Chapter Twenty-Two: The Night of Death

Night deepened gradually.

Within several dozen yards around the cave camp, all the trees had been felled, allowing for clear observation and unobstructed range for the low wooden arrow towers. Beyond, the distant jungle was shrouded in darkness, branches swaying in the wind with a rustling sound, mingling with the soft chirr of insects and casting layers of shadow.

Yang You stood atop a wooden arrow tower three yards high, gripping a spiritwood javelin, his gaze fixed warily on the distant forest.

But as the hours passed, his eyelids grew heavy.

Suddenly, a low, squat shadow crawled out sideways from the forest. It paused, the scene around the cave camp unfamiliar to it, not quite the same as the last time it had come.

In his drowsiness, Yang You caught sight of a clumsy sea beast—indeed, a crab—crawling out from the undergrowth. Instantly, he jolted awake.

“A sea crab?!”

His eyes widened in disbelief. He had never seen such a large golden sea crab, more than two feet tall—bigger than a child’s bath basin. Its claws spanned nearly ten feet, easily able to grasp a full-grown tree in their grip.

“Brother Ye! There’s trouble—a massive sea crab!”

Yang You shouted in alarm.

Inside the cave camp, Ye Mo, Mo Ling, and Wang Hu were roused from sleep.

Ye Mo leapt onto the wooden tower and saw the juvenile demon crab lurking some twenty or thirty yards outside the camp.

The young demon crab was still dazedly studying the camp, but upon seeing Ye Mo, it recognized the familiar face at once. It brandished its claws in fury and rushed swiftly toward the cave.

“It seems this young demon crab remembers me—coming to greet me every few days!” Ye Mo felt a headache coming on.

This demon crab had been haunting him, repeatedly damaging the spiritwood fences and posing a grave threat to the camp. If it broke through, with its strength greater than a high-level martial artist, even Ye Mo would be hard-pressed to stop it—let alone Mo Ling, Wang Hu, or Yang You. A single blow could be fatal, or at the very least, crippling.

“Ye Mo, is it the same crab from last time?” Mo Ling immediately thought of the crab from two nights ago.

“Yes.” Ye Mo nodded to Mo Ling, then gripped his Azure Edge Sword tightly and shouted, “Wang Hu, Yang You! Attack from the tower with spiritwood javelins—shoot with all your might! Mo Ling and I will intercept it below and stop it from breaking the fence.”

With that, Ye Mo jumped down from the tower and approached the spiritwood barrier, ready to confront the demon crab.

He had managed to drive it off last time by relying on the camp’s defenses, but dared not be careless now. This juvenile demon crab was stronger than a high-level martial artist and could even unleash a terrifying demonic art—Water Arrow.

“Alright!”

Wang Hu and Yang You felt a surge of dread—it was their first time facing a legendary sea demon beast in battle.

“Fire!” Wang Hu, high on the tower, raised a spiritwood javelin and bellowed.

He and Yang You each hurled a javelin at almost the same time.

With a sharp whoosh, the two javelins sliced through the air toward the demon crab twenty yards away.

Startled, the crab tried to dodge.

Clang! One javelin struck its shell, but bounced harmlessly off the impenetrable carapace.

Thud! The other drove deep into the mud beside the crab, sinking a foot and flinging up earth and grit.

The low wooden towers had long range—up to thirty yards—but at such distance, accuracy was poor, and hitting a vital spot was a matter of luck.

Stung and pained, the demon crab pressed on toward the camp.

Wang Hu and Yang You kept hurling javelins, but their attacks were too weak to pierce the crab’s sturdy shell.

In one surge, the crab reached the spiritwood fence.

Illuminated by the bonfire, its golden shell gleamed, dazzling and menacing.

Just two yards from the fence, the crab suddenly halted and crouched low.

Ye Mo, sword already drawn, gripped the hilt with all his focus, tracking every movement, ready to strike the moment the crab tried to breach the fence.

At two yards’ distance, still inside the barrier, Ye Mo could not reach the crab.

“What’s it crouching for?” Mo Ling wondered aloud, eyeing the crab’s sudden stop. “Is it about to leap over the fence?”

“What? Can demon crabs jump?” Ye Mo was startled, immediately raising his sword in anticipation.

The spiritwood fence, built in haste and with limited resources, stood just three feet high—taller than an average man, but not insurmountable for a beast of this power.

Could this demon crab really leap over?

“Thankfully, I just broke through to Body Tempering Stage Seven and mastered the ‘Twin Wave Slash’—otherwise, we’d be in real danger tonight. It’s clear that improving our strength is never wrong. The camp walls must also be raised and reinforced!” Ye Mo marveled inwardly.

At that moment, the juvenile demon crab gathered its strength and leapt, aiming to clear the spiritwood fence and land inside the camp.

Ye Mo’s heart lurched.

It had clearly learned from its last failed attempt—this truly was no ordinary crab, but a cunning demon beast.

“Twin Wave Slash!” Ye Mo would not let it succeed. He lunged forward, unleashing his signature technique at the airborne crab.

The Azure Edge Sword shuddered violently, hurling forth two nearly overlapping beams of icy light.

Clang, clang! His twin slashes struck the crab’s foreclaw in midair.

With a force exceeding six hundred pounds, the blow sent the crab flying back.

Crash! The juvenile demon crab tumbled outside the fence, falling short of the camp. A gash two inches deep opened on its claw, oozing yellow-green viscous fluid.

Ye Mo, too, staggered back from the rebound, barely keeping hold of his sword as his blood surged chaotically. Those twin slashes had drained him.

He could not hide his disappointment. He’d hoped that strike would sever a leg, but it only left a shallow wound—hardly a serious injury.

Defeating this demon crab would be no easy feat.

“Its strength is immense—far beyond a high-level martial artist! That blow must have been four or five hundred pounds!” Mo Ling, Wang Hu, and Yang You watched in terror.

“If not for Brother Ye’s twin slash, unleashing over six hundred pounds of force, we’d never have kept it out!” Mo Ling exclaimed.

Stung and enraged, the demon crab lost what little reason it possessed and began battering the fence in a frenzy.

Bang! With its massive golden claws, it hammered the spiritwood barrier, making it tremble violently and leaving a large dent.

“Courting death!” Ye Mo instantly slashed with his sword, striking its foreclaw and leaving a series of scars.

Mo Ling seized the chance to stab at the crab’s wound.

Clink! Two javelins whistled down from the tower, flashing toward the injury. Surrounded and under attack, the crab had no choice but to retreat.

Realizing it could not break through, it glared fiercely at Ye Mo and fled, wounded, back into the forest.

“It’s finally gone!” The group sighed in relief, weak with exhaustion.

Ye Mo did not pursue—it would be suicide to face the crab alone in open ground. For now, he could only defend from within the fence.

Once the crab had vanished, Wang Hu and Yang You retrieved their spent javelins for the tower. One remained on watch, while the others rested.

“Tomorrow, repair the damaged fence! And continue with body-tempering training—there can be no slacking, not even a day! It’s only mid-month, and even one young demon crab is this hard to handle. If the sea beast tide truly comes, we’ll be in dire straits.”

Ye Mo returned to the cave, sat meditating against the wall.

From his robes, he produced a piece of Grade Seven Bloodvine, sliced off an inch, and began to chew.

How bitter!

He grimaced as he swallowed, the intense bitterness and spiciness assaulting every taste bud.

Soon, a surge of warmth arose in his abdomen, spreading through his veins, tempering every fiber of muscle and bone.

New blood was constantly generated from his marrow, leaving him flush with warmth and vitality. His blood now gleamed with an even more vibrant luster, brimming with life.

Ye Mo absorbed the medicinal power of the body-tempering herbs to the fullest.

Half an hour later, having fully absorbed the energy from the inch of Bloodvine, he felt his strength surge.

“If I finish all my Bloodvine, Seven-leaf Lotus, and Dragonblood Palm herbs, my body will be even stronger. With a few more tonics, I might reach Body Tempering Stage Eight, or even Nine, before month’s end! I must survive this island’s great tidal surge.”

Ye Mo opened his eyes, staring into the crackling fire, his resolve firm.

Only by surviving this ordeal—enduring on this solitary island—could he hope to continue searching for the fabled Seaside Immortal Village.

Midnight. The stars shone brilliantly.

In the cave camp, the firewood blazed with a crackle. Even Yang You, who was supposed to be on watch, had dozed off. Ye Mo alone kept vigil by the fire.

...

On this night, Ye Mo’s cave camp was not the only one attacked by a demon crab.

Other camps on the island, belonging to bands of martial artists, were also beset by sea beasts.

Southeast of the island, at a shabby martial artists’ camp.

A blue-black sea serpent, over twenty feet long, slithered out from the darkness.

It moved swiftly, scales rasping over the earth with a sinister hiss. In the firelight, its body shimmered with a chilling gleam.

Raising a head as large as a man’s, the serpent eyed the resting martial artists within the camp, its pupils glinting venomously as it flicked a scarlet tongue and slithered toward the fence.

“A huge snake!” someone shouted.

“Trouble! Get up, kill it! Don’t let it into the camp!”

A sentry cried out, rousing his companions, unaware that he himself was already in mortal peril.

“Behind you, look out!” another martial artist yelled desperately.

The sentry turned, aghast.

In a flash, another giant sea serpent loomed behind him, maw agape, striking out.

“Aah!” The sentry screamed in agony and terror as the serpent bit him and began to swallow him whole.

The sight horrified the other mid-level martial artists in camp.

“Kill it!”

“Vile beast, cut it down!”

They rushed forward, swords and sabers flashing.

The sea serpent lashed its tail, whipping up a violent wind that sent sand and debris flying. The martial artists were swept aside, their fence shattered by the blow.

“This serpent’s strength is incredible—rivaling a late-stage martial artist!”

Scrambling to their feet, the men were filled with dread.

Faced with two such monsters, terror overwhelmed any thought of resistance—all they could do was flee and pray not to be devoured.

“Two sea serpents, stronger than late-stage martial artists—we stand no chance!”

“Run!”

A middle-aged man and a young martial artist dashed for the edge of camp. The others scattered in panic.

Hiss! The second serpent burst through the fence, bared its fangs, and lunged at the middle-aged man.

He drew his sword, but before he could strike, the serpent’s jaws engulfed him, swallowing him whole.

“Uncle! I’ll fight you to the death, monster!” Wrought with grief, the youth charged the serpent with his iron sword.

“Don’t! Run!”

The others shouted in horror.

Clang! The youth’s blade left a gash a few inches deep on the serpent’s head—a mere scratch for such a giant.

The serpent, now enraged, coiled its tail around the youth, relishing the terror on his distorted face.

Two more martial artists charged in a desperate bid to save him.

Whoosh! Their blades flashed.

The serpent’s tail lashed out, sending one man flying yards away. He landed hard, spat blood, and fell unconscious.

The other tried to flee, but too late—the serpent seized him by the torso and swallowed him, his legs kicking feebly before vanishing.

Those who survived were so terrified they fled into the forest without a backward glance.

Half an hour later.

Two martial artists crouched in the underbrush, gasping for breath and glancing fearfully behind, wary of pursuit.

The younger one trembled with lingering terror.

“Now only the two of us remain. The sea beasts here are too strong. Only by joining other martial artists on the island do we stand a chance.”

The older man looked back, still shaken.

The youth nodded.

By moonlight, the two began searching the forest for another camp.