Black Banner

"Fellow... disciple?"

A rare flicker of surprise appeared on Ji Yuan's face. I only wanted Rotbone Flowers to upgrade the [Pigsty]. How did I inexplicably gain a fellow disciple?

Fellow disciple—didn't that mean he had joined a sect and now had senior and junior brothers?

And from the sound of it, the Rotbone Flower was hiding some kind of secret.

"Indeed. In all of Cloud-Rain Marsh, only our sect knows the use of the Rotbone Flower. Even the name Rotbone Flower is known only to our sect."

The man in black robes let out a long sigh.

"I have waited bitterly for more than ten years. Fellow Daoist, you are the first person I have seen searching for Rotbone Flowers in Cloud-Rain Marsh."

Ji Yuan fell silent. He did not know what was going on, but that did not stop him from first "acknowledging" this fellow disciple.

Whether there were dates on the tree or not, he would knock it with a pole first.

So after a brief moment of thought, he put on a brilliant smile.

"So that was it. I, too, have searched for these Rotbone Flowers for a long time, yet I never found any leads."

"Of course. In all of Cloud-Rain Marsh, Rotbone Flowers exist only here and nowhere else." The man in black robes patted his chest and smiled with great pride.

Ji Yuan put away the two stacks of Talismans in his hands, revealed both hands, and cupped them toward him as he said in a hoarse voice, "I am a few years older, so I shall shamelessly call myself your senior brother. What do you think?"

A trace of awkwardness and displeasure appeared on the black-robed man's face, but it vanished in a flash.

"Only you and I remain of the sect. Who is senior brother and who is junior brother hardly matters."

"Junior Brother speaks wisely."

Ji Yuan said it as naturally as breathing, then glanced at Wei Caishan beside the black-robed man.

Noticing Ji Yuan's gaze, the black-robed man smiled. "Actually, I had prepared three paths for... Senior Brother just now."

"Oh? What three paths?"

Ji Yuan asked curiously.

The black-robed man tucked his hands into his sleeves and sat cross-legged atop the Spirit Vessel, smiling. "If Senior Brother had truly chosen to leave just now, I would have followed... and acknowledged Senior Brother. That was the first path."

"The second path is this one. Senior Brother chose to follow Wei Caishan, so naturally I appeared."

"And the third path?"

"The third path would have been if Senior Brother chose to trade with Wei Caishan. Once Senior Brother went to Black Mist Island..."

"Then I would have met you, Junior Brother—the Ghost Island Master."

Ji Yuan exposed the true identity of the black-robed man before him in a single sentence.

A trace of surprise appeared on the Ghost Island Master's face. "Senior Brother is indeed Senior Brother. Since that is so, why not visit my Black Mist Island? After all, it can be considered the former site of our sect."

Go?

Ji Yuan smiled. Go to hell!

With just those few words, he wanted to coax Ji Yuan onto the island and let himself be slaughtered at will?

Ji Yuan had no doubt that the Ghost Island Master harbored ill intentions toward him. As for some sect secret, he believed that even less.

Taking ten thousand steps back, even if it were true, the Ghost Island Master's purpose would still be to trick him onto Black Mist Island before plotting something sinister.

As he considered this, Ji Yuan's gaze fell upon the black Spirit Vessel beneath the Ghost Island Master's feet.

Judging from its aura alone, it should be a Mid-Grade Spirit Vessel.

A Mid-Grade Spirit Vessel could enter the water and travel freely beneath it. The reason the Ghost Island Master had been able to follow silently behind him earlier was likely this vessel's ability to submerge.

Perfect. My own Spirit Vessel was still only low-grade.

Ji Yuan looked up again and said with a smiling face,

"I also have some secret manuals left behind by the sect. Why doesn't Junior Brother come visit my place instead?"

"Really?!"

The Ghost Island Master blurted out instinctively.

But as soon as the words left his mouth, he came to his senses. He sized Ji Yuan up and down, then sneered. "Senior Brother does not trust me."

"Does Junior Brother trust me?"

Ji Yuan countered.

"I do."

The Ghost Island Master answered without hesitation.

"Then give me three Rotbone Flowers first and let me inspect them. How about it?"

"Senior Brother, saying that makes things rather pointless." As the Ghost Island Master spoke, wisps of black mist began rising from the surrounding lake surface. "Why not have Senior Brother take out the sect's manuals first and let Junior Brother inspect them?"

He was about to make a move!

The thought flashed through Ji Yuan's mind almost instantly. Strike first and gain the upper hand; strike later and suffer disaster!

The two stacks of Water Arrow Talismans he had put away reappeared in his hands. He flung them out with both hands, and in an instant, dozens of water arrows formed a wall of water, shooting forth in an overwhelming flood.

He opened with Talismans—better wear them down first.

"You bastard!"

The Ghost Island Master could not help widening his eyes and cursing.

The two of them had not been far apart to begin with, and Talismans activated the moment they were triggered.

More importantly, who the hell threw out so many Talismans at once in a fight? Did Talismans grow on trees?

There was no dodging them. With a lift of his hand, a Skeleton Token flew from the Ghost Island Master's waist. It expanded in the wind until it was the size of a person, shielding him completely.

But Wei Caishan, who had been beside him, was not so fortunate. The water arrows arrived in an instant.

Even though she used four or five Water Shield Talismans and slapped several more Talismans onto herself,

She still could not withstand the dozen or so water arrows striking her. She held on for only an instant before the arrows blasted her into Cloud-Rain Marsh, dyeing a broad patch of the water crimson.

Though the Ghost Island Master blocked them with the Skeleton Token, he was still shoved more than a dozen zhang away.

Once the water arrows had fallen, he was about to speak when he saw a snow-white flying sword flash before his eyes.

At a single glance, his heart lurched in shock.

A flying sword!

A mid-grade flying sword!

Clang—

The Skeleton Token blocked the flying sword, but the sword did not stop. After throwing off countless sparks, it turned into a streak of curved light, swept behind the Ghost Island Master, and stabbed again.

"Damn dog!"

The Ghost Island Master cursed, but the exchange gave him enough time to steady himself. With a raise of his hand, a banner shrouded in black qi appeared in his grasp.

The instant the banner appeared, two black shadows shot out from it and clamped down on the Whitewater Flying Sword from either side.

Without another word, Ji Yuan recalled the flying sword with a thought. At the same time, he activated the Spirit Vessel beneath his feet and shot straight into the distance.

"You think you can run after offending this Island Master?"

The Ghost Island Master grinned. The Spirit Vessel beneath his feet was even faster, and in less than three breaths, he caught up to Ji Yuan again.

"Damn it!"

The two skull-shaped black shadows were about to pounce at Ji Yuan's back.

Ji Yuan abruptly stopped, and the Dragon Armor Shield appeared on its own, spinning ceaselessly around him.

Bang—

The skull shadows opened their huge mouths and bit down. Even with the Dragon Armor Shield protecting him, Ji Yuan was blasted away.

His body fell into the water and vanished in an instant.

The Ghost Island Master, holding the black banner, hurried over. The two ghost-head shadows finally returned to the banner as he looked around, examining the lake surface as it gradually calmed.

"Heh, trying to run?!"

The Ghost Island Master pressed down on his Spirit Vessel, clearly intending to sink beneath the lake.

But at that moment, a snow-white flying sword burst from the water and shot straight at his glabella.

His body twisted sharply. Even so, the flying sword still grazed his face, leaving a clear bloody gash.

"Good, very good!"

The Ghost Island Master touched his face, looked at the blood on his hand, and a ruthless light flashed in his eyes. He gripped the banner and stabbed it fiercely into the lake surface.

"You like hiding underwater, do you? Then you'd better never come out!"

In an instant, dense black mist flooded the lake surface for a full li around him.

Even Ji Yuan, hiding underwater, was enveloped by the black mist.

The black mist seemed alive. Ji Yuan had clearly used a Water-Repelling Talisman, yet the mist still wriggled into his nostrils like long worms.

Ji Yuan formed a water arrow in each hand and fired them toward the lakebed. Borrowing the recoil, his whole body shot upward, bursting through the water's surface in an instant.