Chapter 595: Long Gong Water Mansion

River waves surged, and the boats tossed and turned.

Just upon contact, the Qingcheng Sect gained the upper hand.

Those who came this time, although there were no old monsters from the mountain, were all elite experts, the main force that traveled outside.

Previously, they had participated in the battle against the evil Daoists of the Southwest and were very familiar with the terrain here.

And Mingshanzi had also played a trick.

After dispersing the evil things that appeared in the Kan position, he took advantage of the remaining strength, pinched a seal to guide, causing the dense fog gathered by the Sword Altar to drift onto the river.

Soon, the river surface was shrouded in dense fog.

The stars and moon were without light, and the line of sight was blocked.

In the haze, one could only see figures and sword light flickering, the red lanterns were desolate, and the divine fire guns occasionally sprayed firelight.

The advantage of the Black Feather Guards was wiped out.

Their divine fire guns, although powerful, had their line of sight blocked, and in their panic, they could only fire randomly.

Boom!

Firelight splashed everywhere, and figures in the distance were torn apart.

This Black Feather Guard was overjoyed, but he didn't know that the one he hit was an unlucky evil Daoist sorcerer.

Before he could check, a pair of huge hands reached out from the dense fog, his Daoist robes billowing, his five fingers in the shape of a crane's beak, his thumb and index finger locked together, and he struck the head with a bang, bang.

The Black Feather Guard's Lianquan and Tiantu acupoints immediately bled profusely, and he lost consciousness, falling to the ground.

This was the Qingcheng Sect's "Heavenly Stem Crane-Catching Hand," famous for its combination of hardness and softness, and its locking and gripping. With one move of "Crane Beak Locking the Throat," he easily solved the person.

The one who struck was a Qingcheng Daoist.

His left hand used the Heavenly Stem Crane-Catching Hand to kill the enemy, and his right hand was not idle either, performing a sword flourish and taking advantage of the situation to use the move "Su Qin Carrying the Sword" to block his back.

Clang!

A blade light struck from the dense fog, and sparks flew everywhere.

It was an expert evil Daoist from the Southwest conducting an interception.

This person had his head wrapped in white cloth, his skin was scorched black, he wore bone beads on his left ear, and he held a long saber, dressed like a border resident of the Southwest.

His saber technique was fierce. Seeing that it was blocked by the long sword, he took advantage of the situation to wipe upward, sparks flying, directly attacking the face of the Daoist Qingchen.

The sharp blade edge instantly touched the tip of his nose.

This Qingcheng Daoist did not panic at all, lowering his body while flipping his wrist.

Hum!

The sword body bent like a bow, then suddenly straightened, stabbing directly at the enemy's throat with even greater speed.

It was the Qingcheng sword move "White Snake Spitting the Letter."

That border resident man was also a good hand, retreating and raising his saber to block, but he had fallen for a feint.

But then the Qingcheng Daoist shook his wrist again, and the sword light suddenly flicked upward, directly piercing the man's wrist.

"Ah—!"

The man felt the pain and let out a roar, then muttered something in his mouth, seemingly cursing crazily.

The Qingcheng Daoist's eyes went black, and he secretly thought it was bad.

It was clearly some kind of secret technique to call the soul.

Although it wasn't fatal, both sides were currently engaged in blade combat; a slight distraction would mean death on the spot.

"Die!"

The man was overjoyed and took advantage of the situation to slash with his saber.

But just at this moment, another figure descended from the sky, huge five fingers like iron hooks, arms knotted and bulging with muscles, grabbing his head and tearing it into a bloody mess with one pull.

"Be careful!"

A cold voice sounded.

It was the Qingcheng old Daoist with a head of white hair and a face full of scars, with a tall and large figure.

This old Daoist's Daoist name was Daoist Chong Chenzi, adept at using thunder techniques and eagle claw kung fu, a person from the martial world who had turned to Qingcheng for cultivation.

His thunder technique was a different path from Li Yan's, with weaker power but more focus on close-quarters combat, relying on paralyzing enemies to control the field, and could persist for a longer time.

After saving this Qingcheng Daoist, the old Daoist Daoist Chong Chenzi had thunder light flickering on his eagle claws, and he leaped into another ship.

Electric light flickered, and flesh and blood flew everywhere. Anyone he encountered who used a weapon would tremble all over, leaving their vital points exposed, and be torn apart at the throat by his claws.

In his strikes, there was no enemy that could withstand a single blow.

The others of the Qingcheng Sect also had their own marvelous arts.

The middle-aged female Daoist had gold needles trembling on top of her head, and the surrounding enemies all fell into illusions, with figures flickering before their eyes, unable to distinguish between real and fake.

And this female Daoist waved her sword, stabbing and wiping left and right, using the Qingcheng sword technique with a ghostly and ruthless air.

As for the remaining Qingcheng experts, they relied on formidable divine abilities to raid and kill those Black Feather Guards everywhere.

In the span of a few breaths, both the Black Feather Guards and those evil Daoist sorcerers from the Southwest suffered heavy losses.

Naturally, the Qingcheng disciples also had many casualties.

Some were extremely unlucky, shot by the Black Feather Guards firing randomly, either missing limbs or dying on the spot.

Others were besieged and killed by evil cultivators.

This was no longer a simple martial world struggle, but a small-scale war, with sword light and shadows, coupled with new-style firearms; no one could guarantee they could retreat unscathed.

Amidst the chaos, the center of the fleet was extremely quiet.

On the deck of the central great ship, Zhao Jie stood with his hands behind his back in green robes, his expression cold, his gaze scanning the surroundings.

Behind him stood a Dharma altar, with densely packed incense and candles swaying in the wind.

Amidst the flickering firelight, one could see bamboo tally Dharma artifacts placed on the Dharma altar, not knowing how many years they had been used, with a thick patina and the cinnabar blood talismans also somewhat blackened.

These bamboo tallies looked messy, but one could vaguely see that they were exactly the same as the positions of the formation stones that had sunk to the bottom of the river earlier.

Beside the Dharma altar lay more than a dozen corpses.

Some were Salt Gang boatmen, some were evil Daoist sorcerers.

Looking at their appearance, they had all died protecting the Dharma altar.

And around the great ship, there were three broken ships tossing and turning.

Ling Yunzi, Mingshanzi, and Cheng Jianxin's master and disciple surrounded him from three directions.

"Cheng Jianxian Cheng?"

Zhao Jie glanced at Cheng Jianxin, his mouth full of mockery. "I never expected that the Cheng Jianxian who once shook the Shu region and was heroic and spirited would now become like this, and even join others to besiege me."

"Zhao is truly honored..."

Facing his sarcasm, Cheng Jianxin did not change his expression, letting the wild wind blow his messy white hair, saying indifferently: "This old man is old, eating is a struggle, I can't beat young people, what is there to laugh about?"

"Hmph, since you're old, stop coming out to lose face!"

Zhao Jie glanced coldly, still not making a move.

His words were light, but his back was already tense.

Ling Yunzi and Mingshanzi were fine; although they had some threat, they had no chance to deal with him.

Only this Cheng Jianxin, seemingly already at the end of his rope, trembling and unable to stand steadily, even blind in one eye.

But those turbid eyes seemed like a sharp sword; just by meeting his gaze, there was a stinging pain in his chest and between his brows.

Such strong sword intent!

Others didn't understand, but Zhao Jie was clear about the terror of a master.

He had already cultivated Gang strength. Reaching this stage, one could rely on the divine soul to converge Gang and Sha Qi, which not only had greater power, but ordinary spells could be dispersed with a wave of the hand.

If exerted with full force, with Gang strength protecting the body, it was fierce and peerless.

Speaking of it, it was somewhat similar to Li Yan's "Divine Transformation Method."

But Gang strength relied on one's own formidable divine soul and fist intent, and the converged Gang and Sha Qi, perhaps not as good as the "Divine Transformation Method," lasted longer.

Above Gang strength was the Innate stage.

Humans are born flesh and blood. Reaching this step meant one had exhausted their acquired potential and truly began to touch the realm of the "Dao" of martial arts.

Every move had immense power.

And one level higher was the Master.

The so-called "Master" was already the peak existence in martial arts cultivation, having a profound understanding of martial arts, founding a sect, and passing it down for a thousand autumns.

Reaching this step, what was compared was no longer strength.

The key from Innate to Master was whether one could walk their own path.

It is rumored that above the Master, there is a stronger realm. Even without cultivation talent, one could ascend to godhood by relying on a formidable divine soul.

But that already belonged to mythology, even harder than ascending to godhood and becoming an immortal.

Zhao Jie knew his martial arts aptitude was astonishing, but he had no chance of stepping into the Innate stage, so how could he be careless with a Master?

Seeing he was already at the end of his rope, who knew what trump cards he had hidden.

Just this sword intent alone made him extremely uncomfortable. Rattle!

Just at this moment, a bamboo tally on the Dharma altar suddenly moved.

Zhao Jie's expression did not change, but his heart was ecstatic.

He was adept at divination and proficient in water escape; how could he be trapped here?

Staying here was to wait for the opportunity.

Having accidentally achieved blood sacrifice just now, the formation stones that had sunk to the bottom of the river were only moving along with the flow of the Earth Qi.

As long as the position was adjusted, the Long Gong Water Mansion would open.

"He is stalling, act!"

Cheng Jianxin suddenly spoke, smoothly drawing the long sword from Chang Gousheng's hand and pointing it forward.

Clang!

Seemingly soft and powerless, the long sword emitted a dragon's roar.

Zhao Jie's hair stood on end, and he retreated a step, full of vigilance. Gang and Sha Qi gathered on his body, and wild winds howled all around.

Cheng Jianxin didn't use any strength at all, and not even a bit of spell aura could be seen, but the long sword in his hand was eager to move, seemingly about to fly out of his hand.

!

What kind of sword technique is this...

Zhao Jie's brows twitched, his heart horrified.

He couldn't figure out at all how this old man who was about to breathe his last could achieve this point.

Before he could think more, two gusts of wind had already struck from behind.

It was Ling Yunzi and Mingshanzi who had acted simultaneously.

The two pinched seals with their left hands, spat out a breath of Bai Qi from their mouths, wrapped it around their sword bodies, and their dark strength exploded, stepping on the water surface and soaring into the air.

Clang, clang!

Two streams of sword light struck one after another.

"Get lost!"

Zhao Jie let out a roar, taking advantage of the situation to rub his feet.

With a few bangs, the corpses on the deck flew out.

The corpses carried fierce wind, just happening to block the front of Ling Yunzi and the other, the timing grasped perfectly.

Swish! Swish!

Ling Yunzi and Mingshanzi swung their swords simultaneously.

Their Daoist robes fluttered, and white sword qi crisscrossed, directly splitting the flying corpses in two.

After passing through the blood mist, Mingshanzi in the air suddenly pinched a seal and pressed it on the sword hilt.

Hum!

The sword light roared and whistled out.

True flying sword techniques all required setting up a Sword Altar. Even the "Human Sword" that could be used by a single person was the same.

This move, strictly speaking, counted as a flicking sword, but because it was augmented with Gang and Sha sword qi, the power was truly not small.

The sword light arrived first despite starting later, stabbing at Zhao Jie's chest.

This was a subtle sword technique coordination of the Qingcheng Sect.

One person lured the move in front, and the person behind suddenly flicked the sword. No matter if the enemy dodged or blocked hard, they would reveal an opening, allowing the person in front to succeed.

I don't know how many martial world experts had died under this sword technique.

The two used it, and the coordination was just right.

They had already seen that Zhao Jie stayed on the ship to protect the Dharma altar behind him.

Forcing him back and destroying the Dharma altar would count as a victory tonight.

However, Zhao Jie did not dodge or evade, his left hand upward, his right hand downward, his arms turned, and his hands directly clamped the flying sword.

Whoosh~

The surrounding wild winds swirled, Zhao Jie's robes fluttered, and the white sword qi on the flying sword actually dissipated instantly along with the wild wind.

Bagua Palm, Entangling Silk Hand?!

Mingshanzi saw this and found it hard to believe.

It was his first time seeing someone integrate Gang strength into ordinary kung fu, with power comparable to martial arts.

The Six Ren Immortal Sect was adept at divination, but they didn't have such methods.

Before he could think more, Ling Yunzi in front had already closed in, stepped on the deck with his left foot, his body suddenly sprang out, and the precious sword in his hand was like a bullet out of the chamber, wrapped in white sword qi, swish, swish, swish—a series of seven consecutive stabs.

The momentum was swift and fierce, aggressive as fire.

This was the core sword technique of Qingcheng, the Wind and Fire Sword of the Male and Female Dragon and Tiger Sword. Although it was an introductory sword technique, seventy percent of the moves were straight stabs, emphasizing "fast, accurate, and ruthless," most suitable for surprise attacks.

The Wind and Fire Sword coordinated with the Heavenly Stem Finger Qi Technique; there were very few who could block it.

However, Zhao Jie still did not retreat, rubbing his palms together, and Mingshanzi's Dharma sword actually turned around and was held in his hand, humming and vibrating.

At the same time, his left and right feet stepped toward the left and back, stepping on the Gang pace, his body flickering slightly.

In the eyes of Ling Yunzi and Mingshanzi, Zhao Jie suddenly split into two, then into four, becoming four figures, and each sword move was different.

Clang, clang, clang!

Ling Yunzi's Wind and Fire Sword was directly blocked.

Not only that, the other two figures simultaneously swept left and lifted upward, stabbing at his vital points.

Ling Yunzi was startled, turning his body and swinging his sword to block.

The sword light closed in and dissipated instantly.

It turned out to be an illusion...

Before he could react, another figure had already swung upward, sweeping across his chest and abdomen.

Ling Yunzi felt a great sense of impending danger and hurriedly retreated, but it was already too late.

Pfft!

Blood burst forth, and his chest was directly slashed by a sword.

Fortunately, the wound was only half an inch deep.

It was Mingshanzi who had rushed over, grabbing his waist belt and pulling him back, so Ling Yunzi wasn't disemboweled.

Zhao Jie wanted to take the opportunity to kill, but his back tightened, and he stopped.

He turned his head to look, but saw Cheng Jianxin had already jumped onto the ship from behind with Chang Gousheng, and he didn't make a move, just pointing at him with his sword.

And blood stains were slowly seeping out of Zhao Jie's robes on his back.

He wiped his back, looked at the blood stains in his hand, and said coldly: "Sword intent can also hurt people, worthy of being a Cheng Jianxian, but if that's all you can do, today Zhao will slaughter a Cheng Jianxian to see."

Cheng Jianxin was not angry at all, saying in a pale voice: "This is the Yin Body Method. His hidden soul iron plate is at his left heart. Beware of the flying knife inch-slash."

Mingshanzi and Ling Yunzi heard this and immediately understood.

The Six Ren Immortal Sect was adept at divination and numerology, but talismans were also their essence, divided into literary talismans and martial talismans.

Cultivating this method required processes like flower-character body sealing, red-cloth passing, and Dharma name conferring. The key was obtaining a "Hidden Soul Iron Plate" to lodge the soul within it using secret methods.

Not only could it avoid disaster, but it could also use the Yin Body Method.

Those figures were all manifestations of his Yin Body aura, similar to paper puppets, not illusions, which was why they were both real and fake.

And the "Duanhun Feidao Inch-Slash" was also a famous secret method of the Six Ren Immortal Sect, with the knife body attached with talismans and hidden at the waist, capable of flying out to kill the enemy at close range.

Cheng Jianxin was experienced and saw through his background at a glance.

"Old thing, damn you!"

Hearing this, killing intent surged in Zhao Jie's heart.

He only felt as if he had been seen through completely; this feeling was truly annoying.

Gurgle, gurgle~

Just at this moment, a large amount of mud surged out from the water surface again.

In an instant, the entire river surface was stirred up.

The bamboo tallies on the Dharma altar moved rapidly.

Everyone on the river stopped fighting, their expressions horrified.

But seeing the river water surging and dense fog rising, thunder light crackled, and wild winds howled, as if a rainstorm had suddenly descended.

But this rain came from under the water.

Before they could stand steadily, the wild wind and dense fog, thunder light and rainstorm, were all quickly drawn, as if a black shadow flashing with thunder light was drifting toward the distance.

If Li Yan were here, he would discover that this scene was exactly the same as the scene when the Divine Palace appeared in the Cloud Dwelling Residence.

"Hahaha... it's done!"

Zhao Jie let out a wild laugh. "Gentlemen, farewell!"

Having said that, he leaped backward, jumped directly into the water, cast a water escape technique, and disappeared instantly.

Mingshanzi looked at the direction the thunder cloud was drifting and muttered:

"We've been tricked, it's Chengdu!"

"That evil person wants to lead the Long Gong into Chengdu Prefecture!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 596 =====

(End of Chapter)