Following the plan agreed upon yesterday, the three of us came to the lakeside. Bai Helai turned his head to look at Liu Shinian and me.
Seeing that we were ready, he nodded slightly and blew his whistle.
Liu Shinian drew his Willow Sword, standing ready, while I stood by, poised to act.
This time, instead of the thick fog from before, a gurgling sound came from the water, followed by bubbles rising to the surface.
Then, countless iron chains shot out of the water towards the sky, only to descend upon the three of us like falling flowers.
Wan Gui Wang immediately flew out, severing the approaching chains. At that moment, the water surface exploded, and Tian Wu emerged, carried by the current.
I leaped onto the water, moving to Tian Wu's side to draw his attention.
Liu Shinian then sprang into the air, landing on Tian Wu. Feeling someone land on him, Tian Wu became enraged and thrashed violently from side to side.
To allow Liu Shinian to pierce his eyes, I created a disturbance on the water's surface to draw his gaze. He then raised his sharp claws and lunged at me.
Liu Shinian flipped from a bulging fleshy mass on his back and leaped before Tian Wu's eyes. Seizing the opportunity, he thrust his sword forward, piercing one of his central eyes.
Tian Wu roared in pain and thrashed with all his might, flinging Liu Shinian away.
With a chance to catch my breath, I quickly called out, "Shinian, give me the sword!"
Liu Shinian understood and immediately threw the Willow Sword. As it flew towards me, I leaped up, caught it, and then sprang onto his sharp claws before leaping higher.
He immediately focused all his eyes on me and raised his right claw, swiping at me.
I flipped and pushed off his sharp claw, using the momentum to ascend. Seizing the moment, I thrust my sword into his left eye.
Tian Wu roared again and thrashed violently. Liu Shinian, seeing his chance, flew forward.
I tossed him my sword. He aimed and thrust again, piercing Tian Wu's right eye.
At that moment, I suddenly realized that the small eyes were not his weak points, but his single large eye at the top was.
I immediately dodged his attacks, leaped to Liu Shinian's side, and caught the Willow Sword he threw.
Then, with a push of my legs, I ascended to Tian Wu's main eye and concentrated my power, thrusting my sword into his large eyeball.
He let out a pained howl, screaming repeatedly. I pulled out my sword and landed. Tian Wu, severely wounded, flipped over and sank into the water.
Liu Shinian asked incredulously, "Is he dead?"
I shook my head. "Probably not yet."
Bai Helai waved from the shore, exclaiming, "Wonderful! You've defeated Tian Wu. Come up quickly."
Upon reaching the shore, I noticed that Liu Shinian was covered in black blood, and so was I.
I then remembered the black blood that had splattered from Tian Wu's eyes when we burst them.
"Let's wash up," I said, pointing to the black blood on us.
He nodded, and we both walked to the water's edge to wash off the black blood.
Bai Helai, being thoughtful, went to the campfire, picked up some branches, and started a warm, blazing fire.
"Come over and warm yourselves!" he called out to us.
"Coming," I replied.
Then, Liu Shinian and I walked over and sat by the fire, warming ourselves. We continued to chat about Tian Wu.
"He's been severely wounded this time; he should hide away, right?"
Bai Helai, however, said, "His eyes have been pierced, and he hasn't eaten. He's as good as dead and won't cause any more trouble."
I looked up and suddenly saw that the four black whirlwinds emanating from the bottom of the lake were growing smaller.
Bai Helai followed my gaze and explained, "When those four black whirlwinds disappear, it will be the end of Tian Wu."
Liu Shinian wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked back, also seeing the diminishing black whirlwinds.
"It seems Tian Wu is certainly doomed."
"Then let's wait until the black whirlwinds disappear before we go back," I suggested.
"Alright," they both agreed enthusiastically.
At that moment, Wan Gui Wang suddenly spoke, "I smell the evil aura of twin swords."
"Where?"
"It seems to be not far from here, but I'm not entirely sure yet."
"It's fine. Since Tian Wu is already severely injured, we can search for them slowly."
"Okay."
However, his words made me instinctively look around. Bai Helai pointed to the brocade box on the ground and asked,
"If you don't want this box, may I use it to start a fire?"
Liu Shinian quickly stopped him.
"No, no, no! This brocade box is very valuable. When we get out, I can sell it for money. Don't underestimate it; it's worth two thousand gold coins."
Bai Helai laughed heartily.
"So valuable? Don't worry. When I return, I'll give you some valuable things."
"Really? What are they?" Liu Shinian immediately transformed into a greedy little fellow, looking at him expectantly.
Bai Helai told him, "I have a pair of male and female lions, a white jade elephant half a meter tall, and two pairs of mutton-fat jade pendants."
"Wow, that must be priceless."
"Absolutely."
"Then which one do you plan to give us?" Liu Shinian asked, blinking his eyes.
"I'll give them all to you."
"All to us?"
"Yes. You saved me and defeated Tian Wu. My possessions are still not enough to repay your kindness."
I said to him, "Liu Shinian was just joking with you. We don't want anything. It's just that this box was given to us by someone else, and it would be improper to discard it."
"I see."
"So, what should we do now?"
"Let's just wait and see for now."
"Okay."
Thus, the three of us sat by the fire, chatting until late into the night. We talked for a long time, and there was no strange cold wind.
Seeing that it was getting late, I said to the other two, "It's late. Let's go to sleep."
"Okay."
After speaking, I once again went to the tree from before, leaped onto it, and lay down on the familiar branch.
Looking back, Liu Shinian and Bai Helai chatted for a while before leaning against the wood and falling asleep. Seeing them asleep, I felt much more at ease and slowly closed my eyes to sleep.
The next morning, a faint ray of sunlight penetrated through the leaves. I slightly opened my eyes and saw the new sun rising on the horizon.
Immediately, I heard someone shout, "Wake up, wake up! Look, look!"
I rubbed my eyes and looked around, only to see that the shout came from Bai Helai.
I then rolled out of bed and went to his side, asking, "What's wrong?"
"Look," he said, pointing to the lake. The four black whirlwinds had disappeared.
At that moment, I heard Liu Shinian shout, "Look, the fog has cleared!"
I looked up and saw Liu Shinian standing in the treetops, pointing down the mountain. I immediately leaped up, flew to his side, and looked down the mountain, indeed seeing large patches of mist dissipating.
Liu Shinian exclaimed happily, "It seems Tian Wu is truly dead, and we can return to Xizi Country."
I also showed a long-lost smile, then leaped down from the tree and went to the lakeside, where I saw Bai Helai still looking at the lake where the black whirlwinds had vanished.
I asked him, "Since Tian Wu has disappeared, where will you go next?"
He sighed slightly, then smiled and replied, "I'll go home. I have to go back."
At that moment, Liu Shinian also came to us. I pointed to Liu Shinian's sword and asked him, "Do you know what kind of sword this is?"
He shook his head, looking puzzled.
I then told him, "This is the Willow Sword, forged by the Liu clan a thousand years ago. If it had appeared three thousand years earlier, it could have been considered an ancient divine sword."
"Why are you suddenly telling me this?" he asked, confused.
I explained, "You said you are the young master of a wealthy family, so you must know something about these things."
"I usually just enjoy traveling and sightseeing; I haven't thought about these things much."
"Oh, that's understandable." As I said this, I drew Liu Shinian's Willow Sword and held it to his neck.
He was suddenly startled, his eyes full of confusion. "What are you doing?"
"Do you know Wan Gui Wang?"
He shook his head, indicating he didn't.
I smiled coldly and exposed him. "Stop pretending. Tian Wu, your acting is too clumsy!"
Liu Shinian was also shocked. He only knew that Bai Helai was suspicious, but he didn't know he was Tian Wu.
"You are Tian Wu?" Liu Shinian asked unwillingly.
Seeing that his disguise had been revealed, he calmly smiled slightly. "How did you find me out?"
I explained.
"You were suspicious from the beginning. After you appeared, not only did the twin swords go missing, but you could also summon Tian Wu at will.
Earlier, I asked you about Wan Gui Wang, and you didn't know anything. If you were truly the young master of a wealthy family, how could you not even know about Wan Gui Wang?"
"It seems I was careless."
"There's one more thing. We went to sleep early every night because of you, didn't we? What were you doing touching me every night?"
Liu Shinian's expression changed upon hearing this. He immediately asked, "Are you really Tian Wu?"
He didn't deny it and readily replied, "I not only kissed you, but I also licked Liu Shinian."
"What!"
We both exclaimed in surprise. We never imagined he would do such a despicable thing to me, and at the same time, he had done unspeakable things to Liu Shinian.
Liu Shinian suddenly felt upset and said resentfully,
"What! You kissed her? Oh my god, I haven't even kissed her, and you got there first."
I looked back at him in confusion. Liu Shinian quickly explained,
"No wonder I felt like someone was licking my face every night. I didn't realize it was you."
He said arrogantly,
"So what? I know you brought the Dragon Cry Sword and the Crimson Blood Sword.
However, I've hidden them in a place you'd least expect. Without the twin swords, I'll see how you plan to kill me, hahaha."
I smiled coldly, turned, and swung my sword. Instantly, a sword qi flew out, directly towards the tree where I slept every night.
The large tree was split in two by the sword, revealing the Dragon Cry Sword and the Crimson Blood Sword hidden within.
He was suddenly greatly alarmed and asked,
"You, you, how did you know?"
"You're very clever. The most dangerous place is the safest place.
You came to my tree every night. I guessed it wasn't just for me; you also wanted to check on the hiding place of those two swords.
But unfortunately, you've been trapped on this island for a thousand years, so you don't know how much the outside world has changed, and your plans are full of flaws."
He, however, was unfazed and laughed heartily. "From the moment you arrived, I smelled an unusual aura.
I intended to spare your lives, but I didn't expect you to be so uncooperative. If it were my usual nature, you two would have already become my food."
"Oh, really? I fear your death is imminent!"
"You refuse to yield, so I shall send you on your way."
Saying this, he waved his hand, and the Tian Wu submerged in the water immediately surfaced.
Then, he transformed into a speck of light and flew towards the husk. As the primordial spirit entered the body, Tian Wu immediately became energetic.
The eyes that had been pierced also regrew.
The four black whirlwinds that had disappeared also surged from beneath the water. The powerful demonic energy immediately drew the four black whirlwinds together, merging them.
Forming a massive whirlwind, the potent black energy instantly tainted the sky, turning it dark.
At this moment, the people far away on Penglai Island also saw the powerful demonic energy that pierced the sky and darkened the surroundings.
The patriarch gazed at the demonic energy with great concern and murmured to himself, "This is Tian Wu's true strength. It seems the Demon King and the others are in danger."
Bi Yao, who was listening intently, did not quite agree. Instead, she firmly believed,
"I believe they will defeat Tian Wu and return safely."
At this moment, from the sky filled with black mist, several bolts of lightning suddenly struck the sea surface, instantly stirring up a strong wind that blew towards the area of the black whirlwinds.
Then, someone shouted, "Look, it's a storm!"
Everyone looked into the distance and saw a patch of black sea wind sweeping towards the area of the black whirlwinds from afar.
At this moment, on the land of the black whirlwinds, Liu Shinian and I were unaware that this massive gust of wind was about to arrive.
Liu Shinian only heard a mournful sound in his ears. He turned his head and saw a hundred-zhang-high black gale rushing towards them. He quickly warned me,
"Muye, be careful, it's a strong wind!"
I looked back and saw the wild, massive wind. I quickly replied, "Okay," and then rushed back to retrieve the twin swords.
Just as the gale arrived, a strong mournful sound was heard in our ears, and then we were blown away by the wind.
The twin swords I had stuck into the ground did not support us for long before Liu Shinian and I were both swept by the strong wind into the powerful black whirlwind swirling on the lake.
Seeing us fall into the black whirlwind, Tian Wu followed us in. Once inside the whirlwind,
He attacked first, spitting several ice pillars towards Liu Shinian and me in the vortex.
Liu Shinian dodged with all his might, but his clothes were still torn at the waist. I could still block with the twin swords and shouted to him,
"Draw your sword quickly!"
Liu Shinian flipped sideways, drew his Willow Sword, and slashed at the flying ice pillars.
At this moment, I saw a stream of black energy emanating from Tian Wu and entering my Crimson Blood Sword.
The black energy was like an unbreakable bond between the sword and the qi.
At this moment, Tian Wu leaped to my side and began to stomp on me. I could only block with my sword, but in the midst of this swirling wind, I couldn't fully utilize the twin swords.
I couldn't even execute complete moves.
Seeing me in a difficult position, Wan Gui Wang flew out proactively and quickly approached Tian Wu's many eyes.
He spat a puff of black gas at them, which enveloped his eyes, making him unable to see clearly and hack wildly at Wan Gui Wang.
Taking advantage of this opening, I drew my sword and unleashed the first move of the Dragon Cry Sword, "Dragon Emerging from the Sea."
Then, I rapidly flew up and attacked him with a flurry of slashes. The cold aura from the Dragon Cry Sword quickly enveloped Tian Wu.
However, he forcefully broke free from the Dragon Cry Sword's restraint. I used the Crimson Blood Sword's first move, "Dance of the Ten Thousand Demons," and attacked swiftly.
The result was still useless. The sword strikes hit him like they were hitting iron, making "clang clang clang" sounds.
Tian Wu seized the opportunity and swung a claw. I failed to dodge and was sent flying, landing on the wall of the black whirlwind opposite.
Liu Shinian gathered his strength and quickly flew before Tian Wu. As he was about to pierce his eye with his sword, Tian Wu sensed it.
He immediately spat out a long tongue, wrapped it around Liu Shinian, and began to drag him towards his mouth.
I immediately flew over, raised my sword, and with a swift chop, severed the tongue, saving Liu Shinian. However, the severed tongue seemed immortal, and a new tongue grew again.
At this point, I couldn't think of any way to deal with him.