Chapter 22

Gan Tian only got off the boat when the Netherworld Vessel was about to arrive; after she steadied herself on the land at the ferry landing, she heard a clamor.

"Make way, make way, my young lady is coming through!"

The crowd parted, revealing three very handsome carriages at the ferry landing, especially the lead one, which was as large as a room and pulled by six tall snow‑white horses whose coats shone like silk. Gan Tian could tell at a glance that this carriage was no ordinary thing—its spiritual aura was too obvious.

No one had ever taught Gan Tian about spiritual aura; if someone had once tried to explain it to her as something that could be understood but not put into words, she would have thought them crazy. But now, if she were to say it, she would also say it could be understood but not expressed. Those who know can grasp it; those who don't cannot be made to understand no matter how you explain.

It is more like a subtle feeling that ordinary people can also sense, but for them it flees at the slightest touch and cannot be grasped.

A small glass palace lamp hung from the eave of the carriage's cabin, and Gan Tian saw on it a character large enough to read—the character "Yao" was very clear—so she roughly knew whose family it was. After all, bearing the surname Yao and making such a display, and being among this year's entrants to Pure Void Heaven, she could think of only one possible family.

Although she had a guess, she actually did not know the children of that family... Immortal second‑generations usually have some understanding of their peers of the same age, but that doesn't count as knowing them. Of course, the premise is that everyone moves in the same circle; in fact, the differences among immortal second‑generations can be quite large!

Like Gan Tian, those she knew best were the immortal second‑generations of the Water God lineage—Zhu Babai is the son of the North Sea Sea Lord; although he is not of the traditional Four Rivers system, he still belongs to the Water God lineage. As for this person today, they are not of the Water God lineage; their family is closer to the mother's Gui Taiyin side, but only distantly so.

The real reason Gan Tian has some understanding of them is that they belong to the top‑tier circle of immortal second‑generations.

In the world of cultivation, only a handful of people are at the very top; they have children who happen to be the same age... Even if they don't know each other personally, they should at least have heard each other's names.

After thinking it over, Gan Tian had no intention of greeting them; instead, while pretending to look after her luggage, she slipped into the crowd.

The crowd at Pengze Ferry Landing kept growing; as an important port situated on the Golden Waterway, it is usually lively, but never to today's extent!

Pure Void Heaven is a large immortal sect; each year it takes in over a thousand new disciples! A disciple must stay in the sect for nine full years, and even those not newly recruited must board at one of the eight ferry landings scattered around, so the number of "passengers" embarking at a single landing is about a thousand plus.

Besides these special "passengers," the ferry landing certainly has people seeing them off. Just like Gan Tian, she didn't come alone—not to mention her father and the elder fairy at home, the little ones on the boat, even just saying that the ten‑odd people now watching her luggage are standing on the dock!

Those preparing to go to Pure Void Heaven include not only registered immortal disciples but also folks from ordinary families escorted by villagers and officials; by this time the ferry landing is packed to the point of being water‑tight!

"Miss, are you also going to Pure Void Heaven?" the young boy in a green robe asked, obviously overwhelmed by today's scene.

He was originally the son of a servant in a wealthy household; his destined fate was to be a house‑born servant like his siblings, continuing to work for the master—at best becoming a personal attendant to a young master, at worst ending up tending horses and cleaning dung. But at age ten, during the blood‑test for spiritual aura, he and the young master of the household, who was the same age and had high hopes placed on him, were examined; the young master was found to lack spiritual aura, while he merely went through the procedure, and the surrounding gasps ultimately left him dazed!

Ah, I passed!

That's how the story of one person attaining the Dao and dragging chickens and dogs up to heaven goes.

He was originally a servant; now he has a chance to change his fate—will his former master suppress him, trying to keep him down?

How could that be? Accepting disciples into an immortal sect is utterly solemn! There are rules in place! Those who ought to enter the sect cannot be hidden or suppressed. On the contrary, those who cannot enter will never be able to! Moreover, the master's family isn't foolish—how could they risk a venture with an infinitesimal chance of success?

Instead, the master's family, to win his favor, freed his parents and siblings from servitude and even gave the family some money to start a small business. Then they sent him to school to study; these two years he has never been at ease, his greatest worry being the blood‑test for spiritual aura when he turns twelve.

If in the end he is sent back to his original state, what should he do? What should his family do?

Fortunately, that didn't happen; although the usher said her talent was merely average, she ultimately met the requirements, so he can go to the immortal sect!

In their whole county and surrounding towns this year, only two people were able to go to the immortal sect; in the end, everyone from the prefecture who could go was sent together to Pengze Ferry Landing.

He doesn't know any of these people; although his father and elder brother are with him, they too have never seen such a scene. Looking around, he sees countless immortals, and they can only huddle to the side, daring not to speak more than a word, for fear of saying something taboo and offending the immortals.

This is also a habit left over from his days as a human servant—being cautious and discreet.

Just like his group, most of the people around are disciples of the immortal sect from the same prefecture coming to the ferry landing; besides them, the others are probably what the guiding immortals call "registered immortal disciples," who are usually sent by their families and make quite a different display.

Fellow townspeople from the same prefecture are all nervous and unwilling to speak; those from other prefectures stick together, unwilling to talk to someone from a different prefecture. As for those registered immortal disciples, most are arrogant and aloof, seeming hard to get along with.

Gan Tian's sudden appearance made his eyes light up.

Gan Tian nodded at the person who came over to chat: "Exactly, everyone our age who came to Pengze Ferry Landing today is like that."

"Doesn't anyone from your family see you off?" the boy said enthusiastically.

Gan Tian shook her head again: "They did see me off; I took a boat from Jingzhou—my family's boat hasn't left yet, that's my family's boat!"

As she pointed, the boy's half‑spoken words got stuck in his throat, and he scratched the back of his head: "What a big, beautiful boat…"

"Well, it's not that big…" Feeling a bit excited to leave home but also a bit lost for words, he said: "This is the boat my father gave me; my father's boat is bigger—the Netherworld Vessel of the immortal sect is also big, four or five times larger than this!"

"Have you seen the immortal sect's Netherworld Vessel?" The boy, nervous about the unknown immortal sect, tried to gather as much information as he could, stammering his self‑introduction: "I, I am Xu Ming—no, not that, I am Xu A!"

This is another case of a name change; it's said that many disciples from ordinary families, once they are confirmed to enter the immortal sect, change their names to something more ethereal.

"I am Gan Tian—several of my older brothers and sisters with whom I grew up have already entered the immortal sect; not only have I seen the Netherworld Vessel of Pure Void Heaven, I have also seen the cloud carriage of the Auspicious Hall and the … of Sincere Peak," but seeing that the other person was completely bewildered, Gan Tian stopped there.

Just as she was about to say something more, someone suddenly shouted: "The Netherworld Vessel is coming! The Netherworld Vessel is coming!"

In the water not far from the ferry landing, ripples began to roll outward, and slowly the Netherworld Vessel rose bit by bit from the bottom. At first only a corner showed, like the tip of an iceberg, but once the whole vessel was revealed, it was a gigantic jet‑black ship.

It is about forty‑five zhang long and nearly twenty zhang wide, with two rows of a total of twelve sails, all black.

The Netherworld Vessel seems to have expanded a spherical space around itself that water cannot enter; therefore, as it rises from the water, it stays completely dry.

After finishing its ascent, the Netherworld Vessel slowly moved toward the ferry landing; this side has several docks, and because the vessel was expected today, one had been cleared in advance. This empty dock is vacant and ideal for mooring.

"This is the Netherworld Vessel… I don't know which generation of senior's taste this is, but it feels totally over‑the‑top and edgy."

Gan Tian muttered to herself, but Xu A didn't catch her meaning, especially not knowing what "over‑the‑top and edgy" meant. To the boy, it was a shock—he had never seen such a wondrous sight, and this was truly his first real contact with the world of immortals.

No crowding—line up one by one to board; when going aboard, hand your luggage to the steward on the Netherworld Vessel, and someone will deliver it to your room—the vessel has plenty of space, so each immortal‑sect disciple can have a private room.

Gan Tian lined up right behind Xu A, so their rooms are adjacent.

The crew of the Netherworld Vessel works efficiently; Gan Tian found her room, opened the door, and before she could even look around, there was a knock outside.

It was her luggage being delivered.

Although the space on the Netherworld Vessel is large, the rooms allotted to each person aren't particularly big. Still, it might be an illusion—after all, the living quarters in the Fairy Pond are huge… but if judged by cabin standards, the vessel is still quite spacious.

There is a small bed, a little table and a chair for resting—enough to receive guests. Though the bed sounds rudimentary, considering one would stay at most a night on the Netherworld Vessel, it feels quite normal.

Gan Tian is fairly lucky; her cabin is at the edge of the hull, so it has a sealed round porthole through which she can watch underwater creatures swim by.

The hull consists entirely of cabins; above the deck are public areas such as the dining hall and library.

Gan Tian knows a little about the Netherworld Vessel, but she has never actually been on one, so she is still curious. After moving her luggage in, she didn't linger in the room and soon came out.

"Miss Gan, would you like to go explore together?" Just then Xu A also came out; he wasn't alone, and it seemed he had made plans with others from his prefecture to go out together.

Curiosity and nervousness about an unknown environment are a shared feeling, and clustering together in unfamiliar surroundings is also a kind of instinct.

"Exactly!" Gan Tian jumped up and down on the spot: "I want to go up and have a look—staying in the room would be too boring; are you coming too?"

It seemed they thought having someone like Gan Tian who knew the situation would be better, so everyone said "let's go together, let's go together," and then they all headed up to the deck.

By this time boarding was almost finished, but according to regulation the Netherworld Vessel will wait at the ferry landing until near the hour of the Rooster.

The Netherworld Vessel's gunwale is high; standing on the deck, one can take in the whole scene of the ferry landing at a glance. Many know that after the hour of the Rooster the vessel will sink, so they intend to seize the last chance to breathe fresh air. Moreover, some people stand on the deck waving downwards in farewell, even if their friends and family on the landing might not see them.

"There's not much interesting on the deck; after we submerge, coming back to look will be better." Gan Tian explained to Xu A, after submerging we'll be able to see the underwater world that's usually unseen. However, this 'better' is also said to Xu A and them; unless we're traveling through the ocean, otherwise she's seen too much of ordinary freshwater areas.

Although Gan Tian said that, they still wanted to stay on the deck. Gan Tian also thought it was nothing, found an opportunity and left; she wanted to go to the cafeteria to have a look, it should be mealtime now——I don't know if I'll meet anyone I know... The circle of immortal second generations is actually quite small; the reason hindering them from recognizing each other lies in that within the circle there are smaller circles, and these smaller circles are quite closed off from each other.

Zhu Babai heard that she would board at Peng Marsh Ferry, saying there was also a chance to board from this side. But just now at the port they didn't find the other party, so she wants to go look again.

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Tomorrow we'll be entering V, hoping everyone can continue to support the silly author! 【I'll work hard to update. jpg