Chapter 13: Arrow-Toothed Demon

With the Lingxiao Sword and Water Boat in hand, Yang Ji finally had the confidence to venture into the vast sea alone.

After completing the trade, he left Myriad Treasures Tower.

Then, he purchased some dry food and clean water in the city, more than enough to sustain him at sea for over three months.

With everything prepared, Yang Ji did not set out from the port, because the words of Jin Dafu had made him cautious.

Setting sail alone, he feared being marked and followed by those with ill intent.

With that in mind, he left Nanfeng City and came to a deserted beach on his own.

He observed the sky—[clear for thousands of miles, no storms for the next three days].

He observed the sea—[calm waves, no strong winds or big waves for the next three days].

With the weather in his favor, Yang Ji no longer hesitated, and he took out the Water Boat with a flip of his hand.

As soon as spiritual power was infused,

Hum!

Accompanied by a flash of spiritual light, the Water Boat quickly expanded to the size of two people, lying on the sand like a beached shark.

Immediately, he flung his robe, leapt forward, and sat firmly inside the boat.

Boom!

With a soft roar, two curved hatch doors rapidly closed.

Yang Ji formed a hand seal with one hand, and the Water Boat shot into the water like an arrow loosed from a bowstring. With a splash, as water churned, it vanished without a trace.

...

The bottom of the sea.

Here, there was green seaweed, glowing jellyfish, colorful coral, and countless schools of fish...

The underwater world was colorful and dazzling, presenting a different landscape and vitality from the land.

The Water Boat, like an outsider looking into an aquarium, slowly moved forward.

Though it seemed aimless, Yang Ji was always paying attention to the information alerts inside.

[One mile ahead, a huge Redwood Fish is swimming leisurely.]

[Beneath the seabed, a black crab the size of a millstone is hidden in the silt, dozing off.]

[A water column two meters in diameter is rolling towards you, containing enough force to overturn the Water Boat.]

[The Water Boat hastened and disrupted the mating of two Red-tailed Shrimps, who both cast angry glances in its direction.]

[Inside the rocks ahead, a group of Silver Sardines are shivering as the massive Water Boat passes above them.]

...

As his gaze swept by, a stream of information alerts appeared in Yang Ji's vision like a series of codes.

After traveling a hundred miles, there were no Demonic Beasts, no Spirit Fish, no mineral deposits, just some common sea goods that ordinary fishermen would be ecstatic to find.

Indeed, although the sea was vast and rich in resources, Demonic Beasts were still hard to find.

After all, on land, Cultivators with Spiritual Roots were scarce; how could Demonic Beasts corresponding to them be found everywhere in the sea?

Nevertheless, Yang Ji continued to search patiently.

After another five hundred miles, night had fallen, and Yang Ji had only collected two pieces of Sinkstone.

Now, the seabed world was lit up with various glowing lights.

Glowing jellyfish, blue-green seaweed, and colorful Spirit Fish all illuminated the dreamlike underwater canvas.

As he proceeded, rocks appeared ahead like artificial mountains, with countless porous caves where various sea creatures peeked in and out.

Suddenly, an alert flashed by, and Yang Ji stiffened, instantly invigorated.

[In the rocks ahead, a fourth grade Arrow-Toothed Demon that emerges during the day and hides at night is sleeping in a cave.]

A flash of sharpness appeared in Yang Ji's eyes. He put away the Water Boat and dove down.

Just as he settled into position, ready to send Sword Qi into the cave,

A rapid alert flashed by [The human scent mixed in the sea water woke the Arrow-Toothed Demon; it sensed a strong killing intent, it was shocked, angry, and panicked; it began to break out with all its might.]

So sharply aware?

Without time to marvel at the Arrow-Toothed Demon's keen alertness, Yang Ji heard a thunderous sound of water breaking.

Before his eyes, the cave entrance churned with water, and out burst a mud-yellow beast that resembled a sea snake.

This Arrow-Toothed Demon was only as thick as a human's leg, but its mouth split wide, reaching down to its belly in a single motion.

From mouth to belly, it was filled with dense, three-inch-long sharp teeth, flashing a frightening cold light.

In the middle, there was a lance-like tongue vibrating wildly like an engine, creating a shocking sound wave that made the water in front of Yang Ji tremble rapidly, almost as if it were boiling.

Its eyes were filled with ferocity as it belched a muddy stench from its mouth and bit crazily towards Yang Ji.

"Good timing!"

Yang Ji was filled with a fighting spirit.

Swinging the Lingxiao Sword, he cut through the water with three Sword Qi slashes.

Vast as the water, the Sword Qi was like a rainbow.

In this water, the Water Tracing Sword Technqiue was as fast as lightning, just like the Water Boat, swift and unstoppable.

Hisss!

The sea split asunder as the Sword Qi suddenly slashed across the Arrow-Toothed Demon's body, immediately producing three lines of blood.

Sssss!

The Arrow-Toothed Demon's spear-like tongue vibrated, its serpent-like body twisting in intense pain as its downward bite also came to a sudden halt.

With pain rolling in its eyes, it closed its mouth, twisted its body, and transformed into a water arrow to make a rapid escape.

Splash! A trail of water sprays was left behind, instantly covering a distance of a mile.

"This guy is so fast!"

Yang Ji cursed bitterly, watching it get away, he could only reluctantly take one last look.

But at that moment, a piece of information appeared[The Arrow-Toothed Demon has been severely wounded, its life fading faster due to speed beyond its limits, its speed is now slowing down.]

Hmm?

Yang Ji didn't hesitate, he immediately took out the Water Boat and activated the Formation, chasing after it at top speed.

After a stick of incense had burned, he found the dying Arrow-Toothed Demon within a coral cave.

Yang Ji struck with his sword and harvested a complete Demonic Beast.

This brought him some joy, his outing finally yielding some gains.

He then continued on his way.

However, after two hours passed, he hadn't encountered another Demonic Beast, nor had he found a single Sinkstone.

Yang Ji was now holding a map of the Thousand-Islands Sea Area, his gaze fixed on a red dot.

It was a deserted island, only two hundred miles away from his current position in the sea.

He hoped to reach there to rest and also to look for Demonic Beasts.

Through his previous conversation with Chen De and others, Yang Ji learned that some amphibious Demonic Beasts would appear on islands at night, and he wanted to try his luck there.

The Water Boat continued straight along its course without discovering anything of value.

After covering two hundred miles, he had arrived at the deserted island known as Wild Heaven Island.

It was now deep into the night, moonlight casting down, draping Wild Heaven Island in a veil of white as if hidden and revealed intermittently before his eyes.

The island was lush with vegetation, vibrant with life, filled with coconut trees, palm trees, olive trees, and more, all thick and tall, blocking out the sun.

The surrounding sandy beaches also glowed pearly white under this moonlight.

With sandy beaches and coconuts, palm trees for shade, it would surely be a vacation paradise on Earth.

Yang Ji gazed at the island, commanding the Water Boat to burst forth from the water and land on the sandy beach.

At that very moment.

Splash!

Not far away, another sound of water being split open arose.

Yang Ji instinctively looked over, and both parties were momentarily stunned[Fifth Grade Demonic Beast, King Crab, its giant pincers like heavenly shears. Armored body, no weak spots.]

A Fifth Grade Demonic Beast?

King Crab? No weak spots?

Having observed the island intensively, Yang Ji hadn't noticed the informational prompt at his side, leading to this moment of mutual surprise.

Whoosh!

Without time to think further, he heard a sound of cutting wind, Yang Ji had already unsheathed his sword to attack.

Excitement filled his heart—faced with such a prize, how could he let it escape?

He immediately employed the Water Tracing Sword Technique's Smooth Water Sword.

The Spiritual Power within him surged like a torrential river into the Lingxiao Sword, the tip of the blade emitting a sword light a meter long, incomparably sharp.

Swish!

With a single sword strike cleaving the air, the afterimage of Yang Ji rushing forward had just appeared when the Flying Sword had already struck the King Crab's lower jaw.

But!

Sssss—sparks flew wildly, and the Flying Sword couldn't penetrate an inch.

"Huh?" His sword having no effect, Yang Ji was slightly surprised.

The King Crab recovered from its shock[Fuming with rage],[Heart quivering],[Retreat],[Escape for its life].

Seeing that Yang Ji's sword failed to pierce it, the display above the King Crab's head changed[After fear],[Lucky],[Scared me to death],[Scornful],[Triumphant],[Eat him],[Increase power].

Whoosh!

The King Crab waved its giant pincer, forcing Yang Ji to retreat.

"This guy has such strong defense, my all-out strike only left a white mark on its shell?"

Yang Ji frowned, muttering to himself in disdain, inwardly cursing Jin Dafu's jinx; his Lingxiao Sword couldn't even penetrate a Demonic Beast that was nearly at his level.

In the midst of retreating, he finally got a clear view of the creature.

The creature looked truly domineering, as big as a water buffalo, clad in a copper armor adorned with strange patterns, with eight thick legs on each side, and a pair of pincers like the jaws of the deep sea, their edges sharp.

Its eyes, large as millstones, were now wide open, and it was making threatening hisses while saliva slowly dripped from the corners of its mouth.

"This thing actually wants to eat me?" Yang Ji raised an eyebrow.