Chapter 62 - Perils of the Sea, Part One
The flying ship was much faster than the ships! Within a few days, the two flying ships had already arrived at Nine-Five Island.
"Go to the Clear River Sect!" ordered Long Wanqing.
"Yes!" the subordinate at the back controlled the White Cloud to fly towards the Clear River Sect.
The nearby Fire Throne Master said, furrowing her brow, "Your Grace, I know you favor Gu Hai, I also know that the right to decide who should be Throne Master is yours. However, my Ascendant Hall has its own rules, these rules were set by previous Hall Lord, according to which we are not allowed to kill each other. Is Your Grace really not going to do anything whatsoever? No matter what, Gu Hai has broken the rules, he has killed my Ascendant Hall members!?"
"Meng Tai has only himself to blame!" stated Long Wanqing in a heavy tone.
The old matron Ding Rui shook her head as she said, "No matter how you say it, Meng Tai was also the Earth Throne Master, Gu Hai didn't have the qualifications to decide the life and death of the Earth Throne Master. He has acted beyond his authority. No matter how wrong Meng Tai was, we cannot let it pass, no matter who it is! If someday Hall Lord did wrong, can Gu Hai kill Hall Lord?"
"Throne Master Ding, we will discuss it later!" said Long Wanqing, frowning.
"I guess, we will have to discuss it later, as Gu Hai has still not been found. Your subordinate only wanted to remind Hall Master that Gu Hai has broken my Ascendant Hall rules by killing Meng Tai, he must be punished. Furthermore, Gu Hai's name has still not entered the books, he has to be punished for this crime!" stated Ding Rui solemnly.
"As I have said, we will discuss it later, okay!? Currently, finding my mother's killer is at the top of my list!" said Long Wanqing coldly.
"Yes, Your Grace!" Ding Rui remained unconvinced, but in the end, she could only nod agreement.
------
The two flying ships quickly arrived at the Clear River Sect.
The Clear River Sect was surrounded by mountains and forests. Many halls and residences coupled with countless cloud arrays could be found everywhere among these mountains, it was a dream-like paradise.
The arrival of two flying ships sent the Clear River Sect into an uproar immediately. Some of the disciples were just about to curse in anger.
However, Clear River Sect chief took a closer look and recognized the White Cloud, as well as the Divine Battalion's flying ship, at one glance.
"Everyone, come and respectfully welcome the Ascendant Hall Lord and Divine Battalion Commander!" the Clear River Sect chief shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice reverberating throughout the sect.
!!!!!!
The disciples all around were in a complete pandemonium. Apparently, the Ascendant Hall and the Divine Battalion's fame had spread far and wide on Nine-Five Island.
As the flying ships arrived, they were not blocked by any array at all. Gracefully, they landed in an open square.
"Clear River Sect chief, I have come to trespass on your hospitality again!" said Long Wanqing as she burst into laughter.
"Not at all, my Clear River Sect is graced by your esteemed presence; it's my Clear River Sect's blessing. This old crock is pleased to meet Ascendant Hall Lord, Divine Battalion Commander, Throne Master Ding, Grandmaster Liunian!" greeted the Clear River Sect chief, his smile beaming.
"Clear River Sect Chief, my Divine Battalion will temporarily rest in your Clear River Sect, can you please give us a place where my Divine Battalion can make camp?" asked Li Haoran in a heavy tone.
"Naturally, naturally, fellow daoists, please come in inside!" replied the Clear River Sect chief in an extremely polite manner.
---
The news of the arrival of the Divine Battalion and Ascendant Hall's flying ships at the Clear River Sect soon spread to the various sects of Nine-Five Island.
Immediately after, cultivators of those sects began paying visits to Clear River Sect.
------
Inside a palace of Clear River Sect, after a few days...
Fire Throne Master Ding Ruis met the Song Jia Sect chief.
"Throne Master Ding, is what you said true?" The Song Jia Sect Chief's face twisted as he asked the question.
Leaning on her walking stick, Ding Rui replied as her gaze turned cold as ice, "Yes! So, from now on, you will spread all the information that I gave you, not just to Nine-Five Island, but to all the islands around it. Since Gu Hai has a Hundred Years Longevity Peach, we can let everyone else look for him!"
"Yes, we should not spread the news only here. If my guess is right, many cultivators should be chasing after him from Tianyuan Island. We should spread the information to every nook and corner of the Thousand Islands Seas, what do you think?" Song Jia Sect Chief nodded in agreement.
"Don't be careless. From what I have come to know of Gu Hai, this Gu Hai is an expert in seizing opportunities, he is also one big variable. We can't allow him to spoil our plans! So, Gu Hai needs to die! Do you understand?" Ding Rui narrowed her eyes as she glared at the Song Jia Sect Chief.
Nodding in acknowledgment, the Song Jia Sect Chief said, "Understood, I will send all of Song Jia Sect's disciples!"
"It is still not enough. When you spread his information, add one more thing as well!" added Ding Rui in a firm tone.
"Oh?"
"The potency of Hundred Years Longevity Peaches that Gu Hai ate is in his body. If someone eats Gu Hai or uses him for refining pills, it will similarly increase their lifespan!" added Ding Rui calmly.
"Ah? That's impossible, right?"
"I know it's impossible, you know it's impossible, but, as long as this rumor is spread, it will still become true, even if it's a hoax!" Ding Rui said coldly.
"Yes!"
------
On the Thousand Islands Seas...
Gu Hai's party sailed quickly across the sea aboard the huge ship. A ship business was quite a profitable. To embark on the ship, one had to pay spirit stones; to eat something during the journey, which could possibly last for months, one had to pay even more spirit stones. A shipowner could earn a ton of spirit stones by sailing just once across the Thousand Islands Seas.
During the journey, Gu Hai mostly stayed in the private room, cultivating, but occasionally, he would come out to breathe fresh air.
Today, the trio came to the deck and gazed off the far side of the bow.
"Throne Master, we have been at sea for over two months already, we should be arriving at Nine-Five Island soon!" Chen Tianshan said enthusiastically, pointing off the far side.
"I am not sure what this trip has in store for us. You should no longer address me as Throne Master, or it might reveal our identities. In the future, you should address me as 'My Lord'!" said Gu Hai in a dire tone.
"Yes, My Lord!" the two complied immediately.
While the trio were gazing into the distance, wooooosh, a gust blew into their faces suddenly.
The weather changed quickly, followed by a tempest. The bright and clear sky rapidly turned dark as black clouds shrouded the sky, indicating a storm was coming.
Everything came too fast, there was no warning at all.
The winds raised up massive waves, which rocked the entire ship fiercely.
"Ah, I'm being rocked to death, what's going on?"
"How did the weather change so rapidly?"
"A storm is coming!?"...
Countless cultivators stood on the deck with a vacant look on their faces. Why did it become dark in just a moment?
BUZZ!
The grand array on the ship was activated, forming a blue light shield around the ship, like a protective sphere covering the entire ship.
RUMBLE!
Sure enough, in mere moments, the waves became bigger and bigger, even the array protecting the ship started to shake.
The waves soared into the sky. Some waves were a couple dozen meters high. Countless fish were even tossed into the air by the billowing sea waves.
"Something is wrong, this storm isn't that simple!" the boatman screamed in shock as his expression changed.
RUMBLE!
Amid the dark clouds, the thunder clapped and lightning flashed, and a rainstorm came crashing from the sky, showering the sea. Soon after, the massive and billowing waves swept across the light shield of the ship, bursting forth with a deafening impact. Listening to it, a horrified look blanketed the faces of everyone on the deck.
Even Chen Tianshan gulped down a mouthful of saliva.
This was the majestic might of nature; seeing this, even Chen Tianshan, who was already a Golden Core Stage cultivator, started to worry.
"Something isn't right, these dark clouds are really strange! It doesn't seem like a storm!"
"It was too sudden. Maybe someone or something summoned it?"
"Summoned? Sea beasts? We are not going to encounter any sea beasts, right?"...
Worried looks appeared on the faces of many of the cultivators.