Previously, the Four Symbols Shipping spirit ship had been overturned and submerged. After being pressed a hundred meters beneath the waves by the two-faced whale, it did not continue to sink; instead, it showed a tendency to float back toward the surface.
Having gone to the trouble of sinking the ship to strip these snacks of their protection, the two-faced whale naturally would not give the spirit ship even a slight chance to float up.
Therefore, while the two-faced whale leaped and swam through the water, a part of its body remained firmly pressing the spirit ship down.
Most of its attacks on the cultivators in the air involved manipulating the seawater and the falling rain.
It gathered the water into rolling, towering waves or formed pillars of water, attempting to knock the cultivators out of the sky.
The wind did not stop, and the rain did not cease.
Natural wind is different from manipulated wind.
They were being pursued and plundered by three cultivators a whole major realm higher than them, and no matter what means they used, they could not shake them off.
In this situation, the first thing Gu Ningyun instinctively relied on was the foundation of her cultivation—her wind spirit root.
Whether it was the Dao of the Sword, the Dao of Music, the Dao of Talismans, or any other means.
Tracing back to the source, the prerequisite and reliance for all of it was actually her spirit root.
With a spirit root, she could cultivate; by cultivating, she could walk the path ahead.
She possessed a top-grade wind spirit root, and wind spirit energy was the first type of energy she had encountered upon entering the cultivation world.
Even before she was born, from the moment her wind spirit root first formed, she had been accompanied by wind spirit energy day and night.
Whether she realized it or not, no matter how low her cultivation level was.
Wind was, in fact, the existence she was most familiar with.
This familiarity and instinct could often lead her to find that single thread of hope in a life-or-death moment.
The flying boat's maximum speed was comparable to the sword-flight speed of a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator.
As a peak Foundation Establishment sword cultivator, the black-faced cultivator's speed was exactly equal to that of the flying boat.
The toad tongue artifact was still stuck to the tail of the flying boat, with the other end held in the black-faced cultivator's hand.
As long as he exerted force, he could jump aboard at any time.
Although the Cane Old Man and the tobacco-pipe-wielding Old Woman were also at the peak of Foundation Establishment, they were not sword cultivators, so their speed was always a fraction slower than the flying boat.
Seizing a flying boat relied mainly on sudden attacks combined with various follow-up offensive measures.
If it were just that, they could have held out a while longer by relying on the boat's speed and defenses, aided by Wen Xuan and the other three.
The five of them would have had more time to think of a plan and wait for an opportunity.
But when the Old Woman's toxic mist failed, she released a meter-long centipede.
The centipede was slightly faster than the flying boat. It was on the verge of overtaking the black-faced cultivator holding the tongue and heading straight for the flying boat ahead of him.
The time they had left was reduced to the limit; life or death depended on a single thought.
“I have a four-part plan. I need your cooperation,” Gu Ningyun transmitted decisively.
The five of them had been together for years and shared a deep rapport.
Time was short, so Gu Ningyun only had time to say a few keywords, but the four understood her meaning immediately.
Mu Chenze suddenly spoke up, sounding like a drowning man grasping at a final straw.
“Senior sword cultivator, you said earlier you only wanted to use the boat to rest and meant no harm. Was that true?”
The black-faced cultivator was taken aback.
These five had been full of hostility and guardedness just moments ago. Why the sudden change of heart?
Could they have some hidden card and be trying to trick him while his guard was down?
The black-faced cultivator's eyes darted around. “Why would I lie to you juniors? As long as you don't play any tricks, I naturally won't harm you.”
“Mu Chenze, what do you mean by asking him that? You believe him? You're crazy!”
Jiang Yao looked at Mu Chenze in disbelief, as if he could not believe his companion was being so naive.
Mu Chenze looked at the approaching centipede with terror in his eyes.
He ignored Jiang Yao, his voice growing more frantic. “If Senior can deal with that centipede, I'll open the array and give you a ride.”
Seeing his hair standing on end from fright and the centipede rapidly closing in behind them, the black-faced cultivator suddenly understood.
He wondered why the attitude had shifted so abruptly; so that was it.
Hmph. As expected, these cultivators who claimed to value loyalty and righteousness were all spineless. These children who seemed so close were no exception.
As soon as their lives were at stake, they were quick to compromise.
The disdain in the black-faced cultivator's eyes grew, but his lips curved into a kind and gentle smile.
“Of course. If you are willing to give me a ride, I will naturally protect you. I can deal with not just those two little bugs, but that old man and that toxic hag as well.”
“Little Black, you certainly talk big for a waste sword cultivator who can't even form a sword intent prototype. To think you'd dream of taking us both on.”
The Cane Old Man mocked him coldly.
Although his movements became more cautious, his words showed he did not take the black-faced cultivator seriously at all.
He was not a sword cultivator, but as a rogue cultivator who treated life-and-death battles as naturally as breathing, he had clashed with sword cultivators more than once or twice.
He had a fair understanding of their realms and strength.
The Dao of the Sword was powerful, but not everyone who practiced it was an orthodox sword cultivator.
Even if one had the talent for it and set out on that path, there was a vast gap between sword cultivators of the same cultivation level due to differences in talent, resources, and other factors.
For most sword cultivators, their progress should involve practicing swordsmanship during the Qi Refining stage and developing sword qi around the ninth level.
Then, during the Foundation Establishment stage, they would further refine that sword qi to cultivate a sword intent prototype.
Cultivating a sword intent prototype depended on both talent and chance.
However, even the worst sword cultivator should be able to form a sword intent prototype by the peak of Foundation Establishment.
If they could not, they would even deliberately delay their breakthrough past peak Foundation Establishment to spend more time honing their sword.
Otherwise, once they reached the Golden Core stage and faced magic cultivators or body cultivators of the same level using only sword qi, they would not just lose their advantage—they would be utterly outmatched.
The only kind of sword cultivator who had a sliver of talent—just enough to touch the path but not enough to truly walk it—would be the one who could never form a sword intent prototype and remained stuck at the level of sword qi.
Such cultivators were called waste sword cultivators. They only held an advantage during the early stages of cultivation, like Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment, while they were still building their foundations.
Once they reached the Golden Core stage or higher, relying solely on the sword path and using sword qi would result in them being ruthlessly crushed.
In the Cane Old Man's eyes, the black-faced cultivator was exactly that kind of person.
He, the Old Woman, and the black-faced cultivator were all rogue cultivators from Donglin City and had crossed paths many times.
He was very familiar with the situation of the other two.
Although the three of them were all at the peak of Foundation Establishment, the black-faced cultivator's cultivation was actually slightly higher, nearly a hair's breadth away from breaking through to the Golden Core stage.
Yet, even now, he was still using sword qi to fight, with not even a hint of a sword intent prototype in sight.
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