Yet, facing the enraged Monohorn Behemoth whose mana had only recovered to thirty percent, Li Zhirui not only remained unconcerned but a strange smile appeared on his face.
"Ahhh!" Just as the Monohorn Behemoth was about to gather mana, it was interrupted by a bone-deep pain that surged violently through its body.
The toxic vines that Zhirui had previously accelerated had, without its notice, spread poison throughout the nearby waters. The toxin entered through its many wounds and, as the mana circulated, had now infiltrated every corner of its body!
Driven mad by the pain, the Monohorn Behemoth intended to continue fighting to the death with Li Zhirui, with no thought of retreat.
"Not good!" The four Water Devils nearby saw this and their expressions drastically changed. Two of them imdiately broke away from the entanglent with Li Shiqing and others. While rushing towards the Monohorn Behemoth, they shouted loudly, "Lan Jiao, co to your senses!"
Another threatened, "The Monohorn Behemoth clan is scarce in numbers, and Lan Jiao is even a progeny of a fourth-order Great Devil. If you dare kill it, be prepared for the Monohorn Behemoth clan to destroy this island!"
Their origins were all inferior to Lan Jiao's, and the main reason they joined the monster tide was to protect him, not to fight with cultivators.
Zhirui's face looked quite ugly, but in light of the threat, indeed, he dared not take any further action.
It was known that a Monohorn Behemoth was a fifth-order Devil Beast, and not to ntion a fifth-order, if even a fourth-order Great Devil ca, the Li family would have no capacity to resist.
Seeing Li Zhirui withdraw, the two Water Devils imdiately breathed a sigh of relief. If Lan Jiao died here, they'd face severe consequences upon their return, if not death, then torture.
Now that Lan Jiao was gravely injured, they had no intention of staying any longer. The four of them did not hesitate to take him and dive into the depths of the sea, disregarding the lower-order Water Devils that were still fighting with the cultivators.
In their eyes, those lower-order Water Devils were nothing but cannon fodder to be sacrificed.
"Zhirui, now that we have offended the Monohorn Behemoth clan, what should we do?" asked Li Shilian, full of worry.
"Don't worry, they dare not deploy high-order Water Devils," replied Zhirui, who had beco considerably more composed.
In this world, humans reigned supre while other races could only dwell in corners, eking out a ager existence. Among these, only the Water Devils fared sowhat better, occupying the vast Outer Sea.
But in the coastal areas, third-order Water Devils were exceedingly rare. Was it that they didn't want to occupy the vast waters? No, but rather due to the human race's dominance, forcing them to retreat into the Outer Sea.
Moreover, humans had restricted high-order Water Devils from entering the Inner Sea! You can enter, but once inside, don't expect to leave!
That's why Zhirui was so confident; after all, he had only left the beast critically injured, not dead. Even if it had died, it wasn't certain that its elders would seek revenge for it.
The reason Zhirui hadn't taken further action was simply because he feared that the four third-order Water Devils would go mad and injure Li Shiqing and the others.
"For now, don't think too much, let's just get through this monster tide," said Li Shiqing weakly.
Indeed, with the third-order Water Devils that had instigated the monster tide gone, the tide could be declared over!
Without their control, the lower-order Water Devils would gradually regain their senses and once again fear death.
With the help of Zhirui and others, the monster tide was quickly declared over, leaving only a land strewn with corpses and an island riddled with scars.
The once long chain of islands had several sunk during this great monster tide. In the future, they would have to find a way to restore them. Otherwise, during the next monster tide, the Water Devils could use this area to attack Wanxian Island directly.
Although the beast tide outbreak didn't last long, it was exceptionally brutal, causing the loss of nurous cultivators.
According to preliminary statistics, the Li family suffered over two hundred casualties, including the fall of four Foundation Establishnt cultivators and dozens of late Qi Cultivation clan mbers. For the Li family, this was a significant loss.
As for loose cultivators and smaller powers, the losses were even more devastating. At least a few thousand cultivators died, not to ntion the injured.
The only gains were the tens of thousands of Water Devil corpses, whose flesh could be consud and from which so Spirit Materials could be harvested.
After returning to their clan's territory, an ergency family eting was imdiately convened, primarily to discuss the potential aftermath brought about by the Monohorn Behemoth clan.
"High-ranking Great Devils are restricted by the human race's rules and do not dare to easily enter the near sea area, but the Monohorn Behemoth clan's influence among the Water Devils is quite substantial," Li Zhirui said in a heavy voice.
"They might not dare to act personally, but they can manipulate and drive the lower-order Water Devils, thus launching beast tides against our family!"
Of course, Lan Jiao's status couldn't be that high, after all, he was only the offspring of a fourth-order Great Devil. Even if he were to instigate beast tides, the number of tis should not be too many. It might end after just one or two occasions.
"Even so, the family's losses are still too great and will severely constrain the family's developnt," said an Elder sowhat helplessly.
Li Chengmo, who had been deep in thought with his head down, suddenly spoke up, "We can ask for external assistance!"
"Who would co to help under these circumstances?"
This was especially true as the Li family had developed too fast and, to date, had not ford good relations with other powers.
Many cultivating families had in-law alliances, but the Li family had no suitable candidates. Or rather there were candidates, but either they were like Li Zhirui, who felt no affection for the potential partners, or like Li Zhiyue, who had the prospect of Golden Core and was too precious to be married off.
"Cheng Mo, continue," Li Zhirui seed thoughtful and gestured for him to keep talking.
"Currently, our family occupies Wanxian Island, Yunping State, and Guangqing State, but due to the family's strength, many Spirit Veins have not been utilized to their fullest," Li Chengmo continued after a pause.
"We can use these Spirit Veins to attract cultivators who wish to establish families or Sects to co and help."
"As long as they kill enough Water Devils, they can choose a first-order Spirit Vein and henceforth beco a vassal of our family."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than an Elder burst out angrily, "No! I disagree! Spirit Veins are so precious; how can we give them away so lightly!"
"Exactly, even if these Spirit Veins are not useful now, as the family grows, they will eventually be fully developed!"
Other Elders also voiced their opinions, so angrily, so moderately, but the bottom line was they did not agree with Li Chengmo's suggestion.
However, Li Chengmo remained composed, as he knew who would ultimately make the decision: it was Li Zhirui and a few Golden Core Elders, or rather, as Li Shiqing and Li Shilian increasingly remained silent, the power to decide had fallen into the hands of Li Zhirui alone!
And if he hadn't seen it wrong just now, Li Zhirui seed to agree with his proposal!
"Let's do as Cheng Mo suggested," Li Zhirui's voice was very soft, yet it instantly quieted the entire hall.
Especially those Elders who had vocally objected, they were now choking on their indignation.
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