Early the next morning, Yuan Zifeng was already sitting in meditation and chanting scriptures in Yuanhua Hall.
Worried about the situation on Black Wind Island, he could not sleep peacefully anyway. He might as well get up early and await Linghua Island's reply.
If Linghua Island refused to lend a hand, he had nowhere else to seek help. He would return to Black Wind Island and live or die with it.
After all, he had lived there for twenty years. Even if he died, he had to die on Black Wind Island.
Yuan Zifeng pumped his fist twice as if to encourage himself, but then he looked at his left arm, and bitterness welled up in his heart again.
Even if the siege of Black Wind Island was lifted and he returned safely, he would probably never be able to advance his cultivation again.
With a limb missing and his meridians incomplete, how could he connect the greater and lesser celestial circuits into one unbroken whole and reach perfection?
He had hurried here yesterday, weary from the journey and with all his thoughts on Black Wind Island. He did not seem to have discerned Zhao Yi's cultivation.
But Zhao Yi should not be far from perfection of meridian opening. With his strength, he should at least be a match for one cultivator at perfection of meridian opening.
Creak!
The rear courtyard door opened. Zhao Yi emerged in fitted black clothes, the Long Ji on his back, with Liu Yu and Li Hai close behind.
Arriving at Yuanhua Hall, Zhao Yi looked at Yuan Zifeng sitting cross-legged in meditation and said, "We discussed it yesterday and decided to go with you. But let me make this clear first: if your generous reward turns out to be meager, I won't let you off!"
"Good! Good! Good!"
At these words, Yuan Zifeng abruptly turned to look at the three of them, so excited that his words tumbled out incoherently.
Outside the hall doors, the first rays of morning sunlight shone on the three, making them look like divine figures bathed in golden light.
"You'll have your reward, definitely! Whatever you want!"
"Heh, you really can boast. Whatever we want? I'm afraid Black Wind Island will end up giving us whatever it has!"
"No time to lose. Let's set off right away and talk aboard! What kind of boat did you come in?"
"A single-masted sailboat."
"All right. We'll take the Linghua back this time and bring your Single-Masted Ship along. We'll have a use for it."
"All right!"
Yuan Zifeng quickly rose.
Aboard the Linghua, Zhao Yi watched the restless Yuan Zifeng, unsure how to comfort him.
As for Li Hai, he barely knew Yuan Zifeng and was even less likely to speak.
They had been at sea for three days, with another day's voyage to Black Wind Island. If things went smoothly, they could arrive that night.
Aboard the ship, Zhao Yi told Yuan Zifeng his plan while discreetly observing his reaction.
If he disagreed, Zhao Yi would knock him unconscious and sail straight back to Linghua Island.
As for Black Wind Island, once the dust settled, perhaps there would no longer be a Black Wind Island.
Fortunately, Yuan Zifeng agreed, and only then did Zhao Yi continue onward.
According to the plan, the Linghua would hide by a deserted island more than fifty li from Black Wind Island.
Zhao Yi and the others would take Yuan Zifeng's Single-Masted Ship and approach Black Wind Island under cover of darkness.
They would first deal with the Kongqing Island cultivators patrolling offshore, then look for opportunities to lure Kongqing Island's cultivators out and ambush them.
If the Kongqing Island cultivators refused to come out, they could only wait offshore for the outcome of this battle of life and death.
After nightfall, the Linghua came to a steady stop beside the deserted island and dropped anchor to wait.
Zhao Yi instructed the islanders aboard to keep themselves hidden, then set off in the Single-Masted Ship with Li Hai and Yuan Zifeng.
It was the latter half of the night before the little boat reached the waters off Black Wind Island, where they watched Kongqing Island's patrol vessel from afar.
It was also a Single-Masted Ship, but much larger than Yuan Zifeng's, and lay at anchor in the waters south of Black Wind Island.
Yuan Zifeng exchanged a glance with Zhao Yi, lowered the sail, and dropped anchor.
Each of the three took a wooden plank in his arms, slipped over the side into the water, and slowly swam toward Kongqing Island's patrol boat.
Time trickled by. Dawn was approaching when the three finally drew close to the Single-Masted Ship under the last cover of darkness.
Zhao Yi was the first to grab the hull from the water. Its surface was slippery, so he drove a dagger into it little by little, slowly climbing upward.
Within a few breaths, Zhao Yi reached the bulwark. He raised his head just a little and slowly surveyed the boat.
Seeing no one on patrol, Zhao Yi vaulted aboard, then used the Lightness Technique to creep toward the cabin.
The other two climbed aboard in succession and followed closely behind Zhao Yi.
As they slowly approached the cabin, a sudden yawn reached them. Zhao Yi sharply looked up. Someone was keeping watch atop the cabin.
Zhao Yi turned sideways and pressed his ear against the cabin, listening carefully for footsteps. The person on the roof had not moved. He then listened closely to the breathing inside: one, two, three, four.
Including the person atop the cabin, there were five in total.
Zhao Yi glanced at the two beside him, changed the Long Ji into the Short Ji, drew a deep breath, and kicked the cabin door open.
The crash of the door jolted all four inside awake. Still half asleep, they had yet to draw the longswords at their waists.
By the dim lamplight, Zhao Yi saw the cabin's layout clearly. Two were farther inside, a zhang away, while the other two were nearer the entrance, only a few paces away.
He stepped forward and lightly swung the Short Ji. As panic filled the eyes of the two on the left, the Halberd Blade flashed, and two heads fell to the floor.
Zhao Yi then charged at the cultivator with the strongest aura in the cabin. Following close behind, Yuan Zifeng and Li Hai saw this and darted out to the right, engaging the last enemy in the cramped cabin.
"You lot..."
Before the man could continue, Zhao Yi's attacks came thick and fast, like a raging wind and driving rain.
The older cultivator had no choice but to draw his sword and meet them. As their Dharma Weapons clashed, tremendous force struck him, sending him stumbling two steps backward.
Like a snake climbing the stick used to strike it, Zhao Yi pressed his advantage relentlessly, forcing him back step by step. Suddenly, a faint click sounded, and Zhao Yi hurriedly blocked.
Clang!
A crossbow bolt struck the Halberd Blade, then fell to the floor. Furious, Zhao Yi shouted in a low voice.
"Old scoundrel! Shooting from the shadows! You're courting death!"
Holding nothing back, he swept the Short Ji through an elegant arc and struck the older cultivator's longsword.
With a flick of the Halberd Blade, he knocked the longsword to the floor. Before the older cultivator could beg for mercy, he cleaved him in two, then struck again to cut off his head.
He swung the Short Ji upward, smashing through the cabin roof, and a man fell through.
Before the man could react, Zhao Yi lightly thrust the Short Ji into his abdomen, lifted, and pulled it free, splitting him in two.
Looking at the last cultivator, Zhao Yi stopped attacking, intending to give Li Hai some practice, and signaled Yuan Zifeng with a glance.
Seeing this, Yuan Zifeng eased his attacks and shifted his feet lightly to block the man's retreat, supporting Li Hai.
In just a few breaths, the Kongqing Island cultivator had become the only survivor on his side. Panicked, his swordplay fell into disarray, exposing an opening. Li Hai swung his longsword and slit his throat.
Looking at the fallen cultivator, Zhao Yi walked over and cut his head off with one strike of his ji, indicating to Li Hai that it was only over once the enemy was beheaded. Li Hai nodded slightly.
Five living souls had perished in this tiny cabin, leaving a thick stench of blood inside.
Even Yuan Zifeng could not help frowning, yet Li Hai showed little reaction, though his face was somewhat pale.
"How was it?"
Zhao Yi asked Li Hai with a smile.
"Not bad, eldest senior brother. Pretty easy!"
Zhao Yi nodded and said no more. Afterward, the three searched the entire cabin again.
Once they confirmed that no one else remained, Zhao Yi and Yuan Zifeng raised the anchor and sailed toward the patrol boat west of Black Wind Island.
Meanwhile, Li Hai cleaned up the battlefield. Before long, he held a pile of items in his hands and looked at Yuan Zifeng.
"Those are the spoils for you fellow disciples."
Yuan Zifeng waved a hand and smiled at Li Hai. Looking at this young cultivator who radiated a dangerous aura, his heart filled with envy toward Linghua Island.
Another fine seedling. With Zhao Yi, Liu Yu, and now a swordsman like this, Linghua Island's prosperity was just around the corner!
Without turning his head, Zhao Yi asked, "Have you cleaned everything up?"
"Strip off their clothes and wash them, throw the bodies overboard, then fetch water to wash out the cabin and get rid of the smell of blood. Put these miscellaneous items in a cloth sack for now."
"Old Yuan, how can you tell whether Black Wind Island has fallen?"
Yuan Zifeng raised a hand and pointed toward the island. "Zhao Yi, look over there. Do you see the ring of light in the very center of the island?"
"That's the Protective Formation set up by Black Wind Island's previous generation's Spirit Attraction Stage cultivator. It runs on spirit stones. To break it, you have to be a Spirit Attraction Stage cultivator; otherwise, you can only slowly exhaust the Protective Formation's spirit stones."
A moment later, Yuan Zifeng added, "The island has a reserve of over a thousand spirit stones, enough to sustain it for half a month."
Zhao Yi nodded and said no more.
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