Everyone gritted their teeth and drove their skiffs with all their might, hoping only to go faster—faster still.
Very soon, everyone's Spirit Eye Technique finally caught sight of the Azure Jade Ghost Carp in the western waters.
Those azure figures darted through the sea at terrifying speed, racing toward them.
"We're done for. We're done for."
Everyone's faces turned pale as paper, and they were about to activate their Lightbody Radiance Talismans to flee.
Just then.
Wang Mengde shouted:
"Don't panic. In a moment, I'll use Peak Mastery Entwining Silk Technique to bind those fish. You use your attack talismans to strike them. We'll definitely be able to carve our way out of the encirclement."
At this point, Wang Mengde could no longer afford to hide his strength. He alone could not break through the encirclement; he needed everyone's help.
Everyone found it hard to believe.
Peak Mastery?
The cultivation stages of a spell were, in order: Initiation, Minor Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment, Mastery, Perfection, and Peak Mastery.
Generally speaking, Early Qi Refinement cultivators could mostly train a spell to the Initiation level. Only a rare few with exceptional comprehension could reach Minor Accomplishment.
At Mid Qi Refinement, one could generally reach Minor Accomplishment or Major Accomplishment.
Only at Late Qi Refinement could one generally attain Major Accomplishment, Mastery, or Perfection.
They had never heard of anyone at the Third Layer of Qi Refinement who could train a spell to the level of Peak Mastery.
Before this, they had only dared to speculate whether Wang Mengde had trained his spell to Perfection.
They had never expected Wang Mengde to claim he had reached Peak Mastery.
Wang Mengde said in a ringing voice, "Everyone, prepare your attack talismans."
With no time to think further, everyone hurriedly pulled out talismans from their robes—attack talismans such as Golden Arrow Talismans and Ice Spike Talismans.
However, Zhao Youming and several other cultivators quietly took out Lightbody Radiance Talismans as well.
Wang Mengde said in a ringing voice, "Whoever dares to activate a Lightbody Radiance Talisman and flee while we are fighting the Azure Jade Ghost Carp, I'll bind him at once and throw him to the fish."
Qin Xiangnan also roared:
"I'll be the first not to let him off."
Zhao Youming and the others' faces instantly turned ugly.
Several other cultivators also spoke in ringing voices. "Whoever dares stab us in the back, even if I have to risk my life, I'll drag him down with me."
Zhao Youming and the others' faces instantly turned ugly.
They put away their escape talismans and obediently took out attack talismans.
One by one, everyone controlled their skiff spirit boats and gritted their teeth as they charged toward the Azure Jade Ghost Carp.
Both the Azure Jade Ghost Carp and the spirit boats were extremely fast.
In mere moments, the two sides had drawn close.
"Everyone, get ready."
Wang Mengde rapidly formed hand seals, spiritual energy surging out wildly.
The Peak Mastery Entwining Silk Technique erupted in an instant.
It was as though invisible threads shot wildly from between his hands.
They pierced through the sea surface and precisely bound the ten Azure Jade Ghost Carp charging at the very front.
Those ten Azure Jade Ghost Carp suddenly stalled and struggled desperately.
Yet those threads were unbelievably tough; the more the fish struggled, the tighter they became.
"Attack!"
Wang Mengde shouted.
Qin Xiangnan, Zhao Youming, Zhou Lie, and the others activated the attack talismans in their hands all at once.
Ice Spike Talismans, Golden Arrow Talismans...
More than a dozen attacks slammed viciously into the ten Azure Jade Ghost Carp.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Bloody mist burst across the sea.
The ten Azure Jade Ghost Carp died on the spot.
A gap was forcibly torn open in the encirclement.
Everyone's spirits soared.
"Charge out!"
With a wave of Wang Mengde's hand, the corpses of the ten Azure Jade Ghost Carp were dragged up by his Entwining Silk Technique and dropped onto his skiff.
He said in a low voice:
"Keep your attack talismans ready. If we stand united, we'll surely fight our way out—and make a fortune besides."
Everyone's eyes reddened. They crazily poured spiritual energy into their boats, and the talismans in their hands lit up once again as they charged toward that gap.
The surrounding Azure Jade Ghost Carp swarmed in frantically.
Wang Mengde formed hand seals again.
The Entwining Silk Technique erupted once more.
Another ten Azure Jade Ghost Carp were tightly bound.
Boom!
Another barrage of talismans bombarded them.
Another ten Azure Jade Ghost Carp were blasted to death.
The gap that had just begun to close was torn open again.
"Charge!"
Everyone drove their skiffs wildly toward the opening.
But in that instant, more than a dozen water arrows shot in from every direction.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Azure Jade Ghost Carp rushing in to surround and kill them spat water arrows frantically.
Dozens of water arrows slammed fiercely into several skiffs at the edges of the formation.
Crack!
Boom!
Five skiff spirit boats were struck by the water arrows and shattered instantly.
The five cultivators leaped onto other people's skiffs the moment their own boats broke apart.
But one Second Layer of Qi Refinement cultivator was a step too slow.
A water arrow struck him in the back.
He screamed, blood spraying wildly as he fell into the sea.
"Help! Save me!"
He struggled in the water and reached out toward the others.
But no one looked at him.
Everyone was crazily driving their spiritual energy, charging toward that gap.
Five or six Azure Jade Ghost Carp lunged at the cultivator and pounced on him in a swarm.
A cloud of blood spread across the sea.
Without looking back, everyone rushed out of the encirclement.
They fled madly westward.
Behind them, dozens of Azure Jade Ghost Carp gave chase.
They were incredibly fast, and the distance between them steadily shrank.
Wang Mengde glanced back, his heart turning cold.
The spiritual energy within him had already been depleted by a full sixty percent.
Those two all-out uses of the Entwining Silk Technique had consumed too much.
He no longer dared to use the Entwining Silk Technique with all his strength.
He suddenly shouted:
"Too many Azure Jade Ghost Carp are chasing us! Everyone, split up!"
As he spoke, he crazily poured spiritual energy into his skiff, sending it shooting forward.
His skiff was newly purchased, its propulsion powerful and its speed extremely fast.
But Wang Mengde frowned slightly when he saw Qin Xiangnan, Zhao Youming, Zhou Lie, and another Third Layer of Qi Refinement cultivator tightly following behind him.
He accelerated, wanting to shake them off.
Yet the four men's skiffs were not slow either.
Qin Xiangnan's skiff was also newly purchased. It was no slower than his and stayed close at his side.
Zhao Youming, Zhou Lie, and the other Third Layer of Qi Refinement cultivator also had fine skiffs, and they actually kept up.
The five skiffs streaked across the sea like five sharp arrows.
Seeing that they could not catch up to Wang Mengde, the others' expressions changed slightly. They turned in different directions and scattered in flight.
As they left, their gazes could not help sweeping over the pile of Azure Jade Ghost Carp on Wang Mengde's boat.
There were twenty in all.
Azure Jade Ghost Carp were Third Layer of Minor Demon beasts. Their food value was extremely high, their flesh rich in spiritual energy and an excellent tonic for cultivation.
Their medicinal value was not low either. Their bones could be used in medicine, their scales could be refined into defensive artifacts, and their skins were top-grade materials for making talismans.
On Rosy Cloud Island, one Azure Jade Ghost Carp could sell for more than two hundred Spirit Stones.
Twenty of them meant more than four thousand Spirit Stones.
More than four thousand Spirit Stones!
They had never seen so many Spirit Stones in their entire lives.
But right now, survival was what mattered most.
Some directly activated Lightbody Radiance Talismans, abandoned their skiff spirit boats, and ran across the sea like streaks of flowing light, fleeing at top speed.
The school of Azure Jade Ghost Carp scattered to pursue the fleeing cultivators.
More than ten of them chased after Wang Mengde's group of five.
Wang Mengde and the other four controlled their skiff spirit boats and fled at top speed.
But the more than ten Azure Jade Ghost Carp behind them drew ever closer.
Three hundred meters.
Two hundred meters.
One hundred meters.
Wang Mengde abruptly turned back and said in a ringing voice:
"I'll restrain the four Azure Jade Ghost Carp in front. You four activate your talismans and kill them."
Qin Xiangnan and the others agreed repeatedly.
Wang Mengde formed hand seals with both hands, and the Entwining Silk Technique shot forth again.
It bound four Azure Jade Ghost Carp.
Qin Xiangnan and the others immediately activated their talismans and blasted them fiercely.
The four Azure Jade Ghost Carp died on the spot.
Before you continue