The Imperial Guardian seemed to sense Ye Ju's anger, its golden light flashing intensely, transforming into a ten-meter-long weapon.
Ye Ju charged towards the sky, raising the long staff and bringing it down with a fierce chop. The black-clothed man, who had been wielding a long whip and was excitedly watching the trembling蛟龙 (Jiao Long) after hitting Xiao Mo, was caught off guard and smashed into the sea by Ye Ju’s staff. No one noticed Ye Ju’s arrival. By the time they heard the commotion, they saw their elder being violently thrown into the sea.
The black-clothed man, worthy of being a Nascent Soul cultivator, quickly emerged from the sea. However, Ye Ju gave him no chance. She was faster! A sweep of her staff sent him flying again. Before he could fall, she instantly appeared behind him and, with a backhand strike, sent him flying once more. After enduring two blows, the black-clothed man spat out a mouthful of black blood, his heart filled with shock. Who was this person with such divine strength? Cultivators who practiced body refinement feared those who relied on techniques, for their reinforced bones and flesh, and their unparalleled might were formidable. Ten defeats by one force; how could the fragile bodies of technique cultivators withstand such power? And the black-clothed man had encountered Ye Ju.
As the black-clothed man was about to fall into the sea, Ye Ju’s words became law:
"Freeze!" In an instant, the sea surface centered on Ye Ju was frozen.
The black-clothed man sensed extreme danger and used his life-bound magical artifact to escape being frozen. However, his life-bound artifact, the Soul Capturing Bell, was instantly covered in frost.
Ye Ju inwardly regretted it, having wanted to play a game of breaking ice sculptures with her staff. Fine, let him live a little longer! He was quite resilient. Ye Ju took this opportunity to secretly send a message to Xiao Hei, asking it to find Xiao Bai.
The people on the ship watched the frozen sea surface in the distance and then the frost on the ship’s hull, all trembling in fear. Gods! Where did this malevolent being come from? Their elder was already terrifying enough!
The black-clothed man also knew he had to seize the initiative, channeling his spiritual power and swinging the Soul Striking Whip directly at Ye Ju's vital points…
When the black-clothed man was whipping Xiao Mo, Ye Ju had seen that the attack was aimed at the soul. Otherwise, with Xiao Mo's sturdy body, no one could have harmed it. Reinforced bones and flesh made physical damage useless.
That Soul Striking Whip was a sinister artifact forged from absorbing the souls of countless demonic beasts and cultivators. It was supremely yin and supremely evil. The number of souls lost to the black-clothed man was immeasurable…
Ye Ju channeled her fire spiritual power into her palm. Seeing the whip being flung towards her, she grabbed it and swung it back, sending the black-clothed man flying.
The black-clothed man's heart was filled with great fear. Who was this person whose fire could counter his whip? His spiritual power was severely depleted; the Soul Striking Whip required immense spiritual power to support it. He consumed a Replenishing Yuan Pill to restore his spiritual power…
The moment Ye Ju grabbed the whip, she instantly felt a tug on her soul. If not for the continuous flow of fire spiritual power in her dantian, this whip would have been truly troublesome!
Ye Ju did not give the black-clothed man another chance to retaliate, directly launching two ice and fire orbs at him. The violent explosion created a large pit in the ice surface.
Although the black-clothed man narrowly dodged at the last critical moment, he was still injured by the residual blast, leaving him battered and bruised.
Despite being caught off guard by Ye Ju's sudden attack, the black-clothed man was a perfected Nascent Soul cultivator. He was only injured, not critically. Yet, he had been driven to such a pathetic state by this Golden Core realm woman. He was especially enraged.
"You dare injure me like this! I will have you die, your soul extracted to be nourishment for my Soul Striking Whip!" the black-clothed man roared ferociously. He hadn't suffered such a severe injury in centuries!
Ye Ju knew the saying that villains die from talking too much. This was a life-or-death struggle. Without further ado, she swept her staff forward again, employing thrusts, chops, and slams, her staff movements creating an impenetrable flurry of motion.
The black-clothed man's whip techniques were also formidable. He no longer dared to underestimate this woman, and his whip strikes made the air crackle!
This was the first formidable opponent Ye Ju had encountered, one that was as resilient as a cockroach. Indeed, a difference in realms was not to be trifled with. If not for her unique cultivation, having formed three Golden Cores, she would have likely been killed by him by now. It was no wonder Xiao Bai had fallen into a trap.
In the distance, one black and one blue figure battled fiercely. Xiao Mo, with a sweep of its tail, knocked out everyone on the entire ship. Fortunately, the remaining crew members on the ship were of weak cultivation, early Golden Core, and were no match for Xiao Mo. Using its divine sense, it finally located Xiao Bai in a room, unconscious. A severely injured A You was also nearby.
Upon finding them, Xiao Mo immediately transmitted a message to its master. Seizing the opportunity, Ye Ju awakened Xiao Zi and instructed them to board the ship and sail west. Xiao Zi’s ship soul was too weak; it had not dared to reveal itself when encountering the black-clothed man, disguising itself as an ordinary ship. It was very wary of the black-clothed man's Soul Striking Whip and Soul Capturing Bell.
The black-clothed man had captured A You and severely injured him. Xiao Bai had no choice but to ingest a stupefying drug to save A You, which was why Ye Ju had not sensed anything. The Purple Bamboo Boat activated its formations.
Seeing his prey about to escape, the black-clothed man became even more frenzied. He activated the Soul Capturing Bell. The bell made no sound, yet a silent wave of energy spread out, directly assaulting their ears, causing everyone intense headaches and a feeling of their souls being pulled.
Before the Purple Bamboo Boat could sail far, Xiao Mo on the ship roared upon hearing the bell, a mournful sound. Its eyes turned red, and it was on the verge of losing control.
Ye Ju bit her tongue, maintaining her clarity. She activated the Purple Bamboo Boat's highest defense within her sea of consciousness, a protective shield capable of isolating divine sense. Simultaneously, she channeled spiritual power from her dantian to Xiao Zi. Xiao Zi let out a satisfied belch and then sped away at an incredible pace.
Ye Ju, at the center of the Soul Capturing Bell's attack, was experiencing splitting headaches. She painstakingly took out spiritual spring water and drank it. There was no need to guard against thieves forever; although she could escape now, if she didn't resolve this person, her journey would likely be unsettled. If he were to pursue her to the island, it would be even more dangerous.
"Sword, come!" Ye Ju channeled spiritual power into the Divine Wood Imperial Guardian. The Imperial Guardian slowly transformed into a giant sword. Whenever Ye Ju faced danger, she could always unleash that most formidable sword strike, but now she felt she was struggling immensely.
Her soul was resisting the tug of the Soul Capturing Bell, and her entire body ached so much that blood seeped from the corners of her mouth. She poured all her spiritual power into this sword.
In a daze, she seemed to see another woman identical to her standing between heaven and earth. The woman, ethereal and peerlessly beautiful, faced tens of thousands of monsters with an expressionless face and swung her hand. Ye Ju felt her own form overlap with that of the woman across time and space, and followed with a swing:
"Heavenly Pillar Slash!"
A sword energy, seemingly capable of destroying the heavens and earth, flashed past. The black-clothed man felt a beam of light rushing towards him, and then he was spinning and falling. He saw his other half still standing and discovered with horror that he had been split in two…
The Soul Capturing Bell tinkled as it fell to the ground, emitting a clear ringing sound.
A small, human-like figure of the black-clothed man flew out of the corpse. Ye Ju froze for a moment, then reacted, launching an ice blade at it. It turned out that cultivating the Nascent Soul really meant training a miniature version.
"Ah—" the little figure cried out in a scream as it was struck. Its soul scattered, turning to ashes…
Ye Ju suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, her strength failing her. Her vision blurred, and she knelt on the ice. If not for the sword supporting her, she felt it would be more comfortable to lie flat on the ground…
"Fellow Daoist Ye, what's wrong?" a white figure flew rapidly on a sword from a distance, his voice filled with urgency.
Hearing the familiar voice, Ye Ju looked up at the approaching figure. What a handsome young man, his robes flowing, his appearance noble and refined, so handsome! Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.