Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit
chapter-53

Lu Ping was still wondering whether the newcomer was an ally or foe, just as the sword light sliced through the winds and closed in on his back.

A whistling noise pierced the air as the sword light launched a sneak attack. The attack was ruthless and filled with killing intent; its target was not just the sea snake monster, but also Lu Ping.

Lu Ping exclaimed in shock as the stone pagoda’s protective light barrier was shattered by the sword attack. The Flying Swallow Sword returned to his side, but it also couldn’t parry the incoming sword attack. It clashed with the sword light and flew backward.

Lu Ping could only cast out two top-grade blood charms to defend himself before the sword light slashed his body, launching him into the sky and into the sea. His blood splattered in the air and rained on the surface of the water.

The sea snake monster looked at the incoming sword light and gave a long hiss of resentment, as if it recognized the sword and hated its owner.

The sea snake monster opened its mouth, its forked tongue morphing into a short sword. The snake-tongue sword shot out, leaving a trail of blue light as it clashed with the incoming white sword light.

A loud burst of noise could be heard as their attacks clashed, creating giant waves several yards tall that washed over the surroundings.

As the waves subsided, only the angry roar of the sea snake monster could be heard. The sea snake monster was rolling its body rampantly, stirring up tumultuous currents that rippled over the water surface.

A wound several-inch deep was carved into its lethal spot. Although the sword light didn’t take its life, the bleeding wound still left the sea snake monster in a terrible state.

At the same time, several old wounds on the sea snake’s body also cracked open. These were injuries that had yet to recover from its last battle with Xuan Ling Sect’s Qiao Clan members.

However, its eyes were frigidly cold as it stared ahead with intense killing intent. Facing the sea snake was a man of slender stature. He had led a team of humans to ambush the sea snake, almost succeeding in killing it. But it managed to escape with severe wounds after killing one human and severely injuring another one. However, the man never stopped chasing after it.

When it finally shook off the man’s pursuit, it cast a secret technique that allowed it to trace its partner’s breath, which led it to the nameless island. The sea snake had then discovered where its partner had been killed.

For the next three days, the sea snake monster hid nearby the nameless island, hoping that the murderer who killed its partner would show up.

Not long after Lu Ping arrived, the nearby sea snake monster immediately cast a secret technique and confirmed that Lu Ping was the murderer it was waiting for. Hence, the raging sea snake monster attacked Lu Ping with everything it had.

However, it never expected a mere Blood Refining Realm human cultivator to be so difficult to deal with, and could actually withstand its attacks. Although the sea snake monster was severely wounded, it still wasn’t weak enough that a mere Blood Refining Realm cultivator could take it on.

Yet, this human did!

Not only that, the Blood Condensation Realm human that severely wounded it had caught up and managed to land a sneak attack.

The newly arrived young cultivator stood in midair. It was none other than the eldest young master of the Qiao Clan, Qiao Xipeng. He was also elder brother to Senior Martial Brother Qiao, who was killed on the nameless island.

Qiao Xipeng and his brother had a close relationship. After learning that his brother was killed by the sea snake monster, he took two of his bodyguards and left the clan to avenge his brother’s death.

Sure enough, when he arrived at the sea areas close to Zhen Ling Sect, he came across this sea snake monster that was looking for its partner. Not knowing the truth, he naturally mistook this sea snake monster as the murderer of his brother. Hence, his subsequent attack.

However, who would expect this monster to be an Emerald Sea Spirit Snake? Such spirit snakes were of high nobility among the monster race and were stronger than ordinary monsters.

After an intense battle, one of his two bodyguards was killed and the other one severely injured. Fortunately, he managed to severely injure the spirit snake and chase after its tail.

In fact, at the very moment he laid his eyes on the spirit snake, Qiao Xipeng’s heart was already filled with greed. Emerald Sea Spirit Snakes were the nobles of the monster race. If he could kill it and obtain the Condensed Blood Beads in its heart, his chances of advancing into the Third Layer Blood Condensation Realm would be much higher. Not only that, his aptitude would become vastly superior compared to his peers.

As greed swallowed his mind, Qiao Xipeng’s thoughts of avenging his little brother took a lower precedence. Thus his insistent chase for the Emerald Sea Spirit Snake on his own, despite lacking the individual ability to kill it.

If he returned to the clan and brought back assistance, not only might the spirit snake escape, but even if they managed to kill it, he wouldn’t be able to monopolise the Condensed Blood Beads anymore.

Qiao Xipeng had been tracking the Emerald Sea Spirit Snake for the past three days. Just when he thought it had escaped and was planning to give up, he heard the snake’s hisses followed by ripples of arcane energy and the sounds of spells.

Overjoyed, Qiao Xipeng quietly approached the nameless island. There, he saw the spirit snake battling against a Zhen Ling Sect Blood Refining Realm disciple. It seemed like the spirit snake was really at its limit, otherwise, it was impossible for a mere Blood Refining Realm disciple to still survive.

The Zhen Ling Sect was a hostile sect to the Xuan Ling Sect, and the spirit snake was already on his kill list. Hence, it was only natural for him to kill them both.

However, after he attacked them, he realized that the spirit snake wasn’t as weak as expected. In other words, this Zhen Ling Sect Blood Refining Realm disciple was not to be underestimated.

Qiao Xipeng released his divine sense to the bottom of the sea. He was relieved to sense no traces of Lu Ping’s life force inside his body anymore.

There was no way an ordinary Blood Refining Realm disciple could survive after taking on the full brunt of his attack. So, the situation was clear to him now. The spirit snake had only been toying with the Zhen Ling Sect disciple, not knowing that he had arrived at the scene.

Qiao Xipeng smiled and focused his attention on the spirit snake in front of him.

The flying sword he wielded was a mid-grade mystic instrument. Only those at the Blood Condensation Realm could fully unleash the powers of a mystic instrument.

Unlike those battles between Blood Refining Realm disciples where the quality of the mystic instruments could be a determining factor, battles between Blood Condensation Realm disciples depended on who could unleash the most power out of their mystic instruments.

Qiao Xipeng cast out the [Xuan Ling Sky Phantom Sword Art], an offensive art that only Xuan Ling Sect inner disciples could learn. This sword art combined speed with unpredictable moves, allowing the caster to catch the enemy off guard, killing them instantaneously.

Qiao Xipeng gracefully cast the flying sword, as if twirling a piece of white silk around the spirit snake. As time passed, the flying sword slowly restrained the spirit snake’s movements in the center.

However, the ocean had always been fond of Emerald Sea Spirit Snakes. They were born with an innate talent for water spells. Moreover, this spirit snake’s water spells had reached the state of “Law. In addition to their current position in the middle of the sea, the spirit snake’s spells were greatly enhanced from the sea’s power.

Qiao Xipeng felt like he was not just battling the spirit snake, but the sea itself.

The monster’s snake-tongue sword and snake-fang dagger were moving inside the water spells, parrying Qiao Xipeng’s flying sword while attacking his body. However, its attacks were all blocked by Qiao Xipeng’s shield, his second mystic instrument.

Qiao Xipeng was feeling lucky. If he hadn’t injured it badly before, he definitely wouldn’t be a match against this sea snake monster.