Chapter 252: Black Blood Gull

"Everyone, come out! Prepare for a great battle!"

Nanxuan Laozu shouted loudly while activating his cultivation technique; his voice carried a hint of misery, and one could be certain that whatever could make a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator feel such fear was definitely no small matter.

Immediately, the crowd flew out from the ship's cabins one after another. Once they reached the front of the flying boat and looked, they saw that at the edge of the horizon, a pitch-black mass was covering the sky, and it was unclear what exactly was surging toward them.

With the Divine Sense of Zhang Nuo and the others, it was impossible to discern what kind of demonic beasts these were from such a distance. Just by looking at the sheer number, they knew it was not a small amount.

"Laozu, what kind of demonic beasts are those ahead?"

Zhang Nuo walked up to Nanxuan Laozu and, seeing his unsightly expression, could not help but ask.

"Those are 'Black Blood Gulls'. They primarily live in groups. I encountered a batch of them in the Mist Sea years ago, but their numbers were not even one-hundredth of what is before us now. Yet, even that number of 'Black Blood Gulls' swallowed a Golden Core Stage cultivator alive!"

"Not even one-hundredth of the current number?"

Zhang Nuo gasped; that was a terrifying figure. Right now, the distant sky was almost entirely filled with these 'Black Blood Gull' demonic birds. It was no wonder Nanxuan Laozu was afraid; even a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator would likely be unable to handle this.

"Why don't we change our course?"

Zhuge An had also heard the Laozu's words, and a look of terror appeared on his face as he spoke.

"It's useless. This flock of 'Black Blood Gulls' is like a giant net that has been cast open. They push forward in a straight line; we must break through their defensive line to continue forward, otherwise, we can only turn back!"

With an increasingly solemn expression, Nanxuan Laozu's snow-white eyebrows twitched, and he shook his head while speaking.

This time, everyone's heart turned cold. Since they could not avoid it, they had no choice but to charge through. Just as everyone was contemplating this, the pitch-black mass of 'Black Blood Gulls' surged over, covering the sky. At this moment, everyone's Divine Sense could clearly feel the Spiritual Pressure radiating from these demonic birds.

"Four-tier demonic beasts!"

Every single 'Black Blood Gull' in the sky was a Four-tier demonic beast, which was equivalent to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage for human cultivators. If it were just one, it would be easy to deal with, but with such a massive quantity, no one dared to underestimate them.

"Ya!"

A somewhat hoarse gull cry rang out. The 'Black Blood Gull' flying at the very front seemed to have discovered the flying boat carrying Nanxuan Laozu and the others. It immediately signaled to its kin behind!

At the same time, countless gull cries erupted; the sound was extremely harsh and piercing. On the flying boat, many Foundation Establishment Stage disciples covered their ears with both hands, but the sound could still be heard clearly! Some disciples even had blood flowing from their ears, rolling incessantly on the deck of the flying boat.

Like many other cultivators, this was Zhang Nuo's first time seeing such a massive number of demonic birds, and his expression became very grim! Just as everyone was in fear, hundreds of 'Black Blood Gulls' arrived above the flying boat.

The 'Black Blood Gulls' were entirely pitch-black like ink, without a hint of any other color, and even the sharp hooks on their claws glinted with a chilling black light.

"Swish!"

A 'Black Blood Gull' pulled its wings back, straightened its body, and dove down like an arrow. At this moment, a disciple of the Four Great Sects who had already been frightened out of his wits was struck by the 'Black Blood Gull' without any defense, and a large chunk of flesh and blood was torn from his shoulder in the blink of an eye.

It was not until the flesh left his body that the disciple felt a surge of intense pain. While crying out, he sacrificed his Dharma Treasure to attack the 'Black Blood Gull'. Having succeeded in one strike, the 'Black Blood Gull' did not linger; it opened its mouth to swallow the flesh from its claws into its belly, then swiveled its body and charged back into the high sky.

The Dharma Treasure sacrificed by the injured disciple could not keep up with the speed of the 'Black Blood Gull' and missed entirely! At this, everyone was shocked; the speed of these demonic birds was simply too fast! Even Magic Treasures could not keep up.

"Swish, swish!"

Seeing their companion succeed, two 'Black Blood Gulls' charged toward Zhang Nuo's direction. With a movement of his Divine Sense, Zhang Nuo sensed danger and flashed his body twice, dodging the attacking demonic birds.

The two 'Black Blood Gulls' missed their target instantly, but they were not in a hurry to attack again; they flew toward the sky, intending to escape!

"Beasts! Leave your lives behind!"

Zhang Nuo let out a loud shout. With a flick of his sleeve, two White Threads flashed out, and in the next moment, they pierced directly through the two 'Black Blood Gulls'! Pity these two demonic birds; they didn't get to eat any meat, but instead gave up their own lives.

Compared to Zhang Nuo's Fast Sword, their speed was still a few notches slower! Just as Zhang Nuo killed the two demonic birds, the other 'Black Blood Gulls' in the sky also began to act.

With constant "Ya ya!" sounds, they dove down toward the people on the flying boat! At this point, there was no other way out except to reveal their Magic Treasures and fight.

For a time, the light of various Magic Treasures flashed on the deck of the flying boat, blocking the 'Black Blood Gulls' that were diving down. The corpses of dozens of 'Black Blood Gulls' fell onto the deck, and the black blood almost dyed the deck black.

"Ya ya!"

After the first wave failed, the second wave of 'Black Blood Gulls' attacked again. This time, the number was five or six times that of the first wave; thousands of demonic birds enveloped the entire flying boat.

"Boom, boom!"

The white-as-jade White Disc in front of Nanxuan Laozu flashed several times, knocking down several 'Black Blood Gulls'. However, the number of demonic birds was extremely high; despite killing many, there were still many more surging toward them.

Seeing this, Zhang Nuo gritted his teeth slightly and let out a cold snort. Dozens of Flying Swords emerged from his body one after another. With his hands rapidly forming seals, several Flying Swords instantly transformed into Silver Dragons.

With a swirl in mid-air, they knocked down more than a dozen 'Black Blood Gulls'. However, distant water cannot quench a near fire; soon, thousands more 'Black Blood Gulls' were flying toward him.

"Ah!"

Directly in front of Zhang Nuo, a disciple of the Four Great Sects let out a miserable scream. His crown was grabbed by a 'Black Blood Gull', and he fell directly onto the deck. At the same time, hundreds or thousands of 'Black Blood Gulls' charged toward the cultivator's corpse.

In the moment of gathering and dispersing, the cultivator's corpse vanished from the spot, not even leaving behind a scrap of bone! Only a pool of bright red blood remained!

Everyone saw the scene that occurred before their eyes, and their expressions changed drastically in an instant! It was too terrifying! In the blink of an eye, a living person who was full of vitality just a moment ago was gone; these 'Black Blood Gulls' ate people without even spitting out the bones.

"You beasts! Come on!"

Several cultivators were enraged by what they saw and shouted loudly like madmen, waving the Magic Treasures in front of them and killing 'Black Blood Gulls' one by one.

Before long, a thick layer of 'Black Blood Gull' corpses had already covered the deck of the flying boat. The black blood of these demonic birds was extremely viscous, making it even more inconvenient for the people standing on the deck to move!

The black blood flowed continuously along the side of the ship into the seawater, turning a large area of the originally azure water pitch-black like ink! And the silver flying boat was sinking downward bit by bit at this moment.

"Quickly clear the 'Black Blood Gull' blood off the flying boat! It has the effect of absorbing Spirit Power!"

After knocking down several 'Black Blood Gulls', Nanxuan Laozu suddenly felt a shift in his Divine Sense. Sensing the change in the flying boat, he immediately shouted loudly.

Upon hearing this, the cultivators on the flying boat were shocked once again! What kind of strange demonic bird was this? Even its blood was so troublesome after death!

At this time, Zhuo Zhiyan pointed solemnly at the 'Seven Treasures Glazed Lamp' in front of her. Immediately, a beam of fire soared into the sky, scattering the thousands of 'Black Blood Gulls' pressing toward her. Afterward, she controlled the precious lamp to spray another sheet of flames onto the deck. After a foul, burnt stench filled the air,

a large amount of 'Black Blood Gull' blood on the deck was scorched and evaporated by the flames, easing the downward momentum of the flying boat slightly. However, doing this could only resolve the immediate danger; many more 'Black Blood Gull' corpses continued to fall onto the deck.

"Laozu, please think of a way! If this continues, we have no hope of escaping!"

Light shimmered on Xiao Zhengxing's body as he slapped a 'Black Blood Gull' to death with a wave of his hand. The overwhelming number of demonic birds left him unable to cope, and he asked Nanxuan Laozu repeatedly.

"What way could I have? There is no choice but to resist this wave head-on!"

Standing at the very front of the flying boat, Nanxuan Laozu was controlling the flying boat to charge forward rapidly while also having to kill 'Black Blood Gulls'. His aged face was already full of fury.

In the sky ahead, countless 'Black Blood Gulls' were still surging toward them, a pitch-black mass that covered the original color of the sky. It was as if it had turned into the dead of night!

Zhang Nuo looked up at the sky, and his heart sank instantly. If he had encountered so many 'Black Blood Gulls' alone, there would be absolutely no way to escape.

With dozens of Flying Swords constantly slashing and sometimes having to look after the weaker disciples, he was left in a state of chaos for a time.

Suddenly, he discovered that on the deck in the distance, three disciples of the Beixuan Sect were about to be overwhelmed. Having no other choice, he had to sacrifice the 'Measuring Heaven Ruler'. The Silver Ruler transformed into shadows of rulers filling the sky, knocking down all the 'Black Blood Gulls' attacking the three Beixuan Sect disciples.

At this moment, the three cultivators were saved, and their figures flashed as they arrived right in front of Zhang Nuo!

"Many thanks for stepping in to save us!"

The three of them panted heavily while thanking Zhang Nuo, but Zhang Nuo had no time to listen to them right now; with a movement of his Divine Sense, the Flying Sword and the small ruler joined the battle once again.

This great battle lasted for nearly half an hour, but ahead of the flying boat, there was still no light to be seen; apart from the dense mass of Black Blood Gulls, there was only the seawater below.

"Boom!"

A dull sound came, and one could see Nanxuan Laozu grabbing at the void toward the distant flock of Black Blood Gulls; the next moment, the void in the distance shattered, and a white, ten-foot-large hand of light emerged, reaching out to grab at the countless demonic birds. In an instant, black blood splattered everywhere, and a full hundred Black Blood Gulls were wiped out by the large hand.