Floating clouds covered the moon, and it was already past midnight.
Three flying divine boats, using concealment spells to hide their tracks, were arranged in a triangular formation as they broke through the yellow sand against the wind and moved rapidly at low altitude in a narrow canyon in the desert.
In the largest cabin of the middle flying boat, Xue Tianqiao lay on the window sill, propping up her head with her paws and staring at the barren valley outside the window that was running backward like a rolling curtain. Suddenly, her ears perked up, and she turned her head to look at the table in the room.
Her sense of smell told her that there was something on the table, but in her eyes, besides the plates with teapots and cups, there was only a human-shaped wooden stake the size of her head.
"Hiya! Waaa~~"
The room was very quiet.
"Hah~ Uppercut! Hey..."
It was really quiet...
(Pah! Ta-ta-ta!)
"Hah!! Sneak attack!"
"Hmm..."
Xue Tianqiao tilted her head, her face full of suspicion.
She remembered that the white-haired sister had carved the wood stake with a knife a few days ago. That stinky shorty who smelled of alcohol even asked her why she made such a small wooden dummy. At that time, the white-haired sister had giggled and said that she was just killing time and doing it for fun...
Xue Tianqiao had checked the human-shaped wooden stake several times and found nothing wrong with it...
But why did she feel that something strange was hitting that stake?
"Oh~~ Ah~~!! Hoo~~~!"
"...Yip?"
...
On the bed in the room, Feng Yu Die was staring at the ceiling with her eyes wide open. She turned her head to look at Xue Tianqiao on the window sill and Xiao Tian who was swinging her fists and feet at the small wooden stake she made. She sighed and then turned over.
Yun Jiujiu was sleeping on the inner side of the bed against the wall. Unlike her usual awake appearance, Yun Jiujiu was just a short girl taking a nap.
She didn't snore, she didn't kick her feet randomly, and her sleeping posture was very proper. She looked like someone lying in a coffin, with her eyes tightly closed, her hands on her stomach, and facing the ceiling.
"Hiya! Hiya! Ho!"
"..."
Feng Yu Die stared at Yun Jiujiu's sleeping face for a while before turning around again. She looked at Xiao Tian, who had finished punching the wooden stake and started doing push-ups. As if she had made up her mind, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes forcibly, counting Sisters Pei in her heart.
One Sister Pei, two Sister Pei...
Clang—!!
A sharp sword sound rang out in her ears.
!!
Feng Yu Die opened her eyes abruptly and instinctively took out a small dagger from under her pillow, holding it in front of her. However, the room was the same as before. There were only Xue Tianqiao, Xiao Tian, Yun Jiujiu, and her...
It wasn't the first time.
It had been almost half a month since she and Yun Jiujiu were traveling on this divine boat with about five hundred Core Formation stage disciples of the Justice Division and twelve Core Formation disciples of the Sword Sect.
In this past half month, Feng Yu Die had not fallen asleep once. Every time she closed her eyes, in half an hour at most, she would hear the sound of swords and have a tense feeling as if someone was holding a sword to her neck...
Xiao Tian hurriedly got up and floated over. Looking at Feng Yu Die's shocked and disoriented look, she was a little worried. "Yu Die, what's wrong? Do you have a bad feeling?"
Xue Tianqiao also jumped up from the window sill and landed on the bed gently. She sat down with her tail as a cushion and tilted her head.
"Sister White Hair, did you have a nightmare? Do you want my master's felt? It feels very reassuring."
Hearing this, Feng Yu Die suddenly recalled the rainy night when she faced Hu Mu, and her heart palpitated. If Ye Anping hadn't come in time, she would have died under Hu Mu's sword...
—Perhaps the sound she just heard was Hu Mu's sword tearing through the rain curtain...
Feng Yu Die looked at Xiao Tian.
—Or perhaps it was the sound of Gu Mingxin's blood-colored spirit sword that she heard back in the Northern Region ...
Then, she turned to look at Yun Jiujiu still sleeping.
—Or perhaps it was the sound of Yun Kunwu wielding his sword on the back mountain of the Moon Shadow Sword Sect...
Feng Yu Die raised a question in her mind:
—How many times had Young Master Ye saved her?
Every time her life was at stake, Young Master Ye would always appear in front of her, shield her, and help her out of danger...
Feng Yu Die suddenly thought: Young Master Ye… seems… quite handsome...
"Yu Die, why is your face red?"
?!
Xiao Tian's voice abruptly pulled Feng Yu Die back. Slightly stunned, she shook her head, dismissing those crazy thoughts.
She, Feng Yu Die, was totally devoted to Pei Lianxue!
Xue Tianqiao tilted her head to the left and then to the right. "Eh? Sister White Hair misses Brother Ye?"
"No, I was thinking about Sister Pei..."
At this moment, Yun Jiujiu, who was sleeping soundly, seemed to have been disturbed by their voices. She opened her eyes in a daze and glanced at the window. "What's wrong? You've been tossing and turning in bed these days, what nonsense are you thinking about?"
Feng Yu Die raised her eyebrows. "If you can't sleep and think I'm noisy, why don't you find another room? Why are you squeezing in here with me?"
Veins bulged on Yun Jiujiu's forehead as she cursed. "Nonsense! You think I want to share a bed with a liar like you? Three divine ships carry more than five hundred people. How many rooms can there be? Next door, three or four people have squeezed into one room."
However, looking at Feng Yu Die's bloodshot eyes, she let out a long sigh and sat up. She took out a wine gourd from her storage bag and handed it over.
"Here! Drink it!"
"Huh?"
"This Brilliant City wine is as intense as springtime. After one or two drinks, I guarantee that you won't know when you fell asleep and will wake up naturally."
Feng Yu Die looked at the wine gourd and refused her offer. "Before we set off, Young Master Ye told me to keep an eye on you and not allow you to drink too much and even more so, warned me not to drink."
"I'll keep watch here, you can rest for a while. If something really happens, I'll just slap you awake."
Because the two of them were leading a group of Core Formation cultivators, Ye Anping had especially emphasized to her before they set off that she should be more wary of betrayal among the Justice Division disciples than the demonic cultivators' attack.
As the saying goes, refugees are likely to bring chaos.
Since ancient times, many generals and emperors among the ordinary people had been assassinated by their trusted subordinates who sneaked into their tents at night while fleeing with their troops.
Although ordinary people and cultivators were not the same, she and Yun Jiujiu were both cultivators in the early stage of Core Formation after all, and the people they brought with them were also in the Core Formation stage.
For this reason, Ye Anping let Xue Tianqiao and Xiao Tian follow her.
Although Xue Tianqiao was usually behaving silly, as a fox demon, she was naturally more capable of sensing dangers than humans. Xiao Tian, on the other hand, did not need to rest. She could help her and Yun Jiujiu to be alert at all times if any malicious people were approaching.
Even so... Young Master Ye had also emphasized that she was not allowed to drink.
Since Young Master Ye said it, he must have his reasons.
With this thought, Feng Yu Die lay down with her back to Yun Jiujiu.
"No drinking."
Yun Jiujiu shook her head helplessly and took a sip before throwing the wine gourd into her storage bag and lying down.
"Feng Yu Die, talk to me, why can't you sleep?"
"Well..."
Feng Yu Die hesitated, then rolled over to face Yun Jiujiu, and whispered. "Jiujiu, what do you think of Young Master Ye?"
Yun Jiujiu replied immediately, "He has thin arms and legs, and he is not as strong as me. He is just a ninny."
Hearing this, Feng Yu Die frowned, feeling inexplicably displeased. "What's wrong with thin arms and legs? Do you have to be like an ox? Besides, aren't you born with supernatural strength? Who can compare to you?"
Yun Jiujiu seemed to understand something when she heard Feng Yu Die defending Ye Anping. She let out a sigh. "Yun Yiyi likes that Ye guy. When he was in Sword Sect, I felt that he was… quite sinister. Although he was pretty handsome, and many girls on Sword Wine Peak secretly fell for him, I had never seen him fight... I don't like him anyway!"
Feng Yu Die rolled her eyes. "Who do you like then? I feel..."
"Feng Yu."
?
Feng Yu Die was slightly stunned. "Huh?"
"I like Feng Yu!"
With a disdainful look, Yun Jiujiu glanced at her and added, "It's a damn shame there's no bird. I was really tempted. I wanted to see if it was big, but when I touched it, it turned out to be a crack..."
Feng Yu Die looked at her speechlessly, but then she remembered that she and Sister Pei didn't have any birds and immediately asked, "...In a cultivator couple, one of them must have a bird?"
"What do you think?"
Yun Jiujiu rolled her eyes and pondered for a while before asking, "Anyway, you haven't been able to sleep these past few days. Is it because of that Ye guy?"
"Well..."
"Then, aren't you the same as my eldest sister?"
"Eh?"
"After that Ye guy left, my elder sister lost sleep for months. Every time I went to see her, she was like a sunflower, looking to the northwest. It was so annoying. Sigh… this is fucking love…"
Feng Yu Die was stunned, and Xiao Tian, who had been silent because Yun Jiujiu had woken up, covered her mouth and snickered. "Oh my~ So that's what's going on, Yu Die... You should be honest..."
Feng Yu Die: "Shut up!!"
?
Yun Jiujiu was startled and looked at her with a frown. "It's the middle of the night. Why are you shouting so loudly?"
"..."
"Isn't it obvious that you like that Ye guy?"
"..."
Yun Jiujiu shrugged, and with her twelve or thirteen-year-old face, she shook her head like an old woman and continued. "Hey, you and that Ye guy are actually quite compatible. You are pretty and can fight. He is handsome and proficient in calculation. Isn't that good? Moreover, I think he also formed a Heavenly Dao Golden Core , which is quite good."
"...I am devoted to Sister Pei."
"Sister Pei… that girl who doesn't like to talk, eh? Aside from the fact that neither of you has a bird, this old lady feels that you and she are not a good match anyway."
Yun Jiujiu shook her head before patting Feng Yu Die on the shoulder. "Kid, don't be like a dog wagging its tail!"
"You're not even as tall as me, and you still call me kid..."
"I'm already in my sixties, aren't you a lot younger? Why can't I call you that?"
"..."
Feng Yu Die fell silent and frowned tightly. She had this feeling that something was wrong, but couldn't tell what it was.
She really liked Young Master Ye?
But Master said...
Whoosh--~
Even though there were protections around the flying boat to block the wind, there was still a slight breeze blowing in from the windows of the room. The room suddenly became silent.
Feng Yu Die recalled the details of her first meeting with Young Master Ye. She gradually felt that her little heart, which was originally insecure, seemed to have calmed down.
Sleepiness crept in quietly. The golden eyes staring at the ceiling opened and closed several times, and then stopped opening.
Yun Jiujiu saw Feng Yu Die's slightly raised lips, shook her head, and sighed. "Sigh..."
Then, she heard Feng Yu Die mumbling in her sleep. "Hehe... Young Master Ye... Roasted chicken... Slurp..."
"?"
Yun Jiujiu was enlightened. This was the first time she saw someone having an erotic dream about roasted chicken...
However, she did not disturb Feng Yu Die. After all, Feng Yu Die had not rested well in the past few days, and who knew what kind of troubles they would encounter along the way?
After a while, Yun Jiujiu slowly closed her eyes and also fell asleep. When Xiao Tian saw that both of them were sleeping, she returned to the wooden stake, took out the Heavenly Dao Scroll and used it as a dumbbell for bench press, while Xue Tianqiao curled up into a fox ball beside the Feng Yu Die's pillow.
After who knows how long--
Tap-tap–
The footsteps in the corridor reverberated in the room.
Tap-tap--
The footsteps were getting closer and closer...
And then, there was the sound of scraping wood.
Creak—
Xue Tianqiao, who was curled up into a ball, suddenly perked up her ears and twitched her nose, feeling a strange powdery scent in the room.
She raised her head toward the door.
The door that was originally tightly closed was, for some reason, opened a crack at this moment.
The gap revealed a deep darkness like the abyss, and...
A large bloodshot eyeball peered inside through the door crack with a ferocious look.
"Ying!!!"
The fox's fur stood on end as she yelped.
Xiao Tian, who was doing bench press with the Heavenly Dao Scroll , opened her eyes wide when she saw the figure outside the door. She quickly condensed her spiritual power and prepared to call out the golden dragon to protect Feng Yu Die and Yun Jiujiu.
"Oh shit… what happened again?!"
Yun Jiujiu woke up first. She propped herself up and looked blankly at Xue Tianqiao.
The next moment, boom—
The wooden door fell entirely from the door frame.
At the same time, a Sword Sect disciple fell inside with a grimace on his face and a sword stuck in his back.
"Crap!!!"
"Yu Die!! Wake up!!"
Yun Jiujiu came to her senses and slapped Feng Yu Die, then immediately jumped off the bed. She drew her storage bag with a wave of her hand, taking out her sword that was bigger than her body.
"Who the hell is that bastard?!"
"Huh... Jiujiu? What's wrong..."
Feng Yu Die sat up and watched Yun Jiujiu standing by the bed with the huge sword in her hand. She looked at the door of the room in horror, completely unaware of what had happened.
"Feng Yu Die, get up quickly..."
As she spoke, Yun Jiujiu slowly turned her head to glance at her, and suddenly, her face turned livid, and her words stopped abruptly.
"Holy shit!!! Feng Yu Die!!!"
Yelling, Yun Jiujiu raised her sword and smashed it toward her face.
?
Although confused, Feng Yu Die reacted quickly. She immediately took out a dagger from under the pillow and prepared to defend herself. However, Xiao Tian had already summoned the power of the Holy Emperor Dragon Body and set up a spiritual wall around Feng Yu Die.
Ding—!
Yun Jiujiu's sword smashed into the golden spiritual shield, but her own strength deflected it.
Xiao Tian raised her sword finger in front of her chest and said, "Yu Die, give your spiritual energy to Miss Yun! She is under a spell. Anping told me before that theGhost SpiritSect has thirty-seven methods, while theHeavenly DemonSect would only use one method. This is the method of theHeavenly DemonSect. The Yama Seven Forms, the move of Prison Hall Elder Fu Yuanhua! Break it with your spirit of spring!"
"Ah..."
Feng Yu Die was stunned for a moment, but she quickly pointed her finger at Xue Tianqiao's forehead, sharing some of her spiritual energy with her. Then, she got off the bed and walked directly toward Yun Jiujiu.
Yun Jiujiu's eyes widened in surprise when she saw Feng Yu Die charging toward her. She immediately twisted her giant sword and slashed at her again.
"Fuck!! So fast?! Feng Yu Die!! Where are you?! Move your ass here and help me..."
Seeing the giant sword hurtling toward her, Feng Yu Die's eyes narrowed slightly, and she flipped her hand, sticking the dagger to her forearm and catching Yun Jiujiu's blade, then deftly defusing its strength.
At the same time, she bent over and almost stuck to the ground. She twisted and dodged, then poked Yun Jiujiu's forehead with her index and middle finger and distributed some of her spiritual energy to her.
"Jiujiu!!"
Yun Jiujiu seemed to wake up from a daze. She paused for a moment and looked at the mess in the room, as well as the sword in her hand. She asked, "Ah?! What happened..."
" Yama Seven Forms ."
Feng Yu Die said succinctly. She quickly took her outer robe from the coat rack and draped it over her body. Then, she tied her hair back in a ponytail and took out Xiao Yunluo's sword from her storage bag.
"Jiujiu! Stay beside me, don't go too far."
"Oh!"
Yun Jiujiu nodded and casually donned the golden robe she usually wore. She picked up the storage bag, then took Xue Tianqiao in her arms before walking out onto the deck with Feng Yu Die.
Ding ding ding—
Ding—!
"Hoo! Demonic cultivators! Die!!!"
"Ahhhhh!"
"How come there are so many demonic cultivators?! Where did they come from?!"
On the spacious deck, a raging fire had already started because of a fallen spirit stone lamp.
Clashes of swords, shouts, and cries for help were all mixed up.
However, the only ones who were facing each other with swords and fighting to the death were the immortal cultivators wearing the robes of the Justice Division . They seemed to have no recognition of their fellow disciples.
"Yu Die!! Hurry up... Anping told us about this."
Feng Yu Die looked a little confused, but after hearing Xiao Tian's voice, she recovered from the scene of the sea of fire in front of her. She drew her finger across the blade of her sword, then sat cross-legged on the ground and closed her eyes.
"Jiujiu, protect me!"
"Okay!"
Yun Jiujiu took a deep breath and inserted her sword vertically into the ground. She stood in front of Feng Yu Die and used her energy to form a spiritual shield around them.
...
Meanwhile, a thousand feet above the clouds.
Hundreds of Ghost Spirit Sect disciples with ghost masks and black robes stood on their flying swords neatly aligned, looking ruthlessly at the three flying boats moving rapidly in the valley below.
At the forefront of the Ghost Spirit Sect disciples was Fu Yuanhua, holding an incense burner in her right hand. Gu Mingxin and He Jiming, also wearing ghost masks, stood by her side.
He Jiming cupped his fists, smiling. "Elder Fu… this should be enough, right? How about letting us youngsters go in and gather some merits?"
"Why should we send people to die if we can solve the problem by ourselves?"
"Indeed." He Jiming smiled as he leaned forward and looked at Gu Mingxin on the other side of Fu Yuanhua. "But Sister Gu will feel distressed."
"..."
"Sister Gu, do you really want to help these immortals out now? I understand, they are the sponsors after all."
Gu Mingxin glanced at him with disdain, then retracted her gaze to look at the three immortal ships below with narrowed eyes.
She felt that it was impossible for that woman Feng to be dealt with so easily. Although she really wanted to confront He Jiming, she knew better after talking with Elder Fu.
The reason why Elder Fu wanted to solve this matter alone, even at the expense of her true energy, was mainly because she was afraid that He Jiming, this idiot, would rush in and die at the hands of some immortal disciple.
If He Jiming died, after she returned to the Heavenly Demon Sect, Great Elder He would make things difficult for her.
To her, He Jiming was like a shackle.
She really wanted to go down and fight Feng Yu Die alone again, to prove to Ye Anping that she was more suitable to work with him than her, but...
"Huu..."
"Mingxin, it's okay."
"..."
At the next moment.
Ka—
A light green spiritual light unexpectedly appeared on the incense burner in Fu Yuanhua's right hand. She squinted her eyes, looking in shock when suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her palm, and she threw the incense burner away.
"Ah?! Elder Fu... what are you doing?"
"Disciples, listen up! Protect yourselves!"
Boom—!
Fierce flames burst out from the incense burner.
Above the uninhabited area, it turned into a small sun that illuminated the hundreds of miles of the desert below.