Chapter 1308: Adjusting the Tiger to Leave the Mountain, Maximizing the Strike (Combined Volume)

I woke up to find the entire world submerged in a blood-red tide, both banks blooming with crimson flowers, everyone vanished—only I remained.

The empty treasure ship drifted on the river surface, its dragon keel pressing against the water, sending out ripples.

Fear, dread, panic, loneliness—

His chest heaved violently, yet he worried his breathing sounded too loud, might disturb the unknown "presence"; Wen Wen Shi Yun had to control his breathing rhythm, slow inhale, slow exhale. Winter clothes were thick, the outer layer hid nothing, the inner lining already soaked through with sweat, turning dark.

He pressed himself against the wall, drenched in sweat, strands of hair on his forehead clumped together—before even facing an opponent, he felt utterly drained.

He cautiously poked his head out, glancing at the kitchen.

No trace of the boat captain or the otters, no sign of the thieving monkeys, and certainly no sight of the so-called "enemy."

It was precisely this utter emptiness and deathly silence that caused the greatest panic.

Stranded on this massive treasure ship, Wen Wen Shi Yun was at a loss—he couldn't sail it; the vessel was far too complex for one person to handle, even if it had a spirit, it required seven or eight working together. He also dared not jump into the murky blood river below—who knew if water monkeys lurked there, ready to grab his ankles? He felt nearly as helpless as someone trapped on a deserted island.

Once, this great treasure ship had been his endless playground; now it only felt hollow.

A series of "beep-beep" calls echoed for half a day.

Kitchen, hot water room, storage, helm cabin, aft tower, cultivation chamber—he felt his way through each room one by one, all silent and empty. Finally, Wen Wen Shi Yun gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, and headed toward the central-rear section—the quarters of his master and mistress, as well as the Sun-Moon Cultivation Chamber.

Though he had never eaten pork, he had seen pigs run.

Wen Wen Shi Yun couldn't slaughter a pig, but he knew which cut of meat was best.

The ship's sway mainly consisted of "horizontal roll" and "longitudinal pitch." The center of rotation typically lay slightly aft of midship, so cabins near that area experienced the least motion and were most stable. The bow pitched most violently, the stern less so, and the central-rear section remained the steadiest.

Though the treasure ship feared no wind or waves, shipbuilding experience had its inheritances and conveniences—regardless of vessel type, the basic design remained largely the same.

The master and mistress's quarters were located here, separated from the Sun-Moon Cultivation Chamber by Yao Jie and Li Jie's rooms.

Since childhood, the master had forbidden him from approaching, especially at night.

Wen Wen Shi Yun had always believed there was a small kitchen here, where the master and mistress secretly kept him away while the otters cooked delicious food, then he'd return to complain to his mother.

Now there was no way to do that.

To uncover the truth behind everyone's disappearance, I had no choice but to risk my life and enter this final forbidden zone!

"Why did you leave him alone on the ship?"

Vortex water swirled around, light and shadow shifting—Long Eying stood at the end of the corridor, watching Wen Wen Shi Yun sprawled on the ground, drenched in sweat, wriggling like an earthworm, occasionally pausing before a door to emit a "beep-beep-beep" call, then waiting half a day with a disappointed expression before moving on to the next.

"It feels more interesting this way." Liang Qu shrugged.

Long Eying rolled her eyes: "Just tease him—he's probably scared to death already."

The Chilong and Entering Zhen Xiang had vanished without reason, the world had drastically changed, the river turned entirely blood-red, becoming an isolated island. Seeing Wen Wen Shi Yun's state, he likely thought he'd encountered something indescribable, forced to survive against all odds, wits pitted against the very air.

"Hehehe, taking on a disciple and not playing with him? That'd be a waste. This rare opportunity—of course I must seize it———don't go out, don't go out———such a chance doesn't come often, alas!"

"Little Stone."

A familiar voice echoed in his ears.

This, this is———

Pupils dilated, breath held, it felt like heavenly music!

Intense, surging emotion burst forth—like the fireworks lit during the Yang River God Festival night, exploding in the high sky; Wen Wen Shi Yun nearly burst into tears.

He turned his head, about to rush forward and urgently explain all the changes to the suddenly vanished then reappeared mistress, but then a thought struck him—alertness flared, and he jerked back several steps.

"Don't come closer. The situation is strange—how do I know you're the real mistress and not an impostor? Or a monster in disguise? Answer my question first!"

"?"

Before Long Eying could speak, Wen Wen Shi Yun's mind raced: "How many moles does my master have on his left buttock?"

One master, one disciple—big and small—what did he teach all day, and what did I learn?

Long Eying regretted coming out to "rescue" this brat, her expression unchanging: "Your master has no mole on his left buttock. After reaching Wolf Smoke cultivation, refining his essence with Gang energy, such a thing wouldn't exist. Did you not pay attention in your studies?"

"Screech!" That familiar tone, that familiar icy face—Wen Wen Shi Yun believed half of it, but still dared not approach rashly, pressing himself against the wall: "Of course I know—I was just testing you! That doesn't count. Ask another: I master likes————"

"Bang!"

"Ow!" Wen Wen Shi Yun clutched the back of his head, crouching down, tears welling from the pain.

This familiar force, this familiar pain, this familiar spot.

No mistake!

"Master!" Wen Wen Shi Yun leapt up in joyous surprise, "Master, where did you drag me from? Is this still Dashun? How many have you killed? Even the Huangsha River runs red!"

"This is not Dashun."

"Not Dashun?" Wen Wen Shi Yun looked left and right, "Then where is it?"

"It's a blessed land of the cave heavens passed down from the Great Power Huahong!" Liang Qu said solemnly, with utmost seriousness, "Cultivating here is ten times faster than outside—meaning, ten days here equal only one day out there."

"Ten times? Huahong?" Wen Wen Shi Yun stared wide-eyed, "Really or fake? Wait—does that mean I'm aging ten times faster than others? When I go out, I'll have a huge beard?"

"No, if that were the case, what kind of blessed cave heaven would this be? Your age follows the outside world."

"Hiss—I get it now. Master, you're like this, aren't you? That's why your cultivation is so fast?"

"Clever, Wen Shi Yun—you've discovered Han Yu."

"Ah?"

"Never mind all that—use the Sun-Moon Cultivation Chamber. Remember: cultivate diligently, improve daily, then I'll take you out, astonish everyone quietly, charge in on horseback, exit as Wolf Smoke, enter as Wolf Smoke, exit as Tiger Hunter, enter as Tiger Hunter, exit as Entering Zhen Xiang—everyone will shout, 'Wen Shi Yun the Great Immortal! Boundless magic! Heaven's chosen one!' The Dashun princess will write you love letters, the Nanjiang Holy Maiden will bear you monkeys, the Bei Ting Yan clan will give you a great wool cloak———"

"The first two are fine, but isn't Yan the khan's wife? Won't she be too old?"

"Slap!"

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You brat, you actually picked that one—do you know how much effort it cost me to get in here once? I nearly lost half my life. This matter—heaven knows, earth knows, you know, I know, the mistress knows—keep your lips sealed, cultivate well, understand? Later I'll take you out to meet a few people—consider them your junior martial siblings."

"Are there still people here? Or are they my junior martial siblings?" Wen Wen Shi Yun's head buzzed.

"Cut the nonsense, Soldier Wen—I order you: turn around, take small steps, run—cultivate!"

"Yes!"

Just now I was still wondering what was taught, and in the blink of an eye it appeared before my eyes.

Long Eying shook her head, brought the Third Prince back to the Marsh Kingdom, observed the cultivation of her own "corporeal shell," and with the lingering resonance of the Penglai Pilgrimage, "Six Heyi," strove to experience the process Liang Qu spoke of, of once comprehending the reaching of heaven and piercing of earth.

With his wife absent, half the fun was gone, and Liang Qu also busied himself with proper business, contending against the Nine Yi Mountains, the pressure not small.

He coaxed Wen Wen Shi Yun into striving to cultivate, then turned around and summoned Long Binglin.

"Shuimu Sect?" Long Binglin exclaimed in surprise.

"Not necessarily called that; in any case, a bandit force with quite a reputation in the Northwest, two matters."

Long Binglin lowered his head: "Lord Water commands!"

"Oh my, no need to be so serious, Eying is your younger sister, Yanrui always calls me brother-in-law, you calling me brother-in-law works too."

"Brother-in-law is at least half a generation older." Long Binglin said helplessly.

"Then just call me Elder, either works, anyway two matters: first, make contact with this force, ask them to hand over all the blood treasures they've plundered. Second, leak the matter of my duel with the Nine Yi Mountains, let the King of Chu find his own opportunity."

Long Binglin appeared thoughtful.

He had already heard of the Blood River Realm flowing in reverse, and combining that with the term "bandits" —

One can only say the Elder lives up to being an Elder, wherever he goes he can catch a toad and squeeze urine out of it.

"Brother-in-law, then what about me? What do I do?"

"Yanrui you just stay on the ship, protect your sister and Little Stone, the Marsh Kingdom can only coexist at the ritual boundary, can't bring things along, Eying needs to comprehend Six Heyi, although you're only First Realm, you can also find chances to observe more."

"Sect Master, this is the intelligence on the Nine Yi Mountains' Laozu, because of advanced age the information is relatively plentiful, said to be an Eighth Stage powerhouse, but this old thing hasn't dueled anyone in several hundred years, whether he has anything new is unclear, intelligence on Qiuye powerhouses is comparatively scarce."

"Scarce?" Liang Qu flipped through the booklet pages, "Sixth Realm powerhouses don't jump out of rocks, no news on Sixth Realm, what about when he was Fifth Realm?"

"There is Fifth Realm intel, it's just this guy doesn't make many moves, possibly because she's a woman, she's been in secluded cultivation at the Nine Yi Mountains all along, only known that her divine ability relates to obscuring the five senses."

"A woman?" Liang Qu was surprised.

"You didn't know?"

"How would I know, did you mention it?"

Shen Zhongliang was speechless: "Seems like I didn't."

"A female Sixth Realm, rare thing —"

Liang Qu stroked his chin.

It's not that female cultivators don't exist, the Martial Hall has quite a few female disciples, the Wangyue Tower also has many female Grandmasters, it's just that compared to men the proportion is indeed relatively fewer, especially reaching the Yao Dragon stage, extremely rare, including divine abilities — obscuring the five senses, basically never seen before.

An Eighth Stage undying old monster, a First Stage little girl, in order to awaken the Laozu Sect early, they don't even have their own Xuan weapons.

Index finger tapped the booklet page.

Can fight!

"Has the news already spread?"

"When the Nine Yi Mountains issued the challenge, Sect Master you weren't here, it dragged on for two months, many sects already know, just waiting to watch our joke!" Shen Zhongliang said helplessly.

"Two months' time, has a betting line developed?"

"Betting line? You mean, gambling?"

"Right."

Shen Zhongliang didn't know how the topic turned to this: "Underground there should be some, right?"

"You go ask the Nine Yi Mountains, whether they're willing to make a matched bet with us."

"Matched bet? Bet what?"

Liang Qu raised his index finger: "Very simple, if I win, the Nine Yi Mountains need to additionally give me one supreme-grade blood treasure, vice versa, if I lose, I likewise must give the Nine Yi Mountains one supreme-grade blood treasure! If you have the ability, pull other sects in to join the betting, however many come, I'll add that many, afterward at one share per supreme-grade blood treasure, I'll give you benefits."

Shen Zhongliang stared with wide eyes and gaping mouth, unable to believe such a bold move.

Afraid his losses aren't big enough?

"Sect Master, that's an Eighth Stage powerhouse! You right now —"

"What are you afraid of? You're not the Sect Master, if something happens you don't have to pay the debt."

"Sect Master, can't put it that way, you are the Heavens of the River God Sect, your business is the River God Sect's business, we share honor and disgrace together"

"Can you do it or not? If not I'll find someone else."

"Sect Master, this matter leave to me, you just watch!"

Shen Zhongliang took the order, scurried down the mountain, his inner thoughts complex, a tangled mess.

The Sect Master choosing this kind of fight-with-one's-back-to-the-water approach, for a moment one couldn't tell if it was because he fought his way up all along, becoming the fastest Second Rank Sect Master, then a Heaven Fire Sect Elder, that the Sect Master started becoming arrogant and complacent, unable to distinguish that even among powerhouses there are differences.

Or perhaps some internal factors he didn't know?

Shen Zhongliang's heart pounded wildly, surging with an excitement he himself hadn't noticed.

From Fourth Rank Sect Master to Second Rank Sect Deputy Master, Shen Zhongliang knew clearly he had picked up a bargain, in a normal sect how could they possibly absorb subordinate sects like this?

As River God Sect Deputy Master, especially with the Sect Master in seclusion, he held the real power in the sect first, these three years Shen Zhongliang could be said to have been in unlimited glory, even going to the Heaven Fire Sect he could receive a share of respect, almost forgetting the days of once facing Second Rank Sect envoys with apologetic smiles.

Until hearing the Nine Yi Mountains' Laozu Sect awakened, almost like a bolt of lightning striking down on his head, making Shen Zhongliang recall again the past of being berated and pressured for blood treasures by major powers.

However now, the Sect Master's reaction being so abnormal —

The Sect Master is too mysterious, before Sixth Realm, a complete blank, as if he simply didn't exist in this world, rapidly rising then immediately becoming a Heaven Fire Sect Elder —

Could it be, one versus two, really has hope?

"Damn it, anyway it's not me paying the debt, worst case the River God Sect disbands, we reestablish the Xuanming Sect, let's do it!"

Watching Shen Zhongliang depart, Liang Qu pinched the intelligence booklet pages, committing everything to memory.

One Eighth Stage, one First Stage, not as difficult as imagined, turning into a blood ape is absolutely not hard.

But the crux of the problem lies in.

Cannot transform.

The points to watch for in the Blood River Realm and the Human Realm are different.

The Blood River Realm consists entirely of souls; size and form are unrestricted — turning into anything is fine — so there are no scruples about transformations into humans, fish, or blood apes, whereas the Human Realm requires avoiding suspicion, even distinguishing between humans and monkeys, which has been Liang Qu's trump card all along.

Only one point.

That is, because it is the same person, one cannot display too great a disparity.

The blood ape closed up for two and a half years; its own realm change was truly a bit exaggerated — from low rank, it leaped past high rank in a single bound, reaching the tenth rank or even higher.

Of course, a second rank defeating an eighth rank is still profoundly heaven-defying, but what Liang Qu needs to avoid suspicion from is not those clamorous ordinary Yaolong, but the Heavenly Fire Sect further behind.

A born river spirit — slightly higher combat strength, slightly more outrageous — is perfectly normal.

No matter how high the combat strength, can it surpass a Furnace? Can it surpass a Position Fruit Authority?

But in the Blood River Realm, a place where cultivation is far slower than the Human Realm, two and a half years, crossing from the fifth realm horizontally to the sixth realm tenth rank — this realm change would make even Liang Qu mutter whether it is uncontrollable.

In terms of realm, Liang Qu falls short of the Jiuyi Mountain Laozu Sect, but he believes that compared to Genhai, who is bigger and who is smaller is truly uncertain — especially after the River Lord and Yinglong's favor boosted him, plus countless creation great medicines, his creation arts have all risen in tier.

The Dao — no good.

The art of protecting the Dao — very good!

This alone is already worth him gambling on a profit-maximizing play.

"If I lose there's no loss anyway; the Netherworld isn't my base, no ties no worries, worst case I just act the deadbeat————"

However, strategically despise the enemy, tactically value the enemy.

Seven days remaining; Liang Qu must put on a final layer of insurance.

The world's "hemorrhoid".

"Beep beep, venerable senior, I've come to see you again!"

"A supreme-grade blood treasure? Did that River God Sect Master really say so?" Bu Yi exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, Laozu Sect." Qiuye Great Power bowed, "The River God Sect Master is willing to stake one supreme-grade blood treasure and make an additional wager with us."

"This————"

——

Bu Yi's brows furrowed slightly; for a moment he could not fathom what the River God Sect Master intended.

Two against one.

The opponent is also a newly advanced sixth realm; however you look at it there is no chance of winning — sending up a blood treasure for nothing?

In the hundred-plus years I slumbered, has the world changed? Are supreme-grade blood treasures worthless, or has cultivation greatly advanced? Are same-realm cultivators' strengths far superior to the past?

No one told me.

"Laozu Sect, great opportunity — that River God Sect Master has addled his brain, daring to make such a wager? Free pickings, why not take them?

The Jiuyi Mountain Elder rejoiced greatly.

Seems nothing has changed.

Bu Yi thought to himself.

"Elder, cannot be too optimistic — knowing there is no chance of winning yet still proposing a stake, there must be a trick in it!" Jiuyi Mountain Sect Master Bu Qing admonished.

"What trick could there be?" the Elder shouted, "A monkey who advanced two and a half years ago, ignorant of the heights of heaven and earth — no matter how tricky, can it beat Laozu Sect?

In my view, it's just a feint! Wanting to use this move, deliberately bluffing us, making us think there's a trick, that he has strength, so we don't dare act rashly, giving him breathing room — in reality he's penniless, has nothing at all; the more so, the more we must act swiftly and decisively, not giving an inch, go up and blast him hard!

Delivered himself to our door — can't blame us; we'll chew him down bones and all."

"The River God Sect Master's origins are mysterious; before the sixth realm, there are almost no records of its deeds————"

"Hesitating and looking back and forth — what great deed can be accomplished?"

The two sides disputed for a long time, each sticking to their own view.

"Agree to him." Bu Yi spoke.

One hammer settles the sound; the dispute ceased.

Sect Master Bu Qing felt uneasy in his heart, yet did not feel he could defy Laozu Sect; he waved his hand: "Go invite Heavenly Fire Sect's core Elder Fei Taiyu to come to our Jiuyi Mountain to notarize!"

The Ghost Mother's hands intertwined; her iron-gray arms were like two green pythons.

The Yellow Shahe's turbid silt floated before the eyes again.

"Three times left."

Emerging from the Dragon King's Lair, Liang Qu weighed the remaining Embryo Pearl Pills; compared to the initial density, they were already sparse; he put them into his Qiankun Bag, then his golden eyes ignited, 【Strong Control】 a Yellow River Big Carp, burrowing into the waterway.

Logical deduction: Old Toad, Great Shun Furnace, Old Dragon Lord — after four layers of screening, none could discern the exact problem of Changqi and Tianmu Cloud; risk is already controllable, only left————

Peng Ze.

A sharp, violent scream pierced through Shou Mountain.

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