books44 Chapter 174 A Time of Crisis
Chapter 174 A Time of Crisis
"We are both demon beasts, why do you help humans kill me?"
Within the thunder array, the Thousand Wind Flowing Cloud Horse stared intently at Tao Tao and let out a furious roar. As a demon beast, Tao Tao naturally understood what the Flowing Cloud Horse was saying.
"I didn't intend to kill you, I just want to borrow something from you." Lightning crackled around the Ice Lightning Sword in Tao Tao's hand, emitting a terrifying crackling sound.
The Flowing Cloud Horse sensed danger and dared not make any rash moves, asking in a low voice, "What is it?"
"Your inner core." Tao Tao didn't mince words and said it directly, which made Liu Yunma furious. What difference was there between this and killing it? The others only wanted to use it as a mount, at least to save its life.
With the bloodline suppression and Tao Tao using the Ice Thunder Sword to draw out lightning to form a magic array, the Flowing Cloud Horse had no way to escape. It had no choice but to lower its posture and plead, "Cultivation is not easy. I hope you will spare my life. Even if you subdue me, I will work hard without complaint."
Having multiple mounts seems like a good idea, but wouldn't that expose her strength? However, upon closer reflection, after this battle, it seems there's no difference whether she exposes herself or not.
Tao Tao said frankly, "But more than a mount, I need the inner core to heal my injuries."
Although the mount was excellent, she cared more about Bai Yan.
“My inner core cannot heal injuries, but it can help you find spiritual treasures of heaven and earth. There are countless things in this world that can help heal injuries, far more useful than my inner core. You may find it very useful to keep me.”
"If it's just treasure hunting, I can easily subdue the Leopard-Scaled Beast."
Tao Tao was completely unmoved by reason. She wasn't sure if the inner core of the Flowing Cloud Horse was really useful, but even if the inner core of a level six demon beast was useless, it could at least be exchanged for money, so there was still some benefit to it.
Now the Flowing Cloud Horse was anxious. It said urgently, "I once found a blessed land in the southwest. I sensed that it contained high-level magic treasures and spiritual herbs. In particular, I heard that there was a Rainbow Glaze Flower inside. It is said that this flower can nourish spiritual roots and can be used to heal injuries."
"Rainbow Glaze Flower?" Tao Tao had never heard of this before, but since Liu Yunma had said so, he probably wouldn't lie to her on purpose. If she could get this item, it might be able to restore Bai Yan.
Thinking of this, Tao Tao's big eyes filled with surprise, "Really? You're not lying to me, are you?"
"I'm already in your hands, how dare I deceive you? You can sign a soul contract with me and make me your spirit beast."
For Liuyunma, as long as it could live, it was willing to become the other party's spirit beast. Besides, it knew that Taotao was not weak, and following such a master would also allow it to improve its cultivation. It was better than cultivating alone and potentially encountering cultivators who coveted it at any time.
“Okay, it’s settled then.” Tao Tao smiled sweetly and swiftly arrived beside Liu Yunma with lightning on her feet. Looking at her gentle smiling face, Liu Yunma could hardly believe that this was the same cold-faced cultivator who had almost pierced it with a single sword strike.
"Chief, that Flowing Cloud Horse has probably already been tamed."
The three gray-robed elders returned to the ship, all of them severely injured and looking extremely disheveled. The attack from the Flowing Cloud Horse had almost broken their ribs, and their internal organs had been impacted. If they hadn't taken some pills to temporarily alleviate the damage, they probably wouldn't even be able to speak right now.
"The three of you attacked together, yet a little girl managed to take advantage of you?" Yun Canghai's tone was unfriendly. After speaking, he waved his sleeve and looked at Lu Bai beside him. Rather than blaming the three people, he was questioning Lu Bai, since Tao Tao was nominally Lu Bai's person.
Knowing that the lightning array was summoned by Tao Tao, Lu Bai was overjoyed and also gained confidence. He was not afraid of Yun Canghai's accusations at all, and instead sneered, "Is it an advantage or an inability to defeat them?"
"You! She's only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, do you think she can be a match for the three of us? It's just that she happens to be good at controlling lightning, which gave her an opportunity."
The gray-robed old man was furious. Of course, he would not admit that he had lost to a little girl. The main reason was that they had not even had a chance to fight, and he had no idea how strong she was.
"Really? Doesn't that just prove that her strength is superior to yours?"
"You coward, how dare you look down on me, Chief! This is a grudge between him and me. I hope you will not interfere." As soon as he finished speaking, the gray-robed old man drew his axe and slashed at Lu Bai with lightning speed. Lu Bai knew something was wrong and wanted to continue activating the protective barrier, but Yun Canghai struck him with a palm, hitting Lu Bai's left shoulder, causing Lu Bai to fly away and his magic weapon to fall to the ground.
Yun Canghai walked over with a cold smile and picked up the magic weapon. As he looked up, the other two had already summoned golden chains to bind Lu Bai's hands and feet, making him fall to the ground unable to move. At the same time, the gray-robed old man brought down an axe, chopping towards Lu Bai's head.
Just then, an external force slammed into the boat, causing it to rock violently. The old man in the gray robe's axe veered off course and struck the deck, carving a huge hole in it.
So suddenly, no one on the boat could stand up straight. Some fell to the ground, some crashed into the walls, and some even fell into the water, disappearing into the depths of the Yan River before they could even scream.
"It's a golden monster fish!" The gray-robed old man's face turned ashen. He didn't even bother to confront Lu Bai. He quickly went to the side of the boat and looked down. He couldn't see anything in the murky river water, only the waves constantly rolling. The boat they were on was also being slowly pulled into the whirlpool. It wouldn't be long before it was completely swallowed up.
"Chief, this place is not safe to stay any longer. Let's leave first."
As soon as the gray-robed elder finished speaking, Yun Canghai quickly mounted his flying artifact and flew towards his ship. The other two put away their chains and left with the gray-robed elder, leaving Lu Bai lying on the ground in pain.
"Young Master." Wang Zhao finally arrived, but helping Yun Canghai consolidate the formation had already consumed too much spiritual energy, making him unable to fight. He could only try to take Lu Bai away, but in doing so, they had to abandon the merchant ship, and naturally, the goods on it would also have to be abandoned.
Lu Bai said weakly, "They won't let us on the ship; we can only leave in a small boat."
Wang Zhao shook his head, "But our ship has already sunk into the whirlpool. We can't leave by small boat at all, and there's always the danger of being swept in."
Now they were truly in a dilemma. From the beginning, Yun Canghai clearly didn't care about their lives or deaths. Otherwise, why would he use their ship as the core of the formation to provide spiritual power, causing the ship to become immobile and forcing them to watch helplessly as it sank into the whirlpool?
"Am I really going to die here?" Lu Bai looked up at the sky unwillingly, revealing a bitter smile. He had been a merchant for many years, but this was the first time he had encountered such a life-or-death situation.
"So many, so many big golden fish!"
Those who survived on the boat saw golden fish heads emerging from the water around them, their blood-red mouths wide open, staring menacingly at them. Terrified, Ciwa'er screamed wildly. Wang Zhao helped Lu Bai up and looked over. Sure enough, their boat was surrounded by golden monster fish. Of course, the boats of Fanyun Village were not spared either.
The golden monster fish went berserk, relentlessly ramming against the ship. They were already incredibly strong, and their heads were covered with an extremely hard golden armor, making the ship seem utterly fragile to them.
Faced with the attack of the golden monster fish, Yun Canghai had no choice but to have everyone release their spiritual power to form a protective layer to shield the ship. However, this was not a long-term solution, as they had to find a way to drive away the golden monster fish, otherwise they would be unable to move an inch.
Lu Bai and his group were not so lucky. There were too few survivors on the ship, and their cultivation levels were too low, so they simply didn't have enough spiritual energy to consume.
The ship was being constantly struck and was already on the verge of collapse. Several times, Wang Zhao and Lu Bai managed to stand up only to fall to the ground again due to the turbulence.
"Young Master, I'm afraid we can't hold out for much longer..." Wang Zhao could only release his spiritual power to hold onto the sail tightly, preventing the two of them from being thrown off.
Lu Bai was well aware of this, but he had no other choice. Tao Tao was nowhere to be found, and perhaps at this critical juncture, no one would care about them.
As the golden monster fish continued to ram the ship, the hull was almost completely destroyed. Lu Bai had already resigned himself to death, and Wang Zhao also gave up resisting. Just as the ship was completely destroyed, a bolt of electricity struck. Wang Zhao and Lu Bai felt their bodies float, and in the blink of an eye, they passed through the protection on the Fanyun Village ship and landed on their ship.
"I helped you save those goods, how do you plan to thank me?"
A sweet female voice rang in Lu Bai's ears, making him feel as if he had been reborn. He turned around abruptly and was immediately attracted by Tao Tao's innocent and carefree smile. He froze on the spot, not knowing how to speak.