Chapter Twenty-Six: Runes

“This young demon crab has so much crab meat, it must be incredibly delicious!”
“It’s a pity it’s been poisoned by Ghost’s Despair. Otherwise, there’s enough meat here for the four of us to eat well for several days!”
Ye Mo led the way with a burning torch. Wang Hu and Yang You carried the carcass of the young demon crab, chatting and laughing as they made their way back to the cave camp.
Mo Ling finally felt her heart settle when she saw them return. She had been worried—not only about other powerful sea monsters lurking in the jungle, but also about the demon crab’s desperate counterattack at death’s door, which had made her fear for Ye Mo and the others.
Wang Hu and Yang You hauled the carcass into the camp and tossed it onto the ground.
“Mo Ling, how are your injuries? Did the demon crab’s water arrow hit you?”
Ye Mo looked toward Mo Ling, who was sitting in meditation to heal herself, his tone full of concern.
“It’s nothing to worry about! The water arrow only broke the Spiritwood Shield. I suffered a heavy blow, which aggravated an old internal injury, but I’ll recover after a few days of rest.”
Mo Ling shook her head.
Ye Mo was finally reassured and told her to focus on healing.
He began to consider how to deal with the young demon crab, knowing that every part of it was valuable and none should be wasted.
“Wang Hu, Yang You, look at this demon crab’s shell. Do you think you could make it into a suit of armor?”
Ye Mo pointed his Azure Edge Sword at the crab’s shell and turned to ask the two men.
“This… this crab armor is extremely tough. If we were at a blacksmith’s with iron hammers, it would be easier. But here, without any proper tools, it’ll be very difficult to forge the shell into fitting armor.”
Wang Hu sounded troubled.
“Brother Hu’s right. At the very least, we need an iron hammer!”
Yang You’s eyes shone with excitement. As a blacksmith’s apprentice, he had a natural love for crafting better weapons and armor.
“A hammer? Spiritwood is tough enough—we could fashion a Spiritwood Hammer and give it a try!”
Ye Mo pondered aloud.
“Alright! With a Spiritwood Hammer, I’ll try making a set of armor!”
Wang Hu grinned.
Ye Mo quickly crafted two large Spiritwood Hammers.
He dragged a mass of tree branches into the camp, then gathered dried twigs and leaves, adding them to the bonfire to make its flames blaze even higher.
Next, he carried two flat stones from within the cave and set them on either side of the bonfire, preparing for the armor forging.
With his Azure Edge Sword, Ye Mo flipped the young demon crab over, exposing its deeply grooved and perfectly symmetrical belly.
A flash of cold light plunged into the crab’s softest abdomen.
Swish!
A wound over a foot deep appeared in its belly.
Ye Mo withdrew his sword, and from the wound oozed a stream of yellow fluid, running down the edge of the shell and pooling on the ground, filling the air with a nauseating stench.
Ignoring the foul odor, Ye Mo struck again, slashing at the crab’s abdomen.
The young demon crab twitched—it had not died completely.
Two more sword strikes cut into its belly, peeling away the toughest shell and revealing tender flesh, organs, and a mass of vividly colored innards—enough to make anyone’s stomach churn.
Ye Mo handed the crab shell to Wang Hu and prepared to throw the poisoned crab meat and organs outside the cave. The meat was inedible due to the toxin.
As the crab’s head was laid open, a faint blue glow became visible within.
Because the demon crab was known to be poisonous, Ye Mo hadn’t paid it much attention.
“Ye Mo, wait! Don’t throw away the demon crab’s remains.”
Mo Ling, still meditating, caught a glimpse of the faint blue light in the crab’s head and was startled—clearly recalling something important. She quickly called out to Ye Mo.
“What is it?”
Ye Mo asked, puzzled.
“That might be the demon crab’s magical rune!”
Mo Ling pointed excitedly at the blue glow.
“A magical rune? What’s that?”
Ye Mo was baffled.
“This demon crab could fire water arrow spells! That means there must be a water-based magical ‘rune seal’ inside it.”
“My grandfather once told me—when a demon beast casts magic, it must have a natural ‘rune seal’ within its body. If you stimulate the rune seal, the demon beast can unleash its magic. Cultivators can also use these rune seals to cast spells!”
Mo Ling’s excitement was evident.
“So you’re saying the young demon crab relies on this rune seal to release its water arrow spell?”
Ye Mo was amazed.
“Exactly! This rune seal is extremely precious—essential for cultivators to wield spells. Demon beasts’ rune seals are always in the head; I suspect it’s that glowing orb!”
Mo Ling pointed to the faintly glowing blue spot.
“Quick, dig it out!”
“Alright!”
Mo Ling carefully dug into the spot with her sharp sword.
The blue orb grew brighter, slowly separating itself from the crab’s head.
Everyone stared in astonishment—they had never expected such a dazzling blue orb to be hidden inside the head of such a hideous young demon crab.

The sea-blue, translucent orb was shaped like a tiny water arrow, crystal clear and luminous, radiating a gentle, beautiful glow. Its surface was covered in densely packed runes, mysterious and enigmatic, shrouded in mist. Among these ancient runes, only a small portion emitted a soft light, while the majority remained dim and dark.
“This must be the water-based, entry-level ‘Water Arrow’ rune seal my grandfather spoke of. But clearly, this demon crab was still young—most of the runes are still dark, far from releasing the true power of the Water Arrow spell.”
Mo Ling gazed at the dead young demon crab with a hint of pity and regret. “When a true rank-one demon beast casts a spell, even the strongest martial artist hit by it would be killed or gravely wounded!”
“So, what use is this magic orb to us?”
Wang Hu stared hungrily at the glowing sphere.
“We’re martial artists—we haven’t cultivated our spirit or magical power, so we can’t learn spells. This rune seal isn’t of much use to us; only when we become cultivators can we train with magic.”
“Also, this ‘Water Arrow’ rune seal will only last a short time once removed from the flesh—at most a month or two. If not cultivated within that time, it will naturally disintegrate and vanish!”
Mo Ling thought for a moment and shook her head helplessly.
Ye Mo felt a deep sense of regret upon hearing this.
He fashioned a delicate Spiritwood box and carefully preserved the Water Arrow rune seal orb inside.
...
Wang Hu and Yang You began forging armor on the giant rocks by the campfire in the cave camp.
The rhythmic clang of hammer on shell echoed continuously.
With their strength alone, neither could budge the demon crab’s shell. But after heating it in the roaring fire, the shell became just malleable enough to shape. The two took turns, laboring for a full day and night—over ten hours of relentless pounding. Sweat soaked their clothes and dripped constantly from their brows.
Clang!
“It’s finished!”
With Yang You’s final hammer blow, the crab shell was transformed into a suit of armor.
A golden suit of armor gleamed under the firelight, dazzling the eye.
Wang Hu was so excited he could hardly contain himself; his joyful gaze was glued to the armor, as if he wished he could embrace it.
“Brother Ye, the armor’s done! This is the toughest armor I’ve ever made. Not even high-grade refined steel can compare. After a whole day of forging and tempering with fire, we only barely managed to shape it.”
Wang Hu’s voice trembled with excitement.
“The demon crab’s shell can withstand blows of over a thousand pounds—it’s definitely sturdier than regular refined steel armor!”
Ye Mo tried on the armor; it fit well, and he couldn’t help but smile. With this shell armor, his strength was like a tiger that had grown wings.
“Exactly! Unless an attack is over three hundred pounds of force, or the weapon is exceptionally sharp, it’ll barely leave a mark.”
Wang Hu grew more and more animated as he spoke.