Yan Qingqing burst out of the area covered by the seven traces of light, intent on swiftly taking down Li Weiyi. Her soft sword, barely three feet in length, sliced through the air. The sword’s trajectory was winding and mysterious, giving the impression that its deadly intent was impossible to defend against.
Li Weiyi knew that his enemy had activated the Seven Springs technique, so he dared not rashly meet the sword. He retreated as quickly as possible, fumbling for the bottle in his bosom that contained Golden Crow Blood.
With her sword attack gaining the upper hand, Yan Qingqing pressed on her assault, not giving Li Weiyi even a chance to counterattack.
“Swish!”
Before Li Weiyi could pour the Golden Crow Blood onto his scripture belt, he was beset by countless sword shadows raining down, and his ears filled with the sharp, cutting sounds of the blades. Each sword tip seemed real enough, as if determined to puncture him entirely. Without a second thought, he turned and fled.
One particularly sharp sword energy, capable of piercing flesh, struck his back with a dull thud. However, the Ghost Flag wrapped around him and the soft corpse-cloth armor he wore inside absorbed the blow, leaving him uninjured.
“Trying to run away?”
Yan Qingqing noted his use of a defensive artifact and felt both jealousy and hatred in her heart. She lifted her sword and gave chase. Li Weiyi sometimes employed the Chan Sect’s “Clear Void Cicada-Driving Steps” as part of the Twelve Scattered Hand techniques, moving like a phantom with layered and overlapping steps.
At other times, he executed the “Yellow Dragon Ascending to Heaven” maneuver, leaping midair to bypass piles of coffins stacked like small mountains, as if walking on a level road. Even without the aid of the scripture belt, his speed matched that of Yan Qingqing—a peak martial arts practitioner of the Spring Surge Realm.
“First, I eliminate one opponent and restrain another, that should be more than enough to exceed my task requirements, shouldn’t it? If Li Ling can soon take down that ugly-faced man, then today we may have the chance to finally resolve all hidden dangers.”
Li Weiyi had confidence in his own strength. In terms of speed at least, he felt no fear even facing someone like Yan Qingqing with her Seven Springs martial cultivation.
“Awooo!”
A deep, mixed howl of a wolf suddenly echoed in the silence, reverberating through the coffin sea and causing the surrounding night mists to retreat.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Heavy, rapid footsteps approached from afar. Li Weiyi glanced back and saw a white-furred Wolf King, about five or six meters in length, chasing after Li Ling, speeding in their direction. The white-furred Wolf King’s body was half-illusory, half-real; as the chill emanating from it passed over the floating coffins, a layer of white frost instantly formed on them.
Standing firmly on the wolf’s back was Fang Tong, sporting thick black metal gauntlets on both hands. The gauntlets, weighing a hundred jin, were formidable martial-arts heavy weapons, exquisitely forged from precious, top-secret metal. Li Weiyi immediately retrieved the Golden Crow Blood and poured it onto his scripture belt.
Yan Qingqing had long abandoned her pursuit of Li Weiyi and instead attacked Li Ling, who was fleeing. She was curious to see whether that mysterious man would continue to escape or turn back to save her.
In an instant, Li Ling found herself trapped between the threat of enemy on all sides—dogs in front, wolves behind—yet her expression remained unchanged as she launched a palm strike toward the soft sword coming from Yan Qingqing. The palm strike, infused with her inner power, formed a wall of energy that rattled the soft sword.
Yan Qingqing staggered backward repeatedly, her eyes filled with incredulity. She had not expected to be bested in the field of martial arts by a Mourning Lantern Guide from the Spirit Sense realm.
“Roar!”
The Snow Wolf King caught up, its enormous, sharp claws ready to smash Li Ling’s entire body into a mush.
“Thud!”
Li Ling countered with her palm, but she couldn’t withstand the force; her body was hurled to one side and one entire arm was doused in blood. Before she could land and steady herself, Fang Tong leapt down from the wolf’s back and hurled a punch straight at her head.
Barely rolling out of harm’s way, Li Ling dodged by sheer luck, while Yan Qingqing converged with her sword for a pincer attack.
“Cling!”
A flash of golden light as two swords clashed echoed out. The soft sword flexed away, swinging past Li Ling. Li Weiyi joined them with his sword in hand, standing close to her back, his gaze scanning the three formidable enemies encircling them.
“You’re far more reliable than I expected. You didn’t just abandon me. I can count on you!”
Li Ling’s face and eyes retained a cold hardness, though a slight smile played at the corners of her mouth.
“I only understand one thing—if we fail to kill a damned human-mutant woman today and let her flee, it all means nothing.”
That sword clash had shown Li Weiyi that even a Seven Springs martial practitioner was not as terrifying as he had believed. The combat strength of these physically deformed types was only so-so. Li Ling continued, “Be cautious.
Legend has it that the Snow Wolf King is the mount of Stone Nine Chamber. Its strength and speed far exceed ours. But it has a fatal flaw—it is not a real wolf body at all, rather it is the soul of a magical artifact.
I can deal with it using my mental powers, but I need time to inscribe a Bestial Script.” Li Weiyi looked at Fang Tong and Yan Qingqing. To face two opponents by himself was a daunting proposition; his heart held little confidence.
Contrary to everyone’s expectations—even Li Ling’s—Li Weiyi lifted her onto his back. He tightly gripped her legs, treading the Clear Void Cicada-Driving Steps. Like a phantom, he dodged beneath Yan Qingqing’s slicing sword and dashed off into the distance.
With the scripture belt’s blessing, his speed far outstripped that of a Seven Springs martial practitioner.
“This time, you are the one riding on my back. Remember, I’m still an unmarried maiden. Isn’t this behavior a bit too intimate? If word got out…”
Li Ling began, but Li Weiyi interrupted, “The Snow Wolf King is on our tail—just how long will it take for you to finish inscribing that Bestial Script?” A gleam flashed between Li Ling’s eyebrows like a cluster of stars.
Even as Li Weiyi carried her, through sheer mental force she had begun tracing the Bestial Script on the spiritual realm of her forehead. Fang Tong and Yan Qingqing, still stationed atop the Snow Wolf King’s back, were drawing ever nearer to the pair in front.
“We cannot let her complete that script.”
In the next instant, Fang Tong seized Yan Qingqing’s left wrist. Power surged along her arm as he forced her to be thrown aside.
In midair, Yan Qingqing’s long hair fluttered, and as her inner power transformed into ethereal energy radiating from her body, her soft sword shot down like an arrow cleaving through the wind, aimed straight at Li Ling below.
“Borrow my sword for a use.”
Li Ling swiftly accepted the Yellow Dragon Sword from Li Weiyi’s hands. Like a graceful yet striking celestial crane, she soared upward to meet the descending Yan Qingqing. High in the air, the two women clashed continuously, their sword energies crisscrossing and filling the space with fierce light.
“Pu! Pu! Pu!”
By the time Li Ling landed, the Yellow Dragon Sword was streaked with blood. When Yan Qingqing landed, her body bore four or five gaping wounds from the swords. And waiting for her was Li Weiyi, who had already prepared the Turning Heaven Palm Seal.
That palm strike, imbued with the power of the Silver Thread Gloves, connected with her head, the silver radiance striking true. With a resounding “Boom!” accompanied by the crackling of breaking bones, Yan Qingqing’s once graceful face contorted and twisted.
Her entire head seemed to shatter like a broken jar; not only did blood gush from her orifices, but all her sensory organs turned indistinct. She collapsed straight to the ground, lifeless. Meanwhile, the Snow Wolf King, exuding an aura of icy chill, charged in with dazzling white light.
And the Bestial Script that Li Ling had inscribed in the spiritual realm of her forehead was now complete, soaring out from the center of her brow.
“Dare to court death!”
In that blinding flash of white, Fang Tong suddenly charged out like a vengeful spirit. By the time Li Ling began to swing her sword in defense, it was already too late. A heavy punch, like a cannonball, struck Li Ling, sending her flying like a blade of grass.
Blood spewed from her mouth and she could no longer stand. At the same moment, the Bestial Script hit the Snow Wolf King right on its brow. The Snow Wolf King let out a loud, agonized howl.
Its body shrank, its radiance and chill quickly gathered into a single wolf tooth that clattered to the ground with a “clap.” Suddenly, the coffin sea fell eerily silent! Only Li Weiyi and Fang Tong remained, standing four zhang apart from each other.
Their eyes were cold and full of menace, their auras locked in a deadly standoff. Not far off, Yan Qingqing lay dead, and Li Ling’s clothes were already soaked red with blood. Her life—teetering on the brink of death—remained uncertain.
Although Li Ling was in a dire state, she was now an ally bonded by life and death with him. Witnessing her grievous injuries, Li Weiyi’s fighting spirit and murderous intent surged fiercely. Without a word exchanged, Fang Tong advanced slowly at first, then broke into a brisk run.
Li Weiyi had no intention of contending with him. He quickly drew the Evil Camel Bell, infused it with his inner power, and gave it a hefty shake.
“Dang dang!”
The sound grew deafeningly loud.
“Swish!”
The Evil Camel Bell flew out and transformed into a gigantic, half-real half-illusory camel. It collided head-on with the charging Fang Tong. Fang Tong had not expected such a formidable magical artifact from his opponent.
Under the influence of the bell, his mind clouded, and before he could react, the camel hurled him high into the air. He felt as though every bone in his body was breaking. The next moment was filled with a thunderous rumble.
Using the Black Iron Seal, Li Weiyi unleashed a dazzling bolt of electricity, nearly as thick as a hand’s width, that snaked through the air and pierced Fang Tong’s body.
“Boom!”
When Fang Tong finally crashed to the ground, his body was charred black. A large gaping wound the size of a bowl marred his chest, and even in death, one could not fathom where he had faltered. Li Weiyi stepped over to him, confirmed that he was truly dead, and then went to examine Li Ling’s condition.
She was gravely injured but still clung to life. After carefully checking the corpses of Fang Tong, Yan Qingqing, and Xing Wanxing, and collecting their treasures, Li Weiyi disposed of all their bodies into the Blood Sea. Then, he scooped up the blood-soaked Li Ling and began to retreat. ……
Five days later, when Li Ling awoke, she found herself aboard the passenger ship headed for Nine Li City. The ship was a gigantic passenger sailboat over twenty zhang long. It had set sail from Demon Pass, traveling upstream along the Sui River.
On its deck, there were three layers of ship towers, and over a hundred cabins. Li Ling lay on a bed in a spacious cabin on the first level of the ship tower. She wore a white silken inner garment, and her chest and abdomen were wrapped in gauze.
Earlier at Demon Pass, a witch doctor had already treated her. The old matron who kept vigil by her bedside was one Zhao Zhizhuo had employed at Demon Pass. When word reached that the Fourth Miss had awakened, Zhao Zhizhuo hurried over to pay his respects.
After receiving permission, he entered the cabin. Then he recounted how the Xie Jin brothers had escorted her to Demon Pass, how they had secured the treatment of a Bestial Witch Doctor from the Beast Li tribe, and that the group was now heading for Nine Li City, soon to make their first stop with the Cang Li Tribe.
Li Ling sat up slightly on the daybed, covered with a light, cool quilt. Her long hair fell naturally around her shoulders as she gazed out at the vast river and the hazy, distant mountains. There was an air about her of serene, morbid, and cool beauty.
Slowly, she said, “Zhao Zhizhuo, at the Grand Sacrifice of Meng Mountain forty years ago, you ranked first among the Ninety-Nine Heroes. At twenty-three you entered the Five Seas Realm, and at forty-one the Five Seas all opened up for you.
It was in that same year that Yao Qian of the Sui Sect shattered the Spring Eye and broke the Five Seas. That gentleman, Yao Qian—you must be aware that he should now be one of the notable figures recorded in the Book of Great Eras, right?” At first, Zhao Zhizhuo felt a bitter shame and then disbelief.
That the Fourth Miss, in her young age, could recall with such clarity the exploits of one who had once been mighty, stirred a deep sense of emotion in his heart. This recognition meant more to someone who had been neglected for many years, who had once known greatness, than any praise or commendation ever could.
Feeling a pang of guilt, he said, “It’s just that I ranked first among the Ninety-Nine Heroes. I never even stepped into the Nine Elite ranks. Fourth Miss, your concern means a lot!”
“Every person who contributes to the Cang Li Tribe is remembered.”
After a pause, Li Ling asked, “Are they also aboard the ship?”
“Is that what you mean – Brother Xie and his companions?”
Zhao Zhizhuo replied, “They’re en route to Nine Li City, which is on our way.” Li Ling said, “He never told you his true name? Well, it doesn’t matter.”
Zhao Zhizhuo was momentarily taken aback before saying, “Perhaps I should go inform Brother Xie. Now that you have awakened, you must be worried about your injuries.” Li Ling replied, “Go ahead!”
As Zhao Zhizhuo stepped out of the cabin, he paused, then turned and saluted, asking, “We are expected to reach the Cang Li Tribe this evening. Once we disembark, should we return to the tribe, or head straight for Nine Li City?”
“My brother surely must have already gone to Nine Li Academy, and our parents are busy managing affairs in Nine Li City, so returning to the tribe is not our first choice,” Li Ling answered.
(End of Chapter)