Chapter 481: The Sea of Ten Thousand Demons!
y agreed with Hao Ren and immediately came over to either side of him, holding his arms as they walked towards the small villa by the sea.Wearing pajamas, their bodies still felt warm. On the quiet be...Chapter 481: The Sea of Ten Thousand Demons! (Third Release, Voting Request~~)
Aunt, this is… This is...郝仁 was quite surprised.
"As the General of our Eastern Sea Dragon Palace, shouldn’t you know how vast the territory of our Eastern Sea Dragon Palace is" Zhao Hongyu gave a slight smile as the Map of the江山圖(a play on words for 'River and Mountain Map') skimming across the sea caused ripples.
One by one, small islands appeared on the surface of the sea.
A few of these islands emitted red light around them, obviously indicating a barrier was set up; ordinary people wouldn’t be able to detect it. However, with the speed of the Map of the江山圖, they were already in deep waters where normal mortals couldn't venture.
"Greetings, Dragon Mother!"
A chorus of greetings echoed from underwater as soldiers emerged.
Zhao Hongyu nodded slightly to them and controlled the Map of the江山圖to swiftly pass by.
"These islands are under our control, serving as observation posts for the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace. Soldiers responsible for patrolling this sea area reside beneath these waters. In case of an invasion, they will immediately organize a counterattack," Zhao Hongyu explained.
Although the territory of the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace was vast, it did not mean areas far from its palace were unmanaged. In reality, soldiers of the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace lurked throughout the entire sea area. As soon as any outsider entered their controlled domain, they would be detected.
The Map of the江山圖flew at a speed typical for Core Formation-stage cultivators, and upon releasing his spiritual sense, Hua Ren found that beneath the turbulent waves of the ocean lay layer upon layer of troops in ambush.
With such an expansive area, it was easy to imagine just how formidable the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace's military strength must be!
"Greetings, Dragon Mother!" As the Map of the江山圖passed by, soldiers hiding within the ocean emerged and lined up to greet her.
Every summer, Zhao Hongyu would come here for a routine inspection. Coincidentally, this was also when Zhao Yanzi had her summer break.
The territory of the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace far exceeded Hua Ren's expectations; even with the speed at which they were traveling on the Map of the江山圖, it took half an hour to reach the boundary.
"Huren," as she flew, Zhao Hongyu said earnestly, "you must understand that you're not just responsible for Afu’s happiness but also for the happiness of tens of millions of subjects in the Eastern Sea."
Hua Ren suddenly felt a heavy sense of responsibility resting on his shoulders.
He might have to take over not only the elders and high-ranking officers within the palace, but also the lower-level soldiers stationed throughout the territory of the Dragon Palace.
"That’s the end of the Eastern Sea," Zhao Hongyu said.
Hua Ren craned his neck and squinted to see further ahead.
Following Zhao Hongyu's indication, it was still a vast sea with no discernible boundaries.
The江山圖under Zhao Hongyu's feet gradually slowed down and finally hovered above the sea surface.
No generals or soldiers emerged from underwater to greet them; everything was eerily quiet.
"This is the easternmost part of the East Sea," Zhao Hongyu pointed at a small island in front of her, "The area west of仙靈島belongs to the East Sea Dragon Palace. Further east lies... the Demon Beast Sea."
Zhao Hongyu emphasized the words 'Demon Beast Sea' particularly.
The Demon Beast Sea… Hao Ren felt that this name sounded familiar; he seemed to have heard it somewhere before.
"The area of the Demon Beast Sea is approximately equal to the combined total areas of the four regions under the control of the Four Seas Dragon Palaces, located at their center. It’s a mutual forbidden zone for dragon cultivators and human cultivators," Zhao Hongyu explained slowly.
“Demon beasts” Hao Ren guessed.
Zhao Hongyu nodded, "The Demon Beast Sea is home to countless demon beast groups, each vying for supremacy. These demon beasts aren’t like Xiaobai; many of them are in the transformation stage with strength comparable to Core Formation realm cultivators."
Hao Ren thought about it and seemed to recall… Zhen Ciming came from the Demon Beast Sea
"Is the Demon Beast Sea at peace with our East Sea Dragon Palace" Hao Ren asked.
Zhao Hongyu smiled helplessly, "The reason for the tight alliance of our Four Seas Dragon Palaces is the Demon Beast Sea. The demon beasts there are all powerful; to avoid them from breaking out and threatening the Four Seas Dragon Palaces, we have agreed to jointly guard the Demon Beast Sea."
“Demon King… does such a thing exist” Hao Ren suddenly recalled something and asked.
"A transforming demon beast that takes control of an area can be considered a king. In the Demon Beast Sea, there are大大小小的妖王thousands of them," Zhao Hongyu said.
靠，sounding so impressive but not worth much at all, Hao Ren thought inwardly.
"The ten strongest forces in the Demon Beast Sea led by ten demon kings. It’s rumored that each one possesses strength comparable to the Spirit Transformation realm, achieving an unkillable level of power, and even surpassing it," Zhao Hongyu continued.
Even more powerful than Spirit Transformation… Hao Ren's previous thought was immediately dispelled.
The old lady’s strength that he had witnessed and the strength of the old man on Kunlun Mountain that he experienced firsthand, what did those Demon Beast Sea's ten demon kings surpassing the Spirit Transformation realm mean…
"Of course, most of this information is gathered from minor demon kings. Our East Sea Dragon Palace also oversees dozens of demon kings; they are minor forces in the Demon Beast Sea and were forced out to live under our East Sea Dragon Palace," Zhao Hongyu said slowly.
As she spoke, the originally calm sea suddenly churned with waves reaching towards the sky.
Hundreds of soldiers from the East Sea, armed with long spears, marched on the waves toward the sea surface.
Suddenly, under that piece of sea surface, several dozen black, bull-like monsters emerged and fired black rays at the attacking East Sea soldiers.
*Boom* *Boom*...
The two sides fiercely engaged in battle. Despite being hundreds against dozens, neither side managed to gain a decisive advantage.
A soldier clad in white armor was caught off guard and hit by one of the bulls' hard horns, causing his flesh to splatter with blood. The dozen black bulls rampaged across the sea surface, breaking up the formation of the East Sea soldiers while emitting terrifying growls.
It turned out that the previous calm had been because their battle was taking place underwater; now, as the fight grew more intense, they were pushing beyond the water's surface!
Hao Ren swung his right hand, sending dozens of sword beams at those bulls.
The bulls turned to face Hao Ren, and in their eyes glowed ominous red light. If not for the fact that Hao Ren had reached the Earth rank and was no longer an ordinary mortal, he might have been frightened by such a look.
*Clang Clang...* When the sword beams hit the bulls' hard horns, they were deflected to some degree.
Some of the sword beams cut into the bodies of the bulls but failed to sever them. Instead, it roused their ferocity and made them charge toward Hao Ren.
Hao Ren was somewhat surprised—his sword beams, which contained powerful Earth Rank Qi, were equivalent to the power unleashed by a late-stage Core Formation cultivator, yet they didn't inflict fatal damage on these demon beasts
"Open with the Three Talents of Heaven and Earth!" With tremendous strength, three overlapping circles formed from his sword light enveloped those dozen bulls.
Connecting five types of sword lights into an array significantly amplified its power. In just a moment, the radiant colors surged forth, completely cutting down all the black bulls.
*Thud Thud...*
The shattered bull carcasses fell into the sea.
"Thank you for saving our lives, Dragon Mother!" Hundreds of soldiers shouted towards the direction of River and Mountain Chart in unison.
"No need to thank me," Zhao Hongyu waved her hand. "Who saved you was your East Sea General!"
The soldiers were startled when they heard this and looked at Hao Ren with astonishment.
They had been patrolling the borders of the East Sea recently, so their information was rather isolated. They hadn't had the chance to attend the Dragon God Festival banquet in the East Sea Dragon Palace; only gradually did they learn that the Third Prince of the East Sea Dragon Palace was no longer the General and was instead a young consort with formidable strength.
Now, seeing Hao Ren and hearing Zhao Hongyu say this personally, they knew that the one who had just saved them was their new East Sea General!
"I have a miraculous pill here. Take it quickly," Hao Ren took out an antidote pill from his芥子空間and handed it to the soldier who had been pierced by the demon beast.
This soldier was indeed tough; despite having his abdomen torn open, he still managed to persevere.
The soldier's face was pale and gaunt, thinking that he wouldn't make it. However, unexpectedly, the general personally presented him with a miraculous pill. Although he didn't understand alchemy, from the thick aura emanating from this pill, he knew its quality must be high!
In reality, this miraculous pill was indeed of high grade—it was a fourth-grade spirit pill refined by Xie Yujia. In the Fifth Layer Sky, it would be something that sects would compete for.
"Quickly take it."
Seeing the soldier hesitate, Hao Ren urged him.
"Thank you, General!"
The soldier gratefully looked at Hao Ren and swallowed the spirit pill in one go.
As soon as the miraculous pill entered his stomach, he could feel his wound rapidly recovering. Looking at this young and brave general, tears suddenly streamed down his face, "Commander Liu… He…" The surrounding soldiers also had sad expressions.
Hao Ren looked at them and realized that there were no commanding officers among them, thus concluding that the commander must have been killed by a demon beast.
Patrolling the borders of the Eastern Sea Territory and the Demon Beast Sea was the most dangerous task. All small teams in the Eastern Sea Territory would take turns on duty. Even so, some sacrifices could not be avoided due to the ferocious demon beasts from the Demon Beast Sea that often launched surprise attacks on nearby patrols of soldiers from the Eastern Sea. What patrolling soldiers from the Eastern Sea could do was to remain vigilant and not retreat because their retreat meant an expansion of territory for the Demon Beast Sea!
Fortunately, truly formidable demon beasts were all in the core region of the Demon Beast Sea; these ones wreaking havoc on its fringes were relatively low-level.
Hao Ren thought about it and took out a bottle of medicinal pills from his pocket. "Here are some replenishment pills for energy, whether for cultivation or injury treatment, they'll be effective. Use them as you see fit."
He placed the porcelain bottle filled with these pills in the hands of that injured soldier; actually, it was meant for the entire small team to use.
The replenishment pills… The soldiers exchanged glances.
Achieving some success in cultivation would mean walking down Elder Longong's path; those who were stronger at least had the rank of a minor commander. As for ordinary soldiers like them, their bodies usually weren't pure enough to reach the Tremor stage or beyond.
Therefore, replenishment pills were something they only heard about but never seen—much less used!
Swoosh…
The hundreds of soldiers who reacted after a few seconds all knelt before Hao Ren. "Thank you, General for the medicine! We swear to protect the Eastern Sea with our lives!"
The synchronized voices gradually faded away over the sea surface. Hao Ren couldn't bear such grand courtesies and quickly returned to Zhao Hongyu's side, waving goodbye to them.how to write with a brush. Especially for those "young cultivators" who just came out from the mountains, they are already over 100 or even 200 years old!In history, no calligrapher has lived such a l...