The sound of the sword light whistling through the air was relentless, with endless sword energy.
Zhang Ren, who had his left arm severed, erected a barrier in front of him, but the sword intent scattered and penetrated everywhere.
A clattering sound came from the water, and within a few breaths, his body was stained with blood, and his robes were torn.
Zhang Ren’s face turned extremely grim.
At this moment, he could barely protect himself, let alone spare a hand to help others.
With a muffled grunt, a crimson dark light suddenly flew out from his sleeve, transforming into a swarm of ferocious little insects swimming in the water.
Although some were destroyed by the sword energy and thunder light, the insects multiplied rapidly.
As long as the insect king was alive, they could continue to reproduce and expand their swarm.
The demonic insects entangled Qin Ruoshui, and a fierce look flashed in Zhang Ren’s eyes as he suddenly looked towards Ji Yutang! The power on her body fluctuated, appearing to be at the Mortal Shedding Stage.
Her Dragon Thunder buried in the water was extremely troublesome, so it was better to deal with her first! With this thought, Zhang Ren shouted loudly, pointed his finger, and summoned a magical artifact—the Soul Shattering Seal.
Once hit by this seal, one’s soul would become unstable.
Ji Yutang stood not far away, the black and blood-colored insect swarm in the water swirling together, blurring her vision, but a sudden sense of danger rose in her heart.
She immediately activated the Xuanxiang Pearl, transforming into a breeze to escape.
However, the Soul Shattering Seal was incredibly fast, reaching her in an instant.
Ji Yutang’s expression changed abruptly, her eyes flashing with golden light, scales rippling on her body, as she reached out to grab the artifact! The dragon scales shattered upon impact, and blood oozed from her arm, but she managed to seize control of the Soul Shattering Seal.
Zhang Ren looked at Ji Yutang in shock, exclaiming, “A strength cultivator?” The burden of strength cultivation on the world was far heavier than that of qi cultivation, and it was impossible to transcend in the end.
Nowadays, cultivators generally wouldn’t choose this path, so it was no wonder Zhang Ren was so surprised.
The Soul Shattering Seal failed, and Zhang Ren wanted to continue, but he had no chance.
Qin Ruoshui was still trapped by the demonic insects, but Li Jingyu freed up a hand, and the Jewel of the Rising Tides transformed into nine swift lights falling upon him! A fierce light appeared in Zhang Ren’s eyes as he activated his magical artifact to resist the Jewel of the Rising Tides! However, these nine jewels had the power to control water, borrowing the waters of the North Sea in the deep sea.
Now, what fell upon him was not just Li Jingyu’s own power, but also the endless sea water.
Zhang Ren didn’t even have time to call for help before his entire body was smashed to pieces by the jewels, and his primordial spirit, while escaping, collided with a Dragon Thunder and was instantly annihilated.
“Are you okay?” Li Jingyu found Ji Yutang, glanced at the blood seeping from her wrist, and frowned slightly.
Ji Yutang withdrew her hand, avoiding Li Jingyu’s gaze, and shook her head, pretending to be calm, “I’m fine.”
These demonic cultivators were led by Zhang Ren, and now that Zhang Ren and the other Foundation Establishment cultivators had been killed, the remaining ones were powerless to resist and could only surrender.
After the black color in the water dissipated, the view became clear.
Qin Ruoshui destroyed the demonic insects, holding a cultivator from the Demon Sect in his hand.
Lin Heng spoke with a serious expression, “Soul search?” The demonic cultivator was not a person of integrity, and upon hearing the words “soul search,” his face turned pale.
Being soul-searched meant either death or becoming an idiot, a fate not easily accepted by anyone.
Before Li Jingyu and the others could press him, he spilled the beans about the Tianhai Demon Sect’s plan.
“It really is the Twelve Demon God Stakes.” Lin Heng listened to the demonic cultivator’s words, his eyes filled with coldness.
The Demon Sect cultivators had long planted the Demon God Stake in the North Sea.
Now, with the earth’s energy surging and the turbid evil energy being activated, a shadow of the Demon God had already been born, called the “God of the North Sea.” However, this “God of the North Sea” was not complete.
To truly live up to this title, it needed to be pushed to ascend further.
But this couldn’t be accomplished in a short time, so they set their sights on the North Sea Dragon Palace.
The Beihai Demon Cultivators were endless, and the dragon species were countless, but not all dragon species were willing to be ruled by the Dragon Palace.
They wanted to become true dragon species.
This time, the demonic cultivators sought the Taiyin Fiend to help those dragon species activate the “True Dragon Transformation Array,” allowing the dragon species to gain the bones and power of a true dragon.
Of course, the demonic cultivators weren’t so kind-hearted; their ultimate plan was to have Xuanming devour these “fake true dragons,” thereby truly becoming the “God of the North Sea.”
“Although the dragons in the Dragon Palace are unruly, they have always been friendly with our human race.
They reside in the North Sea and do not expand outward, which is a good thing for us.
However, if those mad dragon species rise to power, things might not go well.” Qin Ruoshui said seriously.
Li Jingyu said, “The Demon Sect hasn’t found the Taiyin Fiend yet, so it’s still time to stop them.”
Ji Yutang pondered for a moment and asked, “There might be higher-level forces among the dragon species.
Can we handle them with our strength?” “No.” Li Jingyu admitted frankly.
The four of them struggled to deal with a true Golden Core stage cultivator, let alone a higher-level one.
However, the fact that the dragon species wanted to transform into true dragons indicated that the true dragons in the Dragon Palace were not yet extinct.
As long as they could rescue them, the rest wouldn’t be their concern.
Lin Heng said, “But we don’t even know where we are right now.”
Qin Ruoshui thought for a moment and replied, “I’ll give it a try.” They had stayed in the Dragon Palace before, so there should still be some residual aura.
Now, they could trace back to that aura and use it as a marker.
Ji Yutang spoke up, “Head northwest for two kilometers, then turn southeast for one kilometer.” She cultivated the Dragon Transformation Sutra, entering the dragon path with a human body, bearing the dragon clan’s legacy, so her perception of the Dragon Palace wouldn’t be wrong.
Previously, Qin Ruoshui wouldn’t have listened to Ji Yutang, but after experiencing things in the sea, whether it was due to the magical artifact or not, Qin Ruoshui had a newfound respect for her.
Lin Heng scratched his head and said excitedly, “Then let’s go.”
The journey of less than ten miles wasn’t far for cultivators.
As they approached the Dragon Palace, they used talismans to conceal their aura, avoiding sea monsters by going around them, not engaging in battle to avoid alerting the people of the Dragon Palace.
“The grand array requires a blood sacrifice, so Fellow Daoist Zhao and the others are probably imprisoned inside.” Lin Heng whispered, glancing at Qin Ruoshui, then added, “Should we rescue our fellow cultivators first?” “The more people, the more strength.” Before Qin Ruoshui could speak, Li Jingyu said first.
True dragons were particularly formidable, and even if the dragon species managed to ambush them, they wouldn’t dare to be careless.
Before the True Dragon Transformation Array succeeded, there must be strong individuals personally overseeing it.
It’s best to stir the waters to find an opportunity.
“Yes.” Qin Ruoshui nodded, then turned to Ji Yutang and asked, “Daoist Friend Ji, what do you think?” Ji Yutang didn’t expect him to involve her in the conversation, hesitated for a moment, and replied, “I have no objections.” She came to the North Sea to find external medicine to enhance herself, but now she was caught up in the affairs of the Demon Sect and the Dragon Palace, with no way to avoid it.
She alone couldn’t match the actions of a group.
Seeing that all four agreed, Qin Ruoshui breathed a sigh of relief.
In the inner perimeter of the Dragon Palace, Chi Dragon and some unfamiliar dragon species were patrolling outside, but they weren’t very diligent, casually glancing around before finding a place to sit down.
“How could anyone come to the Dragon Palace? The people in Xuanming City wouldn’t dare to offend the dragon’s might.”
“What about the Eight Great Immortal Sects? We captured some sacrifices from the immortal sects.”
“Don’t worry, those old guys won’t move easily, especially not coming to the North Sea.
At most, they’ll send some juniors to train, and those juniors, well, hehe.”
“Speaking of which, the Tianhai Demon Sect is too slow, right? It’s been so long, and they still haven’t found the Taiyin Fiend.
Could they be deceiving us?” “There is indeed a Taiyin Fiend in the North Sea, but it’s hard to say exactly where.
The true dragons probably know something, but they wouldn’t easily reveal the information.”
“True dragons, true dragons, once I become a true dragon, I’ll show them!” “Don’t say that in front of the ancestor.”
… “It really is in their hands.” A dark light flashed in Qin Ruoshui’s eyes as he took out four golden talismans from his sleeve, whispering, “These are the Taiyuan Xuanqing Concealment Talismans refined by my master, capable of blocking the detection of primordial spirit realm cultivators.” On the outskirts, they could still conceal their aura, but once inside, it would be difficult to hide.
With their power, they would soon be exposed.
Seeing each of them take a concealment talisman, Qin Ruoshui continued, “We don’t know where our junior sister and the others are imprisoned, but with the concealment talisman, we can act separately.
Remember, do not engage in combat.
Once you do, the concealment talisman will dissipate on its own.” After giving instructions, Qin Ruoshui was the first to choose a direction, and Lin Heng, after looking around, also stepped away.
Ji Yutang furrowed her brows slightly, her Mind Palace filled with dragons in motion, a mysterious urge compelling her to act.
“Why aren’t you moving yet?” After a while, Ji Yutang looked up and noticed Li Jingyu standing still ahead, prompting her to mutter.
Li Jingyu heard Ji Yutang’s muttering, smiled slightly, and said warmly, “I’m worried about you.”
Ji Yutang’s brows furrowed even more tightly.
What was there to worry about? She was no longer the Ji Yutang of the past, and didn’t she have a concealment talisman on her? “We should go our separate ways; there’s a better chance of finding the others that way.” Ji Yutang looked at Li Jingyu.
Li Jingyu replied leisurely, “What do they have to do with me?” Ji Yutang glanced at Li Jingyu in confusion.
Earlier, when Qin Ruoshui was around, she had eagerly made suggestions, but now her attitude was different.
Was she trying to deceive her with words again? What did she take her for? Ji Yutang sneered inwardly, hiding her sarcasm.
She lifted her eyelids to meet Li Jingyu’s clear gaze and feigned 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 instead threw it back at her, asking, “What do you think?”
The ambiguous attitude made Ji Yutang feel even colder inside.
She withdrew her gaze, no longer looking at Li Jingyu, and stepped forward.
Li Jingyu quickly caught up with Ji Yutang, smiling with her eyes curved, “You’re naturally my good sister.” A sister’s fiancé is also a sister, isn’t it? But in her view, the marriage between the two was unlikely to happen.
Her own sister was focused on the path to enlightenment and was currently stuck in some good place.
