Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit
chapter-126

As Ai Botao finished his sentence, a loud shout was heard, "North Ocean cultivators, today is the day you die!"

On the south side of the island, an upside-down bowl rose from the empty sea. Then, 50 Ocean Overturning Gang cultivators suddenly appeared inside the bowl.

As it rose from underwater, it gradually shrunk to the size of an ordinary bowl, and then flew to the hands of a short cultivator clad in red robes. Clearly, this bowl-shaped mystic instrument was a powerful concealment item.

This short cultivator was the one who had shouted before.

When the leader of the Xuan Ling cultivators saw the appearance of the red-robed cultivator, his pupils shrank and he said, "Furious Sea Red Robe, the Furious Sea Division Hall Master? How did you know about our plan?"

The red-robed cultivator laughed. "As expected of North Ocean’s number one sect, you’re well-informed. You’ve followed us several times and spied on our whereabouts, but did you think I didn’t know about it? I was purposefully ignoring you to lure you into the trap."

The Xuan Ling leader was shocked and angry. The situation was clear as day now: they were caught in Ocean Overturning Gang's trap and they could only fight to their deaths.

As they talked, the Ocean Overturning Gang reinforcements rushed out and surrounded the North Ocean cultivators, attacking them with the previous group of Ocean Overturning Gang cultivators from the inside and out.

The North Ocean cultivators were in disarray, and the already disorganized group scattered and fled in all directions.

However, the sea pirates, who had previously been under siege, took the initiative to attack and tangle with the escaping cultivators. They were well-coordinated with the reinforcements and launched a counterattack.

In a short time, the North Ocean cultivators that had the upper hand moments ago, were killed and wounded. Their group had started with more than 80 cultivators, and already a third had fallen.

This sudden reversal not only caught the North Ocean cultivators off guard, but also Ai Botao and the others in theGreen Veil, causing them to look at each other in disbelief.

They were glad that they hadn't taken the lead, otherwise their group of 40 would’ve suffered heavy casualties once caught inside Ocean Overturning Gang's ambush.

But what should they do next?

Ai Botao pondered for a moment and had an idea. "We still have to do something. Although our plan was disrupted by the North Ocean cultivators’ sudden appearance, their addition has admittedly placed us in a more advantageous position. Besides, as North Ocean cultivators, it would be morally unjustifiable to stand by and do nothing."

The crowd nodded their heads and approved of Ai Botao's view.

Ai Botao was proud to see their agreement and he continued, "Then let’s try our best to approach the battlefield. When I give the signal, we will withdraw Green Veil, and then rush out together to take the Ocean Overturning Gang by surprise."

The seven Late Blood Condensation cultivators slowly moved Green Veil towards the battlefield. As they watched both unsuspecting parties in heated battle, they were excited and put up their own mystic instruments.

From his interspatial ring, Lu Ping also took out the Yan Ling Swords that he hadn't used in a long time.

First of all, in the midst of such a chaotic battle, he who wasn’t familiar with the other cultivators wouldn’t be able to cooperate well with them.

Secondly, he wanted to hold back his prowess. There were more than 20 Late Blood Condensation cultivators on the field. Unleashing his full abilities would catch the attention of the Late Blood Condensation cultivators, which was an unfavorable outcome. The experience of being chased by Late Blood Condensation cultivators was still fresh in Lu Ping's mind.

With Ai Botao’s war cry, the Green Veil surrounding the group suddenly withdrew. Immediately, more than 40 cultivators in the Mid and Late Blood Condensation Realm rushed towards the Ocean Overturning Gang from the side.

Not only did the North Ocean cultivators not expect this, but even the sea pirates were unprepared. More than 40 cultivators rushed into the battlefield in one direction, killing more than a dozen sea pirates at once.

Ai Botao was afraid of causing a misunderstanding with the North Ocean cultivators, so he hurriedly shouted, "North Ocean, the Xi Ling Island Ai Clan’s cultivators are here! Xuan Ling Sect friends! Do not panic, we will work together to deal with the Ocean Overturning Gang!"

When Ai Botao and the cultivators suddenly appeared on the battlefield, Xuan Ling Sect and the North Ocean cultivators quickly realized that they shared the same goal, but they couldn’t care less about that anymore now.

The reinforcements from the Ai Clan cultivators undoubtedly gave the besieged North Ocean cultivators a chance to turn their defeat into victory.

The Xuan Ling leader hurriedly shouted back, "So you’re from Xi Ling Island! Thank you for your aid!"

As the leaders from both sides acknowledged their identities, a tacit agreement to cooperate had been formed.

Lu Ping followed the crowd and used the Yan Ling Swords to cut down a Fifth Layer Blood Condensation cultivator rom the Ocean Overturning Gang.

The sea pirate was attacking a North Ocean cultivator and didn’t panic from this sudden attack. Instead, he quickly stomped his foot on the ground, and many thorny vines stretched out and interlocked in front of him, forming a wall of vines.

At the same time, a mid-grade mystic instrument soft whip appeared in his hand. With a crack of his whip, a strong gale was launched towards Lu Ping's face.

Lu Ping was impressed by the cultivator's swift response. The cultivator responded calmly to his ambush, so he was obviously a battle-hardened veteran cultivator who had faced death.

However, the cultivator made a mistake this time by underestimating Lu Ping. Even with Lu Ping’s intervention in the fight, he still didn’t give up on attacking the North Ocean cultivator.

This was because after entering the North Ocean, he had rarely lost a match against North Ocean cultivators of the same rank. Moreover, he could even fight two of them at the same time.

In his opinion, his normal means of dealing with such cultivators was enough to temporarily hold Lu Ping back.

As long as he killed the first North Ocean cultivator, he could kill the one who ambushed him with a flip of the hand.

Just as the sea pirate was trying to show off his extraordinary skills, the loud clash of weapons rang out. He immediately felt something blocking his Flowing Gold Whip, its hidden energy negated by another wave of powerful arcane energy.

The sea pirate exclaimed in disbelief, and then he heard a hacking noise. The wall of vines in front of him was slashed apart by Lu Ping's second Yan Ling Sword.

But it was too late to recall his other mystic instrument from attacking the other North Ocean cultivator. Lu Ping’s first Yan Ling Sword that parried the whip had already broken through the cultivator's protective spell and pierced through his heartspace.

At this moment, the battlefield had plunged into chaos again because of the sudden intervention from Ai Botao and the cultivators he led.

After killing the Ocean Overturning Gang cultivator, Lu Ping reached out and took his interspatial pouch.

Meanwhile, the death of this cultivator had caught the attention of his comrades.

Moreover, Lu Ping's intervention didn’t save the North Ocean cultivator from before. In the midst of a terrifying scream, the North Ocean cultivator was killed by another sea pirate, who then turned his mystic instrument towards Lu Ping.

This was a Sixth Layer Blood Condensation cultivator, and it was obvious that he’d added Lu Ping, the one who’d slayed his partner, on his kill list.

Lu Ping sensed the powerful arcane energy in the incoming mystic instrument and quickly cast the Yan Ling Swords to fight it off. A loud clash sounded in his ears and his swords were sent flying away, and he momentarily lost control of them.

Lu Ping was shocked to realize that his foe's cultivation was much more profound than ordinary Sixth Layer Blood Condensation cultivators. The mystic instrument he was using was also a high-grade flying sword.

But Lu Ping didn’t know that at this time, the Ocean Overturning Gang cultivator was even more astonished. He didn't expect to only temporarily knock back his opponent's mystic instrument, despite having a higher cultivation level and using a high-grade mystic instrument.

In his view, he could have easily injured his opponent with this blow, or at least shattered his dual swords mystic instrument.

With a surge of his arcane energy, Lu Ping hastily recalled his swords to try and regain control, but the opponent's second strike had already arrived.

The sea pirate slashed his flying sword twelve times in quick succession. Twelve sword blossoms, like flowers blooming in the wind, flew towards Lu Ping's body.

He had clearly mastered the state of force!

Lu Ping quickly performed the [Stormy Waves Crashing Shore Sword Art] in defense. Waves of water rolled like a collapsing flood and swallowed up the twelve sword blossoms.

At that moment, strands of seaweed several feet long suddenly stretched out from the sea behind Lu Ping to wrap around his body.

"Water and wood elements, both weapon and spells?"

Lu Ping laughed coldly, stretching out his hand and grabbing the air. A giant wave rose up from the sea surface and morphed into a big transparent hand. The water hand gripped the seaweed and tore it to pieces.

It was the [Water Manipulation Art] of the [North Ocean Twelve Ultimates]!

The sea pirate’s face changed—he knew that he’d met a formidable opponent. He swiftly sprinkled nine seeds on the ground around him.

Lu Ping divine sense probed out and knew that they were a whole set of mystic instruments, each seed was equivalent to a low-grade mystic instrument.

Each of the nine seeds sprouted around the cultivator, instantly growing into a verdant green vine that coiled around each other. The vines formed a defensive net that protected the cultivator tightly.

Lu Ping observed the seeds with his divine sense and felt amazed. These nine low-grade mystic instruments, once knotted together to form a vine net, were actually of the same quality as a high-grade mystic instrument.

With the protection of the vine net, the Ocean Overturning Gang cultivator had no worries for his defense anymore. He cast his high-grade flying sword and attacked Lu Ping wildly. Each of his attacks would create a sword blossom filled with his arcane energy and sword Qi. These sword blossoms surrounded Lu Ping, trapping him in the center.

Lu Ping didn't expect to meet such a tough opponent so soon, and he was close to using his Soaring Wing Swords.

However, looking at the chaotic battlefield where Late Blood Condensation cultivators would pass by from time to time, Lu Ping's high-grade Soaring Wing Swords would definitely attract attention and make him a target.

As such, Lu Ping decided to compete with him in a sword fight. He used the Yan Ling Swords and cast the [Stormy Waves Crashing Shore Sword Art] and the [Disarrayed Rocks Puncturing Sword Art] in turn.

Although Lu Ping’s swords were slightly inferior, his profound arcane energy wouldn’t lose out in the fight against the other.

At this point, the Ocean Overturning Gang's encirclement finally broke apart under the onslaught of Ai Botao and the others, and the two sides became entangled in the battlefield. There were enemies in every direction.

It was also at this time, a loud explosion could be heard and the whole north island quaked along with giant ripples of sea waves. Just when the cultivators were puzzled by the situation, they witnessed the last array formation guarding the central island being broken.

Lu Ping couldn’t help cursing in his heart. In such a life-and-death moment, the North Ocean cultivators still couldn’t put aside the hidden treasure. As soon as reinforcements arrived and helped them out of their predicaments, some of them turned back to attack the Four Prison Array.

At this moment, Lu Ping regretted saving these people.