Chapter 26

In the breeze, the lake waves were rippling, and the red clothes drifted and flew, as clear and refined as a painting. Ye Xuanshang had not spoken, but at this moment, his gaze suddenly moved, looking at the bottomless lake surface not far away.

"Not good!" Just as she thought of something, the girl let out a strange, low whistle. The originally calm lake surface suddenly produced a huge whirlpool, and the giant waves in the center of the lake surged in all directions. Amidst the girl's crisp, silver-bell-like laughter, a giant snake, so huge it was unimaginable, suddenly appeared, carrying a water column more than a zhang high!

The waves rolled, the wind was urgent, and the sunlight seemed to dim suddenly. Before they could see everything clearly, the giant snake had already soared into the sky, rushing toward the island where the two were standing amidst the rain-like flying waves!

How fast were Zi Rao and Ye Xuanshang's reactions? When the strange change occurred, they had already retreated together, piercing through the sky of waves and rain. The giant snake fell with great momentum, crashing heavily into the place where they had originally stood. A piece of mountain rock several people high was swept by it, immediately falling apart and splashing. The entire island was only an acre in size, and after suffering such a heavy blow, nearly half of it was razed to the ground.

After one strike, the giant snake took advantage of the momentum to swim and wander. Under the sunlight, its whole body looked as if it were covered in silver armor, and its tail was half-hidden in the lake. Its giant head, as large as a cart wheel, was raised high, with strange red horns like a dragon on it, and its eyes were as red as electricity. The girl in red clothes was eye-catching, standing proudly on the snake's head, clapping her hands triumphantly and shouting: "Haha! Didn't you want to find Zhu Jiuyin? Now I have summoned it for you. How is it? Are you satisfied? Do you want to come again?"

Zi Rao and Ye Xuanshang took a few leaps and landed on the edge of the lake island not far from the peach forest, barely avoiding the fatal blow. The girl had walked across the water earlier, but it turned out that her light-body technique was not that high; rather, she had quietly summoned the giant snake in the water to catch them off guard. This person and snake cooperated with each other, making them even harder to deal with than the Li Cranes. Ye Xuanshang's brows tightened slightly, and he suddenly whispered to Zi Rao: "Entangle her."

Zi Rao was stunned. Seeing him turn sideways and point to several vital points on his chest, she immediately understood that he was going to use the acupoint-sealing method to forcibly suppress his injuries. Knowing that doing so would greatly damage his True Essence, she could not stop him, so she stepped forward and laughed loudly: "Wonderful songs snatch the heart and soul, spiritual methods tame strange creatures. Such a superb Soul-Absorbing Heart-Stealing Art must have come from the sect of Qiaoku Daozhang of Ju Mountain. The Great Qimen Nine Palaces Array on the lake is ten to nine likely passed down by Zhong Yanzi. I just don't know which of them you are a high disciple of?"

The girl was still brooding over the fact that her array had been broken. Her apricot eyes widened, and she shouted: "What business is it of yours who my master is?"

Zi Rao was not angry and said unhurriedly: "Since you don't want to say, I might as well guess. I know Zhong Yanzi has two disciples: one is the famous Shao Yuan Jun of the Chu State, and the other is the Princess of the Jiuyi Tribe who likes to wear snow-white battle robes. You are obviously neither. Then your master must be Qiaoku Daozhang, right?"

The girl was somewhat displeased that her sect had been guessed, but then her pretty eyes turned, "Hmph, so what if it is? It doesn't matter if you know. You took advantage of the situation to break my uncle's array, which doesn't count as real ability. If you have real ability, fight with my Bailong'er!"

Zi Rao smiled and looked around at the beautiful lake scenery, saying: "Girl, you are wrong. Any strange gate technique corresponds to celestial phenomena above and the eight directions below. Heaven and earth intersect, and life and death rotate. Any array has flaws to be found. You say I took advantage to enter the array, it seems you are not convinced in your heart. Do you think I couldn't break this Great Qimen Nine Palaces Array with real ability?" As she spoke, her slender fingers pointed to the center of the lake, "The array board in this lake, You and Mao clash, gold is empty and wood is humiliated, corresponding to Gou Chen in the west and Six Harmonies in the east. According to the evolution law of the Great Qimen Nine Palaces Array, at the second quarter of the Chen hour, the Open Gate is triggered, and the Auxiliary and Bird stars are both auspicious." Her fingertips tilted slightly toward the west, "At the third quarter of the Chen hour, the array center reverses, and the dead ground turns into a life gate." She flicked her sleeves and pointed her fingertips toward the due west, "Once the Si hour arrives, the Heavenly Board is Yi Qi, the Central Board is the Rest Gate, and the Divine Board is Six Xin in the Gen Eight Palace. Once the Tiger Escape momentum is formed, entering and exiting the array from then on will be as easy as turning over one's hand. What do you think, girl?"

The girl was stunned, thinking that according to the method taught by her uncle, this statement was not wrong at all. Zi Rao used this to delay time. After just a moment, she saw that Ye Xuanshang's originally pale face was no different from an ordinary person, and he even looked more spirited. Hearing her conversation with the girl, he seemed to have thought of something, a distinct strangeness flashed in his eyes, and then he whispered in her ear: "Lure them ashore."

Zi Rao naturally understood his meaning. Her thoughts turned, and she smiled charmingly: "Little girl, it seems your cultivation is still far from enough. Why don't I give you some guidance? Actually, you only need to turn the Heavenly Board to Bing Qi and assist the Earthly Board with Six Geng. The Great Qimen Nine Palaces Array forms a Heavenly Net of Four Directions. It would be easy to trap us, so why make such a fuss? But I see that even if you learn the array, it's useless. You know the fate of those two strange birds. Since you have summoned this Zhu Jiuyin, why not just obediently take the snake gall and offer it up to save everyone the trouble."

Sure enough, the girl's pretty face turned red and white with anger in an instant, and she shouted: "I was just about to settle the account with you for the cranes, this is you seeking your own death!" In her great anger, she whistled urgently. The Zhu Jiuyin opened its giant mouth, suddenly shrank back, and rushed toward the shore with the surging giant waves in the lake!

Zi Rao and Ye Xuanshang were well prepared and retreated again, but they threw themselves in different directions in mid-air. Zi Rao drifted toward the gorgeous peach forest, while Ye Xuanshang rushed rapidly toward a small mountain in the center of the island.

The girl in crimson clothes gave orders one after another. Although the Zhu Jiuyin was huge, it was extremely flexible. Its giant tail swept wildly, and the large peach forest was destroyed as if it were rotten wood. Zi Rao pushed her internal True Essence to the limit, avoiding the heavy blow at the last moment, and suddenly escaped from a flurry of residual flowers and flying red. Even though she was in time, the hard scales on the snake's body still scraped her skin, and she was nearly rolled back by the violent gale, breaking into a cold sweat.

As soon as Ye Xuanshang landed on the mountain rock, he secretly called out "not good." He had originally planned to lure the Zhu Jiuyin here to use the mountain terrain and forest to limit the actions of this behemoth, but only after getting close did he realize that this could not be called a mountain at all. Although the entire lake island looked lush with trees everywhere, it was only a few acres in size. The island was in the center of the lake, surrounded by water on all sides, and could be crossed in one leap. The lake before him was as vast as the sea, and such small islands were scattered like stars, countless. The nearest island with real mountains was two or three miles away.

Suddenly entering a dangerous situation, Ye Xuanshang's sword brows tightened, but his spirit suddenly climbed to an unprecedented peak! The fishy wind reached his body from behind, and the martial Dao he had cultivated bitterly since childhood flashed through his mind like lightning, followed by a piece of pure emptiness.

Turning around, soaring into the sky, the Guili Sword in hand, True Essence flowing abundantly, a sword move turned into a long bolt of lightning striking down from the nine heavens, rushing head-on toward the fierce opponent!

The momentum was like a crane, fierce as thunder! The sword Qi surged like a tide!

Thousands of sword shadows in mid-air, as if a giant white crane was proudly spreading its wings, nearly covering the sky and sun. Crane and snake are natural enemies, their forms mutually restraining. Amidst the clear whistling, the Zhu Jiuyin let out a strange hiss like a surging tide, and blood splashed from its giant mouth!

Ye Xuanshang almost crossed out from the snake's mouth and landed under the mountain. Before he could catch his breath, the Zhu Jiuyin, mad with anger, turned around and pounced with a hurricane! The Guili Sword swept out, but unexpectedly hit the snake's body, making a sound of gold and iron clashing. The Zhu Jiuyin was a thousand-year-old spiritual creature, and its scales were harder than refined steel, making it difficult for blades and spears to enter. Ye Xuanshang was shocked and retreated rapidly by borrowing the rebound force of the sword body. Even so, he was still shaken by that huge force, his whole body's blood and Qi surged, and several vital points on his chest felt sharp pain simultaneously. The internal injuries he had forcibly suppressed were on the verge of erupting.

He landed right beside Zi Rao. Before the two could speak, they dodged the Zhu Jiuyin's attack again in a sorry state.

"How dare you hurt my Bailong'er!" Since the girl in crimson clothes had raised the Zhu Jiuyin, when had she ever suffered such a big loss? She immediately pushed her spiritual arts to the limit, commanding the Zhu Jiuyin to display its divine power. Two dark shadows drifted and flashed in front, while the red clothes pursued relentlessly from behind. The three and the snake chased and fought around the mountain, causing rocks to break and the ground to crack on the island, trees to fall and stones to collapse, truly harming the birds and beasts that originally lived here. The Zhu Jiuyin was infinitely powerful, and everything it passed was razed to the ground. Such an indiscriminate attack forced Zi Rao and Ye Xuanshang to dodge, with no power to fight back.

Just as they were locked in a stalemate, a strange, low whistle suddenly sounded on the island. Before the whistle fell, a tiny white shadow flashed past the Zhu Jiuyin's eyes like lightning, turned sharply in mid-air, and suddenly fell toward the snake's head.

The Zhu Jiuyin was suddenly startled and retreated rapidly. The girl in crimson clothes was caught off guard and nearly fell off the snake's head, hurriedly scolding repeatedly. The white shadow disappeared in a flash. The Zhu Jiuyin retreated a distance, its body coiled into a small mountain-like mass, its giant head raised high, its eyes stern, staring at a rock not far away.

"Eh?" The girl in crimson clothes looked from afar and saw only a small beast squatting on the rock, with snow-colored fur and golden pupils, a sable body and fox tail, looking majestic and spirited, but it was only the size of a palm, a world of difference compared to the Zhu Jiuyin. But it was this small beast that seemed to make the Zhu Jiuyin quite wary. It swayed and circled, its remaining half of the red tongue flicking repeatedly, but it dared not attack rashly.

"Xuezhan!" Hearing Zi Rao's call, the small beast glanced obliquely at the Zhu Jiuyin, turned around, and darted into her arms, then jumped up and squatted on her shoulder.

The girl in crimson clothes was extremely surprised, her pretty eyes flashing as she kept sizing up Xuezhan, both curious and dissatisfied. She turned to make a low sound to urge, and the Zhu Jiuyin's eyes revealed a fierce light, beginning to walk slowly around Zi Rao and Ye Xuanshang. Xuezhan squatted on Zi Rao's shoulder, low hisses hidden in its throat, staring fixedly at the huge opponent in front.

(End of chapter)