Sailfish

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent Dao, did you sense the fluctuations of Profound Nether True Qi just now?"

Li Fan and the other independent cultivators gathered at the ship's side, gazing at the foam and ripples from the distant explosion, frowning and shaking their heads.

He didn't feel anything, and Aquaman died... That's so lame...

Sigh, I don't know whether to blame the sea monsters for being more ferocious than the mountain monsters, or the sea rogue cultivators for being more trashy than the mountain rogue cultivators.

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, something's not right. That monster clearly didn't use the Profound Nether Escape Technique, but its attack speed was just too fast, instantly killing a Nascent Soul Stage level cultivator. These South Sea rogue cultivators may have weaker cultivation techniques, but their body tempering strength is not weak..."

If one could achieve this speed and destructive power with a physical demon body, that would be equivalent to the highest level of Martial God Body. Could it be that demons also have body-refining Cultivation Method? No way... Please don't go into the water!

Li Fan nodded. Although he was quite skilled in naval combat, that was relative to the landlubbers from the mountains. To be fair, that pathetic guy dared to call himself the King of the Sea in the South China Sea, so his underwater skills were definitely far superior to Li Fan's. But he was still instantly defeated, so Li Fan had no chance to fight back.

Li Fan tried to use his Divine Sense to probe the underwater situation, but water had a clear shielding and absorption effect on Divine Sense. At his current Golden Core Stage, his Divine Sense couldn't detect the full extent of the sea monsters. However, based on previous experience, once he reached the Nascent Soul, there should be various spells for the Primordial Spirit that could solve the problem of the range of Divine Sense exploration between different media. But for now, he could only rely on the Profound Heaven Sword Intent as a cheat.

' The Profound Heaven Sword Intent is still hidden underground; I'm afraid those people are dead.'

Kindness?

Li Fan withdrew his Divine Sense and opened his eyes, only to find that some cultivators on the ship had already flown away to investigate the water explosion. They were already quite far from the ship.

Li Fan took out the Yellow Jade Sword Case, made a hand seal to summon the Heaven-Splitting Sword, and darted away like a silver fish skimming the surface of the water, following behind the cultivators. If he couldn't win in a direct confrontation, he would resort to a sneak attack.

'The Dao of Profound Heaven Sword Intent has arrived!'

A column of water shot skyward like a depth charge exploding, violent waves ripped through the ocean surface, and a giant shadow burst out of the water and fell back into the sea. The water wall it created instantly submerged several nearby rogue cultivators, and the raging current and strong winds shattered their bodies, scattering them in pieces on the sea surface.

Li Fan didn't draw his sword; he didn't even have time to lock onto the monster with his Divine Sense. He could only barely make out its outline with his eyes. Its huge sail-like dorsal fin and long, dagger-like edge were very distinctive features.

It should be a sailfish.

The sailfish, about ten zhang long, the size of a blue whale, was like a large sailboat. It suddenly burst out of the sea, shaking its scales and tail, and with a thud, it stirred up rolling waves, making the ships and markets on this side rock back and forth.

The deck was completely silent.

Li Fan asked Shi Kai beside him, "Did this monster attack your house?"

Shi Kai was dumbfounded, completely stunned. "How... how could there be such a huge sailfish!"

So you've never seen it before? Perhaps you encountered it by chance in the wild?

At this moment, the surrounding rogue cultivators erupted in an uproar.

"Is it a demonic beast that has become a spirit?" "Can sailfish become spirits?" "Did it eat some Heavenly Treasure?" "Alas, it's a pity that the King of Zhenhai just left, otherwise we could have captured this demonic beast."

No way, your Aquaman is already dead...

' The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, it didn't use its maximum speed; it was holding back. This monster definitely possesses intelligence and can even judge the strength of its opponent. Moreover, it seems to have come to hunt.'

Li Fan and the group of independent cultivators also noticed it. They saw a white line on the seabed, heading straight for the mirage like a torpedo!

"Watch out!" "It's attacking!" "Get out of the way!"

"Boom--!"

A warship on the outskirts of the city was sliced in two by a fin resembling an iron sail! The ship's reinforced seals and protective arrays could not withstand the overwhelming power of this monstrous beast! The broken ship capsized and sank into the sea, with sailors and cargo falling to the bottom, and a chorus of panicked screams echoing across the ocean.

They actually launched a preemptive attack on the fleet!

Li Fan was shocked. He immediately retrieved his flying sword, flew into the air, and observed from above. He clearly saw that the sailfish had circled back and was now aiming at another cargo ship at the edge of the convoy!

Damn beast! Does he know the Sea King guarding the fleet is dead and intend to devour the entire fleet?!

' The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, "It's charging in so forcefully. Its demonic body is quite domineering; it might have truly cultivated protective qi..."'

So what! The flying sword still cut through them!

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'No, I'm afraid it can't cut through Golden Core cultivator. The Golden Dragon White Star already said it wasn't originally designed for demon slaying. Using sword techniques, I'm afraid we won't be able to hit it either. If we just keep charging back and forth without stopping, it'll only intimidate its primordial spirit for a moment, which is meaningless...'"

Li Fan had no interest in listening to the schemes of the Profound Heaven Sword Intent. He made hand seals and cast spells, directly controlling the surging waves to rush towards the flagfish demon and hinder its momentum. At the same time, he put on the Gui Xu Dao Yi.

Theoretically, he could mimic the previous example of deflecting the Si Niu's charge, activating the bubble barrier of the Returning to Gui Xu Dao Yi to deflect the purely physical charge of the sailfish. However, the timing was too difficult to grasp. Previously, Li Fan had been running around in the Lei Marsh using the Daoist Robe to remain invisible, and his Returning to Emptiness True Essence had been depleted significantly without replenishment. Activating the bubble skill of the Vacuum Home would likely drain it instantly, and given the sailfish's swift movement, it might not even have time to activate the skill before being shattered. It seemed unlikely he could succeed...

Suddenly, Li Fan felt a sharp pain in his palm, and a cold sweat broke out on his back. He immediately used the Ice River Escape Technique to dodge!

Sure enough, as soon as he landed, Li Fan turned around and saw that the line of ice crystals he had left in the sky had been directly smashed into a sky full of ice crystals by the sailfish that had suddenly leaped out of the sea and attacked him.

That beast, it actually jumped that high!

Li Fan's face was frosty as he quickly stuffed the Mysterious Female Pill and the Changchun Pill into his mouth and chewed them vigorously to catch his breath.

This monster wasn't just practicing body refinement; it was an aquatic creature after all. It seemed to have sensed his water manipulation and immediately attacked! Luckily, the monster mistook him for an ordinary Golden Core cultivator and didn't use its full strength, otherwise he probably would have been smashed to pieces before he could even use his escape technique!

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent states that the best way to deal with Martial God Body whose realm and strength far surpass one's own is to use the Primordial Spirit technique, such as using divine light and divine thought to break through its Divine Sense. However, you cannot use that yet."

Stop talking nonsense and give me some advice!

Seeing the sailfish circle around and attack the fleet again, Li Fan disregarded the claim that flying swords couldn't cut it down. He immediately used the Five Luo Sword Ghosts's inner technique to control his sword, throwing the Heaven-Splitting Demon-Slaying Zhu Hong, Golden Dragon White Star out! Fortunately, he had seen the Thousand-Faced Immortal once, which not only shattered Li Fan didn't need to be distracted by suppressing him, and he could instead unleash his full power. Thus, five streaks of light flashed and plunged into the water, slashing wildly at the sailfish!

Although the monster was cunning and treacherous, it never expected that the food it was about to eat would suddenly unleash five flying swords! Caught off guard, its protective aura was shattered, leaving four sword marks on its body and several fish scales knocked off!

It immediately whipped its tail, leaving the fleet behind and accelerating straight towards Li Fan! Its momentum increased several times over! It charged straight through the net of flying swords!

But this time Li Fan was prepared. He used a hand seal to teleport away and continued to pursue the flagfish demon on his sword. He didn't hide or dodge, but deliberately created ice rivers in the sky to lure the demon away from the fleet.

But this sailfish demon was indeed cunning. After chasing it for a couple of moments, I realized that while its speed in a dash could indeed keep up with a stealth technique, its ability to change direction and maneuver nimbly was far less convenient than a stealth technique. Moreover, Li Fan's intention to lure the demon away and protect the mortals on the ship was very clear. Surprisingly, the sailfish didn't fall for my trick, abandoning Li Fan halfway through, and relying on its flying sword which could only scrape scales, it also shattered another large ship!

"This wretched creature!" Li Fan gritted his teeth, his murderous intent rising.

The Heaven-Slaying Zhu Hong could only scrape fish scales. The consumption of the Golden Dragon White Star and the Ice River Escape Technique was too great. The Ghost-Slaying Demon couldn't even catch up. There was no point in continuing like this. So he made a hand seal to put the flying sword back into the sword box, holding only the Ghost-Slaying Demon in his hand. While chewing pills to recover his energy, he flew back to the Sea City to provide support.

This monster wants to sink the whole ship and slowly devour people. We have to injure it to drive it away! I wonder if I can get close to it stealthily and plunge my Demon-Slaying Sword into its head...

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'This great demon has a protective aura, but it couldn't possibly be as refined as a true Martial God's Body! Forget the underhanded tricks, use the Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword of the same realm; it should be able to break through head-on!'"

Okay! Let's go head-to-head! Let's do drugs!

Li Fan leaped onto the edge of the ship, stood firmly on his feet, and looked around.

While he was fighting, the plight of the rogue cultivators in the South China Sea was also heartbreaking; not a single one dared to come and help. Most of the rogue cultivators scattered and fled. After all, normally, Golden Core Stage cultivator would have no chance against such a powerful demon beast, so those with magic treasures and flying boats fled, at most trying to take some people with them to safety.

Most of the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining sailors and captains knew they couldn't escape, so they shouted and waded through the water to rescue people, dragging the wounded who had fallen into the sea from the sinking ship onto the inner large ship. Shi Kai couldn't care less about his own family's affairs for the moment. He was shouting loudly, taking advantage of the time that Li Fan had bought for them, to organize everyone, abandon the small boats on the outer layer, and gather the large ships together to hold their ground.

The sailfish demon charged forward again, this time even more outrageous, heading straight for the fleet, and unleashing its aura! The entire fish emitted a terrifying gale, stirring up towering waves! It charged forward with overwhelming force!

"Hiss--ha--"

Li Fan gritted his teeth and crushed the Dragon Fetus Feathering Pill between his teeth. He held the Black Sword in both hands to slay the ghost, pouring all his Qiankun Sword Qi into the spine of the sword. From a distance, it looked as if two dragons, one black and one white, had coiled up his arms and reached the Black Sword.

In that instant, the surging Nascent Soul Stage level Dao power scattered his long hair, turning it white from the dryness. The Dao power surging from his mouth, nose, ears, and eyes was like black and white flames. The rampaging Dao energy was like a raging hurricane, causing his robes to flutter wildly.

Shi Kai and hundreds of crew members and sailors stood behind him, staring blankly at the boy's back in the strong wind, as if they saw a dragon rising from the sky.

"The Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword and Earth roars--!"

Like a bow drawn to its limit, the dragon's breath of heaven and earth condensed into a single line. Li Fan leaped up, directly crushing most of the bow of the boat. He rode the rolling sword wind, with gusts of fierce wind and bursting forth with the sword roar of the twin dragons, charging straight towards the oncoming water curtain!

As the dragon soared into the sea, the black and white Dao Breath collided with the towering waves like fiery currents, unleashing a terrifying storm!

Nearby ships were instantly shattered by the shockwave generated by the direct collision of the Gale Sword Storm! Shi Kai and the sailors clung tightly to the masts and ropes, tumbling as if they were in the midst of a howling storm! The torrents lashed their faces like hail and swords. Now, in the heart of the direct clash between two Nascent Soul Stage level beings, most of them were so shocked that their internal organs churned and they coughed up blood from their mouths and noses.

Of all these people, only Shi Kai kept his eyes open and watched as the young man before him charged out with the Twin Dragon Sword, shredding the evil spirits that plagued the world! In the end, he landed on the water's surface unharmed.

The brutality, ferocity, and elegance of this sword strike were almost imprinted deeply on the Shi Family's retina along with the flow of ice.

"Wow... so this is how cool it is to use a sword..."

'Li Fan slays the King of the Marlin'

Li Fan's mood improved by 1 point.

Having sacrificed his human skin Daoist robe, a Dragon Fetus Feathering Pill, a Donghua Changchun Pill, and several Mysterious Purple Gold Pills, Li Fan looked at the Ghost-Slaying Sword in his hand, its spine showing obvious cracks like a spider web, barely able to hold on, and almost wanted to cry.

Damn, we really lost a fortune...

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'Alright, rather than rusting in the treasury, it's better to shatter on the battlefield. That's the best fate for a flying sword. Stop whining and pick up that fish's carcass.'"

Li Fan could only reluctantly put the Demon Slayer into its sword case, and with a wave of his hand, he pulled over the remaining pieces of flesh from the sailfish's corpse to examine it.

This fish was really tough. The Fagui Sword was enhanced by Li Fan's fully developed Nascent Soul Stage Great Completion Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword. It managed to smash the fish's head and shred its internal organs, but the condensed outer skin and bones were not chewed up, only sliced open.

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, there really is a cultivation Cultivation Method. Look at the flow of the meridians and spine, and the distribution of residual energy in the body. Ordinary demon beasts just digest what they eat and unknowingly infuse it into their whole body through their blood vessels. So, apart from the internal organs where spiritual energy is most abundant and they may form a core, other parts of the body will not have anything special."

But look at this fish. Its scales, fins, and tail muscles are clearly refined, and it can even emanate protective energy. It's likely that it has indeed been instructed in the Demon Race's body-refining methods!

Li Fan frowned. Could this be another arrangement by Ink Bamboo Mountain? But it didn't seem like it. Although the mountain sect had the Body Domination Technique, it seemed that very few people could cultivate Qi. Besides, it would be a bit of a waste for the mountain people to travel so far to the South China Sea to raise fish.

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent Dao, or perhaps some other Demon God Palace inheritance, there are quite a few random things in the sea... Anyway, let's go check with the Shi Family. If all those demon beasts have Cultivation Method for body tempering, I'm afraid the South China Sea will be in chaos again..."

In short, we must exterminate all such monstrous beings who have inherited these lineages, nipping any potential threats in the bud, and never allowing the Demon Race to grow too powerful!

Indeed, this King Sailfish only has an extra layer of protective energy, yet it's so arrogant, daring to plot to devour the entire ship's crew. It seems the battle on Crocodile God Island will be very difficult, but it's not an option... Hmm? This is...

So Li Fan leaped onto the ship's railing, threw the Sea King and the 'Qiuy' sword—which he had just pulled from the fish carcass and hadn't fully digested—onto the deck, saying, "Here, take the flying sword back. You can bury this guy too."

"King Zhenhai!"

"He actually died like that..."

The sailors were shocked.

Shi Kai, on the other hand, was decisive; he took the sword and knelt down in front of Li Fan.

However, Li Fan was even more decisive than him, "Hey, you don't need to say anything. I don't take disciples, and I don't want your flying sword. Don't delay, tell me the location of Crocodile God Island, and I'll go rescue them immediately."

Shi Kai was somewhat regretful, but knowing the urgency of the situation, he nodded and said, "Senior, please head straight southeast. My uncle carried me for three days; with your cultivation level, you should find us soon."

Li Fan nodded and addressed the crowd, "The Shi Family is facing this calamity because they were protecting the demons in the South China Sea. I hope you will not covet the magic treasures and harm their sons."

Everyone said they dared not.

Li Fan didn't have time to care whether they dared or not; he just hoped that if he went there now, he could still stop the Crocodile God from being unsealed.

So he made a hand seal to summon the Heaven-Splitting Sword, surrounded himself with Sword Light, and flew into the air, heading straight southeast to find E Shenyu.