Chapter 172 The Evil Tide Approaches, the Tribe is in Peril

The Abyss of the East Sea, the settlement of the Liang Clan beneath thousands of feet of clear waves, was usually surrounded by the faint blue halo of the condensed water orchid core, and the gentle Spiritual Qi of the water element nourished every clansman like a tide.

But today, this tranquility was completely torn apart; shrill screams and the sharp clashing of metal intertwined, turning this deep-sea Secret Realm into a slaughterhouse.

"Hold the entrance to the mine vein! Do not let the evil tribe get near the condensed water orchid core!" Liang Wanshan held a coral spear, the tip stained with black blood, and roared with all his might.

His left arm hung limply, and a deep wound on his shoulder, revealing bone, was constantly gushing pale blue blood—the result of erosion by the demonic malevolent qi of the evil tribe. The flesh around the wound had already begun to turn black and rot.

In front of him, dozens of Liang Clan Cultivators were using their Physical Bodies to resist wave after wave of attacks. The invaders wore pitch-black scale armor, their figures stooped, their fingertips tipped with sharp claws, and their bodies wreathed in thick black mist. They were the Evil Scale Tribe from the edge of the Abyss of the East Sea.

Even more terrifying was that mixed within the ranks of the Evil Scale Tribe were several human Cultivators with eerie Auras. Their Cultivation Techniques carried distinct traits of demonic cultivation; their strikes were ruthless, specifically targeting the weak points of the Liang Clan Cultivators.

Liang Chenyu was dressed in pale blue clan battle armor and wielded a water-patterned short sword, fighting hard to block the attack of an Evil Scale Tribe squad leader. Her cultivation had just reached the Late Foundation Establishment Stage. In front of a race known for the strength of their Physical Bodies like the Evil Scale Tribe, it was already difficult, not to mention that the opponent had demonic Cultivators assisting. The collision between the short sword and the Evil Scale Tribe's claws made her arm go numb, and the webbing between her thumb and index finger throbbed with pain.

"Chenyu, back away!" A white-haired Elder roared as he rushed over, waving a staff in his hand, and several water arrows shot toward the Evil Scale Tribe squad leader. But before the water arrows could hit the target, a black Saber Qi suddenly struck from the side, precisely hacking into the Elder's heart. The Elder's body stiffened, pale blue blood gushed out, and he fell heavily onto the coral ground, dead.

"Elder Zhang!" Liang Chenyu's eyes were about to split, filled with tears. She recognized the owner of that Saber Qi; it was Zhao Hao, who was responsible for the outer patrol of the clan!

Zhao Hao was currently standing beside several Evil Scale Tribe Cultivators, a sinister smile on his face, the blood on the long saber in his hand still dripping. "Liang Chenyu, stop struggling. Your Liang Clan is destined to be destroyed today. If you are sensible and submit to me, perhaps I can spare your life."

"It was you who colluded with the Evil Scale Tribe!" Liang Chenyu's voice trembled, her heart full of anger and disappointment. Zhao Hao was one of the few Cultivators in the Late Foundation Establishment Stage in the clan and had usually been quite attentive to her; she had not expected him to be a traitor to the clan.

"Colluded? That's not the right way to put it." Zhao Hao chuckled, his eyes sweeping over the tragic scene on the battlefield. "Good birds choose the tree to perch on. Your Liang Clan sits on the fat meat of the Water-Condensing Orchid Mine Vein but lacks the strength to hold it; sooner or later, it will be someone else's possession. I just chose a bright path in advance."

Just then, a tall man walked out from the Evil Scale Tribe's ranks. He wore dark gold scale armor, and the demonic malevolent qi around him was several times thicker than that of the other Evil Scale Tribe Cultivators. Just by standing there, he made the surrounding Spiritual Qi of the water element become chaotic. His left eye was a scarlet vertical pupil, scanning the battlefield, and finally landed on Liang Wanshan.

"Liang Wanshan, hand over control of the Water-Condensing Orchid Mine Vein, and let your daughter Liang Chenyu marry me, and I can spare the lives of half of your clansmen." The man's voice was hoarse, carrying unquestionable pressure. He was the Young Lord of the Evil Scale Tribe, Ao Lie, whose cultivation had already reached the Early Nascent Soul Stage. Among the younger generation of the entire Abyss of the East Sea, he was also a top-tier existence.

"Dream on!" Liang Wanshan coughed up a mouthful of blood and struggled to stand up. "The condensed water orchid core is the Foundation of my Liang Clan, and Chenyu is the Saintess of my clan. How could I allow you, this evil demon, to touch it! Even if every member of my Liang Clan dies in battle today, we will never submit to you!"

"Refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit." A murderous intent flashed in Ao Lie's eyes, and his figure flashed, appearing in front of Liang Wanshan in an instant. His speed was fast to the extreme, and Liang Wanshan could not react in time before he was punched in the chest by Ao Lie.

"Pfft—" Liang Wanshan spat out a large mouthful of blood, his body flying backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into a huge coral pillar, which snapped upon impact. He struggled a few times but could no longer stand up, only able to lie on the ground, breathing with difficulty.

"Clan Chief!" Seeing this, the clansmen fell into panic. Liang Wanshan was the backbone of the clan. Now that the backbone had been severely injured, their last hope seemed to have been extinguished.

Ao Lie looked down at Liang Wanshan, a cruel smile curling the corner of his mouth: "Since you refuse to submit, then just go die." He waved his hand, and the demonic malevolent qi around him instantly surged, turning into countless black blades, shooting toward the surrounding Liang Clan members.

"No!" Liang Chenyu screamed in despair, wanting to rush over to protect the clansmen, but was blocked firmly by Zhao Hao.

"Just surrender, Chenyu." Zhao Hao grabbed Liang Chenyu's wrist tightly, his tone carrying a trace of triumph. "With Young Lord Ao Lie here, no one can save you."

Liang Chenyu struggled hard, her eyes full of despair. She watched her clansmen fall one by one, watched the Evil Scale Tribe Cultivators continuously approaching the entrance of the Water-Condensing Orchid Mine Vein, and the pain in her heart was like being cut by a knife. Could it be that the Liang Clan was really going to be destroyed just like this?

Just at this critical moment, a cold voice suddenly rang out over the battlefield: "Colluding with foreign enemies, betraying your own kin—Zhao Hao, you certainly have a lot of nerve."

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a green figure slowly walking out of the coral bushes. It was Lin Yue. He had originally come to the Liang Clan to discuss reinforcing the nodes of the Heaven-Connecting Array, but he had not expected to see this tragic scene just as he arrived at the edge of the settlement. At first, he wanted to observe and see if the Liang Clan could handle it themselves, but when he saw Zhao Hao colluding with the Evil Scale Tribe and Ao Lie severely injuring Liang Wanshan, he could no longer stand by and watch.

Zhao Hao's expression changed slightly when he saw Lin Yue, but he quickly regained his composure: "Lin Yue? Why are you here? This is my Liang Clan's family business, it has nothing to do with you. If you are sensible, leave immediately!"

"Family business?" Lin Yue sneered, his gaze sweeping over the corpses and severely injured clansmen on the battlefield. "Colluding with the Evil Scale Tribe to slaughter your own kin—this is called family business? I think you have been blinded by greed and have forgotten your own roots."

Ao Lie frowned and looked at Lin Yue: "Who are you? You dare to meddle in this Young Lord's affairs?" He could feel that Lin Yue's Aura was not weak, reaching the Golden Core Middle Stage, but in front of him, an Early Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, it was not worth mentioning.

"Who I am is not important." Lin Yue walked step by step toward the center of the battlefield, the cyan-gold Sword Intent around his body slowly rising. "What is important is that today, neither your Evil Scale Tribe nor this traitor will be able to leave this place."

Liang Chenyu saw Lin Yue, and a glimmer of hope flashed in her eyes. She had previously felt that Lin Yue had an extraordinary temperament and profound cultivation. Now, in this desperate situation, Lin Yue's appearance was like a glimmer of light in the darkness.

Zhao Hao cursed Lin Yue for meddling in other people's business and said to Ao Lie: "Young Lord, this Lin Yue is a Golden Core Middle Stage Cultivator and has some strength, but he is definitely not your match. Let's attack together and kill him first!"

Ao Lie nodded, a trace of disdain flashing in his eyes: "Golden Core Middle Stage? And you dare to be presumptuous in front of this Young Lord. Today, I will use you as the first sacrifice to let these Liang Clan people see the consequences of resisting me." Before the words fell, his figure flashed, and he pounced toward Lin Yue, his fist wreathed in thick demonic malevolent qi, carrying the power to destroy the world.

Lin Yue's expression was calm, not at all intimidated by Ao Lie's Aura. He knew that to save the Liang Clan today, he had to first deal with Ao Lie, the biggest threat.