Chapter 84: Hunting for a Giant Crab
The branch hall master was a thin, middle-aged man whose eyes shone with shrewdness.
His Martial Soul was the Black-Scaled Water Serpent, which allowed him to move freely through the sea. This was the key reason he could serve as branch hall master of Vast Sea City—after all, most of the people he dealt with here were sea soul masters.
Without needing Yue Guan to say anything, the moment this man—named Mo Xuan—heard that the current Pope Bibi Dong's disciple was going out to sea to hunt a soul ring, he immediately volunteered to act as their guide personally.
For Mo Xuan, this was essentially an investment with zero cost.
If Lin Beiya ascended to a high position in the future, then the favor he earned here could greatly benefit his own career. And even if Lin Beiya never had anything to do with the Pope's throne, Mo Xuan would lose nothing.
The three of them arrived at the shore. Mo Xuan took out a small boat model from his ring, poured soul power into it, and the model instantly expanded into a passenger boat that floated steadily on the sea.
"Lord Yue Guan, Lord Lin, let's get on."
Mo Xuan's way of carrying himself made people feel quite comfortable. Even though Lin Beiya currently held no real position or authority within Spirit Hall, the man still addressed him as "lord," treating him with great respect.
After Yue Guan and Lin Beiya nodded, they leapt onto the boat. From the outside and inside, the vessel wasn't luxurious at all. At a glance, it was just a practical sea-going craft, its displacement not much different from that of an ordinary fishing boat. The difference was that by channeling soul power into the soul tool control array in the pilot cabin, the boat could reach a speed nearly ten times that of a regular fishing boat.
As a transport for the three of them on this trip, it was perfectly suited.
"Oh, right, Lord Lin, do you have a specific soul beast in mind for your soul ring?"
"Any crab-type soul beast under thirteen thousand years will do. I'm not too picky about the species."
Lin Beiya's calm answer stunned Mo Xuan.
A thirteen-thousand-year soul ring was usually something only a Soul Emperor-level expert could endure. But the young man before him still had a hint of youthfulness on his face; his age clearly didn't exceed fifteen. Could his cultivation really have reached that level already?
"Crab-type soul beasts are easy enough. But Lord Lin, are you sure you want something around thirteen thousand years?"
"I'm not doubting you, Lord Lin. It's just that this is really…"
Seeing Mo Xuan's expression of disbelief, Yue Guan's lips curled upward slightly. It seemed he wasn't the only one who thought Lin Beiya was a monster.
"Don't worry. This brat is completely different from normal soul masters. Just take us to look for suitable soul beasts."
With Yue Guan speaking up, Mo Xuan stopped pressing the issue. The only reason he'd kept confirming was because he was afraid this disciple of the Pope would fail in absorbing a ring of that level on his turf, and he'd be blamed by Bibi Dong.
Now that he had Yue Guan to shoulder the responsibility, there was no need to ask further.
"Very well. I happen to know a place where we can find egg-laying crab-type soul beasts. The season is just right, too."
"Other crab-type soul beasts might be harder to say, but Blue Sea Azure Crabs are very easy to find. It's just that a thirteen-thousand-year Blue Sea Azure Crab is a bit…"
Lin Beiya nodded. He had heard of Blue Sea Azure Crabs before and even eaten some back in Spirit City.
Famous for their tender meat and sheer numbers, they were a favorite food of sea bird-type soul beasts, ranking only one step above seaweed-type soul beasts in the oceanic food chain.
For a soul beast like that to cultivate to thirteen thousand years—he wouldn't say it was impossible, but it was definitely something you might see once in a hundred years.
But Lin Beiya also knew that even soul beasts like Soft Bone Rabbits and Blue Silver Grass could cultivate to a hundred thousand years. He had no intention of underestimating the tenacity of any species.
"Let's go take a look first. We don't necessarily have to find a Blue Sea Azure Crab."
"All right. If it doesn't work out there, I'll dive down into the sea and look for crab-type soul beasts of the right age."
Several hours later, their boat reached the island Mo Xuan had mentioned—Tongming Island. At a glance, they could see the beach was covered in dense blue specks—each one a Blue Sea Azure Crab.
The largest of these crabs was nearly a meter long, and the smallest was about thirty centimeters. However, none of them had cultivation above a thousand years, clearly not meeting Lin Beiya's requirements.
The three of them jumped ashore. As soon as they landed, they accidentally stepped on a few crabs. The Blue Sea Azure Crabs lifted their pincers, trying to attack the intruders to create a chance to escape.
"There are really a lot of these damned things. Just looking at them triggers this old man's trypophobia."
Lin Beiya and Mo Xuan both nodded in agreement. The beach full of blue crabs was quite off-putting.
Yue Guan snorted coldly, and an invisible shockwave spread out from him as the center.
With just a faint hint of a Titled Douluo's aura released, the egg-laying Blue Sea Azure Crabs instantly sensed the threat to their lives and scrambled frantically to both sides, quickly clearing a broad path toward the island's interior.
"Let's go. We'll take a look inside and see if there are any other crab-type soul beasts."
As they walked, and under Mo Xuan's astonished gaze, Lin Beiya slowly closed his eyes. His senses spread outward, sweeping across the depths of the island to search for a suitable soul beast.
After nearly ten minutes of walking, he still hadn't found any targets suitable for him besides the Blue Sea Azure Crabs and some spider-type soul beasts.
"Uncle Ju, no need to go further. There's nothing suitable for me on this island."
Yue Guan completely trusted the terrifying sensitivity of his perception and had no doubts at all.
"Fine. Then we'll head to the next island."
Islands like Tongming Island were countless on the sea. Before long, the three of them followed Mo Xuan out again, setting sail toward the next island.
On the way, once he'd set the navigation route, Mo Xuan released his Martial Soul and jumped into the sea, planning to search for suitable soul beasts along the seabed as they traveled.
Before they reached the next island, he had indeed found several high-age crab-type soul beasts. However, the strongest among them was only close to nine thousand years old, still short of Lin Beiya's goal.
Just like that, the three of them searched three islands in a row without finding a truly ideal crab-type soul beast. As night quietly fell over the sea, they could only return to the boat to rest, planning to continue their search the next day.
"Sigh, who would've thought that finding one suitable crab by the sea would be this hard?"
"Uncle Ju, don't complain. It's not that crabs are hard to find—it's that a thirteen-thousand-year crab is hard to find."
"All right, all right. I'm just talking. We'll continue tomorrow. Let's get some sleep."
The night passed without incident. When the sunlight once again poured over the ocean, the three set off for the next island.
Three islands in a row yielded the same result as yesterday—not a single harvest. It was only when the sun was about to set, and they decided to inspect one final island for the day before returning to rest, that they finally encountered an unusual scene.
On the island ahead—named Anemone Island—there was not a single Blue Sea Azure Crab in sight. On every other island they had visited, the beaches had been packed with a dense carpet of blue.
Where there was something abnormal, there was always something strange. There was definitely a terrifying existence on Anemone Island, one that made the Blue Sea Azure Crabs too afraid to come near.
Once they reached the island's interior, Lin Beiya's sharp senses finally picked up a powerful presence.
"Uncle Ju, Hall Master Mo—there's something in the center of the island. Let's go take a look."
"Alright."
The three of them moved at great speed and soon arrived at the edge of a deep pit at the island's center. Looking down, they saw a ten-meter-long crab-type soul beast covered in sharp spikes, brandishing its massive pincers as it continued digging in the pit.
End of Chapter