Chapter 3387: Defeat the Enemy, Unify the Vast Sea

"This is bad; the teleportation array has failed and is unusable."

Upon hearing the report from their clansmen, Feng Xuan and the other Integration-stage cultivators' expressions darkened.

A series of rumbling explosions erupted as blue water mountains repeatedly slammed into the cyan light barrier. The barrier twisted and deformed, and the entire Black Crane Island began to tremble.

Thunderclouds churned violently overhead, striking down thick silver lightning bolts.

With the teleportation array unusable, the cultivators on Black Crane Island had no means of escape. Their only option was to break through the front lines, fighting their way out.

"Fellow Daoist Feng, let's..."

Harangtai groaned before he could finish his sentence, his face contorting in discomfort. He felt a sudden surge of strange energy within him, constantly damaging his physical body. He hadn't consumed any Vajra Fruit! Could the previous attack have contained a potent poison? The five races had been in a standoff for years, and he had never witnessed the Human or Spiritfire Races employ such a tactic. Ordinary poisons couldn't harm him, unless it was one of the Ten Great Poisons. Unfortunately, the Canghai region was isolated, so Harangtai had no idea what poison he had contracted.

Just as Feng Xuan was about to speak, his expression also soured. A Void Refinement cultivator from the Black Crane clan had just approached him with an offering, then suddenly deployed a one-time offensive artifact. Feng Xuan sustained only a minor scrape, which seemed inconsequential. Yet, Feng Xuan could distinctly feel a strange energy eroding his body.

Bai Yuqi changed her incantation, and the sea churned violently. A hundred-zhang-diameter water vortex surged skyward like a blue spear, striking at the cyan light barrier.

Immortal Canghai raised his right hand, and an ancient-looking blue lotus lamp flew forth. He cast an incantation into it, causing the wick to spontaneously ignite with a blue flame. The Glazed Lamp, a top-grade Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure and the human race's guardian treasure, had previously been taken to the front lines for battle. Had it not been, Harangtai and his group would not have escaped.

The blue flame suddenly solidified, transforming into a massive, thick-waisted blue fire dragon, and the temperature plummeted instantly. The blue fire dragon lunged towards the cyan light barrier. As it passed, it left a trail of white ice fragments in the air, and the surrounding seawater froze. When the blue fire dragon struck the cyan light barrier, the barrier rapidly froze, with a blue ice layer spreading quickly.

A massive golden peak slammed down from above, causing the cyan light barrier to indent deeply, its spiritual light flickering erratically.

"This is bad; the clan protection array won't hold out much longer," Tong Xue said anxiously.

"Let's dismantle the array and fight our way out!" Harangtai said gravely. He was currently afflicted by a potent poison, and the longer they delayed, the more deeply it would affect him.

"This is bad," Feng Xuan transmitted to Harangtai. "It's the Nine Nether Yellow Springs, one of the Ten Great Poisons. It's colorless and odorless. We've been afflicted by it, and this peculiar poison will constantly erode our physical bodies. It's a bane to body cultivators. We must break out as soon as possible, or prolonged exposure will threaten our lives." While not yet deeply poisoned, their physical bodies were being compromised. They would have to expend their magic power to suppress the toxins within, indirectly weakening their combat strength. Harangtai's expression darkened. The Nine Nether Yellow Springs specifically targeted physical bodies, perfectly weakening his strength, which was formidable as a Barbarian.

With a resounding crash, the cyan light barrier shattered like foam; the array had been broken.

A clap of thunder echoed as a thick silver lightning pillar descended from the heavens, striking towards Harangtai. Harangtai swiftly conjured his three-pointed, two-edged weapon, swinging it overhead, while simultaneously activating his Dharma Idol to launch an attack. With a thunderous boom, the silver lightning pillar was cleaved in half by Harangtai. However, a colossal blue wave, thousands of zhang high, crashed towards him, distorting the void as if it were on the verge of collapse.

As Harangtai prepared to evade, a man's roaring shout, echoing across the heavens and earth, rang out. Harangtai frowned, feeling a sudden dizzy spell. Cultivators below the Integration stage instantly fell unconscious, their minds reeling from the Soul-Suppressing Roar.

The blue colossal wave struck Harangtai, sending him flying backward, where he spat out a large mouthful of blood. Before he could retreat much further, a glittering golden peak descended from the sky, crashing down on him. Harangtai quickly formed an incantation. The humanoid phantom above his head moved its arms, supporting the descending golden peak, but then a surge of golden flames engulfed the phantom. A thick five-colored lightning bolt shot forth, striking Harangtai and eliciting a shriek of agony. The golden peak's spiritual light intensified dramatically. The humanoid phantom screamed, shattering into fragments, and the peak crashed down, shaking the very ground.

A miniature Nascent Soul flew from his body, soaring skyward. The Canghai region's territory was limited, as were its cultivation resources and the types of body-substituting treasures available. Harangtai had used several such treasures in his earlier years and currently possessed no high-grade ones. With his physical body destroyed, his Nascent Soul had to escape. Normally, Harangtai would not have been defeated so easily. His strength, severely weakened by the Nine Nether Yellow Springs, was the reason for his swift downfall. Before the miniature Nascent Soul could flee far, it was seized by a blue hand and vanished into Immortal Canghai's sleeve.

A mournful crane cry pierced the air as Feng Xuan was struck by a towering wave, sending him flying backward, where he vomited a large mouthful of blood, his face turning ashen. A blue fire dragon lunged forward, colliding with Feng Xuan. His body rapidly froze, transforming into a massive ice sculpture. A loud clap of thunder followed, and a thick five-colored lightning blade shot out, shattering the ice sculpture. A miniature falcon, just freed from the body, was immediately enveloped by a white aura and swept into a white jade bottle, vanishing.

With Feng Xuan and Harangtai's strength severely weakened by the Nine Nether Yellow Springs, they were quickly eliminated. The remaining Integration-stage cultivators were no match for Wang Mengbin and the dozen other Integration-stage cultivators. When two tried to escape using water evasion techniques, Bai Yuqi manipulated the array to block them, foiling their attempt.

In less time than it takes for a cup of tea to steep, all cultivators on Black Crane Island were annihilated.

"Junior Sister Yang, Fellow Daoist Qing," Immortal Canghai instructed, "take some people to eliminate the Integration-stage cultivators at other strongholds. Not a single enemy at the Integration stage must be allowed to escape." A dozen Integration-stage cultivators acknowledged the order and departed, while Jin Yuyan, Wang Mengbin, Bai Yuqi, and Immortal Canghai remained on Black Crane Island.

"This time, we owe it to Fellow Daoist Wang," Immortal Canghai said sincerely. "Only with your help could we eliminate them so swiftly. Unifying Canghai will be no issue for us."

"Indeed!" Jin Yuyan echoed. "Without Fellow Daoist Wang, we wouldn't have been able to unify Canghai."

They were all wary of Wang Mengbin's strength. Given Bai Yuqi's mastery of array formations, the couple was indeed a formidable force when they combined their efforts.

"You two are too kind," Wang Mengbin said modestly. "Let's go, let's check the Black Crane clan's treasury. I hope there are some valuable items there." The four of them then arrived before a cyan giant tower, over a hundred zhang tall, with the three golden characters "Black Crane Tower" inscribed at its entrance. According to their intelligence, the Black Crane clan's accumulated treasures from many years were all stored within the Black Crane Tower.

Wang Mengbin easily breached the barrier, and the four entered the Black Crane Tower. Inside, they found a vast hall filled with dozens of tall shelves. These shelves were laden with a dazzling array of cultivation resources, including ores, jade slips, spirit wood, and beast hides, their sheer quantity overwhelming the senses.