Chapter 86

On the sea, fist-sized ships gradually approached, the air fell into a sudden silence; whether it was the tense Hong Yi and his companions, or Chan Yin Sha planning to watch the show, or Zhou Shuo preparing for battle, everyone's focus differed slightly, but there would be no surprise—a battle was about to unfold.

Bang, two warships drew near; in the hushed air, a sudden boom rang out, followed immediately by nine sharp cries. Upon hearing those nine sharp cries, even the Innate Martial Master couldn't help but sway, and accompanying these nine strange sounds came nine thin shadows, which made everyone's view of heaven and earth fade, as if their souls were about to leave their bodies.

"Not good, this arrow..." Hong Yi saw the nine thin shadows attacking from the sky, reacted instantly, his heart startled; compared to his astonishment, Chan Yin Sha beside him blurted out.

"Boundless Arrow! Zhou Shuo, don't let that arrow get close, or many on this ship will die." Chan Yin Sha initially dismissed it, but upon hearing the sharp sound and seeing the thin shadow, she couldn't help exclaiming, "One of the Peach God Seven Treasures of the Peach God Dao among the Six Holy Lands; I once saw the sect master Luo Tian Yue use it at sea. In mass combat it is terrifying to the extreme."

Good. Zhou Shuo raised his right hand; an azure-green electric arc shot out from his palm, countless arcs intertwining, forming nine substantive green bolts; each green bolt met a thin shadow, and upon contact the shadow was blocked, revealing its true form—nine feathered arrows covered in talismanic script. The talismans on the arrow feathers, shafts, and points allow the arrow to kill without hitting, snatching a person's soul from afar and using it as fuel to power its flight.

Once the Boundless Arrow is launched, it can keep killing endlessly; countless humans, beasts, and birds—if their cultivation is insufficient, their souls within a certain range will be completely drawn onto the arrow, becoming its power. With sufficient fuel supply, the arrow will never stop flying, fighting to sustain itself, worthy of being called a mass combat weapon, and thus it became the foremost of the Six Treasures of the Peach God Dao in the Divine Wind State.

Zhou Shuo looked at the feathered arrows as if they were alive, let out a hey-like cold snort, and his right arm jerked; the nine green bolts instantly darkened, turning into a sticky, glue-like substance that kept writhing like a strange worm, chewing and gnawing the nine struggling Boundless Arrows, then, as Zhou Shuo's five fingers made a grasping motion, the nine Boundless Arrows were swiftly dragged back.

"Impudent!" Just as Zhou Shuo made a grasping motion, a furious shout rang out from the sky, seeming to come from the Palace in the Clouds, striking people's souls; with the shout, heaven and earth instantly turned black and white, the azure sea and blue sky vanished, the earth beneath became vast and desolate, the starry heavens above collapsed, countless rotating planets enlarged, making one feel as if immersed in a stellar vortex.

"Yan Zhenzong, how much do you despise me?" Zhou Shuo pulled the nine Infinite Arrows wrapped in Yin Lightning before him, gazing at the boundless starry sky, the corner of his mouth split open, the Golden Light Mantra in his body spontaneously activated, a golden luster rippled outward from him like waves; whether the vast earth or the starry whirlpools, touched by this luster they instantly vanished, and heaven and earth returned to azure seas and clear skies.

"May I ask who you are? Is there some misunderstanding with my Great Luo Sect that you stand up for Hong Yi?" In the azure seas and clear skies, a patch of five-colored starlight condensed in the air, forming a scholar in wide robes and large sleeves, wearing a golden crown, with a gentle gaze, who from afar spoke to Zhou Shuo, who had taken the nine Infinite Arrows in his hand on the deck.

"I don't know where Elder Brother Yi offended your Great Luo Sect." Zhou Shuo looked at the scholar materializing in the sky; the green viscous Yin Lightning on his hand retracted into his body, the nine Infinite Arrows were split and held in his hands, and pale light runes instantly spread from his hands onto the arrow shafts; although the arrows' own runes were about to activate, the spreading pale light runes on the shafts instantly robbed them of all struggle.

"Hong Yi is the bastard son of Marquis Wuwen——" Yan Zhenkong's soul manifested, still preparing to say a couple more words, but seeing the pale light runes spreading from Zhou Shuo's hand onto the Infinite Arrows, his face changed, he flashed down onto the lower ship, snatched a great bow from the hands of a not-so-old youth, pulled the blood-red bowstring aimed at Zhou Shuo from afar, intending to use the Heaven-Shaking Bow paired with the Infinite Arrows in his hand to resonate with the Infinite Arrows, yet no matter how he drew the bow, the Infinite Arrows gave no response.

Clang—clang—clang, nine arrow shafts fell on the deck; Zhou Shuo looked into the distance, his heart twitched slightly, whoosh— the long narrow sword leapt from his waist sheath, turning into a cold light that stabbed straight toward Yan Zhenzong on the distant ship.

"You're courting death." Yan Zhenkong's attempt to draw the Heaven-Shaking Bow failed; seeing the cold light shooting toward him from afar, the scholar's composure on him collapsed, he let out a crane-like long cry, threw the great bow back to the youth, and at the same time waved his hand to release the Star-Extermination Divine Orbs—several clusters of colored light balls shot toward Zhou Shuo—while he himself went to meet the incoming cold light.

Zhou Shuo released a sheet of substantive golden light, blocking the incoming colored light orbs; when the colored light orbs struck the golden light, they exploded instantly, scattering countless colored starlight that hammered the golden light; the Golden Light Mantle twisted and distorted somewhat, but ultimately held firm, whereas the situation for Yan Zhenzong far away was completely opposite.

Yan Zhenzong saw that Zhou Shuo's long narrow sword was a fine blade; having lost the Infinite Arrows, he wanted to seize the sword to compensate for his loss, so he drove his soul's starlight body to meet the incoming cold-light sword, yet he never imagined that this treasure sword would be like a cultivator whose spirit and flesh are one—his soul could not penetrate it at all; instead, his own soul's starlight body was pierced through by the sword.

"How is this possible?" Yan Zhenzong's soul, formed of condensed starlight, feared no physical attack, yet the instant the sword pierced his heart, he felt one of his thoughts directly punctured; this was also his good fortune, for Zhou Shuo's flying sword had not yet been fully refined, otherwise the moment the sword pierced his heart, sword qi would burst forth, enough to shatter all his thoughts together.

After one thought was punctured, Yan Zhenzong fell into momentary shock; as his soul's circulation resumed, he saw only a blank expanse below—it turned out the long narrow sword had responded to Zhou Shuo's thought, slipping straight onto the Great Luo Sect's ship; the cold light, like a spirit snake, merely circled once, whereupon over a dozen Great Luo Sect adepts clutched their chests and collapsed; three Great Luo Sect masters lunged together, hoping to seize the sword, yet the long blade spun like a windmill, instantly flesh and blood flew, and anguished cries rang out.

"You dare?" Yan Zhenzong looked at the situation on his own ship, couldn't help but panic, turned his head toward Zhou Shuo—this flying sword he could not momentarily control, so he could only think of restraining the sword's master—but the instant he turned his head, a blazing white lightning surged toward his face.

"I don't play turn-based here." Zhou Shuo looked at Yan Zhenzong, whose soul's starlight body hovered in the air, shocked and shattered in thought, without hesitation, bright light welled up on his right index finger, and he traced in the air a Five Thunder Rune—its head, body, and foot completed in one fluid motion.

In an instant, the final stroke of the Five Thunder Rune hooked; where the rune marked the air, a zzzt—bright electric arc sparked, then a booming—burst of bright current surged toward the Great Luo Sect's ghostly immortal expert gazing upward; the expert was instantly enveloped by the electric arc, his numb body emitting a series of crack—sounds, the noise of thoughts shattering.

"Ah!" Yan Zhenzong felt his soul going numb and his thoughts shattered; unable to help it, he poured all his will into it, using his anguished cry to explode his soul's starlight body into countless starlight spheres that filled the air; each sphere bore cracks, and at the moment of explosion many directly ruptured and vanished, leaving dozens of spheres hanging in the air, then, as if swept by wind, they all flew toward the horizon.

A flash of colored star at the horizon vanished instantly; the remaining henchmen on the two ships lost their wits at once, only two adepts of Daoist arts—the youth holding the Heaven-Shaking Bow and a yellow-skinned old hag—after exchanging a glance, both fled their souls from their bodies, attached them to the Heaven-Shaking Bow intending to fly straight away, but were blocked sideways by the long narrow sword.

In the moment of interception, the sword blade struck the bow's stave, emitting a clear metallic ringing; the Heaven-Shaking Bow's stave suffered no damage, yet it was held aloft unable to fly, being jerked by the azure viscous lightning flying from afar, it instantly fell into Zhou Shuo's hand, gripped tightly, and could no longer take flight.

Zhou Shuo sheathed the retrieved companion sword, lowered his head to look at the great bow in his hand; this bow was about the height of an adult, each tip carved with a beast's head, on the beast heads were all eerie red gleam, the jaws gripping a thumb‑thick blood‑red bowstring; Zhou Shuo's hand gripping the bow stave trembled slightly, azure‑green electric arcs danced between his fingers, silently seeping into the bow's interior, driving out the two lone souls dwelling inside, exposing them before everyone.

"Hong Yi, Marquis Wuwen will not let you off……" The yellow‑skinned old hag, as soon as she was bounced off the bow stave, immediately looked toward Hong Yi beside her and let out a shriek—but before she could finish, her insubstantial soul was struck by an invisible force and turned into dissipating blue smoke; seeing that, the remaining soul swayed, and beside her Hong Yi watched Zhou Shuo lower his hand, his brow jumping continuously—a Martial Saint, this guy actually is a Martial Saint!

"This old thing speaks unpleasantly; don't take the wrong path again." Zhou Shuo raised his hand and completely dispersed the yellow‑skinned old hag's soul with qi and blood, then turned his gaze to the remaining soul.

"I'll talk, I'll talk, I'll say everything." The youth, upon being seen by Zhou Shuo, involuntarily flickered and blurred.

"Elder Brother Yi, then he's yours to handle; this is also your own affair!" Zhou Shuo looked at the youth coming over, handed him to Hong Yi to deal with, and at the same time picked up the nine great arrows on the ground, casually handing over the Heaven-Shaking Bow together to Chan Yinsha, without waiting for her reply he explained himself.

"There are still people coming behind; this time I might not be able to handle it alone."

Hearing Zhou Shuo's words, even Hong Yi, who had detained the soul, couldn't help but turn his head and glance; he saw far out on the sea, a row of bottle‑cap‑sized ships gradually revealing their outlines.