Chapter 655: First Slay the Old and Young Poison

He lightly tapped his right foot, and several strands of invisible true qi surged into the boat's hull; the small boat seemed as if fueled, instantly shooting out like an arrow from a bow, sending up circles of spray on the waves. Only Ye Qin could drive a small boat using true qi.

One kilometer, five hundred meters, one hundred meters……

The distance kept getting closer.

On the large ship, Ouyang Feng, dressed head to toe in white clothes and a white robe, suddenly came into view.

He was tall and broad-shouldered, his face brownish-yellow, with a full beard, high nose and deep-set eyes, looking heroic and vigorous. His eyes were like knives and swords, extremely sharp, living up to his reputation as the Western Poison.

"Ke'er, you previously said there was a person named Ye Qin within the Song realm of Central China; is he formidable?" Lao Duwu's voice rang out metallic and powerful, like metal. He still remembered Ouyang Ke telling him after returning to White Camel Mountain Manor that he had encountered a strong youngster in the Great Song of Central China.

Ouyang Ke blinked slightly, unable to help recalling that guy who didn't take him seriously, and said in a low voice: "Uncle, he's called Ye Qin, a Director of the Imperial City Office of the Great Song, reportedly trusted by the emperor."

Moreover, his martial arts are extremely high, and his talent in the martial way is astonishing. In the previous capital massacre, he had a hand, and it is said that the Buddha's relic that Wanyan Honglie painstakingly obtained was also taken by him.

Later he seemingly reached some agreement with the Shaolin Temple, and on the way back to Lin'an Prefecture he killed Wanyan Hongyi. It is said he even learned the Golden Crow True Law of the Three Yang Patriarch of the Pure Yang Daoist Observatory.

In short, this person is terrifying and troublesome!"

After returning to White Camel Mountain Manor, he never stopped inquiring about Ye Qin's news, so he knew more details.

But whenever this person was mentioned, he couldn't help feeling shocked and terrified, with a sense of trembling even without fighting. He thought that even if he mastered his uncle's self-created Toad Technique, he could never defeat this person; the gap was simply too great.

"Oh?"

Lao Duwu raised his eyebrows, gave a cold chuckle, and said, "If that's the case, then after Uncle settles your marriage, I'll go meet that kid and, by the way, take care of him for you, so you won't have to worry all day."

Xiao Duwu is not only his nephew but also his son.

But compared to Yang Kang, Ouyang Ke is much worse. Yang Kang at least knew who his father was after eighteen years; he still doesn't know to this day.

"Uncle, really?"

Ouyang Ke's eyes lit up, his face full of joy: "If Uncle lends a hand, that would be great. I'm sure even if Ye Qin is formidable, he can't withstand your Toad Technique."

"That's natural, Ke'er, just wait and see. I can only blame that kid's bad luck; this time Uncle will surely capture him, cripple his martial arts, and leave him to you to deal with!" Ouyang Feng burst out laughing.

At that moment, a sudden voice rang out: "Who says whose luck is bad? It's still hard to say."

Suddenly, a voice sounded, making Lao Duwu and Xiao Duwu startle. They turned their heads and saw a man in a white brocade robe appear at the bow, calmly looking at Ouyang Feng and Ouyang Ke uncle and nephew.

This man was none other than Ye Qin, who had arrived in a small boat.

"If we're talking about bad luck, it should be you—running into me in this vast sea is quite a coincidence." Ye Qin's eyes turned slightly cold, and he spoke with a hint of sarcasm.

Lao Duwu frowned, his guard up, and immediately asked, "Who exactly are you? Why are you here?"

You should know, this is out at sea, and moreover on their large ship.

Beside him, Ouyang Ke saw Ye Qin, his face instantly turning deathly pale, and he muttered in disbelief: "How is it possible… how did you also come out to sea?"

He had clearly heard that Ye Qin was in seclusion cultivating at Lin'an Prefecture!

Ye Qin outwardly claimed he was in seclusion at Lin'an Prefecture, and what Ouyang Ke heard naturally was just that smokescreen.

"Ouyang young master, long time no see—I didn't expect you to hate me this much." Hearing Ouyang Ke's words, Ye Qin also felt a bit gloomy; he truly didn't remember having any deadly grudge with Xiao Duwu, so why does this guy hate him so?

He thought about it for a long time but still couldn't figure it out.

Ouyang Ke's mouth twitched, and he silently cursed: "Why do I hate you? Don't you have any idea?"

However, before he could speak, Ouyang Feng beside him coldly asked: "Are you the Ye Qin that Ke'er spoke of?"

He noticed that only when Ye Qin was mentioned did his disappointing nephew show a look of fright, as if he had once encountered some terrible shadow.

"Western Poison lives up to his name—back at the Mount Hua sword contest you both broke through to the Innate Realm. After all these years, I don't know if your realm has advanced." Ye Qin said coldly to Ouyang Feng.

He wasn't afraid of Lao Duwu either; both were in the Innate Realm, so who fears whom?

Ouyang Feng's metallic voice suddenly rang out, sending a chill through anyone: "I had planned to wait until Ke'er's marriage was settled before coming to deal with you, but I didn't expect you to deliver yourself to my door—so don't blame me for being impolite."

Hearing the two words "marriage," Ye Qin secretly muttered to himself, "As expected, Lao Duwu intends to go to Peach Blossom Island to propose a match for Xiao Duwu."

"Ouyang Feng, haven't you noticed I've already reached the Innate Realm?" Ye Qin glanced at the contemptuous Lao Duwu and said mockingly, "Now it's not me who's doomed—it's you uncle and nephew."

Lao Duwu is still a notable figure, but Xiao Duwu is nothing at all.

A flash of killing intent crossed Ye Qin's fierce gaze as it fell on Xiao Duwu Ouyang Ke; even a fool could see what he meant, let alone the Western Poison Ouyang Feng.

At this moment Lao Duwu had not yet gone mad; his waxen yellow old face suddenly turned ferocious, and a bamboo flute silently appeared in his hand.

Before Ye Qin could act, he promptly blew the bamboo flute, summoning the poisonous snakes, scorpions, and other venomous creatures on the ship to attack Ye Qin.

Ye Qin, who had been prepared, coldly snorted: "Indeed poisonous enough; these must be rare venomous creatures, and the fact that you've painstakingly cultivated them to this state means their power is nothing to sneeze at."

He glanced casually at Ouyang Feng, who was expressionlessly blowing the bamboo flute, while Ouyang Ke beside him was frightened stiff.

Just then, Ye Qin's voice still echoed in their ears, but his figure had already vanished.

The terrified Ouyang Ke suddenly noticed Ye Qin's disappearance; just as he was about to shout, he felt a sweetness in his throat, his eyes bulged, the whites rolled up, and his body began to twitch.

"I…"

Although he was at the late stage of postnatal cultivation level, facing an Innate Realm martial artist he couldn't even block a single move, let alone Ouyang Ke, who had no trump cards.

Pfft! Ouyang Ke clutched his neck tightly, but that blood line was like a wound that wouldn't close, blood spurting out uncontrollably. He spasmed, unable to utter a word, and finally fell silent.

All this happened in the blink of an eye; the speed was such that even Ouyang Feng didn't have time to react. His nephew-cum-son thus had his throat slit by Ye Qin.

Lao Duwu originally planned to kill Ye Qin with poisonous creatures, but he never imagined that Ye Qin would actually dare, right before his eyes, to kill his nephew Ouyang Ke and give him no chance to remedy.

His neck is already broken—how could he remedy it?

"Kid, you dare kill my Ke'er?" Ouyang Feng roared in fury, his waxen yellow face twisting into a ferocious expression, "I'll take your life!"

Before his words even faded, he lunged at Ye Qin, hands curled into claws, strands of true qi coiling around his fingers, he stomped his foot, and a tremendous power surged out wildly.

Clang!

Ye Qin drew the long sword at his waist and thrust forward with a cold face.

One strike happened to land on the white robe in front of Ouyang Feng, but he swept his large hand forward, his hands moving as if turning the Dao of Taiji, actually deflecting Ye Qin's long sword.

At this moment, the corner of Ye Qin's mouth curled with a hint of coldness, revealing a trace of chill: "Sword Intent Descends!"

He unhesitatingly imbued his sword technique with sword intent, alternating the first and second moves in a strange way, slashing toward Ouyang Feng's neck.

The old poisonous creature's body retreated slightly, yet it lay on the ground like a humanoid toad, hands braced on the ground, feet pushing off, a powerful force began to gather. The Toad Skill requires great strength to unleash, but once it erupts, its power is also extremely great.

!

"I will kill you to avenge Ke'er!" Lao Duwu's eyes were filled with cold intent, his killing aura fierce as he said.

Ye Qin ultimately still killed his nephew; this grudge of killing his son he cannot but avenge.

Now he, furious and flustered, only thinks of revenge; Ye Qin's sword intent makes him feel an immense threat, even causing a chill to rise from his bones.

"Give up, you have no chance." Ye Qin gazed at him coldly, leaping and flashing a few times in the void. With Ouyang Feng as the center, four figures suddenly appeared around them, likewise thrusting four swords just like Ye Qin.

Lao Duwu's Toad Technique also erupted, he said coldly: "Go die!"

Ye Qin, with a stern face, seized the opportunity to backhand slash, shouting sternly: "Even if you have the Toad Technique, you cannot block my methods."

Pfft!

A strange counter-sword move swiftly sliced Ouyang Feng's throat.

Guh!

Lao Duwu stared wide-eyed, lying on the deck dead with eyes unclosed, his body still twitching with the characteristics of life, unwilling to die. Yet in the end, this generation's Lao Duwu still perished just like that.

Even an Innate Realm expert ultimately cannot escape death.

"Lao Duwu, Lao Duwu, if you hadn't brought Ouyang Ke to Peach Blossom Island to propose, maybe I wouldn't have killed you. It's just that you're too unlucky, kind of a pity." Ye Qin sighed silently.

An Innate Realm expert just died like that—how could it not be a pity?

After clearing the poisonous creatures on the ship once over, Ye Qin discovered they could still be eaten as meat, which was perfect since he still had to stay on the ship for a few days.

After three days, he finally reached Peach Blossom Island, but as soon as he stepped ashore Ye Qin was stunned.

On Peach Blossom Island.

Ye Qin gazed at the lush island before him, peach trees two or three meters tall covering the whole island, he couldn't help but be stunned, "Where is the path into the island?"

He looked around, carefully searching for a full quarter of an hour, yet found no path onto the island, as if the road simply did not exist.

"Impossible there isn't one, otherwise how would Old Huang and Rong'er usually come and go?" He secretly shook his head, slapped his forehead, and suddenly realized, "Right, there's a great formation on Peach Blossom Island, set up by Old Huang based on the Eight Trigrams Formation; I can't find the path, it must be because of this formation."

No path, then it must be concealed by the formation. This Eight Trigrams method passed down since ancient times, Ye Qin may not be proficient in it, but he has certainly heard of the power of the Eight Trigrams Formation.

"I really don't know where Old Huang gets the energy to fuss with these things." Formations like this require a great deal of energy to study; otherwise they're absolutely harder than learning martial arts.

Looking far and wide, peach trees cover the mountains and fields, the blooming peach blossoms dye the landscape pink. A breeze blows, and the fragrance of peach blossoms assails the nose.

Ye Qin couldn't help but admire Old Huang's planting and cultivation methods; ordinary people absolutely lack this skill.

"If we calculate at a hundred or so trees per day, how many years must Old Huang have spent planting?" This question, only Huang Yaoshi himself could probably answer. Ye Qin lifted his head, gazing at the vast expanse of peach blossom trees, feeling a bit dazed, wondering how to proceed.

As the saying goes, there were originally no paths in the world; they become paths because people walk them.

But amidst this dense peach blossom forest, no matter how he walks it seems hard to discern direction. Even with a homemade compass, he would likely struggle to get out, not to mention how many wrong turns he'd have to make.

He secretly sighed, feeling both amused and exasperated, "If I loudly call for Old Huang, he'll surely notice my whereabouts. Perhaps he's pretending not to know just to watch me make a fool of myself. Rong'er probably doesn't understand this Eight Trigrams Formation's lost art either."

Now this is troublesome; he originally wanted to give Huang Rong a surprise, but instead Old Huang gave him a "surprise".

Peach blossoms cover the ground; birds flying into the forest have no trace—who knows if those birds are also lost?

Once the great formation is activated, even an Innate Realm expert will get lost inside; unless Old Huang personally comes to lead the way, no one knows the ins and outs of it.

Suddenly, a glint of insight flashed in Ye Qin's eyes; he thought of a plan: "I am now also an Innate Realm expert, I've dealt with Lao Duwu and Xiao Duwu, so there should be little danger on this island. I can completely use lightness skill to fly straight in; with my homemade simple compass, getting close to the island's center shouldn't be difficult."

Once this genius-like idea sprang up, it became unstoppable: "If there's no danger, then even if my True Qi is exhausted it's fine; anyway, Old Huang couldn't possibly really kill me."

Even if Old Huang looks unfavorably upon him, he wouldn't cut him down in a fit of anger; otherwise Huang Rong would likely never associate with Old Huang for the rest of her life. Ye Qin estimated that Old Huang had already figured this out while in Lin'an Prefecture, which is why he didn't act against him.

No need to worry about exhausting his True Qi; moreover, he is again an Innate Realm cultivator, his True Qi exceeds that of ordinary martial artists, so consumption over a short time is not an issue.

"But if I break Old Huang's Eight Trigrams Formation like this, wouldn't he become annoyed and embarrassed?" After all, it's relying on a clever trick; if Old Huang feels slapped in the face, wouldn't he come to settle scores?

Although his life is safe, it's highly likely Old Huang will target him, and even small maneuvers wouldn't be good.

"Forget it, if I can't get in, wouldn't that just fulfill his wish? But I still have to go in!" Finally, he decided to employ lightness skill, treetop by treetop, moving forward.

He leapt, his body performing a kestrel flip in mid‑air, gathering a breath of True Qi, and began to fly in the air. (End of chapter)