Chapter 46: The Journey
Before dawn arrived, Meixiang and the others were already standing by the royal family's platform. Against the cool breeze and the night skies, all three of them waited with small packs that contained their belongings.
Except for his face, Zed's entire body and head was wrapped up in a soft and comfortable cloth. He appeared more like a humongous infant rather than a caterpillar.
Jingfei insisted on carrying Zed, but Lan'er interfered, stating that it was her turn to take care of their brother. Jingfei accepted and let Lan'er be in charge of carrying Zed.
Because they were already cultivators in the Qi foundation realm, Lan'er had no problem carrying her older brother, even if the latter was taller and heavier than her.
In fact, she even began to wonder if her brother was eating properly since he weighed lighter than a twig.
Standing on the royal family's platform, aside from Meixiang and the others, the King was also there, while waiting for the female elder to arrive.
The father and daughter continued to speak, making the most of the short time they had. The two of them had already accepted their short meeting, and as members of the Royal Family, they knew that they had their own duties to follow.
So even though the two missed each other very dearly, they were prepared to separate once more.
Jingfei and Lan'er remained quiet as they let the father and daughter pair to continue to converse. The two talked about a variety of things, some about the affairs of the kingdom while others were about the struggles they faced in the past few years.
Although they could read each other's experiences through the records, it was still different for them to hear it directly from each other's mouth.
Jingfei and Lan'er chuckled, because they found out that it was inevitable for the father and daughter to talk about perverse things. Their sister Mei made several suggestive and provocative remarks about her and their brother Zed, making even the two of them blush, one that reached their ears.
It reached the point where Lan'er could not take it anymore and exclaimed, "That never happened!"
Her adorable, flustered, and aggrieved appearance made all of them laugh.
Eventually, a ray of shining light rose from the distant end of the sea, the skies turned into a red and orange hue.
Without warning, a figure appeared in the middle of the platform.
All of them became alert, but they immediately recognized her as the female elder from yesterday.
"Hmmm... so all of you are here. Good. Well then..." She dug through her robes and pulled out an item.
She threw it into the air and the small object suddenly increased in size. In seconds, the small object became a small sailing boat that was enough to fit seven to eight people.
It seemed like it was made from a unique and ancient wood. There were also engravings on the edges of the boat, making it appear more runic and mysterious.
The female elder boarded the boat and turned to the group of youths.
"I forgot to mention, my name is Han Qiuyue, but you are to address me as Senior Sister Qiuyue. Understood?"
Silence permeated in the surroundings as Meixiang and the others didn't respond.
Not bothered by their lack of response, Han Qiuyue asked again. "Understood?"
"U-understood." Meixiang's brief answer was followed by those of the other two.
Jingfei and Lan'er carried their brother into the boat before getting in themselves.
"Seni-" Jingfei was about to ask something to Han Qiuyue, but the latter cut her off.
Without turning to the youth, Han Qiuyue spoke. "I don't want to waste my breath, so make sure that it is a really important question."
Mildly taken aback by her senior sister's answer, Jingfei only nodded in understanding before taking a seat beside Lan'er.
Meixiang embraced her father one last time before getting on board the boat.
"Stay safe and well, Honorable Father."
The King smiled. "You too daughter. Take care of yourself."
With the boat starting to ascend, Meixiang smiled and shouted to her father. "You must keep living until you hold your grandchild with your own arms! You hear me you old fart?! You must live!"
The King laughed heartily and shouted back to her.
"Get pregnant first! Return here as soon as you find out that you're pregnant! I want my grandchild's birthplace to be here, alright?!"
Similarly, Meixiang chuckled as well, before taking a sit of her own. With that, the boat sped through the skies.
The King sighed as he saw the boat getting smaller and smaller in the distance, until eventually, it could no longer be seen.
Hidden in the dark, a person with long purple hair witnessed the King's sensual farewell with his daughter.
His eyes flashed a strange glint.
-
Half a day passed, and it was already afternoon. The group's journey was quite boring since all they could see was the endless blue seas.
Throughout the entire time, Meixiang and the others had been asking Han Qiuyue questions but the latter just simply ignored them.
Except for answering a few important questions, Han Qiuyue acted as if she hadn't heard them by remaining silent most of the time.
During their inquiries, they found out that the name of the divine treasure was "Agent of Dawn", which was a unique, fast travelling supreme treasure that she recovered from an inheritance event. As for what an inheritance event was, they were left to speculate on their own since their senior sister refused to elaborate.
Meixiang, Jingfei, and Lan'er got used to their senior sister's indifference and stopped asking her questions since they knew they would only be ignored. Instead, they spent their idle time cultivating.
Apart from checking on Zed from time to time, their entire journey remained smooth and quiet.
Half a month passed and they were still smoothly travelling through the endless seas. They would pass by small islands every now and then, but they were all uninhabited islands.
Lan'er couldn't help but remember her childhood with her brother, where the two of them would fly everyday looking for any signs of human settlements.
Considering that it took them years to find Fengshu City, she didn't find it strange that their journey would take a while, especially since they don't have a single idea of where or which continent they were heading to.
One could say that the Xia Kingdom was a lone and isolated country. Only small villages could be located near the ends of their borders which is why they didn't have a map of the Xianxia world, and their only connection to other countries was the Cleansing Jade Sect.
As for Jingfei and Meixiang, the two remained patient as well while looking forward to the new places and countries they would soon see.
A month passed and the group was still silently cultivating in the divine treasure boat. Zed had woken up a few weeks ago and was now sitting beside Han Qiuyue.
"...Senior sister, I have a question." Zed spoke.
Han Qiuyue's closed eyes slightly opened and glanced towards her side.
"...What is it?"
"Are all the beasts we pass by passive animals, or is it another effect of this divine boat?"
Zed asked this while looking at the giant yellow eye that was three times larger than his body size. If one were to zoom out from their perspective, you would see that their tiny boat was flying beside an enormous beast.
It had a long neck and rough green skin. It was an enormous turtle, sizing to about 700 meters. Its limbs spanned several hundred meters wide and half of it could, without a doubt, destroy an entire city.
"Ho?" Han Qiuyue raised her brows when she noticed the beast that was flying alongside them.
"Consider yourselves lucky for having met one of the heavenly beasts of the seas. The Heavenly Turtle, Gonbu."
When she introduced the beast, Meixiang and the others stopped cultivating and were flabbergasted.
"H-how come we didn't noticed its presence?" Meixiang whispered underneath her gaping mouth as she stared at the humongous beast.
Meanwhile, Lan'er and Jingfei were just too shocked to react. Never had they seen a beast so large that it looked like an entire island.
"To answer your question, It's the latter. This divine treasure has the unique effects of completely erasing our presence. This includs every kind of energy inside this boat such as Qi, Weapon Intent, Killing Intent, and more."
She looked towards the Heavenly Turtle and continued, "From what I've read, the Gonbu also has the unique characteristics of merging within the clouds despite its huge size. It rarely materializes and appears for a long period of time.
In the sect, the Gonbu's sightings had only been recorded a few times, meaning that most cultivators from our sect have never even seen this heavenly beast."
"I see... so this is a very rare occurrence..."
Han Qiuyue scoffed when she heard Zed talking to himself.
"Simply stating it as "Very Rare" is undervaluing the beast. Remember, this is one of the Heavenly Beasts, and countless experts would sacrifice years of their life to just be able to see this beast even if it was just a glimpse from afar."
"So, you're saying that we're extremely fortunate and we need to appreciate this moment?" Zed asked while turning to Meixiang and added, "But you don't seem to share the same sentiment like those cultivators you speak of?"
Han Qiuyue shrugged. "I don't really care about matters like these, since I only have one purpose in life, which is to cultivate."
Suddenly, the head of the heavenly turtle began to turn into a white smoke. It rapidly spread to its neck and body. In seconds, the humongous beast became a large body of clouds and dispersed into the other clouds.
The boat became silent while Meixiang, Lan'er, and Jingfei were once again left in disbelief.
The silence continued for quite some time before Zed finally spoke and asked Han Qiuyue. "What are Heavenly Beasts and why are they so rarely seen?"
However, Zed was met with silence. Just as he was thinking that their senior sister wouldn't answer anymore, she suddenly spoke. "Heavenly beasts are powerful beasts that are also known as the guardians of the mortal realm."
"They are called that way because they keep the natural order of nature. Whenever a heaven defying event occurs in the mortal realm, they are the ones that eliminate it. This naturally includes cultivators trying to ascend and reach the Immortal realm."
Han Qiuyue's explanation brought Meixiang and the others out of their dazed state.
Meixiang asked falteringly, "You mean... that you must fight against such beasts in order to reach the Immortal realm?"
"You are correct. Additionally, you also need to endure the heavenly tribulation in which heavenly lightning will strike you."
Jingfei mumbled to herself, "That's... terrible."
Just imagining getting struck by lightning and then fighting a beast like the Heavenly turtle made her feel slightly terrified.
Han Qiuyue's eyes narrowed as she spoke with a hint of ridicule. "Did you think that becoming an Immortal was easy? If it was, then why would there be countless cultivators stuck in the Peak Nascent Soul Stage."
Meixiang's brows furrowed slightly. "Senior sister, there are many cultivators in the Nascent soul stage?"
"Of course, there are- Oh wait, I forgot that your country is an isolated one." Han Qiuyue fixed her tone and explained.
"Yes, there are countless cultivators that remain in the Nascent Soul Stage. Some are those who are stuck because they reached the peak of their talent, while others are biding for their time until they are confident enough to face both the heavenly tribulation and the heavenly beast."
"There are also some who chose to remain in this realm because they are satisfied with what they have achieved. Living through 500 years should be easy for the Nascent Soul Realm. With that time, they could live a long, fulfilling, mundane life."
Just as Meixiang, Jingfei, and Lan'er nodded in comprehension, Han Qiuyue's tone suddenly became sharp.
"I hate those people."
This change in tone startled Meixiang and the others.
Han Qiuyue continued, "They are simply cowards who gave up on the path to immortality. It's hard to believe that there are multiple ancient cultivators who claim to be "resting", but are actually just living in the husks of their former selves."
"There is another term for them, which is, "Ancestors". To some, they are honorable elders, but for me who aims to reach the Immortal realm, they are cowards."
"Are you not afraid of offending them?" Zed asked.
Han Qiuyue mildly chuckled, but her expressionless face remained the same. "Not at all. After all, I am also at the peak of the Nascent Soul Stage, and above all, I have a huge advantage compared to them."
"Can any of you guess what it is?" She asked while turning to the group.
Meixiang answered first. "...Talent?"
Han Qiuyue did not respond, which meant she was wrong.
Lan'er: "Age?"
Jingfei: "Aptitude?"
"All wrong." Han Qiuyue then turned to Zed who was sitting beside her.
Zed pondered her question for a little while, but eventually answered.
"...Drive? No- in this case, is it will?"
When Zed looked at her face to see if he was right, he was mildly taken aback when he saw a small smile form on Han Qiuyue's face.
Noticing Zed's reaction, Han Qiuyue hastily returned her face to normal. She was so fast that Zed almost thought that what he saw was nothing but an illusion.
"Kuhum. You are correct, junior brother."
She turned to Meixiang and the others.
"The most important characteristics to possess while walking on the path of Dao is to have an immovable will."
"Most Nascent Soul Realm cultivators who chose to remain in the mortal realm no longer have this honorable will. Which is why I despise our so-called "Ancestors", since they cling to their prestige in the past, while never having proved themselves by ascending to the Immortal Realm."
Zed then raised another question. "But Senior Sister, how likely is one able to ascend to the immortal realm?"
With an unfeeling voice, Han Qiuyue answered him. "There is a 98% chance of failure, and almost every cultivator who attemps to reach the immortal realm perished due to, either the heavenly tribulations, or the heavenly beasts."
This time, all the youths gasped out loud.
Now they finally understood why most cultivators ended up being satisfied with remaining in the Nascent Soul Stage.
Not minding their reactions, Han Qiuyue continued with a slight sliver of admiration in her voice. "The last cultivator who successfully ascended to the Immortal Realm was 700 years ago.
What's most shocking about her ascension was that she faced both the Heavenly Tribulations and the Heavenly Beasts at the same time without the help of any other person."
Edited By: WorthyAdversary