At this moment, a Base Building cultivator, his face slightly pale, stepped forward and said, "City Lord, are you asking us to stay here and die? This is a beast tide! Not just a single mythical beast, how can we possibly fight them! If you have any conscience, you should open the city gates immediately and let us cultivators who can fly on swords leave to reduce casualties!"
Many cultivators agreed.
Some cultivators remained silent, uncertain about what to do.
Yuan Zhenhai’s expression turned cold. "Leave? Do you not know the power of the mythical beasts? Once the magical barrier set by Taoist Friend Nanli is breached, with your mere spiritual power, you’ll be lucky to escape the city alive!"
"Besides, your loved ones are still in the city—are you going to abandon them?!"
"You’d be better off helping to defend the city’s protective formation to have any chance of survival!"
His words struck a chord with many of the cultivators.
If they abandoned their loved ones and fled now, they would not deserve to be human, and they would regret it for the rest of their lives.
"We will follow the City Lord and protect Seaside City!" someone shouted, and soon many others joined in.
However, some cultivators were still unwilling to stay.
Yuan Zhenhai did not force them. After all, if he insisted, it might demoralize the others in the city.
He ordered the gates to be opened, allowing those cultivators to leave.
The cultivators mounted their swords and flew into the sky. When they saw the countless mythical beasts charging in from the sea, the sight was one they had never encountered before.
It was almost a nightmare!
They nearly fell from the sky, but with great effort, they steadied themselves and quickly flew off in search of a safer place.
At this moment, Yuan Zhenhai hurriedly instructed Elder Chen to notify Nanli that something had happened here.
But the Telestone remained silent—no one responded to the spell.
Elder Chen’s heart trembled. "Nanli is probably busy drawing talismans to control the flood at Hundred Pass Town and can’t spare the time."
He immediately contacted Uncle De.
Sure enough, Nanli was occupied and could not afford to help.
Upon hearing of the disaster at Seaside City, Uncle De was shocked.
He immediately informed Lin Yifan.
Before Lin Yifan could speak, Lin Zhixia, who was nearby, shouted, "What? They are so malicious? Are they even human? Why hasn’t heaven struck them down with punishment?"
Lin Yifan thought the same, but since the heavens were blind, what could he do?
In a critical situation, he said, "Uncle De, you stay here and keep an eye on it. I will take the martial cultivators from the city to help."
Lin Zhixia protested, "Father, I’m going too!"
She had never seen a beast tide and wanted to witness it firsthand.
Lin Yifan frowned. "Don’t be foolish. The beast tide is far from simple."
Uncle De’s eyes reddened. "City Lord, but... but we barely have cultivators above Base Building at Hundred Pass Town. Even if they go, we won’t be able to help much."
According to ancient texts, to slay a mythical beast, at least a Golden Core cultivator was needed.
Base Building cultivators like them would only be able to scratch the mythical beasts.
"If the magical barrier really is broken, even if we escape the water disaster, we won’t escape the slaughter of the mythical beasts. Before Nanli sets up the water control formation, I must help Seaside City defend against the mythical beasts and reduce the casualties among the common folk!" Lin Yifan said firmly.
As the city lord, he had placed life and death aside.
He handed the city lord’s token to Lin Zhixia.
"Father, I..." Lin Zhixia choked up. "I am not capable enough..."
"Yes, I know you’re not capable enough, so this city lord’s token... I want you to give it to Nanli when the time comes."
Lin Zhixia’s lips twitched. "Father, I am your own daughter."
"Yes, you are my own daughter, but you indeed are not capable." Lin Yifan straightened his face. "Hundred Pass Town has many citizens. I can’t entrust them to you."
He couldn’t delay any longer.
Grabbing his sword, he gathered the cultivators from the courtyard and set off toward Seaside City.
Meanwhile, in Jade Wolf City, inland, the situation was the same.
Qiao Dabao led the elders to offer their assistance.
They all knew that if Seaside City fell first, other towns and villages would surely suffer!
What is a cultivator?
A cultivator is someone who steps forward at such a critical time to protect the people!
Qingwu led the mythical beasts toward the coastal formation.
He suddenly flew upward.
The mythical beasts were caught off guard, and they collided with him.
The deafening sounds continued.
Golden runes appeared, dense and numerous.
Though there was a tremor, the formation was sturdy enough to hold off this wave of the beast tide.
Yuan Zhenhai watched in amazement. "Nanli’s formation... truly impressive..."
It seemed even more powerful than the one set up by the Jifeng Celestial Sovereign.
Elder Chen breathed a sigh of relief. "This formation was assisted by the Sky Plough Pearl, so it’s naturally extraordinary."
Qingwu led the mythical beasts into a second attack.
The formation still held strong.
Cultivators in Seaside City cheered and felt relieved:
"Great! This formation can hold back the mythical beasts!"
"Hahaha! The mythical beasts are not so terrifying after all!"
But his smile vanished when he saw a mythical rhino on the surface of the sea.
He quickly shouted, "Use your spiritual power to reinforce the city’s protective formation, quickly!"
Yuan Zhenhai was clever from a young age. After becoming the city lord, he studied many ancient texts and learned about mythical beasts.
This mythical rhino could very well break through the formation!
The others didn’t understand, but seeing Yuan Zhenhai’s alarmed expression, they hurriedly used their spiritual power to reinforce the protective formation.
At that moment, the mythical rhino seemed to understand Qingwu’s intent. Since it couldn’t swallow Qingwu, it would target another goal.
It had slept for many years, and though the world had changed, it still remembered the land before it.
It raised its head and roared.
The other mythical beasts retreated.
The mythical rhino gathered its strength, its four legs splashing through the water, its massive body emerging from the sea.
With each step, massive waves rose.
Though it appeared clumsy, its speed when charging was almost as fast as the wind.
Its thick, indestructible horn slammed into the formation’s barrier with great force!
In an instant, the wind and clouds shifted, and a violent gust of wind swept through.
The shockwave caused the sea to churn.
What was even more shocking was that a crack appeared in the barrier!
The remaining shockwave passed through the formation and struck Seaside City.
The protective formation weakened significantly, and if the cultivators hadn’t reinforced it with spiritual power in time, it would have been breached.
Yuan Zhenhai barely managed to steady himself and then stared in horror as the mythical rhino pulled back to prepare for a second strike.
Over the East Ocean, Qingwu laughed maniacally. "Go! Break this formation to pieces, crush those despicable people, and devour them all! They are all your food!"