The setting sun sank into the water, and the originally green river was now dyed red by the evening glow.
A small boat drifted with the current as a wisp of smoke rose from the small stove on the boat.
Ye Anping, wearing a straw raincoat, was sitting at one end of the boat, fanning the fire with a cattail-leaf fan while cooking fish soup with onion and ginger.
After a while, the clear water in the pot was colored with a touch of snow white, and a fresh fragrance wafted out.
Pei Lianxue, who was squatting next to him, flared her nostrils, tapped the bowl with her chopsticks, and asked expectantly, "Brother, is it ready?"
"Hmm..."
Ye Anping was still silent when he suddenly heard the whirring of the wind. He immediately looked up in the direction of the setting sun in the distance. Then, he picked up the pot lid and covered the stone pot. He raised his hand and patted Pei Lianxue's head, saying, "Let it simmer for a while."
"Oh..."
Following her brother's gaze, Pei Lianxue narrowed her eyes and nodded in disappointment. She then stood up, removed the bamboo hat that shaded her eyes, and threw it to the side.
Silver light flashed, and a spirit sword flew out of Pei Lianxue's storage bag, landing in her right hand.
Her left hand swept across the sword, emitting a buzzing sound.
Buzz--!
Spiritual energy spread out from her fingertips, creating circles of ripples under the boat, lightly suffused with ice-blue spiritual light.
Pei Lianxue's cherry lips parted, her eyes narrowed, and she slightly bent her knees, ready to make a preemptive strike. However, she was stopped by Ye Anping, who suddenly raised his hand. "Don't worry, this kind of two-legged fish needs to approach first."
"...Oh~"
Ye Anping nodded at her and took out a pink cloth bag from his storage bag, hiding it in his sleeve. Then, he turned around and faced the setting sun.
With whooshing sounds, eight pitch-black spiritual lights came from the west. In an instant, they stopped moving and hovered in eight different directions of the boat, surrounding him and Pei Lianxue in the center.
Under his bamboo hat, Ye Anping's eyes swept over seven Core Formation -stage demonic cultivators before finally landing on the face of a purple-clothed woman with the highest cultivation level.
If he remembered correctly, this woman should be Hehua Zhenren of the Hedonistic Sect.
In the game, she was considered a pretty powerful mini-Boss.
Although she was a seductive cultivator who was not very good at fighting, her cultivation level was in the middle stage of the Nascent Soul , and she had a lot of annoying magic treasures in her bag. If they weren't prepared in advance, he and his sister might not be able to deal with her with their current cultivation base.
On top of that, she had also brought seven Core Formation -stage demonic cultivators with her.
But then again, this was the territory of the Western Region . The Hedonistic Sect sent her and the seven Core Formation -stage demonic cultivators across the border, which was a big deal.
The one who was guarding the border was Lei Wanjun.
Why was Elder Lei so careless...
"Hey, are you the Young Master of the Hundred Lotus Sect?"
A charming voice came from above, causing Ye Anping, who was lost in thoughts, to come back to his senses. He cupped his hands and smiled.
"That would be me."
"Heh..." Hehua Zhenren sneered and said sarcastically, "Did you not see my intention? Or do you think that you can act so carefree just because you are in the Western Region ?"
"Neither."
"That means you won't resist? That's good, it helps me save spiritual energy. When I asked for news about Young Master Ye in the town, I bumped into a rather annoying follower."
Annoying follower?
Could it be that Zu Lingzhi had already arrived and they had met earlier?
Ye Anping thought that, since Zu Lingzhi had already arrived, she should be nearby by now...
He raised his head slightly and scanned his surroundings, but he did not find any trace of her.
He then took off his bamboo hat and placed it on his chest.
When she saw Ye Anping's face, the bored expression on Hehua's face instantly disappeared. When the sect master asked her to come over and capture the Young Master of the Hundred Lotus Sect, she was quite reluctant.
After all, they had to cross the border of the Western Region guarded by the Grand Elder Lei of the Black Star Sect and inquire about the location of the Young Master of the Hundred Lotus Sect. This was not an easy task.
But now, it turned out that Ye Anping was just like the rumors said, a handsome Young Master with a noble look.
She suddenly felt that all the hardships were rewarded and the troubles on the road meant nothing at all.
"Wow, looks like there will be some fun on the way back~~" Hehua Zhenren narrowed her eyes, smiling. Her gaze shifted to Pei Lianxue, and she raised her hand slightly. "It's just that this little girl's eyes are a little sharp."
Ye Anping glanced at the murderous intent in his sister's eyes, and with a helpless smile, he said, "Of course it's sharp. My sister hates those who covet my beauty the most."
"..."
"Anyway, my sister isn't a demonic cultivator and doesn't eat people, so you can rest assured. I just wanted to remind you, Senior Hehua, do you know why this river is called the Water Dragon River ?"
Ye Anping raised the pink bag in his right hand slightly, opened it, and poured out a few black pills with a sardonic smile on his face.
Seeing the smile on his face and the pills in his hand, Hehua's eyes revealed some surprise, and instinctively, she felt a threat.
It was a threat that she couldn't describe clearly but came from an intuition that she had honed for hundreds of years.
She raised her right hand and waved it slightly, ordering the seven Core Formation cultivators who had followed her to rush forward. She quickly took out a cauldron incense burner and used her spiritual energy to protect herself before retreating five hundred feet away.
First, she would use her subordinates to test Ye Anping's ability.
If there was a problem, she could just run away.
With this thought in mind, the surprise in Hehua Zhenren's eyes dissipated. She calmed down and stared at Ye Anping and Pei Lianxue, observing their every move.
Ye Anping watched in resignation at how cautious she was. He glanced at the seven Core Formation demonic cultivators surrounding them and threw a black pill into the lake.
At the same time, Pei Lianxue quickly raised the sword in her hand, preparing to help her brother block the first wave of attacks.
However, at this time.
Bang--!
A white light flashed across the river.
A horsetail whisk shot from the west bank of the river toward Ye Anping and Pei Lianxue's boat. On the calm surface of the river, it created a ten-foot-long ditch, forming two white wave ridges.
"Hiss--"
Ye Anping glanced at it and gasped, surprised. He quickly grabbed the black pill out of the air and beckoned Pei Lianxue with his eyes not to leave his side.
Boom---
"Ah...!"
With a shriek, the whisk that came from the shore flew straight toward Ye Anping's chest after knocking away a Core Formation -stage demonic cultivator. However, when it was about to be installed, it instantly stopped moving and hovered five inches above his chest.
The white ponytail at the tip of the whisk expanded and grew rapidly like hair, directly wrapping Ye Anping and Pei Lianxue inside. It formed a huge white wool ball on the boat's deck that blocked all the swords in the hands of the remaining six demonic cultivators.
The six people felt like they were hitting a bunch of cotton that couldn't be cut, and they couldn't exert any strength at all.
Before they could react, the horsetail whisk suddenly turned into a white whip and swept over the area.
Snap--!
Boom--!
The six Core Formation cultivators were unable to withstand the blow, and they were sent flying in opposite directions by the horsetail whisk like a goddess scattering flowers. There was a series of splashes in six directions with Ye Anping's boat at the center, and they crashed into the river, the water exploding in six places.
Standing further away, Hehua Zhenren saw this and quickly turned to look at the shore. She saw a busty female cultivator in a black-and-white robe standing on a flying sword and slowly flying toward her, with her chest held high.
"Came so soon?"
Elder Cao slowly approached Hehua Zhenren. She raised her hand to retract the horsetail whisk that had protected Ye Anping and Pei Lianxue, put it around her left arm, and looked up at her. "Hmph, demonic witch, how dare you make trouble in the Immortal's hinterland."
"Heh, since I dare to set foot in the Western Region , I have the confidence to do so. You, a Nascent Soul -stage Elder of the Bright Star Sect, can't do anything to me!"
Black clouds gathered in the sky, casting a shadow on the river.
The wind was strong, and the waves were slanting as two spiritual energies moved with momentum.
Two figures, one black and one white, collided back and forth a hundred feet above the river. Spiritual energy exploded, stirring up waves dozens of feet above the shadowy river.
The boat rose and fell rapidly on the waves.
Standing on the deck of the boat, Ye Anping pointed his left hand at the stone pot beside him. He raised his fish soup with his spiritual power so that it would not be knocked over by these waves.
Looking at Cao Yan'er of the Bright Star Sect fighting with Hehua Zhenren, he felt helpless.
He thought that Zu Lingzhi and Cao Yan'er would come to find him, and he also thought that the Hedonistic or the Magical Poison Sect would send their minions to kidnap him.
But he didn't expect that the two groups of people would collide with each other.
Two Nascent Soul -stage cultivators were fighting head-on. Moreover, their strength was evenly matched. This battle would last for a few days and nights without concluding the winner.
Before the fight, it was fine, but now that it had started, it was really difficult for him to intervene.
Rumble---
Because the wind and waves were too strong, Pei Lianxue raised her voice to ask. "Brother!! What should we do?!"
"Let's watch the show!!!"
"Brother!! Can't hear you!!"
Ye Anping leaned toward Pei Lianxue's ear. "Watch the show!!"
"Oh!!"
The Nascent Souls' energy exploded across the sky and earth until night fell. The small boat was riding the waves and swaying, but on the deck, Ye Anping and Pei Lianxue stood still relative to the boat.
Suddenly, two black shadows broke out of the surging waves.
Two of the Core Formation -stage demonic cultivators who had just been sent flying by the horsetail whisk, appeared holding their swords and attacked the two people who looked stunned and defenseless at first sight.
Ye Anping glanced at them and was about to raise his hand to signal his sister to kill them.
However, before his hand could fall and Pei Lianxue could draw her sword, another figure jumped up from behind a giant wave and slashed one of the demonic cultivators in half.
Swish---
"Hmph!!"
After Zu Lingzhi chopped down one person, she sent the other one flying with a whip kick, then put the hilt of the sword in her mouth, and freed her hands to grab Ye Anping and Pei Lianxue's shoulders.
"Wuwu!!!"
She wanted to say "Let's go", but because the sword was in her mouth, she couldn't speak clearly. Then, she grabbed the two people's shoulders and tried to lift them up and take them away.
However, when she tried to lift the two, Zu Lingzhi found that their feet seemed to be glued to the boat, and she couldn't move them at all.
"?"
Zu Lingzhi was dumbfounded. She exerted her strength again, but she still couldn't move them.
"Wuwuwu--! Wuwuwu-!"
"..."
"..."
Ye Anping and Pei Lianxue stood on her left and right, staring at her expressionlessly and without any intention of speaking.
Zu Lingzhi was furious at the sight of these two expressionless faces, but she didn't have time to curse at the moment.
Just as she grabbed the shoulders of the two, another demonic cultivator jumped out of the river and landed on the boat, raising his sword at her.
Ding---
Zu Lingzhi widened her eyes and immediately let go of their shoulders. She grabbed the sword hilt in her mouth to block the attack and forced that person back, then shouted, "Follow me now...!!"
Before she could finish speaking, another Core Formation demonic cultivator flashed out from behind her, stabbing his sword toward her back.
However, Zu Lingzhi reacted instantly, turning around and shifting the scabbard on her back to block the demonic cultivator's sword.
Ding---!
Although she blocked the sword, she was sent flying due to the force of the blow, away from Ye Anping and Pei Lianxue.
The remaining five Core Formation -stage demonic cultivators seemed to have been drawn aggro. After Zu Lingzhi was knocked into the air, they jumped out of the turbulent river and surrounded her from five directions.
Zu Lingzhi, again, reacted extremely quickly. She summoned her magic tool and placed herself inside a golden bell to block the spiritual swords of the five people.
Ding---
Rumble--!
Up above, the fight between Cao Yan'er and the Huhua Zhenren continued, with bursts of spiritual light shaking the heavens and the earth.
On the river, Zu Lingzhi used the waves as her stepping stones to deal with the encirclement of five Core Formation cultivators alone.
The boat was bobbing up and down in the waves while Ye Anping, holding his fish soup, and Pei Lianxue by his side, stood quietly at the bow, like two passers-by, watching with expressionless faces the fierce fight between the two groups of people.
Although Ye Anping appeared to be frozen at first glance, he had actually been looking for an opportunity to strike.
Unfortunately, he didn't find any.
Seeing that the situation was getting out of hand, Ye Anping had no other choice. He sighed and whispered into Pei Lianxue's ear.
"Sister!! Act according to circumstances and save people first!!"
"...Yes!!"
Pei Lianxue understood that her brother wanted her to seize the opportunity and save the girl with the "∞" on her head. She nodded and followed his gaze.
Seeing that she understood, Ye Anping sighed, murmuring, "Don't die."
Then, he raised his hand and threw the black pill in his hand with strength. The pill drew a parabola, which was then blown away by the strong wind, then fell silently into the river.
Ding ding---
Zu Lingzhi stepped on the top of the undulating waves and forced back a demonic cultivator with a single sword strike. Looking at the boat that had already floated far away and the two people standing on it motionless, the corners of her eyes twitched non-stop.
However, in the next moment, she felt that the river under her feet, which was originally covered in a layer of shadow due to the dark clouds in the sky, suddenly became as black as ink.
"?"
"..."
!!!
Zu Lingzhi's eyes widened, and she immediately used the body control technique to jump up from the surface of the river and quickly escape into the air.
Just after her feet left the river, there was a "boom", and a Water Dragon opened its mouth and jumped out of the water, swallowing a demonic cultivator who had not reacted yet.
Roar--!
The silver-white Water Dragon seemed to have created a bridge hundreds of feet long between the waves.
However, after the Water Dragon's head sank into the water for a few breaths, it once again opened its mouth and rushed out of the water, swallowing another demonic cultivator.
The remaining three demonic cultivators finally reacted. They quickly imitated Zu Lingzhi and left the river with their body control spells, chasing after her toward the sky where the two Nascent Soul -stage cultivators were fighting.
The four of them flew rapidly in one direction. Whether it was Zu Lingzhi or the three devil cultivators, they no longer had the intention to continue fighting.
Compared to dying in a sword fight, they didn't want to fall into the dragon's mouth and become food for it.
However, it was also because they were fleeing in the same direction that the Water Dragon suddenly broke through the water's surface again, after a moment of silence. It opened its mouth wide and rushed toward the four of them.
Seeing that she was about to fall into the dragon's belly, Zu Lingzhi had a quick idea. She leaned next to a Core Formation demonic cultivator and stepped on him. She used the strength of her feet and spiritual energy to accelerate her escape.
"Ahhhhh--!"
When Ye Anping, who was on the boat, saw this scene, he raised his eyebrows slightly. He quickly motioned to his sister to stop her action of rushing over to save people from the dragon's mouth and muttered,
"Wow~ Your reaction is quite fast..."
Then, he looked towards the peak of the mountain in the east. "It's about time."
Just as he said this, a bolt of lightning flashed across the dark clouds in the sky, illuminating the river white.
Boom--!
Thunderbolt--!
Then, more than twenty thunderbolts connected the cloud and the river surface like pillars of heaven.
A beam of white light came from the west and exploded a hundred feet above the sky, and then an old man appeared in a purple robe with veins bulging all over his forehead.
"Who is so desperate that he would actually fish for dragons in the Water Dragon River ?!"
Thunderous rumbles echoed for hundreds of miles.
Hehua Zhenren, who was fighting with Cao Yan'er a little further away, looked at the lightning, and her eyes widened immediately. She was about to use the escape technique to flee.
But just as she was taking out the escape technique magic tool from her storage bag, Lei Wanjun's lightning-flashing eyes had already looked at her.
"Demonic Cultivator!!!"
Thunderbolt--!!
Boom---
A thunder dragon swooped down from above and swallowed Hehua Zhenren into its stomach before smashing into the river, blowing all the fish to ashes.