Two Realms: I Will Become the Immortal Emperor

Chapter 415: Chapter 386: Foraging at Sea, Fish Tide

”The Aquatic Race is gone? When did this happen?”

Upon hearing Zhao Changping’s reply, not only was Meng Qianxun stunned, but even Chen Che found it hard to believe.

After all, he had been planning to establish a base here.

”Reporting to the Valley Master, they are indeed gone...”

Zhao Changping cupped his hands. He too found the matter unbelievable. The Aquatic Race in the Black Tortoise Calm Sea was supposed to be practically endless. For a small area to be empty was one thing, but for them to vanish from a radius of several hundred *li* was just too strange.

Chen Che rose and disembarked from the boat.

Meng Qianxun and Meng Changtu followed.

Zhao Changping trotted behind the three, continuing to explain:

”As for when exactly it happened, I’m not too sure.”

”About two days ago, I heard cultivators who went out fishing complain that it was getting harder and harder to catch anything. I didn’t think much of it at first, but today, all the cultivators who went out to sea said they didn’t see a single fish...”

Hearing this, Meng Changtu paused his steps.

He then closed his eyes slightly and released his Divine Sense, probing the surrounding waters with all his might.

Seeing this, Zhao Changping held his breath. The nearby disciples also stared intently at Meng Changtu, hoping he could find the cause.

A moment later, Meng Changtu opened his eyes.

”How strange!”

Chen Che frowned from the side.

His Divine Sense was even more vast than Meng Changtu’s. He had already released it when Zhao Changping first mentioned the matter. It had already covered a hundred-*li* radius around the reef and was still expanding outward.

Not only had the Aquatic Race vanished, but even ordinary fish and shrimp seemed to have disappeared overnight.

”It’s more than strange; it’s completely illogical!”

At this point, Meng Qianxun had also swept the area with his Divine Sense. He discovered that the reef they stood on had become a dead zone. Aside from the cultivators, it was as if there were no other living creatures. The water below felt completely empty.

The cultivators on the reef were all astonished, discussing the sudden strange phenomenon among themselves.

Seeing that the three Golden Core Cultivators from Jinyun Valley had been alerted, they quickly gathered around.

”Valley Master Chen.”

”Elder Meng...”

”Clan Leader Meng.”

Everyone clamored at once.

”I understand. One at a time.”

Chen Che gestured with his right hand for everyone to quiet down while he inquired about the situation.

A bold Foundation Establishment Cultivator stepped forward and began to speak. The content of his report was largely the same as Zhao Changping’s, just with a few more details. When the numbers of the Aquatic Race first started to decrease, no one had thought much of it.

They had simply guessed it was due to overfishing.

But starting today, the Aquatic Race within a radius of several hundred *li* seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Meanwhile, Meng Changtu’s gaze swept coldly across the surroundings, on high alert for any Golden Core Cultivators hiding in the crowd, ready to strike when they were unprepared. However, while there were a few other Golden Core Cultivators on the reef, their cultivation was mediocre, having only achieved Core Formation less than a century ago.

When they saw Meng Changtu look their way, they even cupped their hands slightly in greeting.

”Old sir, why would something like this happen?”

Chen Che turned and asked.

”The situation is... a bit complicated.”

Meng Qianxun had never encountered anything so bizarre in his entire life. He mulled it over for a moment before answering, ”Generally speaking, the most likely reason for this is the appearance of an extremely powerful entity in the nearby waters, scaring all the other Aquatic Race away.”

”Someone’s coming back!”

Suddenly, someone yelled. Everyone immediately followed the sound, shielding their eyes with their hands as they looked into the distance.

Several *li* ahead, the sea parted as if cleaved in two by a Giant Blade, kicking up rolling waves. A Spiritual Boat burst through the water, approaching the island in an instant.

”It’s the local cultivators from the Black Tortoise Calm Sea.”

Someone whispered.

”They went out to sea yesterday, also because the Aquatic Race in the nearby waters had disappeared...”

Someone on the island hurried to greet them. After a few whispered words, the newcomer immediately disembarked and came before Chen Che. He first cupped his hands in respect, then said, ”Reporting to Valley Master Chen, yesterday we patrolled a two-thousand-*li* radius of water and saw no sign of the Aquatic Race. Even the few Golden Core Realm members of the Aquatic Race were gone...”

As soon as he said this, everyone was stunned.

If what Meng Qianxun said was true, could it be that a Nascent Soul Great Demon had appeared in this part of the sea? Waves crashed against the reef, one after another, creating a deafening roar.

The several thousand people present fell into a dead silence.

”I suddenly have a bad feeling about this.”

A stir went through the crowd.

If a Nascent Soul Great Demon had truly appeared in these waters, there wouldn’t be enough of them to even make a decent snack.

”I have to get back.”

”We shouldn’t stay here for long...”

Some of the more timid cultivators were already getting scared.

Their cultivation was low, so they only dared to fish near the coast, never venturing more than ten *li* from the island. Now, hearing that a Nascent Soul Realm Great Demon of the Aquatic Race might be lurking nearby, they were so frightened their legs trembled.

”Let’s go!”

”Let’s retreat for now...”

These timid cultivators glanced at Chen Che. Deep down, they didn’t believe Jinyun Valley could stand against a Nascent Soul Great Demon. It was better to retreat first.

In an instant, dozens of Qi Refining Cultivators, seeing that the situation was turning bad, quickly steered their Spiritual Boats and fled. Within a few breaths, they had become black dots in the distance.

”Notify the disciples to board the boats.”

After a moment’s consideration, Chen Che gave the order directly.

”Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. We’ll retreat to the coastline first and observe the situation.”

BOOM—

As his words fell, the reef erupted into chaos.

Most cultivators took their cue from Jinyun Valley. Seeing that even Jinyun Valley was preparing to evacuate, they certainly had no intention of staying behind.

For a moment, there was only the whistling of the wind, the sound of disorderly footsteps, and shouts of argument and cursing...

’Their composure is truly worrying!’

Standing with his hands at his sides, Chen Che watched the chaotic reef and shook his head internally.

Although it was said that cultivation fostered courage, that was only relative. The presence of an unknown entity was enough to scare anyone witless.

”I have a bad feeling as well,”

Meng Qianxun suddenly spoke up. ”I wonder if it’s related to those few Golden Core Cultivators... But even they couldn’t pull something like this off, right? Unless!?”

As if he had thought of something, the old man’s expression changed dramatically.

Just as Chen Che was about to ask, a series of miserable screams echoed from the distance.

”Valley Master, we have a situation!”

From the Spiritual Boat, a disciple in the crow’s nest shouted loudly, ”The cultivators who left earlier are coming back...”

As soon as he spoke, everyone was taken aback and looked over.

Sure enough, they saw the cultivators who had been fleeing towards the shore moments ago now returning in terror, as if they had encountered something horrifying. It was only then that everyone noticed that, at some unknown point, the sky behind them had also been covered by clouds.

Countless black clouds galloped across the sky like stampeding horses, with streaks of lightning crackling and weaving through them.

In an instant, the sky turned dark.

In fact, the entire sea area had been plunged into night.

”This spectacle... Could someone be Crossing the Tribulation?”

Many Foundation Establishment Cultivators asked in shock.

But in the blink of an eye, the fleeing cultivators were already right in front of them.

”What’s going on?”

”Fish, so many fish... The vanished Aquatic Race, they’ve all reappeared! They circled around behind us! Our path back is blocked, we can’t get back to the shore!”

Someone stepped forward to question him, and before they could even finish, the man blurted out the words, his face pale. He pointed behind him with a trembling finger, gasping for breath, clearly terrified.

Hearing this, the cultivators on the reef all looked astonished.

Even Chen Che was somewhat puzzled.

But in the next moment, everyone saw it clearly:

On the surface of the dark sea, countless mottled lights appeared. Upon closer inspection, it was a dense school of fish. There were so many that they were packed tightly together, their scales obscuring the water and forming a silvery ocean.

Like the weapons in a cultivator’s hand, they glinted with a menacing, cold light.

As the school of fish appeared, the dark clouds gathered even more rapidly.

Lightning flashed intermittently, and the shrieking sea wind whipped Chen Che’s long hair into a frenzy while also scattering the thick fog around the reef.

The entire island was in shock.

”A fish tide!”

Many cultivators cried out in alarm.

It was essentially a beast tide, just with a different name.

However, a fish tide was far more terrifying than a beast tide, not just because it left them isolated and helpless at sea. The main reason was that once a fish tide formed, its numbers far surpassed those of any land-based beast tide.

An astonished fisherman quickly reacted, taking the Sea Snail from his waist, puffing out his cheeks, and blowing with all his might.

”WOOOO~~”

The deep, resonant sound seemed to cut through the hurricane-force winds.

Seeing this, the other fishermen also reacted, quickly blowing their own Sea Snails.

Sea-herding Magical Artifacts!

Fishermen made their living from the sea, so they had naturally developed related Magical Artifacts. These Sea Snails could not only gather schools of fish but also disperse them. With dozens of Sea Snails blowing in unison, the vast school of fish suddenly grew agitated and showed signs of scattering in all directions.

But immediately, a deeper, more resonant horn blast sounded:

WOOOO—

”That’s...!?”

Meng Qianxun’s expression changed as he cried out in shock.

”This is bad! A Golden Core True Master is controlling the fish tide!”

This horn blast was extremely piercing, seeming to cut through the waves and wind to reach everyone’s ears with perfect clarity.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

A series of explosions rang out. The Sea Snails in the fishermen’s hands shattered one after another from the force of the sound. Some with weaker cultivation were killed instantly by the blasts. In an instant, the reef was thrown into another panic.

Overpowering the sound of the cultivators’ horns, the previously chaotic school of fish reconvened. Riding the terrifying waves, they swarmed forward. The churning tides crashed against the reef, splashing stinging saltwater onto everyone’s faces.

Before the astonished gazes of the crowd, the school of fish parted with a SPLASH. A small Spiritual Boat, about thirty to forty feet long, broke through the surface, revealing seven figures.

Standing at the prow was a Golden Core Cultivator, holding a ten-foot-long Sea Snail and blowing into it with puffed cheeks.

Clearly, he was the one manipulating the Aquatic Race in this sea.

”Valley Master Chen, it’s been too long. I have missed you dearly!”

A laugh rang out.

A figure emerged from behind the fisherman-like cultivator. It was none other than Xu Chuan, who had seemingly vanished off the face of the earth. He stood on the boat, laughing triumphantly.

”I prepared this little welcome gift for you. I wonder if you’re satisfied!”