Chapter 141: Crestfallen and Disheveled

In the distance, a Fire Crow stood upon a reef, tilting its head as it watched the chaotic battle between the cultivators of the three villages and the Thunder Demon Ray. It was this very bird that had lured the enraged Thunder Demon Ray onto the path of City Lord Gong and his party, forcing the two sides into a bloody confrontation.

Ye Mo employed his Spirit-Piercing Eyes to observe the fray, but he was deeply disappointed. He had been counting on these cultivators to wound the creature. Instead, he watched as a group of thirty Qi Refining stage cultivators, in their attempt to surround and kill a single Tier 3 Thunder Demon Ray, fell into utter disarray—they were nothing more than a disorganized mob.

The cultivators, initially surrounding the beast, had been thrown into panic by its counterattack. The Thunder Demon Ray moved with ghostly unpredictability beneath the waves, while the cultivators, clutching their spirit swords, peered nervously into the deep, unable to coordinate any effective hunting maneuvers. City Lord Chen shouted orders, but his commands were ignored, and his face turned purple with rage. At that moment, he felt such resentment that he almost wanted to defect and join forces with the Thunder Demon Ray just to punish these insubordinate fools. However, the frequent splashes of blood were a stark reminder that this was no time for anger; any delay would only lead to heavier losses.

City Lord Chen took a deep breath, turned his head, and addressed the other two: "Both of you, the situation is critical. It would be best if we each took command of our own men to stabilize the formation. If this chaos continues, the consequences will be unimaginable."

Although City Lord Gong was tempted to offer a few scathing remarks, he knew it was not the time to undermine his peer. He immediately turned to a cultivator beside him. "Ziqiang, take four guards and stabilize the line. Ensure you coordinate with the other two parties."

Gong Ziqiang was a young cultivator in his thirties, a Tier 6 Qi Refining expert, and the most formidable martial artist among City Lord Gong’s personal guard. He had stood by the City Lord’s side throughout the chaos, his expression remaining cold and detached. Only upon receiving the order did a look of hesitation cross his face.

"City Lord, if I leave, what of your safety?"

"Do not worry. My greatest danger right now comes from the Thunder Demon Ray; as long as you hold it back, it will have no opportunity to trouble me," City Lord Gong replied.

Gong Ziqiang nodded, his expression turning solemn. "Understood, my Lord." He turned back to the surrounding guards, pointed to four of them, and ordered, "Follow me."

With a leap, he sprang onto a reef two fathoms away and charged toward the waters where the Thunder Demon Ray lurked. His four guards followed closely, maintaining perfect formation. A flash of spiritual light crossed Gong Ziqiang’s eyes as he rushed toward a panicked cultivator, his spirit sword erupting with a blade of light that he slashed toward the left side of the man. The cultivator turned deathly pale, believing Gong Ziqiang was about to strike him down.

"Swoosh!"

Suddenly, a massive black shadow lunged from the water to the left of the cultivator, only to be struck by Gong Ziqiang’s blade, sending it reeling with a shrill, eerie cry. The four guards behind Gong Ziqiang struck almost simultaneously, their swords flashing out. The dark, hulking shadow performed a strange maneuver in the low air, evading three of the strikes but colliding with the fourth. With a loud splash, it fell back into the water, sending spray flying.

"The Thunder Demon Ray is wounded! There is blood!" a cultivator shouted excitedly, sending a jolt through the ranks of those who had been paralyzed by fear. Could such a ferocious beast truly be injured? Many turned to look. Indeed, the Thunder Demon Ray was surfacing; a long, foot-deep wound marked its body, contracting and pulsing as it struggled to stem the flow of blood.

The creature glared at Gong Ziqiang with baleful, irritable eyes. Having killed nearly ten cultivators already, it had grown contemptuous of this group, assuming they were as helpless as the prey it usually hunted. It had not expected to be caught off guard and wounded by Gong Ziqiang’s spirit sword. A Tier 3 spirit sword was capable of piercing the defenses of most Tier 3 monsters; since the Thunder Demon Ray did not rely on physical toughness, it could hardly withstand such a blade.

The Thunder Demon Ray opened its massive maw and fired a water arrow, while simultaneously, a flash of lightning erupted from its body. Gong Ziqiang watched the incoming arrow, a look of fierce determination on his face, and swung his sword to meet it.

The water arrow and the spirit sword collided with a thunderous explosion, scattering spray in all directions. Almost at the exact moment the lightning web erupted, one of the cultivators beside Gong Ziqiang lunged forward toward the beast. His timing was impeccable, striking a split second before the lightning technique could fully manifest. By the time the web formed and surged from the creature, the cultivator was already within five fathoms of it.

The lightning web struck the cultivator head-on. His form stalled, his entire body crackling with electricity, but strangely, the web dissipated almost instantly. Though he appeared disheveled, he had suffered little real damage. Gong Ziqiang, sword in hand, seized the moment to charge again. As the beast retreated into the water, its gaze betrayed a flicker of confusion followed by an angry, piercing shriek. It could not comprehend why its most powerful technique had failed.

"So, one of Brother Gong’s guards was wearing a Lightning-Repelling Spirit Armor! Excellent, this Thunder Demon Ray is doomed," City Lord Xu laughed, having just seen his own men join the fray.

City Lord Gong glanced at him, far less optimistic. "There is only one such suit of armor. It has only dealt the beast a minor setback. Once it realizes what is happening, it will not be so easily handled."

"Everyone, follow your training! Attack in small groups!" City Lord Chen called out, feeling quite helpless. These cultivators had been gathered on short notice and had no prior coordination; even with his commands, the formation remained a complete mess. Fortunately, Gong Ziqiang’s success had restored a measure of confidence; they still had a chance to finish the beast.

The Thunder Demon Ray had dived deep into the seabed, swimming rapidly to search for openings, refusing to charge out blindly again.

"I am ashamed to have caused such losses for everyone," City Lord Chen said with a bitter smile to the others.

"It is not your fault; this beast is simply too vicious," City Lord Xu replied with a forced smile. He had been terrified earlier and had cursed Chen silently more times than he could count, but now that the situation had stabilized, he found it difficult to continue his accusations. After all, he had been the one to insist that Chen take command, leaving him with no room to complain. As for City Lord Gong, his losses were the lightest: one dead, one slightly wounded.

"It is too hard to kill," City Lord Gong remarked, glancing at Xu before turning his gaze to the dark water. Frowning, he added, "Even if this creature is severely wounded, it can retreat into the depths at any time. This battle may yield nothing."

"Brother Gong, you might not be aware, but the Thunder Demon Ray is temperamental. Having been wounded, it will not retreat easily," City Lord Chen said quickly. "The beast is already enraged and bent on revenge; we still have a chance to kill it. Do either of you carry spiritual artifacts designed for hunting sea monsters? If we can catch it by surprise, killing it is not impossible."

"Hunting artifacts? I do have some. Ordinary cultivators sometimes use black iron spirit hooks or spirit silk nets when hunting at sea to prevent them from escaping," City Lord Xu said, then shook his head. "But I fear the ordinary hooks and Tier 1 silk nets would be like paper before this beast." He had come to capture Ye Mo, not to hunt Tier 3 sea monsters, and had brought no high-tier specialized gear.

"Splash!"

The Thunder Demon Ray suddenly lunged from the seabed again, but it was quickly surrounded by three mid-stage cultivators and sustained several more sword wounds. It shrieked in rage and once again summoned a flash of lightning.

The Gong family cultivator in the Lightning-Repelling Armor charged forward once more. The beast had marked this man; it abandoned the lightning web, fired a water arrow, and slammed its wings against the surface, launching its massive body like a projectile toward the armored man.

"Look out!" Gong Ziqiang roared, rushing to intervene, but he was a fraction of a second too late. The cultivator realized his danger, but he was already committed to his charge and could not stop; he was forced to raise his sword in defense. The Thunder Demon Ray was blindingly fast, striking with its tail whip at the same time as the water arrow. The cultivator was sent flying, coughing up blood.

The beast rolled, instantly releasing a lightning web to cover the surrounding cultivators. With the armored man now incapacitated and falling into the water, the others realized the danger, but their attempt to retreat was too late. In an instant, the mid-stage cultivators were enveloped by the web, their bodies paralyzed by the electrical discharge.

The remaining cultivators retreated in terror. The Thunder Demon Ray spat several more water arrows, piercing through those who could not move. It then lunged toward Gong Ziqiang—the man it hated most.

Gong Ziqiang raised his spirit sword and struck the beast with all his might, carving a three-foot-long, half-foot-deep wound that reached the bone. The creature shrieked in agony, its body folding as its tail whip slammed into Gong Ziqiang, sending him flying. The beast then plunged back into the depths.

Gong family cultivators rushed to catch Gong Ziqiang and stem his bleeding. Though his life was spared, he was battered and broken, having lost the ability to fight, and was carried to the rear transport ship. The remaining Chen and Xu family cultivators kept a wary vigil over the water where the beast had vanished.

"Ah!" A scream erupted from not far behind them.

The two City Lords turned, but the Thunder Demon Ray had already appeared several dozen fathoms away, slaughtered a Chen family cultivator, and vanished into the sea once more. City Lord Gong’s face turned leaden. He wanted revenge, but he was powerless. He could only watch as the creature moved like a ghost, systematically picking off his men.

"This won't do. The beast refuses to fight head-on and is just picking us off. It has targeted us! If this continues, even if we are not wiped out entirely, there will be nothing left of our forces," City Lord Gong said through gritted teeth.

"Retreat?" City Lord Xu asked, sounding deeply unwilling. He had already lost seven or eight men, the heaviest losses of the three.

"Retreat. The longer we stay, the more will die," City Lord Chen said, his face dark as he jumped onto the transport ship.

The cultivators of the three families, clutching their swords and backing toward each other, retreated onto the two large ships. What had once required three ships could now be squeezed into two, given their heavy casualties.

"Retreat! Back to the main sea vessel!"

"Damn it, what rotten luck! To be humiliated like this by a single Tier 3 sea monster!"