Chapter 474: Full Firepower (5K3)

Gradually, the surrounding cultivators also sensed something was off.

After destroying the floating island, General Dao Hai did not pursue the Wen Alliance Leader, and the Yan family elder showed no sign of leading his people away.

This made it clear that this prodigy of the aquatic race had not come for the Shuiyueshang Alliance.

But if it was meant to intimidate Yu Nanhong's Seven Sons… given his status, that would be rather laughable.

Wen Qiujin, however, had guessed something.

It wasn't really a guess, in truth.

Mainly, General Dao Hai's purpose on this trip was far too pointed—the objective was already crystal clear.

Thinking of this, Wen Qiujin stared fixedly at General Dao Hai.

Beneath his forced composure, his palms were already clenched tight enough to creak. Though his life had been spared, for a merchant, years of accumulated wealth destroyed in an instant—his heart was bleeding.

Just then.

The silver-armored youth seated at the end finally opened his eyes.

They were a pair of slit pupils.

As he raised his head, the atmosphere nearby suddenly grew tense.

A slightly hoarse voice was carried away by the sea wind.

"I brought not a single soldier or general today. I came only to avenge my father—this matter has nothing to do with Yu Nanhong's Seven Sons."

"You don't need to stand that high to intimidate me."

"The fact that I could come today means I have the Long Gong's permission. I traded my lifetime of merits for one chance to be willful."

As his words fell, he slowly rose, looked up toward the clouds with those slit pupils, and cupped his hands unhurriedly: "The one standing behind me is actually here to watch me. The reason he intervened is because the Yan family came."

"Immortal Wang Liuyun, grant the Long Gong a measure of face."

General Dao Hai released his hands, neither servile nor overbearing, and waited for a reply from above.

Nearly everyone turned their gaze toward the clouds.

That golden-threaded white robe drifted ever more freely. Wei Yuanzhou's gaze was indifferent, his voice unhurried: "What I say today does not count."

Yuan Ling committed a grave error, so he would make amends once.

As for what those amends entailed, Wei Yuanzhou did not care—it depended on what Shen Yi needed.

If the offense committed endangered the other's life, then the apology must be made at any cost; otherwise, it would be better called a transaction.

At these words, the whole crowd erupted.

Even Yan Xingyuan's expression shifted slightly.

In this land of Nanhong, was there truly something the next Shen Zongzhu of Lingyun Sect could not decide?

"Tch."

The black-backed flood dragon behind General Dao Hai suddenly let out a snort of derision.

It was plainly only at the peak of Killed Fanxu, and before Wei Yuanzhou who had ascended Bai Yujing, it could hardly raise much of a stir.

But at this moment, it slowly sank back into the water.

It actually adopted the posture of leaving directly.

Only an instant before fully submerging did it shake its head and say: "You're welcome to try—try and see whether the chance bought by the meritorious service of my Long Gong's soldiers and generals is a joke to your Yu Nanhong's Seven Sons."

A being like General Dao Hai did not rank highly within the Long Gong.

But he represented that group of soldiers and generals who had been gathered under the Long Gong's banner.

If after they fought and bled for the dragon race, the edicts earned became nothing but empty paper in Nanhong—

The Long Gong would not mind reminding these cultivators who the true lord of Lake Hongze was.

Splash, splash.

Accompanied by the sound of water swirling apart.

That old general actually transformed into a massive black-backed flood dragon and left the place cleanly and decisively.

"……"

Wei Yuanzhou smiled faintly.

If one were to get technical, was the Nanyang Sect Leader acknowledged by six combined-Dao-realm giants truly just empty talk?

Seeing this.

General Dao Hai suddenly extended a palm: "I will wait only three days. Even if he does not come, the matter ends here. You are welcome to inform him—I do not mind."

He came from humble origins, and knew in his heart better than anyone that if that patricide-father-killer refused to show himself, there was truly nothing he could do to the man.

But between life and face, the other party had to leave behind one.

"Huu."

Yan Xingyuan stood at the prow, his gaze sweeping the surroundings.

He sighed inwardly.

Let alone the four great vassals—even the smallest faction among the hundred and eighty-two houses could never follow a so-called Xian Sect that had utterly lost face in Nanhong.

Moreover, following such a party would not only fail to bring protection, but carried the constant risk of their clan being wiped out by demons and monsters.

In the end, that Xian Sect did not even dare show its face.

As his thoughts drifted, he suddenly heard Wei Yuanzhou's calm voice: "It seems there is no need for me to pass the word."

"Hmm?"

The cultivators watching from afar all wore puzzled expressions.

General Dao Hai slightly turned his gaze, looked toward the distance, and his hanging arms slowly tensed.

The next instant, a piercing sword-howl split the sky!

Swish, swish—

Wen Qiujin heard that familiar sword whistle, his pupils gradually dilating, reflecting a patch of scarlet; that intense pressure even made him feel suffocated.

Before the person arrived, the sky was first swept away and occupied by the Blood Sea Dao Palace.

Within the surging Blood Sea lurked the low growls of ferocious beasts.

Inside that sky-filling red mist, a tall figure in a black long robe with fluttering sleeves came riding on a sword.

A golden-purple sea of fire spread out, setting off the eyes beneath the hair to gleam with sharp light.

Not a single wasted word.

Before everyone's eyes, the youth in the black robe suddenly appeared before General Dao Hai.

Flames shot skyward like a tornado.

His figure flickered; Tianyan Sijiu was unleashed at full strength, and in an instant, countless figures enveloped General Dao Hai.

"Heh."

The youth in silver armor breathed calmly, with ferocity surging in his eyes.

Immediately, that ferocity spread across his features, and a mocking smile spilled from the corner of his lips.

He was the vanguard general of the Long Gong.

He was a terrifying existence that made countless forces in Yu Nanhong tremble at the mere mention of his name.

In an instant, he closed both eyes, voluntarily letting his vision sink into pitch darkness, blocking both ears, and causing his mind to suddenly gather inward.

What remained was perception of aura; the experience he had accumulated through years of slaughter reached its peak at this moment.

Click.

He lowered his head slightly, the mocking smile intensifying, revealing teeth as white as bone.

A Bai Xi hand with clearly defined knuckles attacked fiercely, coming within less than three inches of his face; the palm wind shattered his silver helmet, making his hair dance wildly.

General Dao Hai reached out his hand as if by coincidence, placing it upon a wrist.

"You are too slow."

The moment he spoke, all the figures in black robes around him vanished completely.

"..."

Wei Yuanzhou looked down from above; the smile on his lips disappeared, and a touch of coldness appeared on his extraordinary face.

A streak of light flickered at his brow.

The Shen Zongzhu of the Qizide Sect in Yu Nanhong cannot be humiliated outside.

However, just then, he lightly raised an eyebrow, and the streak of light at his brow slowly dispersed.

Under the anxious gazes of all the cultivators.

They saw that youth in the black robe standing suspended in mid-air; although his wrist had been grabbed, his expression did not change in the slightest.

His pair of golden-purple eyes gazed quietly at the General Dao Hai before him as he softly asked, "And then?"

Just then, General Dao Hai suddenly tensed his entire body.

His entire right arm began to tremble uncontrollably, and veins burst forth on the back of his hand.

He suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils round with shock, staring unbelievably at the wrist he had just seized.

He saw that the other party's right shoulder was covered by a set of incomplete gray-white armor.

It inexplicably made one feel despair and desolation.

He suddenly bit his tongue, using the sharp pain to wake himself up, desperately trying to shift his gaze away from that armor, while simultaneously reinforcing his demon body with vital blood to try and control that wrist.

Snap.

Shen Yi casually pulled his hand free and, in one clean motion, backhanded General Dao Hai across the face.

It looked like a casual, effortless movement.

Yet the terrifying aura that erupted caused all the cultivators around to be blown backward uncontrollably.

Boom!

General Dao Hai's features tore apart, and his body shot out toward Wang Yang, crashing uncontrollably into Wang Yang.

A hundred-zhang-high giant wave rose up, nearly connecting heaven and earth!

"..."

Shen Yi reached out and brushed the wrist armor that had just been grabbed by the other party, quietly gazing at the surging sea surface.

Immediately, he vanished from the spot again.

The sky-filling sea of fire transformed into a giant palm that crashed down onto the sea surface, creating a deep trench between the waves of Wang Yang!

The flaming giant hand reached down to seize beneath the water; a blurry shadow darted frantically below until it could no longer avoid, finally bursting out of the water with a splash, revealing a slippery body.

The two, one chasing and one fleeing, shot straight toward the sky.

Under the pursuit of the flaming giant hand, it was revealed to be an ugly water python; it turned its head to glare angrily at the incoming sea of fire, its round giant tail resembling a pillar holding up the sky, carrying overwhelming demonic qi, and slammed down fiercely.

The python tail pierced through the flames and struck into Wang Yang.

In an instant, the seawater was churned upside down.

The cultivators watching around had already been forced to fly far away by Shen Yi's earlier slap, but as this giant tail fell, those with slightly lower cultivation levels found their auras chaotic and their faces changed abruptly.

The forces that had been destroyed beneath this tail were simply countless.

So many cultivators had suffered greatly from it.

General Dao Hai's vertical pupils stared tightly at the dispersing sea of fire, searching within it for Shen Yi's tracks.

At the same time, he transformed back into human form, his fingertips trembling slightly.

He actually had a vague expectation of this person's strength, after all, the other party had once annihilated all the elites of the Dragon Fish Hall, including his adoptive father.

But when Shen Yi easily broke free from his grasp just now, General Dao Hai still felt shock; he had already used his full strength, yet there was still a considerable gap between him and the other party.

Such terrifying physical strength, even striking out its true form with a single palm.

General Dao Hai strained his eyes to the limit, striving to locate the figure hidden within the sea of fire.

At that very moment, he suddenly felt a chill on his back.

General Dao Hai did not turn around; instead, he simply clenched his palm, drawing up a towering wave like a dragon sucking water, transforming it into a transparent spear, and thrusting it fiercely backward.

Another notorious killing move!

Plop.

As General Dao Hai had expected, the instant he thrust backward, he saw those pair of purple-gold eyes.

The youth in the black robe had appeared behind him at some unknown time.

His long five fingers quietly closed around his wrist.

Thus, that condensed water spear, capable of splitting mountains and parting seas, could advance not a single inch further.

General Dao Hai's breathing gradually grew rapid.

As his vital blood surged through his entire body.

The Wang Yang within his line of sight boiled entirely, as if resonating with his body.

Above the azure water surface, crimson demonic qi gradually rose.

Even under the protection of the formation, those hundred-plus treasure ships shook violently.

"Roar... Ah!!"

General Dao Hai let out a roar, which immediately turned into a scream.

Shen Yi suddenly flipped his hand, twisting his entire arm into a twisted-knot shape, bones piercing through the skin, looking extremely fearsome.

Under the support of the partially mastered Return to Ruins Immortal Armor Formation.

General Dao Hai's body shattered inch by inch, instantly becoming a mess of flesh and blood.

"It is over."

Yan Xingyuan, as a Nascent Soul Perfection cultivator, had eyesight incomparable to others.

He keenly captured the change in General Dao Hai's expression.

From raging fury gradually turning into confusion.

Seeing through Xiang Tianyan Sijiu once did not mean one could see through it every time.

He had found the one that escaped, yet ultimately failed to grasp it.

Sure enough, the next moment.

On General Dao Hai's bloodied body, dozens of places exploded simultaneously!

Shen Yi slowly withdrew his palm.

The gray-white armor on his shoulder and arm dispersed into mist, falling back onto his heart.

The Hongmeng Chen Ziqi peeled away from his body, returned to the Dao Palace, and was then stored within his brow.

Without the reflection of the purple-gold flames.

That figure in the black robe returned to ordinariness, seeming merely a handsome and reserved young man.

Yet the pressure he brought to the surrounding cultivators far exceeded that of the previous General Dao Hai.

The Wang Yang that had previously boiled and surged suddenly calmed down.

Nearby, only the shallow breathing of the cultivators remained.

Dead?

They all stared at the figure dyed red by blood; the opponent's chest was still heaving, giving the feeling that he would spring up at any moment.

That was a fear born of the fierce reputation of the Long Gong water creatures and the opponent's tenacious will.

"..."

Shen Yi casually stored him into the ring.

He had never seen a demon survive after the panel gave a prompt.

"More astonishing than recorded in the letter."

Yan Xingyuan remained silent for a long time, then exhaled a breath.

The reason he remained here was to see if there was any turning point... Whether in character or strength, that so-called Shen Zongzhu of Nanyang must show some performance to give the Yan family a glimmer of hope.

But now it seemed to far exceed his expectations.

At least, judging purely from the young cultivator described in the letter, apart from Yan Wencheng's exaggerated praise, regarding only his realm and cultivation, he did not even have the qualification to stand before General Dao Hai and speak.

And now, the entire situation seemed reversed.

Wen Qiujin was staring at the dark-glow flying sword pendant at Shen Yi's waist, lost in a daze.

Having done business all his life, he seemed to have stumbled upon the most profitable deal by some strange chance.

To say there was no resentment in his heart before would certainly be false.

After all, he had been careful all his life just to avoid offending anyone, yet still suffered an undeserved disaster.

But now it was different.

No matter how precious the floating island was, it was still an inanimate object.

For the Shuiyueshang Alliance, the tiger skin used to cover the goods during shipment was the most precious thing.

Now it seemed, this tiger-skin banner was both ferocious and protective of its own.

Without saying a word, he acted directly; the fierce General Dao Hai's ending was hardly different from that of his adoptive father.

"..."

Wei Yuanzhou stood above the sky, his gaze not falling on Shen Yi, but looking into the void.

Just now, a five-story Dao Palace stood there.

The Hongmeng Chen Ziqi within it might have made any cultivator among the Seven Sons of Yu Nanhong turn pale.

Compared to the two Spirit Techniques Shen Yi had demonstrated, this was what truly surprised Wei Yuanzhou.

After all, Spirit Techniques—everyone had practiced a few, more or less.

But the Dao Palace was different; even if he could now casually visualize a Grade-One Dao Pillar and had no shortage of precious materials, the things he had failed to complete before could never be retried.

Tsk.

These world-shattering talents truly inspired envy.

Wei Yuanzhou let out a soft sigh, but quickly gathered his thoughts—those who ascended to Bai Yujing possessed a Dao Heart as unshakable as no ordinary person could imagine.

Moreover, talent isn't necessarily better when stronger.

The cultivation path is far too long; it's not about who walks faster, but who walks farther.

Isn't there already a perfect example within the Nanyang Sect?

It was merely a passing thought.

He turned his gaze downward toward Shen Yi, slightly bowing: "This doesn't count. When the opportunity arises again, I'll give you a proper account on behalf of Yuanling."

Saying this, Wei Yuanzhou's figure flickered and slowly dissolved where he stood.

"Hm?"

Shen Yi lifted his gaze slightly—what account? Who is Yuanling?

Seeing the man had already left, he didn't bother asking further.

He wasn't particularly interested in such matters.

He remembered the reminder from Senior Xuanqing before leaving the sect—to find the Yan family.

Shen Yi's gaze swept downward and quickly spotted Yan Wencheng, who had already drawn near.

He stepped forward at once.

The moment his ink-black robe stirred, surrounding cultivators all swiftly retreated.

The spectacle was over—don't get mistaken for the chicken killed to warn the monkeys.

But today's spectacle wasn't wasted; at least now he could see clearly: even if not the entire Hongze, within the southern Hong region alone, the Seven Sons still weren't afraid to stand against the Long Gong.

"We pay our respects to Shen Zongzhu."

Zheng Qian and the others landed on the treasure ship and bowed in unison toward Shen Yi.

Yan Xingyuan also bowed, showing respect—this treatment was earned by Shen Yi's strength today.

But he said nothing; unlike these Qunqingyue Sect disciples, he couldn't voice his stance freely—everything required reporting back to the clan, and only the clan chief could decide.

Wen Qiujin, however, suddenly froze in place.

Shen Zongzhu?

He suddenly recalled Shen Yi's offhand decision earlier, and his expression grew strange.

Wen Qiujin had guessed Shen Yi held high status, but never imagined it would be this high… nearly bursting through the ceiling.

"When I return to the clan, I will faithfully report today's events. I beg your Immortal Highness to forgive me."

In this region of southern Hong, beyond the top-tier forces like the Seven Sons, only great sects housing Dao-Union titans were considered transcendent.

If those are excluded, then any force with Bai Yujing stationed within it was unquestionably first-tier.

For a clan like the Yans, any action would shake the entire southern Hong's balance.

Yet Yan Xingyuan, a grand cultivator who had reached the peak of Return-to-Emptiness, showed no trace of arrogance—still addressing Shen Yi as "Your Immortal Highness."

"Mm."

Shen Yi nodded slightly, not rushing.

You eat a meal one bite at a time.

Put yourself in his shoes—if he were a Bai Yujing cultivator, and had to pledge allegiance to a young man at Return-to-Emptiness Fifth Layer, obey his commands, and lead his entire family into danger, he'd have reservations too.

As long as his strength was sufficient, all this would naturally follow.

"How many losses did you suffer?"

Shen Yi recalled the Qinghai Prefecture disciples—they'd been lucky; thanks to the many clerks he'd recruited earlier, Jing Jingsong had warned the prefecture to evacuate in time, and nearly all had escaped.

"Report to the Zongzhu: no losses."

Wen Qiujin suddenly grew tense; even though he'd long held high rank, facing such a terrifying titan still left him momentarily dazed.

He was still the same man, yet compared to last time, he now radiated an inexplicable aura of authority.

"When I received the scout's letter, I evacuated everyone on the island—the General Dao Hai arrived to find only an empty island."

Wen Qiujin did not mention any financial losses.

As long as the people remained and the path endured, he had confidence he could regain everything.

"Good."

Shen Yi nodded again, casually adding: "Since you're rebuilding the Shang Alliance, before that… have you considered joining the Nanyang Sect as a clerk?"

Many cultivators can fight, but few are sharp-minded and well-traveled.

"Wen Qiujin thanks the Zongzhu for this grace—it's truly a relief in our hour of need."

Wen Qiujin bowed deeply, smiling wryly: "I've been worrying about where to store the cargo on my hundred treasure ships."

"Store it all in the Nanyang Sect."

Shen Yi waved his sleeve generously.

Conveniently, I won't need to leave the sect next time I need to borrow something.

(End of Chapter)