The dark-skinned man's head rolled on the ground. The tall, unfamiliar man who had just taken action glanced towards Chen Yan, who was standing right beside the dark-skinned man's corpse.
However, it was just a glance. Chen Yan's presence did not draw his excessive attention.
Immediately after, several more figures descended from the sky, landing on the deck of this aerial ferry.
Soon, the cultivators on the ship began to stir and panic.
The dark-skinned man, who had just been beheaded by the tall, unfamiliar man with an almost imperceptible movement, was a cultivator at the late stage of the Martial Spring Realm.
As for the rogue cultivators on the ferry, most were only at the Qi Circulation Realm or the Martial Spring Realm.
Whether there were any Qi Sea Realm cultivators also aboard this ferry, Chen Yan did not know.
"We have no intention of harming the fellow Daoists on this ship, nor do we wish to delay your subsequent journeys."
The unfamiliar man said:
Chen Yan glanced at the corpse of the dark-skinned man lying right at his feet, then pondered the words just spoken by the tall, unfamiliar man.
It seemed the death of that dark-skinned man was just a display of power, a warning.
"Senior!"
A young cultivator wearing luxurious Daoist robes stepped forward from the side, bowing with clasped hands towards the tall, unfamiliar man.
To step forward so boldly despite having just witnessed the dark-skinned man beheaded with a casual move, one had to admit, this young man had some courage.
"This junior is named Zhang Ming, a personal disciple of an elder from the Lightning-Severing Sect in the northern region of the Chenping Continent. Might I ask, who is the person you seniors are seeking?"
Lightning-Severing Sect.
Chen Yan had heard of this cultivation sect's name. It was one of the top sects on the Chenping Continent. Particularly in the cultivation and use of thunder techniques, the Lightning-Severing Sect's level was said to be no less than any of the Five Great Sects except for the Lingxiao Temple.
Currently, the Lightning-Severing Sect even had cultivators from the upper three realms overseeing it, not just one, but three.
With three Unity Realm great powers stationed within the sect, it was enough for the Lightning-Severing Sect's status to rank within the top twenty on the Chenping Continent.
The reason Zhang Ming chose to introduce himself in this manner was for self-preservation.
Although these people claimed they only wanted to find someone, no one could guarantee what they would ultimately do.
By proactively announcing the name of the Lightning-Severing Sect and his identity as a personal disciple of an elder, he could at least make the other party carefully consider the consequences of silencing a witness.
Hijacking a ship and killing a crew member was one thing.
Killing a personal disciple of a Lightning-Severing Sect elder was an entirely different matter.
"Oh?"
The tall cultivator looked meaningfully in Zhang Ming's direction:
"A personal disciple of a Lightning-Severing Sect elder, traveling on a ferry of this grade?"
"One should save spirit stones wherever possible."
Zhang Ming said with a smile, pulling out a Lightning-Severing Sect token from his robe. Indeed, it was engraved with the four large characters: "Lightning-Severing Personal Disciple."
Seeing the smile on Zhang Ming's face, the tall cultivator also smiled:
"Very good..."
A flash of white light, and Zhang Ming's head also flew sideways.
Chen Yan, witnessing everything from the side, wore a grave expression, while the other passengers on the ferry also revealed varying degrees of panic and fear.
"As I said before, we have no intention of harming anyone, but the premise is that everyone cooperates with us in finding the person. Your backgrounds, which sect you come from, none of that matters."
The cultivator said thus.
To kill a personal disciple of an elder from a sect ranking in the top twenty on the Chenping Continent so casually could only represent two possibilities: either the other party's background simply didn't fear any so-called revenge from the Lightning-Severing Sect, or they were utterly desperate outlaws.
Chen Yan didn't know which type they were, nor did he care.
He only knew that the reason he was so unlucky, encountering such an incident just by taking a random ferry, was most likely related to the so-called Karmic Backlash or Heavenly Dao Fate.
If that were the case, then it meant Mr. You would definitely hide far away, completely ignoring him, just like back at the Tomb of the Star-Paying Respects.
Chen Yan's expression was extremely grave.
Now, with his meridians shattered, he was completely just an ordinary mortal, with absolutely no means to resist these ship-hijacking cultivators.
Troublesome.
He could only take one step at a time and see.
"The person we are looking for is a little girl, about six or seven years old. As for her height..."
As he spoke, the tall cultivator placed his hand at the level of his thigh, gesturing twice:
"About this tall."
A little girl?
The passengers on the ferry began whispering among themselves.
This medium-sized ferry was over thirty zhang long. Currently, it carried several hundred cultivators. Among these several hundred cultivators, there were naturally some cultivator couples who had brought their children aboard for the journey.
During the six days on the ship, Chen Yan had also seen this situation several times.
"So, does anyone have any clues?"
The tall cultivator asked thus.
No one spoke.
Then, the tall cultivator revealed a smile, and another flash of white light followed.
In a corner of the deck, the head of a cultivator who looked about forty years old slid from his shoulders.
Although this wasn't the first person he had killed, a wave of exclamations still arose from the ferry.
"I already said, I hope the fellow Daoists present will cooperate with me in finding the person, didn't I?"
A commotion spread through the crowd.
Whether they were rogue cultivators or disciples of cultivation sects, most of those present were only at the Qi Circulation Realm or Martial Spring Realm. Faced with such threats from a Qi Sea Realm cultivator, it was hard not to waver.
"Everyone, why don't we just find all the children on board who meet the conditions and bring them out for these seniors to identify?"
Someone began to suggest.
"In that case, I will give everyone the time it takes for one stick of incense to gather all girls under seven years old on the ship to the deck."
The tall cultivator continued:
"Fellow Daoists can rest assured, we are only looking for one very special little girl. As long as everyone cooperates, we will absolutely not make things difficult for you."
Even though he didn't say it, Chen Yan clearly understood what fate awaited the cultivators on the ship if they didn't do as he said.
Complete silencing of all witnesses.
These people were absolutely capable of such a thing.
Not just Chen Yan, the other cultivators on the ship knew it too.
They only had the time of one stick of incense. They had to gather all girls under seven on the ship to the deck in front of them to escape calamity.
The cultivators who had brought their children naturally did not want to send their children to the front of the deck.
But pressured by others around them, they all had no choice.
At that moment, Chen Yan suddenly felt his Daoist robe being grabbed from behind.
He looked down and saw it was a dirty little hand, carefully pinching the corner of his robe.