The [Moonlight Sword] that Saintess Bai Yao held in one hand wailed endlessly, as if it felt its purity had been defiled and was desperately crying out to its master for help.
“So it’s actually a half-step sentient divine weapon that has developed a faint will. But now that it’s fallen into my hands, it doesn’t seem too happy about it.”
After briefly examining the flawless blade, it was clear that Lü Tianzhi usually spent no small amount of effort maintaining this sword.
Feeling the trembling hum and Sword Intent rejection from the [Moonlight Sword] in her right hand, Saintess Bai Yao did not find it improper at all.
Instead, a slight curve appeared at the corner of her lips.
With something like this, its owner would normally use it with the utmost care, afraid that even one careless move might damage it.
But since Saintess Bai Yao had taken it, she naturally had to rough it up and toy with it in the crudest way possible.
“Submit, or become a pile of scrap right now.”
Saintess Bai Yao sneered and violently poured all her True Qi into the blade of the [Moonlight Sword], mixed with an extremely faint trace of Evil Force.
In the ignorant will of the [Moonlight Sword], it was a bright moon hanging in the eternal night.
However, a massive dark-blue kun fish suddenly appeared.
Its body occupied half the starry sky, looming like a wall of sighs, and it looked down at the sword without a trace of emotion, as if gazing at a mote of dust in the cosmos.
Submit, or be destroyed…
What a joke!
I, the [Moonlight Sword], am a fragment of the moon, the brightest jade disk in the endless night sky!
My origin is sacred and noble, and my loyalty to my master is pure and absolute.
How could I bow and submit to you, a mere piece of seafood!
The trembling hum and resistance of the [Moonlight Sword] quickly subsided.
Several faint moon-patterned glows gradually became gentle and calm.
In Saintess Bai Yao’s Heart Lake, a tiny shadow of the bright moon suddenly appeared and floated quietly.
It… acknowledged Saintess Bai Yao as its master.
Pfft…
Saintess Bai Yao burst out laughing and almost spat out another mouthful of blood foam.
“Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!”
Lü Tianzhi, whose arm had been severed and who was now lying on the ground, tightly bound by Saintess Bai Yao’s [Jade Spider Silk], shouted in disbelief.
Saintess Bai Yao glanced at Lü Tianzhi and kicked him right in the face.
“Why are you yelling so loud!”
“Bai Ling! Just what are you?”
Having suffered the humiliation of Saintess Bai Yao’s kick, Lü Tianzhi’s eyes were still filled with the disgrace of defeat.
He could not believe that one of the Lü family’s only three High-Grade Spiritual Weapons had been so easily refined and made to acknowledge a master in an instant.
“There is no such secret art in the Central Plains Demon Sect.”
“I have never heard of a Spirit Tool acknowledging a master just by having its aura suppressed, without even dripping blood!”
“How could the [Moonlight Sword] betray me so easily!”
“Lü Tianzhi, who told you that I am a Demonic Sect disciple from Zhong Tu Shen Zhou?”
Saintess Bai Yao suddenly asked.
These words stunned Lü Tianzhi on the spot.
This young woman named Bai Ling had the aura of a Mo Dao Xie Xiu, acted wildly and ruthlessly, and possessed such a temperament.
Wouldn’t it be normal for her to be a Demonic Sect disciple?
“Forget it. Who I am isn’t important.”
“But rest assured, Little King Ning will still follow your plan and ascend the throne of Xu Kingdom step by step.”
“It’s just that, in this matter, me taking a little extra benefit shouldn’t be too excessive, right?”
Saintess Bai Yao’s words, combined with the inhuman smile on her bloodstained lips, sent a chill down Lü Tianzhi’s spine.
Just what kind of monster had he… provoked?!
“You…!”
Lü Tianzhi still wanted to say something, but Saintess Bai Yao’s Sword Light had already flashed past, slicing off his head.
“As expected of a High-Grade Spiritual Weapon. It truly is unstoppable.”
“Since you wanted to kill me, don’t blame me for killing you.”
Saintess Bai Yao said this as she looked around.
“The [Jade Spider Silk] Gao Luan left behind has all been used up, but luring a late-stage Hundred Refinements Realm Grandmaster to his death wasn’t a loss.”
Thinking of this, Saintess Bai Yao’s thoughts stirred.
She used the [Moonlight Sword] to cut open the belt of Lü Tianzhi’s headless corpse, and a Storage Pouch embroidered with the Lü family’s gilded moon pattern fell out.
Saintess Bai Yao curiously opened the Storage Pouch and looked inside.
Her gaze was instantly drawn to a crescent-shaped small boat in the corner, emitting a pale silver light.
“Xiao Baiyao, good stuff!”
Skylark, who had been hiding in Saintess Bai Yao’s shadow and watching the entire battle, landed on her shoulder.
Its consciousness simultaneously probed into the Storage Pouch.
“What good thing is this?”
“It’s a flying artifact, and one that can be used for short-distance flight even at the Hundred Refinements Realm.”
Saintess Bai Yao suddenly understood.
No wonder Lü Tianzhi had colluded with the people of Jiejian Gate to massacre everyone on the ship and even dared to set it on fire.
So this was so that Lü Tianzhi could put on a grand performance of escaping alone with Little King Ning while accusing the Third Prince of ambushing and murdering his brother.
But since the stage had already been set, having a different actor perform the role wasn’t out of the question.
Thinking of this, Saintess Bai Yao happily accepted the Storage Pouch.
Then, through the deck skylight above the third-floor warehouse, she saw firelight faintly shining down.
“There’s still a bunch of trash up there waiting to be cleaned up, so I’ll just escape with Little King Ning first.”
“Unfortunately, my strength is still too weak in the end. I can’t protect those mortals…”
“Little girl, your cultivation of the heart is not bad.”
“You neither refused to save those mortals from the bottom of your heart, nor blindly tried to save them when saving yourself was difficult.”
“Maintain this sincere conscience.”
“Once your Hundred Refined Martial Form is complete, you should be able to use Righteous Qi without affecting the operation of the Hidden Sword Technique.”
Yunque Xinyin had initially worried that if Saintess Bai Yao allowed the people of Jiejian Gate to slaughter the mortals on the ship, it might affect the original heart of her Unity of Knowledge and Action.
But now it seemed that Saintess Bai Yao’s assessment of her own strength and her considerations for this battle had clearly been thorough.
This made him quite appreciative.
Saintess Bai Yao gave a slight nod of affirmation.
Then she took a fire starter from the Storage Pouch and threw it directly onto Lü Tianzhi’s corpse and head, mixed with the gunpowder from the armory.
A great fire surged up from the third level of the ship’s hold.
Saintess Bai Yao then leaped from the bottom level up to the deck of the Flying Airship.
On the deck, a few remaining Jiejian Gate disciples were still scattered about.
But before they could clearly see what was happening, Saintess Bai Yao’s Sword Qi sliced through their necks.
Looking up, the Flying Airship was already surrounded by fire on all sides.
Only the top floor of the central pavilion, relying on a precarious fireproof barrier, kept the entire airship running.
Saintess Bai Yao did not rush up to look for Little King Ning.
Instead, she first raised her sword and charged toward the small Flying Airship that had rammed and boarded them.
Fire burned, blood flowed, and not a single person from Jiejian Gate was left alive.
A moment later…
The barrier of the Flying Airship’s third-floor pavilion was already on its last breath.
The Zhou Family Flying Airship was about to crash at any moment.
“Damn it, why hasn’t Lord Lü returned for so long?”
“If we don’t leave now, we won’t be able to escape.”
“What should we do? Should we take Prince Ning and the Huntian Copper Dragon with us?”
“Wait… why is our Flying Airship burning too!”
The three Jiejian Gate Hundred Refinements Realm disciples guarding the third floor belatedly realized that their own Flying Airship had also been set alight.
For a moment, they lost their composure, not knowing what to do.
Only the young Prince Ning Ji Xian, seated upright on the central Pou Tuan, had his eyes closed as if indifferent to life and death.
His hands were clenched into fists, as if awaiting something.
And his expectation was soon answered.
The girl’s voice came from the raging fire.
It was as pleasant and melodious as a lark in an empty mountain, yet filled with cold, murderous intent.
“You few, there’s no need to run.”
“The only Sky Pirates still alive on this entire ship are you three.”
“Who goes there!”
The three of them all drew their weapons.
But before Saintess Bai Yao, who held the High-Grade Spiritual Weapon [Moonlight Sword], they were nothing but chickens and dogs marked for slaughter.
With just a few flashes of moonlit Sword Light, the three of them perished.
“Miss Bai! You… you killed Lü Tianzhi?!”
The young Prince Ning’s eyes widened with excitement.
His hands unclenched, and he immediately stood up from his seat.
“Yes, he was strong. Killing him took no small effort.”
Saintess Bai Yao smiled gently and put the [Moonlight Sword] back into the Storage Pouch.
It seemed Little King Ning understood very well that although she had killed Lü Tianzhi, she would never be his enemy.
“Miss Bai, what do we do now?”
Although the youth was gratified that Saintess Bai Yao could cut down Lü Tianzhi, the bone stuck in his throat, he also clearly understood the crisis of the Flying Airship about to crash.
From 1,000 zhang in the air, a mortal falling to the ground would surely die.
Saintess Bai Yao only looked into Little King Ning’s eyes with a strange gaze, as if appraising a treasure.
After quite a while, she finally asked a question.
“Your Highness, the road is still there, and the stage is still there.”
“Do you want to… reach the highest summit and see all the other mountains as small?”
Ever since that spark was ignited in his heart by Saintess Bai Yao, Little King Ning had known that this highest peak must be climbed by him personally.
And at the summit, there could be only him and no one else.
“I want to!”
Little King Ning answered without even thinking, blurting it out directly.
“Good!”
Saintess Bai Yao patted the Storage Pouch and released the crescent flying boat.
She casually stored the Huntian Copper Dragon behind Little King Ning into the Storage Pouch.
Then she used [Sky Devourer] to suppress it and prevent its aura from leaking.
Then, she actually grabbed the youth’s arm and threw him directly onto the boat.
The youth landed flat on his back, but his eyes were overflowing with brilliance and vigor!
The crescent tore through the air and shot straight into the sky.
Just like that, the two rode the crescent flying boat and disappeared into the endless curtain of night.