Jade Dynasty: I am the master of the Burning Sword, my swordsmanship is unparalleled.

Chapter 67 The Secret of the Black Water Serpent

In the blink of an eye, the five men in yellow, who had not yet reacted, were smashed to death by a tremendous force.

This sudden turn of events caused both Biyao and Youji to change their expressions drastically. The next moment, Youji's face showed a hint of fear.

On the dark sea, two enormous lanterns, shimmering with a ghostly green light, slowly began to illuminate. However, unlike the usual short, stout pumpkin-shaped lanterns, these lanterns were long at the top and bottom and narrow at the sides, making it seem as if the lanterns had been stood upright.

"It's it! That beast didn't die!"

Youji felt a chill run through her body, and her eyes showed a hint of fear. Biyao was startled when she heard this, and then she realized something and turned to look at Zhang Xiaofan, only to see that the latter's expression was normal, as if he had expected it all along.

"You bastard, did you already know all along, and that's why you did this on purpose?"

Biyao wasn't stupid. From Zhang Xiaofan's quick reaction just now and his expression now, she could tell that this bastard was definitely trying to trick her again.

No, not that bastard, it should be that vixen hiding in that bastard's arms, pretending to be pitiful, delicate and helpless.

Damn it, the female disciples of the Hehuan Sect are all such vixens, cunning and scheming!

Originally, their Ghost King Sect held the advantage. Although it seemed like a cooperative search for the Dripping Blood Cave, the initiative was actually in the hands of Biyao and Youji, and Zhang Xiaofan and Lu Xueqi were somewhat held hostage.

Of course, Zhang Xiaofan and Lu Xueqi have no problem protecting themselves, but their Ghost King Sect will definitely take the lion's share of the treasures inside the Blood-Dripping Cave, and may even have the opportunity to take them all.

Now, that vixen, with the help of that damned beast, has wiped out all the people they brought. Now, it's two against two, which is barely a stalemate.

Ultimately, the decisive factors were You Ji and Zhang Xiaofan, who were of similar strength.

Although Lu Xueqi was injured, it wouldn't be difficult for Biyao to capture her. In particular, Biyao couldn't kill Lu Xueqi, and it would be even more difficult to capture Lu Xueqi to blackmail Zhang Xiaofan.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaofan simply chuckled softly without replying. But his silence was the best answer he could give. Seeing this, Biyao was instantly enraged, but Youji pulled her back.

Youji sighed inwardly but didn't say much. It was no secret that the various sects within the Holy Sect were engaged in open and covert struggles and intrigues. Zhang Xiaofan was being considerate by not taking the opportunity to ambush Biyao; otherwise, Biyao would probably have been in serious trouble.

Perhaps he didn't want to be retaliated against by Lu Xueqi and kill her on the spot, but in any case, Zhang Xiaofan was already being polite by not killing the Ghost King Sect members with his own hands.

"Young Master Zhang, what happened just now was due to our negligence. However, the situation is critical. We are all disciples of the Holy Mother Ming King. We hope that Young Master Zhang can join forces to fight the enemy. Otherwise, I can only ask Fairy Lu for help as well."

A glint flashed in You Ji's eyes as she forced herself to remain calm. This composure stemmed from Zhang Xiaofan, or rather, from her trust in Lu Xueqi.

In Youji's view, Lu Xueqi already knew that the beast was not dead, and even had Zhang Xiaofan use the beast to kill their people and level the situation. Now that she was not in a hurry to retreat, she must have a way to deal with the beast.

Yes, in Youji's eyes, all of this was a scheme by Lu Xueqi, the successor of the Hehuan Sect, while Zhang Xiaofan was completely innocent in her eyes.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaofan turned to look at You Ji, understanding her threat. He nodded slightly, his gaze calmly fixed on the enormous beast lurking in the depths of darkness. "Aunt You, what exactly is this beast?"

Biyao asked in a deep voice. Lu Xueqi, who was standing next to her, was also very curious. This kind of ferocious beast was probably no weaker than the water unicorn, the guardian beast of Qingyun Sect. In fact, its aura was even more terrifying.

"This is the ancient demonic beast Blackwater Serpent. Legend has it that it was killed by the divine beast Yellow Bird in the Western Great Swamp a thousand years ago. In reality, it did not die at that time. Instead, it encountered the Black-Hearted Old Ghost, who saved it and brought it to this Heartless Sea."

Zhang Xiaofan slowly spoke, explaining that he learned this information from the Bloodthirsty Pearl, which was originally refined by the Black-Hearted Old Ghost in the Western Great Swamp.

The Black-Hearted Old Ghost was extremely ambitious. Years ago, he and Lady Jinling accidentally came to this Heartless Sea and entered the Dripping Blood Cave, where they obtained the Heavenly Book's General Outline.

After comprehending the unparalleled demonic art, the Black-Hearted Old Ghost was determined to unify the demonic sect and contend with the righteous path. In order to counter the Immortal Execution Sword of the Qingyun Sect, the Black-Hearted Old Ghost went to great lengths to refine the extremely vicious Blood-Devouring Pearl.

A thousand years ago, the Heavenly Emperor's Treasury was opened. The Black-Hearted Old Ghost, who was painstakingly enhancing the ferocity of the Bloodthirsty Pearl in the Western Great Swamp, encountered the Black Water Serpent, whose life hung by a thread.

The ruthless old ghost originally intended to kill the Black Water Serpent, but instead used the Bloodthirsty Bead, whose power was stuck at a bottleneck and could hardly be improved, to devour it in the hope of increasing the power of the Bloodthirsty Bead.

But then the ruthless old ghost thought again: Qingye had subdued the water-type primordial spirit beast, the Water Qilin, to guard the Qingyun Sect. Since he wanted to compete with Qingye, why couldn't he subdue this Black Water Xuan Snake?
It was precisely because of this that the Blackwater Serpent survived and hid on the shores of the Heartless Sea for a thousand years.

Eight hundred years ago, during the great war between good and evil, the Blackwater Serpent was still recovering from its injuries and had not yet appeared in the world. Therefore, almost no one in the world knew that it still existed.

Zhang Xiaofan's confidence stemmed from the fact that the Bloodthirsty Pearl contained a method to deal with the Black Water Serpent.

After all, that ruthless old devil is notoriously ruthless. How could he not leave a countermeasure inside the body of such a ferocious and cunning ancient demonic beast as the Black Water Serpent, so as to make it easier to control it?

Unfortunately, after the death of the Black-Hearted Old Ghost, the Blood-Devouring Bead disappeared without a trace. After nearly a thousand years, it ended up in the hands of a Qingyun disciple, truly a testament to the unpredictability of life.

"That heartless old devil? That old devil, even in death he left behind so much trouble!"

Biyao was immediately startled, and then couldn't help but curse, saying that if Youji hadn't reminded her in time, she would have been dead.

That vixen from the Hehuan Sect had someone protecting her, and with such a ferocious creature before her, Biyao, though reckless in her actions, was not blind to the situation. So she could only vent her anger on that dead, heartless old ghost.

You Ji, however, was more cautious. She moved closer to Zhang Xiaofan with light steps, staring warily at the Black Water Serpent with its large snake eyes fixed on them not far away, and said softly.

"Young Master Zhang, you seem to know so much about this. Surely Fairy Lu must have taught you her unique techniques for dealing with the Blackwater Serpent?"

It's no wonder that You Ji became increasingly convinced of Lu Xueqi's identity as a successor of the Hehuan Sect.

In truth, Zhang Xiaofan knew far more about the Blood Refining Hall than she, the Vermilion Bird Saint Envoy, did. Moreover, many of his secrets were probably unknown to anyone in the Blood Refining Hall except for the deceased Black-Hearted Old Ghost.

The only person Youji could think of who knew those secrets was the founder of the Hehuan Sect—Lady Jinling!
(End of this chapter)