587: Chapter 413 587: Chapter 413 As these people arrived, they could see Ancient Xia Country not far away and were excited to undertake a significant endeavor, when suddenly, a catastrophe struck.
An entire warship just inexplicably disappeared right here.
On a nearby island, they had seen, through their telescopes, the people sent by the country on a ship not far away, signaling for help.
They never anticipated that at this very moment, the warship would vanish, and a huge mountain would abruptly rise from the sea.
“Damn it,”
Seeing this, the people on the island, and the General in his rage, felt like coughing blood.
These were the elites sent by their country, and it was inconceivable that at sea, they could be crushed to death by a mountain that had suddenly appeared.
The leader got angry and immediately sent his subordinates out in boats to rescue them, hoping that the people on that ship were not dead, but only submerged in the sea.
If they hurried to their aid, there was a chance they could save them—a whole shipful of the nation’s elite.
Just as the island’s leader was about to join his soldiers in the rescue, he received information that the group he had sent to judge and protect had also disappeared without a trace; he had no idea if they were dead or alive, completely losing contact with them.
“Damned fate,” the leader cursed, his nose nearly crooked with anger.
It seemed that they had truly fallen prey to an old saying from Ancient Xia Country: “When misfortune rains down, even cool water chokes between the teeth, let alone the pouring night rain!”
Furious and crooked-nosed, the leader took his people and commanded others to search for the missing, to rescue them.
He also sent a message to Capital City, instructing those in hiding there to conceal themselves even deeper.
With so many incidents befalling his side, they couldn’t afford to have everyone taken down at once.
Thinking of the ambition they had been plotting for over a thousand years, it was this year that turned out to be the most unfortunate.
Not only had they suffered defeats in every battle, but they also faced mysterious disappearances and disasters out of nowhere.
After the Taoist Patriarchs removed that mountain, it became flat land, and that was not all; other Patriarchs acted too.
The place newly flattened, these mere patches of ordinary earth could not withstand the might of these powerful figures.
In the blink of an eye, where the mountain stood became a vast pit.
The Patriarchs discovered that besides earth, there was nothing else; any stones were pulverized by their power.
Not a single Energy Stone was seen, which could explain, and confirm their suspicion, that someone had deliberately set up a Formation.
But why do this?
By luring so many to break the Formation, apart from some who died, at least thousands or tens of thousands came here, benefiting many.
These Patriarchs profited not insignificantly.
The happiest among them was the Patriarch of Tang Sect.
Although he hadn’t truly found the treasure, with just a single night and day of absorbing energy, he had improved his cultivation.
Compared to these old fellows, he might not have attained their advanced levels of cultivation, but they hadn’t increased theirs.
Only he had improved his cultivation—how could he not be pleased?
Tang Sect’s Patriarch smiled smugly, a sight observed by others, who became even more infuriated but had nowhere to vent their anger.
They could only soothe their emotions by filling the pit they had made.
Suddenly, the sky, which had been clear, was overtaken by violent winds and pouring rain, with thunder and lightning resounding in unison.
Within less than fifteen minutes, the deep pit became a pond, transforming into a lake, and thus, a lake was added to this place.
Those pirates and leaders, who thought they were already unlucky, had come here to hide by killing the local pirates and taking over the island, thus earning themselves a name as even more ruthless pirates.
The fishermen who went out to sea or lived all their lives in these seas didn’t dare pass by these islands any longer.
The merchant ships that were forced to travel to Ancient Xia Country, as they had to sail near some islands, would be discovered by the pirates inhabiting those islands and get robbed.
Piracy, theft, and murder were common occurrences.
Suddenly, the sky erupted into a storm with lightning flashes and Thunder Roar; the leader and some soldiers who had just set out were caught before they could even curse their luck, facing an unexpected typhoon and downpour.
Many of them were seasoned veterans and had never expected such a dramatic change in the weather.
Their boats stood no chance against the powerful storm and were swiftly buried in the vast sea.
Those who frequented the islands were strong swimmers, and even in their haste, they were equipped for emergencies.
In that fleeting moment, they abandoned the boat, initiating their survival skills amidst the ferocious waves of the violent sea.
At this perilous moment of survival, there was no distinction between leader and soldiers; it was every man for himself, and those not adept at swimming quickly perished.
The leader hardly had time to curse anyone.
Granted, some of his organization and training had not gone to waste.
Even in such a dangerous moment, he managed to stay calm.
His survival instinct kicked in, and he transformed into a fish in the sea with an oxygen supply device.
But this device had its drawbacks—if one stayed too long in the sea, an extended period without oxygen would also result in death.
If someone opened the oxygen device underwater, they would die in the sea as well.
What recently brought misfortune to some was that before a rescue could be mounted, a fierce storm cast them into the sea.
Just as they were saving themselves, they encountered sharks.
These sharks were not kind; despite their attire resembling fish, they could not evade the particularly keen sense of smell of the species.
They hadn’t even had the chance to fight for survival amidst the waves nor to quickly reach the mountain that had suddenly appeared, which could have provided shelter from the lightning and rain.
“Ahhhh!”
Several soldiers had already been eaten by sharks.
These sharks swarmed in groups, an unusual sight as such large schools weren’t commonly seen near the islands, but today, an extraordinary number of sharks had arrived, making it all seem very suspicious.
These sharks were innocent victims too; they were happily playing in their mouths when suddenly, a mountain crushed many of their kind underneath it.
The sharks were preparing to rescue them!
Then suddenly, thunder and lightning startled the sharks.
In their shock and anger, they hid in the seawater and discovered the humans who had unexpectedly appeared.
Who else were the sharks to eat if not them?
Assailing the shipwrecked humans like sworn enemies, the sharks relentlessly pursued them in a feeding frenzy!
“Ahhhh!” The leader, pursued by a shark, wished he could fly.
At that moment, he envied the people of the Cultivation World who could soar through the skies and burrow into the earth, vowing that if he survived this ordeal, he must learn this ability to fly and burrow.
The leader narrowly escaped the shark’s pursuit several times, already starting to bleed, his body riddled with wounds except for his head.
The shark’s teeth were too sharp; even through his thick clothing, they still managed to bite him.
Swimming for his life, he was close to reaching the mountain.
Exhausted, he no longer had the strength to go on, and just like that, the sharks devoured him.
High above the island, a Flying Artifact was passing by, but those aboard had no time to concern themselves with the calamity unfolding below in the sea.
Jiang Tang noticed several invisible hands stirring the skies intermittently.
If not for the rapid speed of his arrows and their evasion warning function, he would have been caught by those giant hands, undoubtedly belonging to those prestigious individuals seeking his whereabouts.
Jiang Tang also noticed the mountain that had suddenly appeared in the strait—the very mountain he had set himself!
It seemed that the mighty powers were searching for Magic Artifact energy and had then transported the mountain into the sea.
Equipped with an imaging system, Jiang Tang’s Flying Artifact captured the maritime disaster that had just unfolded.
Normally, humanity would rush to rescue, especially generals like Ye Tian.
Noticing the abnormality of that ship, which was also coincidentally crushed by the mountain, he felt a bit relieved that the people on that ship, if they had entered Ancient Xia Country, would have been a disaster for the citizens.
Not long after, some mysterious ships appeared at sea.
Tracing their origin revealed an island; he noticed these people’s attire, which suggested they were pirates.
Then he saw the storm and how it sunk them all.
These sudden changes conveniently rid them of some enemies.
Jiang Tang did not know who these people were, but their outfits reminded him of the black-clad individuals on the mountain and led him to conclude they were definitely part of some group.