Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 197 - 194: The Great Yan Treasure Ship, Heavenly Circle and Square Earth?

Chapter 197: Chapter 194: The Great Yan Treasure Ship, Heavenly Circle and Square Earth?

Dawn.

Over the vast East Sea, a thick fog began to rise amidst the tumultuous waves at an unknown time.

Three medium-sized swift ships, their sails emblazoned with the pattern of five mountain peaks, were relentlessly pursuing a large treasure ship that appeared to belong to the official fleet of Great Yan.

From the swift ships, someone shouted loudly, their voice booming like a bell:

"Stop your ship immediately and surrender! We are under King Jinghai’s command, we’re after the goods not your lives!"

Apparently, these three ships marked with the Wufeng Seal were pirates of the East Sea, preparing to plunder the treasure ship.

The distance between them was rapidly closing.

The lookout pirate rubbed his eyes as if he had spotted something amidst the fog, and his face turned pale as he forcefully struck his copper hammer.

Dong! Dong! Dong!...

Suddenly, the alarm bells echoed through the waves.

Unfortunately, their response was a bit too late.

Whoosh—!

A strong wind swept up at sea, dispersing the fog.

Two gigantic warships flying the Great Yan Red Flag, the Navy Green Wave Flag, and the "Jing" character commander flag, like two sharp blades cutting through the waves, crashed into the pirates’ field of vision with force.

"Damn it! It’s the Great Yan Navy, let’s get out of here!"

"Turn the rudder, catch the wind!"

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

The three pirate ships were only medium-sized swift ships, which had no problem dealing with ill-equipped merchant ships.

But to clash head-on with naval warships was undoubtedly a death sentence.

At its height, the Great Yan Navy had more than four thousand various types of warships along the coastline, not counting those on inland lakes and rivers.

Chain ships, centipede ships, fire dragon ships, Cang Mountain ships, Haicang ships, three-masted gunboats, large fortune ships... there was a great variety.

With a firearms equipment rate of over eighty percent, they were unrivaled at sea.

Every foreign merchant group coming for trade had to bow down and tread carefully before them.

However, the immense benefits of maritime trade, naturally attracted countless sea pirates, who swarmed like sharks to the scent of blood.

These pirates were composed of a complex mix of fishermen, noble families, deserters, criminals, cultists, magicians, and foreigners, among others, and represented the navy’s greatest enemy.

The self-proclaimed Mr. Wufeng, King Jinghai, the pirate Cui Zhi, was one of the most powerful pirate groups on the East Sea, commanding hundreds of ships and tens of thousands of pirates.

These three swift ships were just the tip of the iceberg of the Wufeng Pirate Group.

The Great Yan Navy that ambushed them was composed of two three-masted gunboats.

This was a type of large warship that served as the navy’s main force, with three masts, the mainmast standing over four zhang tall, a length of twenty zhang, five decks, and a ship’s tower as high as a city wall that could hold up to 300 people.

In addition to the crew’s various firearms, they were equipped with ten "Fire Dragon Emerges from Water," fifty "Undersea Dragon King Cannons," eight "Thunder Sails Cannons," and forty "Divine Might General Cannons."

At this moment.

Atop the flagship, the commander clad in fish scale armor took his seat, appearing to be only in his late twenties, with sharp brows and bright eyes, and a concealed purple aura on his forehead that suggested an extraordinary status.

"Prince! It’s Cui Zhi’s men again. This self-proclaimed King Jinghai is blatantly challenging our King Jing Mansion, committing crimes along our patrol routes every day. He must not be spared lightly!"

A burly general bowed deeply to the commander.

King Jing, Zhou Jinghuan, naturally had no objections and gave a broad wave:

"Load the ’Divine Might General Cannons.’ Sink them for me!"

On the two warships, orderlies repeated the command.

Sailors loaded the cannons, magicians cast spells.

"Disciples request the ’Divine Might General’ to preside over the artillery. The range is 3 li, target directly ahead, three pirate ships, open fire!"

The hedgehog-like cannons adjusted themselves slightly for precision.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!...

The forty cannons on the side of the ship fired in unison, their orange flames illuminating the sea surface in an instant.

Blazing lines of fire leaped towards the three swiftly fleeing pirate ships, tearing even the sea fog into shreds.

These Daoist Skill Cannons had an effective range of up to five li, and in the blink of an eye, they enveloped all three ships like a Heavenly Girl scattering flowers.

The cannonballs, burning fiercely with the blessing of Daoist Skills, effortlessly broke the masts of the pirate ships, crushed human bodies, pierced through the decks, and ignited the gunpowder storage.

Before the navy’s Daoist Soldiers could launch the "Long Water Soldiers" with the "Ten Thousand Enemies Skill: Bibo Sea Stepping Formation," the three pirate ships had already sunk to the bottom of the sea, continuing to burn after a violent explosion.

Without requiring the orders of the commander, the two warships had already turned the rudder and approached the large merchant ship that had narrowly escaped from the hands of the pirates.

"Prince, it seems to be a Great Yan Treasure Ship used for trade between the Court and foreign lands.

I wonder why it has left the main fleet and ended up being targeted by pirates here."

Zhou Jinghuan frowned slightly. An abnormality signified there was something strange afoot.

Close to the land, the coastal area was somewhat safer, but far beyond the coverage of the "Dragon Qi Prohibition" in the distant sea, danger was tenfold compared to land, and caution was always warranted.

After a moment of contemplation, he instructed his subordinate:

"Pull a few pirates that aren’t dead out of the water and have them check out that treasure ship."

"As ordered!"

...

At the same time, a small boat was slowly sailing out from the mouth of the Turbid River into the sea.

On the table inside the boat’s canopy, seven sword-shaped metal talismans, made entirely of silver, lay quietly.

Wang Yuan’s hands formed a mantra as he chanted the "Print Release Spell": "Within the Fire Bell Palace, splendour interchanges. Five directions, five thunders, descend light, conduct wind. Heavenly might quakes all, banish all evils hastily, as an imperial decree."

In a sandalwood treasure box on the table, a green jade seal responded to the chant.

It leaped out on its own, spinning ceaselessly above the seven talismans.

Wang Yuan then chanted the "Sealing Spell": "Heavenly Emperor commands, slay malice, extinguish fiends. Divine seal once placed, wind and fire surge boldly. Hastily as the imperial decree, decree!"

At the end of the spell, he took thunderous qi and blew on the seal, envisioning a blaze ten thousand zhang high, linking the Dipper above with the seal’s text below, where the five lightning thunders resonated between heaven and earth.

The sky overhead turned half blue and half red, drawing in qi, blowing upon the seal.

Then, he pressed this seal, named "Yin Mountain Governs Ghost King Qianshan," onto each of the seven talismans.

The seven talismans flashed with spirit light.

The spell was complete!

"Haha, after ruining countless precious materials during the process, this ’Seven Kills Ghost Slaying Talisman’ has finally been successful!"

Having ascended to the realm of True Qi, Wang Yuan then used the fine jade marrow obtained from the Xue Mansion to carve a Dharma Seal unique to himself.

With it as a medium, his True Qi could remain in the talismans for a long time.

Allowing his Daoist skills to continuously refine the talismans, making them increasingly stronger.

And this meticulously crafted ’Seven Kills Ghost Slaying Talisman’ was a kind of sword talisman, with extremely heavy murderous aura and powerful might.

’Seven Kills’ is not only one of the malevolent spirits in divination but also represents seven types of murderous acts: premeditated murder, intentional murder, robbery-murder, fighting to death, accidental killing, killing in jest, and manslaughter.

The most impressive part is that using these talismans to slay evil men, evil ghosts, demons, oddities... the more they kill, the more powerful they become.

Once the ’Seven Kills Ghost Slaying Talisman’ is refined to only the ’Seven Kills Sword Qi’ and no longer retains its form, it can be used as one of the core materials for a Mage’s lifebound Dharma Sword within the Mage Realm.

This was also one of the trump cards Wang Yuan prepared for this sea voyage.

Considering the Tribulation Energy’s fondness for using him as a pawn, it was very likely that there was great danger on Red-Tail Island, most probably related to "oddities" or "Heavenly Officials."

Such a ferocious talisman would be very convenient to use.

Pleased with his work, Wang Yuan beckoned to them.

Upon that, golden and cyan sword lights flickered uncertainly upon the seven ’Seven Kills Ghost Slaying Talismans,’ and with a light spin, they sliced the entire table into pieces.

Then, in a queue, they swiftly flew into his sleeve.

It was only after reaching the True Qi realm that Wang Yuan truly began to unleash the power of "Ghost Talisman Crafting."

’Yu King Sword Formation Talisman,’ ’Supreme Golden Lock Talisman,’ ’Mountain Shifting and Scenery Changing Talisman,’ ’Ghost King Divine Weapon Talisman,’ ’Great Sin Blood Prison Talisman’... practically made him omnifaceted in Daoist arts.

Seeing the small boat reach the dock with the push of a water ghost, Wang Yuan packed up and abandoned the boat to reach the shore, walking toward the row of large sea ships docked there.

A small boat that could only navigate inland waters could not withstand the sea waves; to set to sea, it was necessary to embark on a sea vessel.

"Bo’an’s report has already made it clear that not even Prime Minister Xue, Young Master Xue, or Monk Liaoxing know where the concubine is imprisoned.

Yet Young Master Xue and the ’No-Life Dao’ have already started to take action.

I must find her before they do, otherwise it’ll be too passive.

The only clue I have left in my hands now is Zhou Jinhuan, who is likely connected to Zhou Wenrui.

Since it’s confirmed that he’s also near Red-Tail Island, besides facing the tribulation, I’ll have to find an opportunity to establish a relationship with him this time.

I just don’t know whether this cousin, a half-sibling from a different mother, is an ally or an enemy!"

Wang Yuan pondered his next plan while walking aboard the sea ship booked in advance by Black Water Temple’s Jin Shengshui.

He had just boarded the ship.

A brawny, weather-beaten middle-aged man with dead fish eyes suddenly approached him secretly.

"Esteemed guest, please allow me.

I am the ship captain here, and as we all seek safety at sea, please allow me to introduce our worshipped Venerable God ’Shan Jun.’ For sea voyages, our Venerable God is quite effective."

Without waiting for Wang Yuan’s response, he continued on his own:

"’Shan Jun’ generously taught us various sailing knowledge, allowing us to return from long-voyage sailing safely.

For instance, did you know that the land beneath our feet is... actually a sphere?"

Wang Yuan’s heart stirred, and he gave the man a deep look, somewhat surprised by such insight from a ship captain.

But before he could speak, a traveling merchant who had just boarded the ship blustered at the captain:

"Nonsense! If the earth were a sphere, wouldn’t we all fall off? It is clearly a case of ’Heaven is round, and the earth is square’!"

The ship captain was not annoyed; he surveyed the merchant with his dead fish eyes from head to toe, chuckled, and said:

"Guest, if you ever feel parched and crave raw fish, be sure to come to me, hehehe..."

With that, he paid them no further attention and turned to prepare for the ship’s departure.

Watching his retreating figure, Wang Yuan’s eyebrows raised:

"’Shan Jun’? A peculiar immortal? Heavenly Official?"

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