Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 356 - 356 355 Pirate Attack 3

356: Chapter 355 Pirate Attack 3 356: Chapter 355 Pirate Attack 3 In a breathtaking instant, the Flying Sword grazed the woman’s scalp and plunged into the water.

Had the Sword Cultivator grown soft-hearted at the last moment?

But this was only an illusion!

As the Flying Sword entered the water, it veered sharply, pierced through the boat’s hull, and stabbed the infant beneath the woman; at that very instant, the woman was suddenly flung high into the air, followed by a streak of red light skipping across the sea and vanishing.

It was that very infant.

Hou Niao had been prepared all along.

As the Flying Sword broke through the water, he dove down simultaneously, blocking the path of the red light with his Longsword, ready to strike down in the open air.

The collision between the red light and the Longsword emitted a metallic explosion, ringing like the clash of iron and gold.

Where could it turn to now?

The Flying Sword followed the trail and split the red light into a visible figure, which Hou Niao, pouncing upon it, cleaved in two with a single stroke.

The halved body still screamed, “Quanzhen Demon Sect, ruthlessly cruel, I will curse you from below…”

Hou Niao’s Sword Escape swooped down to catch the woman who was about to fall into the water, flickered a few times, and soon landed on the reef; then he flew straight to Sangmu Island, bumping into a mining ship just about to enter the harbor mid-journey.

The captain only saw a blur before a person suddenly appeared in the sky in front of him,

“Northwest, five miles out, there are about a dozen people in the water, hurry to rescue them.”

The captain dared not delay; at sea, in such circumstances, there was no standing by idly.

Mutual assistance was the only principle—who could assure they wouldn’t be in such a situation one day?

Watching the ship change course, Hou Niao did not stay but returned to the capsizing scene.

Using the overturned ship as a center, he continuously circled around, seeking more survivors, and also, whether there might be a child on any of the scattered ship parts.

He was a person who remained focused in emergencies, the more sudden the event, the calmer he became; the current situation was not suitable for taking these mortals back to the island.

He had no Flying Boat, and could only carry two people at a time.

Although Sangmu Island wasn’t far, frequent back and forth would waste a great deal of time.

What he needed to do now was to see if there were any other survivors he hadn’t yet discovered, especially that child.

He maximized his Sword Escape speed, scrutinizing every bit of abnormality from a hundred yards in the sky, and stretched his Divine Sense to its limit, barely able to cover a certain range.

That thief was indeed calm enough, the stillest of the four wrongdoers.

Had someone else been in his place, a slight pang of mercy might have played into the thief’s hands.

But Hou Niao was different.

The moment the first sword struck, he felt something was off.

Normal people would think that the mother, in an attempt to protect her child, had exerted astonishing potential, thus evading the Sword Cultivator’s stunning blow; fictional biographies often hype such things up, claiming people could unleash unexpected strength and reactions under certain extraordinary conditions.

But he never believed such nonsense.

He only knew that human strength had its limits; with his Flying Sword striking like lightning, a normal person’s reaction would most likely be to freeze, not even able to determine whether the Flying Sword was heading toward them—how could they possibly make a perfect dodge?

There was another possibility, that it wasn’t the mother dodging with the child, but rather the child controlling the mother to dodge!

The mother might not be the child’s mother, and the child might not be a real child.

In the Cultivation World, there were plenty with strange and bizarre forms; shrinking bones and changing appearance was not at all a difficult task.

In the conflict between rescuing people and protecting himself, he had his own approach—he couldn’t be responsible for others, but he certainly wouldn’t fall prey to weakness and excessive sentiment.

As for right and wrong, let it be.

Sword Escape, like a rainbow sweeping back and forth over the ocean’s surface; based on his judgement, the adults on the ship might not necessarily die at the hands of a few thieves, after all, they served as the best cover.

The only problem was this child, no one knew how those thieves had initially dealt with him, so they could only leave it to fate.

Accustomed to arrogance and dominance at sea and in order to scheme and entrap opponents, they had lost the bottom line as cultivators.

Hou Niao embraced the mindset of exerting every possible effort, even a hundredfold, not letting go of even the slightest chance, flying in the direction of the ocean currents; even as hope seemed to grow fainter, he didn’t give up.

Finally, amidst the waves about sixty to seventy miles off course, he discovered a small boat, an essential life-saving device for ocean-going vessels, on which there were faint signs of life.

This time, he no longer needed to use his sword to probe.

At Sangmu Island’s harbor, Boss Shi watched as one injured person after another was carried off the ship; caught in mishap after falling overboard, yet each person had a penetrating hole in their thigh, which was truly horrific at first glance.

But there were physicians present who marveled, for such wounds appeared dreadful, but in reality, had not harmed bones, meridians, or blood vessels, instead passing through the fleshiest parts.

One person could be a coincidence, but with a dozen such cases, it was altogether awe-inspiring.

It was clear that this was done intentionally, but why would an Immortal Master deliberately make a hole in each person during a rescue?

It was difficult to understand.

Luckily, such wounds required only a couple of months to heal and would not leave any lingering effects;

This ship belonged to Sangmu Island too, used for transporting ore, manned by familiar faces, but they were also at a loss about what exactly had happened?

They only knew their mining vessel had been sailing smoothly despite the strong winds and waves, and with their experience, they shouldn’t have failed to avoid the hidden reefs?

The ship had shattered quite suddenly and unexpectedly; there was no need to mention the self-rescue that followed their plunge into the sea, as it seemed everyone fortuitously got hold of a piece of plank?

Then they drifted with the waves, and each time their thigh pained they were hoisted onto a reef, with everything happening in a muddled daze; this was the limited perspective of mortals.

In the vast sea, their rise and fall with the waves was the only thing the sailors could use to barely maintain their composure, even then, no one had the leisure to look up at the sky.

As everyone grumbled and was carried off to the temporary aid station, a flash of sword light streaked across the sky, and a cultivator holding a blanket descended, landing beside a woman overwhelmed with grief, gently handing the blanket to her.

The woman was a mix of tears and joy, sobbing uncontrollably, not knowing what to say; this fearsome and irrational swordsman who had struck her with his blade, had brought her beloved child back to her.

Until now, she had not understood what exactly had happened.

Should she feel grateful?

Or should indignation fill her breast?

Hou Niao simply didn’t care about her feelings; her anger could not shake him at all, and her gratitude was of no help to him whatsoever.

He did what he thought was right, casting aside others’ judgements.

Boss Shi hurried over, somewhat bewildered, “Immortal Master, what is this?”

Hou Niao glanced at him, shook his head, and without a word, his figure soared toward the cliff lighthouse to the southeast.

Boss Shi sighed, realizing that he really should curb his curiosity.

Hou Niao ascended into the sky and in the blink of an eye arrived above the lighthouse where Daoist Chao was practicing cultivation.

This time, without any greeting or questioning, he struck out with his sword, shattering the warning formations set up around the lighthouse.

The Flying Sword did not lose momentum and circled back, incidentally shearing off half of the lighthouse’s top.

…With Wu hook in hand, his spirit towers higher than hundred-foot buildings.