Chapter 8: Zhang Lingjun

Xiao Nanfeng was seated by a window and leisurely sipping tea, as was Ye Dafu not too far away. Similar though their circumstances were, their states of mind were completely different.

Xiao Nanfeng was jubilant about his recent breakthrough. He looked out the window at the endless expanse of the sea, relaxed and at ease. He could sense that his spiritual power had grown far stronger than before.

Meanwhile, Ye Dafu and the others were glaring at Xiao Nanfeng and gulping down the expensive tea that had suddenly lost its taste.

Just then, everyone heard cries from the deck.

"Look! What's that?"

"Someone's flying?!"

Roused by the commotion, Xiao Nanfeng, Ye Dafu, and the others leapt out of the window and onto the deck. Like the growing crowd, they watched two pinpricks of light in the distance,

one blue and one red. They clash into each other again and again in the air, causing a huge ruckus. Within each orb of light was a human's figure.

"This is a battle between two powerhouses!"

"What frightening strength! Look, that attack even caused the sea to cavitate!"

"If their attacks were to strike our ship, we'd capsize, wouldn't we?"

"They're… they're coming closer!"

The disciples on the ship began to scream and shout; the two orbs of light were suddenly growing much larger as they drew near. The auras of the two combatants and the shockwaves that resulted from their attacks caused the disciples to panic.

Watching two mythical combatants fight from afar was a delightful surprise, but watching them fight in close proximity was a disaster.

"We have to stay away! Steer the ship away!"

"If an errant attack strikes us, we're all dead! We have to flee!"

The deck was a mess, but Xiao Nanfeng ignored all the flustered disciples and sailors. He was worried, but there was nothing he could do—better for him to get a close-up look of the fight, instead.

The two orbs of light quickly flashed by his eyes, and Xiao Nanfeng was able to make out the two combatants.

The red orb of light was like a fireball, with a red-robed woman within. Even her oversized and baggy robes couldn't hide her voluptuous body. Her long hair had gotten loose in the heat of battle, and a bloodstain marred her face. Even so, it was clear that she possessed incredible beauty even from afar.

The blue ball of light contained an old man. The old man's body, however, was transparent and faintly blue, and didn't look as though it belonged to the physical world.

"This is… spiritual power? How can this be?!" Xiao Nanfeng exclaimed.

Xiao Nanfeng could see that the glowing blue flames emanating from the old man's ball of light was composed of spiritual power, and his transparent body was likely a construct of concentrated spiritual power as well.

"The yin body described in Body of Yin

is a spiritual body that manifests from spiritual matter. Could that man be in the form of a spirit?!" Xiao Nanfeng's eyes widened.

Spiritual power was so rare that it was incredible for him to have cultivated it at such a young age, but his spiritual power was only a formless blue ball. On the other hand, this old man's spiritual power had already formed a yin body. The disparity in spiritual power between them was like that between a small puddle and a huge lake, and it was clear just how advanced the two combatants were.

With a huge crash, the flaming woman smashed into the ship's deck and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

"Haha, this ship's full of prospective and nominal disciples headed for the Taiqing Immortal Sect. They're just a group of mortals—no one will be able to save you, Zhang Lingjun." The transparent old man roared in laughter.

"Dong Lin, why betray me? We—" The woman coughed, then glanced weakly at the floating yin body.

"The reason I explored that hidden realm with you was solely for that superior yin pearl! You refused to hand it over, so I had no choice but to take it by force," the old man yelled out.

Xiao Nanfeng glanced toward the red-robed woman, who had a small white orb held in her hand. Like a snowball, it gave off gusts of cold air.

"Dong Lin, are you aware of what will happen if you betray me?!" the red-robed woman shouted in grief and indignation.

"Oh? What consequences might these be? Haha, you don't expect anyone present will be able to save you, do you?" Dong Lin laughed coldly.

He sucked in a deep breath, then yelled out. Sound waves infused with spiritual power sent pale blue ripples through the air and into everyone's ears.

Within moments, everyone on the ship was yelling out as they clutched at their heads in pain—not just the other disciples, but even Xiao Nanfeng himself. He felt as though his head had just been the target of a heavy blow, as though bolts of lightning had struck him time and again.

"A spiritual attack? Stop it, Dong Lin, stop it!" the red-robed woman cried out desperately.

Even she was clutching her head in pain.

However, Dong Lin didn't stop. As more and more ripples emerged from his mouth, person after person fell dazed to the ground, some even bleeding out of their orifices.

"They're only mortals! They won't be able to withstand your spiritual attacks—you have to stop!" the red-robed woman, Zhang Lingjun, called out, even as she cradled her head.

Xiao Nanfeng's head was wracked with pain, but he fared far better than did the other disciples, who hadn't developed any spiritual power at all.

As everyone around him fell, Xiao Nanfeng circulated his spiritual cultivation technique, Body of Yin, conjuring gust after gust of spiritual power from the center of his forehead in an attempt to block the spiritual attack.

Ye Dafu and his clique had all fallen to the ground, as had all others on the deck he could see. Only Xiao Nanfeng barely retained consciousness.

Even so, he couldn't make it obvious that he was still conscious. Emulating the others, he slumped to the ground and pretended to faint, though he was still looking all around him through slitted eyelids.

Dong Lin stopped shouting once it seemed that all the bystanders had fallen unconscious. Only the red-robed woman remained upright, still clutching her head in agony.

"They're just a bunch of ants! You, on the other hand… I need to make sure no one tries to avenge you. This ship will sink down into the sea, and everyone here along with it." Dong Lin cackled. "Zhang Lingjun, you look down on me, don't you? I've tried to express my interest in you many times, but you refused to even entertain the notion. You wench, you never expected such a day would come, did you?"

Dong Lin landed on the ship and walked right up to her. Xiao Nanfeng finally got a good look at him—he really was a transparent man! He had had no idea that a yin body could be so strong.

Dong Lin snatched the white orb out of Zhang Lingjun's hand.

The moment he touched it, it began giving off bursts of cold air. It froze a layer of his skin.

"My yin body isn't my physical body, and it's still somewhat difficult for me to control this superior yin pearl…" he grunted.

"Dong Lin, if you dare strike me now, others will chase you to the ends of the earth. You won't be able to escape their retribution!" Zhang Lingjun cried out.

"Who would know I was the culprit? But I have to say, Zhang Lingjun, it would be a waste to kill you so quickly. You're a beauty, and your body is ravishing. Why don't I make you a true woman before you die?" Dong Lin grinned deviously.

"You? What are you going to do? You're just a yin body—your physical body isn't present! What are you planning?!"

"Why do you think I haven't already killed all those on this ship? I'll have a physical body the moment I possess one of them, haha!"

Just as Dong Lin let down his guard, Zhang Lingjun activated a jade talisman in her hand. It transformed into a blur of light that shot toward him.

"What?!"

In panic, Dong Lin slapped away the talisman, which burst into flame the moment it came into contact with his yin body. Rather than destroying it, Dong Lin's moment of contact allowed the talisman to enter his body.

His body suddenly erupted with flames. Cracks formed all over his yin body.

Surrounded by flames, Dong Lin screamed shrilly in pain.

Zhang Lingjun smiled in relief, thinking that she had succeeded in her sneak attack, only to have Dong Lin suddenly slam a palm against her body.

Grievously wounded, Zhang Lingjun spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and stared at Dong Lin in shock.

Somehow, he had managed to free himself from her talisman, dowsing the flames all over his yin body. Even so, he was stumbling as he walked, his body creaking and cracking, as though he were about to collapse at any moment.

"Zhang Lingjun, you dare attempt to destroy my yin body? You wench! Even if my yin body is heavily wounded, I'll easily be able to possess these mortals who haven't even developed a shred of spiritual energy. Just you wait and see, Zhang Lingjun, what I'll do to you the moment I get a physical body."

Dong Lin slammed another palm against her, causing all her clothes to explode from her body. The successive wounds left her fluttering at the edge of consciousness. The moment before her vision turned black, she saw Dong Lin trudge toward a fallen youth, his body all but falling apart.

Then, Zhang Lingjun lost consciousness completely.

Dong Lin looked back at Zhang Lingjun's tempting body with rage and lust before dragging himself straight to Xiao Nanfeng.

Xiao Nanfeng stilled. How can I be so unlucky? Why are you heading straight for me? There are so many other options around you!