Chapter 292: Demonic Shadows Surge

Lei Yuanzong's Crossing-Abyss Dharma Boat shot through the sky at tremendous speed.

The elder responsible for escorting this cargo was Shen Hezhou, a late-stage Foundation Establishment elder of Lei Yuanzong.

Shen Hezhou sported a bald head, his eyes revealing a sharp shrewdness; clad in a blue-and-gold dharma robe, his figure was somewhat stout.

This assignment he held was the most lucrative post within Lei Yuanzong; simply stuffing a few extra items or people onto the boat allowed him to reap enormous profits.

Thus, even if offered the position of Sect Master, he would not trade places.

Moreover, aboard the entire vessel, his word was absolute law; wielding immense authority, tyrannizing at will, he lived in utter comfort.

While Lei Yuanzong's dharma boat sailed within Wei State's borders, absolutely no one dared harbor ill intentions toward it.

Shen Hezhou had held this position for decades, unshakable as a rock.

"Elder Shen!"

"Greetings, Elder Shen!"

The disciples under Lei Yuanzong, upon seeing Shen Hezhou, all bowed to him with utmost reverence.

Under the gaze of the crowd, Shen Hezhou strolled out of the cabin with an air of serene confidence, heading toward the upper pavilion.

"Fellow Daoist, who resides in that upper pavilion?"

"Why is Elder Shen... so concerned about that place?" Inside the cabin, a gaunt middle-aged man asked a Lei Yuanzong disciple on duty.

"This... we do not know either; we dare not casually inquire into the Elder's affairs."

"..."

A moment later.

Shen Hezhou arrived outside the luxurious suite on the upper pavilion, cleared his throat, and spoke cautiously:

"True Person Qin, in three days the dharma boat will reach Yunze Dahuang."

"Next, we must pass through a barrier of miasma; there will be some turbulence then, so I am informing you in advance."

"Mm, understood; attend to your duties."

From within the room, Qin Ming's faint voice drifted out.

"Yes! True Person Qin, should you require anything, simply summon me at any time!"

Having spoken, Shen Hezhou bowed respectfully toward the interior of the room, then withdrew lightly and quietly.

Qin Ming slowly opened his pitch-black eyes. "Over a month has passed; are we finally arriving?"

Just as he prepared to walk to the window to get some fresh air—

Boom—boom—boom! Lei Yuanzong's thousand-zhang Crossing-Abyss Dharma Boat suddenly shook violently several times, as if it had collided with some colossal entity, and came to an abrupt halt.

Qin Ming immediately released his divine sense to sweep the area.

He saw that within the foggy miasma so thick one could not see one's own hand, three huge black dharma warships had formed a triangular formation, surrounding Lei Yuanzong's Crossing-Abyss Dharma Boat.

Upon seeing this, the Lei Yuanzong cultivators guarding the ship immediately activated their magic power shields and rushed onto the deck, where they witnessed dozens of pitch-black chains shooting from the three black ships toward the Crossing-Abyss Dharma Boat.

The protective formation was activated; a blue curtain of light rose around Lei Yuanzong's Crossing-Abyss Dharma Boat, forming a spherical blue barrier.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The pitch-black chains struck the dharma boat's formation, sending up showers of sparks and electric arcs.

Immediately after.

Lei Yuanzong's Crossing-Abyss Dharma Boat began to shake violently.

Fortunately, however, the pitch-black chains failed to breach the defense.

"Enemy attack!!"

In an instant, alarm bells rang throughout the dharma boat; no one could have imagined that anyone would actually dare target a Lei Yuanzong dharma boat.

As the presiding elder of Lei Yuanzong, Shen Hezhou flew out accompanied by four or five Foundation Establishment cultivators, his expression grave.

The moment he arrived outside, a streak of blood-colored light slashed across the sky and struck the Crossing-Abyss Dharma Boat's protective shield.

In that instant, the impregnable defensive shield seemed to ignite, and a huge hole was torn through it immediately.

"A top-grade second-tier Formation-Breaking Talisman!"

Shen Hezhou was both shocked and furious; his face grew so gloomy it seemed ready to drip water.

"Hahaha! We have finally caught the big fish from Lei Yuanzong!"

A flash of black light appeared on the opposite side, and five figures brimming with robust magic power materialized on the enemy ship's prow; all were Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators.

Among them, the three leaders had even reached the peak of Foundation Establishment.

"Yin Rong of the Yuan Demon Sect!"

"The Blood Fiend Old Monster of the Ten Thousand Souls Valley!"

"The Ghost Fire Hermit of the Baihuo Sect!"

Shen Hezhou recognized the opponents instantly, and his complexion changed drastically.

"How could you possibly know our sect's dharma boat route?"

"No! There must be a traitor on the ship!"

At this moment, Shen Hezhou needed no thought to understand what was happening.

The opposite side had clearly come prepared, fielding no fewer than three great cultivators at the peak of Foundation Establishment.

At this very moment, Lei Yuanzong's dharma boat had its defensive shield breached again; the situation was extremely unfavorable for them.

Yet when Shen Hezhou thought of that existence aboard his ship, his heart steadied somewhat.

That sinister-faced man named Yin Rong gave Lei Yuanzong no time to react.

A Ghost Net Banner appeared in his hand, sweeping horizontally toward Lei Yuanzong's dharma boat.

Instantly, countless ghosts wailed forth, exuding a fierce and deadly aura as they pounced upon everyone aboard the ship.

Shen Hezhou hastily formed hand seals and summoned a crimson spiritual sword to confront the enemy.

But the gap in cultivation stood undeniable, and furthermore, two peak Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators lurked nearby, watching like tigers eyeing their prey.

Soon, under the tearing bites and attacks of the yin spirits, he could no longer hold out.

"Qin Qianbei! Save me!"

In his desperation, Shen Hezhou could no longer care about face; he simply raised his voice and shouted loudly.

"Hehehe! Surnamed Shen, shouting until your throat breaks is useless now."

"Die!"

Yin Rong of the Yuan Demon Sect formed a hand seal, and a second-stage late-phase ghost creature flew out, transforming into a huge white skull that smashed viciously toward Shen Hezhou. The other several Foundation Establishment cultivators escorting the ship for Lei Yuanzong were also locked in battle with several other demonic cultivators.

"Brothers! Capture the Lei Yuanzong dharma ship, and we'll be rich!"

On the Lei Yuanzong side, they were beaten back step by step; hundreds upon hundreds of cultivators climbed over along the pitch-black chains.

"Hahaha! My ghost creature happens to lack a Foundation Establishment late-phase soul!"

Just as Yin Rong of the Yuan Demon Sect, with his withered double claws, was about to take the head atop Shen Hezhou's shoulders—

Boom! Suddenly! His pupils contracted sharply! Then his entire breath choked off, as if an invisible giant hand had strangled his throat, rendering him unable to make any sound whatsoever.

"Kekeke!"

"Eeeeh..."

Bang! In the next moment, Yin Rong's entire face revealed a look of terror.

In the void, an invisible giant hand suddenly clenched with force.

Yin Rong's entire body instantly exploded into a mist of blood.

Subsequently, several black vines abruptly crawled out, absorbing all this blood qi entirely, transforming into a single blood bead.

The Blood Fiend Old Monster of the Ten Thousand Souls Valley and the Ghost Fire Young Scatterer of the Baihuo Sect saw this scene and cried out in shock, shrieking strangely: "Divine sense manifesting form!"

"The situation has changed! Retreat quickly! There is a Jin Dan old ancestor on the ship!"

But when they tried to flee, it was clearly too late; countless black vines appeared from the void.

As if growing wildly in the air, they entangled the two men.

Panic filled the eyes of the Blood Fiend Old Monster; he hastily took out a second-grade top-grade fire talisman and blasted it at the black vines.

But to his despair, the black vines were impervious to water and fire; not even a ripple could be raised.

Gradually, the screams of the few grew quieter and quieter; in merely an instant, just like Yin Rong, they turned into blood beads.

However, the Blood Fiend Old Monster was stunned; he did not understand why he had not died immediately. Gazing at the gruesome fate of the others beside him, his heart was filled with terror.

Where had the myriad demonic cultivators ever seen such eerie and horrifying methods? They all scrambled to flee.

But just then, a mass of black clouds gathered in the sky, actually beginning to pour down a cold rain, chillingly icy to the bone.

"Ah!"

As the yin-fiend cold rain descended, those low-ranking demonic cultivators fell in groups like cut wheat stalks, entangled by black vines, sucked dry into mummies, and transformed into blood beads one by one.

Shen Hezhou and the others had just escaped death; before they could catch their breath, witnessing this bizarre scene made their scalps go numb.

Subsequently, space distorted, and Qin Ming's figure emerged.

A spiritual pressure like a mountain range descended; only then did the demonic cultivators on the dharma ship come to their senses, all forced to their knees by the intimidation, utterly powerless to resist.

With an expressionless face, Qin Ming walked before the Blood Fiend Old Monster of the Ten Thousand Souls Valley and began to employ the soul-searching technique.

"Se-senior, spare my life!"

"No! Aaaah!"

"."

After the Blood Fiend Old Monster's agonizing shrieks of pain that made him wish for death, Qin Ming's brows furrowed slightly.

Subsequently, his divine sense unfolded, instantly covering the entire dharma ship.

Five or six passengers from the Lei Yuanzong Crossing-Abyss Dharma Ship were grabbed out by Qin Ming using his divine sense and thrown onto the deck.

Among them was a lean middle-aged cultivator.

Gazing at these people before him, Shen Hezhou instantly understood what had happened.

Only his face turned deathly pale, and his heart instantly plummeted to the bottom.

Because these few cultivators were the ones who had bought cabin tickets from him and were secretly smuggled aboard.

"Thank you, Qin Qianbei, for the grace of saving our lives!" The other several elders of Lei Yuanzong first expressed their profound gratitude to Qin Ming.

The cultivators on the Lei Yuanzong ship had all witnessed True Person Qin's earth-shaking and sky-piercing methods; they were all immersed in deep shock and awe.

Once a Jin Dan True Person acted, the situation was almost one of total suppression.

Subsequently, the other several elders of Lei Yuanzong, faces filled with rage, questioned Shen Hezhou:

"Elder Shen, explain yourself; what exactly is going on?!"

"Neglect of duty! You nearly ruined everything!"

"If not for Qin Qianbei, today we would all have perished at the hands of the demonic path!"

"After arriving at the stationed ground, this old man will definitely report to the sect!"

The other several ship-protecting elders of Lei Yuanzong also detected something suspicious and treated him without any courtesy.

Shen Hezhou was rebutted into speechlessness, filled with endless regret.

Inside the room.

Qin Ming stored the blood bead into his storage bag.

Just moments ago, from that Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator of the Ten Thousand Souls Valley, he had obtained some intelligence information.

First, the Jin Kingdom had secretly been controlled by the demonic path and was infiltrating the other three kingdoms.

Second, the Modaoliu Sect seemed to be planning some major move, preparing to target the three kingdoms and several great immortal cities.

"The Modaoliu Sect failed to drive the tiger to swallow the wolf; it seems they are about to enter the fray personally."

Three days later.

Yunze Dahuang.

Lei Yuanzong's dharma boat arrived smoothly within a bustling immortal city.

This immortal city was the "Yunze Xiancheng" that the Lingyu Sect and Jinyun Valley had originally planned to build together.

These two great sects of the Wei State failed at the last moment in their final battle and vanished completely into the river of history; now, their efforts had simply benefited Lei Yuanzong for nothing.

Qin Ming had no interest in managing Lei Yuanzong's affairs; after saying a few words to Shen Hezhou and the others,

he headed straight toward that third-tier spiritual vein.

(End of Chapter)