The Thousand Islands Alliance may be a loose coalition, but it still exerts considerable control over its member islands. Every ten years, each island must pay a tribute based on its industries.
As one of the foremost islands in the Thousand Islands Alliance, Dawn Island naturally operates numerous industries. The tribute it owes to the Alliance is substantial.
However, with the recent upheaval in the seas, its various industries have taken a major hit, and personnel losses have been catastrophic. In particular, the daily trade of materials from Demon Beasts has been almost completely severed.
If they fail to protect their remaining production, the three Golden Core Cultivators of Dawn Island will have to dip into their personal treasuries and use their own Spirit Stones to cover the tribute.
Of all their industries, the most critical is the Spirit Clam farm located off the coast of Dawn Island, covering an area of over thirty li. This farm cultivates tens of thousands of Spirit Clams, which produce a variety of Spirit Pearls annually.
This farm accounts for over half of Dawn Island’s annual revenue.
According to the Independent Cultivators who fled back from the sea, the Demon Beasts are now approaching the islands of the Thousand Islands Alliance. This could escalate into a full-blown Demon Tide that will crash against the islands.
Every time a Demon Tide occurs, even when defending from behind an island’s Grand Array, the losses are catastrophic. Fighting the Demon Beasts in the open sea is a battle with almost no chance of victory.
In the past, Demon Tides were always preceded by a warning, allowing the Three Friends of Dawn to harvest the Spirit Clams in advance and move a portion of the breeding stock back to the island.
But this Demon Tide has arrived too suddenly. With only a few days’ notice, there is no time to relocate the breeding stock.
This left the Three Friends of Dawn as anxious as ants on a hot griddle. Besides taking turns personally standing guard, they began recruiting heavily from the ranks of Independent Cultivators, promising handsome rewards to gather enough manpower before the Demon Tide hit.
After learning of this, Yinjiao knew it was the perfect opportunity to join the Thousand Islands Alliance.
If they simply offered their services without any backing, they would not only be ostracized within the Thousand Islands Alliance but also likely treated as disposable cannon fodder.
The Three Friends of Dawn are a major power within the Thousand Islands Alliance. Joining the Alliance through their recommendation would make things a hundred, even a thousand times smoother.
Iron Head performed Bone Stretching and Yinjiao altered his face, both taking on the appearance of young men. If they revealed their Foundation Establishment Cultivation while in the guise of children, they would stand out too much among the Independent Cultivators. People would assume they had consumed some Celestial and Earthly Treasures, which would only attract unnecessary trouble.
The clam farm was already in imminent danger, so the Three Friends of Dawn accepted nearly every Independent Cultivator who came to enlist.
Iron Head and Yinjiao entered the clam farm without any trouble.
-----------------
Viewed from high above, countless black specks could be seen swarming through the azure sea, surging toward the archipelago of the Thousand Islands Alliance.
A fin, three to four zhang long, sliced through the water’s surface like a razor’s edge, moving through the sea at an astonishing speed.
The next moment, the massive Demon Fish burst from the ocean, carrying a torrent of seawater with it as it soared into the sky. A pair of fins on its underside unfurled like a bird’s wings, shimmering with a rainbow of colors in the sunlight.
Cries of alarm rang out as a demonic gust of wind from the Demon Fish blew away a ring of clouds, revealing a Flying Boat hidden within.
The Flying Boat was only a dozen or so zhang long, its narrow hull shaped like a shuttle. The Thousand Islands Alliance’s power was limited; unlike the great Noble Families and Sects, they couldn’t construct massive War Flying Boats. The boats they produced themselves were mostly small vessels used for scouting, short-range transport, and hunting demons.
This was one such vessel: a Tier Two Flying Boat the Thousand Islands Alliance used specifically to monitor the Demon Tide. It was equipped with a Flying Escape Array and a Water Escape Array, and could even manipulate clouds to conceal its presence.
Despite its many functions, the boat’s direct combat capabilities were extremely weak. It had no Attack Arrays installed whatsoever, only a single, simple Defense Array.
Upon realizing they had been exposed, the Cultivators on the Flying Boat hastily activated its Defensive Array.
"BOOM!"
With a tremendous crash, the Demon Fish, riding a torrent of water, slammed directly into the Flying Boat’s Defensive Spirit Light.
The Array Patterns on the Flying Boat flickered, then shattered. The Defensive Spirit Light exploded. The Demon Fish’s hard skull gouged a long gash in the boat’s hull, splattering blood and revealing the stark white of its own bone. The smaller Flying Boat, like a fallen leaf, was sent flying.
Though the Cultivators on board had braced for impact, they were still battered and bleeding.
The Cultivator piloting the Flying Boat had no time to tend to his wounds; he scrambled to activate the vessel’s Flying Escape Array.
There were tens of thousands of Demon Beasts in the waters below. If they were to fall into the sea, they would be instantly torn apart and devoured by the endless horde.
BOOM!
But the Demons in the sea had no intention of letting the Flying Boat escape. Before the first Demon Fish had even fallen back into the water, more of them leaped from the depths.
"We’re done for!"
The faces of the Cultivators on the boat turned deathly pale. Though the Flying Boat’s escape speed was high, it couldn’t accelerate fast enough in such a short time. The more quick-witted among them were already preparing to abandon ship and flee.
Just then, a figure suddenly leaped from the Flying Boat.
Iron Head, holding a Long Spear, executed a flourish in mid-air. The sharp Spear Gang shot out in a straight line, piercing directly through the skull of a Demon Fish.
The same skull that had just clashed with the Flying Boat was no different from paper before his spear.
He landed on the Demon Fish’s head and, with a horizontal slash of his Long Spear, cut another leaping Demon Fish in two.
After that, Iron Head chose to hide his full strength, merely batting away the next few Demon Fish.
"Go! Get us out of here!"
A Cultivator frantically urged the pilot to abandon Iron Head and push the Flying Boat to maximum speed to escape.
The next moment, a Flying Sword was pressed against his neck.
Yinjiao’s handsome face was cold and severe. He didn’t retract his Flying Sword until Iron Head had jumped back onto the boat.
The Flying Boat was heavily damaged from the collision. As it accelerated, it emitted an unsettling drone, and its Spirit Stone consumption increased significantly.
Fortunately, most of the Demons in the sea were Little Demons, equivalent to Qi Cultivators. The few Great Demons nearby had been struck down by Iron Head, and none of them were skilled at aerial flight. Once the Flying Boat picked up speed, it instantly widened the distance.
A few Demon Fish leaped into the air again in a futile attempt to catch them, only to pounce on empty air and fall back into the sea.
The Cultivators on the Flying Boat breathed a collective sigh of relief. The one who had shouted to speed up secretly slunk into a corner. The Demon Fish that had been slain or knocked down were genuine Great Demons.
Although these sea-dwelling Great Demons relied solely on brute force, making their Power somewhat weaker than a Foundation Establishment Cultivator of an equivalent level, Iron Head had just single-handedly taken on a group of them, slaying two and batting away several more.
’The man who just jumped back onto the boat is still covered in steaming Demon Blood. I’m absolutely no match for such a ruthless figure.’
"Demon Birds!"
Before the people on the Flying Boat could even compose themselves, a Cultivator cried out in terror as he spotted a small flock of Demon Birds streaking toward them at an astonishing speed.
"There’s a Demon King controlling the Demon Tide!"
The Cultivators of the Thousand Islands Alliance had fought sea Demons for years; they instantly knew something was wrong.
They had been perfectly hidden, so to be discovered so suddenly was already extremely strange. Now, just moments after escaping the sea Demons, they were being beset by flying ones.
Without a Golden Core Demon King directing them from behind, these low-intelligence Demons would never be able to react so quickly.
As this realization dawned on them, the Cultivators felt a chill as if they’d been plunged into an icy abyss.
They were bold and highly skilled among Foundation Establishment Cultivators to have dared to take a Flying Boat out to sea to scout the Demon Tide. But against a Golden Core Demon, none of them could guarantee they would survive.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter