Chapter 20: Boarding the Ship

Sect cultivators continuously arrived to pick up their members, and fewer and fewer people remained.

Yu Xiaodie left with a female cultivator from Hundred Flowers Valley, bidding farewell to Lu Ye before she departed.

In less than half an hour, nearly a hundred people had vanished, leaving Lu Ye standing alone.

He waited for over another hour but still saw no one from the Verdant Blood Sect, wondering what they could be busy with.

With nothing else to do, Lu Ye found a clean spot, sat down cross-legged, and attempted to open his second aperture.

His first aperture was already full, and he had thoroughly studied the Golden Cicada Bliss Art he obtained from Steward Yang. However, he had never been able to locate his second aperture, which had delayed his cultivation progress.

Yu Xiaodie had told him that this was common for new cultivators. Because they lacked sufficient spiritual energy, it was difficult for them to precisely locate their own spiritual apertures. There were two solutions: one was to slowly explore and rely on luck, and the other was to seek guidance from a cultivator above the Cloud River realm.

Lu Ye largely wanted to join a sect for this very reason.

He had tried to locate his second aperture several times in the mine but failed. If he could join a sect, he could ask an elder for guidance, saving him a lot of trouble.

However, since no one from the Verdant Blood Sect had appeared, and he was idle anyway, he figured it would at most waste a bit of spiritual energy. If he got lucky, like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse, it would be a gain.

Another hour later, Lu Ye opened his eyes, his expression rather dejected. Luck, it seemed, truly had nothing to do with him; his recent attempt had ended in failure once more.

Fortunately, he had been eating well recently and had blood qi pills for nourishment. His body was brimming with blood qi, so refining some of it quickly replenished his losses.

More cultivators were now coming and going in the valley, and many were gathering on a large scale. From the looks of it, it seemed they were preparing to evacuate the area.

Incidentally, Steward Yang had told him before he died that the Boundless Heavens Alliance couldn't hold this place for long and would have to withdraw in at most a month or two. The current situation indeed confirmed this.

Therefore, if Steward Yang had managed to kill Lu Ye and hide in the secret passage at that time, he would have had a good chance of escaping disaster.

Unfortunately, he never anticipated that an ordinary mortal like Lu Ye would dare to scheme against him, leading him to an area covered by a magnetic field, where his cultivation was greatly suppressed, causing him to die without understanding why.

Suddenly, a shout came from not far away. Lu Ye looked towards the sound and saw a middle-aged cultivator floating in mid-air, spiritual energy surging around him, as an object flew out from his palm.

Though the distance wasn't close, and Lu Ye hadn't yet discerned what the object was, a scene he would never forget unfolded before him.

The object that flew from the middle-aged cultivator's palm expanded with the wind, rapidly transforming into a colossal entity suspended in mid-air.

It was, astonishingly, a massive ship!

A huge ship floating in mid-air!

The massive ship had three levels and was nearly a hundred zhang long. Its hull was jet-black, crafted from an unknown material. The ship's design was sleek, and certain mysterious objects fixed to its body gave off an ominous aura.

Lu Ye had never witnessed such a bizarre sight and was utterly transfixed.

There was more than one ship. After the middle-aged cultivator somehow conjured one, several more large ships appeared one after another.

Immediately after, someone shouted loudly, "All sects, board the ships!"

The cultivators from various sects, who had already gathered, transformed into multicolored streaks of light and surged towards the massive ships in continuous waves. From a distance, the scene was magnificent.

After his brief shock, Lu Ye's heart surged with emotion.

Though he had been here for over a year and knew it was a world of cultivation, he had spent his days among minerals, surrounded by mining slaves of low status, living precariously from day to day.

He had never imagined that the path of cultivation would unfold before him in such a brilliant and vibrant way.

This sight surpassed his comprehension, making him realize even more clearly that this world was completely different from his original one.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" a voice suddenly spoke beside him as he watched the scene, mesmerized.

Lu Ye instinctively answered, then realized what had happened and turned his head. An elderly man had appeared beside him without him noticing.

The elderly man smiled, stroking his beard, and gazed at the several large ships floating in the sky. "These are the Boundless Heavens Alliance's Flying Dragon Ships," he said slowly. "They are formidable weapons for sieges and conquering strongholds and are not easily deployed."

Looking at the elderly man's profile, Lu Ye recognized him as the old man who had led him out of the mine. Recalling how others had addressed him previously, he quickly bowed and said, "Elder Tang."

Elder Tang responded with a slight smile and beckoned, "Let's go."

"Where are we going?" Lu Ye asked, puzzled.

Elder Tang raised a hand and pointed, "To board the ship!"

Lu Ye hesitated. "But I'm supposed to wait here for the Verdant Blood Sect's senior brothers and sisters..." He trailed off, then seemed to realize something. "Is Elder Tang from the Verdant Blood Sect?"

There was no reason for Elder Tang to suddenly come looking for him and tell him to board a ship, unless he was indeed from the Verdant Blood Sect.

"I had some matters to attend to temporarily, which caused a slight delay," Elder Tang asked kindly. "You weren't too anxious waiting, were you?"

He truly was from the Verdant Blood Sect!

"No, not at all," Lu Ye said, a little excited. Although the others who had come to pick up disciples were all handsome senior brothers and gentle senior sisters, the Verdant Blood Sect had sent an old man. However, this old man was a very good person.

This was evident from how he had helped Lu Ye open the sealed lock on Zhou Cheng's storage bag earlier. Although Lu Ye didn't know Elder Tang's cultivation level, if he had truly wanted Zhou Cheng's storage bag at that time, Lu Ye would have had no right to refuse.

Yet, the old man had only taken a bottle of Dragon-Tiger Pills as payment and returned the rest of the items to Lu Ye.

"Let's go," Elder Tang said with a smile, soaring into the air. Lu Ye felt a gentle force envelop him, and then he found himself flying with Elder Tang towards one of the Flying Dragon Ships.

Upon reaching the Flying Dragon Ship, Elder Tang headed directly towards the interior of the ship's cabin, with Lu Ye following closely behind.

Inside the ship, there were many cabins, bustling with cultivators from various sects. Lu Ye watched in wonder as all the cultivators passing by respectfully saluted Elder Tang upon seeing him.

The Verdant Blood Sect was only a ninth-rank sect. According to the knowledge Yu Xiaodie had imparted to him, Elder Tang should only be a Cloud River realm cultivator, as a sect with a True Lake realm cultivator would be ranked higher than ninth.

From this, it seemed that although Elder Tang's cultivation wasn't high, he was still highly respected. Perhaps it was due to his advanced age?

They walked all the way to the innermost section. The old man and the young man stood at the door of a cabin. Elder Tang raised his hand and waved, and a light immediately flashed on the door before he pushed it open.

Lu Ye followed closely and closed the door behind him.

Once inside, Lu Ye looked around and found it to be a very simple cabin with extremely sparse furnishings. There was no bed, not even a table, only a single prayer mat on the floor.

There was a window, though it could not be opened. The circular window was sealed shut with a transparent, glass-like material, allowing the outside scenery to be seen.