The red-robed woman sitting cross-legged there seemed to have anticipated the strike long before.
As the edge of the sword descended toward her crown, her form split in two, rising to her feet beside it, and she casually thrust a palm outward with feather-light ease.
Li Weiyi's full-strength ambush strike sliced through nothing more than the afterimage left sitting on the ground, carving a deep gash beside the blood pool. Before he could reel in shock, a stinging pain lashed his face—her sweeping gale of palm force was rolling toward him like a collapsing sky.
In haste, he could muster only seventy percent of his peak strength, forming a palm seal with his left hand to meet her strike head-on.
*Bang!*
Li Weiyi felt as though his left hand had struck a solid wall of metal. A throbbing pain shot from his wrist up into his shoulder.
He was thrown backward through the air, crashing down more than ten feet away. He stabbed his sword into the ground, using it to steady his footing and barely saving himself from sprawling across the dirt in disgrace.
The red-robed woman was also forced half a step back, dislodging clods of dirt from beneath her feet into the blood pool.
Surprise flickered in her eyes. "Only a few days have passed, yet you've already broken through your bottleneck and opened the second spring eye of the Yongquan Realm? How can your cultivation advance so fast?"
Li Weiyi's left arm was numb and aching. He quietly drew upon the currents circulating in the soles of his feet to heal and recover, gazing in disbelief at Qi Shanshan standing by the edge of the blood pool.
She wore the robes of the white-boned demon, the bone wind chime cinched at her waist, and her hair fell all the way to the ground. The expression in her eyes was entirely different from before—aloof and chilling, tinged with the haughty arrogance of looking down on all living beings.
"You drank the Golden Crow blood... No, you're not Dr. Qi. You're the white skeleton from the grave." Li Weiyi caught the fiery gleam of Golden Crow flames rippling across the red-robed Qi Shanshan's skin, guessing she had drunk the Golden Crow blood to strengthen her physical body.
She had not shed her mortal husk to transform into a celestial spirit, but carried an entirely different kind of demonic, uncanny aura.
Li Weiyi reckoned Dr. Qi had most likely been possessed or devoured by her.
In myth and legend, such undead monsters were well versed in such methods.
"A white-boned demon?"
The red-robed Qi Shanshan murmured to herself, then spoke in an exceptionally calm tone. "I can sense the hostility coming from you. But what I wish to say is that there is no need for us to meet in a fight to the death. Why not talk first? Perhaps we can each get what we need and both come out ahead."
Her voice sounded subtly different from the Qi Shanshan of old, possessing a lighter, more ethereal timbre.
"Your strength exceeds mine, yet you are the first to propose negotiating. It seems you harbor some fear in your heart, which is why you dare not act rashly."
Li Weiyi suspected that what the red-robed Qi Shanshan truly feared was the Daozu Taiji Fish.
What she did not know was that, even now, Li Weiyi still had no clue how to activate it.
As a result, Li Weiyi felt thoroughly uneasy inside, though he forced himself to maintain an outward show of calm. "Still, I would like to know: what is it you want, and what can you give me in return?"
The red-robed Qi Shanshan said, "Aren't you asking something you already know? I want the blood in your veins."
"How much?"
Li Weiyi had no idea why she claimed he was asking something he already knew; he suspected she was misunderstanding something.
"A great deal."
"Would half a bowl be enough?"
The half-bowl Li Weiyi had drawn earlier was still sitting right there.
"Not enough. Far from enough. In addition to your blood, I want your soul," said the red-robed Qi Shanshan.
Li Weiyi understood now—she had no intention of negotiating; she was merely toying with him. He sneered, "Then I want every bone in your body. Would you give them?"
The red-robed Qi Shanshan narrowed her eyes, cold glints flashing within them. She found Li Weiyi completely lacking in sincerity. This scion of an ancient clan was far too ill-mannered; having only just stepped onto the path of cultivation, he showed not an ounce of respect toward her.
It seemed necessary to teach him a lesson right now; otherwise, would she not end up enslaved by him in the future?
She slowly raised her hand, her aura soaring to its peak in a flash. "Very well, I shall take them myself! Junior of the Li clan, summon your dao-protecting wife. With your current meager realm, taking on the two of you shouldn't be anything difficult at all."
Her words left Li Weiyi increasingly baffled. "Wait a moment. You must have misunderstood something."
"Legends say that when children of your ancient clan are in infancy, the clan's elders travel far and wide across famous mountains, great rivers, immortal tombs, and ancestral graves to find a departed spirit of terrifying status from when she was alive, hiding her in your bloodline to serve as your dao-protecting wife. Could the legends be mistaken?"
The red-robed Qi Shanshan was utterly perplexed. She thought Li Weiyi's identity had already been exposed, so there was no reason for him to keep hiding it.
Li Weiyi felt she was playing tricks, spouting bizarre remarks on purpose to distract him. He brought the Yellow Dragon Sword across his chest in a defensive posture, his gaze growing sharper and more solemn.
The red-robed Qi Shanshan said no more.
She would capture him first.
*Whoosh!*
Blurring into a streak of red, she charged forward like lightning.
*So fast!*
Even with the boost from the scripture belt, Li Weiyi remained inferior in movement speed. He had no choice but to bring out the black iron seal, striking the top of the seal hard with the pommel of the Yellow Dragon Sword.
At the same time, he channeled both the cold and hot currents into it.
This was a method he had discovered through experimentation—it packed greater power without harming himself.
*Rumble!*
Thunder rolled and lightning flashed.
The red-robed Qi Shanshan was forced back, arcs of lightning striking her body.
Yet the red robes she wore had remained unrotted for a millennium and were clearly extraordinary; the lightning failed to inflict any real harm upon her.
Seizing this rare opening, Li Weiyi pressed the assault. He channeled the hot and cold currents within his body into the silver-thread gloves, causing silver radiance to shimmer across his hands as his strength surged tremendously.
He unleashed over a dozen sword strikes in rapid succession, pouring everything into every blow, each strike heavy with the weight of thousands of catties.
The red-robed Qi Shanshan fought as she retreated. The skin on her arms split with cracks, blood welling out incessantly.
At the end of the day, Qi Shanshan's mortal flesh and skin were merely human, utterly incapable of withstanding clashes of such magnitude.
Just as their fierce clash reached its peak and neither could disengage—
*Clang! Clang!*
From within the forest of graves, a dense mass of black nether mist billowed and swelled, surging forward wildly.
Accompanying the mist was the rapid, resounding chime of camel bells.
It arrived with terrifying speed.
In less than a breath, the black mist blotted out the sky, carrying a bone-chilling cold that severely curtailed their vision.
Both Li Weiyi and the red-robed Qi Shanshan paled, sensing danger at the same instant. Just as they moved to disengage, the sound of camel bells reached their ears, booming like thunder.
Within the nether mist, the ghostly silhouette of a semi-corporeal camel materialized, standing three to four meters tall. Atop it sat a stooped, withered, human-shaped figure.
The human figure waved a ghost banner, whipping up a freezing blast of air that sent both combatants, who had not yet managed to pull back, flying backward like fallen leaves.
*Crash! Crash!*
Both struck the ground, blood spraying from their mouths, their internal organs clearly injured.
In an instant, Li Weiyi rolled to his feet. Gripping the sword in one hand and the black iron seal in the other, he assumed a defensive stance, determined not to give his opponent any chance for a follow-up blow.
The bells hanging from the ghostly camel were sinister beyond measure. Each ring summoned a horde of negative emotions and unrelenting malicious thoughts within his mind, forcing him to cycle the Yuxu Breathing Method to resist them.
The physical resilience of the red-robed Qi Shanshan was inferior to Li Weiyi's, leaving her even more severely injured, her face deathly pale.
Only slowly did she manage to stand up, speaking in an unfamiliar tongue: "When the snipe and the clam grapple, the fisherman benefits."
"Chanhai Guanwu, it has been a long time! Ha ha!" The figure riding the camel, flickering between solid and phantom form, held the ghost banner aloft and laughed heartily.
First a white-boned demon, and now an even more vicious ghost?
Li Weiyi had long since heard some expedition members mention seeing a camel caravan enter a gravestone in the forest of graves, though he had assumed they were exaggerating. Later, he had also faintly heard camel bells on multiple occasions, but had dismissed them as auditory hallucinations and paid them little mind.
Only now did he realize that there was something deeply wrong with those camel bells.
Many of the occurrences aboard the ship were likely connected to it.
Gazing into the boundless Sea of Graves and Forest of Steles, Li Weiyi felt a quiet dread rise within him. What kind of people were buried in these graves? Just how many of them were still not fully dead?
The red-robed Qi Shanshan's eyes turned frosty. "To think you managed to preserve a wisp of soul remnant inside the evil camel bell, clinging to a miserable existence. Everything that happened on this ship was your doing, wasn't it? Bewitching minds with the evil camel bell, orchestrating slaughter, and harvesting malicious intent to nourish your soul remnant."
"You are mistaken! Malice springs from within oneself; what does that have to do with the camel bell? Besides, had I not collected that malice to solidify my soul remnant as quickly as possible, I wouldn't even be able to step out of the evil camel bell."
The withered figure atop the camel stopped laughing and continued, "This King is determined to have the treasure hanging around his neck. Out of consideration for our past acquaintance, I shall spare your life today—you may leave! You are badly wounded; do not throw your life away."
Straightening her posture, the red-robed Qi Shanshan broke into laughter. "Are you trying to trick a three-year-old child? Your sneak attack failed to kill the two of us in one blow, so you can only defeat us by dividing us. If I were to leave now, that would be truly courting death."
"Very well. Since you seek death, this King will grant your wish."
The camel surged forward, swift as a stallion.
With bells jingling frantically, the ghost banner in the withered figure's hand swept down toward her.
Saddled with injuries, the red-robed Qi Shanshan dared not take it head-on, immediately using her footwork to dodge backward.
Curiously, before the ghost banner aimed at the red-robed Qi Shanshan could fall, it shifted direction with even greater speed, heading straight for Li Weiyi on the other side!
He was cunning to the extreme; his true target from start to finish was Li Weiyi.
Li Weiyi had remained vigilant all along. Seeing the ghost banner sweep in like a tempestuous gale, he immediately swung his sword.
A disdainful snort sounded from atop the camel.
*Sizzle!*
Rather than meeting force with force, the Yellow Dragon Sword coiled like a flood dragon across the ghost banner, shaving along it and throwing up an arc of sparks.
All the incoming force was deflected away.
Li Weiyi had already dodged six paces to the side. So long as he was on guard, harming him would not be so easy.
"Yu Tuonan, what else do you people from Xiaoyaojing have besides arrogance? With only this much strength, if the two of us join hands, I'm afraid that wisp of soul remnant of yours will be scattered into oblivion right here."
The red-robed Qi Shanshan's words were naturally spoken for Li Weiyi's ears, delivered in an Earth language.
Compared to the white-boned demon, Li Weiyi currently harbored an overwhelmingly stronger desire to annihilate the soul of the figure atop the camel to eradicate the source of evil once and for all.
Enraged by humiliation, the figure atop the camel channeled even denser nether mist from his ghost banner, thrusting the banner shaft forward like a spear straight at Li Weiyi's heart.
At that moment, an eerie sight unfolded before their eyes.
*Whoosh—*
The mouthful of blood Li Weiyi had spat out earlier vaporized, transforming their surroundings into a world of pale-red bloody mist.
Inch by inch, the ground decayed and mildewed.
A slender figure clad in a red bridal gown, her head covered by a veil hung with copper coins, stood within the world of bloody mist right in front of the charging camel. She raised a jade-like hand and swept it forward from top to bottom.
What unsettled Li Weiyi's mind was that at this exact moment, he, too, was raising his sword and slashing downward.
Why did it feel as though the two of them had merged into one?
*Rip!*
The semi-corporeal camel was cleaved cleanly in two.
Accompanied by a shrill shriek of agony, the withered ghost along with the ghost banner in his grip dissolved into a blast of pitch-black nether mist, surging backward like a tide to vanish into the deep, sprawling forest of graves.
In the blink of an eye, the bride was gone!
Appearing out of thin air, and vanishing just as abruptly.
*What is going on... A dao-protecting wife?*
That thought, which even he felt was utterly absurd, sprang into Li Weiyi's mind. He immediately searched for the red-robed Qi Shanshan, only to find she had long since fled without a trace.
Li Weiyi hurried back to the medical tent, worried she might have headed in that direction.
Chapter 25