Chapter 200: Chapter 197 Hope and Disappointment
No matter whether it was the ghosts of the Yin Law Department or Yuan Zhen, neither had expected Jiang Li to pull such a move.
Seeing him in such a dignified and arrogant manner, they thought he was about to lash out and display the divine power of the Thunder Technique, but instead, he used it to escape.
However, it had to be admitted, this tactic was beyond everyone’s expectations, allowing Jiang Li to easily break through the Yin Wind Ghosts and escape without a trace.
Thus, only Yuan Zhen was left.
After a brief moment of astonishment, the Yin Wind suddenly converged toward the middle, with both Bull-headed and Ma Mian taking to the air to strike together.
One had escaped; one was left.
Two Sixth Ranks and twenty Seventh Ranks, the Yin Wind surged wildly, its breath alone possessing the grandeur of the "Junzi Wind" employed by Ming Yang, showcasing tremendous power.
Seeing this, Yuan Zhen’s expression subtly changed and he finally made up his mind.
Enveloped by pure white Sword Light, Yuan Zhen vanished into thin air, just as he had previously dodged Jiang Li’s Dragon Claw, exceedingly sudden and unexpected.
This time, however, Yuan Zhen did not reappear and seemed to have completely disappeared without trace.
Bull-headed and Ma Mian abruptly halted in mid-air, then circulated Netherworld Energy, sweeping across the sky, water surface, and underwater. The Yin Wind froze the rainwater and solidified the surface, turning the surrounding area into a harsh winter.
But no matter how they searched, they could not find any trace of Yuan Zhen.
"These disciples from reputable sects, how can they be more cunning than those from the villainous paths?"
Bull-headed spoke coarsely, "Dammit bear, we didn’t catch a single one."
"It doesn’t matter," said Ma Mian in a chilling voice, "We have done our duty. Even if we didn’t capture these two, the Lord of the Mansion won’t blame us. Let’s go, let’s go back and report to the Lord of the Mansion."
"Let it be so then."
Bull-headed scratched his head, saying, "Retreat."
The Yin Wind receded, ghost cultivators gathered their Netherworld Energy, withdrawing to the surroundings, with Bull-headed and Ma Mian vanishing through the air.
The Water Gorge once again returned to calm, with only the sounds of the water and the wind and rain lingering in the area.
One quarter... two quarters... three quarters of an hour...
"Dammit bear."
A curse echoed through the air, and the white Ghostly Bull Cart reappeared, a black chain dangling into the water, pulling up a clump of grey-white gas.
Then, after another quarter of an hour, from a crack in a rock on the water surface, a paper effigy slowly drifted out and hovered over the water.
Jiang Li, using the paper effigy as his form, observed all the processes, his mind filled with various thoughts, ’That grey-white thing should be the Residual Soul of the Sea Patrol Yaksha. The Yin Wind of Bull-headed and others kept this bit of residual soul from dispersing, maintaining it until now. Seeing their actions, they intend to collect this residual soul, but why wait until now to do it?’
’That white bull cart, very likely, marks the soul body with Dao Fruit Ability; Bull-headed needs a destination with a soul body to display that sudden mobility, and there must also be a distance limit.’
’And also Yuan Zhen, if he had used this method before, he could have left immediately the first time without being held back by me. His not using it suggests something tricky. Without form or trace, unseen and unheard, this could be the Daode Sect’s...’
"Tsst—"
The paper effigy was pierced by a ray of Sword Light, and Yuan Zhen’s figure silently appeared less than half a foot in front.
He had not left.
The paper effigy looked at Yuan Zhen, and Jiang Li’s gaze met the other’s indifferent eyes, "Xiyi... Sword Skill."
Leaving behind these four words, the paper effigy was shredded by the Sword Light into countless fragments.
...
Jiang Li flew through the air, suddenly feeling a sharp pain in his brow, as if a steel needle had penetrated his brain.
He knew it was because the paper effigy had been injured by the Sword Intent, which had also caused damage to Jiang Li’s main body.
However, the connection between the paper effigy and Jiang Li was nowhere near as close as that with the Incarnation Golden Core, so although there was an injury, it was not a hindrance.
Jiang Li even laughed, "Unseen is called Yi, unheard is called Xi, Xiyi Sword Skill... I probably know why he wants to conceal his mastery of this sword skill."
The Xiyi Sword Skill was a cultivation technique of the Daode Sect, and using it was not an issue. But once Jiang Li had confirmed his identity, there was an issue.
Yuan Zhen’s identity could be confirmed.
Thinking of this, Jiang Li felt quite relieved. He had not captured Yuan Zhen, but after he returned, Yuan Zhen would seek out Jiang Li himself.
In this, Jiang Li was quite confident.
Wind Control carried him another ten miles, and Jiang Li noticed the river water growing shallower, as if some monster was continuously devouring the water.
Jiang Li was about to leave the boundaries of Fufeng County; the clouds overhead were gradually thinning, already moving out of the rainy region.
At that moment, noises came from below. Jiang Li looked down to see a large crowd with their belongings herding livestock, seemed to be migrating. But there were far too many people, virtually entire villages and towns were relocating.
Jiang Li observed quietly and descended inconspicuously in the distance, then walked onto the official road and stopped a decently dressed middle-aged man, asking, "May I ask what has happened? Why does everyone have to move with their families?"
The middle-aged man, seeing Jiang Li’s air of a high personage, answered obligingly, "We had no choice but to leave. Starting several months ago, not a drop of rain fell, and the water in the river kept decreasing. Later, in order to fight for the water sources, the able-bodied men from each village had to come out and fiercely battle for it, many people died."
"Eventually, some Red Eyebrow Army appeared from the west, began robbing water sources everywhere, enclosing lands to collect money. If you wanted water, you had to pay, and later they started directly selling water at high prices. Our village couldn’t hold out much longer; luckily, we heard that it was raining in Fufeng County, so we all moved here."
The middle-aged man sighed lightly, full of melancholy.
Jiang Li frowned upon hearing this.
People are lowly away from their hometowns, and under normal circumstances, they would absolutely not relocate to other places. Because people can move, but fields cannot; such a move means giving up their land, and even if they returned one day, they might not be able to reclaim their property.
Now, the situation was far from being desperate.
At least there was still water in the river, at least water could be obtained for money.
Behind this, there must certainly be someone stirring things up in the shadows.
In a world replete with extraordinary powers, getting people to act against reason is not difficult, whether through spiritual secret techniques or Dao Fruit abilities, which could bewitch the hearts and minds of people, causing them to act unwillingly.
Similarly, inciting rebellion could also be easily facilitated.
The rumbling of water came from a river not far away, accompanied by cries of surprise from the crowd ahead.
As everyone watched in shock, the river water swiftly shallowed until the moist riverbed was exposed.
At the river’s bottom, a fissure had opened, stretching along the riverbed, swallowing all the water.
Those trying to survive through migration had just gained hope, only to be met with disappointment.