Qin Xiangnan had spent years making his way at sea, and his reactions were lightning-fast.
Almost the instant the water arrows shot toward him, he slammed a hand against his chest.
A flash of spiritual light sprang from his chest and became a pale blue barrier that enveloped him.
A protective talisman.
The first five water arrows struck the barrier with savage force.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The barrier shook violently. Spiritual light flickered across it, and cracks spread over its surface.
Crack!
The barrier shattered, dissolving into motes of spiritual light.
Qin Xiangnan grunted. The terrifying impact hurled him off the skiff, sending him arcing through the air.
The force of those five water arrows was truly terrifying.
Qin Xiangnan's eyes widened in disbelief.
Wang Mengde's command of the Water Arrow Technique was far more formidable than he had imagined.
Wang Mengde's gaze was cold. He gave Qin Xiangnan no chance to recover, sending the remaining water arrows beneath him hurtling after Qin Xiangnan.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Three dull impacts rang out.
Three water arrows pierced Qin Xiangnan's shoulder, abdomen, and left leg, blasting open three fist-sized wounds.
Blood sprayed wildly.
Qin Xiangnan screamed and plunged into the sea.
A patch of seawater turned red in an instant.
Wang Mengde stood at the bow, watching Qin Xiangnan struggle in the water.
Less than a tenth of his spiritual energy remained.
Weakness spread through every limb and bone.
But his eyes stayed cold, and he did not hesitate.
He immediately formed another hand seal.
Entwining Silk Technique.
Countless threads of spiritual energy shot out and wrapped around Qin Xiangnan, binding him tight.
At the same time, Wang Mengde formed a seal with his other hand. The seawater surged again and began to gather into new water arrows.
Bound by the Entwining Silk Technique, Qin Xiangnan struggled desperately.
But the threads were too tough. He could not break free.
He looked up and saw Wang Mengde forming more water arrows. Terror and despair filled his eyes.
He frantically sent a voice transmission:
"Mengde, Mengde, spare me! I lost my head for a moment."
His voice rang in Wang Mengde's ear, thick with tears:
"I came to you so often these past few years to ask about spells. You taught me so much. We went out to sea together, drank together. We're friends!"
"Spare me this once. I lost my head, let greed blind me. I... I promise I'll never do it again."
Wang Mengde's gaze did not waver.
If anything, the murderous intent in his heart burned hotter.
The water arrows formed even faster beneath his hands.
He had always kept kindness and grudges separate.
He believed in repaying every favor and avenging every wrong.
He really had considered Qin Xiangnan a friend.
That was why he had called out to him first when they broke through.
That was why he had given him fourteen Azure Jade Ghost Carp.
Yet this friend had shown not the slightest gratitude. Instead, he had tried to kill him.
If Wang Mengde had not kept Qin Xiangnan in the corner of his eye, that sword strike would already have taken his life.
How could he let him go?
Two water arrows took shape before him.
They were crystal clear, their edges gleaming with a cold, deadly light.
Qin Xiangnan was terrified. He knew Wang Mengde was about to strike.
He sent another voice transmission, shouting frantically:
"Wang Mengde, you can't kill me! My younger brother is an outer disciple of the Evergreen Sect!"
"If you kill me, my brother will find out. He won't let you go!"
"Let me go, and I'll give you everything I have. From then on, we'll keep to our own waters."
Wang Mengde's gaze still did not waver.
So what if his brother was an outer disciple of the Evergreen Sect?
Out on this boundless sea, if he killed Qin Xiangnan, he was dead.
Who would know?
Even if someone found out, he still had to kill him.
Wang Mengde cast the Water Arrow Technique, and the two arrows swiftly took shape.
With a thought, Wang Mengde sent them flying.
The two water arrows shot out.
The first pierced straight through Qin Xiangnan's lower abdomen.
His dantian shattered.
Qin Xiangnan screamed. The spiritual energy he had worked so hard to cultivate poured from his body like floodwater through an opened gate.
The second arrow shot straight at his head.
Splat...
Blood mist burst outward.
A fist-sized hole appeared in Qin Xiangnan's head.
His body twitched once, then went still.
Wang Mengde waved a hand. The threads of the Entwining Silk Technique pulled Qin Xiangnan's corpse onto the skiff.
By the time he finished, less than half a tenth of his spiritual energy remained.
A powerful wave of weakness washed over him, and he swayed slightly.
But he could not afford to delay.
He drew a deep breath and swiftly cast the Entwining Silk Technique.
Threads of spiritual energy shot out again, hauling in the Flying Sword floating on the sea.
Then he took the Flying Sword and cut open Qin Xiangnan's sleeve.
Sewn inside was a palm-sized gray pouch.
A storage pouch.
Two months earlier, just after his Spirit Eye Technique had reached Peak Mastery, he had happened to spot the storage pouch inside Qin Xiangnan's sleeve.
During the fight, he had kept Qin Xiangnan in the corner of his eye and clearly seen him secretly activate the storage pouch and draw the Flying Sword from it.
That was how he had dodged the sword strike by a hair's breadth.
Wang Mengde tucked the storage pouch into his robe.
Then he quickly searched Qin Xiangnan's body.
He found several talismans and a money pouch.
He tossed them onto the spirit skiff.
Then he threw Qin Xiangnan's corpse back into the sea.
Splash.
Water rose where the body fell, then turned red with blood.
Wang Mengde did not stop.
He cast the Entwining Silk Technique again, hauling the bodies of Zhao Youming, Zhou Lie, and Sun He from the sea.
He searched them quickly.
He took their talismans and money pouches and tossed them onto the skiff.
Then he threw all three corpses back into the sea.
Wang Mengde cast the Entwining Silk Technique once more.
This time, he targeted the Azure Jade Ghost Carp aboard Qin Xiangnan and the others' spirit skiffs.
One after another, the Azure Jade Ghost Carp rose into the air and landed on Wang Mengde's skiff.
Thirty-seven in all.
Blue-green light shimmered over them as they piled up into a small hill.
Wang Mengde scanned the area with his Spirit Eye Technique. He could make out more than twenty Azure Jade Ghost Carp pursuing him from roughly three thousand meters away.
He turned the bow and poured spiritual energy into the skiff.
It shot west like an arrow loosed from the string.
He sped onward.
A quarter of an hour later.
A reef field appeared ahead.
Jagged rocks rose above the surface.
He steered the skiff into the reef field, found a hidden gap between several massive rocks, and concealed it there.
Standing on the skiff, he focused spiritual light in his eyes.
He pushed the Spirit Eye Technique to its limit.
His gaze pierced seawater and stone, sweeping the full circle around him.
No Azure Jade Ghost Carp.
No other demon fish.
No sign of any cultivators.
He let out a small breath of relief.
He sat cross-legged on the skiff.
From his robe, he took out a small bottle.
He tipped out a pill the size of a longan.
A Qi-Replenishing Pill.
He swallowed it.
The pill reached his stomach and instantly became a warm current that spread through his body.
Wang Mengde closed his eyes and circulated the Luan-Phoenix Harmony Formula.
He swiftly guided the rich, gentle energy into the sea of qi in his dantian.
The Luan-Phoenix Harmony Formula refined medicinal energy far faster than the Minor Five-Element Breath-Absorption Art.
In only six breaths, he had absorbed and refined all the Qi-Replenishing Pill's medicinal energy.
His spiritual energy had recovered to half its full capacity.
He felt far more alert, and the weakness had vanished completely.
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