The Four Fiends of Misty Mountain

One of the screams sounded unusually familiar, vaguely resembling the Monk's voice.

"Who are you? Who are you people?" Elder Feng's furious voice rang out from beside the Soul-Suppressing Banner.

Wang Yu quickly sprang to his feet with a kip-up and looked back toward the explosion.

Once the shock waves had completely dispersed, the giant Filth-Bone Fish was nowhere to be seen, and the gray Light Screen enveloping the ship had vanished. Two figures, one tall and one short, now stood on the deck.

The taller figure wore a gray Daoist robe patterned with the eight trigrams, with a longsword strapped to his back and a battered White Lantern in one hand. He was a Sickly Daoist in his thirties.

The shorter figure was a wrinkled Dwarf with small eyes and a head full of little gray braids. A Black Leather Pouch hung at his waist, and a Golden Ring encircled each arm. He stared venomously at everyone.

"Impressive tricks, you two. You hid inside a Mutant Filthy Bonefish to sneak aboard this ship, then destroyed our ship-guarding magical artifact with your very first attack," Elder Feng said coldly as he looked at them. Several cracks had appeared along the main shaft of the Soul-Suppressing Banner beside him, leaving it plainly unusable.

Wang Yu swiftly scanned his surroundings again. Only a handful of crew members remained standing on the deck. Even the immortal cultivators, despite their various protective measures, were mostly wounded and still wore shaken expressions.

The Mutant Filthy Bonefish's self-detonation had been far more powerful than he had imagined. Had he not undergone military training at school and instinctively rolled to the ground upon hearing the explosion, he probably would not have fared much better.

Madam Yin was trembling, looking as though she might collapse at any moment. Her two Black Hounds lay motionless at her feet, covered in wounds.

Yu Bintian's face was pale. The Bronze Mirror in his hand seemed a size smaller than before, and its surface had lost some of its luster.

The young married couple from the Huang Household stood together, but the man's shoulder was bleeding nonstop, and the blue barriers around them had vanished completely.

The Masked Young Man, on the other hand, stood straight-backed, though a Yellow Short Ruler had appeared in his hand, held before him. His eyes gleamed, and he seemed entirely unharmed.

The Monk, who had been closest to the explosion, had suffered the worst. Both arms, which had gripped his staff to shield him, were mangled masses of flesh with white bone faintly visible. A shattered bone spike had also plunged deep into one of his eyes.

He stared at the two newcomers, his remaining eye seeming to spit fire.

"You destroyed my body and severed my Dao Path! I'll kill you!"

Without waiting for the Daoist and the Dwarf to answer Elder Feng's questions, the Monk roared. Yellow light rose from his arms as he hurled the Crescent Monk's Staff at the newcomers with a sudden surge of strength. At the same time, he muttered an incantation. A phantom flickered behind him, faintly forming two blurry yellow arms. All four hands formed seals and pointed at the Crescent Monk's Staff from afar.

Boom!

The staff exploded in midair above the pair, showering them with countless drops of dark blue liquid. A foul, bloody stench instantly spread across the deck.

"Oh? A Twin-Tailed Wolf's poisonous blood? That's good stuff. We can't let it go to waste like this." The Dwarf chuckled. The Black Leather Pouch at his waist flew into the air on its own, releasing a great swath of white radiance from its opening that swept up every drop of blue liquid. After circling once overhead, it settled securely back at his waist.

"Late Qi Refining, a Miniature Cosmos Pouch! You're Qian Kunzi of the Four Fiends of Misty Mountain!" Elder Feng's pupils contracted slightly as he witnessed this and called out the Dwarf's name.

The Four Fiends of Misty Mountain!

Every other cultivator's expression changed drastically at those words.

The Monk, who had just attacked, stiffened, all color instantly draining from his face.

Just then, the Sickly Daoist flickered like a ghost and appeared before the Monk, lantern in one hand. At some unknown moment, the longsword on his back had appeared in his other hand. A crescent moon emerged along its blade and descended toward the Monk.

"Spare me!"

Terrified, the Monk raised both arms to block, brilliant yellow light blazing from them. The two phantom arms behind him also struck upward into the air, stirring up a gust.

Whoosh!

The crescent moon suddenly blazed with cold light and expanded severalfold, engulfing the Monk entirely.

When the cold light flashed again and vanished, the Monk lay decapitated in a pool of blood. His arms had been cut into four pieces and scattered beside his headless body.

This middle Qi Refining immortal cultivator had failed to withstand even a single strike from the Sickly Daoist. Several nearby immortal cultivators recoiled in terror.

"A ranked sword artifact, the Fallen Moon Sword! He's the Fallen Moon Daoist! They really are the Four Fiends of Misty Mountain!"

An immortal cultivator dressed like an old farmer shouted in terror by the ship's rail. He vaulted straight over the side, hoping to plunge into the river and escape.

Before the farmer-like immortal cultivator could finish falling, however, an enormous Mutant Filthy Bonefish leaped out of the black mist below. It swallowed him in a single gulp, then vanished into the mist with a shake of its head and tail.

Only then did everyone realize, to their horror, that with the Soul-Suppressing Banner broken and the gray Light Screen gone, black mist had already spread around the edges of the deck. More and more bonefish were leaping aboard, while several giant mutants loomed intermittently in the black vapor outside the ship. For some unknown reason, they did not immediately attack, instead surrounding the entire deck.

"You should know the rules of our Four Fiends of Misty Mountain. Surrender and you may keep your lives. Resist, and not even the chickens or dogs will be spared." The Dwarf patted the black pouch at his waist and tilted his head as he delivered the threat.

The cultivators on the deck looked utterly grim at his words.

Wang Yu swallowed, his heart pounding faster.

Although he had never heard of the "Four Fiends of Misty Mountain," everyone's reactions told him how terrifying these two were.

"Hmph! Everyone, don't let their words beguile you. The Four Fiends of Misty Mountain have a reputation steeped in filth. When have they ever shown mercy? Besides, only two of them are here. I have a spare ship-guarding magical artifact and can hold one of them off while the rest of you surround and attack the other. As long as we work together, we can certainly capture them."

Elder Feng snorted at the sight, then stamped his foot. A ring of white light suddenly appeared on the planks beneath him, and another Miniature Banner slowly rose from it. Only a few inches long, its surface flickered incessantly with yellow talisman inscriptions, making its extraordinary nature clear at a glance.

On the deck below, Yu Bintian and the other immortal cultivators perked up at the sight. Some immediately began forming seals and chanting, ready to follow his instructions, though most still looked hesitant.

At the same time, Elder Feng drew a deep breath and reached down to seize the Miniature Banner.

Pfft!

A blood-red sword tip suddenly emerged from the chest of Elder Feng, a late Qi Refining immortal cultivator. The space behind him rippled, and a pretty green figure appeared silently, with a round face and large eyes.

It was Qin'er, the Green-Clad Girl who had disappeared.

The Blood-Red Short Sword in her hand had pierced Elder Feng's chest from behind. She wore a broad grin, still looking as impish as ever.

Elder Feng cried out, and the Tobacco Pipe at his waist burst apart. Billowing smoke wrapped around them both as though alive. Flashes of fire and repeated explosions followed within, interspersed with Elder Feng's furious roars and the girl's silvery laughter.

The sudden turn of events left everyone dumbstruck, but a murderous command from the Sickly Daoist immediately jolted them awake.

"Kill them. Leave no one alive!"

As soon as he spoke, a White Horn appeared in the Dwarf's hand. He raised it to his lips and blew hard.

Wooo... wooo...

The schools of Filth-Bone Fish in the surrounding black mist stirred, then rushed at the cultivators and surviving ordinary crew members as though enraged.

"Run!"

Someone shouted, and several figures shot into the air. Some shimmered with radiance, some rode white clouds, and others copied the old farmer and leaped straight into the water. Yu Bintian and the young couple from the Huang Household were among them.

Wang Yu had already quietly retreated to a corner of the deck. With no time to spare for anyone else, he stamped his foot hard.

Bang!

The deck shattered beneath him, exposing a hole large enough for one person. He dropped through it into the cabin below.

"Wooo, wooo!"

Several foot-long Filth-Bone Fish followed him through the hole, but Wang Yu was ready. A few swift slashes cut them into seven or eight pieces. At the same time, he stamped down hard with both feet again. Amid the sound of splintering wood, he dropped into the next level of cabins.

When boarding, he had deliberately studied the Tower Ship. Its hull should have contained three levels beneath the deck. Now that he had reached the second level, he did not continue to the third. Instead, he gave a low shout.

"Overclocking synchronization!"

His five senses instantly opened wide. Everything around him began to slow, and his mind entered super mode.

Using all the relevant information he had gathered earlier, he rapidly calculated his precise position within the Tower Ship and searched for the best escape route...

In just two breaths, Wang Yu rushed into the passageway. After sprinting a short distance toward the stern, he plunged into a room that seemed to lie along the outer edge. He locked the door behind him, then turned one hand over, revealing a yellow talisman-the Golden Light Talisman he had obtained in the earlier trade.

Following the young man from the Huang Household's instructions, he directed a wisp of dharma power from within his body into the talisman, then slapped it onto himself.

Pfft!

A faint layer of golden light emerged over his body, enveloping him entirely. Spirit inscriptions resembling written characters flickered faintly across the Light Screen.

Under normal circumstances, Wang Yu might have studied it carefully, but with his life at stake, he would not waste any time. His long blade flashed with cold light, cutting a large opening in the room's outer wall.

Gurgle, gurgle!

River water surged through the breach like a released flood, pouring straight into the room.

Prepared for this, Wang Yu clenched the iron essence saber between his teeth, drew a deep breath, and held it. He gripped both sides of the opening firmly, keeping his body steady against the rush of water.

Only when water filled the entire room and his body began to float did he kick off hard with both feet, swimming straight out of the room and escaping the Tower Ship.

There was little black mist in the river outside the Tower Ship, but some Filth-Bone Fish swam back and forth there.

Wang Yu first surfaced quietly, then swam hard toward the distant bank.

Crunch! Crunch!

Before he had gone far, several Filth-Bone Fish surrounded him and began gnawing wildly at his body with their sharp mouths. Yet the golden light rippled over his skin, leaving him unharmed.

Wang Yu ignored the bonefish completely. Even with them continually biting at him, he kept swimming for his life.

With the system's assistance, his control over his body and limb muscles entered a subtle state. A tenth of the effort produced the same swimming power as before. He felt as though his entire body had merged with the river, and even the water around him gave him a faint sense of intimacy.

After a flurry of blurred strokes from his hands and feet, the Filth-Bone Fish that had been gnawing at him were left far behind.

Seen from a distance, the river churned wherever he passed, leaving a long white wake.