Chapter 92 The Fragile Alliance of the People Under the Moon

Day 15 of the Jackpot Secret Realm.

The number of demonic beasts attacking cultivators increased from a few scattered individuals to a dozen or so, then to dozens or even hundreds.

The spirit boat sailing on the sea reached its maximum speed almost all day long, constantly escaping the pursuit of hordes of monsters.

Suddenly, water burst open, water surged, and sparks flew as the seawater was churned into a mess by the battle between the disciples of various sects and families and the demonic beasts.

The demonic beasts were severely injured, but the cultivators were not unharmed either. Their large spirit boats were the primary targets of the demonic beasts, suffering repeated clawing, biting, and impacts.

Even spirit boats built at great expense by sects and families would struggle to maintain their original state under such an attack. Moreover, there were only a few disciples participating in the trial on board, making it impossible to utilize the spirit boat's true potential.

Left with no other option, the disciples participating in the Spirit Boat Trial began seeking cooperation. They first approached participating teams that already had good relations with their own sects and families and did not possess any floating spiritual artifacts.

The latter, having drifted on the sea for so long relying on a plank or a barely usable magical artifact, were already exhausted, both physically and mentally. Coupled with the treacherous current sea environment, they desperately needed to board the spirit boat, and were naturally eager to do so. They readily agreed to almost every condition offered by the spirit boat team.

The next target was powerful cultivators.

The unassuming cargo ship of Dingsheng Sect, carrying three Golden Core cultivators, became a popular candidate for potential cooperation.

After politely declining the invitation from the tenth spirit ship, Zhu Shibai threw out a net-like spirit artifact, which instantly transformed into a thin, azure film that gently enveloped the entire cargo ship.

"I'm going to repair the lower deck. This magical artifact can temporarily hold up the leaks. You all keep an eye on it," Zhu Shibai instructed, then flashed off to the lower deck of the ship.

"Alright." Guan Wangzhen took over the helm, while Shen Qingluo and Ji Mingran patrolled the cargo ship with their swords.

With Zhu Shibai around, even if the cargo ship is damaged, it can be repaired in a timely manner.

With a melee combat specialist, a ranged magic specialist, a defensive formation specialist, and a maintenance specialist, the Dingsheng Sect's team boasts a highly capable and comprehensive composition, making it the envy of many.

However, this also meant that they were more than capable of maintaining the normal operation of a small cargo ship, so they did not need to abandon the cargo ship and join the spirit boat fleets of other sects and families.

The other spirit boat teams could only watch with envy.

However, the spirit boat fleets on the sea had already formed a tacit understanding: once they met, they would travel together as long as their directions were aligned. After all, the suddenly attacking demonic beasts didn't care how many spirit boats there were; they would attack like madmen as soon as they encountered cultivators.

It's better for everyone to stick together and share the firepower of the monsters than to be alone and be surrounded by a hundred or so monsters.

In the first ten days, the participating disciples who entered the prize pool secret realm had already obtained prizes in various ways. Now, they were more concerned about how to save their lives and take the prizes they had obtained out.

Another spirit boat, carved with auspicious cloud and star patterns, suddenly emerged from the clouds and landed smoothly on the sea, creating ripples. Three cultivators stepped out of the spirit boat, their faces filled with anxiety. They transmitted their voices, saying, "A horde of evil spirits and demons are chasing us relentlessly, over a thousand of them!"

"Then you shouldn't lure them over here!" the other disciples participating in the Spirit Boat test protested.

The cultivators on the auspicious cloud spirit boat neither responded nor sailed away. Several more people emerged from the cabin, assumed defensive stances, and prepared to fight the pursuing demons.

Seeing this, the other cultivators on the spirit boats said nothing more. It was easy to guess that if they had a choice, they wouldn't be in such a hurry to land. They were probably forced to land here because the spiritual energy that could support the spirit boats' flight had been exhausted.

That night, the full moon shone brightly, like a large, luminous disc suspended over the sea.

Ji Mingran followed Shen Qingluo around the cargo ship for the second time and tugged at Shen Qingluo's sleeve.

"What's wrong?" Shen Qingluo asked, stopping in mid-air.

"Let's go that way," Ji Mingran said, pointing towards the moon. Without asking why, Shen Qingluo turned her blade and said directly, "Let's go."

The voice was transmitted to the cargo ship in sync, and the cargo ship turned to follow the figure flying with a sword in front.

The disciples of the spirit boat, who were constantly observing the surroundings, noticed the cargo ship's trajectory change and inquired, "Where are they going?"

The other spirit boat cultivators were already discussing: "Should we follow?"

Shen Qingluo, who was flying on her sword, had already grabbed the rope and started to pull the cargo ship forward at an accelerated pace.

This situation had been seen before. The speed of the modified cargo ship, combined with Shen Qingluo's flying speed with his sword, could once exceed the speed of their spirit boat. Of course, this was also because they could not unleash the true speed of the spirit boat.

In any case, at this speed, if they don't quickly reach a conclusion, the small cargo ship will disappear in an instant, and catching up will be impossible.

The team on the spirit boat wanted to follow the three Golden Core cultivators on board.

With the three of them around, dealing with the demonic beasts would be much easier. This is also why more and more spirit boats have been gathering around the Dingsheng Sect's small cargo ship in recent days.

However, this comes at a price.

Gathering around the Dingsheng Sect would significantly reduce their chances of winning a prize. After all, they would only catch a glimpse of the floating object before a fiery red figure carrying another person would speed past on a sword, followed by a burst of golden light, and the floating object would appear in the hand of the other person on the sword.

The two of them caught the fish so quickly that the other cultivators couldn't keep up with their speed.

But just as fast as they could catch fish, they were equally fast at killing demonic beasts. Being Golden Core cultivators, the Spirit Boat cultivator automatically ignored Ji Mingran's presence, thinking to himself.

Therefore, even though it was difficult to obtain floating objects, most sects and families preferred to stay near small cargo ships.

At least they can save their lives from the monster horde.

Before long, the various massive spirit ships also turned around and followed behind the small cargo ships.

From a distance, they look more like a fleet escorting small cargo ships.

The cool night breeze ruffled Ji Mingran's hair as she focused intently on sensing the changes in the spiritual energy of the sea, subtly adjusting the direction she was pointing.

Without a word, Shen Qingluo adjusted the aim of her blade and twisted the rope in her hand. Zhu Shibai on the ship received the signal and turned the rudder precisely.

"Grandma, what have you discovered?" Guan Wangzhen's voice came from the sect's jade tablet.

The moon was like a silver plate. Ji Mingran felt the sea breeze blowing and said softly, "The monsters over there are easier to deal with. Let's use that place as a breakthrough point first and then go back."

In the past few days, besides the mutated species seen in the apocalypse, there were also demonic beasts that already existed in this world, a mixture of the two. The marine mutated species looked disgusting and bizarre, but the cultivators only thought of them as more difficult-to-kill demonic beasts and did not notice anything amiss.

The cultivator from the spirit boat just now said that there were equal numbers of demonic beasts attacking from the southeast, northwest, and other directions. Ji Mingran closed his eyes and sensed that the spiritual energy fluctuations he felt from the direction of the moon were even more intense.

In other words, there are more monsters here, but fewer mutated species.

Why do mutated species appear in the spiritual cultivation world? Or are these mutated species also considered demons or monsters in the spiritual cultivation world?

Ji Mingran had only been in the spiritual cultivation world for a year and didn't know much about it, but seeing the reactions of the cultivators to the mutated species, he vaguely felt that these mutated species were not the common monsters and creatures in the spiritual cultivation world.

Many doubts arose, but with too little information, she could only keep them to herself and try her best to keep everyone away from the mutated species.

Mutants are also classified into categories, including terrestrial, marine, insect, and animal species, as well as those that have developed consciousness.

The sea monsters with human faces and centipedes that they had previously killed seemed to have developed consciousness.

Conscious mutants will lead other unconscious creatures to attack humans, until they are killed.

According to the classification of demons in spiritual practice, this mutated species that has developed consciousness should be classified as a type of demon.

Ji Mingran frowned slightly, gazing in the direction of the moon.

......

"Are you sure this isn't a magical beast?" Under the bright moon, sword energy swept across, severing the flying ram-horned swordfish in half. The swordsman who unleashed the sword strike shouted in surprise and doubt.

Although they are called swordfish, each one is as big as an adult, with horns on its head and a long, sharp snout that can devour human bones and blood.

I have never heard of such a monster at sea before.

"I didn't sense any demonic energy." The sharp sword blade, carrying moonlight, fell, clearing away the remaining swordfish flying all over the sky. Meng Yingyang picked one up, examined it carefully for a long time, and replied in a deep voice, "But this should be the last wave for now."

He instructed, "You all go and rest first, I'll keep watch."

The other disciples of Hongqi Sect who participated in the test did not look too good. In the past few days, their spirit boats had been attacked day and night by a large group of monsters, as if they had disturbed a den of sea monsters.

However, the Hongqi Sect's spirit boat has a protective array and contains a large number of spiritual artifacts, so protecting the boat is not difficult. The difficulty lies in obtaining the prize pool from the demon beasts.

They mostly used a feint attack, with two people splitting up to lure away the monsters lurking around the floating objects with their swords, one person picking them up with their sword, and the remaining two working together to deal with the pursuing monsters.

This method was very effective at first, but as the number of monsters increased, it became more difficult to obtain floating objects from the monster horde.

One wrong move and serious injury is inevitable.

"Fellow Daoist Meng, we have just refined the Spirit Storage Pill." A cultivator walked out of the Hongqi Sect's spirit boat cabin and said loudly, "Fellow Daoists of the Hongqi Sect, please take it quickly to replenish your spiritual power."

The one speaking was Dongbai of Liuhuan Valley Cliff.

The Hongqi Sect's team suffered a second wave of attacks from monsters, with three members seriously injured. Fortunately, they encountered four people from Liuhuan Valley who were floating by on a wooden plank, and the two sects immediately reached a cooperation agreement.

Hongqi Sect provided them with lodging, while Liuhuan Valley provided them with corresponding elixirs.

In this way, the Hongqi Sect's forces were able to withstand several rounds of attacks from the hordes of beasts.

The other three disciples from Liuhuan Valley who were participating in the trial also stepped off the deck one after another, offering freshly refined pills to the disciples from Hongqi Sect who were returning to the spirit boat.

The Hongqi Sect disciple counted the newly made pills from the Liuhuan Valley disciples, frowned, and said, "Are there even more? In the past few days, there have been more and more demonic beasts, and their size has been increasing day by day. To completely kill them, the spiritual energy required is more than ten times that of a few days ago."

Hongqi Sect's spirit boat has no shortage of spirit stones, but these spirit stones are needed to power the spirit boat's voyage, and the condition for Liuhuan Valley to board the ship is to provide them with pills.

If the quantity of pills is insufficient, the Hongqi Sect disciples participating in the trial do not intend to be polite to them.

They blasted the ship off its shore.

The disciples of Liuhuan Valley were well aware of their current situation, but as a backup plan, they would not actually take out all the pills they had stored.

After claiming that all the pills they brought to the competition had been used up during their days adrift at sea, Liu Huan Valley made it appear as if they were diligently refining pills for Hong Qizong every day. What they provided to Hong Qizong were the newly refined pills each day.

Of course, it's the portion that's kept for personal use.

Besides the seven pills provided daily by Ya Dongbai, the remaining three disciples of Liuhuan Valley could only afford four.

The quantity was just enough for the disciples of Hongqi Sect to use each day; not a single one more.

The two factions check and balance each other.

Mu Huanhui's eyes flickered slightly, his words carrying a hidden meaning: "I've long heard that among Foundation Establishment cultivators, Fellow Daoist Ya's alchemy skills are unmatched, but even so, you can only refine seven pills a day?"

Ya Dongbai said calmly, "Since I forcibly passed the trial of the inner demon, my spiritual consciousness has been damaged and it will take some time to recover. Fellow Daoist Mu, rest assured, once I recover, the amount of pills will be replenished."

How long will it take for him to recover? Not only Mu Huanhui, but all the other disciples of Hongqi Sect who participated in the examination understood the unspoken meaning in Ya Dongbai's words.

The goal is to protect them in the Illusion Valley until they leave the Prize Pool Secret Realm.

Seeing the dissatisfaction on the faces of the Hongqi Sect disciples participating in the test, Ya Dongbai spoke up to appease them, saying, "We still have a junior sister who has gotten lost. If we can find her, the number of pills we receive each day will increase."

The remaining disciples of Liuhuan Valley lowered their heads in unison, feigning concern, but in reality, they were thinking:

Senior Brother Ya is using this opportunity to look for his burdensome junior sister again. With Qin Danniang's abilities, refining two pills a day is already her limit.

It makes no difference whether she's there or not. But it's good to fool Hong Qizong and his group.

How could Hong Qizong's disciples, who were participating in the examination, not understand Ya Dongbai's intentions?

One of them shouted, "You can't even refine enough pills, yet you expect us to find you a junior sister?"

As Ya Dongbai was about to respond, Meng Yingyang returned to the spirit boat, interrupting the arguing cultivators.

"Go back and rest, everyone. We'll have another tough battle tomorrow."

Seeing that Meng Yingyang had spoken, the other Hongqi Sect disciples who were participating in the test did not know what to say. They just snorted and took the pills back to the cabin.

The cultivators returned to the spirit boat to rest, and the sea returned to calm and tranquility.

Meng Yingyang gazed at the full moon, a piece of paper appearing in his palm.

The note was written in illegible handwriting: "The mystery of heaven and earth can be solved by following the hexagrams; the trials of the heart will be overcome by perseverance."

During his inner demon trial, a cultivator wearing a bamboo hat and black robe brushed past him, and then this note appeared in his palm.

Following the instructions on the note, he led his sect's disciples through the trials of inner demons and out of the labyrinth of the universe.

It did not rely on its own strength.

Thinking of this, Meng Yingyang's thoughts surged, and his eyes dimmed slightly.

After arriving at the prize pool secret realm, he used the clothing of the cultivators he encountered in the inner demon trial as clues to find out who had helped him.

It is not a sect of any particular name. This is consistent with what Master told us.

The ally that Master had secretly planted for their trip turned out to be the Nameless Sect.

Meng Yingyang had never paid attention to this obscure sect before. The only time he caught its attention was during a competition when the girl he was facing lost in thought for a moment and murmured its name.

"Unnamed Sect."

Meng Yingyang suppressed his thoughts. His master had told him that the Nameless Sect would come to meet him tonight. So he waited there.

As night deepened, the moonlight shone even brighter. Suddenly, the sound of water gently rippled.

Meng Yingyang turned his head to look when he heard the sound.

At the edge of the sea, the full moon met the horizon, its silvery light scattering across the shimmering waves. Three cultivators, all wearing veils and black robes, stood arm in arm on a raft, drifting silently with the waves as if they had come from the moon itself.

The three rafts, spaced three meters apart and connected by a single thin rope, maintain a steady, straight line as they move forward.

Meng Yingyang's gaze swept over each of the people who came over.

The slightly shorter one in the middle should be the leading youth, Ji Xingyang.

As for the others, Meng Yingyang's gaze froze.

A sea breeze blew, lifting a corner of the veil and black scarf, allowing moonlight to peek in and outline the jawline of the person who was originally hidden by the scarf.

Meng Yingyang's pupils contracted.

That person is! No way!