Chapter 673

Chapter 673: Sea Demon Tide

The Wanxing Sea spanned an immense area. Fang Lie’s Qingyu Island lay in the inner layer closer to the mainland. Traveling by ship would take several months to reach the mainland!

As for the middle layer, the journey typically lasted over a year by ship, while the outermost regions required two to three years to reach.

However, these estimates applied to the large mechanical puppet ships commonly used by cultivators. The sea demons moved far faster.

From gathering at the outermost edge to striking inland, they needed no more than half a year.

But the current situation differed. The Dragon Palace ruins opened once every Hundred Years, and everyone knew the demons would seize this chance to attack, retaliating against human cultivators who’d plundered treasures from the Dragon Palace.

Human cultivators had prepared early. Aside from a few scouts, the outer layer stood completely abandoned.

The middle layer had begun mass evacuations too, though some lingered to pack belongings.

Normally, when news of the sea demon disaster reached Qingyu Island, the battlefront would arrive within three to four months.

Fang Lie and his two companions had anticipated this, yet hadn’t expected the threat to materialize so swiftly.

After receiving the information, the trio released their divine senses to survey Qingyu Island. They discovered many well-connected cultivators already spreading the news in panic.

Most had believed they still had months before the disaster struck, but the warning came slightly earlier than usual.

This disrupted countless plans, forcing people to rush their packing and flee.

The once-tranquil Qingyu Island now buzzed with tension, every face etched with worry—especially those who’d built homes here.

Though Fang Lie had vowed to defend Qingyu Island to the death, the people below him didn’t believe he could hold it. The exodus continued.

The following days became Qingyu Island’s most frantic period.

Shopkeepers who’d partnered with Fang Lie demanded reserved rights to their storefronts before fleeing, wanting to rebuild after the sea demon disaster.

Fang Lei agreed to all requests, not hindering their withdrawal.

Endless streams of cultivators departed daily in spectacular numbers.

Though Qingyu Island’s resident cultivators numbered merely hundreds of thousands, countless retreating forces from farther outposts flooded into this million-mile region’s largest island for respite.

Thus even as locals fled, the island’s population swelled by hundreds of thousands, surpassing a million souls.

Long voyages required constant resupplying. Dockworkers toiled near death, yet couldn’t prevent delays from overwhelming ship numbers.

Frustrated evacuees desperate to depart but lacking supplies tried cutting queues using their cultivation.

Fang Lie crushed every such attempt. Status meant nothing here—break the rules, get beaten!

No killings now. Too many spoiled young masters swarmed the seas. Initially executing a few for deterrence failed—new batches replaced them daily.

These were mostly island lords’ sons, tyrants in their home domains who thought Qingyu Island would tolerate their arrogance.

Even when Mo Lanyun and Mao Mao helped maintain order, they suffered harassment!

The peerlessly beautiful pair concealed their auras, making clueless fools mistake them for easy targets. Like moths to flame, waves of idiots kept coming.

Fang Lie started executing these pests after his women got harassed—dozens of island lords’ sons died the first day.

By day two, he grew weary. There were simply too many to slaughter!

Later, Mi Qing gave Fang Lie an idea to avoid such trouble: placing dozens of his clones at key locations like docks and streets.

Each clone bore golden wings, golden and silver eyes, and exuded a powerful aura.

Instantly, all trouble ceased. Fang Lie’s distinctive appearance and fearsome reputation for killing energy made him instantly recognizable. Who’d dare cause chaos under his watch?

Even arrogant young masters knew better. They might harass women whose status they didn’t know, but openly doing so under Fang Lie’s gaze? Only fools courting death would try!

This incident spread as an amusing tale, with many joking that Fang Lie’s visage could ward off evil!

Three hectic months passed swiftly. Then the sea demon disaster arrived.

By then, Qingyu Island held only Mo Sect disciples.

Standing high above, Fang Lie, Mo Lanyun, and Mao Mao gazed at the approaching horde, sucking in cold breaths.

They’d heard of the disaster’s ferocity, but witnessing it firsthand revealed why it deserved its dreadful name.

A tsunami dozens of meters tall surged like a moving wall across the ocean.

Within it swarmed uncountable demons—fish demons, shrimp demons, crab, turtle, and octopus creatures, most retaining monstrous forms scaled to human size or larger.

Occasionally, humanoid figures appeared: Eighth-rank Demon Kings.

At eighth rank, treasures and demons gain transformation abilities. These Kings had shifted to humanoid forms but retained traces like scales or horns, betraying their true nature.

Individually, none threatened Fang Lie. The weakest first-rank demons could be slaughtered by the thousands with a slap. Even the Eighth-rank ones? He could annihilate them effortlessly.

The horror lay in their numbers.

Mo Sect, among the strongest major sects, boasted only two to three million members including affiliates.

Yet within the trio’s sight alone swarmed hundreds of billions of demons—an unimaginable disparity!

Fang Lie grimaced. "VIP Sir! There’s too damn many! Even if they stood still, killing them’d exhaust me to death!"

"I’d fare worse," Mo Lanyun sighed. "Dying from overexertion, I couldn’t kill half!"

"I could eliminate them all!" Mao Mao chirped.

Then she frowned. "But it’d push my limits. My Plague Spirit Immortal spiritual root’s magic excels at mass attacks and infections, letting me battle thousands. Yet brewing plague poison drains my magic—I can’t sustain endless slaughter."

Mo Lanyun whispered, "This is just the vanguard! They’ll keep coming for three months! Senior brother, can we hold?"

"Maybe…" Mao Mao ventured, "Ask Master for help? The Mechanical City from the Wisdom Token could hover above. No demon horde could threaten it!"

"Impossible!" Fang Lie and Mo Lanyun chorused.

"The Mechanical City’s too vital to risk," Fang Lie said. "It’ll never enter danger zones."

"Don’t underestimate these demons," Mo Lanyun added. "Semi-Immortal-level experts lurk behind them. Who knows what vile tricks they possess? Grandfather would abandon Qingyu Island before endangering the Mechanical City."

Mao Mao turned to Fang Lie. "Then should we withdraw? I’ll cover our retreat. Let’s pack!"

"Nonsense!" Fang Lie snapped. "Leaving’s easy, returning isn’t. By tradition, abandoned land becomes claimable post-disaster. Think those White Jade Divine Fish-coveting sects would let us retake it?"

"So what?" Mo Lanyun lifted her chin. "Let them try! We’ll fight!"

Fang Lie rolled his eyes. "Only super sects like East Kunlun, Xuan Sect, or major Buddhist factions would dare steal from Mo Sect. Ready to battle them all?"

"But…" Mo Lanyun paled. "They wouldn’t be so shameless!"

"For White Jade Divine Fish?" Fang Lie’s bitter smile deepened. "Honor means nothing here."