The situation has been changing constantly.
boom!
A surging gust of cold wind, centered on the little girl, suddenly lifted her small figure into the air. Then, with a loud boom, the powerful gust of wind split into dozens of smaller gusts, causing the surrounding air currents to spin rapidly.
An immense spiritual power descended, like a terrifying storm. This was yet another Dao-entering expert hiding his identity, and moreover, an elder-level master of the Qi Soul Sect.
To conceal his identity, this person hid his soul in a little girl's body; his true form was a renowned, long-established master of Daoism.
The little girl soared through the air, and the dozens of gusts of yin wind flying in all directions were all the spiritual power of this person's divided soul, flying rapidly across the sea, even suppressing the waves with an invisible force.
If an ordinary person is blown by this eerie wind, their soul will be stolen, or their mind and will be twisted, turning them into the loyal servant of this master who has entered the Dao.
This is also a characteristic of the Qi Soul Sect -entry level experts. People of the Qi Soul Sect can advance to the Dao level by cultivating the < Treatise on Dao Vessels >, and thus be able to split their thoughts and manipulate the souls and intentions of others at will with their mental power.
At this moment, the woman in the plain white dress on the boat screamed. She saw stars, felt dizzy, and her mind was in complete chaos. Her brow twitched, and then, without any warning, it suddenly exploded.
This beautiful woman, whose origins are unknown, is also quite powerful. Unfortunately, she has encountered a battle between two top-level experts. The elder-level Law Technique from the Qi Soul Sect is using terrifying magic.
In the blink of an eye, the female cultivator died, her skull exploded, leaving only a ball of pure life essence, which transformed into a ball of ghostly blue spiritual fire, drifting leisurely into the air.
She wasn't the only one; without exception, most of the people still alive on the ship's deck had exploded into a cloud of blood mist, which then transformed into a wisp of eerie blue spirit fire that floated up and converged on the little girl's palm. In her palm, at this moment, floated an eerie blue lotus flower.
"Oh no! That old monster is fighting a powerful cultivator from the Long Clan. If we don't escape now, we're doomed!"
Upon seeing this, the elder of the Lu Twin Heroes knew things were going badly, and immediately turned around and stabbed his twin brother to death with a single sword strike.
The sword pierced his brother's heart, and his brother's soul flew out of his body.
"Brother, quickly use your flying sword to imbue your soul with the power of your sword and unleash our sect's sword-dissolving technique. Only by escaping forty miles away will you have a chance to survive!"
He communicated with his brother's soul through his mental power, and then, with a backhand strike, shattered his own skull.
With a snap, the man's skull shattered. After his death, a gust of cold wind blew outwards, indicating that his soul had left his body.
Next, a strong, eerie wind arose, carrying two small, antique-looking flying swords that suddenly shot towards the outer area shrouded by the Phantom Mirage Myriad Star Lock.
This is a unique life-saving Secret Method of the Rogue Cultivator sect of Blackwater Reef Great Venerable Fortress. The technique is not complicated: when facing certain death, Liberation by Violence one's body, seal one's soul on a flying sword, and send the flying sword out with the last of its power.
This flying sword can keep the cultivators of Great Venerable Fort alive for a long time. If it is picked up by an outsider who does not know the truth, the soul of the cultivator on the flying sword will bewitch the person, teaching them the swordsmanship of Great Venerable Fort while secretly usurping their body.
Two sword lights shot out five miles apart. One of them was entangled by the white light chains hanging from the Phantom Mirage Myriad Star Lock, its blade shattered, and a wisp of its soul was also bound to the chains. The other flying sword reached its maximum speed and unexpectedly pierced through the Phantom Mirage Myriad Star Lock. With a whoosh, it escaped dozens of miles away and disappeared without a trace.
"Two escaped. One turned into a flying sword, and it might fortuitous opportunity two or ten years to repair it again; the other was quite clever and escaped from underwater before I activated the Phantom Mirage Myriad Star Lock."
The Daoist masters aboard the black gold flatboat were simultaneously battling the fourth elder of the Qi Soul Sect, the Shendu Old Demon, and plotting their next move.
He had also set up a backup plan underwater to prevent the enemy from escaping through water escape. However, the person who dived into the water from the ship was very clever and possessed some special techniques. His Thousand Shark Grand Formation failed to trap the opponent, and the person instead seized the opportunity to escape.
Right now, those two-headed demonic sharks have gone to hunt down that person, but it's unknown whether they can escape again...
"Never mind, it's just a miscalculation; it won't have a significant impact on the overall situation."
He quickly calculated with his fingers and made up his mind. He just sneered and turned his gaze back to the Shendu Old Demon.
"Old monster, it's been ten years. How about I see what amazing skills you've learned from the < Treatise on Dao Vessels > in these past ten years!"
"... Damn it!"
He Ping opened his eyes from the darkness. He was fully awake and uttered a curse. Then, recalling his previous experience, even with his composure, he couldn't help but mutter a few curses under his breath.
"This is just too unlucky! I just went out to sea, took a boat, and didn't do anything wrong, but I ran into a master from the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce and was chased by sharks for half a day. When you're down on your luck, even drinking cold water can cause you to have a problem!"
After escaping from Baocanghong's ship, he used a puppet pangolin to travel underwater. Later, he was chased by a large number of sharks from the sea. After a thrilling chase, he finally escaped.
Those two-headed sharks were clearly sea monsters, extremely fast in the water and adept at tracking. They were likely slaves tamed by the Daoist masters of the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce.
A powerful being at the Dao-entry level possesses numerous techniques. Under the siege of thousands of demonic sharks, the Red-Scaled Amphibious Earth Carp could only rely on its " Armor-Clad Spirit Light " to block the bites and try to break through the encirclement.
But these demonic sharks relentlessly pursued him like ghosts in boots. No matter where he tried to run, they chased after him. In order to escape the pursuit as much as possible, he drove the puppet pangolin to burrow deeper into the sea.
Although the Red-Scaled Amphibious Earth Carp can enter the sea, it is unfortunately no match for the agility of these Two-Headed Shark Demons. Moreover, when diving into deeper waters, it faces the challenges of high water pressure and the need for breathing.
He Ping had also prepared breathing airbags, but they would eventually run out. In the end, in order to avoid the thousands of two-headed shark monsters, he had no choice but to use the " Eight-Origin Bone-Locking Technique," one of the three forbidden Secret Method of the Immortal Puppet Sect, to bind himself and use the sect's Secret Method to put himself into a state of suspended animation before sealing himself into a shadow.
At the same time, Chixinzi, the living puppet, emerged from the shadows and took over controlling the Red-Scaled Amphibious Earth Carp. He himself entrusted a wisp of his thoughts to the living puppet and hid himself in the shadows.
This Secret Method cannot be performed without creating a living puppet, because only the shadow of the living puppet can communicate with the shadow of the main body. If this is done locally, without a living puppet to reopen the shadow entrance from the outside, the main body, which is in a state of suspended animation, cannot come out.
As for the deep-sea environment, it's not a big problem for Chixinzi. The living puppet doesn't need to breathe and is not afraid of water pressure. Even if the Red-Scaled Amphibious Earth Carp is destroyed in the sea, Chixinzi's living puppet can still survive.
After diving into deeper waters and expending considerable effort, Chixinzi finally managed to control the Red-Scaled Amphibious Earth Carp to evade the pursuit of the Two-Headed Demon Shark.
With a loud crash, He Ping kicked open the hidden compartment door, which had been damaged by the water pressure, and found the puppet pangolin lying flat on the sea surface, floating in the ocean.
It was already night. A solitary moon hung in the sky, shining on the sea. The moonlight was like frost, and the shimmering seawater sparkled like fish scales. A cool sea breeze blew by, bringing with it a faint, salty smell.
He glanced around and saw only the vast ocean. Fortunately, the pursuers from the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce had disappeared, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
'Not enough... I'm still not strong enough. If I were strong enough today, I wouldn't need to hide like this... To enter the Dao, I must enter the Dao as soon as possible. Without entering the Dao, even a cultivator is just an ant in the face of a more powerful force!'
He knew he was alert enough to escape this ordeal, and the "enemy" that the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce's top experts would specifically come out to hunt down was very likely another top expert.
He realized this while he was still on the boat, which is why he left without hesitation by using water magic, rather than staying to face the potential battle between two Daoist masters.
"What a pity, the ship owner, passengers, and crew of Baocanghong probably didn't survive... After all, the other side used fire cannons and exploding shells, clearly intending to silence them. I wonder what they did to provoke a Daoist master to kill them all?"
He Ping spent a few breaths processing his thoughts, suppressing them all. What the experts who had entered the Dao were planning was none of his concern, and he had no intention of getting involved in the struggle between such powerful figures.
"I'm still too weak. Only when I truly become stronger can I compete with the real powerhouses in the world. For now, it's best to keep a low profile and bide my time..."
He found a place to sit down. The Red-Scaled Amphibious Earth Carp and the Two-Headed Demon Shark fought fiercely before diving into the deep sea. Even with the protection of " Armor-Clad Spirit Light," it was severely damaged and could no longer navigate in the water.
Besides, this pangolin-shaped puppet wasn't originally intended to be used as a boat. It's a puppet, and its movements require mental and spiritual power, which is extremely energy-consuming. Otherwise, he wouldn't need to travel to sea by boat.
He Ping sat down cross-legged, concentrated his mind, and regulated his spirit. Once his spirit had recovered, he released dozens of Flying Wing Green Bat, using these "drone"-like puppets to explore the surroundings.
Half an hour later, several of the Flying Wing Green Bat transmitted some images through the Puppet Eye Spirit Orb installed on their abdomens.
" Chixinzi Brother Chixinzi, come and take a look. Could the island in this picture be the Flying Ray Island you mentioned before?"
He silently communicated with Chixinzi in the shadows, using his spiritual power to create a thread to transmit the images seen by the Puppet Eye Spirit Orb, and asked Chixinzi a question.
"Hehe, it really is." Chixinzi replied after confirming.
"Junior brother, it seems we're really lucky. After circling almost the entire ocean floor, we've actually ended up near Flying Ray Island!"