All along, Ji Jue had adhered to one principle: if you have to strike, strike for real; if you're plotting a move, calculate every detail; and if you're taking precautions, make them as airtight as humanly possible.
Even if the subject of those precautions was a "cheap son" clinging to his thigh and bawling his eyes out, the rule still applied.
The moment Ji Jue drew just a few inches closer, a faint glimmer surfaced across the screaming Minkler. The sundial wristwatch on his wrist activated, and a burst of scarlet flared in his eyes.
To guard against Minkler harboring ill intentions—or rather, for his own safety—Ji Jue had planted a tiny... very little... utterly negligible backdoor in the equipment he gave him.
Thus, the spiritus of Pan Ying erupted, and the aura of the Swarm manifested from his body, thoroughly saturating his soul.
What good was a fierce ghost, no matter how vicious?
After Ji Jue pumped him full of Pan Ying, Minkler was scarier than a damn ghost!
Right now, under the corrosion of Pan Ying, Minkler went instantly berserk. Forgetting everything, he pulled a knife from his chest and charged forward, brawling hand-to-hand with the invisible phantoms.
Amid blood-drenched slashes, shrill screams erupted continuously from the deck and from within the mist...
The old crone shrieked. Laceration after laceration appeared across her face, bone exposed on her fingers, yet her expression grew increasingly vicious. She blew into her flute with all her might. Amid the churning, boiling roar of seawater, even more eerie silhouettes emerged from the ocean depths.
This time, they were no longer incorporeal specters. Instead, countless living corpses crawled from the water, clinging to the gunwales and scrambling upward, one after another in dense, squirming clusters.
Shrill whistling tore through the air without pause, aimed at Minkler and at Ji Jue alike.
The White Stag hidden within the fog went all out, raining down venom-coated darts and blades like a torrential storm.
How to put it? Great form; now don't do it again.
Total roadside garbage—why not check out some real Hunting Finger Flying Light from afar, folks!
Ji Jue casually grabbed one of the projectiles, turned his hand, and flung it back. Amid an ear-shattering sonic boom, the Archery Rites he had secretly copied from Xiao An—a version that was purely form without essence—instantly blasted a gaping tunnel through the mist, impaling the bizarre phantom soaring within.
A scream rang out.
The metallic deluge thickened, but Ji Jue merely lifted a finger, swatting aside wisps of silver light with casual ease, utterly unaffected. He simply looked back at a severed half-corpse crawling frantically on the deck and smirked in mockery.
"How much longer do you plan on squatting there?"
The living corpse hissed, futilely reaching out toward Minkler. But from its abdomen, which trailed putrid viscera, a figure curled to its absolute limit suddenly sprang forth like a catapulted projectile, lunging straight for Ji Jue!
Then, it was intercepted midair.
Ji Jue seized it by the throat and gave a nonchalant flick of his wrist.
A hunched, withered, monkey-like old dwarf hung in Ji Jue's grip, eyes bulging, blood oozing from every facial orifice, without having had a chance to display any of his lethal skills.
Outside, the metal storm ceased abruptly—all of it had merely been a diversion.
Fair's fair: feinting to the east while striking west was played smoothly, and the lunge itself had only put in thirty percent effort while withholding seventy—a pure bluff meant to cover a retreat.
Pity that whether in lurking or in bursting forth, the technique was far too sloppy.
Under the Wolf's malice perception, everything was as clear as day.
A single pulse of Jingzhen after grabbing the neck, and the account was settled.
The creature didn't even have time to scream for help.
Inside the mist, the old crone's eyes widened in sheer terror and disbelief.
Just as Ji Jue was being ambushed, Minkler's expression suddenly froze.
In his ear, a soft voice whispered, calling out his childhood pet name—the true name that had been kept secret ever since his birth, known to no outsider.
Like a mother's tender call.
Instinctively wanting to look back, he caught the whiff of a foul stench rising behind him.
The moment the urge to answer stirred in his heart, the phantom of a rotting skeleton materialized out of thin air behind him, clinging tight, entwining him, parting its lips to draw a deep inhalation.
Tugging at the soul, shattering consciousness, annihilating the self.
This was the true, inescapable deathblow!
Ji Jue could not intervene in time, nor could he directly block this curse of bloodline.
Minkler only had time to roar in grief and rage.
Not out of terror of his own demise, but because he recognized the origin of this vicious technique and the materials it required: Minkler's umbilical blood, and the ashes of his closest kin!
That foolish woman who had truly treated him the best, that poor wretch who had long since been drowned in the pond in the Chopra family's back courtyard...
"You... all of you... you all deserve to die!"
The corners of his eyes tore open, and his gaze turned burning scarlet as if scorched by flame. He screamed shrilly, "I'll kill every last one of you! Aaaaargh!!!"
On his wrist, the sundial vibrated once more. From among the three intertwined spiritualities, a formless sword of spiritus suddenly coalesced out of nothingness, plunging directly into Minkler's consciousness and rolling his eyes back.
Blinding radiance erupted!
A bloodcurdling scream erupted from behind him. The rotting visage shattered rapidly as if incinerated by fire, crumbling into flying ash. Deep in the mist, upon the reef, the old crone and her companion who was holding the water mirror cried out in unison. The water mirror fell to the ground, disintegrating and smashing completely.
The Aether practitioner responsible for the ritual couldn't even speak; she collapsed backward facing the sky, her eyes hollow, retaining only faint traces of malice and despair.
Torn apart by the backlash rushing backward along the curse and the sword of spiritus piercing through space, her soul was shredded, killing her on the spot.
Instead, the old crone, though ghastly pale and staring at the scene in sheer terror, let out a breath of relief.
Sensing her daughter's dying resentment, she opened her mouth as if to speak, then stopped.
She had originally wanted to say a few words like "don't blame your mother for being heartless," but unfortunately, there was no time left.
When she instinctively turned to flee, she saw the shattered shards of the water mirror on the ground. Having lost control, the surface that should have dissolved completely was still holding the reflection from the other side.
A pair of eyes looking back at her with a half-smile.
Bridging the vast distance, an inquisitive voice asked:
"Out of tricks?"
If you're out of tricks, then die.
Ji Jue drew a pistol, casually aimed into empty space, and pulled the trigger.
Two kilometers away across the sea, a fracturing detonation roared, and the charred remnants of the old crone's torso plunged into the waves.
By now, all three assassins who attacked had been reduced to ash.
Yet the fog lingered.
The malice remained as well—growing even more savage.
Beyond the mist, a man cloaked in an eerie shimmering glow grinned and exhaled a long breath.
Finally, it was ready!
At that moment, the Domain secretly unfolded, roaring into reality after an extended charge and warm-up!
Everything within the fog was within the Domain's reach, engulfed in this zone of destruction—his realm to ravage at will!
"Die!"
As his hands spread wide, the churning seawater parted to either side, opening up a bottomless abyss out of nowhere.
Where the ocean waves clashed against each other, they let out piercing screeches like grinding iron!
The moment his hands overlapped, the seawater, turned to iron walls, crashed together with the terrifying pressure of the deepest trenches.
Amid a cataclysmic boom as if heaven and earth folded together, everything was crushed flat!
And then...
The dual-path Celestial Chosen of Entropy and Desolate Ruins froze in his tracks.
The smile froze on his face.
Because the Prosperity hadn't fallen at all. Even with an endless chasm gaping beneath it, the ship remained suspended in midair, cruising without the slightest tremor.
Floating through the void, needing no support.
No, this damn thing was literally flying!
You thought I was buoyed by seawater?
Sorry, I was faking it!
"How fascinating."
Ji Jue chuckled, peering toward him through the mist. The attacker's face froze in bone-chilling horror. The moment Ji Jue raised a hand, the man coughed up blood, paying the price of grievous injury to forcibly trigger a taboo.
The churning sea solidified once more, freezing hard to lock the entire vessel in place upon the water. High above, a meteor materialized from the void, blazing with fire and lightning as it plummeted with majestic force from the heavens!
Boom!
In the span of a single heartbeat, it completely swallowed the Prosperity—only to shatter and disintegrate like a soap bubble colliding head-on with a blade tip.
A faint barrier shimmered in empty space.
The Prosperity remained completely intact, merely appearing slightly more dilapidated than before.
Completely unscathed!
In fact, before the meteor's terrifying power could even be unleashed, it was shattered by the counter-shock built into the defense.
The residual violent kinetic force was channeled through the hull and discharged straight into the sea.
The frozen ocean cracked, visible ripples tearing through the hardened stone-like waters.
After a single strike, the enemy was untouched, yet his Domain stood on the brink of collapse.
The assailant turned deathly pale, petrified.
Instinctively, his body stepped back once, and then again...
No good!
Run! I have to run!
Run!
Amid a deafening roar, he transformed into lightning and shot away into the distance in an instant. Panic-stricken, he instinctively glanced back over his shoulder, only to see the Prosperity still floating right where it was.
And Ji Jue on the deck.
Ji Jue reached out his hand.
And pointed from afar.
And so, Zhanlu—
Across heaven and earth, purple lightning darted, flashing past to impale the energy-form Celestial Chosen. Billowing black flame surged outward, forcibly ripping him from his energy state and charring his body to a crisp as he plummeted toward the earth.
In utter terror, alchemical creations across his body flared with light, only to shatter in rapid succession.
At last, the pocket watch in his breast pocket clicked.
The gravely wounded Celestial Chosen couldn't help but crack a grin and let out a laugh.
It worked!
Radiance enveloped his form, tugging him into an instantaneous warp toward his preset coordinates!
And then, he appeared right before the bow of the Prosperity—
And saw Ji Jue.
"So glad to see you."
Ji Jue smiled, raising a hand in greeting. "Looks like you're pretty happy too?"
Splendid.
Everyone was happy.
Little Niuma was happy too. Or should it be called Little Niuma now, or Big Niuma? Or Juque? Or Dragon Mountain?
None of that mattered.
It was feeding time!
Amid the screech of grinding steel, mottled paint flaked off the prow once more. The rust-caked iron plates split apart to both sides like a massive maw slowly gaping open.
Without hesitation, it opened wide toward the breakfast delivered right to its doorstep!
Crunch!
Iron teeth slammed shut; blood splattered.
As the prow opened and closed repeatedly, agonizing screams echoed from within the hull, shrill and piercing. Sparks of lightning and bursts of flame leaked through the gaps between teeth until, gradually, nothing more was heard.
Only the crisp crunch of flesh and bone grinding to pulp spread from the famished beast.
Such sweet music.
At last, the Prosperity opened its mouth once more and spat: ptooey!
From beneath a fissure in the deck, it spat out an intact head, fissured all over, still frozen in twisted terror.
"Hey, using someone of the Transcendent Rank as a hitman—seems our friend behind the curtain is truly determined to have your head."
Ji Jue gave a light sigh and tapped the severed head with his foot, kicking it toward the dazed Minkler. "Who's this? Recognize him?"
"No need to look."
Minkler offered an exhausted smile. "Mintarecha. A subordinate recruited by my sixth sister. I even poured wine for him once..."
"Oh, family harmony brings prosperity—I get it, I get it," Ji Jue nodded. "Big clans sure know how to run a household. You haven't even made it home, and they've already sent your welcome gift."
"S-Sorry, Ji Jue."
Minkler rubbed his face, wiping away tears and snot. "I'm afraid that even if I make it back to Xiangzhou, I won't have a home to go back to."
"Hm?"
Ji Jue paused, taken aback, and then chuckled in amusement.
"Wait, humor me here—" Ji Jue asked curiously. "Why would you want to go home?"
"Huh?"
Minkler was dumbfounded too.
Chapter 690