Making a Fortune

The moment Ji Yuan broke free of the water, the black mist that had entered his body along with the lake water finally dissipated.

He let out a long breath. Otherwise, hiding beneath the water, even if Ghost Island Master had not killed him, he would have choked to death.

But just as Ji Yuan burst from the water and hung suspended in midair, Ghost Island Master waved the black banner in his hand, and the two Black-Mist Ghost Heads flew at him again.

Ji Yuan drove the Whitewater Flying Sword forward to meet them.

Then Ghost Island Master pointed repeatedly into the air with both hands. Each light tap sent out a pale blue gleam of spiritual light.

Water Drop Finger!!

A Water Drop Finger Ji Yuan knew all too well!

That old thief actually knew this spell too... Ji Yuan landed on the water's surface, only to be caught by the White Boat Spirit Vessel. The incoming Water Drop Fingers were also blocked by the Dragon Armor Shield.

Using that momentum, he retreated several yards.

Seeing that the flying sword had once again been entangled by the Black-Mist Ghost Heads, Ji Yuan raised his hand and began pointing frantically.

Pale blue spiritual gleams shot forth as though they cost nothing.

Earlier, Ghost Island Master had only cast five or six Water Drop Fingers in succession before he could no longer endure the pain of the backlash. Yet Ji Yuan fired off sixteen Water Drop Fingers in a row without the slightest reaction.

"What?!"

The moment Ji Yuan unleashed the Water Drop Finger, Ghost Island Master was stunned.

In that brief lapse of concentration, the two Black-Mist Ghost Heads were blasted into scattered pieces by Ji Yuan's Water Drop Fingers. The Whitewater Flying Sword, previously tangled up, broke free and charged at Ghost Island Master once more.

After his momentary shock, Ghost Island Master sank with his spirit vessel and vanished beneath the lake's surface.

This time, it was his turn to enter the water.

Ji Yuan raised a hand and recalled his flying sword, while the White Boat beneath his feet sped away.

Just as he was preparing to leave, the black mist floating over the lake began to churn without end. He shot forward for several miles in succession, yet still failed to break out of it.

Strange. Very strange. Earlier, this black mist had covered no more than a mile, yet he had already rushed so far away. Why was he still within it?

Two words suddenly sprang into Ji Yuan's mind for no reason.

Formation!

Only a Formation could have such an effect. The black banner Ghost Island Master held was most likely a Formation Banner.

But how could this tiny Cloud-Rain Marsh, and a Middle Qi Refining Stage cultivator at that, possess something like a Formation? Could it truly be related to the sect inheritance he had mentioned?

Since he could not escape, Ji Yuan stopped trying.

The spirit vessel beneath his feet slowed, while his mind raced as he considered a way to break the deadlock.

Whether it was the artifacts Ghost Island Master wielded or the Formation he had deployed, all of them appeared sinister and wicked to Ji Yuan.

Thus, he naturally thought of the Red-Crowned Chicken Blood in his Storage Bag. That was an object of pure yang.

Whether it could break the Formation or not, it would surely have some effect.

With a thought, he took out a bottle of Red-Crowned Chicken Blood and sprinkled several drops. The flying sword swept back through it, and in an instant, streaks of blood appeared on its blade.

Wherever it passed, the black mist was sliced apart like a curtain.

This could work!

This chicken blood could actually break through the black mist!

Ji Yuan poured half the chicken blood in his hand over the flying sword, then drove the sword to slash through the black mist without pause.

After the span of a breath, he finally carved open a passage.

He rode the spirit vessel out, but the moment he emerged, he saw Ghost Island Master sitting cross-legged atop a black boat, looking as though he had been waiting for a long time.

"You do have some skill. You even possess Red-Crowned Chicken Blood."

Ghost Island Master tugged at the corner of his mouth, seeming to reveal a sneer.

Ji Yuan's heart lurched. Without hesitation, he immediately activated the high-grade Water-Escape Talisman he had bought for more than twenty Spirit Stones.

His figure vanished from the lake's surface in an instant.

But at the very moment he disappeared, a massive golden dharma seal descended from thin air and smashed down upon the lake.

Boom—

The dharma seal plunged into the water, instantly stirring up towering waves and raging billows.

The high-grade Golden Seal Talisman had missed. Ghost Island Master slapped his thigh and sprang to his feet. "You dog thief!"

Before he could attack again, Ji Yuan's cold voice rang out from afar. "You should have a taste of being smashed yourself."

Before Ji Yuan's voice had even faded, a glowing golden character for "Suppress" descended from the sky and bore down upon Ghost Island Master.

It was another high-grade talisman—the Demon-Subduing Talisman!

"Senior Brother, why must it come to this?!"

Ghost Island Master panicked. After hurriedly shouting those words, he slapped a talisman onto his body.

In an instant, countless black scales grew from his black robe. The phantom of a black serpent appeared, its head raised high as it took the descending Demon-Subduing Talisman for him.

Yet even so, the black scales growing from his robe continued to fall away.

Although Ji Yuan could not tell what kind of high-grade protective talisman Ghost Island Master had used, he knew that the Demon-Subduing Talisman possessed an innate restraining effect against evil-path demonic cultivators like him!

Naturally, he did not waste this opportunity. With a raise of his hand, he sent the Whitewater Flying Sword forward again.

The bloodstained flying sword seemed even more effective than the talisman. With a single sweep, black scales were severed one after another.

Under the pincer attack, the black serpent phantom shattered even faster.

The Demon-Subduing Talisman, however, was also growing dim.

Ghost Island Master's body sank. He suddenly let out a low shout, summoning the black banner Formation Banner he had placed beneath the water. He gripped it in one hand and twisted it sharply.

The Whitewater Flying Sword was immediately trapped within the Formation Banner.

But compared to before, the bloodstained Whitewater Flying Sword nearly broke free several times... the Formation Banner would not be able to hold it for long.

At that moment, Ji Yuan extended a finger again and fired several Water Drop Fingers straight at Ghost Island Master's pale face.

Ghost Island Master sneered. He did not dodge at all, merely raising a hand to summon the Skeleton Token before him as a shield.

Though the Water Drop Finger was powerful, it had little effect against a protective artifact. Even though two streaks of spiritual light barely passed through the token, they were blocked by Ghost Island Master's dharma robe.

Watching all the Water Drop Fingers explode into splashes, Ghost Island Master secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

At the end, he seemed to glimpse a flash of red amid the bursting spray.

Like the heart of a blooming flower...

He immediately sensed that something was wrong, but it seemed he was already too late.

That red glimmer instantly pierced through the talisman and dharma robe's defenses, arrived before his eyes, and finally... sank into the center of his brow.

Ghost Island Master let out a muffled groan, his body instinctively toppling backward under the force of that red light.

The Formation Banner that had wrapped around the flying sword lost control and immediately came apart. The Whitewater Flying Sword broke free once more, growing with the wind into a three-foot azure blade.

A flash of snowy sword light passed, and a huge head went flying.

Ji Yuan, steering the White Boat closer, was still not reassured. He raised his hand and fired two fireballs, burning Ghost Island Master's head and corpse clean.

In the end, only a slightly damaged dharma robe, the black Formation Banner, the Skeleton Token, and a Storage Bag landed on his spirit vessel.

Ji Yuan swiftly approached. As his figure swept past, all the spoils vanished at once.

He also recalled the Whitewater Flying Sword and the Deathbringer Needle.

Then, at the place where they had first fought, he found Wei Caishan's corpse. As an Early Qi Refining cultivator, she had no Storage Bag.

Her only artifact was that spirit vessel.

After taking the spirit vessel and the Jade Box hidden against her chest, Ji Yuan dripped down a drop of Corpse-Melting Water, destroying the corpse and erasing all traces.

Relying on his remaining spiritual power, he drove the White Boat and quickly fled the area.

They had fought for so long and caused such a huge commotion, even using four high-grade talismans in succession. It had likely already attracted the attention of those with ulterior motives.

He naturally had to leave this place as quickly as possible.

Less than half an incense stick after Ji Yuan left, two Flying Boats descended from the sky.

"Who fought here? The commotion was actually this great?"

"Judging from these lingering auras, it was most likely a clash between Late Qi Refining cultivators. There may even have been casualties... This is not far from Quiet Peace Ward. Let's ask that old man from the Ge Household and see whether he knows anything."

The two Late Qi Refining cultivators who had come from afar quickly drove their Flying Boats away again.

A low-grade spirit vessel could only be used on the water's surface. A mid-grade spirit vessel could enter the water. At the high-grade... it could be called a Flying Boat.

Because it could not only travel across the water, but was also a flying artifact.

Not long after the two left, several more people rose from beneath the water. They had only just poked their heads above the surface when, upon sensing the lingering remnants of aura here, they all fled.

A place where Late Qi Refining cultivators had just fought was not somewhere Middle Qi Refining cultivators like them could afford to touch.

Ji Yuan drove the spirit vessel, wandering aimlessly through Cloud-Rain Marsh while holding Spirit Stones to restore his depleted spiritual power.

After circling around for an entire day, once he was certain no one was following him and his condition had fully recovered, he found a nearby Reed Marsh, put away the White Boat, darted inside, and took out Ghost Island Master's Storage Bag.

With its restriction gone, his spiritual power entered it.

With just one glance, he knew... he had made a fortune this time!