Chapter 89: Iron Ship

"Who would ever complain about high Martial Realm cultivation? Naturally, the higher, the better."

Li Musheng shrugged, while Li Yuanling stared at him for a moment, her face showing suspicion:

"I simply cannot imagine how you cultivated. You are only slightly older than me, so why is your Martial Realm cultivation so formidable?"

"Could it be... that you relied on consuming pills to boost your cultivation in the past?"

Hearing this, Li Musheng raised an eyebrow and said:

"I would indeed wish to have those things you mentioned to eat, but unfortunately, I was so poor in the past that I could afford nothing."

"Relying solely on cultivation to reach such powerful Martial Realm cultivation?"

Li Yuanling was utterly shocked; immediately, she suddenly glanced around the wooden boat, her eyes rolling as she said:

"If you say so, I am starting to suspect that perhaps a powerful expert secretly intervened to assist us just now."

Speaking thus, she stood up, extended her green-fingered hand to gently poke Li Musheng's arm, and frowned, saying:

"Moreover, how is it that you have not a trace of True Qi in your body? I always thought you had not even reached the Martial Pre-Heaven Realm?"

Hearing this, Li Musheng chuckled, reached out to brush Li Yuanling's fingers away, and said with a look of disgust:

"If you don't understand, do not speak nonsense. What I have is called 'returning to simplicity and truth,' and it is incredibly formidable!"

Then, he waved his hand and said:

"Enough. Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand. Just tidy up the jade tags; let us wait for the prize draw."

Li Yuanling pouted, while her mind pondered whether there truly existed a Martial Realm called 'returning to simplicity and truth.'

Finding no answer, she resolved to investigate thoroughly upon returning, for she could not allow her seemingly formidable yet utterly unreliable sworn brother to fool her.

On a wooden boat in the underground lake, three women in embroidered long gowns stood gracefully, each with painted eyebrows and a willowy figure.

Yet at this moment, their expressions were extremely solemn, pairs of eyes like autumn water constantly scanning the surrounding wooden boats with vigilance.

Just now, they had waited like a hunter for a rabbit, obtaining a large number of jade tags from the hands of many who came to snatch their three sisters' tags.

Especially from one Miss who looked fierce and menacing, they had obtained the most abundant number of jade tags, a staggering fifteen in total.

However, not long after securing that largest batch of jade tags, an anomaly suddenly occurred; all the jade tags in their hands flew away, and even though they tried to stop them, they could not do so.

"There must be a powerful expert intervening. It seems impossible for us to secure first place today."

Shu Wan'er frowned and spoke; on many surrounding wooden boats, the same situation had occurred as theirs, and with such astonishing means, the opponent clearly could not be underestimated.

Hearing this, Shu Qing'er beside her shook her head and said:

"Our Sect Master ordered us to enter the depths of the Floating Boat City today, so that she can act secretly by following our aura; therefore, no matter what, we must enter the top ten."

Shu Ying'er nodded slightly and said:

"Now that the jade tags are lost, we can only continue to snatch them from other wooden boats. From my observation, that person just now should not have taken all the jade tags; we still have a chance."

Upon hearing this, the three women exchanged glances, and with unspoken understanding, left one person to guard the wooden boat while the other two immediately drifted out, vanishing into the darkness.

At the same time, in the darkness above the entire underground lake, iron chains and hooks hoisted a massive black iron ship, lying horizontally in mid-air.

On the iron ship, nearly dozens of people were busy without cease, holding brushes and paper scrolls, observing the situation on the various wooden boats in the lake below while continuously recording something on the scrolls in their hands.

"Elder Sheng, you must have seen the situation just now; today, it seems a truly extraordinary expert has arrived at our Floating Boat City."

A tall man in a magnificent black robe with profound aura walked slowly from the rear of the iron ship, accompanied by an old man in black clothes.

Soon, the two arrived and stood at the edge of the iron ship, while on the deck to the man's right sat an old man in a gray robe with white hair and a face full of wrinkles.

The old man's body, hands, and feet were all bound by several black iron chains, and his arms were further encircled by rings of copper, making him appear extremely unusual.

At this moment, the old man looked down at the lake beneath the iron ship, where the wooden boats lit with flickering candle flames were clearly visible to him.

However, his gaze remained fixed on the wooden boat where Li Musheng and the other were located.

"I cannot detect anyone secretly infiltrating the Floating Boat City, nor have I found the person who acted. I suggest you investigate the identities of these two."

The gray-robed old man spoke slowly, the iron chains around him swaying slightly, producing a sound of metal dragging on the ground.

The tall man also looked at the wooden boat where Li Musheng was, nodded slightly, and said:

"I have already sent people to investigate."

Then, he turned his head to look at the old man in black beside him and asked:

"Are those two the ones you mentioned?"

The old man in black withdrew his gaze from below, immediately nodded, and bowed respectfully, saying:

"Reporting to the Vice City Lord, it is undoubtedly them. Previously, my palm wind blew past their candle flames, yet it could not affect the flames in the slightest."

Hearing this, Tu Yao waved his hand, signaling the old man in black to withdraw.

Not long after, he spoke again:

"It seems the news that the Floating Boat City obtained Fire Qilin blood has already leaked; otherwise, such a crowd would not have suddenly been attracted here."

At this moment, his gaze swept over the underground lake below, stopping successively on several wooden boats, including those carried by Zhang He and the three sisters led by Shu Wan'er.

"There is no wall that does not leak wind. That Fire Qilin blood is a divine object widely rumored in the Jianghu, causing countless Wu Lin people to flock to it; it is not easy for you to keep this news hidden."

The gray-robed old man Sheng Shian shook his head slightly, then instructed:

"The current course of action is to find the person who can control the Fire Qilin blood as soon as possible and use it; otherwise, similar troubles will come knocking endlessly, and this entire Floating Boat City is afraid it cannot withstand much more turmoil."

Hearing this, Tu Yao's eyes shifted slightly as he said:

"The City Lord is already in seclusion attempting to swallow the Fire Qilin blood. However, that thing is too domineering; we already have many experts who were burned to ash merely by approaching its escaping aura. We do not know if the City Lord can control it."

The gray-robed old man Sheng Shian fell silent for a moment, then spoke slowly:

"The Fire Qilin blood originates from the ancient divine beast Fire Qilin; only a few portions appear and circulate in the world every sixty years. However, those who can control this thing are even fewer. Besides needing profound Martial Realm cultivation, one's own physique and luck are also extremely important factors."

"For him, Su Changqing, to rely on swallowing the Fire Qilin blood to break through to the Martial First Grade Realm will not be easy."

(End of this chapter)