Mortal: Starting by looting Han Laomo's entire herb garden

Xie Changyuan turned around, his tone unfriendly: "Fellow Daoist Jiang, what's going on? This wasn't included in our agreement."

Jiang Xingzhou quickly cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you, fellow Daoist. Please calm down. I think there must be some misunderstanding here."

Yun Tianxiao sneered, "Misunderstanding? Young Master Jiang, do you not know why we are here?"

Jiang Xingzhou's face turned ashen.

Lu Yan breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed the attack wasn't aimed at him. He calmly cast a divination.

lucky.

At this moment, the woman in black robes spoke softly, her voice hoarse: "Where is the Flood Dragon Pearl?"

Jiang Xingzhou remained silent. The woman in black robes was also in no hurry, only glancing at Yun Tianxiao.

Yun Tianxiao quickly smiled apologetically, "Please wait a moment, Fairy Mu, it will be ready soon."

He then turned to Jiang Xingzhou, narrowing his eyes, "Young Master Jiang, Young Master Wen has taken a liking to your family's Flood Dragon Pearl. I'm just running errands for him. If you know what's good for you, hand it over, and I might put in a good word for you with Young Master Wen."

Tie Mohe exclaimed in shock, "The Flood Dragon Pearl? The one that allows a Core Formation cultivator to instantly break through a minor realm simply by refining it?"

A glint flashed in Lu Yan's eyes. The Flood Dragon Pearl? It was actually this thing? And could the Young Master Wen that Yun Tianxiao mentioned be Wen Tianren? Wasn't he from Holy Demon Island? Why is the Qingyang Sect getting involved too?

Was that kid born around this time? He remembered that the original work didn't say how old Wen Tianren was, but online analysis suggested he was between eighty and one hundred and twenty when he appeared.

There are still more than eighty years until the Void Heaven Palace opens. Even if we take the age of one hundred and twenty when he appears, he is only in his forties now, at most at the early stage of Core Formation, which is nothing to be afraid of.

It's not impossible for someone to form a core in their forties. In the original story, Han Li reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment at the age of fifty-one, and that was after he had to dissipate his cultivation and start over.

Given Wen Tianren's aptitude, it's not impossible for him to achieve the Core Formation stage at the age of forty.

The other two also looked at Jiang Xingzhou, waiting for him to speak.

Yun Tianxiao narrowed his eyes: "Young Master Jiang, I'm a very reasonable person. Hand over the Jiao Yuan Pearl, and I guarantee you'll be fine."

Jiang Xingzhou's face turned ashen, and he was about to speak when the ship suddenly shook.

The protective patterns on the ship's hull suddenly lit up, then dimmed, as if some force had drained its spiritual energy.

"The ship's protective barrier has been broken," Xie Changyuan's voice came from behind, unhurried.

Jiang Xingzhou took a deep breath, forcibly calming himself, glanced at the seven or eight ships that had surrounded them, then looked at his own group, and clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying:

"Fellow Daoists, I am the one who has implicated you all in today's events. Not a single word of that scoundrel Yun Tianxiao can be trusted. I implore you all to lend me a hand and join me in resisting this powerful enemy. If we survive this calamity, the Jiang family will surely repay you handsomely!"

With his banner held high, Tie Mohe stepped forward first: "Brother Jiang, you're too kind. Once we're on this ship, we each have a life to live. I'll fight them to the death!"

Liu Xiyue didn't speak, but she drew her short sword and stood by the ship's side, which was her way of making her stance clear.

Xie Changyuan nodded as well: "I will do my best."

Lu Yan stood at the very back, his face hidden by a bamboo hat. He didn't speak, but simply nodded slightly.

Then he quietly took half a step back, behind Temokha, and then another half step back, into the shadows at the cabin door.

This position offers excellent positioning, allowing for both offense and defense, and provides the best field of vision, giving you a complete view of the entire field.

Silver Moon whispered in his arms, "Brother Lu, why did you shrink back?"

"This isn't called shrinking back," Lu Yan replied in his mind. "This is called strategic observation."

Seeing that everyone agreed, Jiang Xingzhou felt a little relieved. He took out a bronze mirror from his storage bag, held it up in the center of the deck, and made a hand seal.

The bronze mirror hung in mid-air, its surface ancient and its spiritual light restrained. A golden light emanated from the mirror, enveloping the entire ship.

"Fellow Daoists, please join me in activating this mirror!"

Tie Mohe shouted loudly, and a burst of spiritual energy struck the mirror.

Liu Xiyue didn't hesitate either, sending a stream of icy blue spiritual energy right behind her.

Xie Changyuan raised his hand, and a beam of azure light entered.

Lu Yan was the last to make a move, shooting out a bolt of lightning-attribute spiritual energy from his fingertips, exactly the same as the others.

The golden light shone brightly, becoming several times thicker than before.

Seeing this scene from the opposite ship, Yun Tianxiao scoffed, "Just the few of you?"

With a wave of his hand, seven or eight ships behind him simultaneously lit up with spiritual light, and dozens of spells and magical artifacts bombarded over them.

The golden light shield trembled violently. Jiang Xingzhou's face turned pale. He gritted his teeth and activated the bronze mirror. The others also increased their spiritual power output. The light shield barely stabilized, but cracks were already spreading.

Lu Yan stood at the very back, his spiritual energy output neither too fast nor too slow, maintaining a level where he neither held back nor exerted any effort.

Xie Changyuan suddenly spoke up: "Gentlemen, this cannot continue. I will try to repair the restrictions on the ship. If I succeed, we can use the power of the ship formation to counterattack. But it will take time, at least the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."

Jiang Xingzhou was overjoyed: "Fellow Daoist, is your word truly true? If the restriction can be repaired, I will be eternally grateful!"

Xie Changyuan nodded, withdrew his hand from the bronze mirror, retreated to the cabin door, took out an array plate from his sleeve, and made hand seals.

Tie Mohe quickly stepped in to take his place, shouting, "Thank you for your quick action, Fellow Daoist! I'll shield you!"

Liu Xiyue also increased her spiritual energy output, her face expressionless.

Lu Yan frowned slightly as he watched Xie Changyuan's retreating figure.

The voice of Master Tianfu suddenly rang in his mind, old and deep: "Young Lu, something's not right."

"Um?"

"That guy surnamed Xie, the array plate he's holding has the wrong patterns. It's not an array to repair the restrictions, it's an array to reverse the restrictions. He's going to use the restrictions on the ship in reverse."

Lu Yan's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Lao Liu was in the group?

Master Tianfu continued, "I have been immersed in formations for many years, and I cannot be mistaken."

Lu Yan was slightly surprised, but his face remained expressionless.

He had seen this kind of thing many times in the cultivation world, but this time he was the one who got sold out.

He took another half step back without making a sound, almost completely hiding himself in the shadows of the cabin doorway.

Yin Yue spoke again, her voice tinged with schadenfreude: "Brother Lu, the teammates you found don't seem very reliable."

"I didn't find it; Jiang Xingzhou did."

"Then why aren't you running?"

"No rush." ​​Lu Yan smiled to himself. "My storage bag is still hanging on these people's waists."

Yin Yue was speechless: "Brother Lu, you really are a bandit."

"Almost there." Xie Changyuan's voice came from behind: "Give me ten more breaths."

Jiang Xingzhou gritted his teeth; he could hold on for ten breaths.

Five breaths.

Eight breaths.

Ten breaths.

"Alright," Xie Changyuan's voice rang out.

Jiang Xingzhou breathed a sigh of relief and was about to speak when suddenly his foot slipped.

It wasn't that the ship's planks collapsed; it was that the deck beneath his feet disappeared.

A cyan light shield rose from beneath his feet, enveloping him completely and separating him from the others.

The light shield quickly solidified, transforming into a cage about ten feet in diameter, trapping him inside.

Jiang Xingzhou was stunned for a moment, then his face turned pale.

"Xie Changyuan! You!"

Xie Changyuan put away the array plate, stood with his hands behind his back, his white hair fluttering in the sea breeze, and looked at him expressionlessly: "Young Master Jiang, I have worked under Young Master Wen for many years. I have offended you in many ways today."

Tie Mohe suddenly turned his head, his eyes wide: "Fellow Daoist Xie, you!"

"Fellow Daoist Tie," Xie Changyuan interrupted him, his tone indifferent, "Let me give you a piece of advice: this matter has nothing to do with you. The Jiao Yuan Pearl is what Young Master Wen wants; why risk your life?"

The veins on Temokhe's hand, which was gripping the banner, bulged, and his lips trembled a few times, but he couldn't utter a word.

Liu Xiyue held her short sword horizontally in front of her and retreated to Xie Changyuan's side expressionlessly. Her stance was clear.

Jiang Xingzhou was trapped in the light barrier, watching Tie Mohe's hesitant expression.

He was trembling all over, his lips were quivering, and he couldn't utter a single word.

Seeing this from the opposite ship, Yun Tianxiao laughed heartily: "Thank you, Fellow Daoist, what a brilliant move!"

The woman in black robes beside him, Fairy Mu, spoke calmly: "Where is the Flood Dragon Pearl?"

Jiang Xingzhou did not answer. He lowered his head and trembled all over, whether from anger or fear, it was hard to tell.

Yun Tianxiao narrowed his eyes, about to speak, when he suddenly heard a voice coming from the shadows at the cabin door.

"The Jiao Yuan Pearl is a treasure that can directly elevate a Core Formation cultivator by one minor realm. I am also somewhat interested in it."