141: To kill someone with a sneak attack.

On Soul-Severing Beach, a bloody wind howled.

Ghost Hand stood behind that cloud of blood mist that had yet to dissipate, the muscles at the corners of his eyes twitching frantically as he looked at the two puddles of blood his companions had turned into at his feet.

After the fear came extreme greed and fury.

This woman was at the end of her rope.

That strike from the Nine Palaces Wave-Locking Formation was stunning, but it had also completely drained the last of the Spiritual Qi in her body; even the suppression of those three dragon locking nailss had failed.

At this moment, Shen Zhiwei was nothing more than a fish waiting to be slaughtered.

"Good methods, truly good methods."

Ghost Hand let out a cackling laugh, his voice sounding like two pieces of rusty iron rubbing together.

He slapped his Storage Pouch, and a beam of extremely filthy black-red light soared into the sky.

It was a giant net woven from countless strands of hair, with dried infant skulls hanging between the meshes, emitting a nauseating stench of rot and resentment.

A top-grade Magical Artifact, the Filthy Blood Spirit-Sullied Net.

This item was refined by the Wan Sha Hall by soaking it in the heart-blood of a thousand boys and girls born in Yin years and Yin months for seven-times-seven, forty-nine days; it was best at sulling Magic Treasures and specifically countered Water-element righteous arts.

"Go!"

Ghost Hand pinched a Mantra with one hand, and the giant net expanded with the wind, instantly becoming the size of an acre as it swept down over her head.

Zizi zizi.

The water Spiritual Qi permeating the air touched the black net and actually made a popping sound like boiling oil on snow, instantly being corroded into bursts of black smoke.

Shen Zhiwei's face was deathly pale.

She wanted to mobilize the purification power within her immortal foundation, [Cangxuan Decree], but a tearing, sharp pain came from her Dantian.

The dragon locking nailss had taken effect.

That heart-piercing pain made her figure sway, nearly causing her to kneel on the reef.

Seeing that foul-smelling giant net about to fall, sealing off all her paths of retreat, a hint of despair flashed in Shen Zhiwei's eyes.

If she were at her peak, she would only need to channel a trace of Dragon Palace True Water to wash such a filthy thing clean.

But now... a tiger in the plains is bullied by dogs... Longevity Island, underground grotto.

Gu Changsheng watched the precarious scene in the water mirror, his brow furrowing slightly.

The teacup in his hand had long been set down, his fingertips lightly tapping on his knee in a rhythm only he could hear.

"Troublesome."

He sighed, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness.

Logically, he would never interfere in such business.

Trading the death of a neighbor for the absolute safety of Longevity Island was a bargain no matter how one calculated it.

But Shen Zhiwei's previous actions had left him owing a debt of Karma.

At the critical moment of life and death, she clearly could have diverted the disaster eastward, leading the people from the Wan Sha Hall toward Longevity Island to force him to act.

But she didn't.

She chose the certain-death path of Soul-Severing Beach.

In this world, there are many clever people and no shortage of ruthless ones, but people who are both clever and care about "decency" are becoming fewer and fewer.

"Fine, I'll repay the favor of that meal of fish today."

Gu Changsheng slowly raised his right hand.

Deep within his Dantian, the taiyin submerging spirit jade spun frantically, releasing an extremely obscure fluctuation that completely enveloped him and the surrounding Qi.

At this moment, he seemed to have vanished from this world.

He flicked his finger.

A wisp of Qingyuan Sword Qi, disguised by layers of Taiyin power and formless in nature, silently slipped out of Longevity Island's defensive Formation.

It had no world-shaking momentum, nor any dazzling radiance.

It was like an invisible undercurrent in the deep sea, skimming the surface and piercing toward Soul-Severing Beach at a bizarre angle... On Soul-Severing Beach, victory and defeat hung by a thread.

Ghost Hand looked at Shen Zhiwei, who was forced into a corner by the giant net, a cruel smile appearing on his face.

He extended his withered right hand, his fingers forming a claw as he remotely controlled the magical net to contract.

"Get down for me!"

He wanted to first cripple this woman's limbs and then slowly deal with her.

However.

At the very moment he was about to clench his palm.

There was no warning.

Nor any fluctuation of Spiritual Qi.

Not even the sound of the wind was disturbed in the slightest.

A chill abruptly brushed past his right index finger.

Clatter.

A section of a withered finger, along with the bone ring on it that controlled the magical net, fell lightly onto the black reef.

The cut was as smooth as a mirror; only after it hit the ground did blood belatedly gush out.

"Ah—!"

Ghost Hand let out a shrill scream, clutching his severed finger as he stumbled back.

The Filthy Blood Spirit-Sullied Net, losing control, stalled in mid-air, its originally tightening momentum instantly collapsing.

"Who?! Who is it?!"

Ghost Hand's eyes widened in terror as his Divine Sense swept frantically across the surroundings like a tide.

There was no one.

Within a hundred-mile radius, there wasn't even a ghost of a person besides him and Shen Zhiwei.

The waves still crashed against the reef, and the wind still howled.

That severed finger lay quietly on the ground, as if mocking his incompetence.

A massive fear originating from the unknown instantly seized Ghost Hand's heart.

If someone were to launch a frontal sneak attack, even if they were at the Perfection of Foundation Establishment, he would have the confidence to fight them.

But this silent strike directly shattered his understanding.

To be able to bypass his Divine Sense and cut off his finger without him noticing at all, what level of cultivation must that be?

A Purple Mansion True Person?

"Which senior is present?! Junior is Ghost Hand of the Wan Sha Hall, acting on orders. If I have offended..."

Ghost Hand roared with feigned bravado, but his body honestly slapped on a second-tier top-grade defensive Talisman, a thick layer of earthy-yellow light shielding him tightly within.

Pfft.

A soft sound.

Like a bubble being pricked by a needle.

The defensive light shield Ghost Hand was so proud of was pierced with a small hole three inches below his right ribs, without any resistance.

Immediately after, a sharp burst of energy drilled into his body, precisely piercing his "Qi Sea point."

It didn't cause a fatal wound, but it happened to interrupt the breath of Spiritual Qi he had just gathered.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Ghost Hand couldn't catch his breath, his face turning red from the strain as his protective spiritual light flickered unsteadily.

"Come out! Come out for me!"

Ghost Hand had completely panicked.

His hands flailed wildly as streaks of pitch-black Evil Qi blades slashed aimlessly at the surrounding air.

Boom, boom, boom!

Reefs crumbled, and seawater surged backward.

But that invisible enemy, like a ghost, never once showed its face.

Every time he wanted to cast a high-power Spell, that bizarre attack would arrive right on time.

Either piercing the Meridians in his wrist.

Or interrupting his incantation chanting.

Or directly cutting a gash on his buttocks.

It wasn't very harmful, but it was extremely insulting.

It pushed the terrifying atmosphere of "I'm watching you, but I won't kill you; I'm going to play you to death" to the extreme.

"Ahhh! If you have the guts, come out and fight me one-on-one!"

With disheveled hair and looking like a madman, Ghost Hand roared at the empty sea.

The fear of being slaughtered at any moment was bit by bit crushing his sanity... On a reef not far away.

Shen Zhiwei panted heavily, watching this comical yet eerie scene before her.

This demonic cultivator, who had just been insufferably arrogant and had forced her into a corner, was now like a toyed-with monkey, dancing and flailing at the air.

Who is it?

Shen Zhiwei's gaze subconsciously swept around.

There was nothing but the vast ocean.

But she keenly noticed that the timing of every interruption of Ghost Hand's casting was handled to Perfection.

This was definitely not something a passing expert did casually.

This was helping her.

Moreover, this attacking style of only wounding but not killing, even carrying a hint of "sleaziness"... An unremarkable face that always wore an honest smile suddenly surfaced in Shen Zhiwei's mind.

Gu Changsheng.

Although reason told her that a Loose Cultivator at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage couldn't possibly have such methods.

But on the edge of this Chaotic Star Sea, besides that neighbor who liked to bury his head in the sand, who else would lend her a helping hand?

"Thank you."

Shen Zhiwei murmured in her heart.

She was a clever person, and even more so, a decisive one.

Since someone was helping her control the field and had created such a perfect opportunity for a counterattack, if she still couldn't seize it, she truly deserved to die.

She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the sharp pain in her Dantian.

Her fair hand reached into her sleeve and pulled out those five gray, dusty Formation Flags.

This was the "Sand-Fixing Formation" Gu Changsheng had given her when they parted.

At the time, Gu Changsheng said this Formation could only "block wind and fix sand" and told her to just set it up casually.

But now, holding those flagpoles that were as heavy as mountains, a look of determination flashed in Shen Zhiwei's eyes.

"Earth generates Metal, Metal generates Water..."

She softly whispered the formula Gu Changsheng had taught her, exhausting her last bit of essence blood to spray it onto the Formation Flags.

"Go!"

The five Formation Flags turned into five streaks of light, accurately sinking into five positions around Ghost Hand.

The raging Ghost Hand suddenly stalled.

He felt an obscure fluctuation surrounding him.

"A Formation? Just with these few broken flags?"

Ghost Hand saw the appearance of the Formation Flags and immediately breathed a sigh of relief, his face showing a trace of a sinister sneer.

This kind of trash that didn't even show any spiritual light wanted to trap him?

"Break for me!"

He roared, his Evil Qi erupting as he tried to force his way out of the Formation's range.

However.

At the very moment his foot stepped out.

The Mantra in Shen Zhiwei's hand had already fallen.

"Rise!"

Rumble!

Those five seemingly ordinary Formation Flags suddenly trembled violently.

On the originally earthy-yellow flag surfaces, those crooked runes instantly peeled off, revealing the extremely complex purple-gold thunder patterns underneath.

A violent, destructive, and extremely masculine aura erupted from deep underground.

This was no Sand-Fixing Formation.

This was the killing Formation Gu Changsheng had improved after comprehending the Minor Heavenly Cycle Formation Explanation in the Taixuan Secret Realm, combining it with the characteristics of his own immortal foundation—the [Minor Five Elements Thunder-Killing Formation].

Sealed inside the flagpoles were dozens of heavenly thunder powers he had collected with the Lightning Attraction Technique on a stormy night.

"This... what the hell is this?!"

The sneer on Ghost Hand's face instantly froze, replaced by endless terror.

He sensed the scent of death.

[Recently the data hasn't been good, the completion rate is only 1%, which has affected my mindset a bit, resulting in my current state not being great, so I can't do a mass release for everyone. After I adjust for two or three days, I will still do seven to eight thousand or even ten thousand words a day. Thank you for your support!]