Chapter 9: The Tragic Pursuit (Part 1)

The young crew member replied respectfully, “It was engraved by the spellcraft master from the shipyard. The material inlay was done by ordinary people, while activation was carried out by the master.”
The Eagle Demon was stunned. He had roamed the grasslands for over a hundred years and knew what a spellcraft master meant, but here, such a master was engraving runes for people in a shipyard—it was utterly unbelievable.
Guo Shier also froze. He too came from the Lower Spellcraft Continent and had a deep understanding of spellcraft masters. His first master had been one, holding a high status in the Northern Spellcraft Sect. Yet here, a spellcraft master was merely equivalent to an engineer from his past life—hard to believe.
The young crew member didn’t know what to say either, as both professionals before him seemed stunned. After a long pause, he said, “When our ship merchants set sail, every sea ship must be activated, and that’s all done by the masters.”
Guo Shier asked curiously, “Are those masters trained by the shipyards or ship merchants?”
The crew member shook his head. “No, they are disciples of the Sea Sect… This way, they can earn sect points. Our shipyards and merchants are all subordinate to the Sea Sect.”
Guo Shier suddenly understood. He thought, “No wonder… It’s a sect mission. That makes sense. Otherwise, it would be too disheartening. Are masters really that worthless?”
It was actually a matter of perception. On the Higher Spellcraft Continent, there were countless master-level experts, but their potential varied. Many never surpassed this threshold in their lives—it came down to potential and personal effort. Thanks to the inherited Soul Altar, on the Higher Spellcraft Continent, as long as one had some potential, they could progress rapidly, maximizing it to reach master status.
On the Lower Spellcraft Continent, unless one was exceptionally talented, it was difficult to reach master level. The gap between the two was enormous. Just like Qi Nan Shan—once he obtained true inheritance, his progress was astonishing, comparable to those geniuses on the Higher Continent.
Guo Shier asked, “How long have you been out?”
The crew member replied, “About half a year. We’ll be home in another ten days, of course, if nothing goes wrong…”
An older crew member said, “Dachuan, don’t talk nonsense… Nothing will go wrong!”
Dachuan quickly nodded. “Yes, yes, Master Cheng. It was my fault for talking nonsense!” It was a rule among sailors not to speak of accidents. There were too many dangers at sea, and if they encountered an unstoppable disaster, they would truly never be able to return.

“The wind is blowing! Set the sails!”
The crew cheered. The wind wasn’t very strong, but once the sails were set, the ship’s speed increased again. Guo Shier saw clearly that the runes on the sails absorbed the wind’s energy, glowing with magical light. The hull trembled slightly as the ship accelerated rapidly, its bow cutting through the waves, doubling its speed in an instant.
Countless sail shapes could be seen in the distance, but on the ship, no other vessels were in sight. This cargo ship was sailing alone.
This sea area wasn’t deep ocean territory. The waters between the islands were no deeper than a hundred meters, with many shallow reefs, allowing one to see the seabed right beside the ship. Beneath these waters lay coral reefs, so there were few large mutated sea beasts—shallow waters weren’t suitable for them to thrive.
Guo Shier leaned on the high railing, enjoying the sight of the fish swimming in the sea. Whenever he found something interesting, he would conjure virtual runes to catch the fish or crabs. He was having a great time.
…
Not long after Guo Shier and his group set sail, Ao Kuang led a large force in pursuit, following the same route they had taken all the way to the seaside.
But Ao Kuang never expected to encounter a mad Tian She Jie Turtle. Their group recklessly invaded the peninsula and ended up right in the Tian She Jie Turtle’s nesting area.
Roar!
If it had been just three or four people, the Tian She Jie Turtle might not have paid much attention. But over four hundred people, packed tightly in the sky—its vision was sharp. In its frenzied state, upon seeing this group, it let out a deafening roar. A few people wouldn’t even fill its mouth, but hundreds were different. Even if it couldn’t eat its fill, it could still have some fun.
Moreover, the Tian She Jie Turtle wasn’t looking to eat; it was venting its anger. Unfortunately for Ao Kuang and his men, they had caught its attention.
With a fierce roar, the Tian She Jie Turtle unleashed sound waves that caused the people in the sky to fall like dumplings. Even Ao Kuang and the four Great Saints struggled to stay upright. Ao Kuang, being exceptionally strong, could hold his ground, but the four Great Saints found it difficult. Two of the lower-ranked Great Saints even had to descend.
Ao Kuang frowned, studying the Tian She Jie Turtle carefully. After a while, he sighed inwardly. A level-15 mutated sea beast, its strength comparable to his own. He wasn’t sure he could defeat this sudden opponent. If it were just him or him with the four Great Saints, he would have the confidence to fight the Tian She Jie Turtle. But now, with over four hundred professionals—core members of their sect—losing too many would be a serious problem for him.

Before Ao Kuang could issue orders, the Sky Snake Calamity Turtle launched itself with a roar, charging toward everyone while letting out deafening roars. The professionals who had landed on the ground couldn’t fly away; many Saints used teleportation spells to move to the periphery in an attempt to avoid the turtle’s attack.

Furious, Ao Kuang flew straight at the Sky Snake Calamity Turtle. He had to stop it—who knew what strange abilities this mutated sea beast had? If it launched an attack, things would get difficult.

The problem was that Ao Kuang and his group were on the coast—some on the beach and in the forest, others in the sea. The turtle’s enormous body crushed everything in its path, coupled with successive sonic attacks, left most people stuck in place, unable to react in time. Ao Kuang was filled with rage and terror.

They had to stop the turtle’s assault. Ao Kuang shouted loudly and cast countless spells with his hands. The ground trembled, and the rocks beneath were forced upward, forming a massive stone wall in no time. He roared, “Are you all dead? Hurry up and run!” Those professionals, though experienced, saw the wall rise and fled in all directions.

Boom!

The Sky Snake Calamity Turtle crashed into the ten-meter-thick stone wall, which instantly collapsed. Flying debris, like exploding shells, whizzed through the air, causing cries of pain. Even those Masters and Saints with spell-based armor couldn’t withstand the piercing stones—dozens were injured, and a few were killed by falling boulders.

Fortunately, Ao Kuang’s stone wall bought time for most to escape. As the turtle broke through the wall and dived into the sea—where it could fully unleash its power—its strength on land was reduced by at least 30%. Now that it no longer had turtle eggs to protect, it naturally sought a battlefield more suitable for it.

Its massive body plunged into the sea, creating towering waves. The water was filled with figures; the moment the turtle entered the sea, they all tried to fly away. But before they could reach the shore, the turtle let out two loud roars.

Roar! Roar…

Poor professionals—just as they took off, they were knocked back down, none escaping.

Ao Kuang cursed violently, “Are you idiots? You’re professionals, not clueless fools! Fight! Can’t you fight while running? A bunch of idiots… fools!”

Ao Kuang, the only one capable of resisting the sonic attacks of the Heavenly Snake Tortoise and still able to fly in the air, clearly saw the situation on the sea surface—and his heart turned to ice. This Heavenly Snake Tortoise was far too cunning; once it dived into the sea, it violently stirred the water, creating massive waves. The masters and saints tossed about in those waves. Although the water wouldn’t kill them, it prevented them from launching attacks.

A few managed to attack the Heavenly Snake Tortoise, but not only could they not hurt it, it was even difficult to leave even a mark on it.

What drove Ao Kuang crazy the most was that he couldn’t leave on his own and had to keep fighting against the Heavenly Snake Tortoise—neither able to fight nor flee. His eyes turned red as he roared, “Flee as far as possible!” Realizing that attacks were ineffective, he ordered them to escape.

A virtual altar appeared above Ao Kuang’s head, spinning rapidly, with countless tiny blades and various oddly shaped weapons swirling around it—that was the Symbolic Weapon Altar. If Guo Shier were here, he could determine Ao Kuang’s profession just by this altar.

Ao Kuang calmed himself down. If he didn’t, things would get troublesome. As a leader, he had to protect his subordinates. The Heavenly Snake Tortoise had enraged him, forcing him to use the soul altar he had just formed—a great blow to him.

Pointing at the altar above, he caused it to rapidly expand. Then, Ao Kuang flew up and sat on its top, with the swirling blades immediately circling him. Madness and murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

“Activate!”

Ao Kuang tapped his hand successively on an axe-shaped blade and a crescent-shaped blade. A buzzing vibration sounded as the axe and crescent blade flew out, circled the altar once, and then rapidly expanded from sesame-sized shadows. In just a few breaths, the axe’s diameter reached ten meters. The same happened to the crescent blade, which rolled through the air, emitting a shrill sound.

The Heavenly Snake Tortoise swam in the sea, unconcerned about the ant-like humans falling into the water. Its gaze remained fixed on Ao Kuang. It knew clearly who posed the greatest threat to it.

“Slash!”

Filled with rage, Ao Kuang made the axe grow even larger, its diameter reaching over twenty meters—still a virtual image, but with countless runes flashing on it. The blade suddenly lit up and sliced straight down at the Heavenly Snake Tortoise’s massive head, the sound of cutting through air being piercing and harsh.

The Heavenly Snake Tortoise lunged forward abruptly, its thick tail shooting out of the sea and striking the side of the virtual axe.

Boom! Crack! The virtual axe, over twenty meters in diameter, acted as if it were solid, blocking the tail’s strike. Yet the force of the strike was immense, causing the virtual axe to crash into the sea. Unluckily, there were several masters in the sea as well; they couldn’t withstand the attack of the virtual axe and instantly turned into piles of flesh. Dark red blood slowly spread throughout the water.
“Ah!” Ao roared in fury.
The Heavenly Snake Calamity Turtle sensed the power of the virtual axe and realized it posed a great threat to it. It raised its head, aimed at Ao, and spat out a blast of blue light, along with a gust of extreme cold. This was its innate instinct, and its power was enormous.