No one would dare to punish the disciple of the peak master of Flying Jade Peak out of hand. If Lü Chengyi had known of this before, he wouldn’t have alerted Lin Zhaoli just now and turned this into a deadlock. 

He had already had Zhao Zhenwei contact their Southern Shu allies to signal that they were carrying out the plan ahead of schedule. But now they were still some distance away from the place where they had determined to strike, and the other side must also have been caught unawares and needed time to reach them. 

Over there with the Exonerators, there had been a last-minute problem with the holy woman and Tai Sui…

If this went wrong, it would go wrong because the mine’s outer sect was too far from Xuanyin, and he didn’t know the most crucial information. Curse that Zhao Zhenwei. He was more trouble than he was worth. After spending all his time fooling around and drinking with that “dear shidi” of his, he didn’t even know whether he belonged to the inner or outer sect! 

Lü Chengyi’s original plan had been: first tamper with the water dragons, taking down the convoy’s “shield in the water”; then wait for the Mirage Powder to take effect and weaken Lin Zhaoli, the established foundation cultivator they couldn’t defeat. When the ambush set up by foreign aid from Southern Shu, which Zhao Zhenwei’s party was colluding with, had taken down Lin Zhaoli and his subordinates, better than half of the convoy’s fighting force would be gone. That would be when Zhao Zhenwei and the others would be at their most relaxed and unguarded, so he could have the Exonerators come over and give this farce a perfect ending. 

But now it was clearly not going to work. Lin Zhaoli hadn’t been poisoned at all, and he had easily dispelled the water dragon spell!

Lü Chengyi came to a prompt decision, resolving to abandon the spiritual stones—relying solely on the Shu, there was no way to kill Lin Zhaoli. 

He had originally wanted to stall for time and distract Lin Zhaoli by questioning Xi Ping, giving him the opportunity to resolve matters with Tai Sui. When the Shu arrived, he would trick White Amaranth into coming here ahead of time—as the head of the Exonerators, White Amaranth was also a genuine article established foundation. Only in a three-way battle would Lü Chengyi have an opportunity to make a stealth attack and escape safely with Tai Sui. 

Who would have expected that this pampered young master who had grown up in Jinping wouldn’t behave according to the script? Abruptly faced with an accusation, he had admitted it openly, then splashed it all over anyone he could grab! 

Lü Chengyi, watching Zhao Zhenwei’s disgraceful behavior, knew that he couldn’t control this situation anymore. He silently crushed a stealth talisman so he wouldn’t be noticed. Zhao Zhenwei wouldn’t be able to stand up to questioning. A soul-searching… No, perhaps there would be no need to wait for a soul-searching. He might get so scared he exposed everything himself! How was it that these two were both pampered young masters, but the one he’d been stuck with was this piece of trash? 

Now it seemed that the Shu couldn’t arrive yet. There was nothing to be done…

Xi Ping was half-lame now, and tied up, but his expression was the calmest. Zhao Zhenwei’s eyes were spinning, and his head was covered in sweat as he looked for Lü Chengyi; his vision was confused by the stealth talisman, so he couldn’t find him, and he was in such urgency it was as if he hadn’t pissed in three years. Lin Zhaoli’s expression was cold, showing that he didn’t trust anyone. The three of them were standing in a triangle, looking at each other in pairs. 

Nearby, a crew member suddenly seemed to have some business. He trotted towards Lin Zhaoli, muttering something. 

The crew were all mortals. What urgent business could a mortal have? Lin Zhaoli didn’t even spare him a glance. 

But just as the crew member passed Zhao Zhenwei, there was a sudden change. Without warning, he pulled out a hand cannon, and before anyone could react, he aimed it at Zhao Zhenwei’s back and pulled the trigger! 

Zhao Zhenwei was just looking all over the floor for his guts. He didn’t realize what had happened at first. Only Xi Ping’s left hand, the fingers of which had already been cut to the bone by the threads, moved gently. 

At his note, it was as if the crew member had been hit directly in the face. He froze in place. Lin Zhaoli, catching up, pushed away the crew member assassin. The hand cannon fell to the ground and spat out a silver fireball. It turned out that this was a rare downgraded immortal tool of the type used to inflict casualties. 

When the crew member assassin’s attack failed, he bit through the poison pill in his mouth without any hesitation. The poison pill took effect at once. His breathing had stopped before he hit the ground! 

Zhao Zhenwei’s legs went weak, and he toppled over onto the ground. Lü Chengyi’s heart plummeted: no good! 

Xi Ping’s gaze bypassed the stealth talisman and shot towards Lü Chengyi as if he were an all-seeing divinity. He said meaningfully, “Zhao-shixiong, someone is afraid you’ll reveal something. They want to silence you.” 

The stealth talisman lost effect as soon as it was exposed. Lin Zhaoli abruptly realized what was happening and gave an angry shout. He swept his hand out like a knife, chopping towards Lü Chengyi. 

Lü Chengyi’s business was escorting ships. He hadn’t spent a single day in the Latent Cultivation Temple, and he certainly didn’t have a long tradition of family learning. If cultivators had been divided into “civil and military” like mortals, he certainly would have been a “frail scholar.” At such close range, he absolutely couldn’t dodge the attack of an established foundation cultivator. 

But just as Lin Zhaoli’s chop was about to cut him in half, Lü Chengyi’s figure flickered. 

The next moment, the powerful chop cut through the place where he had been. Lü Chengyi…had vanished into thin air. 

Lin Zhaoli was surprised. Even Xi Ping was stunned. 

That an established foundation cultivator hadn’t sensed a fluctuation of spiritual energy showed that whatever he had used hadn’t been an array or an immortal tool; because of the reincarnation wood, Xi Ping could sense that Lü Chengyi was nearby, but…he couldn’t fix on him. 

Something had cut the connection between Lü Chengyi and the reincarnation wood! 

Then the foulness clearing water dragon that had been calmly circling the convoy received some provocation and leapt out of the water, nearly capsizing several guard ships that didn’t have time to dodge. The water dragon’s eyes were open wide with rage and its long beard was trembling. It let out an earth-shaking roar, bringing down lightning. 

The people on deck were nearly deafened by this roar. Even the Exonerators heard it. 

Hundreds of zhang under the sea, an enormous “cuttlefish” was carefully trailing after the shipment convoy, maintaining a distance of about one li. Faint jade stamp green flashed in the eyes of this colossus; it was an immortal tool. 

The ill-intentioned evil cultivators were hidden inside the belly of the cuttlefish. 

Old Nine was about to transport the spiritual covenant to Wuchang One when he heard the sound. For a time, he was petrified. He felt the communication tool he was carrying heat up and quickly took it out to examine it. The horrifying news on it was: “Things have gone badly. I have been exposed. Take Tai Sui and go. I will meet you.” 

Old Nine didn’t dare to delay. He picked up Wei Chengxiang and stuck his hand into the mustard seed he carried with him. Before he could pull out the emergency immortal tool and talismans, the door behind him slammed open. White Amaranth, standing at the door, shut a fan. “Sir, madam, something is wrong…oh? What’s happened to the holy woman?” 

Old Nine couldn’t avoid him. All he could do was salute him and say, “Mr. White, I’m truly sorry. There’s been an incident aboard ship, and the holy woman has been injured. Senior One has been exposed ahead of time. We’re going to…” 

Before he could finish, an even louder dragon’s roar sounded in the sea. 

This time it wasn’t only a dragon’s roar. Even the sea was disturbed! 

On the surface, when Lü Chengyi disappeared, the water dragon circling the ships became somewhat uneasy; before Lin Zhaoli could work out what was happening, another water dragon that had been guarding up ahead suddenly became wildly agitated, roaring in warning. 

Lin Zhaoli looked around in shock and saw an ominous haze surging up in the sky to the north. A reeking wind hit him in the face. 

“Let me go, idi…” Xi Ping belatedly remembered that this was his shixiong and perfunctorily swallowed his insult. “Shixiong. Those are the Shu!” 

Sadly, an established foundation cultivator’s ears weren’t so easily fooled. Lin Zhaoli turned his head and glared at him. 

Xi Ping figured that he had caught up by now and said in all sincerity, “Hey, shixiong, as the saying goes, a sweet and fair maiden is a good match for a gentleman. We don’t mock a person for being captive to love. Wouldn’t it be miserable if you never fell for a honey trap in your life…?” 

Lin Zhaoli brought down his hand. “Shut—up!” 

All the immortal-binding cords on Xi Ping dropped off. The filaments had broken halfway through the fingers of his right hand, which hung down covered in blood. But there was some magic about his left hand; the filaments had only cut through a bit of skin and slipped off the bones—it turned out that this kid had been able to move one of his hands from start to finish! 

In the time it had taken to have this exchange, the “ominous clouds” to the north had already flown over their heads. Xi Ping, dragging his miserably injured leg behind him, raised his head with difficulty and saw that what had flown over was actually an enormous bird. In front of that huge bird, the water dragon looked like a snake under an eagle’s beak. No wonder the Shu had arrived so quickly. 

Lin Zhaoli’s pupils contracted. “A great roc…”

The great roc, like the water dragons, wasn’t an extant living creature. It was also an animal spirit that had been subdued by the ancient elders and forced into an array—it had been left behind by Tianbo, the progenitor of Southern Shu’s Lingyun Sect. Princess Anyang, having made up her mind to kill Lin Zhaoli, hadn’t even cared to use the slightest concealment. 

But…why? 

Xi Ping abruptly turned to look at Lin Zhaoli. “Lin-shixiong, what was it that you actually found?” 

If Lin Zhaoli had known, he wouldn’t have ended up being sent running in circles by all the thieves and traitors on board. “Have all the water dragons go underwater! Guard ships, activate the great array! All cultivators…” 

Before he could finish, Xi Ping, who had been beside him, had turned into a blur, standing on his sword with one foot as he slipped away. Lin Zhaoli’s consciousness followed him closely, and he saw Xi Ping catch a crew member and uncompromisingly plaster a talisman to him. The crew member was a mortal who had no means of resistance. He was firmly tied up by the talisman. 

Lin Zhaoli got a clear look. The bound crew member was familiar—he was the one who delivered food to him every day! 

Xi Ping seemed to have already known who the traitors were. Without any hesitation, he tossed out talismans on his way, “plastering” even those who had seen that the tide was turning against them and hidden in storage closets. 

Lin Zhaoli was horrified. He passed word to him: “These people are all traitors? How do you know?” 

Xi Ping, collapsing, said, “Da-ge, the foreign enemy is in front of us, can’t you just question them yourself later? If I got any wrong, I’ll kowtow in apology!” 

Hardly had he spoken than there was a sharp cry. The great roc dove. 

When the giant spread its wings, it could nearly cover the whole convoy with them. The people on the ships had the impression that the sky was falling. 

The guard ships tightly surrounded the ships carrying the spiritual stones. The activated arrays instantly shot out fierce light. The bird came towards them abruptly, its sky-blotting wings brushing past the edges of the array. Two water dragons leapt up, snapping their jaws towards the great roc’s wings. 

The great roc’s dropped feathers were like small ships… No, there really was a ship among the feathers. 

The ship approached quickly. Dozens of black-clothed figures came from it on their swords. 

On the sea, lighting flashed and thunder rumbled. The great roc and the six water dragons mixed in a terrifying clash. 

Xi Ping had just ferreted out the last of the Indignant Cicadas. Seeing this battle, he turned and ran—impressively, he could still keep his balance flying his sword with one foot, and he even looked rather elegant. 

He “elegantly” hid behind Lin Zhaoli like a streak of smoke. “I’m no good in a fight. Go ahead, shixiong.” 

Lin Zhaoli: “…”

This kind of rubbish could inherit General Zhi’s heart for the sword?! 

Lin Zhaoli gave a loud cry and pulled a sword as tall as a man from his palm. Where the sword pointed, it produced a roar like a wild beast’s. This haughty established foundation master did nothing to organize the other cultivators on board to resist the enemy. He simply raised his sword and went out to join battle himself. 

Xi Ping sat on his gaudy decorative sword, rotating two white spirits in his left hand like walnuts. To his right, one leg and one injured hand dangled. His consciousness was scanning the surroundings without a moment’s pause. 

Lü Chengyi… Wuchang One, where was he hiding…? 

One stroke of Lin Zhaoli’s sword cut a “rift” in the ocean, reaching the Southern Shu ship. The protective array on the ship took this attack and was immediately near to collapse. Before they could move, Strongman Lin cut three strokes in a row, hitting the same spot each time without the slightest error. 

The noise of the huge sword made the roots of Xi Ping’s ears go numb. He felt that this Lin-shixiong was truly held back by wielding a sword; someone ought to give him the axe that the god Pangu had used to split the heavens! 

There was a loud, clear sound. The protective array on the enemy’s ship was smashed apart by his series of slashes. With one stroke, Lin Zhaoli waved away the Southern Shu cultivators coming to surround him. Before the sword’s momentum could dissipate, he turned it around. The sword stroke hummed, paring the wind and breaking the waves, splitting the enemy ship right in two—animal spirits like the great roc and the water dragons were controlled using arrays and couldn’t go too far from them. A half-immortal could only get up to a few tricks, but an established foundation sword cultivator could simply break the array. 

The enemy ship broke, but the great roc fighting with the water dragons didn’t disappear. 

The array wasn’t on the ship? 

Lin Zhaoli froze. Then he heard Xi Ping passing word to him: “In the water!” 

Next, the sharp sound of a flute pierced the surface of the sea. A big fish like a steamship leapt out of the water. There was a black-clothed person standing on the head of the spiritual beast. 

The big fish crashed against Great Wan’s main ship. The protective inscriptions on the ship activated at once; it nearly overturned. 

The newcomer was an established foundation beast taming cultivator!  

Without any hesitation, Xi Ping jumped down from his sword and into the water, dragging his injured leg behind him. He reached out to scoop the water-repelling pearl off the bottom of the ship, narrowly avoiding a hit from the big fish. 

Xi Yue pounded fiercely on the inside of the water-repelling pearl, glaring furiously at him. 

Xi Ping said, “Among the talismans Pang-shixiong gave me, was there one that could turn a person into a white streak on the waves? Hurry, hurry, give me one, and give me the mustard seed, too… Oh, right, were you cursing at me before?” 

Xi Yue couldn’t resist baring his teeth at him. 

The half-puppet clearly used a good deal of strength. He pulled out a stack of talismans Xi Ping didn’t know the purpose of, quickly pulled out three, and shoved them all into the mustard seed. 

When Xi Ping reached into the water-repelling pearl to take the mustard seed, Xi Yue took the opportunity to bite him with relentless accuracy. 

Xi Ping: “Hss…” 

Amazing! The little brat was revolting! 

But the tilting main ship was about to overturn. There was no time for him to discipline the half-puppet. 

“Just you wait!” 

Xi Ping pulled out his hand, now with toothmarks on it, and didn’t even look at the contents of the talismans—he wouldn’t recognize them, anyway. He raised a hand and activated them with spiritual energy. 

It turned out that these were three small-scale foulness clearing water dragons. They left his hand and went into the sea, turned, and worked together to push the ship that was about to overturn back upright. 

Talismans transformed into water dragons lasted for a limited time, and they were very small. For now he would have to make do. 

Xi Ping pointed at the big fish spiritual beast that the beast taming cultivator was riding. “Fuck it up!” 

Two water dragons threw themselves over on his order. 

The last one became his steed. 

Xi Ping himself could stay underwater for a shichen on one breath, but he was worried that Xi Yue would drown, so he didn’t let him out of the water-repelling pearl. He twisted the water-repelling pearl into the shape of a bag to make it more convenient to carry. Amidst the half-puppet’s rage, Xi Ping picked up the water-repelling pearl and jumped onto the dragon’s back. 

A sword cultivator was a sword cultivator. Within his own grade, he would be the best fighter. Brandishing the big sword, Lin Zhaoli sent the other side’s established foundation cultivator and a crowd of open-eyed half-immortals flying all over. Xi Ping watched him and thought that he was very heroic; no wonder Lü Chengyi and the others had wanted to drug him first. 

Just then, his spiritual sense suddenly alerted him. Wei Chengxiang had woken up. 

Wei Chengxiang quietly controlled her breathing and continued pretending to be unconscious. She contacted Xi Ping. 

It wasn’t very easy pretending to be unconscious under the nose of a cultivator. Fortunately, no one was paying attention to her now. 

White Amaranth’s eyes glowed with villainous light. “Of course nothing ever goes perfectly. There are always incidents. Since we’re here, we may as well make the best of it…and seek riches amidst danger.” 

He snapped his fingers, and the spiritual covenant Wei Chengxiang hadn’t had time to sign turned to dust in his hand. “But please notify Tai Sui that we’ll be relying entirely on our own efforts, without depending on your cooperation, so the distribution of spiritual stones we arranged earlier can’t be seen as valid.” 

The big cuttlefish passed over the bottom of the sea as fast as lightning, avoiding the battle between the great roc and water dragons, wildly floating up through the seawater full of scattered spiritual energy. 

Wei Chengxiang felt herself nearly pressed to the ground. The next moment, the cuttlefish with its bellyful of unexpected guests appeared on the battlefield out of nowhere. Its belly opened, and a row of spiritual cannons took aim at the two groups of grappling cultivators, unexpectedly opening fire. 

Boom—

Xi Ping and the water dragon suddenly parted ways. The water dragon dove to the bottom of the sea, carrying Xi Yue, while Xi Ping flew up on his sword. 

Lin Zhaoli and the Southern Shu assassins were all taken unawares. The flute music of the beast tamer on the big fish went off tune, and Lin Zhaoli’s big sword slipped out of his hand. 

Though this sword was his vital weapon, which he could call back with a thought, in just that moment, a cloud of white fog wrapped around him. Lin Zhaoli quickly held his breath, but it was already too late. His arms and legs were instantly paralyzed. 

Lin Zhaoli was appalled. A half-immortal couldn’t have powers like this. Another established foundation! 

In the depths of the white fog, a long hook came right towards the top of Lin Zhaoli’s head. The Exonerator White Amaranth’s smile was sinister. “Hunting a sword cultivator…is so satisfying!” 

Meanwhile, Southern Shu’s big fish turned over nimbly in the water, taking the opportunity to seal off Lin Zhaoli’s retreat. 

The huge fish cast a big shadow on Lin Zhaoli. His vision went blank. No good, he thought, this is the end of me! 

Just then, a figure came out of nowhere and landed beside him. Before Lin Zhaoli could distinguish whether this person was friend or foe, he heard the sound of an instrument string being played. 

In an instant, the established foundation sword cultivator’s spine began to tremble. The matchless sword aura in that note nearly brought him to his knees. He felt a kind of despair, as if he would never be able to lift his sword again. 

Two white spirits turned to powder at the sound, shaking the heavens—

Xi Ping went numb all over. All his meridians seemed to explode. If not for the fact that his newly grown left hand’s bones were much sturdier than before, he would hardly have been able to play a single complete note. The vast sword aura gushed out, and the two great established foundation masters, along with the colossal spiritual beast, all turned into ants. The big fish and the beast controller on it were both cut in two. Bloody rain fell over the sea. 

“White Amaranth” turned into “Red Amaranth.” This secretive evil cultivator chief had over a hundred protective amulets on him; when the ascended spirit sword aura fell, all of them turned to dust, and he fell headfirst into the sea. 

The roc array in the spiritual beast’s mouth broke, and the great roc that was pecking the six water dragons into a frenzy instantly disappeared. The sword energy fell into the water, and the sea, which ought to have been in a calm period, was stirred into a big vortex. 

Xi Ping: “…” 

He had to kneel before his shizun. He had actually been considering using this sword aura to break the immortal-binding cords and escape… He had truly been ignorant. 

Was this sword aura for saving his life? 

This was for causing mountain-toppling, sea-overturning havoc!