Chapter 417: Leaving the Pass, The Situation (Two in One, Thanks for the 1000 Reward from Me and the Solitary Cormorant Flying Together)_2
What took him by surprise the most was that Golden Thunder Island was almost completely breached; only the last Golden Thunder Island remained, besieged by over a million Spirit Beasts.
About a dozen Golden Core True Persons and Demon Kings were in a precarious standoff!
On the contrary, Qian Ji Island, with the use of thousands of Spirit Puppets and support from the Coral Alliance, had only lost six outer islands, retaining half of its territory.
As for the other islands, they too lost some outlying islands to a greater or lesser extent and also encountered Demon Kings, but only one or two each.
Xu Ri Island was the same; relying on the continuous support of True Person Red Leaf and the Red Whale, it had only lost three outer islands.
Heavenly Phenomenon Island, due to scorched earth tactics in the beginning and having slain two Five-colored Demon Kings, was actually the safest and had not been breached!
Apart from the Coral Sea Domain, the Chi Lan Sea Domain, where the Chi Lan Sect was located, was also targeted by concentrated attacks from the Demon Kings.
Both sea domains were now frantically seeking reinforcements from the other four major sea domains; only the Tianzhao Sect and the Nine Dragon Island were coming to aid.
The Blood Cultivation Sect, still claiming warfare with Myriad Buddhas Island as an excuse, refused to provide support.
Myriad Buddhas Island did participate, but sparingly, also using warfare as an excuse.
And at such a time, it was impossible to force the two sects.
Myriad Buddhas Island sent cultivators, and as for the Blood Cultivation Sect – a group of demon cultivators practicing various heretic and deviant paths – they simply did not care about public opinion.
They even behaved more recklessly the worse their reputation became.
For the Lin Family, the fact that Xu Ri Island was not targeted as True Person Kuangfeng had mentioned was the best news for now.
But Lin Shiming couldn't be happy about it; a person like True Person Kuangfeng naturally wouldn't speak without certainty.
Golden Thunder Island and Qian Ji Island proved that with no trouble at Xu Ri Island, there might instead be a larger storm brewing within.
Moreover, even if the beast tide hadn't reached them, the cultivators from Nine Dragon Island had arrived, and the Lin Family still had a difficult explanation to make.
After all, it was evident that the Profound Grade Secret Realm had been exploited; the Golden Dragon Fruit tree within even had an anomaly manifest.
Lin Shiming was also somewhat uneasy in his heart; clearly, the Golden Dragon Fruit tree belonged to Nine Dragon Island but had somehow ended up in the Profound Grade Secret Realm.
If news leaked out, and the former hermit Yi Yu from Heavenly Phenomenon Island has been killed by Lin Shiming,
it would profoundly complicate matters.
Lin Shiming's thoughts were in turmoil, and just then, he saw Lin Houyuan flying over from a distance.
"Shiming, you've come out of seclusion, that's great!" Lin Houyuan's expression was desolate; even as a cultivator, he appeared unusually exhausted.
As the Family Head of a Purple Mansion clan, the pressure he bore was naturally immense, especially during the critical moment of the beast tide, where one misstep could lead to complete disaster.
"Father, has something happened at Jiuyue Island?" Lin Shiming asked.
"No, Jiuyue Island is all well; the Demonic Beasts are barely worth mentioning. It's Fangmu Island and several other remote islands that have revealed some powerful presences, many sensing Spirit Formations have been destroyed!"
Lin Houyuan explained, and Lin Shiming's brow furrowed tightly, as expected.
"The Foundation Establishment cultivators of our family are deliberating at Qinglian Peak, and Jiuxiao Hermit from Heavenly Phenomenon Island as well as Shijie from Jiuyue Island will discuss using the Myriad Thousand Jade together!"
Lin Shiming heard this and did not hesitate; he and Lin Houyuan headed towards Qinglian Peak together.
In the council hall of Qinglian Peak, Lin Xianzhi occupied the principal seat, Lin Shitao the next, and Lin Shiming, upon his arrival, stationed himself next to Lin Xianzhi.
As the three Purple Mansion cultivators of the family, they were the absolute core of the Lin Family at this moment.
The next seats were occupied by the core Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Lin Family, ranging from the Shi generation to the Ze generation, and even the Yan generation.
At the same time, many familiar faces were absent; some were at Jiuyue Island and Heavenly Phenomenon Island, while others had been sacrificed at sea.
Although the Lin Family's array of Demonic Beasts and Spirit Pets did not amount to many compared to the former Spirit Beast Gate, they had been in the Southern Sea for less than a century.
Among them, many figures stood out for their exceptional performance.
For instance, Lin Shiyun, Lin Yanjiao, and Lin Zeli; the latter had reached the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, and as a sword cultivator, had made a big name for himself on Heavenly Phenomenon Island.
Although Lin Yanjiao was at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, her True Yuan was extremely robust, and her use of Illusion Techniques was nothing short of miraculous. Now, with Lin Houyuan's mentorship, she might become the next Family Head of the Lin Family.
"Congratulations to Seventh Great-Uncle on your breakthrough once again!" Next to him, Lin Yanjiao offered her sweet congratulations.
As the first junior of the Yan generation to congratulate, she made the others, who were frowning in contemplation of the situation, realize the event, and they joined in congratulation in quick succession.
"Congratulations to Seventh Uncle on your breakthrough again!"
"Congratulations to Seventh Brother on your breakthrough again!"
Lin Shiming was not too concerned about this and simply waved his hand in response.
But on the scene, the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Lin Family began to feel somewhat relieved.
In the Lin Family, Lin Shiming is now considered even more important than the ancestors.
After his breakthrough, his battle prowess becomes higher, which makes facing the beast tide more secure.
"Everyone, let's discuss the situation with the beast tide!" Lin Shiming waved his hand with a solemn expression.
The others immediately became serious, and Lin Xianzhi spread out a huge spirit map measuring three feet in diameter on the wall.
On the spirit map at that moment, there were numerous markings.
Some of these markings had dimmed, while others were still lit.
But based on the pattern of the dimming, it seemed as if someone was searching for something, and this was happening in multiple directions.
From within the Myriad Thousand Jade, Lin Shijie also sent a message about the situation on Jiuyue Island being similar to that near Heavenly Phenomenon Island.
A large number of sensing formations had been destroyed, and many cultivators had fallen while out on expeditions, unable to send back any news.
Nowadays, Jiuyue Island almost no longer ventures beyond its shores and Jiuyue City.
And almost every ten days, there would be a small-scale beast tide.
"Shiming, Seventh Great-Uncle, this is the only formation image that captured some scenes!" Lin Houyuan then pulled out a jade slip, which was passed from Lin Xianzhi to Lin Shiming.
When it reached Lin Shiming, he saw only a flash of red swiftly passing through the image on the screen, causing all the formations to start burning spontaneously.
The footage was very short and not very clear.
After watching, Lin Shiming's brows furrowed deeply.
It reminded him of the Crimson Flood Dragon Demon King in the Chi Lan Sea Domain; this figure, though not a Demon King, was definitely likely to be a Fire Attribute half-flood dragon.
"Father, on Golden Thunder Island and the other sea domains, how often do flood dragon figures appear?" Lin Shiming inquired.
Seeing Lin Houyuan hesitant, Lin Shiming continued.
"Not counting the Demon Kings!"
"There are Demon Kings of the Flood Dragon type, but there seem to be very few fourth-rank flood dragons and half-flood dragons," Lin Houyuan replied.
And in Lin Shiming's heart, the situation grew even heavier.
Nine Dragon Island and the Flood Dragon Clan definitely have Golden Dragon Fruit trees, and with knowledge of the Flaming Sword and the method to arrange the Flood Dragon Nest, they must also be aware of it.
The number of half-flood dragons and fourth-rank flood dragons must not be small; their absence indicates that the main force of the Sea Demon King Court has not yet appeared.
Moreover, the Flood Dragon Clan is searching for something!
It might be the Golden Dragon Fruit trees or something else!
But Kuangfeng True Person's speculation must be correct.
"Father, Seventh Great-Uncle, we must start organizing the evacuation of mortals immediately, harvest all the spiritual medicine from the Spiritual Medicine Garden and store them in Spirit Jade, and also take all the spirit turtles and those snake eggs from Spirit Turtle Island away in Spirit Beast Bags!"
"Evacuation of mortals should head towards Tianliu Island, utilizing the Transmission Jade, which can be used more than ten times!"
"Besides, some Innate cultivators and those with good Spirit Roots but low cultivation levels should also be evacuated!"
"However, when evacuating, split some mortals and low-level cultivators to retreat to Xu Ri Island!"
Lin Shiming added as he spoke.
After all, Xu Ri Island is our superior, so we must evacuate a part and also spread our bets.
"Additionally, Jiuyue Island and big brother's side should be ready to evacuate at any moment, activate the Lin Family's secret Transmission Formation, and retreat directly to Shuangmu Island, not towards Heavenly Phenomenon Island!"
...
A series of emergency measures were issued, and next, Lin Houyuan began organizing manpower, starting with the allocation of mortal evacuees, which he arranged for the family's Law Enforcement Hall to handle.
The Alchemy Hall and the Artifact Refining Hall were also required to produce more Fasting Pills and some one-time-use magic artifacts.
Low-grade Fasting Pills are first-rank elixirs, which even mortals can consume.
Once Lin Houyuan finished giving instructions, Lin Shiming spoke to him again:
"Father, arrange for another twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators to make a trip to Fangmu Island and enter the Profound Grade Secret Realm!"
"Harvest from the secret realm once more!"