In the next instant, the lake began to churn as if they were in a stormy ocean. Gasps of surprise could be heard from the cruise ships in the distance.
From where Tian Qinfeng and the others were standing at the edge of their small vessel, it now resembled nothing more than a lonely raft that was in danger of capsizing at any moment from the force of the mighty waves. Everyone joined hands and tried to use their transcendence energy to stabilize the boat, but to no avail. They didn’t dare jump onto the large ship Miao Yi was on either. They already saw an example of what would happen—with the last two victims being sent to their deaths by the white curtains of the ship. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, their expressions drastically changed.
Looking around, Miao Yi realized that the ship he was on remained untouched and was unnaturally steady despite being in the midst of such turbulent waters and mighty waves.
The two red streaks of light hurtled through the sky towards the ship.
However, before they could reach the ship—‘WHOOSH!’—two ma.s.sive torrents of water in the form of dragons abruptly burst out from the mighty waves surrounding the ship. The crystal clear bodies of the twin water dragons rapidly swept out and hurdled up into the sky, charging straight towards the two men above the ship and aiming to knock them down.
The power with which the water dragons’ was climbing made the two in the air come to a hasty stop. They both swept their arms out and pointed downwards. The halo surrounding them quickly coalesced into two bright-red transcendent artifacts; these swiftly left their grasp and flew straight towards the heads of the two rising dragons.
‘BANG! BANG!’
Both water dragons opened their maws and each swallowed one of the two transcendent artifacts into their bellies. They imprisoned the two third grade transcendent artifacts there and stopped their movements, before charging straight at the two a.s.sailants.
The two men were completely taken by surprise. Quickly dodging, they narrowly escaped the a.s.sault from the dragon heads. However, the tails of the dragons caught them by surprise with a vicious lash.
From their mouths, blood spurted out into the sky. They were thrown over a hundred meters away before coming to a stop mid-flight.
Floating in mid-air, the two had their hands over their chest as their foreheads shone with the Red Lotus Fifth Grade mark. Without even catching a glimpse of the person attacking them from the ship, they already suffered such severe injuries.
Discovering that there was such a large disparity in strength between both parties, they realized that they were no match for the other party and together said, "Let’s withdraw!"
Then, they quickly turned around and flew off.
The two water dragons hovering above the cruise boat abruptly burst into a shower of rain before falling onto the lake. Having already stuck his head out to take a look, Miao Yi was startled by this and quickly drew his head back.
The two transcendent artifacts that were gobbled down flew onto the deck of the ship. All this while, Xiao Xiao had been lazily lying on Luo Shuangfei’s lap, pretending to be asleep. She swept her sleeve out, and casually stowed the two third grade transcendent artifacts into them in an instant.
The turbulent turquoise waters around them slowly stilled once more. Miao Yi took a deep breath and turned around, staring at the woman on Luo Shuangfei’s lap in disbelief. ‘Is this still the same woman who was singing and dancing just a moment ago?’
He knew this lady was strong, but he never imagined she was this powerful. She barely moved at all. With a sweep of her hand, she crushed two Red Lotus experts and stole their third grade transcendent artifacts. Despite how terrifying her cultivation must be, he could not see any indication of how strong she was from her forehead.
Staring down at the pretty face on his lap having a peaceful slumber, Luo Shuangfei suddenly felt like he was embracing a beautiful gorgon. Feeling fearful, he gently withdrew the hand resting on the other person’s lily-white bosom. He didn’t dare to casually grope around any longer. He lifted his face to look at Miao Yi and quietly stuck his tongue out. He seemed to have also realized that he was playing with forces that were far beyond his capabilities.
However, he didn’t dare to push the other person away. Thus, all he could do was sit quietly and be her lap pillow.
After Tian Qingfeng and the others managed to stabilize the small boat and keep it from lurching with their transcendence energy, they stayed on the edge of the boat and stood there gawking at the other party in astonishment.
Meanwhile, Huo Lingxiao wore and indifferent expression and stood like a statue with his arms in his sleeves, as though he knew that would be the outcome from the very beginning…
Jade Capital Peak — At a manor located just one cla.s.s below the mountain peak, a purple streak of light flashed through the large gate. A man abruptly appeared at the top of the steps leading to the entrance.
A purple-gold crown rested on his hair. He wore a large purple robe embroidered with gold motifs, these were held together at the waist by a jade belt. His face was neatly chiseled and completely flawless, with sharp eyebrows resting atop dark, confident eyes; a sharp and straight nose; and lips that were bright red. His gaze was now cold and stern, yet he exuded a bold and imposing aura. From birth, his features were handsome and his countenance, extraordinary.
Inscribed on the name plaque above his head were three large and powerful characters— (都督府)‘Governor"s Office’!
Judging from the look on his face, it seemed he was alarmed by the commotion from the battle outside.
Two silhouettes shot out from the sky and descended onto the ground uneasily. They quickly approached him and cupped theirs fists. "Governor. It is a strong opponent. Even with both of us joining hands, we were injured by the other person and had our transcendent artifacts stolen away in a single confrontation."
This man was the Head of the Governor’s Office under the Fifth Earthly Branch—Lan Hou.
Standing atop the steps, Lan Hou questioned, "Who is the other person?"
"Your subordinates regretfully inform that we failed to even catch a glimpse of what the other party looked like," said the two, cupping their fists in embarra.s.sment.
‘SUA!’ By the time the two raised their heads, any trace of Governor Lan before them was long gone.
From his seat on the long couch of the cruise ship, Luo Shuangfei suddenly jerked his head as the hem of a gown faintly flashed by his eyes, giving his face a light flick that was neither painful nor irritable. Only then did he realize that the beauty lying on his lap had vanished without a trace.
Looking back up, he saw Xiao Xiao already standing several meters away, walking out of the ship’s pavilion with her bare feet. The hems of her light-yellow gown that used to trail along the ground, were now fluttering behind her—revealing a pair of flawless and curvy, yet slender legs in all their splendor. Even the base of her thighs were visible. She pulled the fluttering skirt along as she slowly strode forward. It was a sight that would send any man into a primal frenzy.
Her lush, black hair danced about behind her as her large sleeves beat against the wind. Her figure seemed distant and aloof, as though she were about to fly off into the sky.
It looked like she had simply taken a gentle step out with her bare feet. In reality, she moved several meters in a single step, as though the ground shrank beneath her feet. Her figure gave off such grace and allure, that it compelled one to wallow in it. Even Miao Yi could feel his heart racing when he looked at her. His gaze followed after that seductive figure without blinking.
Seeing Miao Yi’s reaction, Luo Shuangfei rolled his eyes and stood up. Then, walked over to him.
Yet where would he have the time to be concerned about Luo Shuangfei. Before Miao Yi could realize, the tear-stained flute was once more in Xiao Xiao’s grasp. Bringing it to her lips, she took a few steps forward, the ground seemed to shrink for her once more, before she finally came to a halt at the bow of the ship.
"Wuwuwu…. wuwu…."
The haunting melody of a flute arose as the aloof Xiao Xiao closed her eyes where she stood; her dark eyebrows like distant peaks, as her flawless fingers flitted over the flute—no words could describe the beauty of this sight. It was enough to move the hearts of both men and women alike.
The surrounding lake rippled once more as raging waves quickly churned out, even stronger than before. Many horrified screams and exclamations of shock could be heard from afar, as it seemed like every single vessel on the Jade Lake would soon capsize.
A purple streak of light flew in from the horizon. The Govenor Lan Hou descended from the sky and hovered high in the air, wearing a purple-gold crown on his head, garbed with his purple robe and its gold motifs. The silhouette of a Purple Lotus Fifth Grade cultivation shone on his forehead as he pressed down with his palm.
Instantly, the rumbling waves of the Jade Lake calmed down, suppressed with a single palm strike by Lan Hou and thus saving countless mortal lives on the Jade Lake. Otherwise, the nightly festival this year would have become a night of mourning.
Hovering in mid-air, Lan Hou rapidly swept a cold glance down below. When he saw the lady playing the flute on the bow of the ship, he frowned deeply.
She still had her eyes shut, but the tone of her flute suddenly changed. Instantly, the surrounding temperature dropped to freezing temperatures. Everyone shivered from the cold as a chilly fog enveloped the still surface of the lake.
‘SWOOSH!’ Suddenly, the silence on the lake was broken as innumerable icicles shot out from the water. Like a gale-force hurricane, they quickly shot up in a tall cloud towards Lan Hou.
Hovering in the sky in an overbearing manner, Lan Hou swept his sleeves across, rolling out waves of powerful transcendence energy. The countless icicles abruptly burst into mist as they shot towards him, and he collected all that moisture beneath his feet.
He swept his sleeves out again as though commanding all the mist and moisture, then stepped onto the condensed cloud. Pointing downwards, he quickly descended onto the cruise ship atop the cloud of mist.
On the still lake, the cruise ship immediately made creaking noises as though it was being torn apart, and sinking under a terrifyingly large weight. Even the multi-colored lanterns hanging on the side were instantly put out.
Miao Yi and the others on the ship were completely caught by surprise. Fortunately, with another shift in the melody of the flute, the multi-colored lanterns on the sides instantly flared up once more. The creaking sounds vanished as well, and the ship floated back up from almost being sunk beneath the lake.
A strange wind continuously surged over the ship’s deck, whipping the white curtains into a frenzy as though the entire ship were about to take flight.
Realizing it was a battle between two mighty experts, the people onboard didn’t dare make any thoughtless moves. They didn’t even try to leave this treacherous place.
Huo Lingxiao turned to look at Miao Yi and was lost for words. ‘It seems like ever since I b.u.mped into this fellow, I’ve experienced nothing but bad luck. She actually caused such a huge commotion for his sake.’
Just then, all they knew was that the ship was sudden rising and dipping.
"ENnn…!?"
Suddenly, a questioning murmur erupted from the very tip of Jade Capital Peak like a thunderclap. It was filled with an overbearing authority, forcing all who heard it to quake in fear.
From where he stood atop the high cloud in the sky, Lan Hou withdrew his hand with a wave of his sleeves and turned to look. Then, he quickly snapped his body around and flew off. The condensed cloud immediately dispersing after.
The flute"s melody coming from the bow of the ship also came to a sudden stop. From where she stood, Xiao Xiao opened her eyes and gazed at the sky above. With a wave of her large sleeves, turquoise waves came rushing over from all sides. Instantly enveloping the entire cruise boat in a bubble and quickly sinking it to the depths of the lake.
Onboard their vessels near and far, those witness to the entire commotion immediately noticed that the cruise ship causing everything had abruptly disappeared without a trace.
Meanwhile, Miao Yi and the rest onboard the ship realized that it was swiftly moving through the depths of the lake, with the view at the bottom of the lake quickly pa.s.sing them by. Standing at the bow of the ship, Xiao Xiao still appeared distant and aloof.
In moments, the cruise boat travelled well over a thousand meters underwater, escaping from right under the noses of the mortals. At the bow of the ship, Xiao Xiao flicked her sleeves then shot into the sky, the hems of her gown trailing behind her like dancing waves. She appeared sinister, yet beautiful as she instantly broke past the bubble protecting the ship and flew away.
The water pressure suddenly crashed into them from all sides, immediately tearing the cruise ship apart underwater. By the time those onboard the ship breached the surface and looked about after stepping onto the waves, they already lost sight of where Xiao Xiao had flown off to.
Miao Yi turned to Huo Lingxiao and asked, "Big Brother. Who exactly is Xiao Xiao?"
Huo Lingxiao cast his gaze at Jade Capital Peak as if deep in thought, and dismissed him with a casual reply, "Knowing too much will do you no good."
Miao Yi continued asking, "So what should we do now? How do we get away now that we’ve offended men from the Governor"s Office?"
"Everything is fine now. You could say that your luck is good. Someone has already solved your problem for you. I still have matters to attend to, so I’ll be making my move now." Huo Lingxiao turned and leapt across the waves as he left. It seemed as though his cultivation wasn’t high, but in truth, he just didn’t want to reveal his ident.i.ty in front of Miao Yi.
"Everything is fine? It’s solved?" Miao Yi was confused, but soon came to a realization. ‘It’s probably because Miss Xiao Xiao decided to lend a hand.’
Under the radiant moon atop Jade Capital Peak, and just outside the Governor"s Office at the edge of the mountain, Lan Hou stood with his hands behind him as he gazed at the Jade Lake in the distance.
A purple streak of light approached as Xiao Xiao descended from the sky and landed next to him. The two stood beside each other, but one was facing forward, while the other faced back. Neither even glanced at the other.