Smooth sailing

The frozen throne, the golden-armored and jade-faced King of Wu Helu, was finally in sight.

At this moment, none of us dared to breathe too loudly because we were afraid that if we startled the King of Wu, it would bring disaster upon us. He was a super powerful being who was about to ascend to the heavenly realm after crossing his tribulation. In front of such absolute power, any disguise would be ineffective. Not only could my Concealing Bell not hide my figure but even my Mercy Sword might not cause much harm to him.

Faced with such an opponent, our only option was to avoid him.

"Remember, we're only taking the Soul-Chasing Hook. Don't worry about anything else and don't provoke him. Otherwise, all four of us will have to stay here," warned Captain Chi Qingshuai in a low voice.

"I understand," I nodded and looked around before turning back to Chi Qingshuai: "Master, let's go together and use Ganjiang Moye Sword to cut open the ice layer and take out the hook. What do you think?"

"That's what I had in mind too," Chi Qingshuai nodded at me as we exchanged glances. I understood what he meant without words and instinctively drew out Ganjiang Moye Sword before walking towards the frozen throne with him.

During our approach, I felt nervous enough for sweat on my palms while avoiding looking anywhere else except down at myself pretending that King Helu couldn't see me.

Soon we arrived on both sides of the throne where Chi Qingshuai first raised his sword and cut open the ice layer then took out Soul-Chasing Hook from inside it.

After seeing him successfully retrieve it without any reaction from King Helu himself still sitting there motionless like a statue made me feel relieved so I swung my sword next cutting through another section of ice layer retrieving another hook.

With the hooks in our possession, we quickly turned around and ran back to meet up with Jietou and Xie Yilin before jumping down to escape. We kept running until we reached the ground without any abnormalities happening. The situation went surprisingly smoothly!

"Alright, now it's time to use the Four Symbols Formation to seal off Jiuyin Huangquan," Chi Qingshuai said as he handed Soul-Chasing Hook over to Xie Yilin: "Xiaoxie, this is Wu Hong Hook. You take it and follow my instructions."

"Yes, Master." Xie Yilin nodded after examining Wu Hong Hook.

"Monk, this one is Huji Hook. You take it," I passed my Soul-Chasing Hook over to Jietou.

"Don't worry; leave it to me," Jietou walked over taking the hook from me confidently.

"Okay, all four Ghost Soldiers are in place now. Listen carefully for my instructions on what comes next." Seeing that we all had our own Ghost Soldier weapons ready, Chi Qingshuai continued: "The Four Symbols Formation doesn't depend on size but only its effectiveness matters. Actually, we're already at the edge of Jiuyin Huangquan right now; just a little far away from it but that doesn't matter because once we cast this formation spell correctly then Jiuyin Huangquan will be sealed off."

"Next, the first thing you need to do is memorize the incantation," said Chi Qingshuai as he took out three pieces of paper from his pocket and handed them to us. He said, "Each person's incantation is different. As long as you recite it at the same time and there are no mistakes, it will take effect. You can familiarize yourself with it first or memorize it, just make sure you can recite it fluently. After becoming familiar with the incantation, we can stand in separate positions - north, south, east and west - one person per direction. If you cannot find your position accurately, I will point it out for you."

Chi Qingshuai explained everything that needed to be done next.

Upon hearing this, we all nodded our heads and looked down at the incantations on the paper together.

The incantations were not very difficult; they were only three sentences long and easy to remember.

"I've memorized the incantation," I was the first one to finish memorizing it followed by Jietou and Xie Yilin. Then Chi Qingshuai began assigning our positions.

"This is Qinglong (Azure Dragon) position. Yi Heng, you stand here while I am Xuanwu (Black Tortoise) position standing opposite of you across a tombstone. Xiao Dong and Xiao Xie (Jietou & Xie Yilin), you stand in Zhuque (Vermilion Bird) and Baihu (White Tiger) positions respectively. Follow me later so I can show each of your specific locations," Chi Qingshuai said as he raised his wrist before adding: "Check your time now; half an hour later when we recite together while holding weapons pointing towards the stone wall in front of us."

"Our times are correct," we checked each other's time and found no problems, nodding in agreement.

"Okay then, Yi Heng stay here and don't move. Xiao Dong and Xiao Xie, follow me." Seeing that the time was correct, Chi Qingshuai led Jietou and Xie Yilin away.

The three of them quickly disappeared from my sight after circling around the tombstone wall.

Seeing them leave, I immediately took action.

"Can you help me with something, Bai'e (White Moth)?" I asked using spiritual communication as I took her out of my backpack.

"Of course! What do you need me to do?" The little girl blinked curiously at me.

"Hold onto the hilt of this sword for me," I handed Ganjiang Treasure Sword to Bai'e.

"Sure thing!" Bai'e did as she was told; holding onto the hilt of Ganjiang Treasure Sword. Since it had already received my command earlier on, it didn't resist her grip.

"Well done! You're such a good girl. Hold it steady for now. If you get tired later on, you can put down the sword on the ground to rest for a while but remember: half an hour later when the last two digits on this electronic watch turn into fifty - lift up the sword and point it towards that ice-cold stone wall in front of us. Got it?" I reminded Bai'e before letting her go.

"Brother, don't worry. I know what to do. Just leave the electronic watch in front of me and I will do as you instructed when the time comes," Bai E said to me.

"Okay, Bai E is such a good girl," seeing her actions, I couldn't help but put the watch on the ice in front of her so she could keep track of time.

"Oh, one last thing. You need to recite a spell when it's time. Not only do you have to raise your sword, but you also have to recite this spell written on this piece of paper without any mistakes." As I spoke, I took out the note that Chi Qing Shuai gave me and posted it on the ice for Bai E's convenience.

Hearing my words, Bai E looked at me with some confusion and then said: "Brother, I can't speak. Didn't you check my condition before? You said our female worm clan has underdeveloped vocal cords and cannot make any sound. How can I help you recite spells?"

Oh yeah! I forgot about that! What should we do now?!

For a moment, I was stunned because my plan was perfect but now there was a huge flaw - forgetting that Bai E couldn't speak.

"How about leaving it to me?" Yun Qing Yue appeared beside us when she saw my troubled expression.

"No way! The person who recites the spell must be holding the sword. Your presence won't help,"I rejected Yun Qing Yue's proposal.

"Well if neither works then let me handle it." Just as I was getting anxious behind them suddenly came a voice from behind which made me turn around immediately and stare in shock at him because never did i expect him here.