Chapter 92: and translation of chapter title

Banners snapped in the sea wind, severed limbs and broken arms lay scattered across the deck, fresh blood poured into the holes burnt open by sparks in the planking, sending up a stench of scorched flesh. The youth in silver‑thread Dao robes went limp and collapsed on the deck, gazing at the ravaged ship; his eyes weakly shut, then opened, drawn to the boots stepped before him.

"You're Xiao Shaonan, right?" Zhou Shuo looked down at the youth drawn to his boots, setting aside the Heaven‑Shaking Bow and the Infinite Arrow he held.

"……" Xiao Shaonan lifted his gaze to the boot's owner, a youth about his own age—how dare such a fool commit the ultimate outrage and attack the Great Qian Fu Bo Army's fleet!

"Don't look at me like that." Zhou Shuo stared at the glaring Dao‑robed youth, bent over, slipped his hand into the youth's bosom, and pulled out a half‑round jade tablet carved with seal script.

Watching Zhou Shuo take the jade tablet from his bosom, the youth jerked involuntarily, straining to reach out and stop him, but to no avail; just then a pair of white boots entered his field of vision, he glanced at their owner, and his eyes drooped.

"How is it?" Zhou Shuo watched Chan Yinsha approach, one hand gripping a red‑tasseled long spear, the other a long sword; the blade, still humming from the blood‑drinking thought, flowed with electric sigils. As a successor of the Divine Void Dao, Chan Yinsha could not transmute matter, but she knew how to empower her flying sword with thought.

"He's dead." Chan Yinsha lifted the Chengxiao Sword, hurling the great halberd from her left hand before Xiao Shaonan on the deck; seeing the halberd, the youth despondently closed his eyes. The Eight‑Wastelands Halberd, forged by the Champion Marquis to fight the Black Wolf King Bi Shi Hua, lay here—meaning the Fu Bo Army's commander Xiao Tian Yao was already dead.

"Here, a new gain." Zhou Shuo watched Chan Yinsha toss aside the halberd, then flung the jade tablet toward her.

"Immortal Capital Jade Pendant?" Chan Yinsha took the tablet, examined it closely, and could not help but show delight—an ancient sage‑king's relic capable of storing lightning, a treasure she thought only mythical, yet it truly existed!

"The Fang Xian Dao, one of the three Daoist sects sanctioned by the Great Qian court, naturally has its profundities—our trip here must be worthwhile!" Zhou Shuo looked at Chan Yinsha's delighted face and couldn't help smiling.

"Worth it, extremely so—if I knew the Immortal Capital Jade Pendant was here, even a Champion Marquis would have to find a way to seize it." Chan Yinsha spoke without hesitation. Though she had been somewhat reluctant to attack the Fu Bo Army, while the cultivation world only has six holy lands, the Tian Zhou Dynasty is undoubtedly the greatest invisible holy land; she did not wish to provoke the Great Qian court, but now it seems she came at the right time, for the lightning stored within the Immortal Capital Jade Pendant is far too important for her Divine Void Thunder Arts.

"Don't talk like that." Zhou Shuo listened to Chan Yinsha's words, laughed and shook his head—after all, she's a woman.

Facing Zhou Shuo's remark, Chan Yinsha rolled her eyes, while Zhou Shuo turned away, gazing at Xiao Shaonan, who was barely breathing; he pointed his right index finger at the youth's forehead, a jet‑black light flaring at the tip, and as he swayed his finger, the black light traced a sigil on Xiao Shaonan's forehead.

"What are you doing?" Chan Yinsha idly played with the jade tablet in her hand, watching Zhou Shuo's motion, her eyes flickering—again this ability, releasing techniques via talismans, already used to unleash thunder arts and bind people; what is it this time?

Facing Chan Yinsha's question, Zhou Shuo gave no answer; instead Xiao Shaonan flung his mouth wide, eyes bulging, emitting a strange cry—not a wail, not a shriek, but a hoarse sound squeezed from his throat. As the sound issued, threads of black gas seeped from his wide‑open eyes, nose, and mouth, a sight that made Chan Yinsha stare wide‑eyed.

"Soul‑Hooking Curse." Zhou Shuo watched the black gas seeping from the youth's mouth and nose, smiled with satisfaction, reached out to seize the writhing, worm‑like vapor, and pulled it out forcefully.

"Soul‑Hooking Curse?" Chan Yinsha watched as the black gas was drawn from the youth's seven orifices, his cry fading, his gaze lifted—she couldn't help but widen her eyes.

"Yeah, that's right—humans have three souls and seven spirits, souls and spirits depend on the body, form and spirit correspond; well, I'm separating Xiao Shaonan's form and spirit, because I'm very interested in the Fang Xian Dao's forging knowledge, so…" Zhou Shuo grasped Xiao Shaonan's soul and spirit in his hand, explained to Chan Yinsha, and said he wanted the knowledge in Xiao Shaonan's mind.

"This Daoist art is profoundly heretical—what sect were you born into?" Chan Yinsha looked at the soul and spirit in Zhou Shuo's hand, her brows twitching involuntarily; just what is this guy's background, his methods seem endless.

"Me! I once had a Grand Supreme Daoist master as my teacher; I picked all this up here and there, and I've already explained it." Zhou Shuo casually grabbed a wooden plaque, drew a few talismans on it, and locked Xiao Shaonan's vital soul onto it so it wouldn't scatter.

"Everywhere…" Chan Yinsha opened her mouth, "you've picked up a bit of Eastern learning and a bit of Western learning, but nobody's like you."

"All right, let's go!" Zhou Shuo looked at the girl still wanting to say more, scooped up the Heaven‑Shaking Bow and Infinite Arrow, and called for her to rise and leave.

Zhou Shuo didn't want to speak, and Chan Yinsha didn't dare ask; the two projected their souls together, using dark winds to lift each other's bodies, and flew toward the wilderness deep in the sea.

As a local expert, Chan Yinsha knew the sea routes better than anyone; she and Zhou Shuo rode the dark winds, flying for a day and two nights. At dawn on the third day they finally spotted an uninhabited island; upon seeing it, Chan Yinsha did not pause but flew straight on with Zhou Shuo, crossing another stretch of sea, from which they could see in the distance a beautiful green island.

"Let's stay on this island for a while!" Chan Yinsha said, looking at the distant island, and turned to Zhou Shuo.

"There are people up there, and they've already spotted us." Zhou Shuo gazed into the distance; unlike the previous island, this one had many inhabitants, including cultivators, who had already noticed them.

Before Zhou Shuo finished speaking, a roar rang out and a black shape shot from the distant island; the shadow resembled a human, its body covered in reverse scales, a pair of fleshy wings sprouting from its back, two blood‑red eyes like rubies that were not human, its right hand gripping a steel fork, its shrill howl laced with savagery—if an ordinary person saw or heard it from afar, they'd likely go weak‑kneed with fear.

"That's a heavenly corpse of the Witch‑Ghost Dao." Chan Yinsha saw the monster flying in from afar, understood somewhat but remained unfazed, flicked out a bolt of lightning, and sent the creature tumbling head over heels.

"Who dares to spy here?" As the heavenly corpse monster took a tumble, a piercing long howl rose from the island below, echoing across the sea, making souls involuntarily want to leave their bodies and fly.

"Let's go up." Facing the piercing whistle on the sea, Zhou Shuo smiled, accompanied by Chan Yinsha using lightning to knock the incoming heavenly corpse flying again, and they headed together toward the source—what use would that soul‑shaking demonic sound have for them?

Vast dark winds swept as Zhou Shuo and Chan Yinsha pursued the source of the soul‑shaking demonic sound and descended; in a hidden thicket, a black‑robed old Daoist stood before a wooden hut, holding a bone staff, his eyes flashing green light; with a light wave of the staff he released myriad specks of emerald phosphorescent fire.

"You two death‑defying Dao partners…" the old Daoist muttered while spewing phosphorescent fire, simultaneously unleashing the soul‑shaking demonic sound to berate the man and woman who had just landed.

"Don't kill him." Zhou Shuo looked at the shouting old Daoist, called out to Chan Yinsha, and at the same moment his body fluttered down like a feather, he went to meet the heavenly corpse monster chasing from behind, flicked his wrist and unleashed a Yin Thunder blast that sent the monster tumbling head over heels once more.

While the heavenly corpse was still tumbling, Zhou Shuo raised his right hand; his index finger flashed with spiritual light, and in an instant he traced a talisman—its head an edict, its belly "Great General has arrived," its legs linked by lines—once the talisman was complete, it instantly followed his finger and stuck to the forehead of the heavenly corpse lunging at him like a rabid dog; in an instant, this thunder‑immune monster grew still.

"Hey, it works." Zhou Shuo looked at the heavenly corpse whose forehead was sealed by the luminous talisman, its crimson eyes filled with congealed malice, and couldn't help but smile naturally; the talisman he had just drawn was the General‑Suppressing Corpse Seal passed down in Liu Yan Yan's family—he had only meant to test it, yet it worked on the first try; this spirit‑sealing talisman is truly a treasure, any seal can be snatched and used.

"Let's try this then." Zhou Shuo looked at the motionless heavenly corpse, drew a Corpse‑Controlling seal on its back of the head, then swept away the luminous Corpse‑Sealing seal on its forehead—but this time it wasn't as effective.

With the Corpse‑Sealing seal gone, the pitch‑black heavenly corpse instantly shot fierce light from its eyes; the Corpse‑Controlling spell had no effect, so Zhou Shuo had to reapply the Corpse‑Sealing seal to bring it under control, then turned to find Chan Yinsha; as for the old Daoist who had initially subdued the heavenly corpse, he had already been knocked flat on the ground, there kowtowing and shouting, "Mercy, Silver Shark True Immortal!" answering any question put to him.

"The Meng Shen warship of Yun Meng State just passed by yesterday; according to his account, Yun Meng has sent many experts—aside from Bi Shi Hua, Xing Yu Xian is probably aboard that ship as well, plus the two hall masters from the Profound Heaven Pavilion who previously went to Shen Feng State." Chan Yinsha glanced at the heavenly corpse pinned to the ground in the distance, then told Zhou Shuo, who was approaching, the information she had gathered.

"Not surprising." Zhou Shuo shrugged; the significance of the Cosmos‑Holding Pouch to a nation is no small matter, so Yun Meng sending these experts is probably still relatively few.

"So what do we do? If we run into a fellow the level of the Peacock King, I'm no match." Chan Yinsha voiced a little worry; this time too many experts have come.

"No problem—let's rest here for a couple of days, recuperate, then see; if there's a chance we'll seize it, if not we'll forget it, after all we've already gathered plenty." Zhou Shuo looked at the worried Chan Yinsha, glanced at the old Daoist on the ground and the distant heavenly corpse, perhaps taking advantage of the chaos to snag something else wouldn't be bad—he isn't picky.