Chapter 163: The Calamity of the Beast Tide

A trace of doubt flickered in the eyes of the Integration Stage steward, then he shook his head.

They were merely a few low-grade black-backed iron lizards; he paid them no heed.

The other Integration Stage steward soon also detected traces of black-backed iron lizards, but like the former, after a brief thought, he too dismissed them.

However, as the flying boat continued forward, the two Integration Stage cultivators' expressions gradually grew solemn.

More and more iron lizards appeared ahead. At first, they appeared sporadically in twos and threes, but later they came in groups, and their strength increased. Iron lizards as large as a water bucket, at the Core Formation stage or above, had begun to appear.

"Fellow Daoist Liu, I feel something is amiss," the Integration Stage steward on the left said in a deep voice.

"Could Fellow Daoist Qi be referring to..." the steward surnamed Liu on the right seemed to think of something, hesitating.

Though the others on the white flying boat did not have as wide a divine sense range as the two Integration Stage stewards, they too gradually noticed the many black-backed iron lizards appearing around them.

This unusual situation made them all feel uneasy.

"Two stewards, and Senior Liu, what is going on with these iron lizards?" the man surnamed Kou flew over and asked urgently.

"We don't know yet, but these black-backed iron lizards are dark beasts. We have encountered them moving about during the day before. If we quickly speed away, there should be no major problem," the steward surnamed Qi exchanged a glance with the steward surnamed Liu and said to the man surnamed Kou.

"Order everyone to proceed at full speed!" the man surnamed Kou said without further ado, waving his hand.

Throughout, Han Li stood by with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping around, saying nothing.

Though the man surnamed Kou was somewhat dissatisfied with Han Li's indifference, he naturally said nothing on the surface, merely shaking his head slightly.

Of the two hired Integration Stage cultivators, one had inexplicably disappeared, and the other was clearly unfamiliar with the local terrain. He could only pray that no major变故 occurred and that they could quickly escape the current dangerous area.

The flying boat continued forward, and the gravitational pull from the ground below grew stronger.

Though the white flying boat was of no low grade, its large size made it significantly affected by gravity, and its speed dropped repeatedly.

Coincidentally, the number of black-backed iron lizards appearing ahead also rose sharply, and some iron lizards began to roar from afar at the flying boat, as if intending to attack.

When they saw larger iron lizards with Nascent Soul stage strength among the surrounding iron lizards, the two Integration Stage stewards could no longer remain calm.

"Two seniors, if the situation is unfavorable, perhaps we should turn back first and cross the Black Flame Gobi in two days. It won't matter if we delay a few days; safety comes first," the man surnamed Kou said, also noticing the surrounding anomalies.

At these words, the two Integration Stage stewards showed signs of interest.

They had not been in the Black Rock Gobi for too long; if they retreated along the same path, they should make it in time.

Just as the steward surnamed Liu was about to speak, a sudden change occurred!

A thunderous roar came from ahead, and the ground within nearly a hundred miles shook violently. The flying boat in midair was also affected, swaying.

On the flying boat, everyone looked ahead, dumbfounded.

In the far distance, thick black columnar objects shot up into the sky, as if black mountains had suddenly emerged from underground.

The black columns then collapsed with a roar, turning into countless black particles that surged swiftly toward the flying boat like a black ocean.

The divine senses of those present detected that the countless black dots were actually black-backed iron lizards of various sizes.

In an instant, everything within sight ahead was covered by a dense black mass, blotting out the sky and covering the earth, almost blinding the eyes.

"Not good... this is an iron lizard beast tide!" the steward surnamed Qi exclaimed in alarm.

Including the man surnamed Kou, everyone's faces instantly lost all color. Han Li also frowned.

He had read about this beast tide in a book on the Black Rock Gobi; it was an extremely dangerous situation on this Gobi, and in some cases, even immortals could fall here.

"Quick! Turn the boat around!" the man surnamed Kou shouted, cold sweat instantly forming on his forehead.

A great commotion broke out on the flying boat as people scrambled about.

The white flying boat glowed brightly, came to a hard stop, then quickly turned and fled backward.

But before they had fled far, another thunderous roar came from ahead, and a large stretch of ground suddenly split open, with countless black iron lizards emerging, densely blocking the way.

Front and back, countless iron lizards trapped the white flying boat in the middle, closing in steadily.

Though there was still some space to the left and right, the iron lizard groups in front and back were extremely numerous and spreading rapidly, and the left and right sides were the first to be surrounded.

The white flying boat was clearly at a dead end!

On the flying boat, everyone's faces turned deathly pale. Facing such a charge of black-backed iron lizards, even the toughest flying boat could not hold out for long.

"Three seniors, what should we do now..." the man surnamed Kou said, his face covered in cold sweat, his whole body trembling as he looked at Han Li and the other two Integration Stage cultivators.

The two Integration Stage stewards looked grim, but at this point, they had to fight to the death.

With their cultivation levels, if they abandoned the boat and fled now, they might have a more than fifty percent chance of escaping safely. But as stewards of Chengquan Chamber of Commerce, one of the three major chambers in this immortal domain, they were duty-bound to protect the chamber's interests in times of danger. If they fled, they would have no place in this continent, or even the entire Northern Frost Immortal Domain.

Though Han Li frowned, his expression remained relatively calm. He glanced left and right, then suddenly let out a soft exclamation.

"Fellow Daoist Liu, have you noticed something?" the steward surnamed Liu asked hurriedly.

"Look carefully. These iron lizards don't seem to be targeting us," Han Li said, pointing.

The others looked and were momentarily stunned, then the two Integration Stage stewards showed a mix of joy and concern.

The iron lizards that had converged on the left and right were actually fighting among themselves in midair, biting and clawing at each other wildly.

Moreover, upon closer inspection, they noticed that the iron lizards in front and back were different. Those in front had dark red patterns on their bodies, while those behind were entirely black, seemingly two different species.

"I see. This is two black-backed iron lizard clans fighting over territory. No wonder they appear during the day," the steward surnamed Qi suddenly realized and exclaimed.

"Regardless, since they aren't targeting us, we need to find a way out quickly, or we'll suffer for nothing," the steward surnamed Liu said solemnly.

The man surnamed Kou immediately nodded and gave orders. The white flying boat glowed brightly, attempting to fly to the left.

At this moment, the iron lizard groups from front and back soon made full contact and began fighting each other.

To these iron lizards, already bloodthirsty, the unexpected appearance of the white flying boat was naturally an eyesore, and many charged at it.

The flying boat immediately raised a protective light barrier, struggling forward under the attacks of countless iron lizards.

Seeing this, Han Li and the other two Integration Stage cultivators acted at once.

The steward surnamed Liu chanted an incantation, his ten fingers moving rapidly, and large amounts of black flames surged from his body.

As he formed hand seals, the black flames turned into countless black threads, also burning with black fire.

The black threads intersected and connected, forming a huge fire net hundreds of feet in size, which covered the iron lizard army ahead, trapping many of them.

Boom!

The black fire net suddenly exploded, causing the void to tremble. Waves of fire spread in all directions, instantly turning into a black sea of fire several miles wide, burning fiercely.

The black-backed iron lizards inside were blown to pieces upon contact, then turned into charred corpses by the black flames, falling from midair in a shower.

The steward surnamed Qi formed a single hand seal, and blue light flashed around him, revealing two enormous blue electric pythons, each dozens of feet tall, surrounded by blinding blue lightning that crackled menacingly as they charged toward the iron lizard tide.

Upon contact with the iron lizards, the blue electric pythons immediately exploded. Amid the crackling thunder, countless bowl-thick arcs of electricity shot in all directions.

Where the arcs struck, the iron lizards' bodies exploded, and countless broken corpses fell like rain.

As for Han Li, as before, he flicked his sleeve to release nine flying swords, which turned into countless sword threads, cutting in all directions, easily slashing through large numbers of iron lizards.

The three stood on different sides of the flying boat, doing their utmost to kill the surging iron lizard army around them.

However, the number of iron lizards was simply too great. Despite their best efforts, they could only stop part of them, while countless iron lizards still crashed madly into the flying boat.

For a time, the sound of "bang bang" resounded incessantly!

The white flying boat, surrounded by countless iron lizards, was like a small boat in a raging sea, tossing violently. The surrounding light barrier trembled wildly, terrifying the people on board.

"Roar!"

Suddenly, a loud, hoarse roar came from ahead, like the scraping of iron sheets, very unpleasant. Despite the noisy sounds of battle, it clearly reached everyone's ears.

The man surnamed Kou and others felt a sharp pain in their minds, as if pricked by a steel needle. Their faces, which had regained a little color, instantly turned deathly pale.

The two Integration Stage stewards were also shaken by the sound.

Ahead, about a thousand feet away, a giant iron lizard about fifty or sixty feet in size emerged from underground. It was entirely black, with several thick black spikes on its back and large fangs protruding from its mouth, looking extremely ferocious.