Chapter 499: with translation of chapter title

"Uh."

As Xuan Ling's words fell, a sword flashing with golden light sprang from the neck of a servant who hadn't yet reacted; the blade, blood spraying, kicked the corpse toward a nearby sea‑clan cultivator, then, carried by its momentum, slashed toward another sea‑clan cultivator who had heard the commotion.

The newcomer was Yunhe. When Qi Hun activated the mechanism with Li Ling, he had already decided that concealment was futile, so he chose preemptive strike. Thus, while the sea‑clan cultivators were still shocked by the shattered throne and the missing three‑pronged divine trident, Yunhe, hidden behind a stone pillar, was surrounded by violet arcs, the void energy swirling, and in an instant appeared behind a sea‑clan cultivator, thrusting a sword into the throat! "Enemy attack!"

That sea‑soul cultivator kept spitting blood from his throat, his mouth slightly open but unable to utter a word; his bulging, blood‑veined eyes grew dull as he watched Yunhe, unknowingly, kill a servant of the same rank, then the servant turned into a black shadow and rushed toward him. The sea‑clan cultivator, his soul trembling, shouted "Enemy attack!" and hurriedly summoned his conch‑shaped artifact. A melodious shell sound emanated from the sea‑conch artifact; Yunhe, who was already very close to that cultivator, felt a slight dizziness. Yet when Yunhe beheaded that mid‑Nascent Soul servant, he had already condensed his spirit sense into a spear. Seeing the sea‑conch artifact activate, Yunhe fixed his gaze, spirit‑sense attack? The spear flew out. "Seek Immortal, Divine Gift Descends!"

The sea‑conch's sound gradually ceased, and as Yunhe's long sword was about to reap another life, a cerulean three‑pronged trident appeared in the air, blocking the death‑like blade. "Clang."

The two artifact weapons clashed, emitting a harsh sound wave.

"Wake up, go by yourself." Xuan Ling opened a sword to strike Yunhe, looking at the trembling trident and feeling his palm numb, as if struck by a blunt weapon.

"Ugh."

The sea‑clan cultivator behind Qi Hun Xuan Ling widened his eyes, blood slowly dripping from the corners, and muttered incomprehensible words, "Damn it."

Qi Hun Xuan Ling turned and saw the pitifully dead cultivator, cursed, then instantly flashed away, returning to the formation of the sea‑clan servants.

At this moment the sword failed, and Yunhe had already retreated far, standing at the edge of the plaza with his sword, his expression stern, a faint aura of blood‑colored killing intent lingering. "Five Elements Sword Ancestor."

Qi Hun Li Ling clenched his silver teeth, eyes angrily fixed on the man before him, as if wanting to eat his flesh and drink his blood.

In just an instant, the two mid‑Nascent Soul cultivators lost their lives. Not to mention how important a mid‑Nascent Soul cultivator is to the Qi Hun clan, even the bond of having grown up together as siblings already made Li Ling's heart bleed. "Form the formation quickly!! Slay this beast!!"

Although Li Ling's heart burned with resentment, she remained clear‑headed. She knew that relying solely on herself would likely make her just a wandering soul beneath Yunhe's sword; only the Qi Hun clan's unique formation method might counter this "comparable to a late‑Nascent Soul" Yun Lao Demon.

Only four servants immediately took positions at the four cardinal points behind Li Ling, each summoning their artifact: battle flag, iron shield, jade flute, jade bottle, together with Li Ling's trident, forming a pentagram. In fact, the Qi Hun clan's formation should be a hexagram; adding the ancient sword and sea‑conch would create a powerful formation that can attack and defend. All cultivators within the formation have their five senses aligned, mana linked, sharing fate; when the complete formation is set, even a high‑level Nascent Soul cultivator must avoid its edge. If an invading enemy attacks any cultivator, attempting to eliminate them one by one, they will find that attacking any cultivator is like striking the iron shield.

Then the jade bottle's tone can clear the eyes of the formation cultivators, shielding them from spirit‑sense attacks; the sea‑conch can confuse an invading enemy's mind, creating a chance to slay. Meanwhile, the jade flute restores, the battle flag restrains, the ancient sword attacks, thereby gathering the power of six mid‑Nascent Soul cultivators, producing mana far beyond a mid‑Nascent Soul, enough to trap and kill a late‑Nascent Soul grand cultivator! However, forming this array requires hearts in sync, moving together; any discord can cause mild mental confusion or severe soul loss, so it is usually cultivated from childhood. "Damn, the three‑pronged divine trident must be in his hand."

Li Ling's expression grew grim; the situation was now highly unfavorable for her, having lost two crucial supports, her killing ability sharply declined, and judging by the pitiful corpse, eight or nine times out of ten it was slain by a spirit‑sense attack. Now she could only wait for the Grand Elder to arrive to deal with the Yun Lao Demon that pressed them.

Only when the Grand Elder arrives can they confront the Yun Lao Demon that is giving them immense pressure.

"I will replace Li Yi's position and hold him for me!"

Li Ling briefly gave the command; a pale blue mana shield appeared over the five, and then she thrust the trident toward Yunhe. The opposing formation formed in an instant, but it gave Yunhe little threat. Seeing the sea‑clan female cultivator wielding the trident charge at her, Yunhe lightly tapped his toe, and the five Five‑Elements Heavenly Thunder Swords surged out with him.

"All‑Heaven Five‑Elements Sword Formation!"

Yunhe, holding the five‑Qi Peacock Fan, clashed several times with Li Ling's trident, noticing the trident's power was now stronger, as if wielded by another. The Five‑Elements Heavenly Thunder Sword transformed into a single, agile phoenix, swooping onto Li Ling's barrier without harming her a hair. Yunhe was somewhat surprised, not expecting the array to have such depth.

"Clang clang."

After another clash, Yunhe stepped back, his five‑Qi Peacock Fan radiating golden light! "Geng Metal Qi."

A beam of golden light, the brightest of the multicolored rainbow, struck Li Ling's barrier where the trident was held.

"Puff."

Several members of the formation sustained varying injuries; the worst was the shield‑wielding cultivator, who spat blood, his hands supporting the iron shield trembling involuntarily.

Suddenly a flute melody rose; the jade flute's sound was like a spring breeze, and the heavily wounded participants gradually steadied their breathing. Though Yunhe was dueling Li Ling, his mind also kept watching the other sea‑clan cultivators in the formation.

Seeing the sea‑clan cultivators recover from the jade flute's tone, Yunhe already had a plan. When he again intersected Li Ling's formation, rainbow light burst from his eyes, and the five Five‑Elements Heavenly Thunder Swords turned into a rain of sword threads across the sky. Li Ling could feel her barrier being continuously struck by the sword threads, emitting a constant "buzz‑buzz". "Damn, what is he trying to do?"

Li Ling's face turned ashen, repeatedly using the trident to block the sword rain, yet still struggling to stop its assault on the barrier. Suddenly a stray glance turned her face deathly pale; she could clearly see the others in the array straining, the jade flute's tone barely ceasing.

"The time has come! Seek Immortal, Divine Gift Descends!"

Yunhe's spirit sense surged; at the instant the jade flute's sound paused, he launched a death blow at Li Ling.

Li Ling instantly felt dizziness, blood trickling from the corner of her eye. "Kill"—Yunhe roared, and the sky‑full sword rain instantly condensed into a multicolored phoenix, soaring toward Li Ling. Just as Li Ling was about to die on the spot, a melodious ringing sounded, and the previously trembling Li San, face flushed, struggled to strike, then spat a large mouthful of blood and collapsed on the ground.

Regaining her senses, Li Ling saw the phoenix formed from the sword rain flying toward her, her heart shocked, and she quickly summoned a shell‑shaped artifact.

The shell opened, revealing a black pearl; its shine captured the multicolored phoenix inside. Yunhe was somewhat surprised, as for a moment he could not connect to the Five‑Elements Heavenly Thunder Sword, but even so he still possessed the Fourth Level supreme relic, the five‑Qi Peacock Fan.

In mid‑air, a burst of multicolored glow flashed, the multicolored peacock displayed a wondrous form, its fan unfurled, each radiant feather beautiful.

Li Ling drove the shell artifact to block Yunhe, lightly stepping, and arrived among the servants. At this point the servants were either heavily panting, mana exhausted, or bleeding from the face, a tragic sight. Li Ling looked over the wounded clan members, softly sang a song unique to the Qi Hun clan, its dreamlike voice evoking the glorious past of the sea clan.

Li Ling gently stroked Li Wu's cheek; she was his favorite younger sister, but since becoming a senior servant she hadn't been close to her siblings for a long time, and now felt much reluctance. "Sister Li Ling, we will meet again in the Sea God Hall, right?"

Li Wu lifted his hand that had been stroked by Li Ling, his eyes sparkling, complexion rosy, as if he had become that lively, cheerful girl again. Li Ling forced a bitter smile, trying to hide it, and said,

"Yes, we will definitely meet in the Sea Soul Hall."

The four Qi Hun servants each lost vitality, lying together with serene faces as if merely asleep, asleep, dreaming a happy, beautiful dream.

Tears streamed down Li Ling's eyes, "For the great cause of the sea clan!"

In fact they had been forced to mature since childhood; Li Yi through Li Liu could only reach mid‑Nascent Soul in this life, always ready to sacrifice. They never expected it would come so fast; before they could explore every corner of the endless sea, war erupted, and a pure energy flowed from the four corpses, like conscious seawater, slowly seeping into Li Ling's body. "Ah."

It seemed like a release, like madness; Li Ling let out a long howl, and her body suddenly sprouted deep‑blue scales. Originally the sea clan did have scales, but they were lighter, more human‑like.

Now Li Ling's pure white lotus arms were covered with sapphire‑like scales; her face, neck, forehead, etc., turned a vast azure, resembling her ancestors even more!

"Yunhe! I want to die!"

When the long hair intertwined, forming snarling snake heads, the once cold, handsome sea‑clan woman became a snake‑haired, heterochromatic monster with sharp fangs and claws. Li Ling lunged at Yunhe; Yunhe folded the multicolored peacock into a folding fan, which finally blocked the heavy, powerful strike! After the transformation, Li Ling, now like a Fourth Level relic, clashed claws with the five‑Qi Peacock Fan, producing a crisp sound.

Yunhe felt a chill; he hadn't expected the Qi Hun clan within the sea clan to hide such a massive killing weapon! As he flashed back, the five‑Qi Peacock Fan emitted a burst of multicolored light; Li Ling thought another devastating blow was coming, hurriedly raised both hands to shield her body, trying to resist with flesh. Li Ling didn't feel the expected pain, but realized her abilities seemed weakened, a faint sense of powerlessness rising in her heart.

"You, despicable!"

"Me despicable? Are all these Sea‑Soul Worms supposed to have run out on their own?"

Li Ling was left speechless, but her clan had no sense of martial virtue; as long as they could win, any means were fine. She flashed, seized the black pearl inside the shell; the black pearl, once freed, began to enlarge, becoming a fist‑sized black droplet. The black droplet in Li Ling's hand glowed, from it flew five swords—Yunhe's Five‑Elements Heavenly Thunder Swords.

She had just released the Five‑Elements Heavenly Thunder Swords, which made Yunhe take them more seriously; the folding fan's divine light surged, "Five‑Color Divine Light—Geng Metal Qi."

Li Ling's hand emitted a black light, matching Yunhe's five‑color divine light, causing a brief stalemate; however, because the sacrifice was insufficient—six departed, two remained—Li Ling was not perfect, and the stalemate slowly shifted to her disadvantage.

"Yunhe! Don't be arrogant; the Grand Elder will surely avenge us!"

While Li Ling was struggling to hold on, she shouted, and the snakes on her head hissed "Ha" repeatedly, as if warning Yunhe. Yet no warning could change her predicament. Yunhe seemed oblivious, his eyes blazing with five‑color divine light! "Five‑Elements Inverted Divine Light!"

"Seek Immortal, Divine Gift Descends!"

Finally Li Ling could not withstand; the five‑color divine light struck her body, causing a massive explosion, instantly scattering sand and smoke. Li Ling's body was blown upward, crashing heavily beneath the queen statue, leaving a deep crater; the massive goddess statue, under the impact, could no longer hold and collapsed with a roar.

As the dust settled, Li Ling's scale armor was shattered, especially a gruesome circular wound on her chest, continuously bleeding blue blood. She spat a mouthful of blood mixed with entrails,

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry everyone, sister is coming to see you soon."

Tears flowed slowly from the eye sockets, turning into one after another azure crystal, with unwilling eyes mixed with a hint of relief staring straight at the square above, but saw that the passable stone slab on top was getting closer and closer

Beautiful Soul Clan Grand Elder, has arrived!

(End of chapter)