Chapter 78: Winds Rise

“An alliance? What do you mean?” Li Yi remained calm, not in a hurry to refuse.

“You and I are the same kind of people, having no interest in the Six Strategies Qi.” The Mirage-Masked Maiden seemed to see right through him, saying coolly, “What both of us want are those six skeletons! Since that’s the case, why not travel together? We have no conflict of interest, we can support and help each other…”

“The six skeletons? How could you tell?” Li Yi grew vigilant, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

“Relax, my ‘Oceanic Eye’ isn’t that powerful…” The Mirage-Masked Maiden waved a hand, explaining, “You came from ‘Leixu’, and now you’re heading towards ‘Martial Vanguard’. Anyone with half a brain could figure it out.”

“I see,” Li Yi relaxed slightly, asking casually in return, “And you? What use do you have for the Dao Patterns on those six skeletons?”

“Your eye technique is really something…” The Mirage-Masked Maiden seemed surprised, shrugging, “I have zero interest in those ghostly scribbles, but someone is willing to pay a high price.”

Li Yi thought for a moment, preparing to refuse.

“Wait, before you decide, you can first see my skills!”

With a light shout from her, a snowy Battle Aura surged out. Around her body, it seemed like a boiling sea of clouds, with several thick mists coiling like dragons and pythons, and her figure vanished abruptly!

Li Yi was slightly stunned. The next moment, a sharp light burst from his eyes. Yet even under his Dawnlight Eyes, he could only see a flowing, blurry silhouette.

Immediately after, the sharp sounds of wind tearing rang out continuously, piercing through the wind curtain, but no arrows were seen. A breath later, a large cyan boulder in the distance made a cracking sound and split apart.

Only then could three grey long arrows be seen, lined up vertically, embedded in it.

“So, what do you think?” Even with the mask, her proud expression was visible. “I cultivate ‘Mist Robe Battle Aura’, extremely skilled at concealment. My Fog-Cutting Arrows are even hailed as the ‘Number One Assassination Arrows’. With my help, your journey will be much easier.”

Li Yi was somewhat tempted. A thought crossed his mind, but he shook his head again. “The more capable you are, the greater the threat to me. I don’t like the idea of a cold arrow shooting at my back at some point…”

“If that’s your concern, there’s no need.” The Mirage-Masked Maiden raised her hand, tossing out a bracelet that looked woven from withered branches, and took out another, putting it on her own wrist.

“‘Soul Chains’?” Li Yi recognized the item, his eyes flickering.

This item was made from interlocking branches. When two people wore them, it had the effect of a Soul Chains, sharing half the damage. It required mutual consent from both parties to take effect, and also mutual consent to cancel.

“You know it? Good, then I don’t need to explain much,” the Mirage-Masked Maiden glanced at Li Yi. “Well?”

“Alright!” Li Yi’s doubts vanished, and he nodded.

Putting on the bracelet, the two looked at each other, opening up their minds. A hint of greenish-blue light formed between the two bracelets.

Under the Soul Chains, a strange feeling inexplicably arose.

“What should I call you?” Li Yi asked.

“You can call me Yuyi,” the maiden said. This was clearly a false name.

“And you?”

“Sancai,” Li Yi blurted out a lie.

…

Thwack!

A long arrow pierced through from the center of the forehead, out the back of the skull. The body fell straight down.

Thwack!

The other two, faces filled with terror and despair, still couldn’t escape the fate of point-blank execution. Arrows struck their foreheads, and they fell to the ground, tilting left and right.

“Miss Yuyi, your archery is truly impressive…”

Li Yi gave a thumbs-up. He had to admit, with Yuyi’s help, this journey was indeed much easier.

A snap plus a ground-shaking effect caused the road bandits’ Mana to falter slightly. Immediately after, three Earth Binding Spells bound them in place.

The rest was left to Yuyi.

“You’re quite impressive too.” Beneath the mask, Yuyi’s expression couldn’t be seen. She said flatly, “Not to mention those first two strange spells, your Earth Binding Spell’s effect is clearly stronger than usual. Is it a Bloodline Ability or Metamagic Specialization?”

“You must be seeing things…” Saying this, Li Yi showed no sign of embarrassment.

Dragon-Turtle Qi was also one of his hidden cards, and his relationship with the other party was far from close enough for such revelations.

The two shared a moment of understanding and began searching the corpses separately. After a while, they couldn’t help but feel greatly disappointed.

“Don’t these people carry any Magic Crystals when they go out?” Li Yi grumbled. His haul wasn’t great; he pulled out an “Eight Dou” ring that increased Mana capacity and, without changing expression, put it on his finger.

“For these looters, the chance of being looted themselves is also high. Their wealth is usually hidden in their shoes, or some even swallow it,” Yuyi spoke from experience, tapping the sole of a shoe. “However, this group probably had a lookout person…”

“A lookout?” Li Yi perked up.

“Yes, this person is good at hiding, not easy to spot.” Yuyi nodded. “But both of us are skilled in eye techniques. Searching for him shouldn’t be too difficult, just a bit more time-consuming… So, want to look?”

“Forget it, the main task is more important.” After some thought, Li Yi shook his head.

Yuyi felt a little regretful but didn’t say more.

…

The journey afterwards was smooth sailing. Occasionally, they encountered lone individuals, but those would retreat or detour from afar.

Giant Beast Skeleton – Martial Vanguard!

The giant beast Martial Vanguard, fire attribute, possessed “Dog Strategy” Qi. Its surroundings were a “Blazing Fire Domain”.

Fortunately, thanks to Yuyi’s “Ziwei’s Shelter”, otherwise, Li Yi might have barely been able to enter this Blazing Fire Domain, but he would have lost a layer of skin.

Yuyi stayed outside, using her “Oceanic Eye” to map the magic patterns, while Li Yi positioned himself within the skeleton, quietly cultivating.

Step by step, his mind steady, “Leopard Strategy” Qi surged upwards. His entire bloodline brimmed with vitality, and the embryonic Bloodline Rune within his body shone brightly, with one or two more lines being drawn out.

Li Yi’s breathing became somewhat labored, and his heart stirred with a vague excitement.

This feeling was like planting a sapling. He clearly knew its growth would take a long time, but watching it bathe in sunlight and rain, sprouting a tender leaf, that sense of irrepressible joy and eagerness was truly hard to describe.

“What exactly is this Bloodline Ability? It awakened after ‘Bearing the Stele’, so it should be stronger than ‘Bearing the Stele’!”

Under this longing, even the fatigue from cultivation seemed to lessen considerably.

He became more and more enthusiastic.

The sixth day.

Boom!

Firelight exploded, a loud roar echoing.

Li Yi flipped over onto his back, coughing violently. What he coughed out wasn’t air, but billowing black smoke.

“This guy is also a tough one to handle… next!”

…

Yuyi’s mapping of the “Dao Pattern” finished earlier than Li Yi’s cultivation. The two companions set off again, this time heading towards the giant beast “Hidden Sigil”.

Along the way, it remained uneventful, with even the clueless road bandits becoming much fewer.

It was already the sixth day, and still no one had obtained the Six Strategies Qi, which was rather strange.

Neither of them were talkative, walking in silence. Suddenly, their eyes brightened.

Straight ahead, a seven-colored pillar of light rose from the ground, towering between heaven and earth, visible for a hundred miles!

This scene couldn’t be clearer; someone had taken the Six Strategies Qi.

The two exchanged a glance, sharing an understanding, and immediately turned to walk in another direction.

Their new direction was the giant beast “Civilization’s Dawn”.

That muddy water was something they absolutely did not want to wade into.

Not far out, ahead, another dazzling pillar of light shot up into the sky, as if to shake heaven and earth!

“Damn, this luck is a bit too bad…” Li Yi couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.

Before his words faded, near the giant beast “Tuzhan”, a seven-colored pillar of light also shot straight into the heavens!

It seemed that when it started, it started with a bang, causing winds to rise and clouds to surge!

The first five days had been completely calm, and yet within these few breaths, three Six Strategies Qi were simultaneously obtained!

However, this wasn’t hard to explain.

The subsequent individuals likely wanted to reduce pressure, which is why they activated theirs one after another after someone took the lead.

This way, the pressure was shared among three people, making it much easier for each.

“Giant beast ‘Abundance and Void’!”

Li Yi and Yuyi looked at each other and spoke simultaneously. That place seemed to be the only pure land left.

As they walked, a tiger-faced Mage, swirling with fierce winds, came towards them head-on.

Seeing the two walking in the opposite direction, he felt scornful and snorted lightly. “Two cowards! A Mirage mask and a Baxia Mask? Some kind of illusion, trying to fool people?”

Li Yi and Yuyi ignored him, their pace unchanged.

The tiger-faced Mage felt somewhat annoyed. In the past, he would definitely kill and loot, but now official business was more important. He rushed towards the nearest pillar of light, in the direction of the giant beast “Civilization’s Dawn”.

Upon reaching his destination, his eyes flickered. The face beneath his mask instantly turned deathly pale.