Just as Lu Yang had predicted, midway through their voyage the weather took a sudden and violent turn. Lightning flashed and thunder roared. The massive ship was hoisted a hundred meters into the air by a monstrous wave, then slammed back down, crashing against the sea surface.
Had the hull not been reinforced with multiple defensive formations, it would have shattered to pieces long ago.
*I knew it,* Lu Yang thought to himself. On this single ship alone, he had already seen three Body Integration stage cultivators, not to mention those stationed aboard the other two vessels.
With so many high-level cultivators overseeing the fleet, encountering such a terrifying tempest was unmistakably man-made.
After all, cultivators at the Body Integration stage wielded a portion of the power of rules. Calming a storm at sea would take them nothing more than a casual word.
Su Yiren wore a grim expression as she shielded Lu Yang and the other four, transmitting her voice to them: "Be careful. I tried to disperse the storm with the power of rules, but it didn't work. Someone is deliberately stirring up trouble from the shadows—and it's someone at the Tribulation Transcendence stage!"
A gaping void tore through the pitch-black clouds, and a shadowy figure appeared above, shrouded in driving wind and rain. Two jade-green eyes glowed faintly like amber, resembling a specter from the netherworld.
A terrifying pressure weighed down like an insurmountable abyss—deep, unshakeable, and irresistible—pressing heavily on everyone's heart.
"It really is the Tribulation Transcendence stage!" Cold sweat broke out across Su Yiren's forehead. She had never expected their luck to be so wretched as to run into a Tribulation Transcendence stage expert right after setting out.
Hearing that an opponent of that caliber had arrived, Tao Yaoye and Man Gu grew a little flustered. They rarely traveled with Lu Yang and were unaccustomed to such overwhelming spectacles.
Lu Yang, calm and composed, transmitted his voice to explain the situation to the group.
"Don't panic, everyone. This is all part of the Second Prince's plan. To secure the throne, he wants to manufacture a disaster so we end up owing him a favor.
"If my guess is right, Senior Cang Mingzi happens to be absent from the ship right now. First, the Body Integration cultivators will step forward to meet the enemy. Then the Second Prince will come over to comfort us, claiming he wants to brave the storm together and overcome the crisis alongside us. To make it convincing, he'll even injure himself.
"At the critical moment, Senior Cang Mingzi will make a belated entrance and battle the dark shadow for three hundred rounds. Outmatched, the shadow will suffer a crushing defeat and flee."
Relieved, the group simultaneously felt a surge of indignation, thinking the Second Prince had gone far too far.
"Assume battle formation!"
The Second Prince let out a thunderous shout. With a series of whooshes, three figures shot into the sky from each of the massive ships—every single one of them at the Body Integration stage!
The Second Prince was accompanied by nine Body Integration experts on this voyage!
All nine were battle-hardened veterans who had anticipated possible conflicts in the East Sea and had practiced this drill countless times.
A subtle yet immense surge of spiritual energy erupted as they deployed their formation—the Nine Heavens Thunder Response Array. Intricate and profound talismanic runes were engraved within it. As their fingertips traced through the air, beams of radiant light burst from their bodies, weaving together into an enormous nonagonal net. The nine Body Integration experts each occupied a corner of the lattice, forming hand seals to draw upon the worldly essence.
Seeing this, the Second Prince hurried over to Lu Yang and the others, offering reassurance: "Fellow Daoists, do not fear! These nine Body Integration cultivators have formed the Nine Heavens Thunder Response Array, capable of holding off a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator. Nothing will go wrong."
Even with the Second Prince's reassurances, Lu Yang was only a Nascent Soul stage cultivator; facing the strike of a Tribulation Transcendence expert, how could he not tremble?
Shivering, Lu Yang asked, "Where is Senior Cang Mingzi?"
A look of remorse washed over the Second Prince's face. "Just a moment ago, the senior mentioned spotting a rare fish and wanted to catch it to feast on. Who could have imagined that barely a moment later, we would be ambushed by a Tribulation Transcendence expert!"
Even as he spoke, the mysterious Tribulation Transcendence shadow attacked. A stabilizing formation at the bottom of the hull shattered. A giant wave crashed over the deck, knocking everyone—including the Second Prince—stumbling and swaying, unable to maintain their footing.
"Will we really be all right?" Meng Jingzhou clutched the railing with all his might, swaying violently from side to side.
The Second Prince wore a resolute expression. "Nothing will happen to you! Even if it costs me my life, I will ensure everyone's safety!"
Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou appeared deeply moved.
The Second Prince looked up at the dark shadow engaged in battle and demanded sharply, "Who are you, sir?! I am Jiang Zhu, Second Prince of Great Xia! Do you truly intend to make an enemy of Great Xia?!"
The dark shadow sneered coldly, looking down at the prince with disdain, displaying all the arrogance of a Tribulation Transcendence expert.
"Noisy."
A single word tumbled from the dark shadow's lips. The Second Prince felt an agonizing tightness in his chest and flew backward through the air, crashing hard against the cabin wall. He spat up two mouthfuls of blood. His hairpin tumbled away, and his disheveled hair clung messily to his face. He looked utterly miserable, a stark contrast to his usual dignified demeanor.
Lu Yang leisurely transmitted his voice to the others: "See what I told you? To win sympathy, the Second Prince was definitely going to get injured. You have to admit, his acting is pretty convincing."
"Maybe he really hurt himself so the act wouldn't fall apart," Meng Jingzhou remarked with admiration as he watched the blood-spitting prince. "He's certainly dedicated for the sake of the throne. My opinion of him has gone up."
Tao Yaoye and Man Gu looked at Lu Yang with awe. Everything that had unfolded so far matched Senior Brother Lu Yang's predictions to the letter.
"How dare you harm my people!"
Belatedly arriving, Cang Mingzi roared in fury and manifested his Boundless Dharma Idol. Murmuring ancient incantations under his breath, he instantly resonated with the depths of the ocean. The churning seawater seemed drawn by an invisible force, gathering around him. No longer wild and turbulent, it obeyed a strange law and coalesced into a colossal humanoid shape.
The two sides clashed in a titanic battle, unleashing divine techniques that overturned rivers and upended seas, terrifying the Sea Race dwellers below into trembling in fear.
*Elder Cang, that's enough of a show. If you keep fighting, the ship is going to fall apart,* the Second Prince transmitted secretly to Cang Mingzi. Elder Cang had truly lacked restraint just now; that blow had hurt him quite badly.
The Second Prince's plan had indeed been identical to Lu Yang's deductions, and even the injury had been part of it.
The prince had asked Cang Mingzi to create an avatar, stage a fight against it, and ultimately defeat it.
Moreover, the avatar could not take the appearance of any specific race. If it looked like a member of the Sea Race, Lu Yang and his companions might later demand to go cause trouble for that clan, which would blow the entire cover.
With the influence of the Dao Seeking Sect and Lu Yang's status, it was entirely possible that two half-immortals—Yun Zhi and Daoist Lord Hanhai—might join forces and march to the East Sea to settle the score.
That was why the avatar's appearance had been designed as a faceless black shadow.
Cang Mingzi was bewildered, having no idea what the prince was talking about. *I haven't even finished making the avatar yet.*
He had genuinely gone off to catch fish moments ago.
The Second Prince froze: *?*
In an instant, he realized something had gone horribly wrong.
*Holy crap, how did a real Tribulation Transcendence cultivator show up?!*
"Troublesome."
Taking advantage of Cang Mingzi's momentary distraction, the shadowy figure extended a massive hand covered in runes capable of crushing anything to dust.
The Nine Heavens Thunder Response Array was pierced right through. Lu Yang and his four companions were scooped up like helpless little chicks. Su Yiren attempted to rescue them, only to be swept into the giant hand alongside them.
Once the dark shadow had seized Lu Yang and the rest, the weather abruptly settled. The sea grew calm and peaceful, as though no battle had ever taken place.
The Second Prince slumped onto the deck, devoid of any relief at having survived.
"It's over... Yun Zhi's youngest junior brother and the eldest young master of the Meng Family were abducted right off my ship, and their whereabouts are unknown."
At this point, inheriting the imperial throne was entirely out of the question. His only prayer was that the Dao Seeking Sect and the Meng Family wouldn't come knocking on his door to claim his life.
...
"Senior Brother Lu Yang, is being captured part of the plan too?" Tao Yaoye asked hesitantly. They were trapped inside a sphere of water, carried swiftly across the East Sea by the massive talons clutching the sphere.
Lu Yang also felt something was off. Could the Second Prince really want to stage a scenario where a hero saves the heroes?
"Fairy, can you tell where this black shadow comes from?"
"Hm? Isn't that just a member of the Kunpeng Clan?" Even though the shadow tried hard to conceal its origins, the Immortal Fairy saw right through it at a glance.
Lu Yang was speechless.
He doubted the Second Prince had the capability to hire a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator from the Kunpeng Clan just to put on an act.
Chapter 826