Chapter 55: The Beast Tide Rises

Soil Escape (soil transformation) might not be slow, but it paled in comparison to other escape techniques in terms of speed. However, it offered unmatched concealment. Traveling through the earth, one could remain undetected unless encountering another creature with similar abilities.

Moreover, with the Apricot-Yellow Flag’s enhancement, moving through the earth was akin to a fish in water, making swift progress of thousands of miles in a single day possible.

The Cu Yue Mountain Range stretched over seven thousand kilometers from north to south. The journey should have taken him just ten days or half a month at most.

However, after merely three days, something felt amiss. The very earth was trembling, disturbing even his onward journey.

At three hundred meters below ground, the pressure had become noticeable. It wasn’t his limit, but it was the most comfortable depth for him.

“What’s going on?” He had a growing suspicion. His mind raced as his divine sense probed the surface above.

Countless animal legs gathered overhead, forming a dense maelstrom of countless monstrous beasts—a veritable tide of creatures.

Without a doubt, he knew that half of this beast tide was due to his presence, while the other half stemmed from the conflict between two opposing forces.

“Judging by the direction, they’re heading the same way I am! I wonder if Shanghua City can hold them off.”

Every major city had its own strategy for dealing with beast tides. After all, these periodic events would inevitably occur whenever mountains were present.

The primary cause of the Tide wasn’t the Human Race, but rather the great monsters—the Big Yixians. These formidable beings, controlling their territory’s monster populations, proactively launched the invasion.

Other factors contributed to the event as well, and this situation was no exception. It was fueled by the wrath of the Monster King, promising an even more ferocious Tide than usual.

News of the impending disaster reached Shanghua City, nestled ten thousand kilometers away, courtesy of reports from patrol units. The city, still in recovery from the previous Tide’s aftermath, found itself short of the typical individual cycle between these catastrophes. This realization prompted an urgent, city-wide notice: every aerospace vehicle from remote farms across the wilderness flew towards Shanghua City for temporary shelter.

Just days later, north of the Cu Yue Mountain Range, Purple Tiger vanguard soldiers soared through the air, their long, jagged spears at the ready. Beneath them flowed a surging Tide of monsters, a sea of beasts ranging from first to seventh rank.

“Kill!”

With this command, millions of monsters surged forward like a turbulent wave, boundless and relentless.

The first wave targeted the nearby gathering places of Awakened beings around the Cu Yue Mountain Range. These outposts served as both the starting point for expeditions and the first line of defense against the Tide. Though they appeared somewhat fragile, they stood resilient as rocks amidst raging ocean waves.

The grand battle between humans and monsters erupted instantly, with echoes of mayhem resounding across the land.

“The Ten Thousand Swords Art, the river of swords!” A voice surged from one of the awakened being gathering places, as countless sword glares coalesced in the air, shimmering and flowing like water.

“Go!”

In an instant, the sword glares filled the sky.

The river roared, its path carving through flesh and bone, creating a vacuum zone stretching for miles.

“Your opponent is me.”

A red light flashed above the gathering place, and a crimson mastiff dove down like a meteor, sending a scorching wave that engulfed the entire area in its fiery breath.

“Defense array, activate!”

A blue light rose, forming a circular barrier that isolated the flames outside.

“Boom!”

The hundred-meter-wide crimson mastiff plummeted, extending its front limbs. The claws glowed with crimson light, tips subtly tinged gold. “Break!”

Piercing through the array’s circular barrier, the mastiff’s claws shattered it. “Disintegrate!”

Centered on the claws, the protective shield rapidly cracked.

This scenario unfolded repeatedly across the gathering places.

Some smaller settlements, like Red Lotus Town, were entirely swallowed by the bestial tide.

However, settlements of this scale usually managed timely retreats, unless they were courting death.

The beast tide’s target wasn’t these gathering places, but Shanghua City. It remained uncertain whether they could reach it, given its great distance.

“Boom!”

The formation’s protective barrier didn’t hold for long; after all, it was merely a defense array for a gathering place, not of particularly high quality.

The red mastiffs were sent reeling by the counterforce generated when the formation shattered.

Within the gathering place, a sword powerhouse charged forth. “Red Mastiff King, I shall cross swords with you.”

Man and beast stood facing each other in mid-air, their size difference strikingly apparent.

Meanwhile, in the higher skies, Cu Yue Monster King was locked in a stare-down with a woman.

“Cu Yue, you’ve broken the rules.”

“Broken the rules? You humans were the first to offend this king. Yulan Fairy, though you may be the governor of Shanghua City and a Heavenly Immortal, you are still no match for me. It would be wise to compensate this king for his losses. Otherwise, this king will lead the beast tide to lay waste to your Shanghua City.”

“Is that so? Then allow this immortal to experience your prowess firsthand.” As Yulan Fairy’s voice trailed off, her presence surged. With a wave of her finger, a blue pearl hurtled towards Cu Yue Monster King at blistering speed.

Without wasting a single motion, Cu Yue Monster King faced the attack by simply thrusting out his fist.

“BOOM!”

Fist and orb collided, but Cu Yue the Monster King, with his incredibly powerful physical body, withstood the blow head-on and sent it flying back.

“Sea Blue Pearl, a high-grade immortal artifact, not bad. But far from enough!”

Yulan Fairy waved her jade-like hand, summoning the Sea Blue Pearl to surround her. She looked at Cu Yue the Monster King and, unable to help herself, said, “Your physical body has become even stronger.”

“We monsters can’t match your human race’s innate talent with their divine souls. All we can do is cultivate our bodies,” Cu Yue said regretfully. “I’ll say it again, hand over the Goldblood Wood, or compensate me with a Third Stage Golden Core. Otherwise, my conflict with Shanghua City will never end.”

Despite all the bluster, he hadn’t made a single move. Deep down, Cu Yue the Monster King was somewhat intimidated.

And rightly so. Although his monster race had powerful leaders, they couldn’t compare to the humans as a whole. Monsters were at a undeniable disadvantage in terms of overall strength.

Cu Yue the Monster King couldn’t possibly flatten Shanghua City just for a Goldblood Wood, a top-notch ninth-rank spiritual root. At most, he might recover some losses and make a bit of a show.

However, demanding a Third Stage Golden Core was pushing it to the limit.

A First Stage Golden Core, or immortal elixir, could propel an Earth Immortal from the early to the middle stage with a single swallow, bypassing years of arduous cultivation.

For the Third Emperor Wang calendars: the achievements of emperors are carved upon steles in honor of their glorious deeds.

Third Stage Golden Core was reserved for true immortals. If Monster King Cu Yue could obtain such a core, his cultivation base would advance by leaps and bounds.

In the God Soul Continent, monsters didn’t need to endure the Abyssal Tribulation for breakthroughs. Thus, they faced fewer restrictions in advancing their cultivation; all it required was sufficiently powerful bloodline.

Monster King Cu Yue, having transformed from a jade stone, had already benefited from heaven and earth’s blessings. With further cultivation, breaking through from true immortal to mystic immortal wouldn’t be hindered by any bottlenecks.

“Are you aware that apart from myself, there are at least three other heavenly immortals in Shanghua City? How dare you make such audacious claims? Forget a Third Stage Golden Core—we don’t even have a First Stage Golden Core! If you’re not serious about negotiations, then let’s see what you’ve got in a fight.”

Yulan Fairy’s stance was resolute, completely at odds with her delicate appearance. A blue orchid sprouted above her head as her spiritual soul manifested, signaling her determination to lay her life on the line.

Sunlit Valley: A spiritual soul of Sunlight Rank.

In an instant, space over a thousand miles around her came under her control.

Cu Yue Monster King had already witnessed this spiritual soul before, but he couldn’t help but marvel at its beauty once again.

“Controlling space, let’s see how much progress you’ve made in these past century.”

As Cu Yue Monster King’s voice echoed, his figure vanished from his original position, moving with unimaginable speed, far greater than when Yulan Fairy had earlier unleashed the Sea Blue Pearl.

In a flash, he reappeared beside Yulan Fairy, his fist unleashing a force capable of destroying everything in its path, hurtling towards her.

“Guard!”

The Sea Blue Pearl instantly blocked the fist, forming a blue shield to protect Yulan Fairy.

But this fist was no easy barrier to overcome; she was blasted away, the blue shield shattering in an instant.

Cu Yue Monster King vanished again, reappearing on Yulan Fairy’s other side, continuing to unleash his fist strike.

Suddenly, a round shield appeared, intercepting the blow. This fist only sent Yulan Fairy flying, just a slight vibration through her body.

“Another high-quality immortal artifact. No wonder you dared to confront me alone.”