Once the fishing line was shredded, they were turned into pieces and by chance, they fitted into the gaps in between the currents of the windshield. The windshield disappeared all in a sudden and eventually, the black pieces floated around Si Jing like the dim stars in the universe.

　　The huge net formed by the water beads was blown away by the fishing man and had disappeared entirely.

　　The fishing man spoke leisurely, “Jing Er, it is still too early for you to blend in Lianshanyi’s endless meaning with the summoning of wind and rain. Even if you are bad, you would be able to resist for a while longer and not lose straight away.”

　　A Heng narrowed his eyes. The Daoist was in fact, Qing Xuan. There was a reason why he gave out a feeling that he was too high to be reached.

　　Si Jing bit her lips, “Sir, are you here for me, or for him?”

　　Shen Lian smiled and said, “I am of course here for Yi Zhi.”

　　Si Jing looked disappointed. She said nothing.

　　A Heng laughed, “National advisor, you’re indeed profound to know even my real name.”

　　Yi Zhi was A Heng’s real name. He never mentioned it to anyone. Shen Lian’s knowledge about it made Yi Zhi feel alerted, given that if the name was known the person’s origin and background could be known too.

　　Shen Lian spoke lightly, “I have no intention to know where Yi Zhi, you got your skills from. I have no idea at all.” The wind began to blow on top of Yi river. Half of the sunset was covered by the mountain afar. Shen Lian sat alone by the Yi river as the water continued to flow underneath his feet. One felt that he was beyond time and that he could be immortal.

　　Yi Zhi knew for sure Shen Lian was not there yet but he felt disturbed by Shen Lian’s gist of Dao. He smiled subsequently, “National advisor, you have the aura of a Daoist master. With your success, if you’re going to flaunt your connections, it indeed makes me feel flattered.”

　　Shen Lian’s soft eyes fell on the reeds that were being brushed gently by the wind as he said, “Yi Zhi, don’t you want to be out of this world to discover the most profound and mysterious matter of the universe. What the previous generation could achieve does not mean we can’t achieve it today or else it will go against the rule of continuous development. I am displaying this Qi not because I want to scare you but because I want you to follow me to prove the higher state. Jing Er is not the best person for your cultivation. Let me just say this without shame. Only by following me, you can get out of the trap the heavenly fate has for you.”

　　Yi Zhi clasped his hands and said, “National advisor, that was an unfounded claim.”

　　Shen Lian set aside the fishing rod, which was no longer a fishing rod but a sword. The tip of it was dipped into Yi river. As the sunset was blood-colored, the water of Yi river too as if it was flowing with blood. All in a sudden the relaxing riverside of Yi river turned into an Asura bloodbath. Shen Lian continued, “I will add one more line. If you decide to not follow me, I will not allow you to go to others.”

　　Yi Zhi felt like he could smell blood. Even though there was not any but he smelled it. He immediately understood that Shen Lian’s technique was as good as real and hence, to others, the flowing blood-colored water of Yi river was no different from the real blood water.

　　He was not shaken as he replied leisurely, “National advisor, if you think I am as easy as Guan Longzi, well, he is still far from my level. He used eighty thousand sentences to form Lianshanyi but when it came to me, only four thousand and three hundred sentences remained after refining it and none of the profoundness was reduced.”

　　Shen Lian smiled, “I will make sure you’re convinced.”

　　Shen Lian stood by as he held the fishing rod. There was an irresistible power waiting to be unleashed, just like the height of the sky, or the depth of the sea that no one could imagine. All the powers in the world were just a joke to him.

　　As if he was the Daoist master who had attained Dao for countless years. The moment he descended into the human world, all the resistance were just like pitiful ants to him.

　　Shen Lian had not stepped into the state to Taiyi but he currently possessed the abstruseness beyond the state of Taiyi. He combined great wisdom, strong determination and along with Lingbao Tianzun’s breath within himself, he used Lingbao Tianzun as Dao, entering the state of “Dao and I are one”. That was how he managed to control the killing sword. It was more than to command at his will and that was the only way he could be sure to convince Yi Zhi to be under his service.

　　Furthermore, he was indeed looking to give in his all. If Yi Zhi could not be of use to him, he would have to send him through the karmic cycle.

　　As Shen Lian decided to fight against the heavenly fate, in the face of this grand ambition, he could not afford to be weak or have any hesitation. He too let go of his previously unfettered heart so that he could be on this path until the very end.

　　This grand ambition was going to be a rare experience for him in his life, as it continuously activated his Daoist heart and sparking brand new experience. This made life more interesting for him.

　　Si Jing stepped forward until she was in the middle of Yi river, as she pleaded, “Sir, please stop. I beg you.”

　　Shen Lian smiled, “What a foolish child.”

　　He pointed at Si Jing and right after she was flown towards the bush of reeds. She landed safely. Her supernatural power was considered good but when compared to Shen Lian, she was as insignificant as the light of a firefly in the face of a bright moon.

　　Yi Zhi replied with a deep voice, “Monarch after I defeat your master, you should know that you can do no wrong listening to me. The world is as cruel as that. If you can’t stand strong, you are at others’ mercy.”

　　Si Jing spoke with a cold voice, “Enough, A Heng. If sir wants to manipulate me, he has plenty of chances. I am sure that all the whiles he only treats me as his student and nothing more.”

　　She did not add this line, the fact that she was willing to be manipulated by Shen Lian as in that case, sir would have a period of time where he would be inseparable from her. Unfortunately, Shen Lian did not do it even though there was much he could make use of with her position.

　　Si Jing stopped Shen Lian, not entirely because of Xia Kingdom but because she could acutely feel the joy Shen Lian had just by going against the world. She knew what Shen Lian was going to do was something that was beyond just the description of danger. She could roughly guess what Shen Lian was trying to challenge and could feel the underlying tone of craziness in him.

　　In Yi Zhi’s eyes, not only was Shen Lian scary, he was a little similar to Emperor Xia, especially his insufferable arrogance.

　　What he did not understand was that the insufferable arrogance was not unique to Shen Lian but in fact, it was originated from Lingbao Tianzun’s moral nature. Even if one was a Daoist master, after achieving enlightenment, one would still have one’s own personality. Lingbao Tianzun was too, different from other Daoist masters. Even though he was under Daoist teaching, he had his own defining moral nature. Shen Lian’s interest in fighting against the world fitted in well with that of Lingbao Tianzun, and hence where the insufferable arrogance came from. In reality, it was just a showcase of Shen Lian’s “Dao and I are one”.

　　Yi Zhi could only guess that Shen Lian was a Daoist master, but what he did not realize was the ability of Shen Lian to blend in the self-divine aura with Dao nature. The blend was not to increase power but to lean on Lingbao Tianzun to activate the power of the killing sword.