29: Chapter 29 The Obedient Clam Spirit

Hearing this, Qin Ling raised an eyebrow.

Sure enough.

Something must have happened in the East Sea.

"Continue speaking."

Qin Ling said calmly.

Feeling as if granted a reprieve, the Clam Spirit trembled in its shattered shell, yet it did not dare stop speaking.

"Something major has happened in the sea. There is a Little Li Dragon in these waters."

When it reached this point, its voice revealed a bone-deep terror.

"Little Li Dragon?"

Qin Ling's expression grew slightly solemn.

"It's a dragon species. Although it is still far from fully grown, its bloodline is there. Usually, it stays in the deeper abysses of the sea and never pays attention to us insignificant low-tier demons..."

The Clam Spirit's voice was intermittent.

"But one day, it was injured—injured by an evil entity that dashed out from somewhere unknown. The Little Li Dragon managed to escape with its life."

"The evil qi of that entity polluted the Little Li Dragon's wound. By now, the evil qi has likely invaded its internal organs, and the Little Li Dragon can barely hold on."

The eyeball inside the shell revealed lingering fear, clearly showing deep dread toward the evil entity.

"The Little Li Dragon rolled and roared in pain in the sea, stirring up chaotic undercurrents and killing many fish schools. We insignificant low-tier demons couldn't withstand that dragon might, nor could we endure the contamination of that evil qi, so we could only flee desperately toward the shore."

"Cone Snails are naturally low-intelligence creatures. Blasted by the evil qi, they lost all reason and only knew how to instinctively forage and slaughter. This minor demon couldn't stop them, and I was also driven in a daze to follow them ashore. I didn't mean to offend your territory."

Crouching within its shattered shell, the Clam Spirit dared not say anything more.

The sound of the rain suddenly seemed exceptionally clear.

Qin Ling fell silent for several long breaths.

Little Li Dragon.

Injured by an evil entity, contaminated by evil qi, it was going mad at the bottom of the sea.

The turmoil in this area of the East Sea now was entirely because of this Little Li Dragon.

What kind of chaos would a maddened dragon species stir up along the coast?

Waves swallowing villages might just be the mildest consequence.

Not to mention that this Little Li Dragon was also polluted by evil qi—heaven knows what kind of havoc that evil qi could cause!

Once this Little Li Dragon approached the coast, I'm afraid not a single village would survive.

"What is the strength of this Little Li Dragon?"

Qin Ling asked the most crucial question.

"It is a Fourth-Turn demon."

The Clam Spirit gave its answer.

Upon hearing the two words "Fourth-Turn," Qin Ling's expression grew solemn.

With his current cultivation, he possessed Third-Turn strength.

But if he wanted to contend against a Fourth-Turn Little Li Dragon, it was still far too demanding!

Let alone the fact that this Little Li Dragon was a dragon species.

Even if it was merely young, even if its bloodline was thin, a dragon was still a dragon, stronger than ordinary demons of the same rank.

Just as Qin Ling was pondering what to do, the Clam Spirit before him spoke again.

"However, that was its past strength. Right now, it probably no longer has Fourth-Turn strength."

"Explain clearly."

Qin Ling asked.

"Yes!"

The Clam Spirit's tongue flicked inside its shell, speaking as fast as beans spilling from a broken jar.

"The Little Li Dragon was injured by that evil entity for several months. That evil qi is extremely bizarre, continuously eroding it. It grows weaker day by day; at first, it could suppress the evil qi near the wound, but later it completely lost control and was eroded by the evil qi."

"Right now, it should have long since weakened to the point of lacking Fourth-Turn strength!"

There were somewhat complex emotions in the Clam Spirit's voice.

Even a Little Li Dragon, which was a dragon species, ended up in such a miserable state when polluted by evil qi; if it were itself, the result would be even unimaginable.

Qin Ling fell silent.

Two problems lay before him now.

First, could this Little Li Dragon continue to approach the coast?

Second, how much of this Little Li Dragon's strength remained now?

If this Little Li Dragon truly could not hold back the evil qi near the coast and went completely mad, not a single village along dozens of miles of coast would likely survive.

And to contend against this Little Li Dragon, unless it had truly dropped below the Fourth-Turn realm...

After pondering for quite a while, Qin Ling made his decision.

"Where is that Little Li Dragon now?"

His voice was calm.

"In the southeastern direction, on the seabed reefs about a hundred miles away."

The Clam Spirit's voice floated tremulously.

A hundred miles, huh.

Qin Ling nodded slightly.

He decided he still needed to personally check the condition of this Little Li Dragon.

...

Early the next morning, when the sun rose from the horizon,

Zhou Ping appeared alone beneath the large locust tree at the village entrance.

Standing beside him was Village Chief Qin Zongliang of Qin Family Village, and Zhou Ping's daughter was holding Qin Zongliang's hand.

"Good daughter, you must listen well to the village chief while staying in Qin Family Village."

Zhou Ping reached out his thick, rough palm to rub his daughter's head.

"I will be a good girl! Daddy, you must come back quickly to pick me up!"

The daughter raised her head, feeling the warmth of her father's palm.

"Zhou Ping, have you thought it through? Do you really want to return to the village at a time like this? Haven't almost all the villagers of Zhou Family Village fled?"

Village Chief Qin Zongliang looked at Zhou Ping with a concerned expression.

Zhou Ping had told him that he wanted to return to Zhou Family Village, and asked him to take care of his daughter by leaving her in Qin Family Village.

"Mn, I have already thought it through, Uncle Qin."

Zhou Ping nodded and said.

Before last night, he hadn't fully decided.

But after last night, seeing Qin Yin and Qin Mo become martial artists, and seeing a golden light rise from Lord Qinling's temple and rush toward the coastline, he had already made his decision.

"I want to return to Zhou Family Village, call back the villagers who are fleeing everywhere in famine, and once the village situation stabilizes, I will return to Qin Family Village to invite the deity, asking Lord Qinling to agree to accept the offerings of Zhou Family Village."

Zhou Ping said with earnest words.

In this world, who wouldn't want to be protected by a deity?

Not to mention that Lord Qinling was a deity capable of protecting boats venturing out to sea—this was an irresistible charm for coastal fishing villages!

In their eyes, Lord Qinling was simply a succubus!

Carrying his bundle on his back, Zhou Ping turned and left Qin Family Village, walking alone toward the direction of Zhou Family Village.

...

Meanwhile, at the dock of Qin Family Village, Qin Yin called over several crew members to board a fishing boat.

It had only been a few days since their last voyage out to sea, and logically speaking, now was not the time to go out to sea at all.

The reason Qin Yin appeared here was because of a dream bestowed by Lord Qinling.

And upon hearing that it was a dream bestowed by Lord Qinling, the remaining crew members came along with Qin Yin to head out to sea without any hesitation.

This was something that would have been completely impossible in the past, because every voyage out to sea carried huge risks for the crew members.

Until now, they were filled with a sense of security because of Lord Qinling.

Just as the crew members were finishing up arranging the sails, a huge sea clam leaped from the sea and landed on the deck.

This huge sea clam was precisely the Second-Turn Clam Spirit that had come ashore last night; on its shell, there was still the crack left by Qin Ling's punch.

Seeing this Clam Spirit, the crew members on the deck were startled, and a few of them turned around to jump off the ship.

"It's fine. Lord Qinling spared its life because there is something he wants it to do. This voyage of ours is to send it back out to sea."

Qin Yin stopped those crew members who were about to jump ship, and recounted what Lord Qinling had instructed in the dream.

Hearing this, the crew members also steadied themselves, and seeing that the Clam Spirit remained motionless after jumping onto the deck, they breathed a slight sigh of relief.