74: Chapter 74 Catching Demons

The next day, at the first light of dawn, the sea mist had not yet dispersed.

The wharf south of Donghai Prefecture was already bustling with noise, banners snapping in the wind.

When Jiang Hanzhou arrived at the wharf with the Li Family entourage, even with the Heart-Nature of someone who had lived two lifetimes, he could not help but be stunned for a moment by the sight before him.

Moored at the very front of the deep-water zone were eight pitch-black, mountain-like giant warships.

These were not ordinary merchant or passenger ships, but true naval warships!

Each one was over thirty zhang long and nearly ten zhang wide, with hulls cast from a mixture of Donghai's unique "Iron Sandalwood" and refined iron, coated with a layer of dark, ink-like "Sea-Suppressing Lacquer" said to be able to resist demonic Qi.

Three rows of portholes were opened on both sides of the ship, their shutters currently tightly closed, yet one could vaguely discern the outlines of ferocious giant crossbows hidden behind them.

The bow was shaped like a sharp ram, carved into the form of a wide-eyed, angry Dragon head or a giant shark, wrapped in cold iron, reflecting a cold, metallic luster in the morning light.

Most eye-catching was the tower-like mast in the center of the ship.

The main mast was thick enough to require three people to embrace it, nearly twenty zhang high, with the Great Qi Navy's black-bottomed, gold-embroidered wave flag hanging from the top, snapping in the wind.

The side masts were slightly shorter, and the sails had not yet been fully raised, but the texture of the thick canvas made it clear at a glance that it could withstand fierce winds and giant waves.

On the deck, teams of naval soldiers wearing standard-issue black leather armor and half-body iron scale breastplates stood at attention, waiting for orders.

They held long halberds and crossbows, with swords at their waists, standing in neat, silent rows, the only sound being the occasional faint metallic clinking of their armor rubbing together.

That aura of solemn killing intent, even from far away, rushed towards them, causing the crowd watching at the wharf to subconsciously hold their breath and remain silent.

What made Jiang Hanzhou pay even more attention was that on the gunwales, deck edges, and even the outer walls of the cabins of each warship, one could vaguely see intricate rune patterns carved and inlaid.

These patterns were not conspicuous in the morning light, but with his keen perception, he could detect the power fluctuations hidden within them.

"Is... is this a naval warship?"

"My god, this ship is taller than a three-story building!"

"Look at that ram! If this thing rammed into something, what ship wouldn't be smashed to pieces..."

The accompanying physicians were also witnessing such large-scale imperial warships for the first time, each one dumbfounded and whispering in amazement, as if their previous fear of demons had been diluted somewhat by this solemn and majestic military appearance.

"Everyone, please follow me." Steward led the group, not toward the eight terrifying warships, but to the other side of the wharf.

Moored there were three multi-story ships, slightly smaller in size but still much larger than ordinary passenger ships.

The hulls were painted a deep cyan, and the Li Family's clan emblem—a mountain peak surrounded by red flames—hung from the bows.

These were the logistics ships accompanying the Li Family this time.

"You esteemed physicians have noble status and need to conserve your energy to treat the wounded, so we have arranged for you to be on this ship, which is relatively stable and safe," Steward explained.

Hearing this, the crowd felt slightly more at ease.

Boarding the Li Family's multi-story ship, the deck was wide and divided into several levels.

Jiang Hanzhou was assigned to an independent cabin on the second level; pushing open the porthole, he could see the sea surface and the silhouettes of the eight giant warships ahead.

The fleet did not delay. Once all personnel and supplies were on board, following three dull horn blasts from the largest warship at the lead, the fleet slowly weighed anchor, raised its sails, and sailed away from the wharf.

The eight naval warships were in the lead, sailing through the waves in a wild goose Formation, while the three noble family logistics ships followed a hundred zhang behind.

As the ships sailed on the sea, the wind and waves gradually picked up.

Jiang Hanzhou stood before the porthole, watching the churning dark blue seawater outside, feeling the rhythmic rise and fall of the ship, his expression calm.

However, many of the accompanying physicians were clearly unaccustomed to this kind of voyage.

Especially that Daoist Master Guo, Guo Yanlin, who had been speaking eloquently in the hall yesterday with the air of an immortal.

Less than half an hour after the ship set sail, this expert's face turned pale, sweat broke out on his forehead, and he leaned against the gunwale, retching incessantly. His previous detached and indifferent air was completely gone.

"Daoist Master Guo, are you..." a physician asked with concern.

Guo Yanlin waved his hand, his voice weak: "It... it is nothing. It is just that... this poor Daoist grew up in the mountains and has rarely traveled rivers, this tossing of the sea waves... urgh..."

Before he could finish speaking, another wave of nausea hit him.

Seeing this, Steward hurriedly called for servants to help the nearly collapsed Guo Yanlin into the depths of the cabin to rest.

Everyone looked at each other, inevitably putting a small question mark in their minds about the reliability of this demon-suppression trip.

If even the Daoist who proposed the idea gets seasick like this, can the "filth-guiding talisman" still be successfully refined?

Jiang Hanzhou withdrew his gaze, not paying it any mind.

He leaned against the window, continuing to observe the movements of the naval warships ahead.

The fleet's speed was not slow, and about an hour later, the outline of a rugged, steep black cliff appeared on the sea ahead.

Guanchao Cliff had arrived.

It was a cliff extending into the sea, with towering cliff walls and jagged rocks. The waves crashed against it, splashing white foam several zhang high, and the roaring sound could be heard from afar.

The seawater beneath the cliff was noticeably deeper in color, almost ink-blue, as if hiding endless depths.

And at this moment, what was most eye-catching was not this dangerous cliff, but the actions of the naval warships ahead.

The eight warships did not approach the cliff directly but began to slowly adjust their course, cruising on the sea in a trajectory that seemed chaotic but actually contained a certain pattern.

Each warship maintained a specific distance from the others.

What was even more peculiar was that at the very front of the deck of each warship, a figure appeared wearing an apricot-yellow Daoist robe and holding a Magical Artifact.

Those people were not naval soldiers, but alchemists accompanying the army.

The objects they held reflected bright golden light in the sunlight—they were bronze mirrors about the size of a washbasin, with Eight Trigrams patterns carved on the edges!

"Eight Trigrams Mirror?" Jiang Hanzhou's eyes narrowed slightly.

He saw those eight mirror-holding alchemists each take their positions, holding their Eight Trigrams Mirrors high, the mirror faces slightly tilted, forming a peculiar angle between the mirror faces.

As they chanted incantations and changed the hand seals, the faces of the Eight Trigrams Mirrors began to glow with a faint golden halo.

The halo was weak at first but soon became bright. Eight beams of golden light shot out from the mirrors, not directly into the distance, but intersecting and refracting in mid-air, vaguely forming the prototype of a pale golden light net covering a sea area of several li!

The light net was formless and immaterial, yet it made the air in that sea area slightly distorted. The waves seemed to become calmer, and even the sound of the wind seemed to have diminished.

"This... is this setting up a Formation?" an older physician asked, leaning against the gunwale, squinting to gaze into the distance, muttering to himself.

"Demon-Hunting Formation!" another more knowledgeable Jianghu doctor nearby whispered, his tone filled with awe. "I once heard an elder from the Jianghu mention that when the imperial court deals with demonic creatures that are difficult to find or adept at escaping, they will invite experts from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to use Magical Artifacts as a foundation to set up a great Formation, sealing off a region of heaven and earth, leaving them with nowhere to hide! I never thought I would be able to see it with my own eyes today!"

Demon-Hunting Formation!

Hearing this, everyone's spirits lifted, and they craned their necks to observe carefully.

It was also the first time Jiang Hanzhou had seen such a display of a "Formation" that transcended the scope of ordinary martial arts, and his curiosity was even greater.

He noticed that the golden light emitted by those eight Eight Trigrams Mirrors was not static; rather, as the alchemists adjusted them, they constantly tweaked the angles, causing the pale golden light net in the air to gradually solidify and expand, eventually vaguely covering the sea area nearly ten li in front of Guanchao Cliff, along with a portion of the cliff area.

The moment the light net formed, Jiang Hanzhou keenly felt that the flow of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi within the covered area seemed to become sluggish and orderly, as if it had been sifted by an invisible giant net.

Just at this moment, several figures appeared on the ship tower of the largest naval warship in the lead.