Chapter 332: Taishi Family

The five experts from the Dao Cult had all boarded the ship, each exuding an imposing presence, like demons from the underworld.

Everyone on board was utterly terrified.

Li Weiyi didn't intentionally release his psychic energy; relying solely on his senses of hearing, smell, and others, he could precisely pinpoint each person's location and status, forming a clear image in his mind.

The two with the strongest auras flew to the third deck; Yi Zhouxue was one of them.

The only Spirit Weaver among the five, with green spiritual light emanating from his brow and a protective light shield condensed around his body, walked slowly down the second-deck corridor. The sounds of breaking cabin doors, screams, cries, and objects falling constantly echoed from above.

Finally, in the dining hall, were two black-robed cultivators wearing Blood Valley patterned masks. They walked past table after table, carefully scrutinizing everyone.

Many of those they stared at were so terrified they collapsed to the floor, their hearts filled with fear.

Tuoba Butuo and Qi Xiao's cabin, on the second deck, would soon be found by the Spirit Weaver.

A major battle was inevitable!

Li Weiyi completely focused his hearing on the Spirit Weaver on the second deck. He knew clearly that Tuoba Butuo and Qi Xiao would launch a surprise attack the moment the Spirit Weaver opened their door.

That moment would also be Li Weiyi's cue to act and deal with the two in the dining hall.

He would swiftly eliminate three first, with lightning speed, then slowly deal with the remaining two, including Yi Zhouxue.

The dining hall was exceptionally quiet; one could hear a pin drop.

"Thump-thump!"

One of the black-robed cultivators, with slow, heavy footsteps, gradually approached Li Weiyi. He Qian and Guo Zhensheng, who were nearby, were both drenched in cold sweat, their bodies stiff as stone, losing all their previous strong demeanor.

Li Weiyi remained calm and composed, but the four psychic energy stars in his brow's Spiritual Realm began to spin rapidly.

Up on the second deck, Tuoba Butuo and Qi Xiao, their auras contained, had already circulated their spiritual power to the maximum, ready to burst through the door at any moment and deliver a fatal blow to the Spirit Weaver.

"Clank-clank-clank!"

In the night, a dense rattling of chains resounded, coming from all directions, as if an army of thousands had surrounded the post boat.

Li Weiyi looked around.

Outside the dining hall's open doors and windows, dense spiritual power surged in. This spiritual power twisted into white chains of varying thicknesses, crisscrossing and forming a dense net, binding everyone.

Li Weiyi looked down. His knees, arms, neck, and waist were simultaneously crisscrossed by white chains. The thinnest were like spider silk.

The two black-robed Dao Cult experts holding scythes were the most heavily restrained, with dozens of chains around them.

The entire post boat was enveloped.

"Dao Heart Projection, Hundred Locks, Thousand Chains. It's Taishi Bai, the Second of Jia from the Taishi family. He's actually on the ship!" In the dining hall, a young cultivator exclaimed with excited surprise, no longer fearing the demonic cultists.

The first person in a Jiazi cycle is called the Jia Leader; the second is the Jia Second.

"Ah…"

A shrill cry of agony came from the third deck.

The Dao Cult expert who accompanied Yi Zhouxue was an elder nearly a hundred years old, but with just one encounter, he was killed by two flying swords that shot out from the cabin.

The two flying swords were both only a foot long, one green and one white.

One pierced his throat, the other his heart.

The body fell from the third deck, with a splash, into the cold river water.

Everyone on board was overjoyed, thinking the demonic cultists deserved their bad luck for having run into a formidable opponent.

A young, calm voice came from above: "Your cult is growing increasingly arrogant; I've long wanted to meet you. Since you've come, all of you shall stay!"

"Whoosh!"

The white spiritual power chains spread throughout the first-deck dining hall were as if pulled up from above, dragging the two black-robed Dao Cult experts, entangling them, and flying them outside.

It was as if two people had been caught in a fishing net, and the fisherman hadn't even shown himself.

Li Weiyi could tell that the two Dao Cult experts were at least at the Fourth Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm, capable of leading an entire force in any organization. Yet they were pulled away remotely by Taishi Bai, unable to resist. It was truly miraculous; his methods were terrifying.

"Boom!"

From the third deck came the sounds of Yi Zhouxue and Taishi Bai clashing, their formidable spiritual power causing tremors, making the metal-framed post boat creak.

Yi Zhouxue spat out blood, flew backward, his body crashing through the railing, and falling towards the river surface.

"To withstand my full-powered palm strike, your strength is enough to be listed in the 'Jiazi Register'. Your status in the evil cult must not be low, correct?" Taishi Bai's movement technique was elegant and swift, like a flying immortal, as he pursued him towards the river surface.

In the second-deck corridor.

The Spirit Weaver let out a long howl. In his Spiritual Realm, green light surged, shattering all the spiritual power chains wrapped around his body.

Then, dense green streaks of light shot out from his brow, blasting wildly in all directions.

Everyone on board below the Dao Seed Realm trembled violently, green light appearing in their eyes, their minds and consciousness compromised, and they revealed bloodthirsty, ferocious expressions.

Those with weapons drew various arms and, like madmen, began killing anyone they saw.

Those without weapons used their claws, teeth, fists, or any attackable part of their bodies to attack any living thing they could see.

The entire post boat was like a haunted vessel, filled with maniacal laughter, sounds of fighting, hacking, and agonizing screams—a scene of utter chaos.

If anyone were to board the ship and witness this scene now, they would surely be horrified and flee immediately.

The two trapped black-robed Dao Cult experts seized this opportunity to cut the chains with their spiritual artifact scythes, broke free, and leaped towards the river surface, intending to escape.

"Pfft!" "Puch!"

The two flying swords, one green and one white, pierced through their chests. Even their spiritual artifact battle robes instantly burst apart, unable to withstand the blow.

The two experts at the Fourth Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm died on the spot with regret, their bodies sinking into the river.

In the dining hall, Li Weiyi, seeing He Qian and Guo Zhensheng attacking him, waved his hand, knocking them to the ground and rendering them unconscious.

Gazing at the chaotic, eerie, and bloody scene before him, he put on the golden mask given to him by Yao Qingxuan. Without hesitation, he formed a hand seal, and a spiritual light erupted from his brow.

He uttered a single word: "Zhe!"

'Zhe' is one of the nine mystic words of the Daoist Six Jia Secret Incantation. Combined with his psychic energy, it transformed into a circle of sonic spiritual light, spreading outwards from Li Weiyi.

"Whoosh!"

All the green streaks of light were instantly swept away.

Those on the ship who had been mad and bloodthirsty had their minds and souls instantly cleared, their eyes regaining clarity. All of them looked at their hands in horror, unaware of what had just happened.

The golden mask was very special; it could conceal Li Weiyi's spiritual power and psychic energy aura, and alter it.

The Spirit Weaver on the second deck never imagined there would be a psychic energy master on board skilled in clearing minds and restoring consciousness. He immediately condensed a pair of light wings on his back, intending to escape.

"Where do you think you're going?"

The main hall door on the third-deck cabin opened, and four figures rushed out. Each was a top-tier expert: one drew a bow with an arrow, one threw a treasured wheel artifact, one spread wings and pursued, and another cast a Daoist spell.

The four were retainers of the Taishi family.

Meanwhile, Taishi Bai, who was pursuing over the river surface, heard a melodious flute sound in his ear and looked towards the shore.

A black-robed figure stood upright beneath a riverside tree, dozens of yards away, playing a flute melody, their body appearing real one moment, illusory the next.

The falling snow within dozens of yards on the river surface transformed into layers of snow waves, surging towards Taishi Bai.

Each snowflake was imbued with spiritual power and sharper than a blade.

Taishi Bai unleashed a palm strike. His profound palm power emitted light that illuminated both banks of the great river, causing the river surface to indent and all the flying snow within dozens of yards to turn to dust.

Li Weiyi had already put away his golden mask and walked out of the dining hall. He first glanced at Yi Zhouxue, who had vanished into the night.

Then he looked at the black figure on the shore playing the flute. He mused to himself, "He must be Yi Zhouxue's brother, Can Yexue. They are indeed well-prepared; if we were cornered by them, it would truly be troublesome."

How could Li Weiyi not understand his enemies?

Legend had it that Can Yexue's talent surpassed Yi Zhouxue's. He used a flute as his weapon and, though not a direct inheritor, dared to challenge and cultivate grand techniques, with a cultivation speed no slower than that of direct inheritors.

Amidst the flute's melody, the massive waves on the river transformed into a thirty-meter-tall white ice giant. It punched towards Taishi Bai, the chilling frost seemingly intending to freeze the great river solid.

"Swish! Swish!"

The two flying swords, one green and one white, were recalled by Taishi Bai and shattered the ice giant into smithereens.

He looked towards the riverbank again.

The flute sound ceased, and the black-clad figure had vanished.

The Spirit Weaver failed to escape and was captured by the four retainers of the Taishi family and taken to the third-deck pavilion.

Li Weiyi, meanwhile, had already returned to the second-deck cabin to rendezvous with Tuoba Butuo and Qi Xiao.

Qi Xiao transmitted a message: "The Taishi family is one of the four great families of the imperial court. Their ancestor, Grand Elder Taishi, holds a high position and great power, a pillar of the realm for a thousand years. He is a Sacred Spirit King Psychic Master, and it is said he once received guidance from Emperor Wutian and controls half of the defensive formations of Cloud Heaven Immortal Plains, Lingxiao City, and the Four Great Passes. The other half is controlled by the Third Palace Master of Linting."

A Sacred Spirit King Psychic Master is a transcendent being on the path of psychic energy cultivation; there are only a handful of them in the entire Lingxiao Mortal Realm.

Tuoba Butuo said, "This isn't right! I've heard of Taishi Bai's renowned reputation even in the Northern Territory. He's Grand Elder Taishi's direct grandson, Taishi Qingcang's most talented son, and absolutely a top young noble in the imperial court. For someone of his stature to travel, he should have his own official warship or treasure vessel. How could he possibly be crammed onto a boat with so many people?"

Qi Xiao chuckled, "Aren't we also on this boat? Yes, Taishi Bai is indeed renowned as the Taishi family's second-best expert under sixty, but we are also not who we used to be, no longer the young juniors of two or three years ago."

Li Weiyi remained silent for a long time. After pondering, he said, "I acted just now, and the Taishi family members must have noticed something. Now, we have two paths."

"The first path is to leave the ship immediately, but we might encounter Yi Zhouxue and Can Yexue."

"The second path is to stay on the ship and leverage the Taishi family's influence, allowing us to travel unhindered. Can Yexue and Yi Zhouxue currently don't know we're on board."

"But what if the aura fluctuation from my earlier move has already been detected by the 'Jiazi Register,' and Linting sends people to investigate? That would be no small trouble."

Qi Xiao chuckled, "The imperial court's current oversight isn't that strict anymore, unless you've caused something earth-shattering. I think the bigger trouble would be for me and Tuoba, these two Pure Immortal Constitutions. It would be hard to explain our origins clearly. If we directly state our names, we'd surely be investigated thoroughly."

"How about we just leave? It's just Yi Zhouxue and Can Yexue; they would be perfect for honing our fighting will," Tuoba Butuo said.

Li Weiyi made a shushing gesture and looked towards the door and window.

A knock came from the door.

A young girl's voice sounded from outside the door: "To the Spirit Weaver master inside, you acted righteously just now. My mistress is very grateful and has specifically sent her servant to invite you, honored elder, to the third deck for a talk. Please do not decline, and grant her a little face."

Qi Xiao and Tuoba Butuo exchanged winks and smiles, finding the words "honored elder" quite amusing.