Chapter 26 Just Friends
The cultivator who had previously roared "Demon Dragon" also had some knowledge.
This snake demon must have stayed near the seal for a long time and had been tainted with a trace of leaked demonic energy, which was the source of Ren Yi's sense of familiarity earlier.
With demonic energy tainting the area, Ren Yi couldn't possibly let Yan Shuoyun go out and fight it.
After all, the Demonic Dragon is a calamity within the rules of this world. The turbid energy gathered on its body can cause injuries that even Spirit Shaping Pills cannot heal if one is not careful.
Yan Shuoyun was unable to stop Ren Yi.
He hesitated for a moment because of Ren Yi's gaze, but by the time he wanted to stop him, it was too late. He could only watch helplessly as the latter moved forward step by step, his aura rising with him.
The monster's intuition was more acute. The huge body that had been swimming around the flying boat suddenly stopped. Its body slowly approached, and its huge snake head stopped above the flying boat, trying to distinguish the threatening presence from the small black dots below that looked like grains of sand.
As Ren Yi moved forward step by step, his aura steadily increasing, the demonic beast quickly locked onto its target and looked over.
Its massive size and the vertical pupils of a cold-blooded animal created an unprecedentedly heavy sense of oppression, but the one who should have been the predator instead felt a strong sense of crisis. As Ren Yi moved forward step by step, the monster subconsciously pulled its snake head back, but this instinctive avoidance made the monster, which had developed some intelligence, surprisingly angry, and it let out an angry hiss.
The serpent's gaping maw opened, and the venom dripping from its sharp fangs was blocked by the airship's protective array, but it still emitted a corrosive sizzling sound. Several more runes' light was completely extinguished.
Looking down through the gaps in the clouds, one could see the giant serpent's long tail thrashing violently, the resulting gale causing towering waves to rise from the once calm sea. Several unfortunate sea beasts that happened to be passing by were torn to pieces by the waves, which were infused with demonic power. Their flesh and blood were scattered on the sea surface, where they were swallowed whole by predators waiting below.
The waves thousands of feet away on the sea surface did not affect the area above for the time being, but the airship was not safe either. The giant snake's warning howl was enough to stir up a gust of foul wind carrying poisonous mist on the deck. Many cultivators were blown off balance, and even Yan Shuoyun had to raise his hand to block it.
Ren Yi continued walking forward.
He was no longer standing on the deck of the airship, but suspended in mid-air. It was as if there were invisible stairs in the air for him to climb step by step.
As he drew closer to the demonic beast, his already imposing aura became even more terrifying.
Yan Shuoyun squinted at him, feeling that the pressure emanating from the other party was no less than that of the sect's elders who were in seclusion, no, even greater than the latter.
Yan Shuoyun unconsciously murmured, "This is really..." terrifying.
He suddenly thought of the saying that Yan'er often mentioned, and he couldn't help but wonder if this was really a reincarnation of an immortal.
Ren Yi was unaware of the complex thoughts of the person behind him and continued to walk steadily.
He wasn't moving fast, and even the person with the lowest cultivation level present could see his movements very clearly. However, as the distance shortened, the demonic beasts gathered on the side of the boat seemed to be locked by something invisible, unable to move at all.
Ren Yi was almost out of the protective array range on the flying boat. The lesson of those cultivators who had been overturned by the gale was still fresh in his mind, but he simply took that step forward at the same speed as before.
Her black hair flew wildly, and her robes fluttered and rustled in the strong wind.
The young man's expression remained calm.
The giant snake seemed to have finally been provoked by this ant, and it made a move.
The enormous serpent's head pointed upwards, and with a hiss, a noticeable bulge appeared on its lower jaw, within which a vast, demonic power, mixed with evil energy, brewed. In an instant, a jet-black sphere, nearly half the size of a flying boat, was spat out of the giant serpent's mouth, heading straight for Ren Yi.
But Ren Yi was faster; his hand was already on the hilt of the sword.
On the flying boat below, the cultivators who were staring blankly at everything only saw the young man make a gesture as if he were about to draw his sword. When they looked again, the pitch-black sphere had already been cut in two, and no one had seen his action clearly.
The sphere, now cleaved in two, grazed the bow and stern of the airship. The protective array was touched, and the runes on it lit up only briefly before extinguishing completely, revealing the terrifying energy contained within—a kind of awe-inspiring power.
The deck was deathly silent.
Xiao Hanzhou arrived at this time.
Black hair flying in the wind, white clothes fluttering in the breeze.
The person standing in mid-air outside the flying boat instantly caught his attention. Xiao Hanzhou immediately recognized the familiar figure, but for a moment, he was unsure if it was... A-Yi?
The figure, which should have been the most familiar one, reminded him of something else—the blurry shadow in the inherited sword technique.
He suddenly recalled the instructions Ren Yi gave Jiang Zhaoyu on Yingsong Peak that day.
Xiao Hanzhou hesitated, wondering if A Yi truly possessed the other half of the Sword Master's inheritance... but why had he never mentioned it?
Xiao Hanzhou quickly ran out of time to think further, because Ren Yi made his move again.
After Ren Yi cleaved the pitch-black sphere in two, the giant snake was nowhere to be seen.
It turned out that the monster, seeing the situation was not good, decisively used the attack to escape.
However, given the trace of demonic energy clinging to the beast, Ren Yi could not possibly let it leave.
The giant snake's enormous body had become a hindrance. It had already escaped far enough, but because of its size, it was still a clear target.
Ren Yi used his second sword strike.
Unlike the first sword strike, which was silent, this time the person on the flying sword finally saw the trajectory of the sword's momentum.
The sword's edge cleaved through layers of thick clouds, allowing sunlight to stream through the gaps. A sliver of light suddenly appeared on the previously dim sea, reflecting shimmering ripples. At the end of this straight path, the serpent demon, which had posed such a great threat moments before, was severed in two. Foul-smelling blood gushed down, staining the sea below a purplish-red hue. The two severed corpses hovered in the air for a moment before crashing down, creating two towering crimson waves, each several meters high.
This sword strike, seemingly splitting the heavens and earth, left everyone who witnessed it speechless, staring blankly at the person in mid-air—a shock beyond words.
Xiao Hanzhou was naturally among them, but his shock was mixed with more confusion and bewilderment.
Why has A-Yi never used such a sword technique before?
—I have never used it in front of him.
Xiao Hanzhou paused, repeating the second half of the sentence in his mind.
He looked at the figure in the sky, someone he knew all too well, yet who now seemed utterly unfamiliar. He was reluctant to admit it, but he had to, that he didn't seem to understand A-Yi as well as he thought.
Ren Yi, who was being blown around in mid-air, was not as at ease as the people on the flying boat thought.
To be honest, he's not in a good state right now.
The disguise he's currently wearing is designed for a fragile support role, and coupled with his past injuries, he's basically been permanently afflicted with a debuff. The consequence of forcibly increasing his cultivation and using that move just now is that he's now vomiting blood with the slightest movement.
Taking action may feel good at the moment, but it will lead to disaster later.
Ren Yi suppressed the surging blood and qi in his chest and stood there for a while before he could barely regain his ability to move.
He was about to return to the flying boat when he noticed that a piece of wood on the side of the flying boat had finally broken under the weight. This was not surprising. During the confrontation with the giant snake, the protective array on the flying boat had been destroyed, and the hull had also suffered a lot of impact. Some damage was normal. As long as the core was intact, this Heaven-grade spiritual artifact could be called "unimpeded". The rest was just repairs after the event was over.
But a person was standing where the hole had broken.
—It is Yan'er.
Ren Yi reacted quickly, stuffing a handful of pills into his mouth and forcibly mobilizing his remaining spiritual power. He flashed to Yan Er's side and caught the little girl who had fallen.
Noticing that the descent had slowed, Yan'er, who was still a little dazed from the shock, finally came to her senses. She called out "Brother Ren" in a trembling voice, but the rest of the words got stuck in her throat.
Through his vision, which was somewhat blurred by a layer of blood mist, Ren Yi saw Yan Er's terrified expression.
Knowing that his appearance had probably frightened her, he smiled reassuringly and was about to say "It's okay" when he vomited blood.
Ren Yi: "..."
With Yan'er in his arms starting to tremble slightly, Ren Yi simply abandoned his attempt to do something that would backfire.
To be honest, although his current situation looks a bit scary, it's not actually that bad. At least it's much better than when he was first pulled back into the small world.
Recognizing that one of the rapidly approaching spiritual energies belonged to Yan Shuoyun, Ren Yi exerted force in his hand, attempting to throw Yan Er, whom he was holding, to him.
Ren Yi's original idea was simple: in his current state, it would be a bit of a burden to use the Wind Control Technique on someone else. He would let Yan Shuoyun take his younger sister while he returned to the flying boat. This arrangement was perfect.
However, his current condition of bleeding from all seven orifices is clearly misleading.
This scene is more like a deathbed entrustment than a case of "the capable should do more".
The moment Yan'er sensed Ren Yi's intention, she clung to him like an octopus, her voice trembling with tears, "Brother Ren! No!!"
Ren Yi?
He was a little sluggish from using too much spiritual energy and didn't immediately understand Yan'er's meaning. He still tried to persuade the usually well-behaved little girl, "Listen to me... Your brother Ren really can't carry you anymore."
Just now, Yan Er pulled hard, and Ren Yi lost his breath. The two of them fell straight down, missing Yan Shuoyun who came to rescue them.
Realizing that if they continued to stand still, the two of them would really fall into the sea, Ren Yi disregarded the girl who had suddenly become temperamental and forcibly pulled her off him.
Fortunately, the pills he had just taken had some effect. Ren Yi squeezed out a little spiritual energy from his meridians and threw Yan Er toward Yan Shuoyun. Driven by the reaction force, he fell even faster.
Hearing Yan'er's heart-wrenching wails, Ren Yi looked puzzled.
—Why does that sound like he's about to die?
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