Chapter 410 - 378: Combat on the Reef
Chapter 410: Chapter 378: Combat on the Reef
"What Magic are you skilled in, Fellow Daoist Tao? And to what level of mastery?"
Since Tao Yan was willing to help, Zhao Lin needed to understand his abilities to formulate a concrete strategy.
"I have a Gold and Water dual Spiritual Root. Besides my proficient Water Manipulation Skill and a Vajra Shield at the Minor Achievement Level, my only other decent skill is the Golden Whip Skill, which I’ve also cultivated to the proficient level."
"When sparring in water combat with fellow Daoists I know, I usually win more than I lose. I thought that with these two proficient-level Magic skills, even if I couldn’t beat an Earth Dark Sect cultivator, I should at least be able to protect myself."
Tao Yan finished with a self-deprecating laugh. "But when we actually fought, I realized I couldn’t even block three of his moves. If Brother Zhao hadn’t intervened in time, I’m afraid I would have become just another corpse floating in the sea."
"Fellow Daoist Tao, why be so hard on yourself?"
Zhao Lin shook his head, disagreeing with him. "A life-or-death battle is not the same as a friendly spar. Strength is only one aspect; what’s most important is your mindset and courage."
"Those Sea Ghosts are uncivilized and inhuman, a bunch of desperados through and through. If they’re ruthless, then we have to be even more ruthless!"
Tao Yan’s eyes lit up. "Really?"
Zhao Lin nodded lightly. "Of course. When two strong opponents meet, the braver one is victorious."
Tao Yan was silent for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully.
Zhao Lin waited a moment before continuing, "What other talismans do you have that we can use?"
"They’re all escape-type talismans, useless in the water."
Tao Yan took out seven or eight talismans from his storage bag. "Light Body Talismans, Hongyan Talismans, Smoke Talismans, Fire Rain Talismans, Iron Armor Talismans..."
"It’s fine. Talismans are just for support; we can do with or without them."
Zhao Lin said this casually, then suddenly remembered he had two Concealment Talismans. ’I can use them to create chaos during the ambush later.’
As he spoke, he was also monitoring the movements of the Earth Dark Sect cultivators.
The four of them had now surfaced and climbed onto a reef that jutted out from the sea.
The reef was over a zhang high and about ten zhang in circumference. Qingchi sat on the east side, Changze on the west, while Furukawa Yu and Furukawa Hikari took the south and north.
This way, they could meditate in peace while also guarding against underwater sneak attacks.
’They’re cautious enough, but they’re still going to die!’
Zhao Lin snorted coldly in his heart. He took out two Second Grade Spirit Pearls, kept one for himself, and handed the other to Tao Yan.
"They’ll be up there for two quarters of an hour. We’ll also rest for one quarter of an hour and recover as much Spiritual Power as possible, so we don’t run out of Mana when we make our move."
"Alright!" Tao Yan agreed, taking the Spirit Pearl and beginning to circulate his energy.
Zhao Lin deactivated his Water Manipulation Skill, enduring the water pressure with his physical body as he quickly replenished his depleted Spiritual Power.
The Second Grade Spirit Pearl contained abundant Spiritual Qi. In less than a quarter of an hour, Zhao Lin was already back to his peak state.
Tao Yan recovered more slowly, but as a cultivator at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, his Spiritual Power reserves were much deeper than Zhao Lin’s.
The moon was half-hidden, the starlight was dim, and a fierce wind howled across the surface of the sea.
The four Earth Dark Sect cultivators sat cross-legged on the reef, letting the waves crash against their bodies.
Zhao Lin and Tao Yan swam toward the reef from the west, stopping about seventy zhang away from Changze.
Changze had the lowest cultivation among the four. If Tao Yan attacked him first, the others wouldn’t be able to counterattack immediately.
Tao Yan remained in place while Zhao Lin swam forward another twenty-odd zhang.
Because they were underwater, they didn’t have to worry about being detected by the enemy’s Divine Sense.
Zhao Lin composed himself, counted to three in his mind, and formed a Celestial Secret Seal with his hands.
Sensing the Mana fluctuation, Tao Yan followed their plan. With a great SPLASH, he leaped out of the water and threw his Vajra Ring at Changze on the reef.
Startled by the sudden sound of someone emerging from the water, all four Earth Dark Sect cultivators looked over in alarm.
The sky was dark, so they couldn’t see Tao Yan’s face, only sense that a magic treasure was flying toward them.
Changze cried out, "Ah!" and immediately cast a defensive Magic: Rippling Armor.
A green light flashed, and a rippling suit of armor enveloped his entire body.
With a dull THUD, the Vajra Ring struck the Rippling Armor, creating layers of ripples before being sent flying.
Furukawa Yu and Furukawa Hikari reacted extremely quickly, drawing their crescent blades in succession. But instead of attacking immediately, they turned to look at Qingchi.
Qingchi grew suspicious. Unsure how many enemies there were, he swept the area with his Divine Sense. When he detected only a single figure, he roared, "Attack!"
At his command, Furukawa Yu and Furukawa Hikari leaped to Changze’s side. They simultaneously unleashed Water Moon Slashes; one crescent blade slashed through the air toward Tao Yan, while the other went straight for the Vajra Ring.
At that very moment, Zhao Lin had already snuck to the base of the reef.
Seeing the Furukawa brothers launch their magic treasures, he kicked off the water with his legs, shot out of the sea like an arrow, and used the cliff face to leap onto the reef.
The entire sequence of movements was as smooth as flowing water. The four only realized what was happening when Zhao Lin appeared right in front of them.
Cultivators usually fought from dozens of zhang apart. At such a close distance, Qingchi and the others felt an immense pressure and immediately cast Rippling Armor on themselves.
Zhao Lin clenched his fist, crushing the Concealment Talisman he had prepared.
BANG! The talisman exploded, releasing a thick cloud of black smoke.
"Be careful!"
Qingchi shouted, forming a hand seal and casting a "Fog Dispersal Skill."
The Fog Dispersal Skill could eliminate fog and was the bane of all mist-based Magic.
A dozen or so pillars of green smoke shot out, fanning out to cover the entire reef.
The moment the black fog met the green smoke, it collapsed and rapidly dissipated.
Zhao Lin was slightly surprised; he hadn’t expected Qingchi to have a counter. ’But these few breaths of time are more than enough!’
He took several gliding steps, closing in on Furukawa Hikari, who was nearest to him. He swung his iron ruler and smashed it down violently.
Furukawa Hikari didn’t have his magic treasure in hand and felt a surge of panic. He vaguely sensed someone approaching and frantically channeled all his power into the Rippling Armor, while simultaneously reaching down to pull a seven-inch-long dagger from his boot.
After Zhao Lin began cultivating, his Spirit Beast Scroll had turned into a Spirit Cultivation Map, but his previous nine special talents remained, growing stronger with each increase in his cultivation realm.
The force behind the iron ruler was over ten thousand catties!
THUD! The Rippling Armor was smashed, forming a deep dent that instantly became a three-finger-wide hole.
Zhao Lin took another step forward and threw an Ice Fist with his other hand.
The frigid energy condensed into a pillar of mist. The moisture in the air and the sea spray all turned to frost, which shot through the opening.
Seeing he couldn’t dodge, Furukawa Hikari made a desperate move, thrusting his dagger forward.
But as the frigid energy hit him, he felt a bone-chilling cold. His body stiffened, and he fell rigidly onto the reef.
Zhao Lin raised his ruler to finish him off, but a sudden thought crossed his mind: ’I can’t let him die so easily.’
’You like to torture people, don’t you? Let’s see how you like a taste of your own medicine!’
The iron ruler spun in the air, plunged into Furukawa Hikari’s abdomen, and then twisted forcefully, scrambling and crushing his internal organs.
"Brother!"
As the black smoke cleared, Furukawa Yu saw this and let out a heart-wrenching roar. Wielding his just-recalled crescent blade like a melee weapon, he leaped forward and slashed down.
Qingchi and Changze were also shocked and enraged, and they simultaneously threw their crescent blades.
Having succeeded in his attack, Zhao Lin immediately retreated. He swung the iron ruler behind him in a backhanded motion. CLANG! CLANG! He knocked the two crescent blades aside, and they flew past him on either side.
Then, with a great leap, he plunged into the sea, activated his Water Manipulation Skill, and rapidly descended toward the seabed.
If there had only been two Earth Dark Sect cultivators on the reef, Zhao Lin might have relied on his martial skills to fight them up close, but three was too difficult.
Moreover, the cultivator named Qingchi had formidable Mana. The force transmitted through his crescent blade was extremely fierce; when his iron ruler had clashed with it, Zhao Lin’s own palm had gone numb.
Seeing Zhao Lin flee, Qingchi charged forward a few steps and yelled, "After him! Quick!"
Furukawa Yu ignored him completely. He dropped his weapon, rushed over to Furukawa Hikari, and cradled him, crying, "Hikari, how are you?"
Furukawa Hikari’s face was contorted in agony. He opened his mouth, but couldn’t say a word, only coughing up large mouthfuls of blood.
Qingchi halted and glanced back. He saw Furukawa Hikari’s intestines spilled on the ground and knew there was no hope.
He sighed. "Hikari’s not going to make it. Give him a quick death! The enemy hasn’t gotten far. Let’s go get revenge for him."
Furukawa Yu looked at his brother’s pale face and knew Qingchi was telling the truth. Steeling himself, with a loud CRACK, he snapped his neck with his bare hands.
Then he shot to his feet, gritting his teeth. "I’m going to kill him!"
Worried that Zhao Lin might be waiting to ambush them underwater, Qingchi deliberately entered the water from a different spot before changing direction to give chase.
"That man is a Martial Cultivator. And judging from his sneak attack, he’s extremely cunning. We must be very careful."
Qingchi warned.
"Don’t worry, he won’t get away. Cang Zhen must have been killed by him too!"
Changze said hatefully.
Furukawa Yu said nothing, his eyes bloodshot as he charged ahead at the front.
Casting Magic always leaves behind ripples of Mana. Although Qingchi and the others couldn’t see Zhao Lin, they could follow these Mana fluctuations to tail him.
Zhao Lin wasn’t surprised to find pursuers behind him; it was all part of his plan.
If they hadn’t chased him, Zhao Lin would have had to find a way to launch another sneak attack.
The three Earth Dark Sect cultivators were all proficient in the Fubo Skill. As they accelerated with all their might, the distance between them and Zhao Lin grew shorter and shorter.
Zhao Lin deliberately slowed down, creating the illusion that his Water Manipulation Skill was only at the proficient level. This was partly to hide his true strength and partly to make sure they didn’t lose his trail.
Before long, Zhao Lin swam back to Kuimu Beach.
"Brother Zhao, how did it go?"
Tao Yan appeared and asked with concern.
Zhao Lin’s original plan was for Tao Yan to create a diversion and then immediately retreat once his part was done. That’s why Tao Yan only attacked once before returning to Kuimu Beach as soon as he saw Zhao Lin get onto the reef.
"Killed one. The other three are after me. Find a place to hide. I’m going to lure them to the trap in the Gen position."
Zhao Lin glanced back and spoke quickly.
"Got it. Be careful, Brother Zhao. Use the Celestial Secret Seal to find me."
Tao Yan knew his own strength was limited and that he might become a burden. After this brief warning, he turned and swam off in another direction.
A few breaths later, the three from the Earth Dark Sect arrived at Kuimu Beach.
Changze slowed down. "He went in. What do we do?" he asked.
Furukawa Yu didn’t answer, just stared with bloodshot eyes and charged straight in.
Qingchi hesitated for a moment. The Mana fluctuations were getting stronger, meaning they were about to catch up to Zhao Lin. Not wanting to give up, he made up his mind. "Go in. If we stick close to him, we won’t trigger the traps."