As the morning mist just began to drift over the mudflats of Sunset Bay, the footsteps of the Youth Guardian Camp shattered the shimmering seashells on the beach. A Mu carried his New Sprout Sword, its scabbard adorned with Ice-Fire Entwining Pattern that gleamed with a golden-red-white interplay of light in the rising sun—before setting, Lei Lin had specifically instructed him using Ice-Fire Communication Crystal to add a " Water Vein Adaptation Rune " to the patterns, allowing for better resonance with the bay's water elements; A Ya's bag bulged, filled not only with seeds of Ironleaf Flower and Morning Dew Flower, but also with " Tide-Growing Grass " seeds that Liya had selected overnight—this grass could grow during the tides, and its roots could purify the residual Evil Energy in the seawater; A Shi's patrol log had two new blank columns added, "Tidal Period" and "Shellfish Status," and a small seashell, a gift from the fishermen, was tucked into the corner—brought by the Loran people who had arrived at the bay early the previous day.
" The Fishermen's Village is just ahead!" Loran rode ahead on his Cloudhorn Beast, the golden silhouette of his Icefield Wolf leaping lightly across the mudflats, its nose occasionally brushing against the puddles. The tide in the bay had just receded, and small crabs were crawling sideways in the puddles, but several "pearl oysters" that should have shimmered with a bluish-green light had faint black spots on their shells, and even the water they exhaled carried a very faint, fishy smell.
As they approached the dock of the Fishermen's Village, Old Fisherman Uncle Zhou came to greet them, leaning on his fishing spear and holding a blackened pearl oyster in his hands. His wrinkles were full of worry. "Lord Loran, the tides have been very strange these past two weeks—they don't rise when they should, and they recede slowly when they should. Even the pearl oysters have developed black spots, and when we pry open the shells, the pearls are all grayish. Not only can they not fetch a good price, but I'm also afraid they'll be bad for people if we eat them!"
A Mu immediately crouched down, his fingertips lightly touching the black spots on the pearl oyster—a coolness, even fainter than the Wind-Eroded Evil Mark on the grasslands, emanated from his fingertips. It was residual fel Evil Energy mixed with seawater, seeping into the oyster's body with the tides. "It's the aftershocks of Evil Energy in the seawater!" He looked up at Loran, his tone certain. "I learned this last time at the Clear Creek River: Evil Energy in water veins travels with the current. The bay's tidal zone connects to the old water veins at the edge of the abyss; it must be residual Evil Energy drifting here with the ocean currents."
Snow Spirit Qilin's voice suddenly came from the Ice-Fire Communication Crystal, its light shimmering white in A Mu's palm. "The 'Tide Stone' in the bay is a water vein node. Evil Energy has flowed along the water vein and entangled the stone, causing the tides to become disordered. Find the Tide Stone, stabilize it with the power of ice and fire, and then use purifying plants to restore the seawater to its clean state."
Uncle Zhou's eyes lit up as he pointed to the group of reefs in the center of the bay. "That ' Tide-Watching Reef ' is what the older generation called the Tide Rocks! At high tide, the tops of the reefs would glow blue, but recently they've only been glowing gray. At night, you can even hear a 'hissing' sound coming from the cracks in the rocks—it must be Evil Energy causing trouble!"
The group boarded a small wooden boat brought by fishermen and headed towards Tide-Watching Reef. The closer they got to the reef, the more obvious the residual Evil Energy in the seawater became—the normally clear water was shrouded in a very faint gray mist around the reef, and several small fish that swam into the misty area immediately changed direction, as if hiding from something. The outline of Tide-Watching Reef gradually became clear: a dozen or so bluish-black reefs were scattered about, and the top of the largest reef, which should have had blue-glowing patterns, was now wrapped in light black threads, as if covered with a layer of gray.
" A Mu, try using Tide Stone Resonance!" Loran reminded him, "Infuse the ice and fire power of the New Sprout Sword into the reef, Water Vein Adaptation Rune will help you channel the water element and 'extract' the Evil Energy from the stone."
A Mu took a deep breath, leaped onto the largest reef, the Tide- Tide-Watching Reef, and plunged the New Sprout Sword into the cracks of the reef's texture. The Ice-Fire Entwining Pattern on the scabbard instantly lit up, and the Water Vein Adaptation Rune glowed with a pale blue light, resonating with the reef's texture. Following Lei Lin's " Wave-Splitting Art," he broke down the power of ice and fire into thin streams, slowly injecting it along the texture. The pale black threads within the reef, like awakened serpents, slowly crawled along the texture towards the blade, turning into tiny white smoke upon encountering the power of ice and fire, dissipating in the sea breeze.
" A Ya! It's time to Tide-Growing Grass!" A Mu shouted towards the boat. A Ya immediately grabbed the Tide-Growing Grass and followed Uncle Zhou's grandson, Xiao Yu, onto the rocky beach. Xiao Yu skillfully dug shallow pits in the crevices of the rocks, while A Ya, following the " Sea-Land Symbiosis Method " taught by Liya, first laid a layer of Morning Dew Flower seeds at the bottom of the pit, then covered them with Tide-Growing Grass: "The roots of the Morning Dew Flower can penetrate the rocks to absorb Evil Energy, and the roots of the Tide-Growing Grass can reach into the seawater to purify it. This way, we can block Evil Energy from both land and sea!"
The two worked together to plant a circle, A Ya watered it with the Soul-Purifying Water she brought from the Clear Creek River. As soon as she finished watering, the tender shoots of the Tide-Growing Grass broke through the soil, and the pale green leaves swayed gently in the sea breeze. The buds of the Morning Dew Flower spread along the patterns of the reef, intertwining with the roots of the Tide-Growing Grass inside the reef to form a pale green purifying net.