Ye Tai, mastering the Dark Cloud Barrier, carried Bing'er and flew at full speed, closely trailing the experienced elders like Pang and Zhu, fleeing the Blood Tide. He heard the deafening roar of exploding magical artifacts from behind him and could not help but turn back in horror.
It turned out that several Golden Core beast-hunting cultivators had suffered grievous injuries for unknown reasons, their spiritual power nearly depleted. Their flying speed had drastically dropped, and they had been caught by the Blood Tide, leaving them no chance to escape the overwhelming, sweeping deluge. They were forced to group together for a final stand, attempting a desperate struggle against the tide.
The highest-cultivated among them, controlling a massive ice-elemental primordial spirit artifact—the "Ice Lance"—spat several mouthfuls of his vital essence, along with several other Golden Core cultivators.
That ice-elemental primordial spirit artifact spear transformed into a colossal ice dragon, three to four hundred zhang long, absorbing the boundless water spiritual energy from the sea surface. This energy instantly froze into countless frigid, sharp icicles. In a flash, thousands of these bone-chilling, sharpened icicles shot out together toward the pursuing Blood Tide.
The few Golden Core cultivators fought like cornered beasts, draining their essence in a desperate gamble. The sheer ferocity and impact of their combined attack were something even a peak ninth-tier Golden Core cultivator could scarcely withstand.
The Ice Lance, suddenly expanded to several hundred zhang in length, pierced the endless, terrifying Blood Tide behind them. In an instant, it froze thousands upon thousands of blood-mist demonic insects, shattering them into icy fragments that rained down like sleet. The spear punched a several-hundred-zhang-wide hole through the Blood Tide itself.
However, before the cultivators could celebrate, they watched the awe-inspiring Ice Lance get swallowed by the whistling blood mist. Although a massive number of blood-mist demonic insects were annihilated by the lance, the resulting gap was immediately filled by more insects in the blink of an eye.
What followed was a piercing, grating sound of gnashing and biting. The enormous Ice Lance was completely submerged in the terrifying crimson torrent and vanished without a trace moments later, as if it had never existed. Even the corpses of the slain blood-mist demonic insects were rapidly devoured by the buzzing, passing swarm, leaving nothing behind.
The combined final burst of power from those few Golden Core cultivators only managed to slow the pursuing Blood Tide momentarily; it did nothing to change the cruel reality. In the very next instant, the Blood Tide completely engulfed them. “Ah—!”
A piercing shriek echoed from within the Blood Tide. Various powerful protective gangqi erupted around their bodies, preventing their flesh from being immediately consumed by the insects. The insects were furiously chewing away at their defensive barriers. “Even in death, this old man will drag you down with me—!!!” “Golden Core Self-Detonation!” “Boom—!”
Inside the Blood Tide, a colossal sphere of light spanning a thousand zhang instantly formed, consuming the blood-mist demonic insects surrounding it.
Those severely wounded Golden Core cultivators, refusing to become carrion for the blood-mist insects, unleashed all their magical artifacts, treasures, and talismans before detonating their Golden Cores, exploding into balls of brilliant light to perish together with the swarm.
This explosive light killed at least tens of thousands of blood-mist insects, yet it had absolutely no impact on the overwhelming, approaching Blood Tide. In a fleeting moment, the tide swept over the light sphere once more. Seven or eight li away.
Ye Qin, flying desperately on his artifact, witnessed the entire tragic scene unfolding behind him, his expression filled with extreme shock. The other Golden Core cultivators felt waves of chilling dread, spurring them to push their flying artifacts to the utmost limit, desperate to escape the Blood Tide. “This is the Blood Tide!”
Only now did Ye Qin truly understand why Elder Pang and the group of late-stage Golden Core cultivators had reacted with such terror and fled without regard for anything else upon discovering the Blood Tide's approach.
No matter how powerful a Golden Core cultivator was, facing a Blood Tide spanning at least a thousand li, they were like a floating duckweed, instantly submerged without any chance of escape.
Forget them; even a Nascent Soul ancestor, if completely surrounded by the Blood Tide, probably wouldn't last long.
Only those who have personally encountered the Blood Tide can truly grasp how terrifying it is!
The desperate struggle and self-detonation of those few Golden Core cultivators only instilled a sense of shared sorrow among the fleeing cultivators; it bought them no tangible time for escape.
Those fleeing dared not think of anything else, focusing only on how to desperately escape the confines of this vast blood lake.
The Blood Tide moved in swarms numbering in the hundreds of millions, sweeping across thousands of li, boundless and so vast it induced despair.
At the very front of the Blood Tide were large masses of the densest crimson waves, each mass spanning several thousand zhang. These were the fastest and highest-ranked blood-mist demonic insects within the entire tide, serving as the vanguard for the thousand-li expanse.
It was one of these densest blood-lake masses that had swallowed those few heavily injured Golden Core cultivators.
Elder Pang reacted the quickest and was the fastest fleeing late-stage Golden Core cultivator.
Including Ye Qin, Huangfu Bing'er, Elder Zhu, Elder Yang, the Wang uncle and nephew, and others, in their panic, all flew on their artifacts, closely following behind Elder Pang.
Meanwhile, Jiang Ling, Zheng Chenghui, and another group of over ten beast-hunting Golden Core cultivators from the island had also joined their flight path. After all, this small group had originally been hunting high-level demonic beasts together on the island, so it was natural for them to group up when fleeing. The gathered Golden Core cultivators formed a shuttle-shaped flying formation using their swords.
This formation was not a true "Flying Sword Array" but possessed a similar effect; it was a peculiar arrangement typically used when a large group of cultivators traveled long distances.
Elder Pang, leading the formation at the front, endured the strongest wind turbulence while flying at high speed. The other few eighth and ninth-tier Golden Core cultivators followed closely behind, with the rest trailing one after another. This flying formation was inherently less agile than an individual cultivator flying alone.
However, for long-distance travel, it saved spiritual power compared to a single Golden Core cultivator flying solo on a sword, and the speed was in no way slower. Even the lowest-cultivated Wang uncle and nephew could leverage this formation to avoid the fierce wind turbulence at high altitude and barely keep up with the group. “Why is the Blood Tide moving so fast? Aren't these low-tier insects? How did they catch up to us Golden Core cultivators! If I had known, we shouldn't have hunted those two demonic beasts.” Old Man Wang, standing on a top-tier flying sword, looked back at the rapidly approaching Blood Tide, his face ghastly green.
“Those are the fastest type of insect in the Sea of Crimson; otherwise, they wouldn't have earned their terrible reputation! If you hadn't insisted on hunting the demonic beasts earlier, we wouldn't be in this miserable situation, running into the Blood Tide!” Elder Yang glanced back and retorted angrily.
“Stop arguing! The Blood Tide is advancing too quickly. At this rate, the vanguard might catch us in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn!” Elder Pang roared. “Once you fall into the Blood Tide, no one ever survives!” “Fellow Daoists, if you have any methods or tricks, please bring them out now, or we will all be buried in the Blood Tide, leaving not even dust behind.” “Can we hide temporarily underwater?” “While the seabed is perilous, it is certainly less dangerous than this Blood Tide. If we were facing other dangers, that method might be viable.” “The blood-mist demonic insects can fly ten thousand zhang high and dive a thousand zhang deep; they devour anything with blood and flesh. Even if we hide in the sea, we will still be swallowed.” “Didn't you see the demonic beasts on the seabed being forced out of the water by the tide, leaping out wildly?” “Should we scatter and flee?” “Alone, we will die even faster! We can never escape the range of the Blood Tide. Only by working together do we have the greatest chance of survival.” “How about we all turn right and flee, avoiding the direction of the Blood Tide?”
“Useless! The insects in the Blood Tide advance by scenting blood and flesh. No matter which direction we flee, as long as we leave our aura, they will pursue us relentlessly. Furthermore, turning will slow us down, causing the Blood Tide to catch up faster.”
“I have an idea. I know of a massive island in this sea area that hosts a nest of demonic birds. That place is inhabited by tens of thousands of demonic birds, a place cultivators usually dare not approach. If we go to the demonic bird nest now, we can use those birds to buy us some time, slow the advance of the Blood Tide, and create a chance to escape.”
Elder Pang suddenly had an idea and shouted loudly, “After all, they only devour whatever blood and flesh lies in front of them; when the prey becomes overwhelming, they won't focus entirely on chasing us. Our bit of flesh is insignificant compared to the vast Blood Tide.”
“Good!”
“Let’s try it!”
The cultivators agreed, feeling this was not a bad idea.
“Haha, I am Sun Xing. If I am lucky enough to survive this, I must invite all you Daoist friends to have a drink at the Ancient Ship Outpost!” The leading ninth-tier Golden Core cultivator of Jiang Ling’s group actually burst into laughter, showing no sign of concern for this deadly, desperate situation.
On the open sea, fleeing Golden Core cultivators encountered others from time to time.
Occasionally, hunting cultivators who flew off in other directions would be engulfed by the Blood Tide.
This group of Golden Core cultivators, totaling nearly twenty mid-to-late-stage Golden Core masters, was a not-insignificant force. “Not good, a mass of the Blood Tide's vanguard is less than a thousand zhang away and is about to catch us! How far are we from that demonic bird nest? Can we make it in time?” Several cultivators lagging slightly behind shouted in terror, looking back.
“Our speed is almost equal to the main body of the Blood Tide. However, the vanguard is slightly faster than us! If this continues, I fear we won't reach the demonic bird nest.”
Ye Qin looked back and saw a blood-colored mass spanning several thousand zhang at the very front of the Blood Tide, buzzing loudly, gradually catching up to them like a giant, gaping, bloody maw descending from above, attempting to swallow them whole! “Not for a moment yet!”
Elder Pang also glanced back, realizing the situation was critically urgent, and shouted sternly, “Fellow Daoists, let us join forces first and shatter this vanguard mass of the Blood Tide! We must prevent them from entangling us and slowing our speed. As long as we are not swallowed by the main Blood Tide, we still have a chance to escape!” “Agreed!”
“Everyone focus your power to break through; there is still a sliver of hope!” “Worst case, we die.” “Brother Pang leads, we will provide support!” At this point, this group of Golden Core cultivators paid no mind to who was the nominal leader.
Elder Pang, at the very front, roared and unleashed his primordial spirit artifact, the "Seven Treasures Canopy Umbrella." Pushing his spiritual power to its limit, the treasure umbrella swelled to sixty or seventy zhang in size, spinning violently. Layers of dazzling, colorful light rotated, maximizing the artifact's defensive power.
As soon as Elder Pang finished speaking, the others released their artifacts and adjusted their formation. With the Seven Treasures Canopy Umbrella as the tip, they arrayed themselves above, below, left, and right, forming a cone formation to prevent their artifacts and spells from colliding and canceling each other out. It was crucial not to get entangled by the Blood Tide vanguard and separated from the main group, lest they face eternal doom. “Kill!” Simultaneously, a large mass of the Blood Tide vanguard caught up to the group of cultivators. This mass of blood-mist demonic insects consisted of insects at least at the fourth tier, numbering tens of thousands. They converged into a bloody wave several thousand zhang wide, shrieking and hissing like a giant shroud, swooping down upon the cultivators. Elder Pang, Sun Xing, and the few eighth and ninth-tier Golden Core cultivators formed a sharp arrowhead, fearlessly driving their primordial spirit artifacts directly into the core of that blood-mist vanguard mass.
The remaining Golden Core cultivators followed closely behind, releasing their artifacts and frantically slaughtering the surrounding blood-mist insects.
“Bang!”
The massive Seven Treasures Canopy Umbrella slammed violently into a large section of blood-mist insects ahead. The umbrella possessed immense power, and countless blood-mist insects instantly exploded into sprays of bloody mist.
The group of over twenty Golden Core cultivators simultaneously deployed their artifacts and spells, unleashing a coordinated assault on the chasing mass of fourth-tier blood-mist insects.
This group of cultivators boasted more than half as late-stage Golden Cores, with the rest being mid-stage. Their combined strike was terrifyingly potent.
Although that vanguard mass of the Blood Tide was nearly ten thousand strong and mostly fourth-tier, it was still no match for them. In a short while, that single mass of the vanguard was completely wiped out.
However, after charging through the first mass of the Blood Tide vanguard, none of the cultivators showed any sign of relief. Instead, they became even more terrified, an uncontrollable dread rapidly spreading through them.
While fighting the vanguard mass, their flying speed had inevitably been dragged down, causing them to slow. Meanwhile, the main body of the Blood Tide behind them had drawn even closer.
Moreover, the Blood Tide vanguard was not just one mass, but dozens, hundreds of them. As soon as one was eliminated, another followed to pursue them.
Some vanguard masses had even overtaken them, flying ahead to hunt down the other Golden Core cultivator groups on the sea surface. This was only one aspect.
What terrified them even more was that their already dwindling spiritual power had been completely exhausted after a frenzied slaughter that killed tens of thousands of blood-mist insects. Once their spiritual power ran out, their combat strength would plummet. Even as Golden Core cultivators, they would be helpless against the ravenous swarm. “Spiritual power—! My spiritual power is nearly empty!” “What do we do now?”
Several cultivators in the group showed expressions bordering on despair, struggling even to pilot their artifacts.
They had already fought for an entire day on the island to hunt the two ninth-tier Golden Core demonic beasts, and their spiritual power was already severely depleted; they hadn't had time to recover fully. Now, they faced another intensely fierce battle, pushing them to the very edge of their spiritual limits.
Elder Pang also showed profound fatigue, with a trace of despair deep in his eyes. Leading the charge, he had borne the brunt of the massive impact from the blood-mist insects, consuming the most spiritual power.
If he lost his momentum and slowed down, the entire team's speed would drop, leading to utter annihilation!
In fact, any Golden Core cultivator among them who had participated in hunting the ninth-tier demonic beasts had very little spiritual power remaining.
Even though the cultivators had drunk spiritual wine, how much power could they have recovered in such haste?
Soon, another mass of the Blood Tide vanguard, consisting of over ten thousand mid-tier insects, rushed towards them.
“Not good!”
The cultivators turned pale with fright.
If this vanguard mass delayed them for even a moment, the main Blood Tide behind them would quickly catch up and completely devour them, leaving no burial site.
Elder Pang's face changed drastically; his current spiritual power simply could not cope with such a large vanguard mass.
He suddenly thought of something and shouted in surprise, “Daoist Friend Ye! You did not participate in besieging the demonic beasts, so you should still have sufficient spiritual power to fly at full capacity. Quickly, quickly, take the lead!” Ye Qin had originally been positioned in the middle of the formation. “Alright!”
He paused for a moment but didn't overthink it. He switched to a different flying sword and shot to the very front of the formation in an instant. Huangfu Bing'er did not stay behind either but immediately followed him.
Elder Pang’s spiritual power was also severely depleted during the breakthrough push; having Ye Qin take the lead allowed him to immediately retreat to the center of the formation, desperately downing spiritual wine while watching the increasingly close Blood Tide.
“Fellow Daoists, that demonic bird nest is only one or two thousand li from here. With our current strength, if we can just hold on a little longer, we will reach it soon! As for those blood-lake vanguard masses, kill them instantly if they get close. But we absolutely cannot let the main Blood Tide catch up from behind! Otherwise, we will all perish!”
“Fellow Daoists, quickly bring out your spiritual beasts, expendable artifacts, and talismans to cover the rear. Otherwise, if the main Blood Tide catches up, none of us will escape!”
“Fight with everything you have left!”
“Bring out all expendable artifacts and talismans!”
“Every spiritual beast you have raised, now is the time for them to die for the cause!”
Elder Pang gritted his teeth, first unsealing his spiritual beast pouch and tossing out an Iron-Winged Azure Eagle with a wingspan of several dozen zhang toward the rear. Immediately after, he launched several fiery-red Thunder Pearls and dozens of high-level talismans in several directions behind him.
That sixth-tier Golden Core Iron-Winged Azure Eagle had accompanied Elder Pang for dozens of years, achieving countless merits, and had even saved his life. But now, at this critical juncture of life and death, he had to set an example and reluctantly leave this spiritual beast to guard the rear.
In comparison, those few top-tier expendable artifacts, the "Thunder Pearls," and dozens of high-grade talismans were insignificant.
The Iron-Winged Azure Eagle, being a Golden Core spiritual beast, possessed considerable sentience. At this moment, understanding that its master was in mortal danger, the instinct to protect its owner suppressed its inherent anger.
The Iron-Winged Azure Eagle let out a mournful cry, spread its wings, and flew towards the terrifying Blood Tide behind it, simultaneously whipping out massive wind blades toward the tide.