Chapter 929: Chapter 177: The Robe Lake
The "fishing nets" spread by the Sea Race Warriors expanded at an extremely fast pace.
Because they, too, were in a rush for time.
Other Sea Race Warriors who hadn’t been dispatched to the Boundary River for defenses, but started their search from the Ding province Floating Island as their starting point, moved even more swiftly. Jiang Wang, having escaped to this place, was still unaware of their approach.
The area around Ding province was vast. They focused their search on the zone stretching from Ding province Floating Island to Boundary River, which significantly narrowed down the range but still presented challenges.
In Ding province, two points that are a bit farther apart often lack a direct line of distance between them, since directions could be chaotic and circuitous.
Jiang Wang was able to find his way successfully only by relying on a guiding map.
In the silent wait, his heart was fraught with anxiety. With the Sea Clan’s powerful army encircling the island, their onslaught was fierce, and he had no idea how much longer Ding province Floating Island could withstand.
If his failure to secure reinforcements led to the downfall of Ding province Floating Island on this day, he would bear that responsibility for a lifetime.
After waiting for quite some time, Jiang Wang, who had been retreating continuously, finally stopped— the "mesh" had expanded to a large enough extent for him to pass through.
The stationary position he had chosen was meticulously calculated after observing through the Red Mirror, ensuring that he would be right within the "mesh" the Sea Race troop would search through.
All he needed to do was to remain motionless, and the Sea Race squadron would naturally pass him by.
Cloaked in Hidden clothes, he hovered in the air, seeming to become a part of the Lost World itself.
The net closed in. If he desired, he could already detect with his naked eye what the incoming Sea Race warriors looked like.
Of course, mindful of past lessons, he observed exclusively through the Red Mirror. And indeed, its field of vision was far more extensive and detailed than his own eyes.
Since their main mission was to search, these Sea Race combat squads were spread out loosely, with large gaps between one another.
Caught between two combat squads, exposure would immediately invite an attack from twenty Sea Race Warriors, and the "large net" would quickly tighten. Scattered Sea Race members would swiftly converge, leaving him no possibility of escape.
By now, Jiang Wang was no longer panicked by such levels of danger.
He silently watched all of this unfold, even coolly assessing the strength of each Sea Race warrior from the minute details of their search process, rehearsing scenarios in his mind. If anything unexpected happened, he could react swiftly.
Who to kill first, what method would save the most Path Origin energy, what way to kill quickly... These were problems he repeatedly pondered in his mind.
A regrettable mishap occurred still.
One of the corpulent Battle General Level Sea Race warriors, be it through negligence or some other means, caused his long-haired horse-shaped Sea Beast to snort and veer off course by a few steps in another direction.
Previously, his position within the troop had been steady. Due to the Sea Beast mount’s slight reaction, he had deviated from the course.
The squad was well-trained; the other Sea Race warriors quickly adjusted their positions according to his, maintaining the original formation.
For this Sea Race squad, what occurred might have been a minor accident—it was quite normal and not at all rare.
But for Jiang Wang, it spelt utter disaster—the position of the "mesh" had changed!
If he remained still, he would enter the sensing range of this Sea Race squad. If he moved, the Hidden clothes would briefly lose their effect.
Because of such a minor incident, risking discovery was inevitable, whether he advanced or retreated.
Reliant on the Red Mirror and the Hidden clothes, he chased the sole possibility for a breakthrough.
Yu Siqing’s net, however, was intricately layered and complex. It was these very changes, constantly occurring, that minimized the odds of the prey slipping through the net— at least until the "mesh" gaps became too large to compensate for.
Jiang Wang was forced to contemplate a question: What choices will each warrior within this Sea Race squad make? If he could discern their decisions, then the second question was, with their firm commitment to military orders and a clear understanding of their actions, would the Deviant Path Technique be effective?
Regardless, he had to try.
Jiang Wang peered through the Red Mirror, continuously observing each approaching Sea Race warrior in an attempt to find the one most susceptible to influence. Then, with the Deviant Path Technique, he intended to induce a natural deviation in that warrior, thereby affecting the entire squad and quietly shifting the mesh once more until he could pass through seamlessly.
This demanded precise judgment.
He was also ready for the Deviant Path Technique to fail, and to directly draw his sword for battle.
The closer the other side got, the more carefully he observed.
What choices would this Sea Clan have? Among their choices, would there be a movement in direction?
Just as Jiang Wangquan was weighing his options, the Sea Clan group suddenly turned and quickly moved in a different direction.
Through the Red Mirror, he could also see another Sea Clan group within the range turning almost simultaneously.
As he had previously judged, when something changed at a certain point, the entire "net" moved!
The battle formation of the Sea Race Warrior squad also changed; they tore through their formation, with the faster ones accelerating forward while the slower ones followed behind, vaguely forming another line of defense to prevent the target from unexpectedly breaking through the "fishing net".
The warriors comprising this large net moved with astonishing agility.
Imagining the searching Sea Race Warriors as "fishing net" nodes, when a change occurred in one area of the "net", the nodes constricted at the fastest speed, locking down the changing area.
This was also why Jiang Wang had previously judged that he couldn’t break the situation by assassination.
But at this moment, the reason for the "net’s" change wasn’t him.
He was right here, without having had the chance to take any action yet.
Now that all the Human Race cultivators had escaped back to the Floating Island, the one who touched a point on the "fishing net" could only be Chu Mi!
Had Chu Mi been discovered by the Sea Clan troop?
Whether the Beam Top Building’s secret technique was inferior to the Hidden clothes, or whether the same predicament was unavoidable no matter what, nevertheless, this sudden change had created an opportunity for Jiang Wang.
Not only was he now safely back in the "eye" of the net, but this safe gap was also rapidly widening.
He could have taken this chance to break through right then and there.
But for some reason, the thought that came to his mind at that moment was still what Ding Jingshan had said— "Once you’re in the Lost World, we’re all brethren."
It was too simple and too straightforward.
Yet it made too deep an impression.
He even wondered if Chu Mi’s sudden discovery could possibly be a deliberate act to create a commotion for him, to divert the Sea Clan’s attention?
Although the possibility was extremely slim. That guy also seemed very untrustworthy.
But after all, Fu Yanqing had said that on this matter, Chu Mi could be trusted.
After thinking it over, Jiang Wang finally made up his mind. He stepped on the Shattered Green Clouds, his figure moving swiftly, appearing right in front of a Battle General Level Sea Race Warrior who had become isolated due to the rapid change in formation.
Without waiting for the other party to react, he beheaded him with a single sword strike!
Then, he subdued the opponent’s mount, a sea beast that resembled a tiger with scaling, using the Soul Stealth Snake to take control of it and placed a smooth Treasure Bead, which reflected landscapes and transformations, into its mouth.
It was indeed the Mirage King Bead!
With a thought, the sea beast began to run wild and afar.
Under the illusion of the Mirage King Bead, it now appeared exactly like Jiang Wang, drawing fire across the seas and rushing fiercely, startling many members of the Sea Clan.
Jiang Wang himself did not look back; he headed straight for the Boundary River.
Distracting the Sea Clan’s attention for Chu Mi was already a considerable risk, and that was all he could do. After all, he had even sacrificed a Mirage King Bead!
"If this guy survives, I’ll definitely make him pay it back. If he doesn’t, I’ll have him invited to the Patrol Inspection Bureau for tea every day! I’ll have him, his disciples, his friends, and fellow sect members all come along," he thought venemously as he flew rapidly.
A Qing brand catcher always had a way to deal with cultivators from sects like Beam Top Building.
Of course, this all depended on whether Chu Mi could survive with this help.
