These people cannot all die, at least not at this moment.

Tie Shan’s heavy sword came down with enough force to split mountains and shatter stone, cleaving viciously toward the monster’s head.

However—

“Too slow.”

A look of disdain flashed in the four-armed monster’s eyes.

It did not even bother to dodge. Instead, it raised one of its arms.

“Clang!”

The grating sound of metal striking metal rang out.

The heavy sword was firmly caught on the monster’s bone blade, unable to move even an inch.

Then the monster’s other three arms moved in unison.

“Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!”

Three bone blades pierced Tie Shan’s chest, abdomen, and thigh at the same time.

“Cough, cough…”

Blood gushed from Tie Shan’s mouth. The fighting spirit in his eyes rapidly faded.

The difference was simply too great.

This wasn’t even a battle between equals.

“Second Uncle—!!”

The boy broke free of the cultivator holding him back—or perhaps the cultivator had deliberately loosened his grip.

Either way, the boy snatched up a broken saber from the ground and charged forward like a madman.

He knew he was weak.

But he couldn’t stand by and watch a family member die before his eyes.

“Tsk. Another one coming to die.”

The four-armed monster snarled. It flung Tie Shan’s corpse aside, raised its bone blade high, and brought it crashing down on the charging boy!

That strike was powerful enough to cleave the boy and his weapon in two.

The boy stared at the descending shadow, his mind going completely blank.

Am I going to die?

Only then did a cold sweat break out across his body…

Second Uncle, I’m sorry…

I acted recklessly and wasted all your painstaking efforts…

At that critical moment—

A streak of sword light shot out of the thick fog without warning, like a shooting star tearing through the night!

“Clang—!”

Time seemed to freeze.

The boy squeezed his eyes shut, but the agony he expected never came.

Only a warm liquid splashed across his face.

He opened his trembling eyes.

The previously arrogant four-armed monster stood rigidly in place.

The arm it had raised, along with half of its shoulder, had vanished.

The severed edge was smooth as a mirror, black blood hissing as it sprayed outward.

And at some point, a tall, slender figure had appeared between the boy and the monster.

The newcomer held an ordinary-looking sword in one hand.

The entire scene fell silent.

Everyone stared blankly at the young man who had appeared out of nowhere.

One sword?

He had seriously wounded that terrifying mid-stage Nascent Soul monster with just one sword?

“Roar—!!”

The four-armed monster let out a howl of unbearable pain, the ghostly flames in its eyes flickering wildly.

“Human! I’ll tear you to pieces!!”

It swung its remaining three bone blades and charged at Su Ji in a frenzy, carrying a fury that seemed capable of overturning the heavens.

“Annoying.”

Su Ji sighed and shook his head.

Without turning around, he merely gave his wrist a slight flick.

“Hum!”

A visible ripple spread through the air.

This time, no one even saw how he drew his sword.

They only saw a fan-shaped arc of sword qi sweep outward like a crescent moon.

Slash—

The monster’s roar abruptly stopped.

Its enormous body jerked to a halt in midair.

Then a red line appeared around its waist.

Its upper body slowly slid away and crashed to the ground with a wet slap.

Instant kill.

Su Ji casually twirled his sword, flicking the blood from its edge, then turned to look at the fat man trembling behind the rocks.

“Fellow Daoist Wang, what are you waiting for? Get to work.”

Wang Ping shuddered all over and immediately sprang out from behind the rock, his face piling on a fawning smile. His movements were practiced enough to make one feel sorry for him.

“Coming! Senior, please take a rest. Leave this kind of dirty work to this junior!”

He scampered over to the monster’s corpse, his eyes shining as he began rummaging through it.

“Tsk, tsk, these bone blades are excellent materials… Oh, this demon core is quite good too…”

The rogue cultivators nearby watched the scene.

Wasn’t something wrong with this atmosphere?

Just a moment ago, they had been in the middle of a bloody scene of life and death. How had it suddenly turned into a market stall where someone was stocking up on goods?

The boy stared blankly at Su Ji, then looked at his Second Uncle’s corpse. Tears streamed endlessly down his face.

But he did not cry out. Instead, he knelt heavily on the ground and kowtowed once to Su Ji.

“Thank you… Senior, for saving my life!”

Su Ji glanced at him but offered no words of comfort.

“This place isn’t safe. Head toward the outskirts. If you’re lucky, you might survive.”

With that, he did not linger. He led Su Jiu and Wang Ping—who was frantically stuffing the spoils into his storage pouch—deeper into the sea.

Only after Su Ji’s figure disappeared into the fog did the rogue cultivators come back to their senses.

“Who… who was that Senior?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen him before…”

“He’s unbelievably strong… That was a Nascent Soul monster…”

…

“We’re rich! We’re rich…”

As Wang Ping stuffed the four-armed monster’s bone blades into his storage pouch, he muttered under his breath. His face was shining with oil, and there was no trace left of the terrified man who had nearly wet himself moments ago.

Though the bone blades reeked, they were as hard as refined iron. Taken to a weaponsmith, they could probably be exchanged for several thousand high-grade spirit stones.

And then there was the demon core…

“Fellow Daoist Wang.”

Su Ji’s light voice drifted over, interrupting Wang Ping’s calculations.

“Yes! Senior, what are your orders?” Wang Ping jolted and immediately stood up straight, still clutching half of a monster’s finger bone that he had not yet managed to put away.

“Stop picking up trash.” Su Ji glanced at his bulging storage pouch, his eyes filled with disdain. “There’s something more valuable ahead.”

“Something… more valuable?” Wang Ping’s eyes lit up, but he immediately shrank his neck. “Senior, if we go any farther in, we’ll be entering the monsters’ nest…”

“Then don’t go.” Su Ji continued walking, his voice calm. “Stay here, and you can become one of the bodies on the ground. Then someone else can come and collect your storage pouch.”

Wang Ping shuddered. Without another word, he scampered after him.

“Senior, wait for me! This junior will clear the way for you… I mean, lead the way…”

Su Jiu walked beside Su Ji, her small hand still gripping his sleeve tightly. In a low voice, she asked, “Senior Brother, the monsters… they seem to have grown stronger.”

Su Ji nodded slightly, his gaze piercing through the thick fog toward the depths where blood-red light soared into the sky.

Of course he knew the monsters had grown stronger.

It was no illusion.

As time passed, the stench of blood in the surrounding air grew heavier and heavier, accompanied by a viscous sensation that made one want to vomit.

The big shot from the Azure Sea Sect had a greater appetite than he had imagined.

The dead cultivators had their vital essence, blood, and souls extracted, becoming nourishment for the monsters. Then, strengthened by that nourishment, the monsters hunted even stronger cultivators, creating a vicious cycle.

If no one stopped it, then once the Gu King at the center had eaten its fill, forget about Su Ji—even if every cultivator in the Chaotic Star Sea came, they could only gamble on whether they might manage to make it choke to death.

Su Ji wasn’t trying to play the hero or save the world.

But these people truly shouldn’t die…

At least, they couldn’t all die yet.