Chapter Eight: The Enchanted Wooden Fence

The Eastern Sea, a solitary island.

Waves surged relentlessly onto the shore, tumultuous and roaring, as if intent on swallowing the island whole. In the depth of night, a cave on the island glowed with a blazing campfire.

“How many sea demon beasts come ashore with the great tide at the end of each month?”

“That depends on the size of the island and whether food is plentiful. On a barren isle, with scant food, few sea demon beasts will come, and their strength won’t be formidable. This island is rather desolate; even cultivators don’t care to live here. I don’t expect many sea demon beasts, but surely a few will come seeking food. For us martial artists, even a random sea demon beast is deadly.”

Mo Ling’s face was grave.

Ye Mo agreed wholeheartedly. Sea demon beasts were beings as powerful as cultivators, entirely out of his league as a martial artist.

“Did your grandfather ever mention any strategies to deal with the sea demon beasts that flood the island with the end-of-month tide?” Ye Mo, seeing Mo Ling’s serious expression, realized the gravity of the situation and unconsciously tightened his grip on the Azure Edge Sword.

“Fortifications.”

Mo Ling uttered the word, “The immortal villages along the Eastern Sea rely on defensive walls to withstand the onslaught of sea demon beasts! We can’t build a ship to leave the island anytime soon. If we are to survive here, we must endure the end-of-month tide and its beasts. The best way to fend off sea demon beasts is with solid camp defenses.”

“How much time do we have until the end of the month? Can we finish building defenses?” Ye Mo’s expression was tense. He didn’t know what Mo Ling was thinking, but he had to survive on this island.

“Based on the voyage time, it should be early in the month—just over twenty days left. We are few; we must hurry and build a defense strong enough to withstand them.” Mo Ling considered carefully before replying.

“What exactly should we do?” Ye Mo nodded, awaiting her guidance in silence. Mo Ling surely knew more about dealing with sea demon beasts.

Mo Ling had expected Ye Mo to act on his own, but was surprised by his self-awareness in seeking her advice.

“The tide brings a few sea demon beasts ashore at first. As the days pass and the end of the month approaches, the tide grows fiercer, and the last wave is the strongest.”

Mo Ling inspected the cave. “This cave is sturdy. We’ll use it as our camp base and build a defensive barrier—our only option. But with just the two of us, and my injuries, I can’t say for sure that our defense will withstand a sea demon beast’s assault.”

She glanced at Ye Mo across the fire, feeling a strange discomfort.

She had always looked down on Ye Mo, a commoner martial artist, believing him unworthy to share a cave with her. As Princess of Donglai, beautiful and noble, she held the dignity of royalty. Though she was not diligent in martial training and had only reached the mid-stage of body refinement, she had mastered the advanced Feather Spirit Sword Technique, most suited to women of the royal family, and ordinary mid-level martial artists were no match for her.

Noble sons of Donglai were bewitched by her presence, striving to win her favor, though she barely acknowledged them. With such adulation, her pride was justified.

Since childhood, she deeply admired her grandfather, a cultivator, and aspired to follow his path. She had no fondness for the indulgent, idle noble sons of Donglai.

Ye Mo, a humble commoner, lacked the looks, status, and cultivation even of those nobles. His martial skills were likely crude. In Donglai, she wouldn’t have spared him a glance.

Yet Ye Mo had one redeeming quality—he hadn’t exploited her weakness nor coveted her wealth or beauty. Though he had the petty airs of a street merchant, he was not a bad person.

Apart from these, he seemed utterly unremarkable in her eyes.

Yet, wounded as she was, she needed a reliable martial artist for protection. The young man before her seemed honest, not too scheming, if a bit stingy. Even though he had taken four inches of Bloodvine from her, she had to endure it.

This left her with mixed feelings.

Recalling the healing process, Mo Ling felt a vexation she couldn’t name—whether to resent or… Regardless, she was injured and needed someone trustworthy to protect her.

She needed Ye Mo’s help to build a sturdy camp.

She had to pretend ignorance of the healing ordeal, avoiding unnecessary embarrassment.

For now, the most pressing matter was how to repel the sea demon beasts at the end-of-month tide; thoughts of anything else could wait.

Across the campfire, Ye Mo remained remarkably calm, thinking rapidly. He did not notice the subtle, complex shifts in Mo Ling’s expression.

“Whether we succeed or fail, we must give everything to fight off the sea demon beasts!” Ye Mo gritted his teeth, feeling a terrifying threat and immense pressure. If they couldn’t survive the upcoming tide, death was inevitable and all would be lost.

No matter what, he would fight with everything he had.

“We’ll use this cave as a temporary camp. The most important thing is defensive walls. We can’t build advanced stone walls—only the most basic wooden wall: a spiritwood fence.

Ordinary wood can’t withstand a sea demon beast’s blow; at the very least, we’ll need grade-one spiritwood. While searching for body-forging herbs today, I saw some low-grade spiritwood on the island; it’s very tough, as hard as iron.

We’ll fell sturdy spiritwood and build a spiritwood fence around the cave. Then we’ll rely on it for defense, holding off the sea demon beasts. The weaker ones won’t be able to break through for a while. When they attack the fence, we strike and drive them back.”

Mo Ling explained in detail.

Though she had no direct experience fighting sea demon beasts, her grandfather had often spoken of the immortal villages’ battles against them, so she knew some strategies.

“Good, let’s do it! There’s no time to waste. I’ll cut the spiritwood and build the fence. You stay here and rest; I’ll return soon.” Ye Mo nodded.

“I’m coming too!” Mo Ling struggled to rise.

“But your wounds haven’t healed!” Ye Mo hesitated.

“They’ve improved—it’s fine. You don’t know where the spiritwood grows, and wandering alone at night in the jungle is dangerous. I’ll go with you; we’ll work faster together,” Mo Ling insisted, shaking her head.

She was not entirely confident in Ye Mo’s abilities.