Wanli, is it really all right to let that Demonic Cultivator take away the eighth-stage Demon Beast's Demon Core?" another late Core Formation cultivator from the Star Palace asked.
"It's fine. Besides, my condition at the time was hardly any better than the Demon Beast's. Even if I'd wanted to act, I might not have caught up with that bizarre escape technique of his."
"But why did you people from the Star Palace arrive so late? And why did you send only Core Formation Cultivators? Did you decide that Wanli Island was beneath Heavenly Star Island and intend to let it fall to the beast tide?" Revered Master Wanli turned and demanded of the two.
"You misunderstand, Revered Master Wanli. As you can see, all of us who came are high-rank cultivators." One of the Star Palace stewards immediately stepped forward.
"Besides, we Core Formation Cultivators aren't the only reinforcements. We also dispatched a hundred Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators, ten early Core Formation cultivators, and a nascent soul elder. Surely that shows how much importance our Star Palace places on Wanli Island."
"A nascent soul elder? Where? Why haven't I seen them?"
"We could actually have arrived much earlier, but something unexpected happened. When the elder arrived, they discovered another horde of demon beasts behind Wanli Island. They even found traces of what appeared to be an eighth-stage demon beast and had no choice but to linger for a while."
"In the end, the elder confirmed that there were indeed traces of an eighth-stage Demon Beast. They kept the early Core Formation cultivators there to assist and stayed behind to fight the beasts themselves. As for the Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators, they should already have been fighting the demon beasts on Wanli Island for some time."
Revered Master Wanli was startled. "There's another eighth-stage demon beast behind us!"
"That's right, but the elder should have dealt with it by now."
"Since the eighth-stage demon beasts have been dealt with, the beast tide will surely disperse within a few days. Hurry! Take me to meet that fellow Daoist from the Star Palace!"
With that, he headed back toward Wanli Island.
Meanwhile, after obtaining the Demon Core, Lu Shang swiftly fled toward the cave abode he had prepared earlier.
Although he had faced countless times more demon beasts than on his last outing, Lu Shang had coasted through the entire battle.
Apart from those final attacks that killed the eighth-stage demon beast, Lu Shang had never used his full strength.
The reason Lu Shang had withdrawn immediately after obtaining the Demon Core, despite still having plenty of spiritual power, was the arrival of the Star Palace cultivators.
The Star Palace had come out in force. Every cultivator they sent into battle was at least at middle Core Formation, and even their Magic Treasures far surpassed those of the other cultivators. Lu Shang had no choice but to retreat first.
Lu Shang suspected that the Star Palace had likely sent quite a few more cultivators who were still on their way.
For now, Lu Shang planned to conceal himself for a while before returning to hunt demon beasts.
Lu Shang held the eighth-stage Demon Beast's Demon Core in his hand and examined it closely.
The Demon Core gave off waves of savage energy, an aura unique to the Human Realm's high-rank demon beasts.
I was so focused on escaping that I forgot to kill that Demon Beast's Demon Infant! Lu Shang suddenly realized.
But moments later, Lu Shang put it out of his mind.
"Forget it. It won't affect me anyway. Even if I run into it again, its cultivation might not be higher than mine!"
Like humans, demon beasts could only possess the bodies of demon beasts with lower cultivation. To leave nothing to chance, it certainly would not choose a beast at its own stage.
If that sixth- or seventh-stage demon beast ran into Lu Shang, it could only blame its bad luck.
Lu Shang placed the Demon Core in his Storage Bag, then planned to return to the small island for a brief rest before hunting demon beasts in the sea again.
"Now that the eighth-stage demon beast has been killed, the beast tide will probably disperse within a few days. I have to seize this chance to kill nearly fifty more demon beasts before it recedes. Otherwise, who knows how many years it'll take to hunt down so many high-rank demon beasts in the boundless Chaotic Star Sea!"
Lu Shang took out a bottle of recovery pills and downed them as though drinking water.
Then Lu Shang's eyes shone with golden light.
After returning to his temporary cave abode, Lu Shang rested briefly before plunging into the surrounding sea once more.
Over the next seven days, Lu Shang moved through the sea, constantly hunting demon beasts.
Lu Shang completed his original quota of a hundred demon beasts in just two days.
For the rest of that time, Lu Shang continued hunting demon beasts and collecting Demon Beast Cores.
Even in the Chaotic Star Sea, a beast tide like this erupted only once every few decades. Lu Shang had no intention of getting involved every time.
Lu Shang intended to obtain enough Demon Cores from this single beast tide.
Both the value and the uses of Demon Cores made them well worth these few days of Lu Shang's time.
After seven days, Lu Shang had slain hundreds of demon beasts of the fifth stage and above, obtaining an enormous number of cores. He had even prepared a separate Storage Bag for them.
Now, seven days later, Lu Shang stood above the sea.
"I have hundreds of Demon Cores now, and the mission's complete, too. But the reward I drew..."
Lu Shang could not help pulling a sour face.
Just moments earlier, after finishing his hunt, Lu Shang had opened the System Panel to draw his reward.
After going through the process, he had indeed obtained something.
"Frost Dragon Scale."
At first, Lu Shang had been rather excited. After all, with "dragon scale" in its name, he had assumed its origins must be extraordinary.
But when Lu Shang clicked to examine its effects, he froze.
"Frost Dragon Scale. Comes from the Frost Giant Dragon. There are 1,080 scales in total, which can be embedded in the Silver Frost Dragon Halberd. Has no special uses."
At first, Lu Shang thought the system was playing a joke on him. But when he asked System Sis, who had not spoken in a long time, he received the same answer.
Only then did Lu Shang understand. "Isn't this just an ornament for the Frost Dragon Halberd?"
"Let's see exactly how these dragon scales decorate the Dragon Halberd!" Lu Shang said angrily.
Lu Shang immediately took out the Frost Dragon Halberd, then retrieved the dragon scales from his System Inventory.
To Lu Shang's surprise, the instant he took out ten scales, they fused with the Dragon Halberd as though they had received some command.
At the moment of fusion, waves of cold radiated outward, forming a thin layer of ice around Lu Shang.
Lu Shang marveled, "The fusion alone caused such a change. I refuse to believe they're really useless!"
With that, Lu Shang immediately took it in hand and swung it several times.
Moments later, countless chunks of ice appeared on the sea's surface, but Lu Shang remained expressionless, showing neither joy nor sorrow.
"It really... doesn't do anything," Lu Shang said, looking as though he had nothing left to live for.
"And this took a whole round to reach a minor guaranteed draw!"
After a moment of helpless frustration, Lu Shang could only put away the Silver Frost Dragon Halberd.
After all, however much of a chicken rib it might be—too meager to savor, too precious to discard—the Magic Treasure was still Lu Shang's Life-Bound Magical Treasure. He could hardly do anything to it. Besides, it was the scales themselves that were useless.
But whenever Lu Shang thought about there being 1,080 of them, irritation welled up inside him.
"How many more minor guaranteed draws like this am I going to get?"
Lu Shang felt helpless.
"Forget it. Just forget it."
"Since the beast tide is over, I should raise my cultivation to late Core Formation first. There are other things waiting for me to do afterward."
Left with no other choice, Lu Shang planned to return to his cave abode and continue cultivating.
Lu Shang had reaped a rich harvest this time and intended to keep improving his strength.
Middle Core Formation alone was not enough to gain a foothold in the Chaotic Star Sea. For now, Lu Shang still intended to advance to the late stage first, then find a secluded place to form his nascent soul.
Before you continue