At the bow, a beast skull the size of a millstone hung high, two clusters of green fire flickering eerily in its eye sockets.
The hull was shrouded in a layer of grayish-black mist that drifted close to the lake's surface, leaving a layer of black frost on the water wherever it passed.
Amidst the swirling frost, one could vaguely see dense crowds of figures carrying sabers and swords on the vessel.
This bone vessel was clearly a spiritual artifact of no low rank!
What was more... it did not look like an orthodox spiritual artifact!
Sure enough!
In the next instant, a wild laugh came rolling over:
“Hahaha! Now that the Blessed Land has appeared in the world, how could our Sacred Sect be absent!”
The laughter boomed like a giant bell, rolling across the lake's surface.
On the beach, a cold light flashed in Wen Qingye's eyes as his fingers gripped his sword hilt, a low hum vibrating within the scabbard.
“The Yinsha Sect!”
Reacting even more fiercely than him was the “Great Songyang Hand,” Shen Cang.
“Yinsha scoundrels!”
The Deputy Pavilion Lord of the Qingyuan Sword Pavilion stood suspended in midair, his hair and beard bristling as he barked like muffled thunder:
“Rats in the gutter dare to covet the treasure land of our orthodox path? Take a palm strike from this old man first!”
Clap!
Before his voice even faded, he clapped his massive, fan-like hands before his chest.
Crimson light erupted from his body as pure Yang Gang Qi surged into his palms like lava. The explosive heat between his hands caused the surrounding air to warp violently, sizzling aloud.
Boom!
In the next breath, Shen Cang unleashed a palm strike!
『Great Songyang Palm: Great Sun Burning Heaven!』
A crimson palm print several yards wide shot forth from his hand, resembling a blazing sun that could incinerate all creation, carrying a destructive, scorching gale of Gang Qi as it crashed toward the giant bone vessel.
Wherever the palm print passed, the lake's surface was actually pressed down into a trench several feet deep, the water on both sides bubbling as if boiling, sending plumes of white steam rising.
And the one who had laughed so wildly was clearly no pushover either.
Swoosh!
A tall, thin figure suddenly flashed to the bow of the vessel.
He wore a loose black robe. His face was pale, his cheekbones high, and his eyes deeply sunken. The most bizarre thing was his lips, which were pitch black!
When he grinned, he revealed a row of stark white teeth, looking like a zombie that had just crawled out of a grave.
“A mere parlor trick, yet you dare display it before a master!”
The black-robed man sneered and thrust out a single hand.
Within his palm, gray light suddenly flared, condensing into a thick shield of fiendish qi.
Countless twisted, grayish-black patterns flowed across the surface of the shield. Upon closer inspection, they were actually distorted, silently screaming ghostly faces, layered on top of each other and completely airtight!
This was none other than the Yinsha Sect's signature technique—
『Yinsha Great Art: Sha Force Shield』!
Boom!
The crimson palm print and the grayish-black Sha Force Shield collided violently, erupting with an earth-shaking roar.
Scorching waves and yin-fiend energy tangled and tore at each other like two vicious pythons, sweeping across the lake with a searing aftershock that whipped up a thirty-foot wall of water, which then poured down like a torrential rain of white foam.
The black-robed man's face twitched slightly, and he quickly tucked his hand behind his back, though he maintained an air of disdain on his face as he said:
“The Great Songyang Palm? Merely so-so!”
“Audacious scoundrel!”
Seeing this, Lei Xiao barked in anger. A pitch-black spear materialized in his hand, its tip pointing directly at the black-robed man from afar!
“Kou Guan!”
“I have searched for you for a long time, yet I never expected you to deliver yourself right to my door. Very well! Today shall be the day you die, demon!”
Kou Guan!
An Outer Gang Rank expert!
One of the Eight Great Protectors of the Yinsha Sect!
Hearing this, Kou Guan's pitch-black lips curled slightly into a mysterious smile, and he rasped:
“My day of death? With just you, Lei Xiao, do you have the ability?”
“You...”
Furious, Lei Xiao was about to curse him out.
Just then, the gray mist surrounding the giant bone vessel suddenly receded.
From the hull, countless figures leaped out. There were at least a hundred of them, landing on the water's surface in a dense black mass, their fiendish aura soaring to the heavens.
What was even more terrifying was...
seven more figures rose from the bone vessel one after another.
They floated in midair, lining up side-by-side with Kou Guan.
All seven wore black robes.
Grayish-black fiendish qi surged like a tide. An invisible pressure rolled across the lake, turning many people pale and making it difficult to breathe!
Seeing this, Lei Xiao's face also changed dramatically.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Xu Zhouling, Dong Fu, Gongsun Bei, and the others flashed forward, lining up alongside Lei Xiao.
The momentum of the seven Gangjin Rank experts merged into one, barely managing to hold back the fiendish aura of the eight demon path experts.
“Eight demon path Gangjin Rank experts...”
Shen Xiuhan's heart shook slightly as he muttered to himself.
“They are the Eight Great Protectors of the Yinsha Sect.”
Wen Zheng had silently walked up to his side at some point.
His gaze was locked onto one of the figures, his tone as cold as if it were dipped in ice:
“Sima You, Xiang Jun, Tang Wan, Xie An, Kou Guan, Zhao Wuji, Rakshasa Girl, and...”
He paused, squeezing out the last two words from between his teeth:
“Nie Chen!”
Nie Chen?
Shen Xiuhan's heart stirred.
Judging by Wen Zheng's tone, did this Yinsha Protector have a deep grudge against him?
While he was lost in thought, a middle-aged man in a brocade robe stepped forward into the air from among the group of outsiders on the opposite shore.
He had a refined, elegant face. Cupping his hands toward this side with an air of grace, he laughed heartily and said:
“Fellow Daoists of Nanxiang Prefecture!”
“The treasure land is about to open. Since we are all here, it means we share a predestined affinity with this place.”
“Why don't we let our respective disciples enter first, and then we can negotiate together? What do you all think?”
Above the beach, Xu Zhouling and Dong Fu exchanged a glance.
Both of them recognized the identity of the speaker!
It was the clan head of the prestigious Han clan of Xinyi Prefecture, Han Changqing!
An Outer Gang Rank expert!
His words were indeed those of a seasoned veteran.
Although the arched gateway of light was slowly descending, it was still over a thousand feet above the lake's surface, far out of reach for Huajin and Anjin disciples.
It required the Gangjin Rank experts to personally act, wrapping their disciples in True Gang Qi to send them into the gateway of light.
If the various sects of Nanxiang Prefecture chose to interfere with the demon path right now...
there was no doubt about it!
those eight Yinsha Protectors would certainly return the favor and disrupt them in turn.
What was more...
the subtext of the Han clan head's words seemed to hint at an alliance with the Nanxiang sects.
In that case, there was nothing to hesitate about!
Xu Zhouling looked up at the night sky. Seeing that the arched gateway of light had already descended to less than a thousand feet above the water, he snorted coldly, turned his head, and said no more.
Seeing this, Kou Guan was overjoyed. His pitch-black lips stretched almost to his ears as he burst into a wild, unbridled laugh:
“Hahaha!”
Along with him, the hundred-plus Yinsha Sect disciples below also began to clamor.
Shrieks and mocking laughter rose and fell, carrying far into the night sky, exceedingly arrogant.
“Disciples,”
Xu Zhouling's steady voice transmission rang in Shen Xiuhan's ear:
“After entering the Blessed Land, you may team up with the Han family depending on the situation! While searching for treasures, do not hesitate to slay the scoundrels of the demon path! Kill them and take their treasures—there is no need for mercy!”
On the beach, none of the hundreds of Nanxiang disciples spoke. They only silently tightened their grips on their weapons.
One after another, their gazes crossed the lake, landing on the clamoring demon path scoundrels. The heat and killing intent in their eyes intertwined like hungry wolves waiting to devour their prey.
Dong Fu kept his eyes fixed on the gateway of light in midair.
Finally!
the arc of light trembled slightly, ceasing its descent and hovering steadily a thousand feet up in the night sky.
The green waves and islands within the gateway of light were clearly visible, as if they could be reached with a simple stretch of the hand.
“Everyone! The time has come!”
Dong Fu shouted loudly!
The moment his voice fell, Shen Xiuhan was wrapped in a layer of white Gang Qi, which lifted him into the air.
Beside him, Wen Zheng, Cui Xiangyang, and more than ten elite disciples of the Tingquan Academy also shot toward the gateway of light like shooting stars.
By his ear, Wen Qingye's voice transmission quietly sounded:
“Xiuhan, be extra careful after entering the Blessed Land. Your senior brother has a secret technique to locate you, but when you first enter, you will have to face it alone. You must not be careless under any circumstances.”
Shen Xiuhan nodded imperceptibly.
As they drew closer to the gateway of light, the glow became increasingly blinding, causing Shen Xiuhan to narrow his eyes instinctively.
Inside the gateway, a rich spiritual aura rushed over him, making his entire body feel warm and comfortable.
Swoosh!
In the next instant, Shen Xiuhan felt his body suddenly grow light, as if he had crossed an invisible boundary.
A blinding white light filled his vision, and then the scene changed abruptly, as if heaven and earth had turned upside down in an instant.
Once his vision cleared, Shen Xiuhan stabilized his posture and looked out.
Splash...
Before him lay an endless, emerald-green ocean!
The water was as clear as colored glass, yet bottomless.
In the distance, the outlines of several islands loomed indistinctly through the thin mist.
The islands were covered in lush green mountains, with upturned eaves and bracket sets faintly visible among the trees, suggesting ancient pavilions hidden deep within.
The sky overhead was an unrealistic pale azure, as if he were looking at the outside world through a thin curtain of water, shimmering with light.
Wen Zheng, Cui Xiangyang, and the dozen or so Tingquan Academy disciples who had been right beside him just moments ago were now nowhere to be seen.
Shen Xiuhan looked around, and only after confirming there was no one nearby did he let out a long breath.
Instead of rushing toward the islands, he immersed his mind into his consciousness and thought:
“Intelligence!”
“『Today's Intelligence has been refreshed』!”
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