184: Chapter 184 The Beast Tide Ends

Taoyuan Mountain of the Ding Family

Every time Gui Qi opened its mouth, it would devour three miles of the Ding Family's peach orchard, breaking the heart of the Ding Family Ancestor, Ancestor Ding Yuze. Two Grade 4 Spirit Planters of the Family had spent eighty years restoring seventy to eighty percent of the three hundred miles of peach orchard destroyed by the Beast Tide a century ago. They had originally planned to harvest a crop before the Great Beast Tide five years later to minimize the Family's losses.

Unexpectedly, this damned green-furred turtle completely ignored Ancestor Ding Yuze's obstruction and gorged itself in the peach forest, indiscriminately swallowing both the freshly ripened spirit peaches and the still-unripe young peaches into its belly.

The losses this time were even greater than those from the Great Beast Tide a century ago.

The Ding Family's decades of hard work were ruined in an instant!

"Gui Qi, you stop right there! If you eat any more of my Family's spirit peaches, I will not be polite to you!" Ancestor Ding Yuze shouted sternly. A great moon floated up behind him, looking as if he were ready to risk his life against Gui Qi.

Over these three days, Gui Qi had avoided the strong and attacked the weak, devouring no less than eighty miles of the peach orchard, destroying eight Grade 4 spirit peach trees, hundreds of Grade 3 spirit peach trees, and countless Grade 1 and Grade 2 spirit peach trees.

Fortunately, that 5th Rank spirit peach treasure tree was protected within the Family's Formation and had not been ruined by Gui Qi. Otherwise, Ancestor Ding Yuze would have risked his life long ago; how could he have waited until now?

"Aow, Old Ghost Ding, don't be so stingy. This old turtle has only eaten a few of your peaches, not even half full. Let me eat a bit more, and then I will settle the old scores from back then with you." Although Gui Qi was somewhat wary of the great moon behind Ancestor Ding Yuze, it remained confident that Ancestor Ding Yuze dared not cause massive destruction in this peach orchard. It once again began to devour the spirit peaches unscrupulously. It had gone to great lengths to get this sweet job from Clan Leader Ji Yan; how could it not eat its fill?

The harvest of spirit peaches this time was even better than the one a century ago. It seemed the Ding Family had cultivated them meticulously, and having not yet harvested the fruit, it had instead benefited Gui Qi.

While eating the spirit peaches, Gui Qi would occasionally look toward the battle in the east. Those little brats were still disappointing. Gui Qi had used its natal divine shell to break through three layers of the Ding Family's protective Formation, yet the remaining two layers had not been breached even once until now.

If it could break through the Ding Family's protective Formation and taste the fruit of that 5th Rank spirit peach treasure tree, or those few High Grade Grade 4 spirit peaches... Thinking of this, Gui Qi couldn't help but swallow its saliva, and the speed at which it devoured the spirit peaches increased even more.

"Gui Qi, you are courting death!" Ancestor Ding Yuze could no longer worry about the loss of the spirit peaches. The great moon unsheathed, stirring up a gale that slashed through hundreds of spirit peach trees and struck the back of Gui Qi, who was hidden deep in the peach forest.

A piece of turtle shell emerged on Gui Qi's back, easily blocking Ancestor Ding Yuze's angry strike. It sneered, "Is this all you've got? You'd better rest early; don't waste your spirit energy."

"Beast, how arrogant!" After Ancestor Ding Yuze's great moon was knocked away, it flew back from another angle and slammed into the lower back of Gui Qi once again. This time, the great moon was no longer the original earthy yellow, but carried a faint red color, appearing exceptionally scorching.

"Hmm? You actually want to ambush this king? Your heart is truly dirty." Gui Qi had lived for over a thousand years and had seen all sorts of situations; how could it be deceived by such a small trick from Ancestor Ding Yuze? It immediately turned its turtle shell from intangible to tangible, and a thick earthy yellow aura surrounded the turtle shell, easily blocking Ancestor Ding Yuze's red moon strike.

"Sooner or later, I will break your turtle shell, dig out your heart, split open your belly, and eat your flesh raw to compensate for my Ding Family's losses!" Seeing his scheme fail, Ancestor Ding Yuze cursed in frustration. His hands did not stop for a moment; although the great moon could not break Gui Qi's defense, it effectively prevented Gui Qi from continuing to devour the peach orchard.

It was this damned beast; if it couldn't eat it, it wouldn't leave it for the Ding Family, specifically hiding in places with Grade 3 and Grade 4 peach trees, causing the Ding Family's losses to remain high and unchecked.

...

Cangjiang Prefecture and Linhai Prefecture were fighting intensely, and even a 5th Rank Demon Beast had fallen.

Nanya Commandery, located to their south, appeared quiet. The four elders of the Jellyfish Clan and Spearfish Clan had not yet attacked the ancestral lands of the three major families of Nanya Commandery even after three days. They had only breached some small counties near the East Sea, slaughtered some humans, and did not pursue the fleeing Human Race, as if they had no interest in them.

"Lord Guo, Hongquan County is asking for reinforcements, saying that dozens of Grade 4 Demonic Beasts are attacking the city, and they hope the Commandery government will send troops to rescue them immediately." Commandery Assistant Tian Hongchang walked quickly into the office of Governor Guo Lei and reported with a bow.

"Which county is this asking for help?" Governor Guo Lei did not even lift his eyelids, continuing to flip through the book in his hand, and said indifferently.

"The thirteenth," replied Tian Hongchang.

"Hmm, how is the preparation for that matter going?" Governor Guo Lei continued to ask.

"There are still three Formation bases that have not been properly set up. In another half-stick of incense time, they should all be in place," Tian Hongchang changed from his previous anxious appearance, calmed his mind, thought for a moment, and replied meticulously.

"Good. After I leave, operate the Formation with full power. Do not be afraid of consuming Spirit Stones. If you protect the Commandery government well, you will have performed a great service. If the Commandery government is breached, you know the consequences." Governor Guo Lei handed the key to the core defensive Formation of the Commandery government to Tian Hongchang, and his figure disappeared in front of the desk.

"Come to Hukou immediately to gather, kill the Yao Beasts, and avenge the Human Race who died in Nanya Commandery." As Governor Guo Lei traveled, he sent messages to the Old Ancestors of the three major families, and incidentally passed the information to the three Martial Kings from Nanyang Commandery who had come to support Nanya Commandery, planning to give these four invading 5th Rank Demon Beasts a profound lesson.

As a 5th Rank Formation Master, it was not that Governor Guo Lei hadn't thought about sending troops to rescue the counties below, but he had sent three groups of people in a row, and all of them had gone and never returned. Connecting this with the fierce offensive of the Yao Beasts in the two neighboring prefectures, Governor Guo Lei immediately understood that the four 5th Rank Demon Beasts attacking Nanya Commandery intended to contain them from supporting the two neighboring prefectures, rather than fighting a life-and-death battle.

For the three major families of Nanya Commandery, this was an unexpected joy. As the Great Beast Tide approached, no one wanted to face the attacks of the Yao Beasts for no reason. If they could sacrifice some benefits in exchange for room to develop, they would be more than happy.

But for Governor Guo Lei, this was intolerable. As a high-ranking official of the region, how could he allow the Yao Beasts to ravage Nanya Commandery?

Therefore, he secretly set up several major Formations on the road where the Yao Beasts would return to the East Sea, hoping to take them by surprise and teach them a profound lesson, telling them that Nanya Commandery must not be violated, and those who violate it must bleed.

Now, it just depends on which unlucky one runs into this trap at Huludao.

"Retreat!"

The four clan elders who were wantonly slaughtering in Linhai Prefecture and Nanya Commandery all received the news of Clan Leader Cang Lan's defeat, decisively disengaged from the battle, and ordered their clans to retreat to the East Sea in an orderly manner.

If they delayed any longer, once the Human Race reinforcements arrived, it would not be so easy to leave.