Chapter 165: 少年州牧李唯一

A moment later, another group of people arrived.

They were all dressed in black combat attire, exuding a murderous aura. Spiritual energy overflowed from their bodies, radiating an oppressive power. The leader, a distorted human martial cultivator, was as strong as a demon, standing four meters tall and wielding a two-zhang-long war spear. His breath caused gusts of wind and rumbles of thunder.

It was Yuwen Chao from Night City.

Yuwen Chao's right arm, which had been almost crippled, had regrown its flesh and blood. His eyes were sharp as he gazed across the water, searching for suspicious targets.

Zhuang Yue's hearing had recovered. As a Pure Immortal Body at the Fourth Stage of the Five Seas Realm, she could naturally hear the sudden chaotic commotion on the dock.

She urgently asked, "Has the imperial army arrived?"

"More or less! It's an army, but it's Night City's Fire Crow Army," Li Weiyi replied.

Zhuang Yue froze, her lips parted, unable to utter another word.

When purchasing the fishing boat, Li Weiyi deliberately did not change his attire. As a result, after Huo Qiankun and Yuwen Chao's groups inquired, someone quickly pointed them in the right direction.

These two peak experts of the Five Seas Realm looked towards the fishing boat two li away and saw Li Weiyi standing on it, waving goodbye to them.

Li Weiyi asked, "You've opened your fourth Qi Sea, so the spiritual energy in your body should be abundant. Can you help me propel this fishing boat?"

"That Lord Qi probably still wants to use my blood and spiritual energy to nourish the human skin, intending to use it for a long time. That's why he didn't cripple my cultivation. Propelling the boat is, of course, no problem," she replied.

Zhuang Yue asked, "But where are we going now?"

"Anywhere, just head deeper into the Ancestral Soldier Marsh," Li Weiyi said.

"Li Weiyi... perhaps we should just leave. Let's leave Juze City and go to Fuzhou. Fuzhou is the imperial court's main base; it's absolutely safe there."

Zhuang Yue hesitated for a long time before finally saying this.

From Lord Qi's immense power to the changes occurring in the Juze City government office, Zhuang Yue felt an intense sense of powerlessness. She clearly realized that she and Li Weiyi alone were as fragile as two blades of grass, easily snapped in two under the overwhelming current of events.

She was someone who had already died once, so she didn't care about her own life. But Li Weiyi still had a bright future ahead of him and shouldn't perish here.

Huo Qiankun and Yuwen Chao had never encountered such arrogance. Their hearts burned with fury as they stepped on spiritual energy to move across the sea, rushing rapidly towards the fishing boat like a majestic, upright deity and a green-faced, tiger-headed demon.

"Leave? Of course, we'll leave, but not by tucking tail and scurrying away. Don't worry, I have my own plans."

Li Weiyi gently patted Zhuang Yue's back. "They're here. Let's set off quickly."

For the first time, Zhuang Yue was so obedient to someone other than Jiang Ning.

She placed both hands on the fishing boat, continuously releasing spiritual energy from her body to envelop the hull, demonstrating the profound cultivation of a Fourth Stage Five Seas Realm expert.

Instantly, the twenty-meter-long fishing boat shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring, heading deep into the Ancestral Soldier Marsh.

Li Weiyi pulled the ropes, unhurriedly raising the sail.

Huo Qiankun, whose speed was slightly superior to Yuwen Chao's, caught up to within twenty zhang of the fishing boat. With a sweep of his silver spear, he lashed out across the water.

"Whoosh! Whoosh..."

Vast waves of water surged up, solidifying into dozens of white ice crystal spear-spikes that flew ahead towards the fishing boat.

Li Weiyi flew to the stern of the boat and shattered all the ice crystal spear-spikes with a single palm strike. He then laughed loudly, "You two truly have great skill and courage! This is not a river, but the vast, boundless Ancestral Soldier Marsh. You don't have a vehicle; do you intend to cross the sea by stepping on water? No matter how abundant your spiritual energy is, how long can you sustain yourselves at sea? Even those high-level experts of the Dao Seed Realm aren't as bold as you!"

Huo Qiankun's heart sank, and he had an ominous feeling that he had fallen into a trap.

"No need for your concern, esteemed sir. We don't have a boat, but don't you?"

A swirling vortex of spiritual energy appeared beneath Yuwen Chao's feet, causing the water surface around him to visibly indent for several zhang. His body then shot out like a cannonball, appearing above the fishing boat, his war spear thrusting straight down.

He was at the Fifth Stage of the Five Seas Realm, and his battle techniques were honed to perfection. A casual thrust of his spear was a perfect fusion with the Dao of Heaven.

On the high-tier magical artifact level war spear, a phantom of an ancient general appeared, wielding an arm several zhang long. The fist formed by the arm was perfectly positioned at the spearhead.

This was both a spear thrust and a powerful punch meant to shatter the fishing boat into pieces.

"Wanting to board my boat won't be easy."

Li Weiyi dared not underestimate Yuwen Chao. He conserved his energy while building up his fighting spirit and momentum. He raised the Yellow Dragon Sword above his head, his entire being becoming exceptionally sharp and formidable.

"Whoosh!"

With a single strike of 'Opening the Sea,' a sword qi transformed into a yellow dragon, its roar causing the water surface to tremble violently.

Li Weiyi did not use palm techniques to unleash his battle intent. Instead, he intended to hone the move 'Taiyi Opening the Sea' and cultivate a second type of battle intent.

Based on his experience cultivating the first type of battle intent, he believed that the true essence of the Twelve Scattered Hands of Chanmen's battle intent cultivation could only be comprehended through actual combat.

"Boom!"

The powerful yellow dragon-shaped sword qi and the ancient general's phantom on the war spear simultaneously shattered, transforming into expanding waves of energy.

The sword's edge collided with the spear's tip.

Upon impact, both individuals simultaneously recoiled, a perfect stalemate.

Li Weiyi retreated six steps, his internal energy surging, and his sword vibrated continuously.

If not for Zhuang Yue's spiritual energy enveloping the fishing boat, the hull would have already been shattered by his steps.

"Clashing head-on with a Fifth Stage Five Seas Realm martial cultivator, I still fall short. Even with the advantage of conserving energy, favorable timing, and a divine weapon, I could only manage a draw."

Though he thought this, Li Weiyi burst out laughing. "Yuwen Chao, you haven't recovered since Jiang Ning heavily wounded you, have you? How did you get so weak?"

Yuwen Chao flew backward and quickly stabilized himself on the sea surface. The moment Li Weiyi unleashed the Yellow Dragon Sword Qi, Yuwen Chao recognized him as the young man with seven strange insects he had been searching for these past few days.

Night City's Fire Crow Cavalry had suffered heavy losses at this man's hands.

Indeed, 'one searches far and wide only to find it on one's doorstep.' He had actually delivered himself right to them.

Yuwen Chao was overjoyed, vowing to capture Li Weiyi and bring him to the Young City Lord to atone for his mistakes. At the same time, he was astonished by Li Weiyi's sudden surge in strength.

Keep in mind, only a few days had passed.

That day on the river, this kid didn't even have the qualifications to fight him.

Could it be... that his combat power had indeed significantly declined due to his arm injury? In this very short time, the fishing boat ahead had already sped more than a li away.

Huo Qiankun caught up to the fishing boat, but Li Weiyi still used 'Taiyi Opening the Sea' to repel him.

At the bow of the boat, Zhuang Yue heard Li Weiyi retreat once more. Although she couldn't see, her senses were sharp, and she knew that the pursuers were two individuals of the Fifth Stage Five Seas Realm. Although Huo Qiankun was at the Fourth Stage of the Five Seas Realm, he was a Nine Springs Supreme Being, so his combat power wouldn't be much weaker than Yuwen Chao's.

She found it hard to imagine that in Funeral Immortal Town, Li Weiyi was merely a Spring Well Realm martial cultivator, yet in less than two months, he could fight on par with such powerful figures. With such talent, it was no wonder the young lady valued him more and more with each encounter.

"I'll lend you a hand. Though I can't see, my cultivation is still intact," Zhuang Yue said.

Li Weiyi glanced at the increasingly distant dock and transmitted his spiritual energy to her, saying, "Don't rush, it's not your turn yet. First, lure these two into the deep sea. Fully propel the fishing boat; don't let the boats steered by Tianyi Sect and Night City martial cultivators catch up from behind."

After speaking, Li Weiyi, whose healing was complete, strode towards the stern, brandishing his sword, and shouted, "Huo Qiankun, most of your Tianyi Sect's assets are in the Seven Southern Provinces! You consort with Night City, Coffin Mountain, and Ember Spirit. Aren't you afraid that the Zuoqiu Family will order your complete annihilation? I advise you: turn back now, before you bring disaster upon yourselves!"

Among the three major sects, Tianyi Sect was the weakest, far inferior to Suizong and the Three Chen Palaces. They were entirely swept along by the current.

It was the same now; they had no retreat whatsoever. If they didn't push forward, they would only die faster, leaving them no choice at all. Initially, they only wanted to seize the opportunity to gain advantages and gnaw at a piece of the Jiuli tribe's flesh and blood.

These words undoubtedly struck a painful chord in Huo Qiankun's heart, and his momentum instantly diminished by a third.

"Rumble!"

The three continued to exchange blows, gradually moving into the deep sea.

The dock on the shore was no longer visible.

Yuwen Chao and Huo Qiankun naturally knew Li Weiyi's intentions: he wanted to keep them outside the fishing boat and continuously deplete their spiritual energy. But this was clearly wishful thinking.

The two attacked in concert, one from the left and one from the right. Li Weiyi was instantly wounded, struck in the chest by the war spear.

Even with multiple layers of defense, his face turned extremely pale, having sustained internal injuries.

"Whoosh!"

Seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Sovereigns flew out from the insect container, transforming into seven streaks of light that collided with the spiritual energy clouds surrounding Yuwen Chao and Huo Qiankun, who were attempting to board the boat.

"What are those things?"

Huo Qiankun waved his palm, unleashing a palm print about a zhang in size, swatting one of the Phoenix-Winged Moth Sovereigns away as if it were a mosquito.

The seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Sovereigns had just finished sharing the thousand-year spiritual medicine with ice attributes brought by Zuoqiu Ting. Their bodies were still only three inches long, and while their cultivation was at the Second Stage of the Five Seas Realm, their combat power was comparable to the Third Stage of the Five Seas Realm.

However, their defensive power and speed were extraordinary.

Even after enduring a palm strike from someone of Huo Qiankun's caliber and falling into the sea, they quickly flapped their wings and flew up again, seemingly unharmed, and attacked once more.

"Now!"

Li Weiyi tossed the Ghost Flag to Zhuang Yue.

Since she couldn't see, using this treasure was perfectly suitable.

Zhuang Yue mobilized the exceptionally pure spiritual energy within her body and infused it into the Ghost Flag. Instantly, a thick, dark ghostly mist billowed forth, completely enveloping not only the fishing boat but also a large surrounding area of the sea.

Concealed by the ghostly mist, Li Weiyi immediately activated the Dao Ancestor Tai Chi Fish, causing Tai Chi imprints and spatial fluctuations to appear beside him.

The next instant, he brought Li Ling out from the Blood Mud Space.

"We must keep these two here. Unleash every single talisman you've drawn," Li Weiyi said.

"So it was you who stole that black metal box! How dare you oppose us?"

Huo Qiankun, enveloped in the ghostly mist, had his five senses severely affected, but he recognized the aura of the Ghost Flag.

"Opposing you requires great courage, you say? It seems you've always been the ones opposing me! I haven't even settled scores with you yet!"

Li Weiyi donned his prefectural official robe neatly, with a wide belt adorned with gems and jade pendants, and adjusted his official hat. His entire demeanor transformed into that of a handsome, spirited young prefect, valiant and full of vigor.

"Whoosh!"

Driven by spiritual energy, wisps of purple mist emanated from the official robe, forming a cloud of purple mist that enveloped his entire body.

"Boom!"

Li Weiyi's figure vanished into the cloud of purple mist.

The next moment, the cloud of purple mist appeared directly above Huo Qiankun's head, having instantly traversed more than ten zhang of space.

The Yellow Dragon Sword thrust out from within the space, its edge sharp enough to pierce through defensive spiritual energy.

Huo Qiankun had never witnessed such a spectacle. A mere Five Seas Realm youngster was directly leaping through space to kill him—this surpassed the very concept of speed! He was instantly terrified out of his wits, unleashing his battle intent and desperately swinging his silver spear, hoping to use his realm advantage to avert this fatal blow.

"Bang!"

After the collision, the cloud of purple mist above his head vanished.

At the same time, the cloud of purple mist reappeared in front of Huo Qiankun, delivering another fierce sword strike.

"Boom!"

"Rumble!"

The cloud of purple mist flashed around Huo Qiankun six times in quick succession.

The fourth strike severed his right arm.

The fifth strike pierced his lung.

The sixth strike penetrated his glabella and skull.

The entire process took less than two breaths of time. Huo Qiankun was able to block the first three strikes due to his rich combat experience and powerful battle intent protecting his body.

Li Weiyi's figure reappeared in space, his feet touching the sea surface, as the purple mist retreated into his official robe. Holding his sword in one hand and Huo Qiankun's silver spear in the other, he smiled, his plan finally seeming viable!

From the fishing boat behind him, a terrifying aura and icy energy emanated, causing the sea surface around the hull to show signs of freezing.

Evil energy permeated the air, as if a ghost king had emerged.

Li Weiyi suddenly turned to look.

He saw a ghost shadow, four zhang tall and clad in metal armor, emerge from the thick, dark ghostly mist on the fishing boat. Holding a battle-axe and stepping on the churning seawater, it advanced towards Yuwen Chao with a demonic aura.

"Four zhang... that's one zhang taller than when I activate it. Is it because her cultivation is higher than mine?"