Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 1003 - 819: A Disaster for the Innocent Bystanders

Chapter 1003: Chapter 819: A Disaster for the Innocent Bystanders

PS: I apologize, my cold has gotten worse, and after taking cold medicine, my head feels heavy and foggy.

Also, I have to thicken my skin and ask for votes once again. As soon as my cold gets better, I will return to the normal update schedule.

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The counterattack by Kunpeng had early signs. Twenty days before Li Xuan returned to the mortal realm, news had come from the southern part of the ocean that two merchant ships returning from Song (Philippines) failed to reach the shore.

After that, along the coast, there were successive reports of fishing and merchant ships missing their schedules and then disappearing without a trace.

But Li Xuan had already realized that his plundering in the Infinite Taixu would bring retaliation, so he made ample preparations before setting off.

His strategy was to clear the fields and strengthen the walls. He gathered over five million troops in the East Sea with the East Sea Dragon Palace at the forefront, in alliance with the power of the Fusou deities. Along the coast of the Jin Dynasty and Fusou, he also cleared all potential food sources at the deep and shallow sea boundaries.

The situation at the seabed is complex and even the East Sea Dragon Palace might not have full control over it.

However, with the power of the dragon clan and the Fusou deities, it was still possible to temporarily reduce the amount of food available at the bottom of the sea.

This happened right after the southward movement of the icebergs two years earlier, which had greatly affected the temperature underwater. The dragons only needed to act accordingly to cause the extinction of small creatures like corals, shrimps, and shellfish below six hundred fathoms.

Along the coastline, many individuals of the heavenly level in the Jin Dynasty were also on high alert, guarding against disasters such as tsunamis, storms, and cold surges.

Especially the Zhengyi Sect and Quanzhen Sect of Taoism, which were almost fully mobilized.

Li Xuan trusted these two Taoist sects because after the era of the two Zhaos, other once-popular sects that revered the Saint such as Shenxiao Sect, Qingwei Sect, and Danding Sect had already been extinguished in the mortal realm.

The remaining Zhengyi and Quanzhen sects had suffered greatly under the hammer of Confucianism and their teachings now leaned more towards Confucianism rather than the Saint.

The true direct lineage of Taoism in the mortal realm had actually been extinct—

Yet, to Li Xuan’s surprise, after the True Spirit of Master Kunpeng descended to the world, the Jin coastline remained calm and uneventful for over twenty consecutive days without any alerts.

Despite flying along the coast with the "Divine Blood Azure Phoenix" and observing from afar, he did not detect any signs of danger.

However, Li Xuan did not dare to be careless; he considered this the calm before the storm. The calmer it was before the incident, the more dangerous it could become when it happened.

Nevertheless, a few days later, Peng Fulai’s father brought him astonishing news.

"Chuancheng in the South Sea has been destroyed?"

In Fenyang Prince Mansion, Li Xuan looked at Peng Babai in surprise: "Can you confirm the truth of this news? Chuancheng in the South Sea, that’s the place protected by Matsu, isn’t it?"

Chuancheng in the South Sea, located between Song and Annan, was the central hub for trade throughout Nanyang, with a scale ten times that of Yangzhou Chuancheng.

After Li Xuan clamped down on smuggling and cleared out the Yangzhou Chuancheng, he had also coveted Chuancheng in the South Sea but had given up due to various reasons.

Firstly, it was too far to reach effectively, and secondly, those ships gathered and dispersed freely; Chuancheng in the South Sea did not have a fixed location.

Beyond that, Li Xuan was also wary of Matsu.

Unless it was absolutely necessary, he didn’t want to rashly provoke new enemies.

"This matter is absolutely certain, my contacts in Song saw a large number of scattered planks along the coast. It’s estimated that at least one thousand six hundred large merchant ships were lost to this maritime disaster, destroying the very foundation of Chuancheng in the South Sea."

Peng Babai’s expression showed lingering fear; he was also a member of Chuancheng in the South Sea.

If it weren’t for Li Xuan’s early warning, calling back the merchant ships to Guangdong in advance, the losses would have been catastrophic.

All the maritime merchants of the Jin Dynasty are now indebted to Prince Fenyang for his grace. If not for Prince Fenyang’s early warning, the vast majority of them would have faced ruin.

"And it’s not just Chuancheng in the South Sea. As far as I know, even Longxu City at the bottom of the sea seems to have been destroyed, although I’m not sure about the truth of this. Besides, places like Song, Java, and Annan are also experiencing great floods, with more than twenty Matsu temples destroyed. Many have witnessed massive armies of sea creatures, thousands tall as mountains, rampaging through the sea and land."

"Longxu City?"

Li Xuan was lost in thought, knowing that Longxu City was the former East Sea Dragon Palace.

After the dragon clan withdrew their power, the aquatic clans of Nanyang battled chaotically for almost a thousand years. Eventually, Matsu emerged, uniting the Nanyang waters, and built Longxu City on the former site of the East Sea Dragon Palace, turning it into a settlement for the aquatic clan under Matsu’s command.

He thought that those sea monster armies in Nanyang must surely be the reorganized deep-sea forces of Master Kunpeng, but why were they not troubling him and instead heading to Nanyang?

Soon after, a possibility dawned on Li Xuan, and he couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

"Your Highness?"

Peng Babai, puzzled, inquired with a wry smile: "May I know what amuses Your Highness so? You should know that places like Guangzhou and Quanzhou are in a state of panic, fearing the onslaught of wind disasters and tsunamis. And all the merchant ships are trapped in the harbors, not daring to go out."

"There might be wind disasters, but tsunamis won’t reach here," said Li Xuan, shaking his head with composure. "Uncle Peng can relay a message to the coastal merchants, telling them to stay calm and wait a bit longer. I estimate that whether in ten days or a month, the situation in Nanyang will be stabilized."

When Peng Babai left Fenyang Prince Mansion full of doubts, Dugu Biluo, who had listened to the entire conversation, also felt it was beyond belief: "Why would they do this? Aren’t they just pushing Matsu onto your side for no reason?"

Then her expression changed as she fell into deep thought: "Could it be they’re running out of food?"

"Most likely!"

Qiluo’s lips curved into a slight smile: "The Fusou deities did mention before that the Kunpeng Emperor consumed a large number of sea monster flesh and food when he awoke. The Kunpeng species have a huge appetite, and the incarnation of Master Kunpeng and his followers have been dormant and laying hidden in the mortal realm for ten thousand years. After awakening, they must be ravenous and require an ample supply of food to recover their Yuan Qi in the shortest time."