Chapter 627: Evil Cultist Attack

The yellow giant hammers in the hands of the five yellow giants glowed intensely, as if they had materialized. They continuously struck the tortoise shell of the Tortoise-Beast, producing muffled thuds.

"This won't do! Even if we kill them, their shells are excellent material for refining defensive artifacts, second only in value to their inner cores. Let me lure them out, and you seize the opportunity."

Wang Qiuyan frowned and said, flipping his hand to take out a red command flag. A lifelike crimson eagle was embroidered on its surface, shimmering with spiritual light.

This was a top-grade artifact, the Red Eagle Banner, which had the spirit of a second-tier, top-grade demonic bird, the Fiery Eagle, refined into it. It could transform and attack.

Wang Qiuyan cultivated the "Heavenly Flame Treasure Codex," a fire-attribute cultivation method. He himself was a second-tier, low-grade alchemist.

He infused spiritual power into the Red Eagle Banner, and its flag surface expanded greatly. The crimson eagle seemed to come alive, letting out a clear cry.

"Transform!"

Wang Qiuyan tossed the Red Eagle Banner high into the air and cast a magic art onto it. The Red Eagle Banner burst into dazzling red light, transforming into a two-zhang (approx. 6.6-meter) tall crimson giant eagle. Its eyes moved constantly, full of spiritual intelligence.

Mo Caiyun took out a yellow command flag and waved it towards the yellow light curtain. A yellow light shot out, striking the yellow light curtain.

The yellow light curtain rippled, and a several-zhang-wide opening appeared. The crimson giant eagle spread its wings and flew into the yellow light curtain, and the opening quickly healed.

A clear cry rang out as the crimson giant eagle circled once. With a flap of its wings, dozens of fist-sized crimson fireballs flew out, striking the bodies of the Tortoise-Beasts.

Soon, a blazing fire ignited within the yellow light curtain, sending waves of heat surging.

The Tortoise-Beasts' shells were very hard, but they couldn't withstand high temperatures.

The crimson giant eagle continuously released crimson fireballs, striking them, and the fire grew larger.

Unable to endure the high temperature, the Tortoise-Beasts all extended their heads.

As soon as they poked their heads out of their shells, large yellow hands suddenly broke through the ground, lightning-fast, seizing their heads and pressing them to the ground. The yellow giant hammers then slammed down.

Without exception, the heads of dozens of Tortoise-Beasts were smashed to pieces, while their shells remained perfectly intact.

"Qiuyan, well done."

Mo Caiyun praised him and deactivated the array.

The cultivators of the Qi Refining stage stepped forward one after another to put the Tortoise-Beasts' bodies into storage beads.

Most cultivators in the South Sea used storage beads to store items. Wang Qingqing and each person wore two strings of storage beads.

After dealing with the demon beast corpses, Wang Qingqing released a green flying boat, which instantly expanded to five or six zhang (approx. 16.5-19.8 meters) long. Everyone boarded one after another.

Everyone's expression was excited. This trip earned them several thousand spirit stones, and each person would receive a large sum.

"Let's go."

The green flying boat glowed brightly, carrying them towards Sea Cucumber Island.

They had only flown a few miles when a blue遁光 (evasive light) appeared ahead, moving extremely fast.

Wang Qingqing cast a magic art, and the green flying boat flew eastward, but the blue遁光 pursued relentlessly, seemingly targeting them.

"This is bad, be careful and on guard. We might have encountered rogue cultivators."

Mo Caiyun's beautiful face changed, and she quickly reminded them.

Murder and treasure snatching were commonplace in the South Sea; Wang Changsheng had already warned them about this.

"They have seven people, all Foundation Establishment cultivators. We have more Qi Refining cultivators, and fighting at sea is inconvenient. If we go to the island, we can leverage our advantages."

Wang Qingqing transmitted her voice, changing her magic art. The green flying boat glowed brightly and flew back the way they came.

Wang Qingqing carried multiple second-tier puppet beasts, and each Foundation Establishment cultivator carried a second-tier, top-grade puppet beast. Qi Refining cultivators could control one second-tier puppet beast. If a fight truly broke out, they might not be at a disadvantage, so Wang Qingqing still harbored a bit of hope.

Of course, if they continued to fly at sea and fought there, they would be at an even greater disadvantage.

Not long after, they landed on the island, their faces filled with vigilance.

The blue evasive light landed on the island. It was a blue flying boat, with seven Foundation Establishment cultivators standing on it. The highest cultivation level belonged to a bald man with a terrifying scar on his face, who was at the eighth level of Foundation Establishment. The bald man carried a long saber on his back, and all seven of them exuded a strong aura of malice.

The bald man glanced at the beach, where the bloodstains were not yet dry. A sincere smile appeared on his face as he asked, "Fellow Daoists, may I ask where you are from?"

"Where we come from is none of your business, Fellow Daoist. Do you have any instructions?"

Mo Caiyun's tone was flat, her face full of vigilance.

The bald man's expression suddenly turned cold. With a raise of his hand, two golden talismans flew out, transforming into countless golden needles that overwhelmed Mo Caiyun and the others.

Three Foundation Establishment cultivators—two men and one woman—each unleashed their artifacts, attacking Mo Caiyun and the others.

At the same time, the remaining three Foundation Establishment cultivators each released a dozen yellow array flags, which disappeared into the surrounding ground.

They each took out a yellow array disk and cast a magic art into it. A pale yellow light shield appeared out of thin air, covering all seven of them.

Judging by their reactions, their cooperation was extremely skilled; clearly, this was not their first time engaging in murder and treasure snatching.

"This is bad, be careful and on guard!"

Mo Caiyun's beautiful face changed drastically, and she quickly reminded them. She released a pale white small umbrella, which sprayed a white glow, covering them.

Thousands of golden needles struck the white glow, producing a muffled sound like frying beans.

The six Qi Refining cultivators each released a dozen green array flags, inserting them into the nearby ground.

Wang Qingqing and Zhao Zheng took out several green array disks, buried them in the nearby ground, and cast a magic art into them. A pale green light curtain appeared out of thin air, covering them.

From the perspective of cultivation level, Wang Qingqing and her group did not have an advantage, but in terms of numbers, they had a slight upper hand.

Both sides activated defensive arrays almost simultaneously. However, if it turned into a prolonged battle, the bald man's group would clearly win.

Mo Caiyun and the four others naturally wouldn't engage in a prolonged battle. Mo Caiyun, Wang Qingqing, and Zhao Zheng each unleashed five second-tier low-grade puppet beasts in one go. Wang Qiuyan released three second-tier low-grade puppet beasts, and ten Qi Refining cultivators each released one second-tier low-grade puppet beast.

Twenty-eight second-tier low-grade puppet beasts simultaneously unleashed spells, equivalent to twenty-eight Foundation Establishment cultivators casting spells at once.

Red fire blades, green light swords, white light pillars, black flames, and various other spells, as if free, violently struck the yellow light shield covering the seven rogue cultivators.

For a time, there were continuous explosions. The array disks in the hands of the three rogue cultivators emitted sharp ringing sounds, and their spiritual light flickered incessantly, appearing heavily damaged.

"This is bad, we've hit a tough opponent."

The bald man saw the twenty-eight second-tier puppet beasts and secretly thought this was bad.

Three Foundation Establishment cultivators with ten Qi Refining cultivators—a major force would not have this lineup. This looked more like a small family, going all out to hunt demon beasts. They had wiped out such groups many times before.

Mo Caiyun and her group simultaneously unleashed twenty-eight second-tier puppet beasts; this was something no small family could possess.

And it wasn't over yet. Wang Qingqing and the others each unleashed a barrage of talismans, which transformed into giant fireballs, crimson fire dragons, huge stones, silver lightning, yellow earth spears, and various other spells, overwhelmingly smashing towards the opponents.

The yellow light shield severely deformed, and the array disks in the hands of the three rogue cultivators flickered non-stop, showing several tiny cracks.

"You're asking for death."

A sharp glint flashed in the bald man's eyes. They dared to commit murder and snatch treasures, so they naturally had something to rely on.

He flipped his palm, and a black, shimmering animal skin appeared in his hand, emitting astonishing spiritual energy fluctuations. It was clearly a third-tier talisman.