Chapter 642 - 274: Three Demon Strongholds of the Dark Sea, 700 Aquatic Fiends

Chapter 642: Chapter 274: Three Demon Strongholds of the Dark Sea, 700 Aquatic Fiends

Yuchi Ting added.

Taishi Dao smiled.

"They’re all old foxes. As the Palace Master of the Celestial Water Palace, how could Shui Tianxin be content with serving under someone else?

"Her relationship with Fang Shuwen is likely nothing more than a transaction.

"Shui Tianxin is unwilling to produce the item so easily because she’s afraid of being besieged by the other Forbidden Lands of the East Sea.

"The fact that they aren’t exploring it themselves proves the place must be fraught with danger.

"Under these circumstances, all she wants is a chance to go explore and enough cannon fodder to pave the way...

"Once the Profound Celestial Iron Mirror is truly found, this fragile alliance will shatter.

"At that point, Fang Shuwen will have to face five of the world’s greatest masters alone: Shui Tianxin of the Celestial Water Palace, Ye Weiyang of Xiaoye Valley, Bai Qianfang of the Profound Ice Hall, Dugu Sheng of the Lingbo Sect, and Hong Zhengwu of Wuyan Island.

"Even if he can kill Huang Lie with ease, how could Fang Shuwen possibly escape unscathed while surrounded by these five great masters, even if he had three heads and six arms?

"And even in the highly unlikely event that he does win, it would undoubtedly be a pyrrhic victory!"

Yuchi Ting nodded slightly. He felt the deduction made sense and immediately asked,

"Even so, wouldn’t he still get the Profound Celestial Iron Mirror?"

Taishi Dao said with a smile,

"Senior Yuchi, from what happened on Wuxia Island, we can draw one conclusion.

"Fang Shuwen didn’t come to the East Sea for the Profound Celestial Iron Mirror.

"Because the Profound Celestial Iron Mirror has absolutely nothing to do with Luo Shuqing. I fear his true purpose for coming here is to escort her to the Qingxiao Pavilion.

"Therefore, even if he does get his hands on the Profound Celestial Iron Mirror, he will almost certainly make a trip to the Qingxiao Pavilion."

Hearing this, Yuchi Ting finally had a moment of realization.

"So your father wants us to go to the Qingxiao Pavilion for this very reason?

"We can lie in ambush at the Qingxiao Pavilion. When Fang Shuwen arrives, heavily injured and carrying the Profound Celestial Iron Mirror... we can take him down in one fell swoop.

"We don’t even have to kill him, as long as he leaves the Profound Celestial Iron Mirror behind.

"After that, we’ll be the ones calling the shots in the East Sea!!"

"Precisely."

Taishi Dao snapped open his folding fan with a SNAP, a smug look on his face.

Xin Wufang asked thoughtfully,

"But what if those people don’t make a move personally, and Fang Shuwen isn’t seriously injured?"

"When the true location of the Profound Celestial Iron Mirror is at stake, those old fossils definitely won’t be able to sit still.

"Besides, Shui Tianxin has already disregarded her status to get involved personally. How could they just stand by and watch?"

Taishi Dao said with a light chuckle,

"Also... my father has been in secluded cultivation for many years, comprehending the workings of creation. His Martial Arts have long since transcended the mundane!

"He will personally go to the Qingxiao Pavilion this time. Even if Fang Shuwen isn’t severely injured, he may not be a match for my father.

"What’s more, with the three of you seniors helping, the moment Fang Shuwen arrives, he’ll be walking into a dead end."

Hearing this, Xin Wufang and Yuchi Ting exchanged a look, and both could see the solemn expression in the other’s eyes.

Taishi Cheng’s Martial Arts were already superior to theirs back in the day. He had been holed up and out of sight for years, leading them to suspect that he must have obtained some Divine Technique or Secret Technique from Hengyang Island and had been cultivating it diligently ever since.

Now, it seemed that suspicion was likely true.

The two of them immediately nodded and said,

"Alright, we’ll do as Brother Taishi says. It just so happens that Shi Zhenxuan has already returned to the Qingxiao Pavilion.

"We’ll set out at once and lie in wait at the Qingxiao Pavilion!"

...

...

「Dark Sea Territory!」

On the deck of a large ship, a pirate dragged a terrified woman forward.

"Boss, she’s the last one. There’s no one else on the ship."

The boss of this band of pirates was a brutish, heavily bearded man.

His name was Cheng Bali.

Unlike the lone wolves of the Seven Fiends of the Dark Sea, this man was a member of the ’Dark Sea Three Demon Stockades, the Seven Hundred Fiends of the Water’.

The ’Dark Sea Three Demon Stockades, the Seven Hundred Fiends of the Water’ was a collective name.

It referred to a group of pirates led by the Three Demons of the Dark Sea, who controlled the entire Dark Sea Territory.

These men were unscrupulous and lawless. They murdered and plundered as a matter of course, and any ship that crossed their path was doomed, with no chance of survival.

After finishing today’s business with this ship, Cheng Bali should have been in a good mood.

But his spirits were low. He glanced grimly at the sky, which looked even more morose than he did.

The Dark Sea Territory had earned its name for two reasons. First, the area was extremely treacherous and overrun with pirates, like a dark domain on earth.

Second, the waters were perpetually shrouded in dark clouds and plagued by storms.

The reason for Cheng Bali’s oppressive mood was that many days had passed without a single storm at sea.

The entire Dark Sea was still blanketed by dark clouds, but there wasn’t even a whisper of wind.

For the Dark Sea, such weather was far too strange.

His many years at sea gave Cheng Bali an indescribable sense of crisis, as if disaster could strike at any moment.

Shaking his head, Cheng Bali pushed the thoughts aside for the moment. He glanced at the blood-soaked saber in his hand and casually wiped the blade on the sole of his shoe.

"Kill all the men. Take the women back and see if anyone wants them."

His men cheered in agreement.

An unending chorus of pleas rose from the ship...

However, this wasn’t the first or second time this crew had done such a thing. They paid no mind to the sounds of begging.

Just as they were about to strike, they suddenly heard someone shout, stammering,

"B-b-b-Boss, there’s... there’s a ship!!"