The sound of sword light whistling through the air was endless, the sword aura inexhaustible.
Zhang Ren, whose left arm had been severed, raised a barrier in front of him, but the sword intent scattered everywhere, seeping in through every gap.
Clanging sounds echoed from the water, and within a few breaths, blood stained his body and his robes were torn apart.
Zhang Ren’s face turned extremely grim.
He could barely protect himself, let alone spare a hand to help anyone else.
With a muffled grunt, a streak of crimson light suddenly shot out from his sleeve, transforming into a swarm of vicious little insects swimming through the water.
Some were destroyed by sword qi and lightning, but the insects multiplied rapidly—so long as the insect king survived, they could keep reproducing and expanding their numbers.
The demonic insects entangled Qin Ruoshui.
A fierce look flashed in Zhang Ren’s eyes as he suddenly turned to Ji Yutang! The power in her body surged and waned, making her look like she was at the Mortal Shedding Stage.
Her Dragon Thunder buried in the water was a real headache—better to deal with her first! With that thought, Zhang Ren shouted, pointed a finger, and summoned a magic weapon—the Soul Shattering Seal.
If struck by this seal, one’s soul would become unstable.
Ji Yutang stood not far away.
The black and blood-red swarms of insects in the water churned together, blurring her vision, but a sudden sense of danger rose in her heart.
She immediately activated the Xuanxiang Pearl, turning into a breeze to flee outward.
But the Soul Shattering Seal was incredibly fast, reaching her in an instant.
Ji Yutang’s expression changed sharply, golden light flashing in her eyes as scales rippled across her body.
She reached out and grabbed the magic weapon! Dragon scales shattered on impact, blood oozed from her arm, but she managed to seize the Soul Shattering Seal.
Zhang Ren stared at Ji Yutang in shock.
“A body cultivator?” The burden of body cultivation was far heavier than qi cultivation, and in the end, it was impossible to transcend.
Most cultivators nowadays wouldn’t choose this path, so no wonder Zhang Ren was so surprised.
The Soul Shattering Seal had failed, and Zhang Ren wanted to try again, but there was no more chance.
Qin Ruoshui was still trapped by the demonic insects, but Li Jingyu was now free, and the Jewel of the Rising Tides turned into nine streaks of light, striking at him! A fierce glint flashed in Zhang Ren’s eyes as he used his magic weapon to resist the Jewel of the Rising Tides! But these nine pearls could control water, and in the deep sea, they drew on the power of the North Sea itself.
What struck him wasn’t just Li Jingyu’s own power, but the endless force of the sea.
Zhang Ren didn’t even have time to cry out before his body was smashed to pieces by the pearls, and as his soul tried to escape, it ran into a Dragon Thunder and was instantly annihilated.
“Are you alright?” Li Jingyu found Ji Yutang, lowered her eyes to glance at the blood seeping from Ji Yutang’s wrist, and frowned slightly.
Ji Yutang pulled her hand back to avoid Li Jingyu’s gaze.
She shook her head and said flatly, “I’m fine.”
These demonic cultivators were led by Zhang Ren, and now that he and the other Foundation Establishment cultivator were dead, the rest were powerless to resist and could only surrender.
Once the blackness in the water faded, their vision cleared.
Qin Ruoshui destroyed the demonic insects and dragged a Demon Sect cultivator in his hand.
Lin Heng spoke with a grim face.
“Should we soul-search him?” The demonic cultivator wasn’t brave at all—at the mention of soul-searching, his face turned deathly pale.
Everyone knew that those who were soul-searched either died or became idiots; not a fate anyone wanted.
Before Li Jingyu and the others could even interrogate him, he spilled everything about the Tianhai Demon Sect’s plan.
“So it really is the Twelve Demon God Stakes.” Lin Heng’s eyes turned cold after hearing the demon cultivator’s words.
The Demon Sect had planted Demon God Stakes in the North Sea long ago.
Now, with the earth’s energy surging and foul qi being stirred up, a shadow of the Demon God had already formed, called the “God of the North Sea.” But this “God of the North Sea” wasn’t complete.
To make it worthy of the name, it needed to be pushed to a higher level.
That couldn’t be done quickly, so they set their sights on the North Sea Dragon Palace.
There were endless Beihai Demon Cultivators and countless dragonkin, but not all dragonkin were willing to submit to the Dragon Palace—they wanted to become true dragons.
This time, the demonic cultivators were searching for the Taiyin Fiend to help those dragonkin activate the True Dragon Transformation Array, so they could gain the bones and power of a true dragon.
Of course, the demonic cultivators weren’t so kind—their real plan was to have Xuanming devour these “fake true dragons” and truly become the “God of the North Sea.”
“Though the dragons of Dragon Palace City are proud and unruly, some are friendly with our human race.
They stay in the North Sea and don’t expand outward, which is good for us.
But if those crazed dragonkin rise to power, things could get ugly,” Qin Ruoshui said seriously.
Li Jingyu said, “The Demon Sect hasn’t found the Taiyin Fiend yet.
There’s still time to stop them.”
Ji Yutang thought for a moment and asked, “There must be higher-level power among the dragonkin.
Can we handle it with just us?” “No,” Li Jingyu answered honestly.
The four of them already struggled against a true Golden Core cultivator, let alone someone even stronger.
But if the dragonkin wanted to become true dragons, it meant the true dragons of Dragon Palace City weren’t all dead.
If they could rescue them, the rest wouldn’t be their problem.
Lin Heng said, “But we don’t even know where we are right now.”
Qin Ruoshui thought for a bit and replied, “Let me try.” They’d stayed in Dragon Palace City before, so there should still be some lingering aura.
He could use that to trace the past and set a marker.
Ji Yutang spoke up, “Go northwest for two kilometers, then turn southeast for one kilometer.” She cultivated the Dragon Transformation Sutra, entering the dragon path with a human body and carrying the dragon clan’s legacy, so her sense for Dragon Palace City wouldn’t be wrong.
Before, Qin Ruoshui wouldn’t have listened to Ji Yutang, but after what happened in the sea—whether it was due to magic tools or not—he saw her in a new light.
Lin Heng scratched his head and said excitedly, “Then let’s go.”
A journey of less than ten li wasn’t far for cultivators.
As they neared Dragon Palace City, they used talismans to hide their presence.
When they encountered sea monsters, they just skirted around them, avoiding any fights so as not to alert the people in Dragon Palace City.
“That grand array needs a blood sacrifice.
I bet Daoist Zhao and the others are locked up inside,” Lin Heng whispered.
He glanced at Qin Ruoshui and asked, “Should we rescue our comrades first?” “The more people, the more strength,” Li Jingyu answered before Qin Ruoshui could.
True dragons were incredibly powerful, and even if the dragonkin managed to pull off a sneak attack, they wouldn’t dare be careless.
Before the True Dragon Transformation Array succeeded, there would definitely be experts watching over things.
It was best to stir up the waters to find an opportunity.
“Yeah.” Qin Ruoshui nodded, then turned to Ji Yutang.
“Daoist Friend Ji, what do you think?” Ji Yutang hadn’t expected him to bring her into the discussion.
She hesitated for a moment and replied, “I have no objections.” She’d only come to the North Sea to find rare medicines, but now she was caught up in the Demon Sect and Dragon Palace City mess with nowhere to hide.
She alone was no match for a group.
Seeing that all four agreed, Qin Ruoshui breathed a sigh of relief.
Inside the outer ring of Dragon Palace City, Chi Dragon and some unfamiliar dragonkin were patrolling, but they weren’t very diligent.
After a cursory look around, they just found a place to sit.
“How could anyone get into Dragon Palace City? The people from Xuanming City wouldn’t dare offend the dragons.”
“What about the Eight Great Immortal Sects? Some of the sacrifices we caught are from the immortal sects.”
“Don’t worry.
The old guys won’t make a move, especially not in the North Sea.
At most, they’ll send some juniors to train, and those juniors, well, heh.”
“By the way, isn’t the Tianhai Demon Sect moving too slow? It’s been ages and they still haven’t found the Taiyin Fiend.
Are they just stringing us along?” “There really is a Taiyin Fiend in the North Sea, but who knows exactly where.
The true dragons probably know, but they’d never give up that info easily.”
“True dragons, true dragons—once I become a true dragon, I’ll show them what’s what!” “Don’t say that in front of the ancestors.”
…
“So they really do have them.” A dark light flashed in Qin Ruoshui’s eyes.
He took out four golden talismans from his sleeve and murmured, “These are Taiyuan Xuanqing Concealment Talismans, refined by my master.
They can block the senses of Nascent Soul cultivators.” Outside, they could hide their presence on their own, but inside, it would be much harder.
With their level of power, they’d be exposed quickly.
After everyone took a concealment talisman, Qin Ruoshui said, “We don’t know where the others are being held, but with these talismans, we can split up.
Remember, don’t fight anyone—if you do, the talisman will dissipate on its own.” After giving his instructions, Qin Ruoshui picked a direction and left first.
Lin Heng glanced around and followed.
Ji Yutang frowned slightly, the divine dragon in her Mind Palace stirring, a mysterious urge pushing her to act.
“Why aren’t you moving?” After a while, Ji Yutang looked up and saw Li Jingyu standing still ahead, and couldn’t help but mutter.
Li Jingyu heard Ji Yutang’s mutter, smiled gently, and said, “I’m worried about you.”
Ji Yutang frowned even more.
What was there to worry about? She was no longer the Ji Yutang of the past, and she had a concealment talisman on her.
“We should split up.
We’ll have a better chance of finding the others that way.” Ji Yutang looked at Li Jingyu.
Li Jingyu drawled, “What do they have to do with me?” Ji Yutang gave Li Jingyu a puzzled look.
Earlier, when Qin Ruoshui was around, she’d been eager to make suggestions, but now her attitude was completely different.
Was she trying to trick her again? Did she take her for a fool? Ji Yutang sneered inwardly, hiding her scorn.
She lifted her eyelids and met Li Jingyu’s clear gaze, feigning confusion.
“Then what do I have to do with you?”
Li Jingyu’s lips curled into a smile.
She didn’t answer Ji Yutang’s question, but tossed it back, asking, “What do you think?”
The vague attitude made Ji Yutang feel even colder inside.
She looked away from Li Jingyu and walked forward without another glance.
Li Jingyu quickly caught up to Ji Yutang, her eyes curved in a smiling arc.
“Of course, you’re my good little sister.” The little sister’s betrothed wasn’t also a little sister? But as far as she was concerned, there was no way that marriage would ever happen.
Her real little sister was devoted to the Dao and was still trapped somewhere nice.
