Chapter 148: Third-Level Demon Beast

"Things are fine at Fengyudao Port, but outside of it, trouble has arisen."

The cultivator surnamed Liu sighed with emotion.

The main forces of the Seven Great Sects were originally at Fengyudao Port, suppressing the Nascent Soul demonic beast. However, unexpectedly, a demonic beast that had just broken through to the third-tier suddenly appeared on the outskirts of Cloud Dream Lake.

After its breakthrough, this demonic beast did not make its presence known. Instead, it commanded hundreds of thousands of demonic beasts on the periphery of Cloud Dream Lake to besiege the sixty-six market towns of the Seven Great Sects.

After Grand Ancestor Fu of the Divine Wood Sect arrived at Fengyudao Port, the market towns on the periphery believed the situation was under control and lowered their guard.

It was at this moment that the third-tier demonic beast, which had been hidden for a long time, made its move.

Within one day and one night, it broke through the grand formations of twelve market towns and used its innate divine abilities to shatter the spirit veins that the Seven Great Sects had painstakingly cultivated.

Fortunately, this demonic beast's attention was focused on breaking the formations. The subsequent assaults on the islands were left to the existing demonic beast groups surrounding them, while it swiftly moved to attack the sixty-six market towns on the periphery of Cloud Dream Lake.

However, the Seven Great Sects reacted quickly. They could not allow a third-tier demonic beast to cause such rampant destruction.

Upon receiving the news, several Golden Core Grand Ancestors immediately used a teleportation array to reach Fengyudao Port. They then jointly activated a magical artifact capable of locating powerful demonic beasts and locked onto its aura.

To end the battle quickly, Grand Ancestor Fu of the Divine Wood Sect even used a fourth-tier Wind Escape Talisman. Along with Grand Ancestor Mo of Golden Light Cliff, they cornered the newly advanced third-tier demonic beast in a very short time.

To their surprise, this demonic beast was unexpectedly powerful. It was a direct bloodline descendant of the Nascent Soul demonic beast that Grand Ancestor Hunyuan had suppressed in the past. Although the two Golden Core Grand Ancestors could defeat it, they were unable to kill it.

The battle raged for three days and three nights, turning the surrounding tens of miles of water into a forbidden zone. Finally, Grand Ancestor Mo of Golden Light Cliff, at the cost of his vital blood, used his life-bound flying sword to severely wound the demonic beast.

A month-long chase ensued, with two more Golden Core Grand Ancestors even leaving Fengyudao Port, hoping to kill this third-tier demonic beast with limitless potential and eradicate it completely.

However, at this time, the sealed area within the center of Cloud Dream Lake began to riot. The Nascent Soul demonic beast, which had not appeared for a long time, personally attacked and bombarded the seal left by Grand Ancestor Hunyuan.

The four Golden Core Grand Ancestors ultimately had to abandon the chase and retreat to Fengyudao Port.

After all, if the Nascent Soul demonic beast were to escape, the Seven Great Sects would likely have no choice but to abandon the Eastern Desolate Lands and flee to distant lands.

These cultivators, who had lived for hundreds of years, naturally understood the gravity of the situation.

After listening to the cultivator surnamed Liu, Chen Mobai finally understood why Qingguang Island had fallen.

A third-tier demonic beast, especially one with an innate divine ability to shatter spirit veins, was indeed not something a market town guarded by only a few Foundation Establishment cultivators could withstand.

At that moment, he couldn't help but feel fortunate that he hadn't been there. Otherwise, he might not have found an eight-second window amidst the surge of demonic beasts assaulting the island to teleport back to the Immortal Sect.

"Wait," Chen Mobai thought, "doesn't that mean the third-tier demonic beast could return at any time, making this place unsafe?"

As this thought crossed his mind, Chen Mobai's expression subtly changed.

He realized that this island could easily suffer the same fate again, and with the teleportation array now damaged, if demonic beasts were to attack, wouldn't they be left to wait for death?

"Don't worry about that," the cultivator surnamed Liu said. "If the Seven Great Sects hadn't already resolved the issue, how could we dare to return?"

The cultivator surnamed Liu revealed another piece of news: the Seven Great Sects had announced last month that they had expelled the third-tier demonic beast from Cloud Dream Lake.

It was precisely because of this that their cultivation families dared to send people back to rebuild this trade route.

After all, the spiritual resources produced in Cloud Dream Lake accounted for over thirty percent of all cultivators' daily needs across the entire Eastern Desolate Lands.

If this place were abandoned, not to mention the cultivation families, even the Seven Great Sects would suffer immense losses.

Although the Seven Great Sects did not disclose how they expelled the third-tier demonic beast, their credibility remained very high among the cultivators of the Eastern Desolate Lands. Therefore, cultivators who had previously fled Cloud Dream Lake gradually began to return.

Hearing this, Chen Mobai finally felt at ease.

He was still unfamiliar with the Eastern Desolate Lands; if demonic beasts from Cloud Dream Lake were to surge out, wouldn't his plan to join the Divine Wood Sect be cut short, leaving him with no choice but to go into exile in other regions of the Heavenly River Realm?

Upon arriving on the island, Chen Mobai registered his name.

A new group of cultivators had recently arrived from Nanxi Market Town, and their fleet was undergoing repairs. There would be a return trip in about three days.

Without hesitation, he paid three spirit stones and obtained a boat ticket.

The price had tripled, but there was no alternative. Returning on his own without a boat would be too time-consuming, and he didn't know if he would encounter demonic beasts on the waterway. For safety, it was better to travel with the main group.

Chen Mobai wandered around the island. Cultivators constructed buildings very quickly, and the previously damaged market town was already taking shape again.

Unfortunately, there were very few transactions, and only a handful of vendors had set up stalls.

Chen Mobai went up and inquired, discovering that the prices of magical artifacts and talismans had plummeted, and elixirs had also dropped slightly. However, some elixirs for healing and enhancing cultivation improved steadily, with their prices even rising against the trend after the demonic beast rampage.

This was because many people had realized that cultivation level was key.

Therefore, many rogue cultivators who had narrowly escaped death no longer hoarded their accumulated spirit stones and began to purchase large quantities of elixirs that enhanced cultivation.

As for healing elixirs, it went without saying; while some cultivators had escaped the demonic beast assault on the island, they had paid a heavy price.

Chen Mobai remembered the sixteen bottles of elixirs he had brought from Qingguang Island. He quickly checked their labels: most were for enhancing cultivation, while the unlabeled ones were likely from unregistered alchemists.

Unfortunately, the shops of the major cultivation families on this island had not yet opened, and the rogue cultivators selling elixirs at stalls did not have enough spirit stones to buy the sixteen bottles Chen Mobai possessed.

He would just have to sell them gradually after returning to Nanxi Market Town.

After a tour, Chen Mobai rented a room and settled in.

Three days later, he went to the shore with his boat ticket and spotted a familiar face.

"Fellow Daoist He," Chen Mobai said, "I didn't expect to meet you here."

He Qun, who was boarding the boat, was also surprised to see Chen Mobai. However, his condition was not good; he only had one hand left, and his face was more aged and covered in wrinkles than before.

"Fellow Daoist Chen."

The two were merely acquaintances; they greeted each other and then boarded the boat, taking their respective seats.

Chen Mobai noticed that He Qun was alone and recalled his earlier mention of a seven-person team. It seemed they too had suffered heavy losses during the demonic beast assault on the island, with only He Qun managing to escape.

He wondered which market town they had gone to.

He had previously been somewhat wary of He Qun. Now, reflecting, he realized it might have been Lu Shu's rhetorical tactics that influenced him, making him overly suspicious.

Ever since he learned that Lu Shu had tampered with the talisman-making insights he provided, Chen Mobai began to re-evaluate all his previous conversations with him, no longer trusting him without reservation.

In this Heavenly River Realm, one must maintain an attitude of suspicion toward everyone.