124: Ancient sea creatures, on the run

Jiang Yan raised his hand and lightly stroked the blade. The hai jiuyuan sword vibrated, letting out a clear, sharp chime as if it were recounting the past.

Suddenly, a pale, scaled hand reached out from the blood pool, followed by a blood-soaked figure slowly crawling out. The Ancient Sea Clan Member had a withered face and crimson eyes, with decaying chains wrapped around its body, and a hoarse low growl issued from its throat:

"Give... it... back..."

"Give... it... back... to me..."

The Ancient Sea Clan Member, whose body seemed to be covered in blood-colored hair, stared fixedly at the hai jiuyuan sword in Jiang Yan's hand, its eyes filled with madness and greed.

Jiang Yan narrowed his eyes as the vibration of the hai jiuyuan sword in his hand became increasingly intense. The interwoven gold and blue patterns on the blade flickered, as if resonating with the Ancient Sea Clan Member that had crawled out of the blood pool.

"So that's how it is..." Jiang Yan suddenly sneered. "You were suppressed here by your own personal sword?"

Hearing this, the Ancient Sea Clan Member's entire body shook violently, and the decaying chains clattered loudly. It opened its mouth, filled with sharp fangs, and let out a piercing roar:

"Trai... tor..."

Along with this roar, the entire Sword Tomb suddenly shook violently.

The ancient swords hanging on the surrounding walls fell one after another, transforming into armored Skeletal Swordsmen the moment they hit the ground!

Jiang Yan remained motionless, instead observing the scene before him with interest: "Interesting. Even after being dead for so many years, you can still control the Sword Tomb guards?"

He suddenly stabbed the hai jiuyuan sword into the ground and quickly formed hand seals.

A blood-red rune lit up at the hilt and rapidly spread across the entire floor of the Sword Tomb.

"Don't say This Young Master didn't give you a chance. Since you want it so badly..." A flash of ruthlessness crossed Jiang Yan's eyes, and his tone was flippant, "Then I'll let you and it catch up properly!"

The rune glowed brightly, and the hai jiuyuan sword suddenly erupted with a dazzling light. The movements of the Skeletal Swordsmen stiffened, and they actually turned in unison toward the Ancient Sea Clan Member in the blood pool, raising their rust-covered longswords!

The Ancient Sea Clan Member let out an incredulous roar: "Im... pos... si... ble..."

Just as Jiang Yan was watching whether those old subordinates would listen to the sword or the Ancient Sea Clan Member, the ceiling of the Sword Tomb suddenly collapsed, and over a dozen Disciples from other Sects fell pathetically beside the blood pool.

'Fuck!'

As Jiang Yan complained inwardly, the Ancient Sea Clan Member let out a hoarse laugh, like a fish finally finding water.

"Hahaha... Heaven does not wish for my end!"

The Ancient Sea Clan Member laughed wildly, and the decaying chains snapped inch by inch. It spread its arms, and the blood in the pool suddenly boiled, transforming into dozens of blood arrows that shot toward the fallen Cultivators!

"Puchi!"

The blood arrows pierced through the chests of those Cultivators, and their bodies shriveled at a speed visible to the naked eye. Meanwhile, the Ancient Sea Clan Member's body gradually filled out, its withered face regained its color, and its scales began to glisten once more.

"It's over..."

Jiang Yan's eyes twitched as he watched the Ancient Sea Clan Member's aura skyrocket, recovering from its weakened state to the pressure of the Core Formation Realm Great Perfection in the blink of an eye!

The Skeletal Swordsmen began to waver, their rusty swords trembling as they gradually lost control under the pressure of the Ancient Sea Clan Member.

"Human..." The Ancient Sea Clan Member looked at Jiang Yan with a sinister grin, its voice raspy, "Now, it's time to settle the score."

It abruptly raised its hand, and a Trident condensed from fresh blood rose from the blood pool, thrusting forward with overwhelming Evil Qi!

Without a second thought, Jiang Yan pulled out the hai jiuyuan sword and turned to run... What was the point of fighting now? The guy was fully recharged, and this area had already begun to be sealed off. He definitely couldn't fight head-on. If he wanted to defeat that Ancient Sea Clan Member, he had to go above to find terrain that favored him.

Jiang Yan's figure was like lightning, his feet moving like the wind. He cursed as he sprinted:

"Dammit! I'm going to snap this broken sword in half sooner or later!"

He glanced down at the buzzing and vibrating hai jiuyuan sword in his hand. The two characters "burying sea" on the blade were glowing with a faint blue light, as if silently protesting his act of running away.

Behind him, the Ancient Sea Clan Member had completely broken free from the blood net. The Trident stirred up a massive wave of blood, and the entire Sword Tomb was collapsing under its roar!

"Human... you cannot escape!"

Without looking back, Jiang Yan threw three Exploding Talismans behind him.

"Boom!"

Amidst the smoke and dust of the explosion, he took the Opportunity to leap out of the Sword Tomb.

But just as he rushed out of the Sword Tomb, over twenty people from other Sects were watching him like tigers eyeing their prey.

"Look at the ancient sword in his hand! That must be a supreme treasure!" a Chilian Mountain Disciple shouted.

Then, the three Core Formation Realm Elders on this level all looked toward the ancient sword in Jiang Yan's hand.

'Fuck, what a bunch of idiots!'

A harmless smile appeared on Jiang Yan's face as he directly tossed the hai jiuyuan sword to the Chilian Mountain Disciple who had spoken.

"Brother, since you like it so much, I'll give it to you!"

Jiang Yan's move completely baffled everyone; they didn't even notice the strangeness of the situation.

The Chilian Mountain Disciple instinctively caught the flying ancient sword. Before he could even show a joyful expression, the ancient sword suddenly began to vibrate.

"Buzz!"

The hai jiuyuan sword vibrated violently, and the characters "burying sea" on the blade burst with a blinding blood-red light!

"Ahhh!"

The Chilian Mountain Disciple screamed as he tried to throw away the hilt, only to find that his palm was already firmly stuck to it. His flesh and blood were shriveling at a rate visible to the naked eye, while the blood light on the ancient sword grew even more intense!

"Let go quickly!" The Elder of Red Refining Mountain turned pale with shock.

But it was too late... "Boom!"

A pillar of blood shot up from the sword's body, and the Disciple's body instantly exploded into a cloud of blood mist! Even more terrifyingly, a deafening roar came from the direction of the Sword Tomb—that horrific Ancient Sea Clan Member had already chased them out!

Jiang Yan had already taken the Opportunity to retreat to a safe distance. He was currently squatting behind a rock, eating melon seeds, and didn't forget to give a kind reminder:

"Friendly tip: that sword likes its meat—and the guy from inside isn't a vegetarian either~"

"Roar!"

The Ancient Sea Clan Member broke through the smoke and rushed out, its scales shimmering with blood light, and the decaying Trident had reconsolidated into a solid form. It immediately saw the hai jiuyuan sword suspended in mid-air, which was currently sucking the blood of a second unlucky Cultivator.

"My sword..."

The Ancient Sea Clan Member trembled with excitement and reached out to grab the ancient sword.

Seeing this, Jiang Yan immediately poked his head out from behind the rock and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Be careful! That sword doesn't recognize its own kin right now!"

As if to prove his words, the hai jiuyuan sword suddenly turned its tip and delivered a horizontal slash toward the Ancient Sea Clan Member!

"Puchi!"

The Ancient Sea Clan Member's extended arm was severed, and black blood gushed out. It looked at the personal sword that had accompanied it in battle for many years with disbelief, its eyes full of hurt:

"Why..."

Jiang Yan had already made his way to the exit at some point. Hearing this, he looked back with a brilliant smile: "Because its last name is Jiang now~"

After saying that, Jiang Yan slapped a Lightning Attraction Talisman onto the Ancient Sea Clan Member and ran for his life. Behind him came the furious roars of the Ancient Sea Clan Member and the shrill screams of the people from Chilian Mountain.

Although he didn't gain any experience points from this wave, it was worth it to screw over so many people from the three Sects.

Meanwhile, Li Yi, who had been hiding at the entrance between the fifth and fourth floors, shook his head while eating melon seeds: "This wicked Disciple even dares to scheme against an Ancient Sea Clan Member..."

In fact, when he arrived at the fifth floor, he had already sensed the Sword Tomb beneath his feet. However, he also perceived that the ancient sword was suppressing an Ancient Sea Clan Member, which was why he hadn't touched it.

He just hadn't expected his wicked Disciple to trick people into going in and even bring out both the ancient sword and the Ancient Sea Clan Member... On the other side, Jiang Yan hummed a little tune as he sprinted, weighing the Storage Pouches he had snatched from the Chilian Mountain Disciples.

Although he didn't get the great Opportunity from the Sword Tomb, this journey of setting traps for the Disciples of the three Sects could be considered a worthwhile trip.

"Rumble..."

An earth-shattering explosion came from behind; presumably, the Lightning Attraction Talisman had done its job.

Jiang Yan didn't look back, turning into a hidden path with practiced ease and scattering a handful of "Mist-Tracing Powder" on the ground to cover his scent and tracks.

"Next..."

He looked at the Secret Realm map in front of him, his gaze falling on the area that had just exploded, a wicked smile playing on his lips.

"I hope that hai jiuyuan sword can slaughter a few more. Then, This Young Master can go and harvest a complete high-grade Sword Spirit!"

For those who dared to scheme against him, whether they were human or any other species, he certainly wouldn't let them off.

After all, that hai jiuyuan sword clearly had a rebellious streak; it even dared to suppress its former master, so why keep it around?

Watching the red dots in the area moving around, Jiang Yan beamed with joy. The more active the hai jiuyuan sword was, the higher the quality of the Artifact Spirit inside would be.

'If I break it down, I can definitely plunder a lot of good things.'

At the entrance of the fifth and fourth floors, Li Yi watched the crazed ancient sword fighting with the Ancient Sea Clan Member and instantly lost interest.

In his eyes, even if that Ancient Sea Clan Member recovered to the Nascent Soul Realm, it might not necessarily be a match for that ancient sword. Setting aside the effect of Jiang Yan's Lightning Attraction Talisman, the fact that the crazed ancient sword was killing people while dealing with the one-armed Ancient Sea Clan Member already gave it the upper hand.