Chapter 281

Chapter 281: Against the Covering Hand of Heaven

If they flew at the original speed, it would take fifteen days to reach land. Since the Hongmo Sect attacked Linggui City, it had been over a year and nearly two years. Though Li Hui felt an overwhelming urge to return home, he could wait for a few more days. The problem was that someone was chasing them!

Since the Hongmo Sect could lock onto their position once, they could do it again. Although he didn’t know when they would arrive, he could guess with his toes it wouldn’t take as long as fifteen days.

The sea was devoid of life; even if they made it to land, they wouldn’t necessarily be safe. However, he remembered Qian Qiu Yue mentioning that the sects on Wutu Continent had signed an agreement with the Hongmo Sect, and the destruction of Linggui City was considered an invasion. They hoped the Jin Tian Sect and other sects would prepare and not let the demonic sect grow too powerful.

With the Wave Breaking Cone flying at an incredible speed, Li Hui used many rare talismans and precious mediums, frantically replenishing the consumption of the talisman formations. Huo Qiniang and Chef Zhao understood the rules; if others didn’t know, wouldn’t they? The boss needed to consume magical artifacts and fragments to enhance the power of the talismans.

Without fragments, they would use intact artifacts; he had piled up many in the Thousand Islands, ready to bring back to Dalong to sell, but now wasn’t the time to think about those. They needed to get past this immediate crisis first.

Accelerate, keep accelerating…

After three hours, Li Hui searched again, finding not even half a piece of Blood Banana Leaves left. Huo Qiniang and Chef Zhao looked at him, shaking their heads in despair. All usable artifacts had been spent.

At that moment, the speed of the Wave Breaking Cone was astonishing, as the sound of breaking air outside became an unending screech. They traveled in three hours the distance that would typically take four to five days.

Li Hui had poured all his energy into this, and now he could only rely on fate.

To support the operation of the numerous talisman formations, the treasure cabinet consumed vast amounts of spiritual energy every moment. If they maintained this speed, they might see land in seven or eight hours.

Every so often, a talisman formation would collapse, releasing dazzling talisman light, causing various sections of the ship to fracture, with the dismantled framework not far behind.

Chef Zhao warned everyone to prepare for escape; if the ship broke, it didn’t mean everyone would perish. He and Huo Qiniang were also among the lucky ones, but other crew members might survive. It was always better to have a chance to escape.

After enduring this agony for four hours, they had already entered the White Sea from the open ocean.

“We’re back!” Li Hui looked toward the junction of sea and sky; even though he could see nothing, his mood was drastically different. It was as if he had just left yesterday and was now returning today. It felt as though decades had passed, as if a young person had left home and returned as an adult, wondering how home was now.

At that moment, a loud “crack” came from behind the ship, as a massive golden shuttle appeared out of nowhere. Zhong Yuan and Jin Feng had just detected unusual movements when they heard a buzzing sound.

“Boom…” Golden lightning struck, and all defensive talisman formations on the ship exploded. In an instant, the ship’s mast shattered into pieces and flew back with the force of the oncoming wind.

“Eh?” The golden shuttle emitted a noise of surprise.

On the Wave Breaking Cone, the crew lay flat, their hearts pounding with fear.

Li Hui’s expression turned serious as he sighed, “They’ve finally come! We can’t withstand this kind of assault five times; right now, we can only burn out everything!”

“Swift Wind Treading Cloud Talisman, Fire Wings Talisman, Spirit Breakthrough Talisman, Golden Winged Roc Talisman, Fast Ascend Sky Talisman, explode, explode, explode!”

“Boom, boom, boom…” With indescribable explosion sounds, the Wave Breaking Cone seemed to burn furiously, transforming into a faint light that vanished.

When the Wave Breaking Cone reappeared, it had reached the junction of sea and sky, and then the ship’s figure became blurry again, appearing like a fleeting light.

“Talisman formations?” The Hongmo Sect members were astonished; the speed of the Wave Breaking Cone was surprisingly on par with the golden shuttle, even slightly faster.

In the blink of an eye, half an hour had passed, and they spotted some small islands in the distance. However, the speed of the Wave Breaking Cone began to slow down, with many panels flipping back against the fierce wind, the mast completely collapsing, and a golden lightning bolt shot from behind.

“Boom…” A large chunk was bitten off the left side of the ship.

The Hongmo Sect members had lost their patience and shouted in anger, “You actually made it this far, wasting my energy! Little brat, leave your life here! Hongmo Covering Hand!”

The winds and clouds stirred, and a blood mist descended!

The sky darkened, and the sea turned red as a massive shadow of a hand appeared.

With infinite ripples and a hazy crimson view, all defensive talisman formations aboard shattered in an instant. The front half of the ship exploded into countless wooden pieces, causing the crew to spew blood. Si Ma Suiyun released a green umbrella, spinning quickly to try to fend off the blood hand, only for it to turn to ash under the boom.

This green umbrella was a magical artifact. Although its power wasn’t high, it complemented Si Ma Suiyun’s cultivation method, but he never expected it to disintegrate in an instant, causing him to spew blood as well.

Su Qing’er, quick and perceptive, nearly at the same moment, unleashed two magical artifact mirror shields, releasing a large mass of silk along with three handkerchiefs.

“Crack, crack!” The magical artifact mirror shields shattered. The massive silk entangled the blood hand, only to be consumed by the demonic flames, leaving them in ashes. Thankfully, the three handkerchiefs were formidable.

These handkerchiefs were no trivial matter; they were life-saving items given to her by the ancestor of Aofeng Sect. They spun quickly in the air, clashing against the fierce demonic flames, diminishing the power of the covering hand.

“Bang, bang, bang!” The handkerchiefs also couldn’t stop the overwhelming demonic might, but after several rounds of resistance, their power was significantly reduced. Li Hui continued to form his hand seals, lining up shield-sized green scales outside his left arm, which quickly expanded into a protective light cover, then transformed into a treasure banner, the outermost layer resembling a blue bell.

“Dong…” The hand imprint descended; the blue bell held up for a moment before cracking, then smashed against the treasure banner, the demonic might surged inward, eroding it at a visible speed and rushing toward the protective light cover.

Li Hui’s heart sank as nine heads appeared nearby, directing their blood light at the hand imprint.

“Crack…” The protective light cover shattered, and the Yin-Yang Nine Heads formed a defense, rising in blood flames to resist. At the same time, the golden body Arhat appeared, raising six arms to counteract the attack.

The Hongmo Covering Hand was terrifying; layer after layer of protection was failing, and cracks emerged on the golden body Arhat.

Seeing that the Primitive Shell Symbol couldn’t hold on, Li Hui drew forth the Golden Silk Ring Knife.

This Golden Silk Ring Knife was an artifact that Dugu Yi used to display power, hidden with many unbelievable arrangements, designed to preserve his life in critical moments. He devised multiple plans, wrapping the blade with a significant number of spiritual talismans for several months, triggering many mystical effects.

“Slash!”

Li Hui, undaunted, decided to fight to the end. Even if there was no way to survive, he wouldn’t wait helplessly. Even struggling, he would turn the tide; even if everything was destroyed together, he would make the intruders regret it.

The blade light flashed, reducing the power of the blood-shrouded hand imprint to a mere fifteen percent. The shocking offensive suddenly launched; talisman light crackled as it sliced through and unexpectedly carved deep fissures, drawing the demonic flames away and sending the hand imprint spiraling back, crashing into the swiftly approaching golden shuttle.

“Unbelievable, die!” The golden shuttle filled with rage, preparing to use harsher methods, when an unexpected wave of pressure surged in.

“Hongmo trash, since you’re here, don’t even think about going back!” A clear female voice echoed through the air as towering waves surged on the sea, and thin strands of sword shadows swept toward the golden shuttle, making it tremble.