Mermaids Weep (23)
Once on the mast, Yun Yanqiu had no more scruples. He wielded a longsword formed from spiritual energy and unleashed dozens of sword lights that were both real and illusory. Lin Shiyou couldn't distinguish between the real and the illusory, so he simply swung his fists like a whirlwind, trying to break through the encirclement of sword lights. The sword lights struck Lin Shiyou's body, instantly causing his flesh to roll back and tear open, leaving bloody wounds.
Lin Shiyou realized that if things continued this way, he still had no chance of winning. To contend with her, he needed to raise his cultivation level. He glanced at Yao Yao, who was being rescued on the deck, and suddenly an idea flashed in his mind. Lin Shiyou swung his arms, switching from offense to defense. He channeled his energy, and his violent spiritual energy overflowed from his body. In just a few seconds, the spiritual energy around Lin Shiyou rapidly expanded and danced wildly.
Yun Yanqiu was shocked by the scene before him; he was about to self-destruct his primordial spirit!
In ordinary battles between cultivators, the difference lies in their cultivation level and experience. However, self-destructing one's primordial spirit can cause a cultivator in the early stage of Core Formation and a cultivator at the peak of Golden Core to perish together. Such power is awe-inspiring.
Lin Shiyou was already a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, and the consequences of his self-destruction of his primordial spirit would be extraordinary. In desperation, Yun Yanqiu had no choice but to retreat quickly, and at the same time, he summoned several talismans to try to stop Lin Shiyou's movements before he could self-destruct.
In three seconds, Yun Yanqiu finished setting up the formation. This formation was connected to him, and as long as Yun Yanqiu remained motionless while casting the spell, the formation would continue indefinitely.
Five seconds later, Lin Shiyou's body was fixed in place. He struggled to break free of the restraints, but all his efforts were in vain.
Ten seconds later, Lin Shiyou suddenly seemed to have all his strength drained away, and he lost consciousness, his head drooping and unresponsive.
Yun Yanqiu frowned, feeling puzzled. His magic array didn't have this effect. Just as he hesitated, a shout suddenly came from the deck: "Yao Yao!"
Yun Yanqiu whirled around and saw that Lin Shiyou was actually choking Yao Yao! He was about to break the formation to rescue her when the "Lin Shiyou" who had been imprisoned and motionless suddenly sprang up and charged at him like lightning. Yun Yanqiu drew his sword to retaliate, blocking the punch, and immediately noticed that this "Lin Shiyou" had a lotus flower mark on his forehead.
A lotus incarnation! Yun Yanqiu's pupils suddenly dilated as he recognized the true form of this magical artifact. By nourishing a nine-petaled demonic lotus with one's own blood, after nine hundred and ninety-nine days, the lotus would be able to manifest a body and cultivation level identical to its owner, allowing the owner to command it.
Unexpectedly, Lin Shiyou had this hidden trick up his sleeve! The lotus in its avatar felt no pain, only obeying its master's commands. It furiously swung its fists at Yun Yanqiu, completely disregarding the interference of sword energy, its speed catching everyone off guard. Yun Yanqiu was relentlessly pursued by this reckless lotus, forced to fight back with all its might.
On deck, the real Lin Shiyou, having severely injured the Han family's rescue team, was now gripping Yao Yao's neck, laughing maniacally. Yao Yao was unable to move, her throat constricted. She struggled desperately, her hands gripping his hand tightly, trying to pry it open, but only felt the pressure on her neck increase. Han Chengjin, who had rushed onto the ship, charged forward without thinking, but the difference in strength was too great. Before he could even get close, Lin Shiyou struck him with a palm strike, sending him flying. Han Chengjin crashed into the bulwark with a thud, immediately spitting out blood and losing consciousness.
"I almost forgot."
Lin Shiyou tossed Yao Yao aside, strode over to the unconscious Han Chengjin, grabbed him by the collar, and lifted most of his body off the ship.
"No!" Yao Yao cried out in horror at the sight before her. Her throat, choked by Lin Shiyou, rendered her speechless, and she could only stumble towards Han Chengjin. But she was too late. Lin Shiyou released her in front of her and threw Han Chengjin into the sea.
Yao Yao watched everything unfold before her eyes, and without hesitation, she was about to jump.
Lin Shiyou could not let her have her way. He grabbed Yao Yao's throat again and sneered, "You mermaids are really stupid. You are fish meat that can be slaughtered as soon as you leave the sea, but you still give away your life-saving heart-protecting scales."
At this moment, Yao Yao was facing Lin Shiyou, her face full of resentment, but there was also a hint of shock in her resentment. She obviously did not expect that Lin Shiyou would know that she did not have the Heart-Protecting Scale. Lin Shiyou's understanding of merfolk far exceeded her imagination.
Lin Shiyou watched all this without a care. The merman in front of him was just making a helpless struggle before its death. Once he devoured the merman's flesh and blood, the white-robed cultivator would be no match for him.
Then, Lin Shiyou's face twisted into a ferocious grin, and a greedy glint flashed in his eyes, which were stained black by demonic energy: "Since you are not afraid of death, then you will be at my service!"
Yao Yao felt dizzy and couldn't breathe. She could only painfully pat Lin Shi's arm, trying to find a sliver of life from this suffocating constraint.
She didn't want to die, she didn't want to die here. Han Chengjin needed her to save him, she wanted to go back, to go back...
Just as Yao Yao was about to completely lose consciousness, suddenly, the grip on her neck disappeared. She instantly collapsed to the ground, and a large amount of air was able to enter her lungs again, finally clearing her clouded consciousness.
Yao Yao's hands trembled as she clutched her neck, gasping for breath. She looked up in a panic at Lin Shiyou's massive body. A gleaming black sword pierced precisely through Lin Shiyou's heart. The sword's blade resembled an animal's spine, which seemed to possess a life of its own, greedily absorbing Lin Shiyou's blood.
Lin Shiyou, pierced through the heart by the black sword, had no eyes and had lost consciousness. His body was stiff, and his burly frame was shrinking at a visible speed, making him look terrifying.
Yao Yao was startled by the sudden sight, but then she remembered Han Chengjin who had just been thrown into the sea. Without saying a word, she shakily propped herself up and jumped off the deck, plunging into the water.
Almost at the same moment Lin Shiyou died, the lotus flower that had been fighting Yun Yanqiu suddenly burst into flames and turned to ashes before his eyes. Yun Yanqiu frowned, sensing something was wrong, and flew to the deck. What came into view was a shrunken corpse. He went forward to examine it and discovered that the mummified body with a gash in its chest was none other than Lin Shiyou! Yun Yanqiu quickly looked around, but among the unconscious people on the deck, there was no sign of Yao Yao or Han Chengjin.
Yun Yanqiu turned his head again to look at the dark blue sea, an ominous premonition churning within him. He took out a communication talisman, intending to contact Han Chengyu, but unexpectedly, the other party had already boarded the ship and was looking at him anxiously.
Han Chengyu's mission was to protect Ye Yingying. To prevent the Lin family from harming her, Han Chengyu didn't wait nearby but instead observed the situation from several miles away, ready to respond to any unforeseen circumstances. In their plan, after Yun Yanqiu killed Lin Shiyou, there would be no further obstacles. Everyone believed in Senior Yun's strength, and that Lin Shiyou was no match for him.
As he watched, Han Chengyu suddenly noticed something was wrong. He vaguely saw two figures fall from the boat one after the other and into the sea. Han Chengyu immediately tensed up and rushed over with Ye Yingying without saying a word.
The two boarded the ship, and he shouted "Senior Yun!" before noticing the terrible state of the ship.
Han Chengyu looked around, even more panicked: "Where's Cheng Jin? Where did Cheng Jin go?"
He anxiously looked at Senior Yun, only to see the other man silently gazing at the sea, and a chill instantly ran through him. He ran to the gunwale and stared intently at the still, deep blue water.
When Han Chengyu saw Lin Xiaowen lying on the side, the worst possible outcome for Han Chengjin flashed through his mind, but he still held onto that sliver of hope, praying that Han Chengjin could survive.
Han Chengyu gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and searched the sea for Han Chengjin's whereabouts with a heavy gaze. Dark clouds covered the sky, making the sea appear even darker. The sea was silent, with only the sound of the waves echoing in his ears.
Ye Yingying realized something at this moment and asked, "Senior Yun, what about Yao Yao?"
Yun Yanqiu glanced at Ye Yingying, then looked out at the sea, his expression grave: "They've probably gone to rescue someone at sea..."
Suddenly, a blurry figure appeared on the vast sea. The figure was carrying something and swimming towards them. Han Chengyu, with his sharp eyes, immediately ran off the boat to meet it.
The figure swam closer and closer, its outline gradually becoming clearer—it was Yao Yao! The person on her back must be Han Chengjin! Han Chengyu looked at Yao Yao with hopeful eyes, but when he saw her expression more clearly, he felt a sense of panic and silently prayed that nothing bad would happen.
Yun Yanqiu and Ye Yingying also disembarked and saw the mermaid girl, her face ashen. Half of her body was submerged underwater, with shimmering fish scales visible on her face and arms. Yao Yao slowly handed the person on her back to Han Chengyu. She met Han Chengyu's eyes again, this time without fear, hesitation, or joy, only with profound sorrow.
"I'm sorry," Yao Yao said, her voice trembling and unusually hoarse. A dark purple bruise was still clearly visible around her neck. Despite the injury, her expression was that of a child who had made a mistake, full of self-blame and panic.
“He lost a lot of blood; the fish in the sea were attracted by the smell of blood. I fed him dew, but he was too badly injured. I kept patting him and giving him respiration, but he just wouldn't respond…”
Yao Yao's mind was in turmoil. The more she spoke, the more desperate she became. Her eyes suddenly turned red, and her already hoarse voice choked with sobs: "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."
She had no other choice but to keep apologizing, and tears the size of pearls fell one by one from the mermaid's eyes. Han Chengjin's eyes remained closed, and no matter how hot the tears were, they could not bring him back to consciousness.
Han Chengyu's expression was grave. He held his younger brother's body motionless. The seawater soaked his robes, and his brother's body was ice-cold, the chill seeping into his heart through his skin. Han Chengyu numbly reached out to check the breath of the person in his arms, but could not feel the breath of a living person.
Ye Yingying clearly sensed that something was wrong. They should have been cheering and celebrating their victory over Lin Shiyou, so why was it like this? Was Han Chengjin dead?
"No, it's alright. Yao Yao still has the Heart-Protecting Scale, right?" Ye Yingying said. "Isn't the Heart-Protecting Scale capable of bringing people back to life? Yao Yao, you..."
Before Ye Yingying could finish speaking, Yun Yanqiu suddenly pressed her shoulder, signaling her to stop talking about it. Before she could react, she heard Yao Yao sob haltingly, "I'm sorry, my protective scale is already..."
Ye Yingying was speechless, realizing that her words had only added insult to injury to an already tense situation.
Ye Yingying hated this feeling of helplessness; she had never felt so powerless in her past life. Was Han Chengjin really dead? The events had happened so suddenly that Ye Yingying stood frozen, unable to believe what was unfolding before her.
Suddenly, Yun Yanqiu stepped to Han Chengjin's side, knelt on one knee, and produced several talismans, setting up an array on Han Chengjin's gradually stiffening body. Han Chengyu looked at the array on his younger brother, then looked up at Yun Yanqiu in confusion: "Senior, what is the meaning of this?"
“His body has been soaked in seawater; what I’m doing is merely slowing down the rate of his decomposition.” Even when faced with the sudden death of another, Yun Yanqiu remained calm. “There’s still one way to save him, but it might be a waste of effort. Are you willing to take the gamble?”
"Really?" Han Chengyu's eyes widened suddenly, his face tense, staring intently at Yun Yanqiu, his lips trembling as he asked, "Senior, please save Cheng Jin!"
"My spiritual power is only enough to maintain this for four hours. After four hours, this array will need to be continuously infused with spiritual power to maintain its current state. To continue this array, you need at least the strength of the Golden Core stage. Hurry up and ask your father to come out of seclusion."
"Also, it wasn't me who could save him." Yun Yanqiu didn't explain further, but simply turned to look at Yao Yao, "It was her."
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