Chapter 30

The ironclad warship slowly sailed away from the island, slipping into the misty sea area, and inside the warship's cabin, Yao Yue Ting, blushing, had Zhou Shuo sit on a futon, then she found another futon and sat opposite him. The two remained silent for a while, Yao Yue Ting's face flushed red as she spoke.

Zhou Shuo, if you're not at ease, you can leave some thoughts inside your body; the Attachment Realm should be able to do that.

No need, I still don't trust you! Zhou Shuo looked at his pure, cold, shy, timid sister, feeling especially amused. Seeing her speak, he instinctively closed his eyes and projected his soul out of his body. Of course, he dared to do this because he carried an ice silkworm incarnation, refined from the one he had taken from the Bai residence; that thing is very poisonous, the sister is very cute, but people's hearts are always separated by a layer of belly skin.

Seeing Zhou Shuo close his eyes, Yao Yue Ting hurriedly closed hers as well, her soul turning into yin wind and leaving her body; she immediately saw a cluster like light smoke drifting in the cabin—Zhou Shuo—and couldn't help but be slightly startled.

Zhou Shuo, why is your soul so weak! Yao Yue Ting was somewhat surprised, because Zhou Shuo's soul appearance was somewhat transparent; such a soul is too weak, seeming only at the level of a Manifestation expert, yet his realm had actually reached Attachment Realm—whether true or false is unknown.

I have no proper Dao arts. Zhou Shuo looked at Yao Yue Ting, whose soul resembled a real person, her face bearing a sacred, inviolable aura, then glanced at his own somewhat illusory soul and shook his head; this is the difference in cultivating profound Dao arts—although he is in the Attachment Realm, a master of proper Dao arts who commands objects could easily outmatch him in soul strength.

Alright, no more talk, let's go! Zhou Shuo smiled, and then his soul suddenly passed through the cabin's deck.

Wind and waves billowed on the sea; Zhou Shuo flew out of the cabin, rose to the mast of the ironclad ship, glanced down at the ironclad warship sailing on the sea, glanced back at Yao Yue Ting drifting like a fairy, the two nodded at each other, and set off toward distant Giant Whale Island.

Giant Whale Island covers a considerable area; within its vast primeval forest lurk many poisonous insects, snakes, and ants, and precisely because of this natural environment, it protects the pirates on the island from external forces; the navy of the Great Qian Dynasty has never been able to eradicate these pirates, most failures stemming from this environment—even a cultivator who has united spirit and flesh cannot withstand a single bite of a sesame‑sized poisonous insect, plus there are invisible miasmas, plagues, and many other troubles; fortunately, this time Zhou Shuo and Yao Yue Ting arrived on the island via soul projection, and there was no large‑scale assault prepared.

Zhou Shuo and Yao Yue Ting each found a seabird on the beach, forcibly attaching their souls to it; having such a temporary vessel can shield the soul from some harm, can resist trouble for a while, and also allows them to use their innate advantage to observe the situation from high above.

With the seabirds' wings, Zhou Shuo and Yao Yue Ting, from high above, took in the whole of Giant Whale Island; the island's terrain overall is quite rugged, a high mountain splits it into two parts: one half is deep, secluded forest, teeming with insects, ants, and poisonous snakes; the other half is a depression encircled by strange mountains, containing large tracts of farmland and dwellings, fortified bulwarks, and people working the fields—visible at a glance from the sky.

These pirates actually built such a place here! Yao Yue Ting, viewing through the seabirds' eyes, surveyed the constructions within the island and couldn't help but feel deeply shocked; ordinary pirates would never have such an idea; for these pirates to do this, there must be experts behind them, possibly even aid from Yunmeng, Yuan Tu, and Shen Feng; once they gain strength, they will likely become a dagger thrust into the court's belly.

I'm not afraid of thugs fighting, but of thugs with culture, Miss Yue Ting—your cultivation is higher than mine; tell me what we should do next, should we go down? Zhou Shuo, wings spread, circled in the sky, asking with a grin.

Of course we must go down. Yao Yue Ting projected her soul, listening to Zhou Shuo's teasing; even though she felt a bit shy inside, she could not form any thought, her mind as calm and decisive as a goddess; she spread her wings and dove downward, and Zhou Shuo naturally followed.

Zhou Shuo and Yao Yue Ting possessed the white‑headed seabirds, flying low across the sky straight into the air above the fortress, observing those pirates wielding weapons—each appeared vigorous, their musculature showing they had trained martial arts; moreover, there were dozens clad in sturdy black‑scale armor, holding black‑iron bows, bearing eagle‑feather arrows, their heads covered by black helmets—powerful archers.

Iron Demon archers. Zhou Shuo could recognize their origin: in the Yunmeng army there is a unit specializing in archery, the Iron Demon troops; he had once defrauded a set of Iron Demon armor from He Wusheng, and that armor is the exclusive gear of the Iron Demon troops; behind the pirates on Giant Whale Island lies a connection with the Great Qian Dynasty's mortal enemy, the steppe state of Yunmeng.

What Zhou Shuo could see, Yao Yue Ting could naturally see as well, but because they flew too low, with iron‑bow troops stationed below, neither dared to speak; they only circled in the air, then proceeded to scout inside, their gazes inadvertently sweeping over the key chokepoints of the pirate base.

Who is it? Just as Zhou Shuo was scanning his surroundings, a sudden shout rang out, followed by a silver light shooting from inside the house; the silver light flashed once and cut the seabird Zhou Shuo possessed in half, his soul instantly drifting out; he saw the blood‑tinged silver light charge at him again, and immediately it was blocked by a crystal‑light shield—Yao Yue Ting had acted.

Dao arts master, Zhou Shuo, go. The silver light blocked by the crystal‑light shield revealed its true form: a bloody sword, a soul‑controlled blade; Zhou Shuo saw Yao Yue Ting flying off while still bearing the seabird's body, received her mental transmission, and without a word flew away himself.

You think you can leave? A cold, stern voice rang out, the crystal‑light shield shattered, and the silver‑light sword pursued closely.

There's a situation. The silver‑light sword flew out of the fortress, straight after the drifting soul; instantly it caused a commotion, and the Iron Demon troops that had been on standby immediately mobilized—if they hadn't been unable to find the enemy, their arrows would have already been loosed.

It's a Dao arts expert scouting; everyone be on guard. A loud shout echoed across the entire pirate base, and the previously lax pirates instantly became alert.

Not mentioning the pirates on high alert, Zhou Shuo's soul turned into a gust of wind and swirled, but the silver‑light sword behind him pursued relentlessly; however, as he flew, he suddenly came to his senses, halted abruptly in the forest, his soul instantly coalescing into form; he turned to face the incoming silver‑light arrow, a thought sparked, and with a whoosh a few flames rose to meet it, causing the silver‑light sword to stall momentarily.

Gathering fire with your soul? May I ask which exalted one you are, coming to spy on Giant Whale Island! The silver‑light sword halted in midair, and a voice issued from its blade.

Hehe! Zhou Shuo looked at the soul hiding in the sword that was speaking, let out a strange laugh, a thought stirred, and the gathered flames instantly blazed fiercely, turning into a fire cloud that wrapped around the silver‑light sword.

If you don't speak, don't blame me for being ruthless. The silver‑light sword moved, swishing through the air with a hiss, scattering the fire cloud, then darted forward to thrust at Zhou Shuo's soul.

The Heavenly Sword Sect's sword‑control technique—just a bit of skill, that's why you dare to chase me like this. A sheet of bright light instantly enveloped Zhou Shuo's soul, and at the same time a clear, cold voice like that from a throne spoke.

Soul gathering moon essence—such power, alas, you are two people. The silver‑light sword, without touching the bright light, stopped on its own and then instantly withdrew, because the soul inside the sword had assumed only Zhou Shuo was present, not expecting that Yao Yue Ting was also hidden; they couldn't win, so they had to flee quickly.

Although they wanted to leave, it was already too late; the bright light suddenly condensed into a crystal pellet, which instantly caught up with the fleeing silver‑light sword; at the same moment Yao Yue Ting's soul descended from heaven, like a true person's soul it cracked open with a kak‑kak‑kak sound, and from the fractured soul flew out a five‑tiered, jade‑rail‑carved, flying‑eave‑bracket structure, exhaling celestial music, resembling a heavenly pavilion in the sky, which instantly sucked up Zhou Shuo's soul.

Zhou Shuo had not yet processed what was happening; finding himself in a lofty pavilion where celestial music drifted, he felt his vision flash white, heard a loud 'bang' in his ears accompanied by the faint wail of 'Taiyin Divine Thunder', and once his sight steadied, he saw the trees within ten meters around him toppled or snapped, the surroundings a mess, while he himself had been protected by Yao Yue Ting's spell during the explosion.

Zhou Shuo, just now I wanted to use the Taiyin Divine Thunder, fearing it would harm your soul, so I placed you into the Yao Chi world; it was unavoidable, I'm truly sorry. Yao Yue Ting's soul condensed beside him; although her words carried apology, her voice was utterly clear and cold.

What apology? If it weren't for you today, I'd be in trouble. Zhou Shuo looked at his sister, her face clear‑cold, showing no trace of the shyness she had when in a physical body; he quickly shook his head and waved his hands, yet felt embarrassed—actually having his sister protect him—but possessing proper Dao arts techniques makes all the difference, his combat power strikingly outstanding.

The enemy only sent forth a Manifestation Realm Daoist; likely there are no other Dao arts masters. Let's go back and let them see how formidable we are—even if we gain no advantage, we must kill those Iron Demon archers. Yao Yue Ting, in soul form, her face clear‑cold like a queen, acted decisively, like a war god.

Okay. Zhou Shuo looked at his sister, who was like a queen and also like a war god; since you said we'd fight back, as a grown man I naturally cannot fall behind.

Without further ado, relying on skill and boldness, Zhou Shuo and Yao Yue Ting flew back there; this time they were souls, no longer borrowing bird bodies, invisible to ordinary people; Yao Yue Ting, in soul form unbound by a physical form, after looking around made a firm plan: Zhou Shuo would set fire to burn the ships on the island, while she would eliminate the Iron Demon archers.

In less than an hour or two, thick, fierce smoke rose in the sky over Giant Whale Island, accompanied by muffled thunder from the island; the disciples of the Yao Chi Dao riding on the ironclad warship, drifting at sea, heard the muffled sound in the distance, saw the smoke, and immediately reported the news to Yao Yue Ru, who was guarding the cabin.

Hmph. Yao Yue Ru listened to the disciples' report, looked at the man and woman sitting opposite each other inside with eyes tightly shut, and involuntarily pursed her lips to let out a cold snort.