Through the rocking beneath him, Zhao Yuansong deduced that he was currently on a boat.
Looking at his surroundings, if his guess was correct, they were in the cargo hold of the ship.
"We found a smuggler and hitched a ride on a boat heading to Fengming Commandery," a disciple whispered.
This ship belonged to the rebel forces, but outwardly, it was affiliated with a sect in Liufeng Commandery.
They had even bribed the checkpoints bordering Fengming Commandery, allowing them to travel unimpeded between the two regions via the waterways.
To board this ship, they had paid a considerable price.
Zhao Yuansong's gaze swept over them and he noticed their magical artifacts were gone, presumably used to pay the 'fare' for the journey.
Such an exorbitant 'fare' was indeed outrageous.
However, given their current predicament, this was the best option available.
Compared to traveling by land, water travel was undoubtedly much safer and faster, and they wouldn't have to worry about pursuers.
This meant that after months, they finally had an opportunity to rest properly.
Being on this rebel-affiliated ship, at least for now, their safety was assured.
"I wonder how far the sect members have gotten?"
Zhao Yuansong let out a long sigh, and exhaustion washed over him, making him wish he could simply fall into a deep sleep.
As he spoke, several inner disciples exchanged glances. Although they firmly believed their sect would not abandon them, a trace of unease still arose in their hearts, wondering about the status of their sect's reinforcements.
While they were speculating, the reinforcements from the Nine Profound Sect were, in fact, embroiled in trouble.
At the border of Jinyang Commandery and Fengming Commandery, a group of people were fleeing at full tilt, pursued by powerful auras.
"You all go ahead!"
A murderous glint flashed in Ji Yuan's eyes as he unhesitatingly turned and charged back.
Having been pursued for two to three hundred li, he could no longer contain his frustration and decided to engage.
Initially, they had held back, unwilling to cause excessive bloodshed, but their pursuers were relentless and had continuously sought to kill them.
Since that was the case, Ji Yuan had no further reservations. After all, they were all cultivators belonging to the rebel forces, and killing them would come with no psychological burden.
With a wave of his hand, the spiritual energy from all directions converged around him, transforming into small swords the size of his palm.
A sword intent surged from his body and merged into these dozens of small swords, filling the surrounding forest with a sharp aura.
Facing over a dozen second-realm cultivators, Ji Yuan didn't even spare them a glance. His attention was primarily focused on the three third-realm cultivators.
One in the middle stage of the third realm and two in the early stage of the third realm – these were the ones who truly made him feel a slight apprehension.
Dozens of small swords were unleashed simultaneously, streaking through the air with a force that seemed capable of tearing the void.
Witnessing this, one of the third-realm cultivators let out a loud shout. A wooden ruler flew from his sleeve, and with a gentle flick, it instantly split into countless phantom images!
A sky full of ruler shadows descended, shattering all the small swords and sending powerful spiritual energy fluctuations raging in all directions.
However, at that very moment, as the small swords shattered, the sword intent imbued within them silently coalesced, forming a slightly ethereal sword shadow.
The shadow, several feet long, materialized and then slashed down heavily, instantly obliterating the myriad ruler shadows!
With a thunderous roar, the immense sword shadow, condensed from sword intent, struck the wooden ruler without any fancy moves!
Almost simultaneously, the early-stage third-realm cultivator spurted out a mouthful of blood, and his aura weakened considerably in an instant.
He fiercely vibrated his magical power, shaking off the colossal sword shadow, and then quickly retrieved his magical artifact.
His gaze fell upon it, and the cultivator's face immediately contorted in pain. In the previous clash, dense cracks had appeared all over the wooden ruler.
Had it been even a few more breaths, this magical artifact would have been completely destroyed!
"You're asking for death!"
The cultivator roared in anger and then produced another magical artifact.
He unleashed a palm strike with all his might. It spun in mid-air, instantly transforming into a size of several feet, with surging magical power erupting and powerful Dao principles flowing upon it.
Beside him, the other two cultivators also attacked, each unleashing their magical artifacts.
A sharp long sword and a golden vajra scepter, each emanating astonishing fluctuations and powerful Dao principles that stirred the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan's gaze sharpened, but there was no fear in his eyes.
He let out a sharp cry, and the sword intent phantom in the air shattered, then rapidly retreated.
At the same moment, he clasped the long sword behind his back. With a crisp sword hum, the sword was swiftly drawn from its sheath.
Instantly, the retreating sword intent poured into the long sword. Waves of sword hums rose like a surging tide, and with the descent of the bright sword body, a dazzling sword light shot forth!
A sword light, three to four feet long, suddenly split into two additional beams in mid-air, striking the incoming magical artifacts!
In mere moments, blinding light filled an area of over ten feet, like a sun rising!
Ji Yuan raised his eyebrows, took a step forward in mid-air, and then seemed to merge into the void, disappearing from his original position with a blur.
The next moment, he reappeared behind the three cultivators. He subtly twisted his wrist and then immediately slashed horizontally with his long sword.
There was no dazzling light, nor any heart-pounding aura. Only an extremely faint, thin line, barely perceptible unless one paid close attention.
With the appearance of this faint, thin line, the third-realm cultivators before him were instantly enveloped by the aura of death.
They did not doubt for a moment that if their reaction had been even a fraction of a second slower, they would have perished on the spot!
The three turned almost simultaneously and saw the thin line, now less than two zhang away from them.
The hair-thin line seemed to exist outside of heaven and earth; even a divine sense could not detect it, only the naked eye could perceive its presence.
Although they could not feel any aura emanating from the thin line, they dared not be careless, as if they were already enveloped by the aura of death.
Without a second thought, they unleashed a torrent of spells in the shortest possible time. The one with the highest cultivation even produced an iron tablet, and as magical power was continuously infused, a hazy halo spread out.
The next breath, a subtle, thin line silently arrived. Any spell before it could not last even for the duration of a finger snap, cutting through like an unparalleled divine sword!