Chapter 163: Beast Tide Crisis
A hint of befuddlement flashed through his eyes, but he wasn't particularly concerned, seeing as these were just a few low-grade Darkback Iron Lizards.
The other Body Integration Stage elder soon noticed the Darkback Iron Lizards up ahead as well, but just like the other elder, he decided that they posed no threat.
However, as the flying ark continued onward, the expressions of the two Body Integration Stage elders were becoming more and more uneasy.
Initially, the Darkback Iron Lizards had only emerged in batches of a few at a time, but they quickly began coming out in droves, and they were also becoming more and more powerful. At this point, there were already some lizards at or above the Core Formation Stage.
"Fellow Daoist Liu, I get the sense that something isn't quite right," the Body Integration Stage elder on the left hand side said in a grim voice.
A thought seemed to have occurred to Elder Liu upon hearing this, and judging from his reaction, it wasn't an encouraging thought.
The spiritual sense of the other people on the ark wasn't able to reach as far and wide as that of the two Body Integration Stage elders, but they were also beginning to notice the large numbers of Darkback Iron Lizards in the area, and everyone was becoming more and more uneasy.
The man with the Kou surname flew over to the two elders, then asked in an urgent voice, "What's the deal with all these lizards, seniors?"
The two elders exchanged a glance with one another, following which one of them replied, "We don't know what's going on at the moment, but these Darkback Iron Lizards are supposed to be dark beasts, and we've never seen them active during the day. As long as we get out of this area quickly, there shouldn't be any problems."
"Full speed ahead! We have to get out of here as quickly as possible!" the man with the Kou surname instructed as he turned to one of his subordinates.
Meanwhile, Han Li had remained silent this entire time, surveying his surroundings with his hands clasped behind his back.
The man with the Kou surname was rather displeased with Han Li's detached attitude, but he couldn't openly criticize Han Li for his attitude, and all he could do was shake his head slightly in displeasure.
Out of the two Body Integration cultivators that he had hired, one of them had suddenly disappeared for some unknown reason, while the other one was clearly unfamiliar with the area. At this point, he could only pray that no major mishaps occurred, and that they could get out of this dangerous area as quickly as possible.
As the flying ark continued onward, the gravitational force coming from down below was becoming more and more pronounced.
The ark was a treasure of a decent caliber, but its enormous size and weight meant that it inevitably slowed down in the face of the increased gravity.
What was even more concerning was that the number of Darkback Iron Lizards up ahead was increasing exponentially, and some of them had even begun roaring at the flying ark, looking as if they were going to pounce.
Upon spotting several larger lizards that possessed Nascent Soul Stage powers, the two Body Integration Stage elders were finally unable to maintain their composure any longer.
The man with the Kou surname could also see that something was clearly amiss, and he suggested, "Given the current situation, I suggest we turn back and wait for a few days before attempting to cross this Black Rock Desert again. It'll only be a delay for a few days, and safety is paramount."
Both of the Body Integration Stage elders were also tempted by this proposition.
They hadn't been traveling through the Black Rock Desert for a very long time, so if they were to turn back now, they should've had enough time to get out of the desert before nightfall.
However, right as Elder Liu was about to respond, an unforeseen turn of events suddenly began to unfold.
A burst of rumbling rang out up ahead, and the earth in a radius of several dozens of kilometers began to tremble violently. Even the flying ark was somewhat affected, swaying slightly as if it were experiencing turbulence.
Everyone on the ark cast their eyes forward with astonished looks on their faces.
Far away in the distance, a series of thick black pillars were erupting into the heavens, much like an array of black mountains abruptly rising up from the ground.
The black pillars then collapsed into countless black particles, all of which began surging toward the flying ark like a black sea.
Through their spiritual sense, the people on the ark could detect that these black dots on the horizon were all Darkback Iron Lizards of different sizes.
In the blink of an eye, the entire landscape up ahead was completely inundated by this surging black wave, to the point that barely anything else was visible.
"We've run into a beast tide!" Elder Liu exclaimed with an alarmed expression.
Everyone instantly turned deathly pale as this realization dawned on them, and Han Li's brows also furrowed slightly.
The book that he had read concerning the Black Rock Desert had mentioned this type of beast tide, and it was an extremely perilous phenomenon. In some circumstances, these beast tides could even wear down an immortal until they died.
A layer of cold sweat instantly beaded up on the forehead of the man with the Kou surname, and he desperately yelled, "Turn the ark around! Hurry!"
The entire ark was instantly plunged into chaos, with everyone stumbling around on deck in a blind panic.
Dazzling white light erupted out of the ark as it was forcibly drawn to a halt, following which it quickly turned tail to flee back the same way it had come from.
However, it wasn't able to get very far before an earth-shattering boom rang out up ahead, and the earth opened up to release another massive pillar of Darkback Iron Lizards that obstructed their escape.
The ark was caught in between countless lizards, which were closing in from both the front and the rear.
There were still openings on either side of the ark, but the two swarms of lizards in front of and behind the ark were rapidly spreading, quickly forming an encirclement that completely surrounded the ark from all directions.
Everyone's faces had paled even further upon seeing this. No matter how sturdy the ark was, there was no way it would've been able to last very long in the face of such a formidable beast tide.
"What do we do, seniors?"
The man with the Kou surname was sweating and trembling uncontrollably as he turned to the three Body Integration cultivators on the ark.
The expressions of the two Body Integration Stage elders had turned extremely grim, and at this point, they had no choice but to fight for their lives.
Given their cultivation bases, if they were to abandon the ark and flee on their own, perhaps there was a 50% chance that they would be able to escape alive. However, as elders of the Chengquan Trading House, which was one of the three largest trading houses in the entire immortal region, they were bound by duty to protect the trading house's interests in times of peril. If they were to flee here, then they would be condemned and hunted across the entire Northern Glacial Immortal Region.
Han Li's brows were slightly furrowed, but he remained calm and collected. He took a few glances on either side of the ark, following which an intrigued look appeared on his face.
"Have you discovered something, Fellow Daoist Liu?" Elder Liu hurriedly asked upon seeing this.
"If you take a closer look, it seems like these lizards aren't targeting us," Han Li replied.
The two Body Integration Stage elders faltered slightly upon hearing this, then turned to inspect their surroundings, and sure enough, the lizards were fighting among themselves, ferociously biting and clawing at one another.
Furthermore, everyone quickly noticed that the two swarms of lizards were slightly different in appearance. The lizards up ahead had some dark red patterns on their bodies, while the ones behind the ark were completely black in color, indicating that they were different species.
"I see what's happening now. These two swarms of lizards are fighting over this territory! No wonder they've appeared during the day," Elder Liu mused as an enlightened look appeared in his eyes.
"In any case, seeing as we're not their target, we have to think of a way to get out of here as soon as possible. Otherwise, we'll still get swept up in their conflict regardless," the other elder said in a grim voice.
The man with the Kou surname immediately nodded in response, and after issuing a series of instructions, the flying ark began to glow with dazzling white light as it flew toward the left.
At this point, the two swarms of lizards had already completely clashed and were engaged in a fierce battle.
Blinded by their bloodlust, they were lashing out at anything that wasn't one of their brethren, and the giant flying ark was no exception.
A protective light barrier instantly appeared around the ark, advancing arduously as it warded off attacks from countless iron lizards.
Han Li and the two Body Integration Stage elders immediately sprang into action upon seeing this.
Elder Liu began to chant an incantation while making a rapid string of hand seals, and a burst of black flames instantly surged out of his body.
The black flames then transformed into countless fiery black threads at his behest, and the fiery threads intertwined to form an enormous net that was several thousand feet in size before sweeping toward the masses of surrounding iron lizards.
All of a sudden, the fiery black net exploded violently, causing the entire space to tremble as waves of fire surged forth in all directions, instantly forming a sea of black flames that was several kilometers in size.
All of the iron lizards that came into contact with the sea of fire instantly had their bodies blown into pieces before falling out of the sky as chunks of charred flesh.
Meanwhile, the other elder made a hand seal with one hand, and blue light flashed around him, following which a pair of massive blue lightning pythons sprang forth. Each of the pythons was several hundred feet in length, and both of them had dazzling blue lightning crackling around them as they pounced toward the lizard tide.
Upon making contact with the iron lizards, the blue lightning pythons instantly exploded, sending countless thick bolts of lightning erupting in all directions.
All of the iron lizards struck by the lightning instantly exploded, sending countless destroyed bodies raining out of the sky.
As for Han Li, he had turned to his trusty set of nine flying swords, which had transformed into countless sword threads that were slicing through large swathes of iron lizards with ease.
The three of them were each standing on one side of the ark, doing their best to slay the oncoming iron lizards.
However, there were simply far too many of these creatures, and despite their best efforts, they were only able to keep some of the iron lizards at bay, with countless more still able to crash into the ark.
A string of loud thumps rang out incessantly, and the ark resembled a small raft in a turbulent sea, just barely holding onto dear life in the face of the lizard tide.
The protective light barrier around the ark was also trembling violently, much to the panic and horror of everyone on the ark.
All of a sudden, a grating roar that resembled the harsh sound of metal grinding on metal rang out up ahead, and it was clearly audible even through the commotion of the unfolding battle.
Everyone on the ark felt a burst of sharp pain in their heads, as if they had just been pricked by steel needles, and their faces had paled even further.
The hearts of the two Body Integration Stage elders also shuddered upon hearing this roar.
Over 10,000 feet up ahead, a giant iron lizard that was around 500 to 600 feet in size had emerged out of the ground. Its body was completely black, and there were several thick black hooked spikes on its back, while sharp fangs were jutting out of its mouth, giving it an extremely fearsome appearance.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢