Free Web NovelChapter 470: Chapter 258: Setting Off, East Sea Abyss
Cheng Zongyang watched for a while. After calming the urgent feeling from his night of travel, he found a deserted area of the coast and descended the mountain.
Upon reaching a reef, Cheng Zongyang took out the Dragon Bone Ship and placed it on the Yu Sea.
"BOOM!"
The Dragon Bone Ship materialized out of thin air and crashed into the sea, creating a massive sound and throwing up a wave several meters high.
The black-hulled Dragon Bone Ship rocked back and forth on the water for a moment before stabilizing.
Seeing this, Cheng Zongyang didn’t hesitate. He used his Body Technique to quickly board the deck, then maneuvered the Dragon Bone Ship away from the coast.
Under the control of his mind, the Dragon Bone Ship rapidly reversed, turned its bow, and headed north along the Luoyang Prefecture coastline.
Of course, he didn’t stay too close to the shore, periodically adjusting his course using the compass on his watch.
Given the unique nature of the Dragon Bone Ship, its speed was naturally fast. It cut through the waves as it sailed north.
Since he hadn’t yet reached the correct heading, Cheng Zongyang was in no mood to waste time fishing or admiring the seascape.
However, he did encounter many fishing boats along the way. To avoid the trouble that would come from them realizing the ship was moving on its own with no one at the helm, he didn’t get close, simply passing by them quickly as he continued north.
Even so, the ship’s speed still caught the attention of the fishermen.
It was too fast!
It was countless times faster than their small boats.
Before long, the tale of a mysterious black ship sailing swiftly across the sea began to spread among the fishermen by word of mouth.
But those who hadn’t seen it naturally didn’t believe it. ’How could any ship in this world be that fast?’
But as more and more fishermen confirmed the sightings, the rumors grew increasingly wild.
After nearly half a day, Cheng Zongyang arrived at the sea east of Luoyang Prefecture.
By comparing his position with the sea chart he had bought from the Da Yi Commerce Association and using his compass, Cheng Zongyang confirmed his location.
’Now that I’m in position, the voyage has officially begun.’ Standing on the third deck of the Dragon Bone Ship against the night sky, Cheng Zongyang put away the sea chart.
Gazing at the moon, which was nearly full, a line of poetry inexplicably came to his mind.
A bright moon rises over the sea; from the farthest corners of the earth, we share this moment.
With a thought, the ship slowly started moving again, heading straight for the east.
According to Luo Dingran, as long as he kept sailing east from Luoyang Prefecture, he would eventually reach the Eye of the East Sea.
The sea route was long, however, and the journey would take two to three months.
But that two-to-three-month estimate was for ordinary ships. With his vessel, he figured he could cut that time by more than half.
Now that he was on the right course, Cheng Zongyang was no longer in a hurry. He let the ship cruise at a normal speed, only needing to adjust its direction from time to time.
He sat on the third-floor deck, enjoying the gentle sea breeze. He was sipping a medicinal wine that Zhang Jinquan had concocted from the Wine Paste, which helped condense True Qi. It was all quite pleasant.
This medicinal wine could accelerate the condensation of True Qi within one’s blood and qi. It was a type of drink that only Upper Three Grades Martial Artists could consume.
It was mild, not harsh, with a rich, fragrant aroma and a rather pleasant taste.
He had no shortage of such remedies; in fact, he possessed even more potent ones.
Of course, he didn’t just drink while sitting on the deck. He also took out some Exotic Beast Dried Meat from the Wilderness World, leisurely enjoying the moon while he drank.
The Dragon Bone Ship was inlaid with Flood Dragon Bone Fragments, which deterred sea creatures from approaching.
But this also robbed Cheng Zongyang of the fun of fishing. Otherwise, a bit of sea fishing would have been nice.
Of course, he didn’t have any fishing gear anyway. If he wanted to eat some seafood, he could always just jump into the sea and catch it himself.
But on second thought, he wasn’t really in the mood for that either.
The Wilderness World was located near the sea, and he had plenty of seafood stored in his Preservation Warehouse, ready to eat whenever he wanted.
If it was just for the enjoyment of the process of catching it, then there was no need.
Otherwise, it would just be a pointless exercise.
Along this shipping lane, Cheng Zongyang also noticed that from time to time, some seagoing vessels would be returning from the outer sea, heading back in the direction he came from.
He figured they were probably fishing or exploration boats returning home.
Those ships also spotted Cheng Zongyang’s black vessel. It had no lights, which they found rather strange. Thus, they didn’t dare approach, only watching from afar as it headed out to the open sea at a speed faster than their own full throttle.
And so, another legend was born—that of a strange black ship on the sea, with no one at the helm and no sails, yet incredibly fast.
The reason they didn’t associate it with a so-called Immortal Ship was that the atmosphere and color just felt wrong.
In their minds, an Immortal Ship should be luxurious and magnificent, shrouded in a celestial glow.
Not gloomy and sinister like that black ship.
Cheng Zongyang, of course, had no idea that his travels over the past day or two had already spawned two different legends about his ship along the coast.
Of course, even if he did know, he wouldn’t care.
The journey continued, cutting through wind and waves. Even when encountering rain, gales, and storms, the Dragon Bone Ship passed through them safely, completely unaffected.
Some passing ships only vaguely saw a black vessel appearing and disappearing within the storm, but they couldn’t get a clear look and dismissed it as a hallucination.
When the crew members tried to get a better look amidst the storm, waves, and rain, the suspected black ship was nowhere to be seen.
One time, a ship was attacked by pirates. In the middle of the fight, they saw a strange, black, sailless, and oarless ship sailing by on its own. As it passed their vessel, both the crew and the pirates saw the figure of a man in flowing robes standing on the third deck, smiling down at them. Then, the figure vanished as the ship sped away into the distance. This terrified the pirates so much that they abandoned their loot and fled.
