Chapter 116: So Fast?

Following Feng Xue's command, Seeing Mo Ying—now fully replenished with magical energy—vanished instantly; Feng Xue rapidly squeezed out his primordial energy, refilling his magical reserves while simultaneously pulling out three Jade Talismans—【Divine Step】, 【Lightning Transformation】, and 【Substitute】—and inserting them into his belt, finally pressing the Green Jade representing the Wood Element to its full depth.

The Wood Element's primordial energy circled through the Ren and Du Meridians, but unlike in the Folklore World, during this process, his blood and qi also began to stir.

A greenish wind and bluish lightning wove into armor, enveloping his body, while an endless surge of vitality erupted through his limbs and bones; in that instant, Feng Xue faintly understood how to use magical energy to nourish the flesh—but alas, his spiritual soul's control was far too weak, and even with the array of artifacts, he dared not let it roam freely within his body.

A thought flashed through his mind and vanished; Feng Xue stepped forward, his entire body seeming to merge with the wind.

Lightning is the clash of yin and yang, the wrath of heaven and earth, the beginning of storm and rain.

Within this violent storm and downpour, wind and thunder manifest, spurred by Wood—truly unceasing, endlessly enduring. (Note ①)

"Success!"

Seeing Mo Ying's voice echoed in his mind—trying to sound aloof but unable to suppress her urge to boast; Feng Xue's lips curled upward, yet his feet exploded with force, launching him over the low ship's rail under cover of wind and rain.

"Attack!"

Feng Xue's figure, wrapped in strange luminous effects, suddenly appeared—clearly startling the three men on deck—but the pirates' combat instincts reacted instantly; the blood-eyed pirate with feathers on half his face raised his arm, while the boatswain drew his blade and charged forward.

Yet in that very instant, a gunshot suddenly erupted!

A spray of blood exploded from the boatswain's back; Seeing Mo Ying, already prepared, effortlessly triggered the helmsman's sidearm. Though mutiny among pirates was common, it was absurd that the captain's personal helmsman would turn traitor—so absurd that the boatswain made no counterattack even after receiving a second bullet.

The boatswain collapsed to the deck, his lifespan rapidly dwindling; Feng Xue paid him no mind, his entire body wrapped in violent lightning as he slammed straight into the blood-eyed pirate.

Facing such a dire situation, the blood-eyed pirate showed no panic; he shrank his form, darting behind the mast to use this relic of the former civilization as cover against possible ranged attacks from Feng Xue, and pulled out a long spear from nowhere.

The spear did not appear forged of metal, but rather bore the texture of bio-technology; though it vaguely resembled an ancient flintlock, where the scope should have been was a single eye resembling a raptor.

"Bang!"

A gunshot rang out—Feng Xue's body suddenly exploded, leaving behind only a torn white paper; though only one shot was fired, at the exact moment Feng Xue's Substitute Technique activated, the helmsman's head also exploded.

Having lost her host, Seeing Mo Ying did not depart immediately; instead, she coordinated with Feng Xue—while he rushed forward to draw attention, she switched her technique to the Spirit-Controlling Spell!

As one of Feng Xue's most cherished techniques (Note ②), Seeing Mo Ying had trained it to equal mastery; at the moment the blood-eyed pirate deemed the corpse harmless and focused all attention on Feng Xue, she used the corpse's still-warm fingers to pull the trigger!

"Bang!"

The blood-eyed pirate's face twisted in disbelief; he spun and knocked the helmsman's gun from his hand—but Feng Xue gave him no chance; his fingertip brushed his belt, and with a crisp metallic chime, the Green Jade Seal sprang upward as the watermark simultaneously dropped three notches.

Three Water, Two Wood: Water-Organ Yin Thunder!

Feng Xue flung out a mass of dark, mud-like magical energy; his body surged forward again. Despite his massive target—despite the silver sails glowing, despite the rain being kept at bay—the blood-eyed pirate failed to catch the few drops of Yin Thunder; his bio-enhanced rifle fired again, and Feng Xue's body exploded once more.

Yet what remained was still only a paper doll.

"Damn it! What kind of divine art is this?" The blood-eyed pirate had never seen such a dishonorable technique—but the malformed eye beneath his feathered half-face still tracked Feng Xue, flickering into view nearby.

But this time, he could not fire another shot.

The instant the Yin Thunder struck, the defensive qi within his body spiraled into chaos; intense negative emotions sprouted from his heart, accompanied by a piercing agony as if countless insects and ants were gnawing at him.

"Aaaahhh!"

Even after years as a pirate, the blood-eyed pirate could not suppress his screams; the flickering Feng Xue seized Seeing Mo Ying, plunged his left hand into his pocket to grip the Spirit-Controlling Jade Talisman, and pressed the Five Elements Jade Seal to its full depth.

Vast primordial energy was relentlessly squeezed out, torrents of magical energy transformed into Spirit-Controlling energy and poured into Seeing Mo Ying.

Her power surged rapidly, and an unprecedented spirit-possession unfolded in that instant!

The Water-Organ Yin Thunder, which seeps into bones and marrow, corrodes the heart, and saps the will, combined with spirit-possession that exploits mental vulnerabilities to seize control—even a seasoned Xuan cultivator would struggle to avoid being struck; this pirate had no chance of resistance.

"Success!"

Seeing Mo Ying's voice rang in his mind; Feng Xue immediately said:

"Control him to steer the ship—we leave at once…"

"Unbelievable—you actually succeeded!" Just as Feng Xue prepared to flee, Sara's voice suddenly sounded; he didn't need to turn, for his over-the-shoulder view already showed Fena on shore—and the lifespan number that had just dropped had vanished.

"Tch!" Feng Xue mentally cursed—he hadn't expected the captain to fail even this short delay—but Sara, as if completely unaware Feng Xue wanted to escape, shook her single remaining ear and scanned the ship—

"Assessment… residual spiritual power detected. Classified as spiritual control. Re-evaluating: Wild One's combat skill upgraded to Excellent. Assessment complete. Comprehensive rating: Standard-level spiritual bias, Divine Favored. Threat level: Extremely Low."

"What? Why still Extremely Low?" Feng Xue rolled his eyes; though he sensed this preserved his "harmless pet" status, his male pride bristled.

"Host is equipped with spiritual defense module. Spiritual control techniques below Excellent level cannot affect the host."

Sara replied flatly; Feng Xue's lips twitched:

"So even an Excellent-level spiritual defense ignores me—so my knock on the back of the head doesn't count?"

"Negative. Your attack lacks sufficient force to inflict permanent harm on the host, thus failing to trigger the host's survival protocol. Moreover, according to survival protocol logic, your attack positively contributes to the host's survival—hence your attack succeeded."

Sara spoke with robotic precision using Fena's body, yet the fact she hadn't reverted her transformation suggested… perhaps not entirely?

But as he thought this, Sara pointed at the blood-eyed pirate:

"Assessment: This pirate poses a threat level of Low or higher. Request authorization to eliminate."

(End of Chapter)