Reversing the Milky Way

As the flaming longsword slashed at the scales of the Demon Tooth Tigerfish, a wave of heat and smoke rose up, threatening the massive creature.

With a sway of its massive body, a thick tail suddenly lashed out from behind Xu Zemin. Xu Zemin reacted quickly, and although he managed to protect himself with his longsword, the blow still sent him flying. The immense force propelled him into the shattered cabin, and the longsword slipped from his grasp and landed in front of Bai Cheng.

Bai Cheng then realized that the demon-toothed tigerfish in front of him not only had forelimbs, but also hind limbs, and even its tail was not like that of a fish but like that of a lizard.

Immediately afterward, the Demon Tooth Tiger Fish gathered spiritual energy in its mouth again, its target being Xu Zemin, who had just been swatted away. Upon seeing this, Bai Cheng immediately put down his backpack, picked up the long sword that had fallen beside him, and rushed towards the Demon Tooth Tiger Fish that was launching its attack.

Upon seeing Bai Cheng charging towards it, the Demon Tooth Tiger Fish turned around and unleashed a burst of spiritual energy from its mouth. Bai Cheng, seeing this, immediately gathered his own spiritual energy into his weapon. As golden lightning covered the blade, Bai Cheng swung his longsword with all his might to deflect the incoming spiritual energy attack.

Immediately afterward, another violent explosion erupted, and amidst a flurry of flying wood chips, Xu Zemin slowly emerged from the shattered cabin. He had suffered considerable injuries; several of his bones had been broken by the Demon Tooth Tiger Fish's tail lash.

Then he saw Bai Cheng standing unharmed at the center of the explosion, holding a long sword.

"This! Kid, you!?"

"Boss Xu, I'll hold off this monster! The commotion here should soon attract the attention of the city guards over there!"

After hearing Bai Cheng's words, Xu Zemin slowly retreated into the cabin. Several bold onlookers, who had seen Bai Cheng's earlier figure, began to cheer him on.

"Holy crap! This young man actually withstood the demonic beast's spiritual attack! Keep it up, kid!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Zemin was also shocked. He had witnessed the attack of that monster. To block the spiritual power attack of a mid-level monster, a cultivator at least in the mid-stage of the Qi Condensation Realm would need to unleash a spiritual power attack of equal strength to contend with it.

Thinking of this, he looked at the weapon that originally belonged to him in Bai Cheng's hand with disbelief, only to see that the blade was wrapped with a golden spiritual power in the shape of lightning.

At this moment, Bai Cheng's expression was extremely solemn. Although he had blocked the demonic beast's spiritual attack, he could tell from Xu Zemin's attack that if he wanted to hurt this sea monster, he had to find a place that its scales could not cover.

However, after observing it, Bai Cheng discovered that the entire body of the demon tooth tigerfish in front of him was covered with hard scales, even its belly.

Upon realizing that its attack had failed to harm Bai Cheng, the Grinding Tigerfish roared angrily and charged towards Bai Cheng with a single step forward with its forelimbs, causing a violent tremor that could be felt throughout the deck.

As the Demon-Toothed Tigerfish slammed its massive forepaws toward Bai Cheng, Bai Cheng narrowed his eyes. Golden arcs of electricity crackled beneath his feet as he instantly moved to the side of the Demon-Toothed Tigerfish, dodging the attack. However, despite its enormous size, the Demon-Toothed Tigerfish was exceptionally agile on land. Just as Bai Cheng was about to find an opportunity to strike, the Demon-Toothed Tigerfish's thick tail swept towards him.

Bai Cheng was also startled when he saw this.

'That monster reacted incredibly fast!'

He then raised his longsword and slashed at the sweeping tail. With this strike, Bai Cheng gripped the hilt with both hands, channeling all his strength into it, pushing his current power to its limit.

With a loud crash, Bai Cheng's longsword clashed violently with the tail of the Demon-Toothed Tiger Fish. In the instant of the collision, Bai Cheng felt as if his full-force strike was the same as when he punched Yu Qing'an when he first reached the Body Refinement Realm. This enormous difference in power shocked Bai Cheng immensely.

You should know that your current realm is the Great Perfection of Body Refinement, and the explosive power of your punch is at least fifty cauldrons of force. Even if your slash doesn't have a hundred cauldrons of force, it's close to that.

As the blade pressed down, a tremendous recoil force emanated from it, and the scales that had been cleaved by the blade began to deform. With a furious roar from Bai Cheng, the fish scales at the point where the longsword struck shattered instantly. At the same time, Bai Cheng was sent flying by the immense force, crashing through the walls of several cabins before being crushed beneath fragments of broken ship planks.

This scene was witnessed by Shi Tiezhong, who arrived just in time. He flew around the Demon Tooth Tiger Fish on his sword while casting the Earth Spirit Technique.

He manifested heavy chains from his own spiritual power. With the enhancement of earth-attribute spiritual power, these chains became exceptionally solid, binding the entire Demon-Toothed Tiger Fish. At the same time, he was extremely cautious.

"This Demon-Toothed Tiger Fish is a sea monster. Although the Fire Cloud Kingdom borders the North Lan River, it is tens of thousands of miles away from the ocean. Furthermore, the Ink River is a tributary of the North Lan River. It's hard to imagine that a sea monster could penetrate so far into the mainland. Previously, sea monster invasions only occurred at the two largest docks of White Maple City, but this year they've appeared in the river within the city itself. It seems necessary to report this matter to our superiors."

Thinking of this, he quickly used the Earth Spirit Technique again, using the shackles formed by his spiritual power to swiftly bind the limbs of the Demon Tooth Tiger Fish in front of him, rendering it unable to move.

He then immediately descended to the lower deck and began asking questions of the people inside the cabin.

"Who's in charge of this ship? Come out and answer!"

As soon as the words were spoken, Xu Zemin limped out of the cabin. The others, seeing that the monster had been subdued, also came out tremblingly.

Shi Tiezhong first looked around and noticed blood and human remains scattered across the ship's deck, including the upper half of an unidentified man, his death gruesome. Upon seeing this, Shi Tiezhong's expression turned grave.

"What are your casualties? Are there any injured?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Zemin sighed.

"Alas, one of my crew members has died tragically, and two others have fallen into the water and disappeared without a trace. As for these passengers..."

As he said this, he glanced back at the wrecked cabin. In the previous attack, he didn't know how many people had been blown to pieces; he could only get a rough idea because he was in a hurry.

"There are probably around ten dead, and as for the injured, it seems there are no fewer than thirty."

Upon hearing this, Shi Tiezhong also showed a look of regret.

"Alas, it is truly unfortunate that you encountered the Demon Fang Tiger Fish this time. You should know that there has never been an attack by a sea monster in the rivers of the city before. I will report this matter to my superiors. As for your losses, I will apply for compensation for you."

Lin Zemin nodded gratefully upon hearing this.

"Then I'll have to trouble the guards."

Just then, Lin Zemin suddenly remembered something.

"Oh right, what about that young man who got knocked away earlier? I wonder how he is now?"

After saying that, he immediately walked towards the damaged cabin on the other side. Because the force that had sent Bai Cheng flying was so great, Xu Zemin was also sweating with worry for Bai Cheng as he looked at the damaged rooms. From the extent of the damage to the cabin, it was clear that the blow that Bai Cheng received was far stronger than the blow that he himself had received.

Finally, after passing through the eighth cabin, he discovered a pile of wreckage from the collapsed ship, with even the second-floor floorboards lying on top of it. Seeing this, Xu Zemin tried to call out.

"Hey? Are you alright?! How badly are you injured?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the ruins in front of him suddenly shook, and then Bai Cheng's figure emerged from the ruins. At the same time, the blue patterns on his body began to fade slowly.

'That was close! If I hadn't activated the power of the fragments within me as I was thrown back, I would probably be seriously injured by now.'

Immediately afterwards, Bai Cheng saw Xu Zemin standing to the side.

"Mr. Xu, I'm fine!"

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than a strange roar came from the direction of the deck. It was the cry of the Demon-Toothed Tiger Fish. Seeing Bai Cheng's serious face, Xu Zemin patted Bai Cheng on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, that sea monster has been trapped by the arriving city guards. It shouldn't be long before they get rid of it."

However, at that very moment on the deck, Shi Tiezhong was standing in front of the Demon Tooth Tiger Fish. He was constantly manipulating the chains he had formed with his own spiritual power, while the Demon Tooth Tiger Fish was convulsing its huge body wildly as if it had gone mad.

'Such immense power! Is this a mid-level sea monster? I never imagined my brothers guarding the port of White Maple City would face such a monster. Judging from the force reflected back from the chains, this monster's brute strength is enough to break free of my restraints. No, I need to be more cautious.'

Thinking of this, Shi Tiezhong immediately took out a talisman that was flashing with golden spiritual light.

"Spirit-Suppressing Talisman! Go!"

As the golden runes slowly dissipated above the Demon Tooth Tigerfish, a golden circular magic circle simultaneously appeared above its feet and on the deck.

Immediately afterwards, a magic array barrier descended from the edge of the upper magic array and connected with the magic array below. Then, countless golden chains extended from the magic array barrier, wrapping around the struggling Demon Tooth Tiger Fish several times before finally calming it down.

These so-called spirit-suppressing talismans are actually talismans inscribed by cultivators with a metal-elemental physique. Strictly speaking, they are small arrays inscribed on talismans, weaker than spirit-trapping arrays, but convenient to use. However, their disadvantages are also obvious: since they are cast using talismans as a medium, there is no subsequent transmission of spiritual energy, so their effect is short-lived. These talismans are of low to high grade and are only used to suppress powerful demonic beasts.

Seeing the Demon-Toothed Tiger Fish tightly bound by the magic array, Shi Tiezhong felt relieved. He knew that these spirit-suppressing talismans cost forty silver coins each outside, which was why they were only used when encountering powerful demonic beasts. Fortunately, as a member of the city guard, he received three free talismans every month.

Just then, Bai Cheng and Xu Zemin slowly walked out of the cabin.

“Stone Guardian, what are you going to do next? We can’t continue sailing with this monster in tow. Besides, my ferry has been severely damaged. Although it can still sail for a short time, I must get to the dock in the City Lord’s Mansion area as soon as possible for repairs.”

Upon hearing Xu Zemin's words, Shi Tiezhong replied with a solemn expression, "This kind of sea monster has never appeared in the inner city's river area before. It has only appeared in the two largest port areas of Baifeng City. This monster is also quite special. Its most powerful feature is its fish scales. If made into armor, it would be even harder than ordinary high-grade magic weapon armor. It would be difficult for any weapon of the same level to break through its defenses. So right now, we can only find its weak point and then strike with all our might to kill this monster. It's a pity that I don't have a metal-attribute spiritual power physique, otherwise I could have broken through the monster's defenses directly."

Upon hearing this, Bai Cheng instinctively tightened his grip on the long sword in his hand. Only then did he realize that the weapon was not his own, so he returned it to Xu Zemin.

After Xu Zemin retrieved his longsword, the image of Bai Cheng wielding it, with golden lightning crackling around the blade, kept replaying in his mind.

However, what no one noticed at this moment was that the tail of the Demon Tooth Tiger Fish, which was bound in the formation, was glowing with a faint spiritual light.

Immediately afterward, as it gathered spiritual power in its mouth again, it launched another attack. Although its entire body was chained and its limbs were restrained by shackles and unable to move, this did not prevent it from launching another attack.

Of course, Shi Tiezhong and his group quickly noticed the Demon Tooth Tiger Fish's movements, and Shi Tiezhong immediately manipulated his spiritual energy chains to continue controlling it.

"What's wrong with this monster? Doesn't it know it's already within the range of this spirit-suppressing talisman array? Isn't it afraid of hurting itself by attacking like this?!"

However, as soon as he finished speaking, the Demon-Toothed Tiger Fish launched an attack decisively. With a loud explosion, the entire ferry shook violently, and powerful spiritual energy fluctuations spread within the magic circle. Smoke and dust instantly filled the entire magic circle, like a firecracker being detonated in a sealed bottle.

After the violent explosion, Bai Cheng and the others discovered that although the powerful shockwave had not broken through the array of the spirit-suppressing talisman, the outer wall of the array was covered with cracks due to the impact of the explosion.

"That beast! He's absolutely insane!"

However, as soon as Shi Tiezhong finished speaking, he discovered that the chains he had conjured with his spiritual power had disappeared, and he felt a great sense of foreboding.

"Damn it, this beast actually escaped the suppression of the spirit-suppressing talisman!"

As the smoke and dust cleared, Bai Cheng also discovered a large hole in the deck beneath the spirit-suppressing talisman array that had originally trapped the demon beast.