Chapter 265

Before Mu Yi and them could get close to the shore, a batch of monsters immediately surged out from the shore and rushed to attack Mu Yi and them.

A batch of grayish-green, muscular, sturdy fish-people exuded an aura of chaos and ominousness, and rushed toward Mu Yi and them.

These fish-people resemble apes, yet they bear a fish head gazing at the stars, their huge bulging eyes showing chaos and madness.

They jerk about randomly, sometimes moving on two legs, sometimes crawling on all fours.

"Oh oh oh oh oh~"

Their noisy, barking sounds are clearly a complex language, but anyone who tries to understand their meaning will be eroded by chaos and become one of them.

Mu Yi looked at these fish-people with some disgust, not only because they look horrifying, but also because they are launching an attack using this bizarre method.

Zongwang Prompt: You are suffering a will attack from the deep divers, undergoing a will check... Will check succeeded, but your SAN value begins to slightly drop, your sanity begins to be affected.

Even after passing the will check, Mu Yi was still affected.

This is undoubtedly a thorny problem, because it means the power of these deep-diver fish-people comes from a higher-level grant.

This also means that this addition still hides a big guy.

"Be careful, these demons can directly attack the soul!"

Someone let out a loud shout, the sound echoing between heaven and earth.

With continuously changing hand seals in hand, a big hand descended from the sky, directly smashing all the deep-diver fish-people within the falling range into meat paste.

"Hahaha, mere soul interference, not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning!"

A middle-aged man flying on his sword laughed loudly, a blade aura twenty to thirty meters long shot out, directly carving a blood path through the deep divers, only dissipating after spreading thirty to fifty meters.

"Everyone be careful, these demons are all extraterritorial demons; never be careless, absolutely avoid flesh contact with these demons!"

An old man with immortal wind and dao bones held a talisman between his index and middle fingers, lightly flicked it, and the talisman floated, fixed in midair.

Immediately after, the talisman shattered in an instant, and threads of lightning leapt in the void!

Ziz—

In an instant, a lightning net surged forth, enveloping the ground within a radius of tens of meters.

Dense lightning directly turned the struck deep-diver fish-people into charcoal, and even the air began to reek of burntness.

The others also each displayed their divine abilities; although the deep-diver fish-people were mighty in numbers, they were no match for these people.

"The quality of this batch of people is high!"

Mu Yi narrowed his eyes to observe; the deep-diver fish-people should be around level 15 ordinary monsters, while they on this side are at least level 18 or 19 elite monsters, and a few might even be leader stat blocks.

When they fought, it was naturally one-sided; Mu Yi hadn't even had time to act before the fish-people on the shore were basically swept away.

"How come everyone is so enthusiastic!"

Mu Yi sensed something was off, pulled out a bow and arrow from his pack that he hadn't used in a long time; although the bow and arrow were low-grade, with the support of the Soldier Lord's power it was sufficient.

Drawing the bow and nocking the arrow, the arrow shot like a meteor, piercing a fish-person and then blasting it to pieces.

"Zongwang Prompt: Slaying deep-diver fish-people, Great Ming Military Merit 5!"

Mu Yi understood; no wonder these guys are so enthusiastic—there's profit to be had, no wonder they're all as frenzied as if injected with chicken blood.

However, Mu Yi also didn't act to snatch military merit from these people; these small fry are merely appetizers, the real main event is still to come.

A few others shared Mu Yi's idea; Mu Yi sized them up and found they basically came from the Confucian, Buddhist Sect, and Daoist schools, with only one person inscrutable.

According to Mu Yi's estimate, these should be around half-step Legend existences, and among this group they count as the strongest.

Apparently noticing Mu Yi's gaze, a Daoist friendly nodded at him and sent a voice transmission asking.

"Please, Exalted One, remain calm and do not be agitated; these demons are merely cannon fodder, they have appeared before in coastal areas, and the main show is yet to come!"

Mu Yi raised his eyebrows; his identity as a Yin God is quite useful, in the Great Ming Faction his reputation starts with respect, and leaning on a big tree indeed makes for good shade.

Before the Daoist's words had finished, a dense mass of black clouds suddenly appeared on the horizon; Mu Yi looked up and saw a flock of birds flapping their wings flying toward them.

However, only when Mu Yi's gaze landed on one of those birds did he realize they were not really birds, but monsters maintaining avian form like the deep divers.

Although their appearance is completely different, these avian monsters exude the same chaos and madness as the fish-people.

Basically, the avian monsters within the black cloud all have lifeless eyes, rotting bodies, grow scales and fish gills, and among them are also mixed some multi-winged, multi-headed malformed monsters.

Like the deep-diver fish-people, these avian monsters shriek, emitting harsh and terrifying howls, utterly unlike bird calls, more like the wail of a black cat whose tail has been stepped on.

"Heaven and earth are boundless, the universe borrows the law; the law arises from the mind, endless and unceasing. Taiyi Celestial Venerable, obey the command instantly! Break it for me!"

The Daoist who had just spoken with Mu Yi had a solemn expression, pinching a hand seal and channeling power, instantly erupting with terrifying might.

Mu Yi was somewhat surprised; he is no longer the ignorant novice who knew nothing of Jiuzhou, the Daoist's technique is the Daoist Scripture 'Taiyi Expelling Sin, Slaying Demons, Protecting the Body Mantra'; even if it's not as famous as the Heavenly Net and Earthly Fiend divine abilities, it is already a top-tier magical ability.

This Daoist is probably only one step away from becoming an immortal.

A divine light swept across the sky, and the avian monsters formed from the black cloud were annihilated one by one within the light pillars, turning into a sky-filling blood mist.

However, the blood mist re-condensed in midair; although the number of avian monsters greatly decreased, they became even more malformed, with the count of multi-headed, multi-winged, multi-legged monsters increasing.

Merely looking at it gives a sense of impact; in fact, this is not an illusion but a genuine will attack.

"Zongwang Prompt: You are suffering a will attack, undergoing a will check... Will check succeeded, but your SAN value begins to slightly drop, your sanity begins to be affected."

The deeper Mu Yi's brow furrowed, he reached out and pulled out a talisman to activate, a layer of fluorescence enveloping his body.

"This is a Soul-Calming Talisman, effective at protecting the soul's will; however, even using it, the situation did not improve."

"Does existence itself represent chaos and disorder?"

Mu Yi solemnly gazed at the monsters in the sky; compared to those deep divers, these monsters' chaos and disorder are clearly stronger, and simple protection can no longer prevent the erosion of sanity.

However, this degree of erosion has little effect on Mu Yi; it merely makes him instinctively feel uncomfortable.

"It's like watching bizarre videos while eating; separately they'd have no mutual influence, but together the instinct makes you feel uneasy and uncomfortable, unable to eat, even nauseous and vomiting."

"It looks like you folks are quite familiar with these demons?"

Mu Yi pondered for a moment, turned his head, and asked those who had not yet acted.

"Reporting to the Exalted One, these demons appeared about thirteen years ago, mainly concentrated in some remote coastal villages; these demons invade their bodies, altering their bloodlines, so that their descendants also possess the same demonic bloodline!"

Seeing Mu Yi actively inquire, someone immediately responded with an explanation; judging by appearance, he should be a Confucian disciple.

These hybrid demons mostly possess the traits of those fish monsters, able to breathe underwater; many fishermen call them water ghosts, and the ignorant populace of remote coastal villages regard them as god‑given abilities, while some remote coastal villages rely on these water ghosts to fish and salvage in the ocean, developing and growing.

But with the revival of the demon bloodline, these water ghosts gradually turn into fish monsters, dive into the seabed, fall into madness, begin to gather and summon the evil god, and try to spread the evil god's faith.

The present Ming emperor ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the border troops to exterminate these demons, but these demons possess the ability to reproduce underwater, constantly resurfacing after being wiped out; the Imperial Astronomical Bureau's night‑sky observers collectively went mad and died violently, leaving only the danger originating from the sea.

The Four Seas Dragon Clan also lost contact at the same time; without the Four Seas Dragon Clan's jurisdiction, the Four Seas fell into turmoil, the Ming realm experienced wind and rain instability, and floods and droughts occurred frequently.

The Daoist sect appealed to the gods of the Heavenly Court; with the aid of the exalted deities, they established the Nine Provinces barrier to drive the demons out, barely restoring favorable weather, and strictly forbade coastal regions from going to sea, yet the demon scourge remained unresolved, and the Ming could not free itself from the demons' entanglement.

All the states of the Four Seas sent envoys to the Ming bearing tribute and seeking aid; the emperor ordered the construction of a fleet to patrol the Four Seas, first to expand the territory and incorporate the ocean into the Nine Provinces barrier, and second to thoroughly investigate the demon menace and eradicate it at its source.

Listening to the leisurely narration, Mu Yi nodded; the background given by the Zongwang Prompt was too general, but after hearing this information, some of his previous puzzles were resolved.

So that's how it is!

Mu Yi understood everything; no wonder Zheng He seemed to have known the enemy would appear—apparently the two sides were old acquaintances.

This place was probably also a small state before, but judging by the situation, it's likely more ominous than auspicious...

Saying this, several people shook their heads; these small states lack a complete system of inheritance, and even if they have Supernormal Beings, they are merely Heterodox Paths; coupled with the invasion of the evil god, many will likely worship the evil god out of ignorance.

In that case, we are likely to encounter endless enemies along the way?" Mu Yi's expression turned subtle; this is certainly not a good thing.

Hard to say, but there are also eminent monks of the Buddhist Sect in the South Seas; self‑preservation should be safe enough!

If the Exalted Deity is interested, perhaps they will go to hear news of Lord Zheng He… Exalted Deity, be careful—the big one is coming!

Before the words had even finished, Mu Yi already saw the enemy spoken of.

A flock of huge birds?

It is unlike any known bird or Bat Demon on Earth… they are the size of elephants, yet have horse‑like heads, lack feathers, and instead have smooth scales.

These monsters crossed the void, appearing out of thin air on the battlefield, each opening its huge maw to tear at the fighting crowd.

Mu Yi's reaction was the fastest, almost an Instinctive draw of the bow and nocking of the arrow; the Military Strategist's divine ability granted him archery expertise, making him as if he had practiced archery for decades, shooting arrows in rapid succession without cost.

The arrows streaked like a meteor shower across the air, precisely striking the monsters' heads and shattering them to pieces; some Supernormal Beings who failed to react escaped death, breaking out in cold sweat, hastily bowing to Mu Yi in thanks, then summoning all their strength to face the enemy before them.

'Does the Exalted Deity come from the Military Strategist?' a burly general asked, somewhat surprised, but his hand movements did not falter as he spoke; sword light flashed, cleaving monster after monster in half.

His movements were clean and neat, filled with the iron‑blooded slaughter aura of the Military Strategist.

'Exactly so!' Mu Yi also had no intention of concealing it; this is not information that needs to be kept secret.

The burly general's respect for Mu Yi increased by another three points; Mu Yi felt a bit puzzled, but he did not say much more.

Almost done—the real big one is about to appear!

On the battlefield, the earth boiled and rolled like boiling water; blood and filth were drawn together as if by a vortex, and soon a thing resembling a gigantic withered tree extended from the ground.

When this thing fully emerged from the earth, its complete appearance was revealed.

It is a black creature resembling a tree trunk, wholly dark‑hued; like trees it reaches great height, its stout four legs, like goat hooves, support its massive body, and from its body extend numerous tentacles.

The main trunk of its body grows dense large mouths; these mouths, full of sharp teeth, ooze turbid slime and emit a foul odor, like a blanket of marsh gas.

Roar!

Accompanied by a strange howl, the huge monster twisted its body and turned its gaze toward the battlefield.

Although Mu Yi saw no eye‑like organ on the opponent, he clearly felt a sensation of being stared at.

Zongwang Prompt: You have suffered a mental attack, a will check is underway…… Will check failed, but your SAN value begins to drop sharply, your sanity starts to be affected; based on your will, this damage cannot inflict other status effects on you!

Accompanying the prompt on the retina, Mu Yi clearly felt his mind as if covered by a thin fog, beginning to become chaotic.

However, the next second, Mu Yi's inner will surged, instantly dispelling the fog in his mind.

Even Mu Yi was affected, let alone the Supernormal Beings fighting; their eyes suddenly turned turbid and chaotic.

Supreme Platform Star, respond without cease. Exorcise evil, bind spirits, preserve life, protect the body. Wisdom pure and clear, mind and spirit at peace. Three souls eternal, corporeal essence never wanes. Swift as the law commands!

A talisman suddenly appeared in mid‑air, shedding clear radiance toward everyone, including Mu Yi, whose eyes grew a bit clearer.

Guard your heart and mind! Do not be led astray by the monkey of the heart and the horse of the will!

The old monk who had not moved before let out a loud shout, like a staff striking the crowd's hearts; in an instant, bewilderment and chaos vanished.

With both measures working together, the monster's influence was instantly confined to the smallest possible range.