Chapter 57: Phantom Death Trap, Unwelcome Guests
SHHIIING!
The long saber, empowered by Magical Power, flashed an azure light. Like a furious dragon raising its head, it was poised to cleave Su Ye in two!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
One by one, tall trees were effortlessly cut down by this azure light, crashing to the ground!
Dust and debris filled the dense forest, startling countless birds into flight!
"Die!" Shu Fenglin’s expression was savage.
But facing Shu Fenglin’s incomparably sharp strike, Su Ye’s expression remained as calm as ever.
’Does he have some kind of trump card?’ Shu Fenglin’s brow furrowed as he guarded against any potential tricks.
However...
SHHHK!
The sharp azure light easily struck Su Ye, splitting him in two.
"He’s dead?" Shu Fenglin was surprised, finding it hard to believe.
"No! It’s an illusion!"
The "Su Ye" that had been cleaved apart had no flesh or blood.
A moment later, it turned into a flash of spiritual light and dissipated into the forest.
Seeing this, Shu Fenglin’s eyelid twitched violently.
After the injury to his head, his Spiritual Sense had been greatly diminished. He hadn’t been able to see through the illusion at all!
’If this is an illusion, then where is the real one...’
A sudden chill crept into his heart.
SHHIIING!
Behind Shu Fenglin, a terrifying kinetic force suddenly erupted, throwing his body forward!
"What..." Shu Fenglin looked down in stunned disbelief.
A spear, glinting with silver light, had pierced through his back and emerged from his chest, dripping with flesh and blood!
It carried an incredible mix of icy cold and searing heat!
The cold of the Frost Thorn Spear and the heat of fresh blood!
Two such contradictory sensations.
Yet in an instant, they harmoniously merged into a single feeling that flooded Shu Fenglin’s senses!
Pain!
A pain ten times more intense than his headache erupted from the wound, and in a flash, it shot through his nerves, consuming his entire body!
"AHHH!!!"
A blood-curdling scream echoed through the night, adding a sinister air to the dense forest!
Shu Fenglin fell to one knee. Blood gushed from his wound, and in just a few breaths, a pool of it had formed beneath him!
But even so, he wasn’t dead!
Even after taking a direct hit from the Whale-Hunting Spear, Shu Fenglin was somehow still alive!
’The vitality of a Late-stage Qi Refining cultivator is truly tenacious...’
"I..."
Shu Fenglin struggled to turn around, veins bulging on his forehead as he shot Su Ye a death glare.
The bloodshot veins in his eyes looked like they were about to burst, a terrifying sight.
"I... will kill you!"
VMMMM!
Under Shu Fenglin’s control, the azure long saber trembled unceasingly as it struggled to rise into the air.
Then, it suddenly accelerated, transforming into an azure streak of saber light that shot toward Su Ye!
However... Su Ye’s actions were faster!
SHHHK!
A long ice spike, shimmering with a faint light, shot out and pierced his only remaining right eye.
Then a second, and a third...
SHHHK! SHHHK! SHHHK!
Perhaps he was already numb, for Shu Fenglin felt no pain.
VMMM.
Instead, a cool sensation quickly spread through his pain-wracked brain.
It was like pouring a bucket of ice water on a red-hot iron plate, bringing him a measure of relief.
"At least... my head doesn’t hurt anymore..."
With a sense of release, Shu Fenglin’s consciousness faded to black.
After days of insomnia, he could finally get some proper rest.
CLANG.
The azure long saber, halfway to its target, lost its master and fell to the ground, its spiritual light dimming.
Having finished preparing the "chilled brains" with his remotely controlled Frost Thorn Spear, Su Ye walked out from the forest.
He looked at Shu Fenglin’s mangled corpse and said flatly.
"You made me use a Top-Grade Illusion Talisman. You can die without regrets."
Su Ye stroked his chin. "Let’s see, that took almost half a minute..."
"Alright, so I couldn’t kill you within ten breaths."
"I admit I was bragging."
Su Ye shrugged nonchalantly.
Then, he picked up the azure long saber and Shu Fenglin’s Storage Pouch, and disappeared into the forest.
Next, he would conquer the port and reap the fruits of his victory!
...
「The Port」
Flames billowed into the sky!
"The garrison commander is dead!"
"Run! The cultivators from the Luo Family are attacking!"
When Su Ye stormed the port, brandishing Shu Fenglin’s azure long saber and leading a crew of ferocious, wolf-like sailors, the morale of the Shu Family cultivators defending the port quickly collapsed, and they could no longer hold their ground.
After all, the appearance of the azure long saber meant that Shu Fenglin, a Late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, was already dead.
And what could they—the old, the weak, and the injured—possibly do?
Soon, the Shu Family cultivators broke and fled, abandoning the port and heading toward Jade Valley.
[Port Occupied. [Tide Hunter] EXP +402]
’As I thought, occupying the port really does increase EXP!’
Seeing the message pop up, Su Ye felt a sense of relief.
’I didn’t get any EXP for taking the northern port, probably because there were too many random people there.’
Su Ye ordered his crew to control the fire.
They didn’t need to extinguish it, but they had to keep it from reaching the docks and burning the spirit ships.
"Let’s go check out the spirit ships!"
Su Ye’s eyes glittered, his face animated.
Filled with irrepressible excitement, he prepared to inspect his greatest spoils of war!
Soon, Su Ye began boarding the spirit ships one by one.
And just as expected, the panel notifications started popping up!
[Spirit Ship Captured. [Tide Hunter] EXP +100]
[Spirit Ship Captured. [Tide Hunter] EXP +100]
[...]
By the time Su Ye boarded the third mid-grade spirit ship, his experience bar was full, and the familiar ’+’ sign appeared.
After half a month of blockade operations and the huge gains from conquering the port, he could now advance to [Tide Hunter Lv. 4]!
’Advancing to Lv. 4... It’s actually a bit of a shame. It hasn’t been long since my last level-up, so I haven’t accumulated much pill toxin...’
Su Ye felt a slight sense of regret. Leveling up now wouldn’t maximize his potential gains.
However, this feeling of regret quickly vanished.
He didn’t want to waste precious experience points.
Besides, the appearance of Liuli the Qi Clan had filled him with a sense of crisis, making him feel an urgent need to increase his strength!
He pressed the ’+’ sign and raised his class level!
A familiar, cool energy washed over his body.
Soon, Su Ye’s attribute panel changed to:
[Name: Su Ye]
[Realm: Qi Refining Level 5]
[Class: Tide Hunter Lv. 4 (0/2000)]
[Class Attribute Bonus: Lethality +15, Protection +7]
[Exclusive Skill: Whale-Hunting Spear]
[Trait: Pierce (Max)]
[Cultivation Techniques: Ghost Water Skill, Azure Dragon Force]
’My "Pierce" trait has reached its maximum... Does that mean the next level-up will grant me a new trait?’
Su Ye was filled with anticipation.
He then boarded the last two spirit ships.
One of them was a top-grade spirit ship, and together, the two provided Su Ye with another two hundred fifty experience points!
[Class: Tide Hunter Lv. 4 (250/2000)]
’What a bountiful harvest...’
And just then.
Su Ye suddenly felt something and looked past the port, gazing out at the sea!
VMMMM!
A massive and majestic spirit ship was sailing into Copper Drum Bay!
Its ram jutted high from the prow, gleaming with an eerie bronze light!
The top-grade spirit ship of Liuli the Qi Clan!
The Blood Copper!
An unwelcome guest had arrived!