Destroy… all of their ships?

Jiao Cha couldn’t help but offer a timid warning. “Your Highness, the reinforcements approaching from both directions together amount to an entire fleet!”

What did an entire fleet mean, exactly?

Eastern Qin’s navy organized its ships into fleets of twelve, and each ship within a fleet carried a full company of soldiers—meaning that beyond the sailors and captain, each ship carried twelve additional soldiers, primarily archers and shield-bearers.

That was no small number of reinforcements coming!

If this battle truly broke out, it would be no minor skirmish by any means!

Yingzi, familiar with his master’s temperament, offered no advice, only remarking quietly to himself that Eastern Qin’s naval strength truly wasn’t to be underestimated—without the Jiaoren, Da Zhou would surely lose this battle.

“Even if ten fleets come, not a single one leaves alive today!” Jun Beiyue said coldly.

Jiao Cha looked at Jun Beiyue and felt, in that moment, that this man resembled nothing so much as an Asura himself—utterly terrifying!

“Understood!” He took his leave at once, diving beneath the waves in a single motion.

Meanwhile, the distant sound of horns from the Eastern Qin ships had never once stopped—if anything, they grew more urgent by the moment.

Nearly everyone aboard, whether they understood maritime signaling or not, could tell that even when two armies clashed, there was still supposed to be a standoff and negotiation first!

There was no way one should charge forward at full speed like this—if it kept up, a collision was inevitable.

Yet even Yingzi didn’t dare step forward to advise against it. Jun Beiyue stood on deck with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing coldly at the ever-approaching ship, his cold eyes suppressing all trace of fury—no one could tell what he was thinking.

Suddenly, the wind picked up!

The ship grew faster and faster!

On the Eastern Qin side, Xuanyuan Zhaoxi likewise stood on the highest deck, hands clasped behind her back, two sailors beside her taking turns sounding the horn—yet no matter how many warnings she issued, the ship opposite showed no sign of stopping at all!

“What does he mean by this! Has he lost his mind?” Xuanyuan Zhaoxi shouted furiously!

“Princess, does Prince Yao truly not understand maritime protocol, or is he only pretending not to? Does he mean to ram us?” the guard asked anxiously as well, having spent his whole life guarding these waters, yet never once encountering a situation like this!

Xuanyuan Zhaoxi glanced at the reinforcements arriving steadily from both sides and said coldly, “Even on land, no one charges in headlong like this right from the start. He’s gone mad—this princess won’t indulge his madness. If he wants to ram us, then let him ram!”

With that, Xuanyuan Zhaoxi personally waved a signal flag, directing the reinforcements to intercept from the front!

With still no sign of the Jiaoren, she was convinced Jun Beiyue wouldn’t actually dare—he had only one great ship and one small boat, and he still dared to clash head-on with her? Did he have no regard for his own life?

Nearly everyone stood at battle-ready, while down below, just as the guard approached the iron cell to lock the door, Xuanyuan Lige suddenly thrust out his dagger, silently killing the guard on the spot!

As the guard collapsed, Xuanyuan Lige collapsed as well—his wounds were simply too numerous, too dense, leaving him unable to exert any real strength. Even the slightest exertion pulled at his wounds, and pain from one wound would radiate across an entire area, leaving him utterly unable to summon any strength at all!

And yet, Xuanyuan Lige didn’t dare rest for long.

At this moment, he had no room to think of anything else—only a single thought filled his mind: no matter what, he could not let Ziqing be locked into that secret chamber!

Though the poisonous creatures within the chamber were few in number, the moment Ziqing entered, her survival instinct would inevitably kick in.

And once she found herself locked in mortal combat with those poisonous beasts, that would mark the true beginning of the Gu cultivation process!

He would not allow it. He absolutely would not allow such a thing to happen.

Gritting his teeth, forcing himself through the agony wracking his entire body, he forced his shackles to shatter with sheer strength. With a resounding “crack!” the chains broke apart completely, and at the very same instant, a mouthful of black blood suddenly gushed from his lips. His already pallid, handsome face turned paler still in an instant—purple robes now streaked white and stained with blood, he looked, in that moment, exactly like a paper doll, as though the sea wind might carry him away at any moment.

With one hand braced against the railing and the other pressed against his chest, he still managed to stand!

In his clear, bright eyes, a flicker of stubborn resolve burned. He told himself—consider this a life repaid to her.

This life, which should have already been lost in the battle at the Three Realms—this life she had given back to him.

Today, he would give everything he had left, and repay that life to her in full.

Gritting his teeth, gripping the ship’s railing, he made his way one step at a time toward the secret chamber, leaving a trail of blood streaked across every railing he passed.

At the secret chamber, the guards had already carried the great water vat containing Ziqing up to the iron-barred doorway. One guard worked to open the iron gate, while another slowly pushed aside the great stone lid covering the vat!

The poisonous creatures within the chamber had already been drugged into unconsciousness—the guards had little time to spare!

With a resounding “crack!” the great stone lid was set down on the deck.

“Well I’ll be, what a monster!”

“Quit yapping and get her out already—the moment I open the door, shove her in fast, or if the poisonous beasts wake up, you’ll be the ones paying the price!”

“Relax, they won’t wake that fast.”

“The princess said to move quickly, I still need to report back—hurry it up already!”

…

Soon, the guards dragged Ziqing out of the water vat. Her long hair concealed her face; her purple robes were already tattered and torn, and here and there, faint corpse-like spots had begun to appear across what had once been her fair, pale skin.

“This is horrifying!”

Gooseflesh rose over every guard’s skin. Hurriedly, they shoved Ziqing’s head into the secret chamber, and just as they were about to push her entire body through—suddenly, “Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”

Three sharp blades of wind cut through the air, and all three guards’ heads burst apart, their bodies crashing down at once!

Falling alongside them was Xuanyuan Lige himself—though he had arrived too late for some things, he had, at the very least, made it just in time, before the iron gate could be sealed shut.

And yet, even now, he could not allow himself to breathe a sigh of relief.

Those three blades of wind had consumed every last drop of internal energy he had managed to recover over these past days!

Those three wind blades—they represented, in truth, everything he had left!

He had been hoarding it all this while, waiting, calculating, hoping to use it at the one moment that could truly save a life!

In the end, he had no choice but to spend it all here. His hopes at the Eastern Sea cliffs had come to nothing; his hopes for Yaoshun Island had come to nothing as well.

He had no choice but to use it all right here.

He collapsed to the ground, blood trickling steadily from his lips. His body, already riddled with countless wounds from the Thousand Hawk Formation, had torn open completely from the strain of those three wind blades—blood seeping from every single wound, soon soaking through his once-immaculate purple robes entirely.

Collapsed on the ground, he clenched his teeth, letting black blood seep out from between them, still gritting them tight as he dragged himself forward inch by inch, leaving a trail of blood behind him, inch by agonizing inch moving his own body—already terminally wounded beyond hope.

Everyone else was up above, fighting the battle; down in the lower hold, he alone was fighting his own desperate battle against time!

He had no idea when someone might suddenly appear.

Nor did he know when those poisonous beasts might suddenly wake and drag Ziqing inside!

He had to pull Ziqing out as quickly as possible; he had to seal that iron gate shut as quickly as possible!

The black blood kept flowing, more and more, soaking the entire deck.

And just then, without any wind at all, waves suddenly rose, and the great ship began to pitch violently…