Chapter 672: Nether Ghost Ship

"Such a huge ship? So many people—what faction's Martial Cultivators are they?" Ye Liuyun asked in surprise.

He had seen that kind of big ship before, usually used by dynasties to transport troops. But he had never heard of high-level Martial Cultivators on such vessels.

Because high-level Martial Cultivators each need a private compartment to cultivate, by that calculation the ship would have to be enormous!

Du Yan laughed, "Putting other things aside, among the bandits there are forces that big! You'll encounter them later!"

"Huh? What if we run into those bandits?" Ye Liuyun was a bit stunned. "Ten thousand Martial Cultivators are just manpower; they'd tire themselves out and die—definitely not a match!"

"Haha, as the saying goes, no need to reason, just act. If you can beat their leader, you're safe; if not, you either surrender and become a bandit or die—no other choice!"

Du Yan laughed loudly, "So you should hurry up and improve your strength, and also quickly boost our Warship's power. At our current speed, if we encounter such a big ship, we can't outrun it. We'll be caught soon."

"You're saying this Warship's speed is still slow?" Ye Liuyun was amazed again.

"Of course!" Du Yan said naturally: "There are ships a hundred times faster than yours; this is nothing!"

Ye Liuyun, having truly broadened his horizons, asked, "Then what speed are we talking about?"

He now hoped to see what that kind of ship actually looks like.

At the same time he thought to himself, "Looks like I really should come outside the domain to broaden my experience. This world truly has so many powerful things!"

Ye Liuyun asked many more questions about the vessels, and Li Sanniang brought out the prepared dishes for everyone to feast.

Li Sanniang truly lived up to being the tavern owner's matron; her cooking was superb, and Lei Ming exclaimed with delight while eating.

Wu Qingcheng and the others all eagerly asked to learn cooking from Li Sanniang. Their thoughts were the same—they wanted to cook for Ye Liuyun in the future.

Ye Liuyun was good at grilling meat, but when it came to cooking, he was far behind.

So Li Sanniang seized the chance to waive the training fee.

The group chatted and laughed, strengthening their bonds, and making the dull long journey much more enjoyable.

"How much longer until we exit the Fog Sea?" Ye Liuyun asked Du Yan.

"Probably another seven or eight days! After we go out, we'll reach Mother Tiger's territory, and then you'll face your first tough battle!" Du Yan said with a sigh.

"Mother Tiger? First tough battle?" Ye Liuyun had no idea what he was talking about.

"'Mother Tiger' is the first bandit group you'll encounter after entering the Xinghuo Domain, the leader of the Yingjie Bandit Group. Her name is Ling Shaoyun, and she's at the Yin-Yang Eightfold Realm," Du Yan explained to Ye Liuyun.

"Is this 'Mother Tiger' strong? Will we definitely meet her?" Ye Liuyun asked.

"She's at least much stronger than Tu Yun, and she commands many people—nearly two hundred."

Du Yan paused, then said, "Before we leave the Fog Sea we need to remodel the Warship; it can't still look like a bandit vessel. Otherwise we'll face harassment from all kinds of bandits along the way. Hopefully after the retrofit we won't encounter her."

"Seems this whole route won't be peaceful at all!" Ye Liuyun mused.

Du Yan nodded in agreement.

"Of course! Even if you don't meet 'Mother Tiger' in this segment, the next segment has other bandits—you'll eventually encounter them. It just depends on luck: good luck means you meet fewer, bad luck means you might meet some in every segment. This has happened before."

"Then can they still survive?" Ye Liuyun asked, puzzled.

"When they have nothing and low realms, bandits are too lazy to kill! No one does unprofitable things. Of course, they have to be talkative and willing to submit…" Du Yan stammered, explaining many details about the bandits to Ye Liuyun.

They talked late into the night, and the group gradually returned to cultivate.

After returning, Ye Liuyun kept researching how to deal with two hundred bandits.

That many bandits can't be held back by him alone. If he fails to hold them, they'll swarm, and they certainly can't withstand it.

Moreover, the closer to Zhongyang Dalu, the higher Martial Cultivators' realms become. His own realm was still advancing too slowly.

"No wonder they say realms aren't enough, don't come from outside the domain. Outside Martial Cultivators' realms are far stronger than those on Cangyun Continent! Any Martial Cultivator who goes to Cangyun Continent would be among the top elite, capable of ruling the whole continent!"

While reflecting, Ye Liuyun also worried about his aunt and parents. "I don't even know what realms they're at—will they be bullied?"

As he was pondering, the Nether Curse planted in his Soul by the Underworld God's projection flickered suddenly.

The dark, chilling Nether Mark gave Ye Liuyun an immediate eerie sensation, unusually vivid, affecting his heart as it hammered wildly for a moment.

"Hmm? Could someone from the Nether Hell be targeting me?"

Ye Liuyun knew an even bigger trouble was coming!

At the same time, a massive black Warship entered the Qingxiao Domain.

Its bow bore a huge skull, and its hull exuded a cold, black, ghostly aura.

Wherever this Warship passed, plants withered and all life perished!

Any Divine Sense probing inside would find not a single living person aboard the entire Warship.

In terms of size, this Warship is nearly a hundred times larger than the Black Shark Warship.

In speed, it is also over a hundred times faster than the Black Shark Battleship.

Swoosh!

The pitch‑black, icy Skull Warship streaked through space.

The Warship's surrounding death aura blotted out the sky, shrouding a vast area in darkness like a moving black cloud.

In the nearby star region, both creatures and Martial Cultivators were chilled by the aura.

"What's going on? Why do I feel a threat of death?"

"All sects, be on alert! That's a Nether Ghost Ship!"

Grand Elder Lin Wanchou of the San Yuan Sect had seen this Ghost Ship years ago and immediately ordered the entire sect to go on guard.

The whole San Yuan Sect acted as if facing a great enemy; even some promising elite disciples were promptly assigned to board Flying Boats and evacuate.

On the Ghost Ship, in the control room, a boy who looked only eight or nine slowly opened his eyes.

The boy's complexion was pallid, but his eyes shone like stars.

"Where have we been teleported to?" he asked casually.

His voice was as childish and innocent as a child's, yet his tone was ice‑cold, devoid of any emotion.