Chapter 144: Shipwreck, Fleeing at Sea

"Fire!"

Seeing that all the Water God Giant Ballistas were loaded, the Liang Family Martial Venerable waved his hand!

The next moment, all the martial artists struck the mechanism of the Water God Giant Ballista together!

Clang!

Whoosh!

Arrows as thick as an infant's arm shot toward the dark sea below!

After piercing the sea surface, the terrifying penetrative power of the bolts went through the blood-wing tiger sharks constantly swimming around the treasure ship, instantly dyeing the surrounding sea red with a large amount of blood!

After smelling the scent of blood, the blood-wing tiger sharks in the sea instantly went berserk; large numbers of them, heedless of whether the blood was from their own companions, surged toward the smell and frenziedly devoured the bodies of their wounded companions!

The seawater around the treasure ship instantly seemed to boil!

"Keep loading!"

"Fire!"

Large numbers of low-grade blood-wing tiger sharks were blown away, and one after another, muffled roars came from the sea, chilling to the bone!

The three people's life points were rapidly dropping from 54 percent, and in the blink of an eye they had already fallen to 30 percent!

What is going on?

Watching the three people's life points drop by 1 percent every ten or so breaths, Fang Xu's expression grew increasingly solemn.

Seeing Fang Xu hesitate, La Huang Lian quickly added: "We three are all martial masters; the sea is dangerous, traveling together adds a bit of safety."

Having figured it all out, he immediately ran toward the cabin as well.

Everyone is merely a martial artist, not a god; it's utterly impossible to cross the endless sea.

"What!?"

However, the three of them were now somewhat embarrassed; the wooden planks beneath them barely supported their weight, wobbling and swaying, as if they might capsize at any moment.

Suddenly, a small black dot appeared on the distant sea surface.

But Fang Xu felt that the situation before them was absolutely not what they had imagined.

Obviously, the ship's hull should have completely broken apart; sinking completely was just a matter of time.

Three disciples of the Divine Expansion Sect, upon hearing this, exchanged glances.

Time quickly came to evening; Fang Xu took some dried rations and horse milk wine from his Cosmos Bag and ate them quietly.

However, it was obvious that none of the people present knew how to control the treasure ship.

Plunk!

A blood-wing tiger shark fell into the sea, its huge body splashing up a large amount of water!

Below, many blood-wing tiger sharks had already been driven into a frenzy by the blood; the martial artists who fell from the ship were torn to pieces in an instant!

The commotion in the sea below grew louder and louder; obviously, two colossal beasts were fighting beneath the surface.

The speed at which the middle of the treasure ship sank increased rapidly; large amounts of seawater were already flowing from the ship's sides onto the deck, and the entire treasure ship now appeared with both ends lifted up.

Staring at the life points displayed after the three names, Fang Xu frowned slightly.

Boom!

Just then, a terrifying impact sound came, and the treasure ship instantly tilted from the blow!

"Right, I saw this brother constantly throwing things into the sea just now, but..."

Taking advantage of everyone being busy attacking the blood-wing tiger sharks in the sea, he quietly went to where the giant bolts were stored, waved his hand to collect those giant bolts that had reached first-grade treasure item level into his Cosmos Bag, then walked around the deck and also gathered the safety airbags on the ship used for escape.

Duck Mountain Kingdom lies to the southeast of Yu Kingdom; the treasure ship has been sailing at sea for about four days, so we should not be too far from Duck Mountain Kingdom now.

La Huang Lian, while wringing out his soaked clothes, shook his head and said: "Don't mention it; of our five companions on this journey, two brothers died before we escaped from the treasure ship."

We must now take advantage of the fight between the blood-wing tiger shark and that serpent-like creature to flee far from this area; only then do I still have a slim chance of survival.

Is this Liang Family martial artist intending to abandon ship and flee!?

Using the Water God Giant Ballista to shoot down the blood-wing tiger shark, then using its blood to attract the attention of all the surrounding blood-wing tiger sharks, he would then use the treasure ship and everyone on it as bait, leading people away in an escape boat.

Knowing their identities, the reason he still prepared to travel with the three of them was actually because Fang Xu wanted to gather some information from them, and incidentally see whether their journey was to find him or had some other motive.

The giant python blinded one of its eyes; let it blind one of yours as well.

"To be frank, we three are Vast Sea People; this powder is made by mixing the dung of powerful sea beasts with medicinal ingredients and refining it; sprinkled into the sea, it can prevent some sea beasts from harassing us."

This pressure grew stronger and stronger; Fang Xu could clearly feel that if an ordinary person came to this depth, they would instantly be crushed to death by the water pressure.

"Then let's poison it!" another person said.

Pfft!

The giant bolt plunged directly into its body, and the terrifying force also greatly reduced the height it could leap!

One of the three suddenly noticed the wine pouch and dried rations beside Fang Xu and hurriedly whispered.

Even so, after a crisp sound, the treasure ship's hull completely split into two sections; the bow and stern lost connection, instantly stood upright, and then rapidly sank beneath the sea surface.

Seeing this, the martial artists beside Fang Xu all feared being dragged down with the ship, and at the moment the bow was about to sink completely, they all leapt into the sea.

"Kid, I'm also very sorry about this happening."

Some martial artists standing at the edge of the ship saw the blood-wing tiger sharks in the water actually beginning to kill each other, and they all became excited.

Fang Xu gave a hehe laugh and said nothing.

In the distance, a swift current rushed straight toward the four of them!

Fang Xu, seeing this, brought over the wine pouch and dried rations: "Some wine; if you don't mind, these are what I have eaten."

This Liang Family Martial Venerable, who guards the treasure ship, is accustomed to going out to sea year-round and often deals with sea monsters.

Fang Xu pondered for a moment, then reluctantly agreed: "In that case, come over."

Fortunately, I am a martial artist, and my current physical strength far exceeds that of an ordinary martial master.

Don't force me to act, you all… just perish as you may." After saying this, the Liang family martial artist turned and went into the cabin, leading a group of Liang family martial artists aboard an escape boat, quickly leaving the treasure ship.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, Fang Xu focused his gaze and suddenly realized there were three people!

However, the martial artist's qi force penetration is far inferior to that of the Water God Giant Crossbow; those sword qi and blade light attacks, after passing through seawater, find it hard to inflict any damage on the Blood-Wing Tiger Shark.

The giant crossbow bolt of a first-rank treasure could not easily pierce the defense of a Blood-Wing Tiger Shark whose strength had reached the sixth-stage peak, but perhaps Fang Xu was lucky, and the giant crossbow bolt accurately struck the wound on the Blood-Wing Tiger Shark that had been bitten open by the giant python.

Fang Xu had not yet spoken when, among the three Derivation God Sect disciples, a middle-aged man with a waxy yellow complexion and somewhat sparse hair was the first to speak.

Seeing this, the wariness in La Huang Lian's eyes lessened a little, and he cupped his hands toward Fang Xu and said:

"Having been out and about, I've grown accustomed to caution; I hope you don't mind."

The giant python's injuries were severe; he wanted the two sea beasts to fight to mutual destruction, so he had to find an opportunity to further weaken the Blood-Wing Tiger Shark's strength.

However, the number of escape boats is limited, and even if one boards one, survival is not guaranteed.

The Liang Family Martial Venerable glanced at him without directly answering, instead saying, "You don't seem as foolish as they are."

"These beasts actually started fighting among themselves—great!"

"Everyone, the Liang family have fled; only we remain on the ship." Returning to the deck, Fang Xu shouted loudly.

Fixing his gaze on the Blood-Wing Tiger Shark locked in combat with the giant python, Fang Xu suddenly spotted an opportunity, flung his crossbow bolt, the word the Blood-Wing Tiger Shark's eyes!

Is that the thing!?

While airborne, Fang Xu's body instantly flickered with a bird-shaped phantom; using Blood Qi Power to form wings, when his gaze fell upon the huge shadow below, he suddenly realized that this giant python–like creature was precisely the sea beast that had been fighting the Blood-Wing Tiger Shark earlier.

【Your friend Zhang Yun has died, as a friend……】

Boom—

At this very moment, the air-cushion boat beneath the four of them was suddenly overturned by something unknown.

The tremendous force instantly hurled the four of them into midair!

Ang!

La Huang Lian cupped his hands toward Fang Xu and said:

La Huang Lian glared at him and said, "We three have not a drop of water on us—how could we have poisoned anything?"

"This brother also escaped from the treasure ship?"

"Damn the Liang family—do they know something they're not telling us?"

Damn it!

Having drifted at sea for a day, although as a martial artist one does not easily succumb to hunger, upon seeing food and drink, one naturally wants to eat some.

"This is the deep sea; no one knows what terrifying creatures dwell in these bottomless waters." The Liang Family Martial Venerable whispered, then waved his hand again: "Kill!"

He glanced toward the direction where the morning sun rose, and Fang Xu carefully calculated.

The three exchanged a glance, and La Huang Lian immediately laughed, pointing at a porcelain bottle there and saying, "You mean this one?"

The vast ocean—other martial artists aboard the treasure ship obviously do not know how to navigate at sea.

On the Water God Giant Crossbow, another volley of giant crossbow bolts was fired.

The two sides tore at each other, chunks of flesh ripped from their bodies, staining the surrounding seawater red with blood.

Only when the bloody smell in the surrounding seawater grew faint, and only when he was almost suffocating, did Fang Xu change direction and swim toward the surface.

Seeing this, Fang Xu gave a faint smile, took out a piece of dried meat and stuffed it into his mouth, then took another sip of horse milk wine.

Inheritance Two: 【White Inheritance·Strength Attribute 45 points】 can be inherited without risk, but requires touching Hu Yang's corpse.

Seeing this, the giant python surged forward and unleashed a bout of tearing and biting at the blood-wing tiger shark!

【Your good friend Hu Yang has died; as a good friend, you may randomly receive any one of the three portions of Hu Yang's inheritance.】

One of them whispered, "Should we kill this kid later?"

The passengers on the deck grew even more panicked; martial artists who had reached the Warrior rank drew their weapons and unleashed sword qi and blade light at the countless blood-wing tiger sharks in the seawater.

The three happily took the waterskins and food and began to eat.

……

The waxy‑yellow face grabbed the man who was about to reach out for the water and dry rations, stared at him, and slightly shook his head.

Fang Xu, however, simply clung tightly to the anchor rope at the bow and sank with the massive bow into the deep sea.

When the treasure ship encountered the attack of the blood-wing tiger sharks, he would rather speed ahead than strike at them, showing that unless absolutely necessary he did not want to slaughter these blood-wing tiger sharks.

Fang Xu nodded: "You three too?"

"We will follow the current and reach the kingdom of Fusha by tomorrow evening…"

In the depths of the sea of consciousness, the three friends' names slowly surfaced in the friend list.

Hearing his words, the waxy‑yellow face glanced around the calm sea and smiled, saying, "Rest assured, brother; I have scattered beast‑repelling powder around, so no sea beasts will disturb us."

Witnessing all this, Fang Xu frowned slightly, then suddenly realized a terrible thing.

"They've all fled; what are we to do?"

Hearing his words, Fang Xu's face showed a hint of alarm!

After exchanging a glance, the three actually turned around and rowed toward Fang Xu.

The bow of the treasure ship continued to sink; Fang Xu watched as the battle intensified, the surrounding light gradually dimmed, and finally, aside from a faint gurgling, he could hear nothing else.

Fang Xu suddenly realized that he and the three of them were on the same boat; if they were about to die, then he too would be in danger.

Thinking of this, he hastily rose and looked around the sea!

The setting sun had completely vanished, leaving only a faint glow on the horizon.

Seeing Fang Xu suddenly rise and look around with a solemn expression, the waxy‑yellow face asked curiously.

"All right, reaching Thousand‑Mountain Island safely is the priority; don't forget our mission."

At this speed, the three will likely be dead in less than a quarter of an hour.

"We brothers have come to this sea area several times; last night's attack was purely accidental."

Obviously, the Liang family's martial artists had no intention of taking him along to escape.

His body sank into the seawater, a strong bloody smell instantly came, and beneath the sea surface Fang Xu vaguely saw two colossal beasts fighting below.

That was a giant blood-wing tiger shark nearly ten zhang in length!

The creature fighting the blood-wing tiger shark was a being resembling a giant python!

Some passengers, seeing Fang Xu standing at the bow, all ran toward the raised bow and stern positions.

Below, the slaughter of the two terrifying ferocious beasts stirred up huge waves.

"Brother, you can't use that many airbags alone; how about we three cover this plank on the airbags and the four of us travel together?"

"Big brother, look..."

He discovered the other party, and the other party obviously also discovered him.

Legacy Three: 【Gray Legacy·Hu Yang's Collection】has a relatively high inheritance risk; Hu Yang has a collecting obsession, and his collected items are all hidden in the secret room located at the Divine God Sect's stronghold.

The three people in the distance stood on a huge plank, two of them vigorously paddling the wooden pieces in their hands, while the other occasionally scattered something into the seawater.

"Hu Yang!"

Seeing this, the Liang family martial venerable immediately issued another order.

……

Fang Xu heard this and immediately became interested in the powder in his hand.

The passengers on the deck panicked even more; some even lost their rationality, rushing to the other side of the rail and leaping into the sea, ready to give it their all, hoping to escape.

Fang Xu wryly smiled: "There's no such thing as good luck; I too was dragged to the seabed by the sinking bow, fortunately there was a space in the bow not flooded by seawater, so I gathered some airbags and escaped from that perilous place."

Those martial artists seemed to have some tacit understanding with him; seeing the Liang family martial venerable approach, they quietly followed up, whispering a few words in his ear; the Liang family martial venerable nodded, somewhat reluctant, looked at the treasure ship, then resolutely went down into the cabin.

Having reached the cabin, Fang Xu was about to go down when a figure blocked his path.

The darkness above gradually lightened, a faint gold glow coming through.

After selecting inheritance, his figure slowly landed on the plank that had just been overturned and scattered.

"You're welcome." Fang Xu gave a light smile, looking at the three and said: "How did you three escape from the chartered ship?"

As the three gradually approached, they jumped directly into the water, then lifted the plank, placed it on the airbags, secured it with the rising (something), and then all climbed up.

"Fight! Fight! After both sides suffer losses, we'll be safe."

If all these Liang family people left, even if the treasure ship managed to survive the sea beasts' siege by luck, they would hardly reach Fusang State.

However, the giant python at this moment is obviously severely wounded, one eye missing, replaced by a bloody large hole.

"A single drop of blood falling into the seawater can instantly attract sea beasts within tens of li; now a large amount of blood-wing tiger shark's blood flows into this sea—what do you think will happen?"

Under this terrifying pressure, Fang Xu followed the penetration to a sealed space.

【Your good friend Yu Bo has died, as a friend……】

A martial venerable powerhouse; I am currently no match for him.

Climbing onto the airbag raft, Fang Xu began to drift slowly eastward with the current.

The treasure ship's hull has cracked; when the ship is destroyed, the bottom of the bow contains a large amount of metal material, which should be better; as long as the bow doesn't shatter immediately, he can use the bow to briefly dive into the deep sea to avoid the blood-wing tiger shark's attack, then stay away from this troubled area.

Someone urged.

A flash of light in his hand, he took out the survival airbags previously stored in his cosmic bag one by one, then used ropes to bind these airbags together, forming a simple airbag raft.

That person hurriedly waved his hand.

Fang Xu suddenly burst out of the water, taking several deep breaths of fresh air, then realized that the morning sun had already revealed half of its face; the surrounding sea surface, bathed in the sunrise's glow, resembled an endless golden mirror.

Seeing this scene, Fang Xu knew he could not just wait for death.

Fang Xu didn't have time to consider what he had inherited; his gaze locked on the two terrifying sea beasts fighting not far away, a flash of light in his hand, and he immediately took out another first-grade treasure-level crossbow bolt.

"Or maybe it's just your good luck, brother."

His powerful physique fully erupted, Fang Xu's swimming speed extremely fast—100 meters, 200 meters, 500 meters, 1 kilometer……

"Don't despise! Don't despise!"

Not good!

Legacy One: 【Black Legacy·Mysterious Manual】inheritance risk unknown; this manual records some secret research of the Divine God Sect, specific effects unknown.

Boom!

Another terrifying impact sound came!

The battle of the two colossal beasts underwater grew increasingly fierce.

Its scales are also incomplete,

And ahead, the direction its huge tail swept, that water flow suddenly stalled!

Immediately, a huge blood-wing tiger shark leapt straight out of the seawater!

In midair, Fang Xu saw the blood-wing tiger shark that had leapt out of the water actually charging toward him; his eyes narrowed, and he immediately took out a giant crossbow bolt from his cosmic bag and hurled it at the blood-wing tiger shark.

When they drew near, Fang Xu finally saw the three people's appearances clearly, and realized they were exactly the three Divine God Sect followers he had met earlier at the inn.

"Senior, what will happen if we continue like this?" Without other martial artists' optimism, Fang Xu approached the Liang family martial venerable and bowed.

In midair, Fang Xu's toes suddenly stepped on the blood-wing tiger shark's body, and his figure leapt up again.

"Anyone who knows how to steer a ship, quickly think of a solution!"

Upon hearing this, the other two also stood up.

Seeing that the Liang family martial artists on the deck had indeed all disappeared, the martial artists on the ship panicked instantly.

The battle between the giant python and the blood-wing tiger shark directly killed the three Divine God Sect members, and three virtual panels popped up before Fang Xu's eyes.

"Hey brother, what's wrong?"

As the bow sank deeper and deeper, Fang Xu gradually felt a faint pressure coming from all directions.

These safety airbags are made from ferocious beasts' stomachs, filled with air, similar to modern lifebuoys.

The waxy-yellow-faced man looked over Fang Xu, shook his head, and said: "He's also a martial artist; if we fight, his dying counterattack could very well rupture the airbags—that wouldn't do."

As for Fang Xu, his gaze stayed fixed on the three; seeing their lips twitch slightly, he also roughly guessed their plan.

Some martial artists, seeing the situation improve, actually began to covet the Blood-Wing Tiger Shark's pair of blood wings.

After gathering all those things, he went to the bow again.

A martial artist's formidable physique allows him to hold his breath underwater for a long time.

Thanks, brother.

Why are they fleeing?

After this impact, the nearly hundred-zhang treasure ship already showed a noticeable dent amidships!

Before he finished speaking, Fang Xu saw a faint ripple suddenly appear on the left side of the air‑cushion ship's sea surface; moments later, a huge looming shape seemed to rise from the depths and swim toward the air‑cushion ship.

One of the three Divine Extension Sect members also noticed the movement, frowned slightly, and said: "It seems something is approaching."

This situation certainly isn't because he's a kind‑hearted person holding back; surely taking action would bring greater trouble.

Upon entering this place, he took several deep breaths of fresh air, then kicked off the ship's hull and darted off like a lively fish toward the distance.

A huge silhouette burst from the water, and immediately a terrifying tail lashed out at the rushing flow behind it.

Fang Xu waved his hand, indicating he understood.

The two nodded, somewhat unwillingly.

Gurgle!

Gurgle!

……

Only then, with the two sides evenly matched, would I have a chance to slip away while they fought.

I don't know, but I have a feeling danger is approaching.

Victory or defeat hangs on this one move!

I've heard the Blood‑Wing Tiger Shark's pair of blood wings are extremely tasty and rich in blood‑qi; shall we fish some up later?

But now……

The number of sea beasts in the ocean far exceeds that on land; he doesn't know when he'll encounter one, so he must keep his body at peak condition to face any possible battle.

The blazing sun hung overhead, the surrounding sea perfectly calm; Fang Xu stood on the air‑cushion ship, gazing at the distant, sparkling waves, and could faintly see low mountains where sky met water ahead.

He knew that if he had tried to board the ship just then, the Liang Clan's Martial Venerable would surely have struck him down.

The waxy‑yellow‑faced man nodded, his gaze falling on the air‑cushion ship made of many airbags beneath Fang Xu, and said: "Brother, you're lucky—did you gather all the airbags from the treasure ship?"

Seeing the chaos below intensify, he gave Fang Xu a deep look, then quietly rushed toward the Liang Clan's martial artists.

Watching the Liang Clan members disappear into the darkness, Fang Xu narrowed his eyes.

What should we do now?

Gazing at the sea for miles around turned red, the Liang Clan Martial Venerable's expression grew graver: "Sea beasts are extremely sensitive to the smell of blood."

Perhaps because it's well sealed, and because the bow sank straight down, creating an inverted‑bowl effect, this area hasn't flooded yet and still contains plenty of air.

Although those mountains look near, I actually don't know how far they are; for now I can only drift slowly with the current, with no better option.

Adrift alone on the lonely sea, time crawled by; Fang Xu sat cross‑legged on the air‑cushion ship, quietly regulating his breath and seizing the moment to cultivate.

The cargo and some unprepared passengers were toppled and rolled into the vast ocean.

That's about even for the two of you—you can go ahead and fight.

The crossbow bolt struck the Blood‑Wing Tiger Shark's eye squarely; Fang Xu immediately gathered the scattered airbags and the plank into his cosmic bag, then dove into the water.

(End of Chapter)