26: Chapter 26 Capturing the Elder Alive, the Lord's Benevolence

A dark cyan Flying Sword tore through the sea mist, pressing against his face in an instant.

Great Elder Chen Xinglie did not hold back at all with this sword strike.

Having fought in the Star Sea for many years, he knew best who to cut down first at a time like this.

As long as Lu Changyuan died, this makeshift Killing Array and the reef-line entanglement would immediately fall into chaos.

But just as the sword tip pressed within three zhang, Lu Changyuan moved.

He took a step forward.

Spiritual Qi exploded beneath his feet, and his entire body, like a lightning shadow compressed to the limit and suddenly released, charged straight toward the Flying Sword.

The moment the long sword at his waist was unsheathed, a purple glow suddenly flared, and a line of lightning exploded along the spine of the sword, causing the surrounding moisture to tremble.

《Purple Firmament Lightning Art》.

This was one of the true trump card killing Legacies of the Lu family's main lineage. Although Lu Changyuan had rarely used it in head-on combat before, after reaching Foundation Establishment, this technique could finally truly unleash the ferocity in his bones.

Great Elder Chen Xinglie's eyes first showed shock, then a sneer.

An Early Foundation Establishment dares to clash head-on with an old Cultivator like him who has been immersed in the Middle Stage for many years?

He is courting death.

The Flying Sword suddenly accelerated by thirty percent; the dark cyan sword light, carrying layers of wave-killing intent, struck down head-on.

But Lu Changyuan seemed to have seen through its heaviest point a step earlier. His figure twisted violently in mid-air, letting the sword tip slide past his shoulder, leaving only a bloody gash. With a backhand motion, a bolt of purple lightning slashed fiercely along his long sword onto the side edge of the Flying Sword.

Clang!

A piercing, vibrating sound exploded. Great Elder Chen Xinglie's arm went slightly numb, and his expression finally changed.

Something is wrong.

The landing point of this sword strike was too accurate.

It was so accurate that it was as if he himself had delivered the Flying Sword's weak point to the other party to strike.

He had no time to think carefully. With a flick of his five fingers, the Flying Sword turned back like a venomous snake biting again, and he simultaneously threw three black wooden spikes from his sleeve, targeting Lu Changyuan's waist, abdomen, and lower stance.

But Lu Changyuan seemed to know how he would parry half a breath in advance. Tapping his toes on the reef top, he used the height difference to bend backward sharply. The three black wooden spikes grazed his clothes and nailed into the reef surface; the next moment, he pounced back from the other side.

For the first time, a true chill rose in Great Elder Chen Xinglie's heart.

Once could be called luck.

Twice, thrice, and it still felt like he had seen through it in advance; that was no longer luck.

This little beast is watching for his flaws.

And he is seeing them extremely clearly.

Lu Changyuan did not give him a chance to catch his breath.

After all, the reef sea is not flat ground. Although Great Elder Chen Xinglie relied on his high cultivation and thick Spiritual Qi, every movement, leverage, and sword return was more demanding of the environment than fighting inside the island.

Yet Lu Changyuan had first used Su Qingli's mist array to cut the entire battlefield into a shape he was more familiar with, and relied on the heavenly secret jade slip to capture the subtle fluctuations of Spiritual Qi, almost always stepping on the gap where Great Elder Chen Xinglie was shifting his strength.

The two fought from the high reef to the reef back, then from the reef back to the wave crest.

After more than ten exchanges in the reef sea, Great Elder Chen Xinglie had actually been forced to retreat several times.

In the fourth move, Lu Changyuan deflected the Flying Sword with one strike, forcing Great Elder Chen Xinglie to step on a backflow, causing him to lose his balance on one side.

In the sixth move, purple lightning slashed along the sword edge into the opponent's protective light, scorching his cuffs black.

In the eighth move, Great Elder Chen Xinglie roared and summoned a black wooden shield, intending to withstand the blow and counter-pressure, but Lu Changyuan did not waste time on the shield. He shifted his sword tip, the lightning glow slashed his wrist first, and then he used the momentum to kick him in the back of the knee.

Until another crossing and position change, the strand of backflow mist line that Su Qingli had set behind the reef was finally triggered.

Great Elder Chen Xinglie slipped.

It was only a tiny slip.

But at such a time, it was enough.

A cold light condensed in Lu Changyuan's eyes. He threw his whole body into the attack, his long sword first knocking away the dark cyan Flying Sword, and with a backhand, the lightning light surged, slashing fiercely at the old scar on Great Elder Chen Xinglie's chest armor.

Boom!

The spiritual armor split open, and Great Elder Chen Xinglie flew backward, smashing heavily into a black reef, spraying blood from his mouth.

He still wanted to get up, but Lu Changyuan had already followed up in one step, his boot pressing on his chest, his long sword pointing straight at his throat.

The sea wind howled all around, and the thick mist rolled.

This scene fell into the eyes of the remaining living Chen family Cultivators, almost like a bucket of ice water poured over their heads.

Their leader, the Grand Elder of the Chen family, had actually been stepped on by a Young Lord at the Early Foundation Establishment stage.

"Impossible..." Great Elder Chen Xinglie stared fixedly at Lu Changyuan, blood at the corner of his mouth, his eyes still full of shock and rage, "How could you..."

But Lu Changyuan had no interest in explaining to him.

The heavenly secret jade slip was a trump card; the mist array and the reef sea were also trump cards; even the arrogance of an old Cultivator like Great Elder Chen Xinglie was a trump card he had calculated in advance.

From the moment this old dog smelled the Star Sand today, he had walked into the trap step by step.

Lu Changyuan withdrew his sword but not his foot, coldly spitting out two words.

"Tie him up."

Lu Hu had just slashed down the last struggling Chen family Cultivator, and upon hearing the command, immediately led his men to pounce.

Two Dao soldiers used the pre-prepared spirit-locking rope to bind Great Elder Chen Xinglie tightly, and then casually sealed his Dantian and meridian nodes, their technique as clean as binding a Yao Beast waiting to be slaughtered.

At this moment, the sounds of killing in the reef sea finally slowly died down.

Of the hundreds of Chen family Cultivators who had pressed up in the first wave, some were dead, some were injured, and only a dozen or so escaped, all of whom had only saved their lives because they were too close to the outer circle.

The remaining two warships, seeing their commander captured, dared not even approach, turning around on the spot to retreat, the water churned by the sterns looking like they were fleeing for their lives.

Lu Hu watched the panicked retreating ship shadows, the stifled fire in his chest finally vented, and he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Satisfying!"

"These bastards, usually relying on the Chen family banner to run rampant in the surrounding seas, today someone finally reined them in."

But Lu Changyuan did not immediately show joy, instead scanning the battlefield first.

The reef crevices were full of corpses and broken weapons, the seawater stained dark in patches by blood.

Although his side had won, there were still casualties.

Several Mortal auxiliary soldiers responsible for moving boxes and transporting Formation Flags were scratched by stray arrows and broken reefs. Two of them were particularly severely injured; one had his thigh sliced open by a flying knife, bleeding incessantly, while the other had half his breathing collapsed in his chest by chaotic stones and the aftermath of Spiritual Qi, lying behind the reef with only gasps left.

Shi Jian was kneeling beside the two, his forehead covered in sweat. Seeing Lu Changyuan come over, his voice tightened.

"My Lord, I can stop the bleeding, but they cannot hold on for too long."

The nearby Mortal auxiliary soldiers were already pale with fear, but they still held their companions tightly, not daring to let go.

These people were originally just assigned to move wooden boxes and hide Formation Flags, but when the real fight started, they didn't retreat, stubbornly enduring stray arrows and reef waves to deliver supplies to behind the reef.

Now that people had fallen, everyone was looking at Lu Changyuan.

Watching to see if this Lord would treat them as expendable materials to be discarded after use.

Lu Changyuan only took one look, then reached into his sleeve and took out a jade bottle.

That was one of the emergency healing Medicinal Pills he had specifically set aside after returning from the Immortal City, originally intended for future fierce battles defending the island.

At this moment, as the jade bottle opened, the rich medicinal fragrance immediately dispersed some of the blood scent on the sea.

Lu Hu was startled: "Young Lord, that is a Rank 2 Rejuvenation Pill..."

A Rank 2 Medicinal Pill used to save Mortal auxiliary soldiers, it was terrifyingly extravagant.

But Lu Changyuan didn't even lift his eyelids, only flicking his finger to shatter the pill, pressing half of it ground into medicinal mist into the chest of the most severely injured auxiliary soldier, and dissolving the other half directly into the meridian on the side of the other person's leg.

As the medicinal power entered their bodies, the two people's breaths, which were about to cut off, were forcibly pulled back.

The nearby Mortals watched with red eyes, their hands trembling.

They saw with their own eyes that a Medicinal Pill of this Rank was actually used on people like them, like a heavy hammer striking their hearts.

Lu Changyuan raised his hand to press down the auxiliary soldier who still wanted to struggle to get up and apologize, his tone calm.

"Don't move."

"You are risking your lives for Blue Moon Island tonight."

"When medicine should be used, it will be used."

As this sentence was spoken, the auxiliary soldiers around who were still gritting their teeth to hold on had their eyes turn even redder.

Shi Jian lowered his head, the veins on the back of his hands bulging.

He understood best how these people felt at this moment.

In the past, when Mortals worked for Cultivators, if they died, they died; having a straw mat to wrap them up for burial was considered the master's benevolence.

But now, Lu Changyuan had used a Medicinal Pill that could truly save lives to forcibly pull them back from the gates of hell.

This act was not just about saving lives.

It was grasping the heart of the entire team firmly.

Lu Changyuan stood up and scanned the battlefield again.

"Those with light injuries return to the island for treatment first."

"Those with severe injuries board my spirit boat, Shi Jian follows."

"Count all the Chen family casualties and the abandoned weapons, Spirit Stone bags, and supplies on the ships."

"Do not move the Star Sand mine entrance today."

"From now on, this reef area will only maintain one appearance to the outside world."

He turned back to look at Su Qingli and Lu Hu.

"As if we only defended the first entrance by risking our lives, and haven't had time to consume it yet."

Su Qingli understood immediately.

This was to leave bait.

The Chen family's first wave was crushed, but the real big meat was still on the seabed, and the Spiritual Qi was still dissipating.

The Chen family would never be reconciled.

If everything was cleaned up too thoroughly now, it would instead force them to sit down and investigate slowly.

But if they were made to feel that Blue Moon Island had only won narrowly and had not truly secured the mineral vein, their next step would definitely be more urgent, fiercer, and easier to step into the next layer of the trap Lu Changyuan had prepared.

She nodded, a faint, almost invisible smile finally appearing on her pale face.

"I will leave the formation marks in a semi-crippled state."

"Let them think that as long as they bring a few more people, they can tear this reef sea open."

Lu Changyuan gave a hum, then turned to look at Great Elder Chen Xinglie, who was bundled into a ball and panting heavily by the reef.

The old guy no longer had any of the arrogance from when he arrived; his chest armor was split, his beard and hair were in disarray, and the anger in his eyes was finally mixed with real fear.

Because he finally understood one thing.

He had been used by Blue Moon Island as a sacrifice.

Lu Changyuan walked in front of him, looked down at him for a moment, then raised his foot and kicked him over like a dead dog.

"Leng Feng."

"Present."

"Cut off one of his ears, seal it well, and send it to Ironwood Island."

Great Elder Chen Xinglie's pupils shrank, and he struggled and roared: "Little beast! How dare you!"

Lu Changyuan's expression did not change, his voice colder than the sea wind.

"Tell the Chen family matriarch."

"100,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stone."

"For every day later, one more hand."

Leng Feng stepped forward in response, his long sword unsheathing without the slightest hesitation.

Above the reef sea, Great Elder Chen Xinglie's shrill screams were instantly torn apart by the sea wind and carried far away.

And Lu Changyuan had already turned around, looking again at the horizon where Ironwood Island was located, his gaze calmer than before.

He knew that after this battle, there was no buffer left between Blue Moon Island and the Chen family.

But this was exactly what he wanted.

Because from the moment the Chen family smelled the scent and pounced, this battle was no longer just about defending the mine, but about using the first hand that reached out to strike hard and establish Blue Moon Island's first reputation in the surrounding seas.