A Record of A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

Chapter 529: Indifference and Desperate Plea

“Senior, you don’t know about the beast tide? It seems you have been secluded in cultivation here for many years and have no idea about the situation outside,” the middle-aged cultivator sighed deeply and muttered.

“Judging by your tone, things outside must be terrible!” The man seemed somewhat interested. Though his voice remained cold, there was a trace of curiosity in his words.

The middle-aged cultivator was at a loss for words.

The situation outside was far worse than just “terrible”!

It seemed the man was truly an old expert who had secluded himself for countless years. Otherwise, how could he be unaware of the major event that happened more than twenty years ago?

But on the bright side, this made the cultivator feel more assured.

Given the man’s cultivation base and status, he generally wouldn’t bother to harm these younger cultivators.

What could these youngsters possibly have that would attract him?

With this thought, the middle-aged cultivator respectfully replied:

“Senior! The beast tide happened over twenty years ago. At that time, I was still a cultivator in the qi refining stage. Although I did not witness it firsthand, I heard some accounts from the elders in my sect. It is said that one day, tens of thousands of demonic beasts from the Abyss Sea suddenly surged out without any warning. They rushed straight to Strange Abyss Island, surrounding Black Stone City and launching relentless attacks. Although the island had several grand formations for protection, along with thousands of cultivators and a group of nascent soul stage seniors defending it, the beasts still broke through after several days. Except for a very few cultivators who managed to escape amid the chaos, all other human cultivators were slain on the spot.”

As the middle-aged cultivator spoke, his face darkened with sorrow.

“Such an event! What happened afterward? Did the beasts retreat back to the Abyss?” The man’s voice showed a hint of shock but soon returned to its usual calm tone.

“If they had retreated back, things would have been simpler. After the Abyss demonic beasts reduced Black Stone City to ruins, they split into several groups led by some high-rank demonic beasts and began sweeping through other human villages and towns. Although there were advanced warnings and many people abandoned their homes early to hide elsewhere, many cultivators and mortals still fell victim to the slaughter. Within half a year, all villages near Strange Abyss Island were completely wiped out. That alone was not the end. While most beasts returned to the Abyss, some highly intelligent high-rank demonic beasts began hunting down hiding humans one by one, killing and devouring them. It is said that soon after, mortals in the outer sea were virtually wiped out, and human cultivators lost more than half of their number. The survivors had no choice but to flee far from the waters around Strange Abyss Island and take refuge on remote islands, constantly hiding and evading. Now, Strange Abyss Island has become a gathering place for high-rank demonic beasts. Whenever there is news of human cultivators, they will immediately launch operations to exterminate us.” The middle-aged cultivator’s expression grew increasingly pained.

At this moment, the mysterious man was silent for a long while, seemingly shaken by the news and struggling to process it.

“Heh heh! How ironic. So in the outer star sea, we cultivators have become like those demonic beasts once were—being hunted and attacked by everyone,” the man sneered coldly and finally spoke again. His tone was laced with ridicule, which surprised the cultivators around him.

However, the man didn’t want to say more. Instead, he asked several sharp questions:

“There are several old nascent soul stage experts stationed on Strange Abyss Island. They wouldn’t all have perished in the beast tide, right? Why aren’t they stepping forward to take charge now? Since such a huge disaster happened on Strange Abyss Island, the inner star sea must have reacted—didn’t they send reinforcements? Or has this place been completely abandoned by those people from the inner star sea?”