Chapter 97

It was early spring, and the lake water was very cold. Lu Li, with a wound on his leg, let out a painful groan as he entered the water.

Liu Yi was a good swimmer. He grabbed Lu Li with one hand and swam quickly with the other, his legs kicking rhythmically, carrying Lu Li like a sharp arrow toward the distance.

“Splash, splash~”

People kept breaking through the encirclement, rushing into the lake and swimming away. Strangely, once anyone jumped into the lake, the pursuers stopped chasing, as if the lake had a magical power that prevented them from crossing its boundary.

The lake was just an ordinary lake, and it had no magical power. The magic was in the rules set by the Elder of Heavenly Prison. Many years ago, the Elder of Heavenly Prison had decreed that once anyone entered the lake, outsiders were not allowed to pursue and kill them, or their entire clan would be exterminated.

After this rule was established, no clan dared to violate it, as all those who did were exterminated, including a fourth-rank clan.

The martial artists intercepting them were from nearby county cities. They were just helping the Yu family to gain some benefits by pleasing them. Who would dare to risk the lives of their entire clan?

People kept breaking through the encirclement. The Seventh Elder and others all rushed into the lake. Although many of the Sea God Realm elders were injured, all but one, who was killed, managed to enter the lake.

However, more than half of the Black Tortoise Realm martial artists were killed, and many of the spirit materials they carried were scattered on the ground. The Seventh Elder and others were almost in tears. They had brought out little wealth to begin with, and now more than half of it was gone...

But to survive was a stroke of luck. This time, they were fortunate to have escaped quickly, as the Soul Pond Realm martial artists of the Yu family had not arrived. Otherwise, none of them would have escaped.

“Go!”

The Seventh Elder roared in anger and sorrow, and they all swam away. They were all powerful martial artists, and swimming was a simple task for them, so they moved very quickly.

There was a small island about ten miles ahead, though it was only as big as a courtyard, it could provide a place for them to regroup. Everyone swam desperately toward it and soon reached the island.

“...”

On shore, Liu Yi and the elders looked at each other, speechless. Looking at the remaining fifty-odd people, they all felt an overwhelming sense of sorrow.

Once the dominant force in Wuling City, the Liu family had had thousands of Black Tortoise Realm martial artists and over seventy Sea God Realm elders. Now, only this many remained...

The spirit materials and treasures they had brought out were now reduced to just five or six burlap bags. One bag containing all the Earth Rank mystic techniques of the Liu family had been lost, leaving the Liu family severely weakened.

Everyone silently took out healing medicines to treat their injuries, and Lu Li also sat down and swallowed two healing pills.

Entering Thousand Island Lake did not mean they were completely safe. Thousand Island Lake had its own rules, and the killings here were even more frequent. They would not be truly safe until they reached the territory of the island lord known to the Seventh Elder.

More people kept swimming toward them, and in the distance, they could see others. The Seventh Elder and others observed for a while and felt a bit relieved. Elder Lu from the south was leading a group of over ten people.

When Elder Lu and his group reached the shore, the Seventh Elder immediately asked, “Elder Lu, how is the situation? What about the other two groups?”

Elder Lu's face was full of sorrow. He shook his head and sighed, “The northern group is likely to have suffered heavy losses. We don’t know how many managed to escape. The southern elders probably broke through, but the rest will have to rely on luck...”

“...”

Everyone looked at each other, speechless. It seemed that no more than a hundred people would successfully escape into Thousand Island Lake, while the rest of the Liu family's descendants would remain by the lake.

“Yu Feijia! The Yu family!”

The Seventh Elder roared in anger and sorrow. He gritted his teeth and said, “Liu family children, you must always remember the humiliation and hatred the Liu family has suffered today. Never forget it, generation after generation. If the Liu family can rise again one day, we will exterminate the Yu family!”

“Exterminate the Yu family!”

Some of the young Liu family members roared in anger, and at that moment, they all hated the Yu family to the core.

“Exterminate the Yu family?”

Liu Yi's lips curled into a bitter and mocking smile. The Liu family was down to this many people, and they could be wiped out in Thousand Island Lake at any moment. Whether they could survive was uncertain, let alone exterminating a powerful fifth-rank clan.

Everyone continued to treat their injuries and rest. After about half an hour, two more people swam over, and it seemed the rest had all been killed.

“Go!”

The Seventh Elder waited for two incense sticks to burn, confirming no one else was coming, and then ordered everyone to swim west. They were too close to the shore and feared danger. They had originally agreed to meet at Sunset Island.

Sunset Island was a relatively large island on the eastern side of Thousand Island Lake. According to the map, it was a large circular island, easy to find.

The map showed it was close, but it took them almost an hour to see a circular island in the distance. Fortunately, they were all martial artists, and their injuries had been treated, so they didn't bleed. Ordinary people would have drowned long ago.

“It’s the Ninth Elder and his group!”

Swimming a few hundred meters ahead, the Seventh Elder exclaimed. Everyone scanned the area and saw about twenty familiar figures, but... the Ninth Elder and his group seemed to be in a difficult situation?

Because those twenty people were in the water, and on the shore, dozens of black-armored warriors were holding weapons, preventing them from landing.

The Seventh Elder and others quickly swam over, and the Ninth Elder's group also noticed them, shouting loudly. Seeing that the Seventh Elder and his group only had about seventy people, everyone's faces turned pale.

“Ninth Elder, what’s the situation?”

The Seventh Elder swam over and asked the black-armored warriors on the shore in a low voice.

The Ninth Elder knew this was not the time for conversation and quickly explained, “These are the people from Sunset Island. They say we need to pay spirit crystals to land, ten spirit crystals per person.”

“Ten spirit crystals per person?”

A flash of anger crossed the Seventh Elder's eyes. It was like a tiger being bullied by dogs; these people from Sunset Island were too ruthless.

“What are spirit crystals?”

Lu Li, puzzled, asked Liu Yi, who explained in a low voice, “Ordinary people use gold leaves to buy things, but martial artists need spirit crystals to buy treasures, spirit materials, and weapons. In other words, spirit crystals are the currency used among martial artists.”

“Oh.”

Lu Li understood. The Seventh Elder took a few deep breaths and said to the black-armored warriors on the shore, “Brothers, I am a relative of Blood Feud. I am here to seek refuge with him. I hope you can give us some convenience.”

The warriors from Sunset Island's faces softened when they heard the name Blood Feud. A late-stage Sea God Realm warrior put away his weapon and said, “So you are relatives of Lord Blood. Alright... we will give Lord Blood some face. You have a hundred people, so you need to pay five hundred spirit crystals. Sunset Island has its rules, and we can’t do anything about it.”

“Alright!”

The Seventh Elder gritted his teeth and agreed. The people from Sunset Island stepped back, and everyone got on shore, using their spirit energy to evaporate the water.

The Seventh Elder scanned the area and saw a dock to the north with many large warships. He took a few steps forward and bowed, saying, “Brother, we want to go to Blood Carnage Island. Can your ship take us there?”

“No problem!”

The late-stage Sea God Realm warrior from Sunset Island nodded generously and added, “But it won’t be free. Blood Carnage Island is two days away. You need to pay a thousand spirit crystals together, and we will guarantee your safe arrival at Blood Carnage Island.”

“So expensive?” The Seventh Elder's face twitched, feeling the pain in his wallet.

“Humph!”

The people from Sunset Island sneered, “Without a ship, it would take you at least ten days to swim there. And Thousand Island Lake is not the outside world; pirates are rampant here. You might all die before you reach your destination. On our Sunset Island ship, no pirates within a hundred miles will dare to attack. A thousand spirit crystals is already a friendly price because of Lord Blood. If you don’t agree, there will be no ship, even if you pay spirit crystals.”