Free Web NovelChapter 149: Chapter 149: Stowaway
In the East Continent, amidst a range of rolling mountains, stood a towering peak that pierced the heavens. It was shrouded in ethereal mist, resembling a celestial paradise.
And above these clouds, within a magnificent jade-like palace, a man with crane-white hair and a youthful face sat in the center of an Eight Trigrams Diagram. His eyes were tightly shut, and he muttered under his breath. His hands rested on his knees, his ten fingers constantly twitching as if he were performing some calculation.
Before him, an ancient Compass was slowly rotating.
"Urgh..."
Suddenly, the man with crane-white hair and a youthful face cried out, spitting a large mouthful of blood. His face instantly turned deathly pale.
At the same time, the Compass before him shattered, splitting in two.
"Master! Master! What’s wrong?"
A young disciple ran in frantically and helped the man up.
The man with crane-white hair and a youthful face weakly straightened up. He looked at the Compass before him, his expression horrified. "This is bad! The Celestial Slaughter Star has descended. I fear a great calamity is about to befall our Sacred Land."
"Ziyu, quick! Bring me some paper!"
The man with crane-white hair and a youthful face said urgently.
The disciple by his side quickly brought over a sheet of white paper.
The man with crane-white hair and a youthful face extended a trembling finger. A green light glowed from it as it slowly glided across the white paper.
In just a moment, the image of a young man appeared on the paper.
The young man wore a white robe and carried a massive, jet-black sword on his back, but his face was blurry and indistinct.
"Master, why can’t I see his face clearly?"
The disciple at his side asked in confusion.
"The Celestial Secret cannot be revealed! The Celestial Secret cannot be revealed!" the man with crane-white hair and a youthful face muttered. Recalling the terrifying power he encountered during the divination, he gagged and spat out another large mouthful of blood.
"Quickly, distribute this! Order all disciples of the Sacred Land to kill this person on sight! We must not allow this boy to mature, or our entire Sacred Land will be destroyed at his hands."
The man with crane-white hair and a youthful face lifted his head and shouted weakly.
The disciple beside him froze for a moment. Realizing the gravity of the situation, he turned and ran out of the main hall. "Yes, Master!"
That day, a major event shook the Celestial Profound Sacred Land. The Celestial Secret Elder, also known as the Divine Calculator, had divined that the Sacred Land’s future would be destroyed by a Celestial Slaughter Star.
The entire Sacred Land was in an uproar, shrouded in a grim and suspicious atmosphere. Soon after, an extermination order was issued from the Holy Mountain and spread throughout the East Continent, vowing to execute the Celestial Slaughter Star who could overturn everything.
...
In the Martial Kingdom, amidst a dense mountain forest, Shen Daoxing’s figure leaped from branch to branch, swiftly pressing forward.
He hadn’t expected the Celestial Profound Sacred Land to have tracked him down so quickly. Fortunately, he had learned from Elder Blood Dragon that they didn’t know much.
Therefore, his most urgent task now was to head to Cangzhou.
The Martial Kingdom was over a million li from Cangzhou; naturally, he couldn’t rely on his own two feet to make the journey.
Shen Daoxing pressed on and soon arrived at a mountaintop. Not far ahead was a port, where a massive Cloud Ship from the Business Alliance was slowly descending.
The Cloud Ship glowed with a dark light. Its surface was covered in ancient, profound, and indecipherable runes that pulsed faintly.
However, even the Business Alliance’s Cloud Ships couldn’t go directly to Cangzhou. The journey required several transfers, and the Hundred Thousand Mountains still awaited him at the border between the East Continent and Cangzhou.
The Cloud Ship before Shen Daoxing was headed for the Daqian Empire, west of the Martial Kingdom, and would pass through several large and small nations along the way.
Shen Daoxing went forward and asked a Cloud Ship attendant the price for a ticket to the Daqian Empire.
Two thousand four hundred Gold Coins!
Shen Daoxing was stunned. He hadn’t expected it to be so expensive.
The Emperor of the Martial Kingdom had been very generous, giving him about ten thousand Gold Coins before he left.
His journey to Cangzhou would require several more Cloud Ship transfers; he was afraid this amount of money wouldn’t be enough.
But he couldn’t afford any delays right now. With a heavy heart, Shen Daoxing spent the two thousand four hundred Gold Coins on a ticket.
Afterward, an attendant led Shen Daoxing aboard the Cloud Ship to the door of a private room.
Shen Daoxing saw that many people had already boarded the Cloud Ship. Most were young masters and gentlemen in fine silks and jade, but there were also burly Martial Artists carrying Divine Weapons.
To keep a low profile and hide his identity, Shen Daoxing had dressed in scholar’s robes. With his frail, scholarly appearance, he stood out like a sheep among wolves.
Amidst fierce and menacing glares, Shen Daoxing entered his private room.
Inside the room was a table, a bed, and a cattail mat. The furnishings were simple.
Afterward, passengers continued to board in a steady stream, and soon all the private rooms were occupied.
The Cloud Ship shuddered once and began to float upward slowly. It was about to depart.
Just then, Shen Daoxing suddenly heard a sound coming from the window.
He turned his head and saw a young man about his own age climbing in through the window.
The young man was dressed as a Martial Artist in simple white clothes, with a longsword on his back.
After climbing inside, the white-robed young man cupped his fists and bowed to Shen Daoxing. "I am Lv Yunsheng of Wuyang City. My pockets are truly empty, which is why I was forced to take such desperate measures. I hope you can forgive me, Young Master."
He was clearly a stowaway.
Shen Daoxing frowned, but before he could say anything...
THUD! The young man dropped to his knees and then grabbed hold of Shen Daoxing’s leg.
"Young Master! Young Master! Please don’t throw me out! I have an eighty-year-old mother and a three-year-old child at home! My whole family depends on me for support! I have to get to the Daqian Empire to make a name for myself! Please don’t throw me out!"
"..."
Shen Daoxing was speechless.
"Let go!"
Shen Daoxing felt extremely awkward being hugged by a grown man.
But the white-robed young man clung desperately to Shen Daoxing’s leg, refusing to let go. "I won’t! If you’re going to throw me out, then I’m not letting go!"
"..."
Shen Daoxing was at a loss.
"Fine! I won’t throw you out!"
Shen Daoxing said with a sigh of resignation. His current identity was sensitive; he couldn’t attract too much attention.
The white-robed young man was instantly overjoyed. He immediately stood up and bowed again. "Thank you, Young Master! I, Lv Yunsheng, can never repay your great kindness. In the future, once I’ve made a name for myself, I will surely repay you tenfold."
Shen Daoxing said nothing more, simply leaning against the edge of the bed and closing his eyes to rest.
By now, the Cloud Ship had already ascended into the sky and was soaring swiftly through the clouds.
Lv Yunsheng, however, was a chatterbox who couldn’t stay quiet.
"Hey! Hey! Brother, what are you traveling for?"
Lv Yunsheng asked cautiously.
"Visiting relatives."
Shen Daoxing made up a random excuse.
Lv Yunsheng puffed out his chest and smiled slightly. "So, you wanna know what I’m going to do?"
"No!"
Shen Daoxing turned his head away and looked out the window.
But Lv Yunsheng paid no mind to whether Shen Daoxing wanted to listen and started talking anyway. "Me, I’m heading to the Daqian Empire to take the outer sect entrance examination for the Celestial Profound Sacred Land."
As he spoke, Lv Yunsheng grew excited. "Brother, do you know what the Celestial Profound Sacred Land is? It’s the most powerful existence in our entire East Continent! All the surrounding empires have to obey its commands! It’s the place every Martial Artist dreams of entering. If I can join the Sacred Land, my future will be limitless! I’ll definitely become famous throughout the East Continent and become a Great Sword Immortal of my generation!"
