A Huge Profit

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

He let out a long breath. Otherwise, hiding beneath the water, even if Ghost Island Master did not kill him, he would have drowned.

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

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

Then Ghost Island Master raised both hands and tapped at the Void several times. With every light tap, a pale-blue gleam of spiritual light shot forth.

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 blocked by the Dragon Armor Shield.

Using that momentum, he retreated several yards.

Seeing that the flying sword had already been tangled up by the Black-Mist Ghost Heads again, Ji Yuan raised his hand and began tapping madly.

Pale-blue spiritual light shot out as though it cost nothing.

Earlier, Ghost Island Master had used only five or six Water Drop Fingers in succession before he could no longer withstand the pain of the backlash. Yet Ji Yuan... he fired 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 focus, the two Black-Mist Ghost Heads were blasted into a scattered mess by Ji Yuan's Water Drop Fingers. The Whitewater Flying Sword, which had been entangled, broke free and charged at Ghost Island Master once more.

After his brief surprise, the latter sank with his Spirit Vessel and immediately vanished beneath the lake's surface.

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

Ji Yuan raised a hand to recall his flying sword, and the White Boat beneath his feet swept away.

Just as he intended to leave this place, the black mist drifting over the lake began churning without end. He sped several miles in succession, yet still failed to break out of the mist.

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

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

Formation!

Only a Formation could produce 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 mere Middle Qi Refining Stage cultivator at that, possess something like a Formation? Could it truly have something to do with the sect inheritance he had mentioned?

Since he could not escape, Ji Yuan stopped trying to flee.

The Spirit Vessel beneath his feet slowed, while his mind raced as he considered whether there was a way to break the deadlock.

Whether it was the Dharma Tools Ghost Island Master used or the Formation he had deployed, Ji Yuan found them all to be sinister and wicked things.

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

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

With a thought, he took out a bottle of Red-Crowned Chicken Blood. He first sprinkled several drops out, then recalled the flying sword and swept it through them. In an instant, several streaks of blood appeared on the blade.

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

This could work!

This chicken-comb blood could actually break through the black mist!

Ji Yuan poured half the chicken-comb blood in his hand over the flying sword, then drove it to slash through the black mist again and again.

After the time of a breath, he finally opened a passage.

He rode the Spirit Vessel out, but the instant he emerged, he saw Ghost Island Master sitting cross-legged atop a black boat, looking as though he had been waiting for quite some time.

"You do have some skill, even possessing the chicken-comb blood of a Red-Crowned Chicken."

Ghost Island Master tugged at the corner of his mouth, as though sneering.

Ji Yuan's heart tightened. Without hesitation, he immediately activated the Water-Escape Talisman, a High-Grade Talisman he had bought for over twenty Spirit Stones.

His figure instantly vanished from the lake's surface.

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

Bang—

The dharma seal plunged into the water, instantly raising enormous waves as the billows surged.

The High-Grade Talisman, the Golden Seal Talisman, had missed. Ghost Island Master slapped his thigh and sprang to his feet. "Dog thief!"

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

Before Ji Yuan's voice had even faded, a glowing golden character for "suppress" descended from thin air, pressing down toward Ghost Island Master.

It was another High-Grade Talisman—the Demon-Subduing Talisman!

"Senior Brother, why must you go this far?!"

Ghost Island Master panicked. After hurriedly crying out, he slapped a Talisman onto himself with his backhand.

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

Even so, the black scales growing from his robe continued falling away.

Though Ji Yuan could not tell what sort of High-Grade protective Talisman Ghost Island Master had just used, he knew that the Demon-Subduing Talisman possessed a natural suppressive effect against wicked Demonic Cultivators like him!

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

The flying sword stained with chicken-comb blood seemed even more effective than the Talisman. With a single sweep, black scales were severed one after another.

Under the two-pronged attack, the black serpent phantom shattered even faster.

Yet the Demon-Subduing Talisman also began to dim.

Ghost Island Master sank down and suddenly let out a low shout. The black banner Formation Banner he had placed beneath the water was summoned forth. He gripped it in one hand and twisted it.

The Whitewater Flying Sword was trapped within the Formation Banner.

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

At that moment, Ji Yuan extended his hand again and fired several Water Drop Fingers directly at the pale-faced Ghost Island Master.

The latter sneered and did not even bother to dodge. With a raise of his hand, he summoned the Skeleton Token to block before him.

Though the Water Drop Finger was powerful, it was not especially effective against a protective Dharma Tool. Even though two streaks of spiritual light barely passed through the token, they were blocked by Ghost Island Master's dharma robe.

Watching the Water Drop Fingers all burst into splashes, Ghost Island Master secretly sighed in relief.

At the very end, he seemed to glimpse a flash of red amid the exploding water droplets.

Like the pistil within a blooming flower...

He immediately sensed that something was wrong, but it seemed to be too late.

That flash of red instantly pierced through the defenses of the Talisman and dharma robe, arrived before his eyes, and finally... sank into the center of his forehead.

Ghost Island Master let out a muffled groan, his body instinctively thrown backward by that red flash.

The Formation Banner that had wrapped around the flying sword lost control and immediately came apart. The Whitewater Flying Sword broke free again, expanded against the wind, and instantly became a three-foot azure blade.

A snow-white streak of sword light flashed past, and a large head went flying.

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

In the end, only a somewhat 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. However, as an Early Qi Refining cultivator, she did not possess a Storage Bag.

Her only Dharma Tool was that Spirit Vessel.

After Ji Yuan took the Spirit Vessel and the Jade Box hidden against her chest, a drop of Corpse-Melting Water fell, destroying the corpse and erasing all traces.

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

After fighting for so long and causing such a huge commotion, even using four High-Grade Talismans in succession, he had likely already drawn the attention of those with ulterior motives.

Naturally, he had to leave this place at once.

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

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

"Judging by this aura, it was most likely a battle between Late Qi Refining cultivators. There may even have been deaths or injuries... This is not far from Quiet Peace Ward. Let us 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.

Low-grade Spirit Vessels could only be operated on the water's surface. Mid-grade Spirit Vessels could enter the water. Once they reached high grade... they could be called Flying Boats.

That was because they could not only travel over the water, but were also flying Dharma Tools.

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 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 meddle in.

There were not many fools who could cultivate to the middle stage in Cloud-Rain Marsh.

Ji Yuan drove the Spirit Vessel, wandering aimlessly through Cloud-Rain Marsh while holding a Spirit Stone and restoring the spiritual power he had consumed.

After circling about for an entire day, confirming that no one was following him and that he had completely recovered, he found a nearby Reed Marsh. He 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 only one look, he knew... he had struck it rich on this trip!