"Beast tide?" Ye Fan asked in confusion, "What's going on?"
"The Black Rock Mountain Range west of the Ade Empire experiences a beast tide every so often," Liang Rujing said with a grim expression. "The demonic beasts in the tide completely lose their sanity and tear apart everything they see."
"Recorded beast tides occur about every thousand years..." Ling Xin frowned beside her. "But it's only been just over three hundred years since the last recorded one. This is a bit abnormal..."
Ye Fan nodded in realization.
He had encountered beast tides before.
Based on his experience, the cause of a beast tide usually signaled some kind of opportunity.
For example, there might be a powerful cultivator hidden at the center of the tide, or a new demon king born, or some rare treasure unearthed.
The early arrival of this beast tide most likely meant something significant was about to happen...
However, now was not the time to ponder these things.
Because the overwhelming tide of demonic beasts had arrived!
The demonic beasts attacked the flying boat as if they were insane!
"Rumble—!"
The flying boat became like a small, battered ship in a tsunami, shaking non-stop.
The attacks from demonic beasts below the Void Returning realm were manageable. Ye Fan's defenses could perfectly deflect them.
But among them were several demonic beasts at or above the Void Returning realm!
With a single claw strike, cracks appeared in the defensive barrier!
Ye Fan quickly instructed Kurota to change direction and proceed at full speed.
Based on his experience, beast tides had a certain range.
As long as they escaped beyond that range, they would be safe!
Then Ye Fan hurried to repair the formation.
The violent shaking greatly increased the difficulty of Ye Fan's repairs.
Runes that could normally be completed in a few strokes now took several times longer...
What was even more critical, he had very few materials left...
If his remaining materials didn't last until they escaped the beast tide's range, things would get very messy!
Liang Rujing and the others stood on the deck, fighting back with their injured bodies.
Although their attacks were not very effective, they could delay things for a while.
Half an hour later.
As they gained distance, the number of demonic beasts around the flying boat significantly decreased.
Unfortunately, only the weaker demonic beasts had fallen behind, and Ye Fan's group's situation had not improved in any substantial way.
The greatest threat came from those few demonic beasts in the early Nascent Soul realm.
Even with Ye Fan's exceptional skills, the repair speed couldn't keep up with their destruction speed.
More and more cracks appeared on the defensive barrier, and it was on the verge of collapse...
Looking at the last of his materials, Ye Fan sighed helplessly.
Damn it, this was going to be bad...
Finally!
"Crash—!"
With another strike from a demonic beast, the defensive barrier shattered completely!
Ye Fan, gritting his teeth, took out his sniper rifle again.
The flying demonic beast was quite large, so Ye Fan didn't need to aim precisely.
He aimed the muzzle at the beast and pulled the trigger decisively!
"Bang!"
A direct hit!
The beast's head, as thick as two men, exploded into a bloody mess!
Its massive body crashed heavily onto the deck.
"Thump!"
But Ye Fan couldn't feel happy at all.
That shot had been a bullet condensed from the surrounding spiritual energy absorbed by the sniper rifle.
And that was all he had managed to store during this time.
However, there were still two more demonic beasts in the Nascent Soul realm remaining...
Without any time to think, the attacks of the remaining two beasts arrived!
Without the barrier's protection, the mere terrifying demonic aura paralyzed everyone.
The female cultivators were all pressed to the ground, their eyes closed in despair...
The beast's claws, unimpeded, lunged towards Ye Fan!
"Riiip—!"
Ye Fan's entire right arm, along with half his shoulder, was torn off!
The severed arm had just flown into the air when the beast swallowed it whole!
Then, the beast's other claw swept towards Ye Fan's chest!
The intense pain made Ye Fan groan.
Cold sweat streamed down his forehead!
Looking at the claw growing larger in his vision, Ye Fan felt a complex mix of emotions.
This time, he was truly done for...
How ironic.
He used to wish for death but couldn't find it.
Now, when he didn't want to die, he was about to perish...
Well, at least...
He would finally be free...
The powerful gust of wind generated by the beast felt like tiny knives, stinging Ye Fan's face.
He could even hear his own skin cracking!
If nothing unexpected happened, his face must have been cut open by now...
The sharp claws drew closer.
Ye Fan calmly awaited the arrival of death.
Suddenly!
The beast stopped abruptly without any warning!
Its entire body began to emit a dazzling light!
The light seemed to possess some magical ability, even blocking the other demonic beast beside it!
Then, the beast's body became transparent!
And within its belly, a bar-shaped object was clearly visible—Ye Fan's severed arm that had been swallowed!
At this moment, the severed arm floated in the beast's stomach, swaying slowly.
Soon, the swaying frequency increased rapidly!
In less than a breath, the severed arm spun wildly like a pointer!
Faster and faster it spun, finally becoming a circular blur!
And then...
"Bang—!"
The beast's body exploded!
A demonic beast in the early Nascent Soul realm, considered invincible by Liang Rujing and the others.
It had just been blown to pieces!
Even the other demonic beast nearby didn't escape.
The remains of both beasts lay scattered on the ground, with foul-smelling blood everywhere...
And the surrounding demonic beasts below the Nascent Soul realm naturally didn't survive either.
They were all reduced to ashes in the intense explosion...
After a long while, Liang Rujing and the others finally recovered from their shock...
What had just happened had completely shattered their worldview...
Including Liang Rujing, everyone looked at Ye Fan with incredibly strange expressions...
If Ye Fan had killed the demonic beasts himself, even if they were shocked or surprised, it would have been within their understanding.
At the very least, they could see that Ye Fan was very powerful, which was why he killed the beasts.
But the problem was, the one who killed the beasts was Ye Fan's severed arm?!
If you say Ye Fan is powerful, then his arm was torn off by a beast.
If you say he isn't powerful, then a severed arm annihilated the beast...
In fact, Ye Fan himself was also stunned...
What the heck?
My arm blew up a beast?
Ye Fan had long suspected that his body had undergone some strange changes, but he never expected it to be this bizarre...
And the invincible state he had experienced in the ruins seemed to have disappeared...
But he didn't have time to dwell on these thoughts for long.
Due to the pain and severe blood loss, he successfully fainted.
"We need to stop the bleeding quickly," Liang Rujing said, terrified. "Senior Sister Ling Xin, I'll trouble you."
As the most skilled healer in their team, Ling Xin usually handled their minor injuries.
However, Ye Fan's current condition was serious, and she felt a bit unsure.
"His entire arm was torn off. Even if we reattach it, I can't guarantee it will still be usable..."
Ling Xin gave a warning first, then walked towards Ye Fan.
In fact, based on her experience, this situation was likely hopeless.
Unless a seventh or eighth-grade alchemist intervened, that arm would be useless.
Her medical skills were only sufficient for simple external wounds; the current situation was clearly beyond her expertise.
Just as Ling Xin was about to pick up the severed arm, a strange situation occurred again!
The severed arm on the ground moved on its own!