Chapter 43: Passenger Ship Heading to Nine Licheng

Yan Qingqing rushed out of the range covered by the seven light trails, wanting to take Li Youyi down quickly. The three-foot soft sword broke through the air, the sword marks following a tortuous and illusory path, giving off a strange murderous intent that was impossible to guard against.

Li Youyi knew the opponent had opened seven springs; how could he dare to rashly take this sword?

He retreated at the fastest speed and immediately reached for the bottle of Jin Wu blood in his bosom.

Yan Qingqing had the upper hand with one sword and naturally pursued the victory, not giving Li Youyi any chance to counterattack.

"Whoosh!"

Li Youyi didn't have time to pour the Jin Wu blood onto the scripture belt, only feeling the sky full of sword shadows attacking him, his ears filled with sharp sounds. Every sword tip seemed real, about to pierce him into a sieve of blood holes.

Without thinking, he turned and fled.

A sharp sword Qi that could pierce the body landed on his back, making a dull sound. But it was blocked by the Ghost Flag draped outside and the corpse-clothing soft armor worn inside, not injuring him.

"Want to run?"

Yan Qingqing knew he had defensive magic tools, her heart filled with jealousy and hatred, and she chased after him with her sword.

Li Youyi sometimes performed the 'Clear Void Cicada-Catching Step' of the Chan Sect's Twelve Scattered Hands, his figure like a phantom, his steps overlapping. Sometimes, he performed 'Huang Long Ascending Heaven,' flying across the air, crossing the coffins piled up like small hills as if walking on flat ground.

Without borrowing the scripture belt, his speed was actually on par with Yan Qingqing, a seven-spring martial cultivator.

"First killed one, then restrained one; I should have already completed the task beyond the quota, right? If Li Ling can take down the donkey-faced man as soon as possible, there's a chance to completely resolve all hidden dangers today."

Li Youyi had a certain understanding of his own strength; at least in terms of speed, he didn't fear Yan Qingqing, this so-called peak Gushing Spring martial cultivator, at all.

"Awoo!"

A deep, mixed wolf howl sounded in the silence, echoing in the coffin sea, shaking the surrounding night fog to retreat.

"Boom! Boom! Boom..."

Heavy and swift running sounds approached from near and far.

Li Youyi looked back and saw a five- or six-meter-long white-haired wolf king chasing Li Ling, rushing toward this direction rapidly.

The white-haired wolf king's body was half-virtual and half-real, and after the cold air on its body was released, it instantly froze a layer of white frost on the floating coffins it ran over. Fang Tong stood on the wolf's back, his hands wearing thick black metal gloves.

The gloves weighed a hundred jin and were a heavy martial weapon, forged from a precious, extremely dense metal.

Li Youyi immediately took out the Jin Wu blood and poured it onto the scripture belt.

Yan Qingqing had long since given up chasing him and attacked Li Ling, who was fleeing toward them. She wanted to see if that mysterious man would continue to flee or turn back to save her.

In an instant, Li Ling fell into a dangerous situation with a dog in front and a wolf behind, but her expression didn't change at all, slapping her palm toward the soft sword Yan Qingqing thrust over.

The palm wind contained magic power, like a wall of Qi, shaking the soft sword until it trembled.

Yan Qingqing retreated repeatedly, her eyes filled with unbelievable expressions, not expecting to lose to an Underworld Lamp Guide in the field of martial cultivation.

"Roar!"

The Snow Wolf King chased up, swinging its sharp giant claws, wanting to beat Li Ling's entire body into mud.

"Bang!"

Li Ling met the attack with her palm, but couldn't resist at all, flying out to one side, her entire arm covered in blood. Before she could land and stand firm, Fang Tong leaped off the wolf's back and headed toward her head with a punch.

Li Ling had just barely rolled to dodge, and Yan Qingqing had already attacked with her sword.

"Clang!"

A yellow glow flashed, and the two swords clashed.

The soft sword went limp, swinging away from in front of Li Ling.

Li Youyi held his sword and met up with her, standing back-to-back, looking at the three strong enemies on three sides.

"Your character is much better than I estimated; you didn't leave me behind. You're reliable!" Li Ling's face and eyes were still cold, but the corners of her lips raised slightly.

"I just understand one truth: today, if we don't kill this dog-like malformed woman, even if we escape, it's meaningless."

That sword clash just now made Li Youyi realize that a seven-spring martial cultivator wasn't that terrifying.

The combat power of a malformed human was just like that.

Li Ling said: "Be careful; legend has it that the Snow Wolf King is Shi Jiuzhai's mount, and its power and speed are not something we can resist. But it has a fatal weakness: it is not a real wolf body, but the soul of a magic tool. I can deal with it using mind power, but I need time to cast the Beast Script."

Li Youyi looked at Fang Tong and Yan Qingqing; facing two enemies alone, he didn't have half a chance of winning in his heart.

Beyond everyone's expectations, including Li Ling's own. Li Youyi carried her on his back, his hands tightly hugging her legs, his feet stepping on the Clear Void Cicada-Catching Step, his figure like a phantom dodging from the sword Yan Qingqing thrust over, rushing into the distance.

With the scripture belt's boost, his speed was a cut above the seven-spring martial cultivator.

"This time, you were the one who took the initiative to carry me. I'm still an unmarried girl; will we be too intimate like this? If it spreads out..."

Before Li Ling could continue, Li Youyi said: "The Snow Wolf King is chasing; how long does it take to cast the Beast Script?"

The light grain at Li Ling's glabella flickered like a star; she had already been using mind power to carve the Beast Script in her glabella spirit realm the moment Li Youyi carried her on his back.

Fang Tong and Yan Qingqing were both standing on the Snow Wolf King's back, the distance between them and the two in front getting closer and closer.

"Don't let her carve the Beast Script."

The next instant, Fang Tong grabbed Yan Qingqing's left wrist, magic power surging into his arm, throwing her out with all his might.

Yan Qingqing, flying in mid-air, her long hair fluttering, magic power transforming into Qi surging out of her body.

The soft sword was like a wind-breaking arrow, heading straight for Li Ling below.

"Borrowing your sword."

Li Ling took the Huang Long Sword from Li Youyi's hand, like a graceful, startled swan flying up, meeting Yan Qingqing who was attacking from above. In mid-air, the two women traded blows, sword Qi crisscrossing in all directions.

"Puff! Puff! Puff..."

By the time Li Ling landed, the Huang Long Sword was dripping with blood.

By the time Yan Qingqing landed, there were already four or five blood holes on her body. And waiting for her was the Heaven-Turning Palm Seal that Li Youyi had long prepared.

This palm, containing the power of the silver silk gloves, hit her head with silver brilliance.

With a 'bang,' accompanied by dense bone cracking.

Yan Qingqing's face, which had been moving and charming, instantly deformed and twisted; her entire head was like a shattered jar, not only bleeding from the seven orifices, but the seven orifices became blurred.

She fell straight down, with no breath left.

On the other side, the Snow Wolf King carried cold air and rushed over instantly, its body shining brilliantly. And the Beast Script in Li Ling's glabella spirit realm had also been carved, flying out from her glabella.

"Looking for death!"

In the dazzling white light, Fang Tong suddenly rushed out like a god of death; by the time Li Ling was ready to swing her sword to meet the enemy, it was too late.

A heavy punch hit Li Ling like a cannonball, knocking her away like a blade of wheat; she spat out blood and could no longer stand up.

At the same time, the Beast Script hit the Snow Wolf King's glabella.

The Snow Wolf King let out a high-pitched and painful roar, its body shrinking, the light and cold air gathering, turning into a wolf tooth that fell to the ground with a 'clatter.'

This coffin sea quieted down!

Only Li Youyi and Fang Tong stood four yards apart.

Both of their eyes were chillingly cold, their auras locked onto each other.

Not far away, Yan Qingqing was already dead. And Li Ling's clothes were already stained red with blood, her life or death unknown.

Even though Li Ling had a thousand faults, she was now an ally who had shared life and death with him; seeing her injured to such a degree, Li Youyi's fighting spirit and murderous intent were naturally extremely vigorous.

No words.

Fang Tong walked forward slowly, then quickly.

Li Youyi didn't have any intention of competing with him, directly taking out the Evil Camel Bell and injecting magic power, shaking it.

"Clang! Clang!"

The sound gradually became deafening.

"Whoosh!"

The Evil Camel Bell flew out, transforming into a giant camel that was half-virtual and half-real, crashing into the rushing Fang Tong.

Fang Tong never expected the opponent to have such a powerful magic tool; he was affected by the bell's influence on his mind and couldn't react at all, being knocked high into the air by the camel, feeling as if all the bones in his body had broken.

The next moment, only a thunderous roar sounded.

Li Youyi used the black iron seal to strike out a dazzling electric arc as thick as a wrist, winding and spreading, piercing through his body.

"Bang!"

By the time Fang Tong fell to the ground, he was already scorched black, with a bowl-sized blood hole in his chest, dying without ever understanding what he had lost to.

Li Youyi walked in front of him, confirmed he was dead, and went to check on Li Ling's situation.

She was severely injured, but still had breath.

He carefully searched the corpses of Fang Tong, Yan Qingqing, and Xing Wanxing, took away all kinds of wealth, and then kicked them all into the Blood Sea.

Afterward, Li Youyi picked up the blood-covered Li Ling and walked back.

Five days later, when Li Ling woke up, she was already on a ship heading to Nine Licheng.

The ship was a giant passenger sailing ship over twenty yards long, departing from Yao Guan and heading upstream along the Sui River. The deck had three levels of ship buildings, with over a hundred cabins.

Li Ling lay on a bed in a spacious cabin on the first level of the ship building, wearing a white silk undergarment, her chest and abdomen wrapped in gauze, having already been treated by a witch doctor in Yao Guan.

The old nanny guarding the bedside was hired by Zhao Zhizhuo in Yao Guan. Learning that the Fourth Miss had woken up, he hurriedly came to pay his respects, and only after receiving permission did he walk into the cabin. Afterward, he told her how Xie Tianshu Jin had brought her to Yao Guan, how he had hired a Beast Li witch doctor to treat her, and that everyone was heading to Nine Licheng and would soon arrive at the Cangli tribe.

Li Ling sat half-up on the couch, covered with a thin, light quilt, her long hair hanging down naturally, gazing at the wide river surface and the faint mountains outside the door, a peaceful, sickly, and cold beauty about her, saying slowly: "Zhao Zhizhuo, forty years ago at the Long Mountain Grand Sacrifice, you ranked first among the ninety-nine heroes. You stepped into the Five Seas Realm at twenty-three, and opened all five seas at forty-one; it was also that year that you were defeated by Yao Qian of the Sui Sect, who shattered your spring eyes and broke your five seas. The humble gentleman Yao Qian should be a figure in the 'Sexagenary Cycle Record' now, right?"

Zhao Zhizhuo was first bitter and guilty, then somewhat incredulous; for the Fourth Miss to remember the resume of a useless person so clearly at her age made a feeling of being moved surge in his heart.

This kind of importance, to someone who had been ignored for many years and had once been glorious, was more touching than any praise or reward.

He said shamefully: "I was only the first of the ninety-nine heroes, not even entering the ranks of the Nine Heroes. Fourth Miss has a heart!"

"Every person who has made a contribution to the Cangli tribe, we will remember."

After a pause, Li Ling asked: "Are they on the ship too?"

"Is the Fourth Miss talking about Xie Tianshu and his companions?" Zhao Zhizhuo said: "They are going to Nine Licheng, and it's on the way."

Li Ling said: "He didn't tell you his real name? Forget it, it doesn't matter."

Zhao Zhizhuo was slightly stunned, then said: "Should I go tell Xie Tianshu that you have woken up... he is quite concerned about your injuries, Fourth Miss."

Li Ling said: "Go!"

Walking out of the cabin.

Zhao Zhizhuo thought of something, then turned and bowed to ask: "We will arrive at the Cangli tribe this evening; are we getting off the ship to return to the tribe, or going to Nine Licheng?"

"My brother must have already gone to the Nine Li Dao Academy, and my parents are also managing the family's industries in Nine Licheng, so we won't return to the tribe first." Li Ling said.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 44 =====

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