With this outburst, everyone’s gaze in the air shifted to Shi Junyan. Despite being watched by so many people, Shi Junyan remained completely unfazed, as steady as an old dog.
“Very well, very well.” Enraged, the old man repeated the word “well” several times. Beneath him, the Three-Headed Winged Lion sensed its master’s anger; its emerald pupils turned vertical, and it flicked its forked tongue while the fur all over its body bristled slightly, assuming a full offensive posture.
“Hmph, in that case, there’s no need to spare your lives,” the old man sneered, waving his weathered hand as the surrounding disciples shifted into combat readiness.
The Fengling Sect took the wind as its Dao, channeling and mastering wind energy. This location was advantageous to them; any breeze brushing past could be utilized at will.
Sitting atop the Three-Headed Winged Lion, the old man remained composed and unruffled, clearly confident in his disciples and seeing no need to intervene himself.
The group of disciples raised their swords in unison with flawless coordination, targeting the Qianxun Ship as dense, fine blades of wind surged straight toward it.
The Qianxun Ship was massive, and left unchecked, it would be pierced into a sieve.
“Sister-in-law, don’t be afraid,” Shi Junyan raised his eyebrows at the enemy, still finding time to offer comfort.
Chi Xiyan wasn’t rattled at all. Instead, he remarked, “It’s fine. Beisi is here to protect us.”
Caught entirely off guard, Shi Junyan choked down a mouthful of dog food. On second thought, it made sense, leaving him with nothing to worry about.
“Death is at the door, and you’re still flirting,” the old man, whose ears caught every sound from afar, scoffed.
Chi Xiyan drew closer to Beisi, standing right behind him. Sensing his approach, Beisi tilted his head and said, “Go back inside first. I’ll handle this.”
Chi Xiyan acknowledged quietly, casting his gaze upward where he could see a transparent barrier enveloping the vessel.
Sword intent combined with slicing wind blades rushed forward aggressively, the distance closing in an instant. Just as they looked ready to strike, the attacks miraculously froze in place. Not only that, but those very attacks rebounded, shooting back in the direction they came from at twice their original speed!
The group of disciples was caught completely off guard, failing to anticipate this sudden twist, and had barely enough time to raise their swords in defense.
“Insignificant tricks,” the old man scoffed dismissively. The Three-Headed Winged Lion beneath him shook all six wings simultaneously, whipping up a gale of wind and rolling clouds. The agitated air easily neutralized the rebounding force, sending shockwaves rippling outward like a giant boulder plunging into an abyss, spreading in concentric rings.
Surprisingly, the Qianxun Ship remained completely motionless, unaffected in the slightest. Even the items inside did not shift position or orientation by a hair’s breadth, as if existing in an entirely different dimension.
After all, an old ginger is sharper than a young one; having seen every kind of scenario, the old man’s expression remained unchanged.
Following that brief tremor, the surrounding disciples simultaneously moved behind the Three-Headed Winged Lion.
The beast beat its wings frantically. Just as the wind and waves subsided, they were instantly stirred up into fresh billows. Passing clouds had their paths obstructed, and the formless wind took shape, resembling a wildly dancing tornado.
The ship finally began to move, rocking violently as if surfing across the sea.
The inevitable outcome would be either being blown away or torn apart by the wind.
“Head over there!” Beisi looked toward the old man and suddenly instructed Shi Junyan.
Though clueless about the reasoning, Shi Junyan didn’t question the order; instead, he obeyed instantly, steering the ship straight toward the old man.
Watching the spot where the old man was positioned, Chi Xiyan instantly understood why Beisi had given such an order.
The tornado had yet to reach its peak impact force.
True to its reputation for traveling a thousand miles a day, the ship’s explosive acceleration was breathtaking. Even when advancing against the wind, the old man’s expression flickered as he figured out the trick, but the ship’s speed was simply too fast.
Plowing through the wind and waves, the vessel finally reached a position directly above the Three-Headed Winged Lion.
“Hey!” Shi Junyan exclaimed in surprise, “The wind’s gone?”
All was calm and tranquil, forming a stark contrast to the fierce turbulence moments ago.
“What’s going on here?” Shi Junyan asked curiously, leaning closer.
“Look at him,” Chi Xiyan said, his eyes fixed on the old man below.
Following instructions, Shi Junyan looked down. The old man, situated right at the eye of the storm, had his clothes completely unruffled; even the strands of his hair and his beard lay neatly flat against his head. The fur on the upper side of the Three-Headed Winged Lion was likewise motionless, unlike the wildly fluttering fur around its sides.
This indicated there was no wind in the center.
Beisi smiled, agreeing with Chi Xiyan, “That’s right.”
With airflow balancing out, the high-speed rotation of the outer ring constrained the inward-converging currents, creating a massive pressure differential. The center remained windless the exact same principle as the eye of a typhoon.
Positioned right above the old man, the three of them prompted the old man’s expression of humiliation to surface as he snapped, “You—”
“You what you? I’m your dad!” Shi Junyan chuckled mockingly.
The old man’s angry expression vanished, replaced by a smile.
A massive shadow cast itself over the Qianxun Ship.
Raising their heads, the three of them saw three gigantic serpent heads closing in from three directions, enclosing the ship in the middle. Each of the six vertical pupils was larger than the ship’s hull, exhaling an icy, chilling aura while forked red tongues flicked out in a continuous hiss.
Without a doubt, a single snap could swallow the ship whole. Like a python swallowing an elephant, it could gulp them down into its belly in one piece.
The middle serpent head was the largest of all. It flung its colossal maw wide open and lunged down to bite the Qianxun Ship.
“Ahhh, how disgusting!” Shi Junyan cried out.
The entire ship became wedged inside the serpent’s maw. The barrier blocked the creature’s sharp teeth, and looking up, one could see the strain in the serpent’s jaws as black venom trickled down, only to be deflected away by the barrier.
Chi Xiyan narrowed his eyes, studying the incessantly spraying venom. Its toxicity was formidable, capable of corroding weapons and internal organs instantly, causing death upon contact with no window for rescue.
Softly and timidly, he said, “I’m a bit scared…” Earlier, Beisi had told him to go inside, and while he had been somewhat concerned, looking upward now, he had formed a different plan.
“I’m here,” Beisi reassured him.
As Chi Xiyan headed toward his cabin, before he even reached it, the doorway before his eyes visibly magnified no, not just the doorway, even the deck beneath his feet was expanding.
“I’ll choke you to death!” Shi Junyan yelled, pointing upward.
The ship kept expanding. Although the serpent had attempted a swallowing motion, it couldn’t budge the vessel by an inch; given the ship’s current bloated volume, it was impossible to swallow it whole. Stuck halfway, unable to go up or down, the upper and lower jaws were forced apart to their absolute limit, stretching the corners of the mouth to the extreme.
The serpent’s head let out a agonized wail as its upper and lower venomous fangs grated against the hull, pressing down with all its might.
The other two serpent heads on either side constantly slithered and maneuvered until one piled up on top and another settled underneath, joining forces to exert pressure. Under the triple-layered biting force of the three heads, the ship’s barrier began to show faint signs of cracking.
Panicking, Shi Junyan shouted, “Impossible!”
Without looking back, Chi Xiyan seized the moment while their attention was elsewhere and slipped to the stern. This serpent possessed four venomous fangs two on the upper jaw, two on the lower, with one on each side. Right beside the stern, one of those fangs was currently attempting to inject venom.
Standing by the railing, Chi Xiyan extended his hand outward. Since those inside could bypass the barrier, he passed through smoothly, placing his hand directly upon the razor-sharp giant fang.
Instantly, the fang pierced his skin, injecting venom straight into his bloodstream. The next second, a searing, raging fire surged through his entire body.
Chi Xiyan frowned in pain, yet his hand remained completely steady. The fang beneath his hand pressed closer; looking up, he realized the barrier was about to shatter.
“It’s not holding!” Shi Junyan screamed, “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have dismantled those parts! This defense isn’t working anymore!”
Hearing the sound of a door opening, Chi Xiyan thought to himself: Oh no. He wasn’t in his room; Beisi must have gone inside and was definitely looking for him.
At that exact moment, the entire barrier shattered completely. A deluge of venom crashed down. With the serpent’s terrifying bite force, the ship was bound to be smashed to smithereens.
Making a swift, decisive decision, Chi Xiyan turned to head back to Beisi. Just then, a streak of golden sword intent forcefully cleaved the serpent’s head down the middle, splitting it into two halves while dispersing all the venom in the air.
Emerging from the cabin, Beisi wore a rare look of panic, his brows etched with deep unease. The moment he caught sight of Chi Xiyan, his expression relaxed immensely, and he hurried toward him.
Suddenly, the ship snapped cleanly down the middle from the impact. The upper serpent head collapsed downward, physically blocking the path between the two of them.
Chi Xiyan tumbled downward rapidly. The severed serpent head had been cleaved open by a single sword strike, and Beisi flew out, completely discarding any semblance of refined composure. His robes whipped around in disarray, his pupils dilated in extreme terror, and his voice trembled violently as he cried out, “Xixi!”
Knowing he wouldn’t die, Chi Xiyan felt his heart ache fiercely at Beisi’s expression, yet he also swelled with joy at how deeply Beisi cared for him. He calculated his landing spot; the Three-Headed Winged Lion was thick-skinned and densely furred, so landing on it wouldn’t cause any injuries.
Beisi’s speed was blindingly fast. Just as he was about to grab Chi Xiyan’s hand, the old man suddenly lunged forward to intercept him, pressing a sword against Chi Xiyan’s throat while his other hand clamped down on Chi Xiyan’s shoulder to immobilize him.
Even with a sword blade resting against his neck, Chi Xiyan remained entirely calm inside, because he could easily break free whenever he chose to; he simply didn’t want to expose his identity just yet. As for the hand pressing on his shoulder, he found it utterly repulsive he decided he would simply have the old man lose an arm first before ending his life shortly after.
Having already mapped out the old man’s execution in his mind, Chi Xiyan let his eyelashes flutter nervously with simulated unease while pressing his lips tightly together.
Landing securely on the back of the Three-Headed Winged Lion, the old man smirked triumphantly at the person opposite them, brandishing his hostage as a threat: “Your person is in my hands.”
Beisi’s gaze turned exceptionally chilling, devoid of a shred of warmth. His past coldness still retained a touch of human warmth, but now he resembled a sword locked away in a freezing abyss a blade bound to draw blood upon un-sheathing, displaying an intensity Chi Xiyan had never witnessed before.
Even the old man was momentarily spooked by the young man’s gaze, nearly forgetting what he had intended to say.
With a sinister smirk, the old man demanded, “If you want to save him, sever your own meridians.”
Meridians were the most crucial foundation for an immortal cultivator. Once destroyed, all cultivation efforts would instantly go to waste, rendering them forever unable to step foot into the path of cultivation again, reduced to a crippled wretch with severed hand and foot tendons who had to survive on the pity of others—a fate far worse than death.
Chi Xiyan closed his injured hand, letting blackened blood drip downward. The blood streamed down and soaked directly into the body of the Three-Headed Winged Lion beneath his feet.
The murderous intent in his heart toward this old man surged to its absolute limit.
Landing on the ground, Shi Junyan felt his legs nearly buckle from shock. Scared out of his wits, he stammered, “You old goat, you… you are truly done for!”
Unfazed, the old man smiled, convinced victory was already within his grasp. Staring fixedly at Beisi with his aged eyes, he pressed on, “What? You don’t dare? Or are you simply too attached to your own cultivation?”
Beisi’s sword shook violently. Ignoring the old man entirely, he locked his eyes on Chi Xiyan, his gaze softening while his voice dropped low, soothing him like a child, “Xixi, close your eyes.”