Chapter 94

In the Dragon Tooth Flying Boat, Zhang Yan sat cross-legged in a pavilion on the second floor. His eyes were lowered, and he focused inward, concentrating on the fusion of the golden and fiery beams of mystic light within his chest. The originally faintly glowing lights had now grown stronger, illuminating his internal organs with a clear light, as if they were about to burst through the top of his head.

At this moment, suddenly, Su Yixiang, who was keeping watch outside, shouted, "Master, he's here again!"

"Again?" Zhang Yan slowly regulated his breathing, showing no surprise.

It had been sixteen days. Almost every time he paused his cultivation for a while, Li Weide would find his whereabouts and launch another attack.

These days, he had spent most of his time in a cycle of fleeing and pausing. It seemed that Li Weide was determined to kill him at all costs.

However, as long as he couldn't catch up, there was no need to worry too much. The only trouble was that Li Weide's actions were delaying his cultivation progress.

Although the golden and red lights in his chest had already taken shape, he originally needed only about half a month to reach the Mystic Light realm. Due to Li Weide's interference, the time had been extended by almost double.

What puzzled him was that, despite it being past the first day of the twelfth month, the Sea Eye Gate should have reopened. According to logic, the Myriad沧派 (Ming沧 Sect) would have sent highly cultivated cultivators to rescue them, or at least sent someone to investigate. Yet, no one had come down, and Zhang Yan couldn't figure out why.

Unable to understand, he decided not to think about it. Even if he was being pursued, at his current cultivation speed, he could reach the Mystic Light realm in seven more days. At worst, he would turn around and fight him then!

He picked up the talisman and lightly activated it, and the flying boat took off.

However, this time, it seemed that the speed at which he activated the flying boat was a bit slower. Li Weide, who was originally far away, suddenly burst with a blood glow, and his speed increased dramatically, quickly closing the distance. With a wave of his sleeves, two blood lines shot out from his sleeves and lunged forward.

As they approached the Dragon Tooth Flying Boat, they seemed to sense something, like flies drawn to a scent, and automatically headed toward Zhang Yan, the living being with fresh blood and flesh.

Seeing the blood lines, which could consume flesh, rushing toward him again, Zhang Yan sneered, waved his hand, and two flying swords rose into the air to meet them.

With a "sizzle" sound, the flying swords collided with the blood lines. The spiritual energy on the flying swords was instantly consumed, turning them into ordinary iron, and the blood lines also faded away.

Zhang Yan smiled slightly. After several days of repeated battles with Li Weide, he had figured out the characteristics of the blood lines.

These things would actively consume spiritual energy, but if they consumed flesh, they would gain nourishment and seek more food. If they encountered a magical tool, they would consume the spiritual energy on the tool and then be completely consumed themselves.

Zhang Yan had plenty of flying swords and magical tools. Besides the ones he obtained from Wang Pan, such as the Duntone Flying Sword and the Purple Gold Copper Halberd, he also had over a dozen flying swords that the Wang family used to redeem Chixia Island. He now used them all to block the blood lines.

After obtaining the Star Sword Pills, he no longer needed these items.

Seeing the two blood lines disappear again, Li Weide felt a deep pain in his heart.

These blood lines were "blood worms" condensed from the Blood Essence Art. They could defile magical tools, consume spiritual energy, and devour flesh to nourish themselves. If cultivated to a high level, they could overwhelm an enemy in a flood, making it impossible to resist.

However, so far, he had only cultivated thirty-two blood worms. Each one used would require three months of immersion in a blood pool to replenish.

At first, his blood worms had broken several of Zhang Yan's flying swords, and he thought Zhang Yan was out of options. But Zhang Yan was extravagant, using flying swords that could be used as low-grade magical tools, and continuously throwing them out like scrap iron, causing him significant losses.

Li Weide's facial muscles twitched. With the loss of two more blood worms, he had now lost fifteen in total.

At this moment, he suddenly felt a surge of weakness, cursed under his breath, and had to stop, watching the Dragon Tooth Flying Boat fly away again.

Zhang Yan smiled lightly, as if he had expected this. After several encounters, he knew that Li Weide had a technique that could suddenly increase his speed for a short time, but it seemed to consume a lot of energy. He wouldn't appear again for at least three days, presumably to recover.

So, this time, he could have three more days of peace.

Sitting back in the cabin, he called out, "Where is Su Yixiang?"

"Here, Master, I'm here," Su Yixiang quickly floated over. His form was gradually stabilizing, and except for his lower body, which still floated in the air, revealing his ghostly nature, his appearance was almost indistinguishable from a normal person.

However, Zhang Yan knew that without a physical body and the nourishment of yang energy, he could not cultivate like a typical demon path cultivator. How far he could go would depend on his own destiny.

"Listen carefully. I am about to attempt a breakthrough in my cultivation. I cannot afford any mistakes. You need to be extra vigilant. Understand?"

"Yes, Master, I will not be the slightest bit negligent."

Zhang Yan nodded, waved his hand to dismiss him, and then activated the flying boat, flying to a high slope and stopping.

He looked around, seeing that the area had a wide view and any danger could be detected, and nodded, resuming his cultivation.

For the next five days, Li Weide did not come, and Zhang Yan was able to focus on his cultivation.

However, although he had avoided a strong enemy, he encountered a problem in his cultivation.

The mystic light in his chest, after repeated refinement, no longer increased, but he could not take the final crucial step. It was like a pool of water that was full, but the top was sealed, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break through.

He had to stop and think about where the problem lay.

Just then, a loud shout came from outside: "Master, that person is coming again..."

Zhang Yan's eyes flickered, and he nodded. Calculating the time, it was about right. If Li Weide didn't come, he might have given up the pursuit. He picked up the talisman and the Dragon Tooth Flying Boat lifted off the slope, heading away again.

However, this time, he showed a look of surprise, noticing something different.

Li Weide seemed to have received some assistance, and his speed was even faster than usual. However, he maintained a distance, neither pressing too close nor leaving, just hanging back.

What was he up to?

"Master, there are people ahead!" Su Yixiang suddenly shouted.

Zhang Yan turned and saw three black-robed cultivators flying from three directions, releasing blood spirits, seemingly trying to surround and intercept him. He realized what was happening.

After chasing him for so many days, Li Weide had roughly figured out that Zhang Yan dared not venture deep into the demon territory and was only moving within a certain area. Therefore, he had arranged for several Blood Spirit Sect cultivators to block the path, thinking that by delaying him for a while, he could catch up and kill him.

To be fair, Li Weide's plan was well thought out, but he underestimated the threat that ordinary cultivators posed to Zhang Yan.

Zhang Yan smiled coldly, took out the "Zaihe Qi Chun Zao," and cast a spell, placing it above his head. A beam of light enveloped his entire body, and instead of dodging, he steered the flying boat toward the Blood Spirit Sect cultivators.

The blood spirits rushed down, but when they hit the light, they were repelled like waves hitting a reef.

The lead cultivator saw the Dragon Tooth Flying Boat charging toward him, and with its size and speed, he knew a collision would be disastrous. He panicked and tried to dodge to the side, but Zhang Yan, standing at the bow, bit the talisman and held a beast-faced broadsword in his hands. As the cultivator dodged, Zhang Yan swung the sword, and with a "crack," the cultivator was cut in two.

The flying boat charged past, crushing the cultivator's flesh, and without stopping, it headed toward the next Blood Spirit Sect disciple.

The disciple was terrified and tried to flee, but how could he be faster than the Dragon Tooth Flying Boat? Zhang Yan quickly caught up, roared, spat out the talisman, and swung the sword again, cutting the cultivator from the shoulder to the head.

He grabbed the talisman, swung it, and prepared to attack the third cultivator.

The last Blood Spirit Sect cultivator, seeing Zhang Yan kill two of his fellow disciples like slaughtering chickens, was terrified and shouted, "Brother, save me! Brother, save me!"

Li Weide's face changed, and he gritted his teeth, speeding up to charge forward.

Zhang Yan turned and, instead of being alarmed, smiled with a hint of amusement, saying, "Finally, you couldn't resist, could you?"

He stood with the sword in one hand, laughed loudly, and activated the talisman. The Dragon Tooth Flying Boat sped up and quickly disappeared from sight.

Li Weide chased for a while but had to give up in frustration. Hearing Zhang Yan's laughter still echoing in his ears, he turned red with anger and roared, "Young man, I will kill you!"

Zhang Yan was already far away and couldn't hear his roar. Even if he did, he would just laugh it off. With the magical flying boat, what could Li Weide do? He would wait until he cultivated the Mystic Light and then come back to settle the score.

However, he frowned, wondering why, despite accumulating enough mystic light, he couldn't break through the final barrier.

He thought hard about what he might be missing and carefully analyzed the reasons.

After a long time, his eyes flickered, and he thought of a possible reason... Could it be due to his will?

This thought made him more convinced.

The *Taiyi Jinshu* focused on the golden and fiery paths, which had a strong and vigorous nature, representing a spirit of relentless advancement. However, these days, he had been cultivating in the Dragon Tooth Flying Boat, constantly dodging and avoiding, which, while seemingly dangerous, was actually safe. With a way out, he couldn't muster the determination for a life-or-death battle.

Thus, his will did not align with the mystic light, preventing him from reaching the realm where they merged, and he couldn't stir up the necessary energy to break through the final step.

He understood!

Our path is about facing challenges head-on and breaking through to establish a new order!

Now, at this point, he must place himself in a situation where there is no way out!

Zhang Yan's eyes showed a determined resolve. He recalled the map in his mind and then steered the flying boat southeast. Soon, he found a cave with only an entrance and no exit, disembarked from the Dragon Tooth Flying Boat, and entered the cave.

He was cutting off his own retreat, like a soldier burning his boats!

Li Weide would catch up in three to five days. If he couldn't break through this step, he would die!