The Beast Tide Approaches, Time to Squeeze Them Dry!

The two people and the bear rented a cave abode and settled there temporarily.

While Yun Du went out to gather intelligence, True Person Qingshan stayed in a secret room, regulating his breathing and continuously Qi Ingestion pills to slow down the decline of his Qi and Blood.

Shi Jian was happy to have some peace and quiet and cultivated in another secret room.

A few days later--

When Yun Du returned, his expression was quite solemn.

Something's not right.

Yun Du casually set up a soundproof barrier, his brows furrowed.

True Person Qingshan opened his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Prices in the city have skyrocketed, especially healing pills, defensive talismans, and array plates; their prices have more than tripled."

"Many forces that make a living by hunting demons are frantically recruiting, and all the large spirit ships in the port have been requisitioned by the three major sects."

Yun Du a deep breath, his tone heavy:

"I contacted the branch manager of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion and spent a large sum of money to buy insider information."

"Unusual activity has been occurring frequently in the depths of the North Sea, with high-level sea monsters frequently appearing in the shallow waters. The True Lord stationed at Sea-Suppressing Immortal City has issued the highest alert order."

"More than three hundred years have passed since the last time the sirens swept across the continent."

Yun Du looked at True Person Qingshan and said, enunciating each word clearly, "The beast tide that occurs once every four hundred years may be about to break out ahead of schedule..."

The room fell into a deathly silence.

Beast tide.

In the world of cultivation, these two words represent a meat grinder.

Each beast tide lasts for several years, even more than a decade, or even longer!

Hundreds of millions of low-level sea monsters, driven by various Demon King, recklessly charged towards the Human Race defenses...

In a war of that scale, even Golden Core True Person cultivator would only be a small ripple; a slight misstep could lead to their demise.

"Black Wind Abyss is located in the deep sea. Going out to sea now would be tantamount to plunging into a beast tide."

Yun Du shook his head and politely declined, saying, "This trip is too dangerous, Fellow Qingshan. My White Cloud Temple cannot do this deal."

Yun Du was very clear-headed: no matter how great the benefits, you have to be alive to reap them.

To risk a horde of beasts in the deep sea just to fulfill an ally's promise is suicidal. He still has 250-260 years to live and doesn't want to go looking for trouble now.

Seeing this, True Person Qingshan's face darkened, and his expression turned fierce:

"Fellow Daoist Yunxiao, you and I have sworn an oath to the Great Dao. There's no such thing as a free lunch."

"What Fellow Daoist Qingshan said is true."

"But when we made the oath, we also said that if a life-or-death crisis occurred, we could terminate the transaction ourselves. This was agreed upon beforehand."

Yun Du remained unyielding. "The beast tide is approaching; this is a life-or-death crisis. I, Yun, do not believe this mission is worth risking my life for."

True Person Qingshan stood frozen in place, the light in his eyes quickly dimming.

He knew that Yun Du was right.

He turned to look at Shi Jian, who hadn't said a word, as if grasping at the last straw.

"Fellow Daoist Shi... and you? Are you afraid too?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Jian lay prone on the ground, his purple-gold thunder eyes calm and unwavering.

"I'm afraid it's not that bad."

Shi Jian spoke, a slight smile curved his lips:

"However, the price originally agreed upon covered the risks of hunting monsters during normal times, but now that the beast tide is approaching, the risks have increased several times over."

"It will cost us our lives!"

"Fellow Qingshan, your deposit seems insufficient to buy me the chance to risk my life in the beast tide. This isn't the price for risking your life."

"You need to pay more!"

They're raising prices on the spot, extorting money from you.

Shi Jian didn't care about the beast tide at all. Now that he had lightning speed and a powerful body, even if he couldn't win, running away wouldn't be a problem.

He was just waiting, waiting for this old guy, whose time was almost up, to completely collapse so he could pull out some more treasures. Anyway, he had no shame.

True Person Qingshan fell silent, pondered for a long time, then sighed, as if all his strength had been drained...

His lifespan is limited; he can't afford to wait any longer!

If they want to survive, they have no choice but to take a gamble; that way, they might have several more decades to live.

"Well."

True Person Qingshan let out a bitter laugh, then abruptly ripped off the Storage Bag at his waist and dumped all its contents onto the table.

Splash!

Suddenly, countless treasures appeared, piling up to form a Xiaoshan.

Piles of mid-grade Spirit Stone, dozens of bottles of third-tier pills, several low-grade and mid-grade magic Law Treasure gleaming with spiritual light...

There were also various mysterious fragments, spiritual materials from heaven and earth, and even a wisp of the Heaven and Earth Qi!

True Person Qingshan's hands trembled as he pulled out a jade box with nine golden sealing talismans from the deepest part of the pile of treasures.

He tore open the talisman, and the jade box opened.

An extremely violent and pure aura of destruction instantly filled the entire room.

If Yun Du hadn't set up soundproofing and concealment barriers beforehand, this aura would definitely have alerted the Nascent Soul True Lord in the city.

It was a piece of dead wood, no bigger than a palm, completely charred black.

On the surface of the dead wood, wisps of dazzling golden electric arcs flowed. These were not ordinary lightning, but contained the aura of heavenly tribulation lightning!

"A fourth-tier spiritual material... Tribulation Lightning Spirit Wood?"

Yun Du gasped, letting out a startled cry.

Fourth-tier treasures are top-tier items that only those in the Nascent Soul Realm can access!

Shi Jian's gaze instantly locked onto that piece of dead wood, and the Nine-Pattern Lightning Core within his body emitted an extremely eager buzzing sound.

"This is something I obtained by risking my life in an High Antiquity ruin many years ago."

True Person Qingshan sighed, as if resigned to his fate, and continued:

"This thing, along with all my life savings on this table, is all yours, as long as you can help me get that eye."

"I only wish to live!"

The old monster, whose time is almost up, has no room for negotiation.

He emptied himself out, sacrificing hundreds of years of his life's resources, just to gain a few more decades of survival. The older people get, the more afraid they become of death; this is no joke.

When death truly arrives, people are willing to give up everything in order to survive!

Shi Jian looked at the piece of Tribulation Lightning Spirit Wood, barely suppressing a laugh.

"Make a deal!"

With a wave of his sleeve, Shi Jian took a quarter of the treasures on the table, along with the piece of Tribulation Lightning Spirit Wood, which vanished instantly.

"Fellow Yun Du, the bold get rich, the timid starve."

"I'm getting involved in this mess."

Yun Du looked at Shi Jian and sighed slightly, indicating that he knew the situation was hopeless. At the same time, he was indeed tempted by the treasures on the table.

Shi Jian demanded the Tribulation Lightning Spirit Wood, as well as a quarter of the treasures.

Of the remaining two-quarters, Yun Du took two-quarters and a wisp of Earth Dao Heaven and Earth Qi, which he named: Chaotic Earth Turbid Dust Qi!

The remaining quarter was clearly given to True Person Qingshan out of courtesy, as it consisted mainly of low-value Spirit Stone and herbs.

This is also a way of saving face for the other party.

"Since Fellow Daoist Shi has made his decision, then this humble Daoist will gladly accompany you, even at the cost of my life."

Yun Du flicked his whisk and finally agreed.

The next morning, the sky was clear and the stars were shining.

A disguised, jet-black spirit ship silently sailed out of the harbor and plunged into the turbulent North Sea.

The sea breeze is salty and pungent, almost piercingly so.

The sky was so dark it seemed about to collapse, and the black seawater resembled a colossal beast from the abyss, ready to devour everything at any moment.

The spirit ship sails forward, cutting through the waves.

Shi Jian stood upright on the deck, letting the sea breeze lash against him, while the phantom images of colossal beasts, hundreds of feet tall, occasionally flashed past beneath the ship's hull...

The oppressive feeling of the deep sea reached its peak at this moment.

"Black Wind Abyss..."

"I wonder what the flesh and blood of this sea beast taste like; I really want to try it..."