Dao Companion Crippled, Coveters Move

Chapter 440 426: Rain Calamity, Vortex Daoist

Jiu pulled the Cold Poison Blade, stained with the blood of Demon Fiends, from the crack it was deeply embedded in Pang Xiaoming's skull. The blade scraping against bone produced a cringe-inducing grinding sound.

"Hmph. You foul thing. Who did you say was Ye Liyuan?"

Jiu sneered mockingly. With a flick of her wrist, she sent the Demon Blood arcing through the air in a scarlet line, flinging it all to the ground.

Just as she flung off the last drop of blood, she caught a glimpse of a white-robed figure in her peripheral vision.

Jiu's pupils contracted instantly. Her fingers tightened around the blade unconsciously, her knuckles turning pale.

She turned her head stiffly. The White-clothed Sword Immortal stood there quietly, not far away, his robes fluttering slightly in the wind and rain. His handsome face was unreadable.

'I'm done for!'

The thought exploded in Jiu's mind like a clap of thunder.

Jiu felt the blood freeze in her veins, and for a moment, she even stopped breathing.

All that shameless nonsense she had just spouted—things like, "Pei Yuhang is my husband," and other such infatuated drivel.

'—He couldn't have heard all of it, could he?!'

The tips of Jiu's ears, visible beyond her mask, instantly burned bright red, and a faint blush crept up her neck.

'And the Cold Poison Dagger!'

Belatedly, Jiu realized and subconsciously tried to hide the broken, deep-blue blade, which was emanating a cold light, behind her back.

But... there was no hiding the Demon Fiend's corpse at her feet, covered in frost—a clear sign of a cold poison outbreak.

'Now, the fact that I was pretending to be sick just to have Pei Yuhang take care of me every day is exposed too!'

'I'm totally screwed!'

Beneath her mask, Jiu's lips trembled slightly, and fine beads of sweat formed on the tip of her small nose.

Under Pei Yuhang's calm gaze, she felt as if she were stark naked, all her secrets laid bare before his eyes. She wished she could find a hole to crawl into and disappear.

As Jiu watched nervously, Pei Yuhang's thin lips parted, his voice as clear and cold as a spring in winter:

"What are you standing there dazed for?"

His expression was indifferent, as if he hadn't heard the conversation between Jiu and Pang Xiaoming at all. He merely lifted his gaze slightly, his eyes sweeping past her toward the distance.

"I've cleaned up all the Demon Fiends on this ship."

"There are five ships left. Take my sword and deal with the rampaging Demonic Cultivators. I'm going to meet the mastermind."

Pei Yuhang's tone was so calm it was almost casual, as if he were discussing the most ordinary of matters.

"..."

Jiu froze for a second. Her lashes trembled, a flash of bewilderment in her eyes.

'He... he isn't going to ask me about what happened?'

She subconsciously clenched her fists, her knuckles whitening slightly, but then quickly relaxed her hands.

'Right, this is a crisis.'

'—Perhaps he'll confront me and demand an explanation after this Demon Fiend invasion is over.'

Jiu pressed her lips together, suppressing the turmoil in her heart, and nodded at Pei Yuhang.

"Okay. Leave the rest of the small fry to me."

Jiu solemnly reached out and took the Silent Sword from Pei Yuhang.

It was the Lifebound Spirit Sword of a Void Refining Sword Cultivator. The blade was like frost, exuding a biting chill. The moment it was in her hand, Jiu felt a vast Sword Intent surge from her palm into her meridians, instantly coursing through her entire body.

Jiu's pupils shrank. She felt her Spiritual Power swell like a tidal wave as her aura climbed higher and higher. In the blink of an eye, her Cultivation had surpassed the Divinity Transformation realm!

'No wonder... he was confident in leaving me to handle the remaining Demon Fiends alone.'

She looked down, gazing at the sword in her hands. Her fingertips gently traced the patterns on the hilt, her heart filled with a complex mix of shock and awe at this sudden, immense power.

But then, a thought flashed through her mind—

'Is it really okay for a Sword Cultivator to not have their sword?'

Jiu snapped her head up, a trace of worry in her eyes, but the white-robed figure was nowhere to be seen.

The night wind swept past, carrying only the pervasive stench of blood.

Pei Yuhang had already vanished without a trace.

Hearing the roars of Demon Fiends and the wails of the living in the distance, Jiu could only force herself to calm down for now.

'I have to do everything I can to share his burden. At the very least, I can't hold him back!'

With this thought, Jiu brandished the sword and leaped into the clouds.

...

...

「Half an hour earlier.」

On a cargo ship at the very rear of the Dao Sect's fleet.

The plum rains, which had been falling for days, drizzled on. The gloomy sky hung so low it felt as though it could collapse at any moment.

A young-looking Pill Boy was tilting his head back, gazing at the seemingly endless curtain of rain.

His gaze was somewhat dazed, but deep within his dark pupils, a coldness not belonging to a child flickered quietly.

"Xiaochen, it's your turn for the night shift in the storeroom today."

A refined, middle-aged man's voice came from behind him.

Xiaochen slowly lowered his gaze and turned his head. A middle-aged Cultivator with an honest, simple face was looking at him with a broad smile.

"Alright, Uncle Wang."

Xiaochen nodded obediently, a naive smile befitting his age appearing on his face.

He turned and walked toward the storeroom with a light step, but just as he passed by Uncle Wang, his body froze abruptly.

"Heh..."

A low, raspy chuckle was suddenly forced from his throat.

When he spoke again, his once-clear childish voice had become ancient and chillingly sinister, like the grating of rotten wood—it was enough to make one's skin crawl.

"This old man was almost fooled by you dregs."

Xiaochen slowly turned his head. His eyes, which should have been innocent, were now as dark as the Abyss, locked onto Uncle Wang.

"When did you lot sneak onto the ship? With the Celestial Essence Grand Array active, no damned thing should be able to sneak aboard from the outside..."

His gaze flickered, and then, as if he had suddenly realized something, he snapped his head up to look at the vast curtain of rain.

"Wait, is it the rain?"

Before the words had even left his lips, he abruptly raised his hand. A wisp of grim Spiritual Light gathered at his fingertip, and with a light flick—

BANG!!

Uncle Wang's body instantly exploded. But strangely, there was no spray of flesh and blood, only countless water droplets splashing everywhere and scattering across the ground.

Xiaochen stared at the puddle on the ground, which was rapidly evaporating, and a cold smirk curved his lips.

"To disassemble your body into countless raindrops, fall for days, and sprinkle yourself onto the ships bit by bit, then use the Power of Divine Sense to reassemble on board... all to bypass the watch of myself and Sword Immortal Pei."

He slowly raised his hand and caught a falling raindrop. With a slight squeeze of his fingertips, the droplet instantly turned into a wisp of black smoke and dissipated.

"What a terrifying technique... Even an ordinary Void Refining Cultivator wouldn't dare disassemble and split themselves apart like this. How is this any different from Soldier Resolution Dao Dissolution?"

"That you're able to go this far... such Divine Abilities are truly unheard of."

Xiaochen's gaze grew deeper. A young Daoist Child with the voice of an old man—it was truly bizarre.

"No wonder even the Grand Array my Sect carved into the ships couldn't stop you. The Sect Leader said you people from the [Chosen One] were a scourge upon the world. This old man thought the Sect Leader was being overly worried at the time, but seeing this firsthand, I realize it's true."

GURGLE GURGLE~

The "Uncle Wang" that Xiaochen had splattered into a puddle began to bubble. Then, a head like a constantly spinning water vortex emerged from it.

"Chen Xiuxian, Guardian Elder of the Xuanyuan Dao Sect. You may call me Vortex Daoist."

"It's admirable that you were able to discover me, but unfortunately, it's too late. This Daoist has already found where the Dragon Corpse is."

"We of the [Chosen One] act according to the will of heaven. This is the way of the world. It's impossible for mortals like you, who do not believe in heaven, to stop it."

As Vortex Daoist spoke, cooks, Pill Boys, and Maids began to emerge from around the ship's cabins.

Their eyes were all deathly white, and their bodies twitched intermittently. It looked as if something terrible was about to break out from under their skin.

Chen Xiuxian stood with his hands behind his back, a trace of ancient weariness appearing on the boy's youthful face.

"You call me a mortal? Hehehe... This old man hasn't heard anyone dare call me that in over a thousand years."