Chapter 25 Xia Wei-Shocking Change
Buried on the beach.
A group of brave and strong hunters, each holding a spear, are hunting together in an organized manner. They are wearing dark yellow thatch clothes, hunched over, blending into the environment of the beach, lurking quietly, waiting for the opportunity to come.
What everyone wanted to hunt were the crayfish that swarmed by the river.
Crayfish are ferocious in nature, and dozens of them often move together. Each one is as big as a calf, with a hard shell covered on its body. The shell is a rusty green color washed by river water, and there are obvious thorn-like protrusions on the edges, making it look even more formidable. There are two long tentacles standing on its head, and blood marks on its red claws. The strength ranges from the middle stage of the first level to the peak of the first level, and the whole body exudes a dangerous aura.
"Very good, crawl a few more steps forward... This group of crayfish is isolated. Prepare to attack. We must capture them all and not let any of them escape."
After confirming that everything was correct, the monster-hunting captain Qi Feng quickly gave orders. Encouraged by him, everyone gathered their confidence and united as one. Even though they were facing a powerful monster ahead, they had no intention of retreating.
"Turn those monsters into our dinner!"
At Qi Feng's command, several figures suddenly jumped out from under the seemingly flat beach. The hunters jumped out from their hiding places, raised their spears high, and stabbed the crayfish surrounded by the crowd.
The sound of metal clashing continued to ring out. Under the continuous fierce stabbing of the crowd, the nearest crayfish could not withstand such attacks. The spears pierced their shells, accompanied by a horrifying tearing sound. Dark blue blood continued to flow along the puncture wounds. The calf-sized bodies gradually lost strength and fell to the ground motionless.
Suddenly attacked, the crayfish group became alert and quickly dispersed their formation. The strong ones were responsible for blocking the hunters' encirclement and would rather break their claws than give the hunters' spears a chance to stab them. At the back, a nimble one retreated quickly, preparing to summon a high-level monster from the Jing River.
"Don't let it get away!"
Seeing this, Qi Feng was anxious, fearing that yesterday's scene would repeat itself. If the crayfish that escaped back into the Jing River attracted more than two hairy crabs, most of the monster-hunting team would be doomed.
He stepped forward with his sword, ready to kill the escaping crayfish, but was unable to do so because the two crayfish blocking his way were too ferocious.
The fearless crayfish would rather drag its severed body and do its best to stop him from moving forward. All these blocking actions made him feel like he was stuck in the mud, and he could only watch the crayfish return to the Jing River.
At the critical moment, a delicate cry was heard, followed by a violent sound of breaking wind. A fist as hard as iron fell from the top of the fleeing crayfish's head, and like a tiger descending from the mountain, it flattened the crayfish's body with pure force. Dark blue blood splattered on the beach. The crayfish that had just been fleeing fiercely now only had its whiskers twitching slightly.
Xia Wei slowly retracted her fist, her eyes were like fire, her brows were full of murderous intent, her body was straight and tall, standing on the battlefield like an unshakable flag.
"Well done! Xia Wei!"
"We can't let this opportunity go by, let's kill all the monsters!"
Xia Wei's move also won praise from a group of hunters. With the concerted efforts of everyone, the crayfish that had lost their retreat were quickly cleared out.
The entire beach was littered with the shattered remains of crayfish. After the battle, instead of feeling tired, everyone's eyes were full of energy as they looked at the shattered remains of the monsters as if they had seen gold.
For those embarking on the path of cultivation, nothing could accelerate their cultivation more than the flesh of demon beasts, rich in spiritual energy. Everyone counted the spoils of battle, taking the fresh ingredients away and supplementing the remaining crayfish with a few spears. The battle was fruitful, and joyful laughter filled the air.
Xia Wei lowered her head and glanced at her fist stained with dark blue blood, revealing a hint of disgust. She was about to go to the river to wash her hands when she heard a familiar reminder:
"Don't get close. Be careful of the monsters in the river. There's a very powerful monster wandering around at the bottom of the river."
Hearing this, Xia Wei's fiery eyes lit up, and her furrowed brows melted away like ice and snow. She stared at the dark figure that approached her and said respectfully, "Master."
Ye Jie waved his hand and said, "I've brought you a few more spirit stones. With these spirit stones, combined with the monster meat to assist in your cultivation, you should be able to quickly break through to the late first stage."
"Well, Xiaowei will try her best..." Xia Wei showed some gratitude. The joy of defeating the monster just now was nothing compared to her master's concern.
"Miss Xia Wei, what are you talking to yourself about?"
As he was speaking, Captain Qi Feng came over. He looked around and saw no one besides Xia Wei, so he put the matter behind him and said with a smile:
"Thanks to Miss Xia Wei's timely intervention, we were able to stop the crayfish that had escaped to report the incident. Otherwise, the brothers of the Monster Hunting Team would have been in trouble again. This is the second time Miss Xia Wei has saved the team from danger."
Xia Wei clasped her fists in return: "This is what I should do."
Qi Feng bowed and said, "My brothers in the Monster Hunting Team have all entrusted their lives to me. If anything were to happen to them, I wouldn't know how to explain it to their families... Whenever an accident happens, even if it's just a hunter breaking a limb, hearing their families wail and cry, I feel the most pain than anyone else. As the captain of the Monster Hunting Team, I must sincerely thank Miss Xia Wei."
After receiving Qi Feng's thanks, Xia Wei felt a little warm in her heart. She looked at Ye Jie and received a look of affirmation from Ye Jie.
"Since the monsters are so difficult to deal with, why does Captain Qi Feng still lead the monster-hunting team to fight them? If something happens, Aunt Wang will be sad." Xia Wei couldn't help but ask.
Qi Feng smiled and said, "As you can see, your Aunt Wang is pregnant now. I suffered the consequences of starting cultivation too late in my life. I still have many hidden injuries on my body, and there is no hope for me to break through to the third level in my lifetime. My unborn child must not repeat my mistakes. I want to give him the best resources for cultivation, and that will cost a lot of money..."
Xia Wei nodded, and then listened to Qi Feng say, "However, the aquatic monsters near Qingshi Town have become increasingly ferocious in recent years, and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. After my child is born, I'll step down as captain and spend more time with my family..."
As he was speaking, he heard a series of exclamations from the nearby team members.
Twenty steps from the beach, a dazzling light suddenly appeared on the river surface, as if it were a dream, like a star falling from the earth. The light was emitted by a pearl, the size of a fist, its surface translucent white, as if it had absorbed the essence of the moon and condensed into a celestial being.
The pearl lies on a scallop that drifts with the waves. The scallop is as big as a person, and the open shell is like an open mouth. The soft purple tongue coating supports the pearl. The perfect and plump white pearl is enough to drive any viewer crazy.
"Such a perfect pearl is worth at least a hundred taels of gold... If I can get it, I won't have to risk hunting monsters anymore. My children, and even my children's children, will have ample resources for cultivation."
Looking at the shining pearl in the scallop, Qi Feng's eyes widened, his breathing became rapid, and the impulse in his heart could no longer be suppressed. Not only him, but many hunters nearby felt the same way.
"This is a trap, stop them!"
Ye Jie frowned, spoke in an urgent tone, and his eyes were fixed on the turbulent river below, where the monster was waiting for its prey to take the bait.
Xia Wei quickly warned, "Be careful, that could very well be a monster's trap, don't get close..."
However, before Xia Wei could finish her words, Qi Feng jumped and dived into the river. Then, waving his arms quickly, he approached the scallop like a swimming fish.
Qi Feng knew this might be a monster's trap, but with profit at his fingertips, there was no room for hesitation.
Qi Feng, sword in hand, carefully pushed aside the current and approached the scallop. He had already made up his mind: if he encountered a crayfish, he would use his sword to clear the way and forcibly seize the pearl. If he encountered a hairy crab, he would abandon the pearl and quickly retreat to shore.
The expected attack did not come, and he successfully reached the scallop. With an undisguised ecstasy on his face, he reached out to the pearl in the center of the scallop.
The shadow fell directly above him. Qi Feng, reacting quickly, retracted his hand, but his movements were still a bit too slow. A sharp, tooth-aching sound was heard, and Qi Feng let out a wail. The scallop suddenly closed, trapping his right arm tightly, breaking even the bone. A torrent of blood gushed out, staining the river surface near the scallop red and gradually spreading deeper into the river.
The demon hunters quickly gathered around, hammering and hitting the closed scallop. They grabbed Qi Feng by the waist, trying to drag him back to shore, but to no avail. Instead, the scallop's immense force pulled him deeper into the Jing River. Qi Feng, the center of the struggle between them and the scallop, was on the verge of being torn apart.
Xia Wei also rushed over, but heard Ye Jie say, "Cut off his arm."
"But……"
"There's no time to hesitate, hurry up!" Ye Jie said anxiously.
Xia Wei hurriedly obeyed. With a flash of her sword, Qi Feng's right arm, which had been trapped by the scallop, was severed at the root. Blood gushed out like a fountain, and he finally broke free from the scallop. The scallop quickly sank to the bottom of the river, taking the pearl with it with it.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Although Qi Feng lost an arm, his life was at least saved. Just as they were about to pull Qi Feng back to the shore beach, a frightening black shadow suddenly flashed under the river in front of them.
A sharp cold light flashed across, and the three hunters closest to them were instantly ripped open and their bodies were swept away by the rushing river.
Everyone was shocked to see a burly figure standing up in the river.
The first thing that rose from the river was a pair of slender tentacles, followed by an armor-like bright red head shell. Under the head shell was a sharp mouthpart like a quiver, and a strange light flashed in its compound eyes.
When the monster completely stood up from the riverbed, all the hunters were shocked. They saw that under the lobster-like head was the sturdy body of a human man. His muscles bulged high, exuding the power to move mountains. In one hand he held a seven-foot Mo Dao, and the blade exuded cold murderous intent. Just one blow was enough to take the lives of the three hunters.
"Oh no...it's a level three monster, Shrimp-headed man, everyone run!"
"How could a monster of this level appear here?"
Seeing the third-level monster appear, the hunters swam backwards in panic, not caring about their companions beside them, and only regretted that they had not been born with two more legs.
The shrimp-headed man stepped forward in pursuit, and a brutal massacre began on the banks of the Jing River. The hunters were killed with their Mo Daos, and their bodies sank into the river, and the blood completely dyed the river bank red.
In the turbulent river, Xia Wei stepped on the river rocks, the water submerged her chest. She tried her best to drag the unattended Qi Feng back, trying to bring him back to the shore.
However, Xia Wei was a beat too slow, and the shrimp-headed man had already set his sights on her. A cold blade swept past, and Xia Wei let out a whine. With a light movement of her hand, Qi Feng, whom she had been dragging, was reduced to half his body, cut cleanly in the chest and abdomen, and a burst of red mist exploded in the river.
Xia Wei wasn't feeling well either. A hideous gash appeared on her forearm, the bone clearly visible, and blood gushed out. The intense pain caused her features to constrict, her lips to tremble, and the color drained from her pretty face.
The shrimp-headed man gave chase again, raised his Mo Dao, and was about to kill Xia Wei. At this moment, accompanied by a barely audible sound of ignition, a piece of burning yellow paper was stuck to the shrimp-headed man's body, followed by a deafening roar.
The violent explosion blew the shrimp-headed man's body away. The strong impact caused him to fall directly into the river, and he was unable to get up for a long time.
Taking advantage of the opportunity when the shrimp-headed man was blown over, Ye Jie hurriedly shouted: "Run! I'll find a way to hold it back!"
Xia Wei also understood that her life was at stake, so she didn't bother to say goodbye to Ye Jie. After returning to the shore, she covered her wound and ran towards the town without stopping.
With a crashing sound, the shrimp-headed man rose from the water once more, his body still stained with a few charred marks. Even the explosive talisman, equivalent to a full-strength attack from a peak-level second-order talisman, could only inflict minor injuries.
After this attack, the furious shrimp-headed man just turned his eyes to Xia Wei, and suddenly he felt a black screen in front of his eyes, and then he could not see anything.
The shrimp-headed man let out a strange cry, tightly gripped the Mo Dao with both hands, and his body began to spin rapidly, like an extremely dangerous gyroscope with a blade. Any creature that touched the spinning blade would have its flesh and blood flying everywhere. The force was so great that it actually created a huge whirlpool in the river.
After blocking the shrimp-headed man's vision with clouds, Ye Jie certainly would not stay there stupidly. He hid in the river, hit the riverbed with black stones, and moved away. No matter how strong the shrimp-headed man was, he only punched into the air.
By the time the shrimp-headed man returned to normal, there was no one around. He looked around, then put away his long knife, picked up the corpses of the hunters from the river, put them into his mouth, and began to chew them.