Chapter 1276: Slaying the Dragon in the Furious Sea, Opening Chaos—The Blood-Soaked Heroic Soul Cleanses the Stench (Part 5)

Xie Wen seized the moment and hurled the barrel of gunpowder towards the mast.

“Boom!” Amidst the earth-shattering noise, the ghost ship erupted into flames, Morioka’s rage drowned out by the explosion.

The thunderstorm grew increasingly ferocious, with the remaining kites teetering in the wind and rain.

Lu Dechu gritted his teeth as he maneuvered the kite strings, his whole body drenched like a soaked chicken: “Hold on! We’re almost at the shore!”

Jin Liufu suddenly leaped into the sea, transforming into a “water dragon” and towing several damaged kites through the waves.

As the first rays of dawn pierced the clouds, everyone crawled onto shore, exhausted, with the burning relics of the ghost ship behind them.

Liao Pei gazed at the desolate beach and smashed his Long Arm Fist onto the reef: “This battle was perilous, but it made the Wokou realize that the Heroic Sakura Association is not to be trifled with!” Lie Quan wiped the bloodstains from the Heaven and Earth Saber, the light reflecting his resolute face: “Next time, we’ll make sure they don’t return!”

The crowd exchanged smiles as raindrops mixed with blood slid down their cheeks, but the fervent fighting spirit in their eyes remained unquenched.

Dark clouds pressed down, blurring the boundary between sea and sky, as twelve flags decorated with Eight-headed Giant Snake shook fiercely in the sea breeze.

Shi Feiyang stood at the prow of the Heroic Sakura Association’s flagship, his Bright Jade Technique reaching “Supreme Forgetting Emotions Ice Soul Cold Prison,” the glazed radiance around him reflecting in the churning dark clouds, even imparting a chill to the vast gloom. He looked at the massive black shadow suddenly rising on the distant sea, his pupils contracted—this was no ordinary wave; it seemed a portent of an ancient fierce beast’s imminent awakening.

“Grand Squad Leader! There’s movement underwater!” Shan Zhi’s plum blossom dart flew out, embedding three inches deep into the deck, its tail trembling violently.

Before the words were finished, the seawater erupted, and eight giant snake heads broke through the surface, each towering three meters high, with poisonous liquid spewing from their mouths, diverse and deadly: crimson like magma, dark green like putrid water, ghostly blue like ice crystals, interweaving on the sea into a toxic miasma.

“It’s the Eight-headed Giant Snake! The ancient fierce beast from Fusang legend!” Bai Zhi’s jade flute fell to the ground, a piercing sound echoing from the silver bell.

The golden silkworm Gu on her wrist twisted frantically, yet turned into pus the moment it touched the toxic miasma.

Liao Pei’s Long Arm Fist emitted an iron glow, and he shouted: “What are we afraid of! Back then, we slaughtered all the wolf packs in the Northern Desert, why fear this beast?”

Lie Quan’s Heaven and Earth Saber hummed as it was unsheathed, the sound of the knife ring colliding frightening the seagulls into flight: “Younger Brother Wu, is your Thunderfire Gun still working?”

Wu Zhong’s cast iron prosthetic’s Thirty-Six-Barreled Thunderfire Gun roared in unison, lead bullets shooting towards the snake heads like a torrential rain.

However, the snake scales were as hard as cast iron, the bullets only sparking on them.

Suddenly, one snake head opened its mouth, spraying dark green venom, boiling the sea where it passed, three warships instantly corroded into charred remains.

“Be careful! It’s the bone-corroding poison!” Shi Feiyang shouted, activating the whirlpool suction of his Bright Jade Technique, solidifying the poison into ice columns and flinging them into the sky.

Amidst Hattori Sizang’s maniacal laughter combined with the snakes’ howls, the Wokou Leader, wrapped entirely in bandages, was suddenly riding atop the snake head: “Shi Feiyang! This Eight-headed Giant Snake has consumed the souls of a thousand people, how can you oppose it?”

His demon blade swung out, the snake group simultaneously raised their heads, and eight distinct types of venom merged in the air into a massive poisonous dragon, swooping down on the fleet. Shi Feiyang’s body radiated a golden light, the potency of the Xu Fu Immortal Pill and the majesty of the Divine Dragon Pagoda bursting forth together.

He raised his palms, akin to twin Celestial Frost Blades, the chill flowing from the blades freezing the surrounding sea water: “Today, I shall sever this reincarnation!”

As the words “Severing Reincarnation” echoed, he placed his toes on the mast peak, launching skyward using the waves lifted by the storm.

The blade aura from his palms in the air split into nine sections, each blade transforming into a golden blade light, slashing towards the eight snake heads and Hattori Sizang. “Boom!” Eight blasts shook heaven and earth, eight snake heads spraying blood like waterfalls, Hattori Sizang’s demon blade also severed.

Yet, this ancient fierce beast was not slain, black mist surged from the severed neck, reforming into heads.

Hattori Sizang’s body suddenly twisted and deformed, merging with the Eight-headed Giant Snake to form an even more vicious monster.

“We can’t let it rampage anymore!” Wu Zhong hugged a barrel of gunpowder, his iron palm patted Shi Feiyang’s shoulder, “Grand Squad Leader, we of the Heroic Sakura Association aren’t cowards who fear death!” He then used Lightweight Technique, darting like an arrow into the monster’s gaping mouth.

Shi Xiong’s White Rainbow Sword, Shan Zhi’s plum blossom dart, and Xiao Lingling’s Mandarin Duck Saber simultaneously struck, covering Wu Zhong.

Shi Feiyang saw the situation, both palms launching the “Hundred Victories Saber Technique’s” ultimate move “Sun and Moon Together.”

The golden blade aura collided with the monster’s poisonous dragon, erupting into a deafening roar.

Wu Zhong seized the opportunity to throw a barrel of gunpowder into the monster’s belly, Shi Feiyang used the Divine Skill “Snow Blood Claw,” grabbing Wu Zhong from afar, retrieving him into his arms, spinning with him, his body emanating an ice shield.

A thunderous blast, flames soared into the sky.

The monster let out a mournful howl, its massive form began to collapse, the sea dyed red with blood.

At the end of the fierce battle, Shi Feiyang stood unharmed on the reef, watching the remnants of the giant beast gradually sink into the sea, his glazed skin showing fine cracks—though protected by the Xu Fu Immortal Pill, the full-powered strike had depleted much of his vitality.

Xiao Lingling dashed over, snatched Wu Zhong from Shi Feiyang’s embrace, hugging him tightly, their tears soaking their clothes.

Bai Zhi ran over, tears mixed with seawater fell: “Shi Lang…”

“It’s alright.” Shi Feiyang wiped her tears away, glancing at the dawning eastern sky, “As long as the Wokou remain, this saber will not return to its sheath.” His voice echoed in the sea breeze.

Behind him, the members of the Heroic Sakura Association, though scarred, stood tall and unyielding like immovable monuments.