Chapter 143: The Thunder Net Rune Seal and the Beast Tide

The two large warships belonging to the Gong and Chen clans retreated from the Sea Demon reefs, heading back toward their respective immortal villages. Ye Mo did not send anyone to pursue them.

"They retreated quite quickly. Brother Ye, are we not going to chase them down?" Gao Jian asked while riding atop his golden eagle, Er Jin.

"They have no desire to continue fighting us within these Sea Demon reefs. With only one warship, it would be difficult for us to sink their remaining two, and they cannot do anything to us either. A stalemate here would be a waste of time." Ye Mo shook his head. "By the way, that Thunder Demon Ray should still be within these reef waters. Let us hunt it down and seize its Lightning Net spell rune seal."

"Master, hunting a Tier 3 Thunder Demon Ray requires specialized demon-hunting spirit tools. We left in such a hurry that we didn't bring any profound iron hooks or heavenly silk nets," A-Jin said hurriedly.

"You want to hunt a sea demon beast?" Gao Jian pondered for a moment before pulling out a half-zhang long heavy profound iron crossbow. He smiled and said, "I have this heavy profound iron crossbow here. It can fire heavy profound iron bolts from mid-air. The arrow tips are barbed, and there is a tail rope attached. I had Wang Hu help me craft it a few days ago specifically for hunting sea demons. I had originally intended to use it to hunt demon beasts from the back of my golden eagle when I had some free time to earn spirit stones. This is the perfect chance to test its power."

"A heavy profound iron crossbow for hunting sea demons? That is a fine piece of equipment!" Ye Mo was overjoyed and quickly took it from Gao Jian. After examining it, he could hardly put it down.

This heavy profound iron crossbow was not exactly a high-grade spirit tool, but rather a standard long-range weapon. The heavy profound iron bolt fired from it had a rope tied to its tail, connecting it to the crossbow. This rope was made of spirit silkworm silk—very tough and unavailable on the Ye clan's spirit island, though it could be purchased with spirit stones at the Lu clan's general store.

For a Qi-refining stage cultivator riding on the back of a golden eagle, this crossbow allowed for striking targets from about a hundred zhang away while maintaining the advantage of height. While the crossbow itself was nothing extraordinary, it became a powerful advantage when combined with the golden eagle. One had to realize that the spells of Qi-refining stage cultivators could not strike enemies dozens of zhang in the air, let alone a hundred. Sea demon beasts were similarly unable to threaten enemies at such heights. While it was difficult to use this against agile human cultivators, it was highly effective against the massive bodies of sea demon beasts.

"Chang Fei, keep the warship here and wait for a while. We are going to hunt the Thunder Demon Ray," Ye Mo said, patting Da Jin and taking flight.

The three golden eagles flew rapidly over the Sea Demon reefs. The little fire crow followed, letting out incessant, piercing cries to lure the Thunder Demon Ray out. The waters in this reef area were not very deep, making it easy to search. Furthermore, Ye Mo had long anticipated that the Thunder Demon Ray would not give up easily and would continue to prowl this area.

After searching the skies over the reefs for a while, Ye Mo indeed spotted the Thunder Demon Ray emerging from the sea, letting out sharp screeches at the little fire crow as if to show off. It had not forgotten the enemy that had once angered it so greatly. Ye Mo was delighted and, without hesitation, had the fire crow dive down and close in. The little fire crow pelted the ray with small fireballs. The Thunder Demon Ray, left covered in soot and fury, fell back into the water. Its predatory instincts fully ignited, it refused to abandon its prey and gave chase. However, the lightning net it unleashed could not threaten the fire crow, which was dozens of zhang above.

The Thunder Demon Ray beat its fleshy wings against the water surface, and just as it glided into the air, it noticed a golden shadow swooping down toward it with incredible speed.

Seventy zhang... sixty zhang... fifty zhang... forty zhang...

Ye Mo clamped his legs tightly around Da Jin’s back, his eyes locked on the Thunder Demon Ray. He pulled the trigger of the heavy profound iron crossbow and then urged Da Jin to climb rapidly. Whether or not they succeeded in hunting the beast depended on this one strike.

*Whoosh!*

A half-zhang long profound iron bolt, trailing a rope, shot toward the Thunder Demon Ray below. The creature could glide at low altitudes, but only by using the force of slapping the water; it was not true flight, and it lacked agility at such heights.

*Thwack!*

The bolt pierced its massive fleshy wing, sinking a foot deep. As the rope pulled taut, the barbs hooked firmly into its bone. The Thunder Demon Ray roared in fury, diving into the water and struggling violently, but it found that the bolt was incredibly sturdy—at least a Tier 3 spirit tool—and the barbs were impossible to dislodge. It immediately unleashed a lightning net, and though the entire bolt was encased in crackling electricity, the spirit silkworm silk rope did not conduct the charge. Its lightning net spell remained unable to threaten Ye Mo and his companions, who were a hundred zhang in the air.

Ye Mo, on Da Jin’s back, held tightly to the hundred-zhang length of heavenly silk rope. The Thunder Demon Ray panicked and dived toward the deep sea, trying to escape. Its strength was immense; it was actually dragging Da Jin, who was also a Tier 3 beast, toward the surface of the water.

"This is bad!"
"Help! Everyone, pull together!"

Gao Jian and A-Jin were startled and immediately ordered Er Jin and San Jin to fly over and grab the rope. Only with the combined strength of all three golden eagles were they able to pull the Tier 3 Thunder Demon Ray out of the sea.

"Fly up! Slam it into the reefs. Let's see how many lightning nets it can release!" Ye Mo commanded calmly.

The Thunder Demon Ray was slammed violently against a massive reef. *Bang!*

What followed was brutal. The three golden eagles kept the rope taut, repeatedly smashing the Thunder Demon Ray against the giant reef. Shards of rock flew everywhere, and the impact left the creature dizzy and disoriented. In a short while, the giant reef was nearly smashed to pieces, and the Thunder Demon Ray was exhausted, covered in bloody wounds, its bones shattered. The little fire crow’s fireballs further mangled its head, leaving it in a wretched state.

Only when the creature ceased all movement did Ye Mo cautiously descend and use his Crimson Fire Spirit Sword to cleave its head open, extracting the shimmering Lightning Net spell rune seal. Looking at the seal, which still flickered with electric light, Ye Mo was overjoyed and tucked it away, planning to study it once he returned to the Ye clan's immortal village.

City Lord Gong and the other two lords returned to their respective villages. From the intelligence gathered by their subordinates, they soon realized there were indeed signs of a massive sea demon beast tide brewing in the Ao Lai sea region; the demons had become significantly more active. In this battle, the coalition of the three parties had suffered heavy losses, including over a dozen Qi-refining cultivators and one warship lost to the reefs. However, with the beast tide imminent, they were forced to postpone any retaliatory actions and endure for the time being.

Across the Ao Lai sea region, all three hundred and sixty new city lords sensed the abnormal movements of the sea demons and ceased their infighting. The situation began to calm down. All the major immortal villages entered a state of readiness, reinforcing their city defenses to prepare for the onslaught.

For Ye Mo, this was not necessarily bad news. It meant the Ye clan's immortal village could secure a period of peace to develop without worrying about harassment from other villages. With the mining of the Crimson Fire Ore Island and the supply of Essence Pills, the strength of the Ye clan's village was gradually increasing. A dozen high-level martial artists in the village had received Essence Pill rewards, broken through their limits, refined their primordial spirits, and become official cultivators. Although they had just broken through and their combat power was limited, this eased the village’s chronic labor shortage to a certain extent.

However, it was still far from enough. Even if every villager became a cultivator, the Ye clan's village only had a little over a hundred people; they were severely lacking in manpower across all areas. The simplest way to increase their numbers was to attract itinerant cultivators.

In Qingyun Immortal City, along a small street, stood a ten-story, ordinary-grade spirit tavern that served low-quality spirit wine. Naturally, this was not a place high-level cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage or above would visit; they only frequented high-end establishments. However, it was a gathering place for many Qi-refining cultivators who came to drink and socialize. They were not there to kill time, but to exchange intelligence. Such places were always crowded with Qi-refining cultivators, especially itinerant ones desperate for work and spirit stones. They could not afford expensive wine, so having a few sips of the inferior variety was considered a decent treat.

In the tavern's main hall, there was a very prominent bulletin board. It displayed the latest tasks and intelligence from various regions. Whenever something important occurred in the Immortal City, it was posted there. Additionally, immortal villages of all levels could spend spirit stones to post recruitment notices to attract itinerant cultivators.

On this day, a highly eye-catching message was posted on the board:

"A large-scale sea demon beast tide is expected to erupt in the Ao Lai sea region soon. The Qingyun main city has sent personnel to assess the situation; the danger level is rated as 'Ordinary,' with no Tier 4 demon beasts appearing. The Ye clan's immortal village has established strong city defenses and, in cooperation with the Lu clan's shop, offers various supplies and possesses a teleportation array. All itinerant cultivators are welcome to join in the hunting of sea demons."

Many Qi-refining cultivators in the tavern read the notice aloud, their expressions filled with excitement. For cultivators who frequently went out hunting, finding a suitable base was crucial. Very few cultivators would dare to sail out alone in their own warships to hunt for demon beasts. It was slow, and they could go months without seeing a single beast. Of course, the East Sea had many gathering spots for demons, but those were mostly on wild, unoccupied islands—too dangerous for low-level Qi-refining cultivators. A massive sea demon could appear at any moment; not even Foundation Establishment cultivators dared to venture blindly into unknown territories, where a single lapse in attention could cost them their lives.

Usually, they looked for suitable spots near the Immortal City to hunt. It was safer; if things went wrong, they could flee back to the city and rely on its powerful defenses. It was best to find waters where a beast tide was occurring, as one could encounter a large number of demons at once and gain a massive harvest in a short period.

"Boss, a beast tide with an 'Ordinary' danger rating is a rare opportunity. We’ve finally waited for one!" a young cultivator said excitedly to his companions while pointing at the notice. His cultivation was not high—only at the third level of the Qi-refining stage.

The leader was a man in his thirties, a burly fellow at the fifth level of Qi-refining, the only mid-stage cultivator in the group.

"Hmm, 'Ordinary' danger level means very few Tier 3 beasts and almost no Tier 4s. It is indeed suitable for us," the burly man nodded, though his brow furrowed. "However, the Ao Lai sea region was only recently opened a few months ago. I wonder how well those villages are prepared. If they don't even have proper supplies, we’ll be in trouble."

When hunting sea demons, itinerant cultivators needed various spirit tools—things they could not craft themselves—as well as repairs, spirit pills, spirit wine, poisons, and all sorts of other strange necessities. Every cultivator had different methods and required a vast array of items. This meant the immortal village had to provide a wide range of goods to satisfy them, which was not something a newly established village could typically achieve.