Chapter 361: 334 The Bridge

"What a huge carriage!"

Following the rumbling sound, a massive carriage descended from thin air.

If not for having prepared himself mentally beforehand, Tang Zhao would hardly have recognized this as a carriage; to him, it looked like a ship, a giant vessel.

This carriage was likely five zhang high, cast from metal resembling gold and iron, with mysterious silver threads running across its body—the traces of Strange Stone.

The carriage body was pointed at one end and rounded at the other, wide in the middle, shaped like a water droplet. The enormous cabin looked like a round, bulging belly; it was impossible to tell how many people and horses it could hold, only that it was clearly divided into four levels.

On the four-level cabin, there were double-digit numbers of carriage doors alone, spread across every direction of the cabin. The wide gates on the lower level could even accommodate four fully armed knights riding side-by-side.

So...

"Is this a fire carriage?" Tang Zhao couldn't help but marvel.

Lan Xiuzhu looked at him strangely and said, "This is called a Fire Seed Carriage."

Tang Zhao nodded and said, "I know, I know, I was just saying."

He actually did know; many classics described Fire Seed Carriages.

At the Qianxian, war carriages were an extremely common weapon of war. Because the Qianxian was so unstable, even Sword Guests traveling alone inevitably encountered risks, so war carriages that could transport soldiers, weapons, and supplies, and were equipped with Arrays to provide a stable safe zone, came into being.

Such war carriages were less like vehicles and more like mobile platforms for war and rest, giving warriors a place to set foot.

In this regard, the carriage was indeed very similar to a ship; the Qianxian was just like the vast ocean, filled with unpredictable dangers.

Thanks to the updates and iterations of Rune Formula technology, war carriages at the Qianxian were built larger and larger. A war carriage of this scale was by no means considered giant; there were even larger, better-equipped ones that resembled mobile fortresses. Calling those Fire Seed Carriages was hardly polite; they had to be called "Bonfire Carriages" to be more appropriate.

These were things the ancient sages who struggled at the Qianxian with their lives as Sword Guests could never have imagined.

"Board the carriage!"

At Li Yijian's command, all the Disciples filed onto the carriage, heading straight to the second level of the cabin. The warhorses were led to the first level.

The second level was very large, divided into individual large compartments, and each compartment was simply partitioned inside to serve as rooms. Naturally, the examinees did not have the luxury of single rooms; seven or eight people shared one room. There was no furniture in the rooms, only blankets spread on the floor, which was where the students rested.

These students were considered well-trained; they often slept in the open and sought survival in the wild, so having a room and blankets at this moment was already very good. They immediately lay down in order and fell asleep.

As an Instructor, Tang Zhao boarded the third level.

The third level was the second level from the top of the war carriage; the topmost level was the command headquarters, which generally remained unoccupied without a commander, serving only as the command center.

The conditions on the third level were significantly better than the second. The rooms were single-occupancy, small, and while one couldn't call them luxurious, they were fully equipped with tables, chairs, beds, and cabinets. After all, it was only a temporary residence.

Many officers fighting at the Qianxian had their own fixed Fire Seed Carriages and fixed rooms, treating them as half-homes and decorating them with care. Tang Zhao was just a passerby; as long as he could sleep, that was enough.

The students hadn't slept for over a day and a night, and the Instructors were the same. Even if they weren't locked in the stables, they still had to keep a careful eye on the examination hall; there was no reason for the Instructors to sleep while the students were not answering questions.

Although Sword Guests were already different from ordinary people, with their needs for food, drink, and rest gradually decreasing, they were still Mortals and inevitably felt fatigue. After entering his room, Tang Zhao also hurriedly washed up and rested.

After sleeping for three or four hours, Tang Zhao woke up and, according to the plan, went upstairs to the command headquarters to discuss the upcoming examination matters.

Upon arriving at the spacious command post above, he saw it was empty, save for a door leading to the roof that was open, with wind blowing down from above. He heard Li Yijian say from above, "Instructor Tang has arrived, come on up."

Tang Zhao followed the stairs up, and as soon as he reached the top, he felt everything before him was hazy.

It was already night, the twilight was thick, and now a heavy fog had risen. The fog seemed like thick smoke in the night, swirling so densely that one could not see their own fingers.

On the deck, all three Instructors had arrived, at least maintaining a Friendly atmosphere on the surface, gathered by the railing on one side of the carriage roof, as if admiring the thick night scenery.

Tang Zhao first offered a greeting, saying he was late. Instructor An sneered, "Instructor Tang is young, so it's inevitable he's fond of sleep. If his memory is also poor and he's forgetful, it's no surprise he's late."

Before Tang Zhao could reply, Li Yijian cut in directly, "Instructor Tang was just being polite, why are you being so serious? There was no agreement on when to come up anyway."

Everyone was stunned. If Lan Xiuzhu had said this, it wouldn't have been strange, as she was always one to stir up trouble, but Li Yijian rarely spoke directly like this, and he was even favoring Tang Zhao.

Instructor An shut his mouth, thinking: I almost forgot they are in the same group. This is their carriage, and they are even more unscrupulous.

Li Yijian said calmly, "You've come just in time; we are about to go up."

Tang Zhao felt a jolt; this was also his first time going to the legendary Suiyu.

It was just that the night was too deep and the fog too thick; the road surface three steps away was already hard to see clearly, so he really couldn't see any difference.

Just as he was about to try using his Mental Power to probe into the distance, he suddenly smelled the scent of green grass.

It was the scent from a forest, the scent of countless plants flourishing; it was called a fragrance, but it was too rich, to the point of becoming intense and stimulating, pouring into his nasal cavity.

There was no need to Ask why; Tang Zhao already felt it—there was a dense forest not far away.

Sure enough, as the carriage drew closer, even without using Mental Power to perceive, he saw the dense shadows of vegetation in the thick fog. Some branches were so thick that they pierced through the fog and came before his eyes, as if rattan whips were lashing out at him. The leaves rustled in the wind like dense drumbeats.

"Tang Zhao."

Li Yijian suddenly spoke, calling Tang Zhao by his name directly, "Come and see, what is different about these trees compared to ordinary trees?"

Tang Zhao did not expect that he, not being a student, would still be called upon to answer a question. He hesitated and did not answer the most obvious one: "These trees have an especially rich scent." Instead, he began to observe carefully.

Leaves, no abnormalities; branches, no abnormalities; trunks... roots...

"Hmm?"

Tang Zhao discovered the clue. He looked down, but before he could see clearly, the carriage jolted and began to tilt.

It was going uphill.

This was an extremely wide slope. He could not see where this slope began, only that the slope was lush with vegetation, and the trees were becoming increasingly dense. Except for the main road the carriage was traveling on, the surroundings were almost entirely covered in Luse vegetation, like an extremely thick green blanket.

"These trees... are not rooted in the soil."

When Tang Zhao looked closely, he discovered something strange. Compared to soil, this ground was too hard and rough, and full of faint, hidden wrinkles, just like...

"Tree bark? Is this entire forest one big tree? No..."

These trees were not branches of the same tree; they came from different families, different genera, and different species, distinguishable at a glance. There were tall arbors, low shrubs, and unknown weeds; they did not share the same roots, but just happened to grow in the same community.

However...

They were indeed growing out of a tree.

All of them were parasitic on an unimaginably large tree.

"Are we climbing up a tilted giant tree?"

"Hmm, you've noticed." Li Yijian nodded, "This is a giant tree growing out of the Suiyu, growing from the ground to the ground, just like a bridge connecting two worlds. Our carriage drove down from above, and now it must return to the top."

It really is a tree!

Tang Zhao only felt it was inconceivable.

What a massive tree this was, so much so that looking left or right, one could not see its boundaries. The path traveled by the four-story-high war chariot was not even a drop in the ocean compared to it; there were even layers of vast forests growing upon it.

At the time, the East Pillar of State had once summoned a great tree, declaring it to be the explosion of life, but looking at the great power of nature, what did the tree he summoned count for? It was merely a seedling.

"Is it still alive?"

"I don't know, probably alive. After all, so many trees and plants live off its vitality; if it were dead, how could those plants survive?"

Tang Zhao sighed with emotion: "It is said that in the great ocean, there is whale fall. The so-called 'one whale falls, ten thousand things grow'; this great tree hasn't even died yet, and it has already nurtured all things."

Whale fall and the like were too unfamiliar to Li Yijian and the others, so they did not respond to Tang Zhao's remark, only saying: "Half of the great tree is in the Suiyu; our chariot will pass through the boundary between the two realms, I wonder if you will be able to sense it when the time comes."

Tang Zhao laughed: "I should be able to, right?"

Although he had never been to the Qianxian, it wasn't as if he knew nothing about the Suiyu, was it?

He had read many ancient texts and had a general understanding of the Suiyu, knowing that a Sword Guest could not travel unimpeded there either; after all, with a mortal body, one could not face the pressure of the Suiyu directly and needed a sword for protection. But as long as the sword was there, the person was there, with no need for constraints like battle robes or safe zones. This was also the reason why the few of them could stand on the roof of the chariot without any scruples.

"Once we reach the Suiyu, we must be extra careful. It is better not to lose any of these students if possible. Although everyone in Qianjin City is one of our own, the Suiyu is always full of all kinds of dangers. It is not just the students who need to be careful; even you and I must be careful. In the Suiyu, a Sword Guest is not invincible."

Lan Xiuzhu laughed: "Who doesn't know that? Which of the local factions is simple? Not to mention others, Tang poses a danger himself; if he were to be taken a fancy to by the people of Caiyungui..."

Li Yijian said unhappily: "Don't mention those people. Tang Zhao is a person of Qianjin City and is already a Sword Guest; on what grounds would they take a fancy to him?" Having said this, he still gave Tang Zhao a word of advice: "Tang Zhao, if you see women on the street dressed in flashy, gaudy clothes, don't look at them too much, and even more so, don't show them any courtesy; if you have to speak to them, just say whatever is unpleasant."

Tang Zhao let out an "Eh?" and said: "I seem to have heard of Caiyungui, are they..."

Instructor An said: "They are also one of the Six Great Factions. Hmph, a bunch of sneaky, whimsical women."

"Look, the great tree!"

Unlike Tang Zhao and the others who were standing on the roof of the chariot chatting, a group of students could only lean against the windows to look outside; the view became increasingly hazy in the fog, but seeing even a glimpse, they were all excited.

"Brother Qu, you know a lot, does this great tree have a name?"

"It didn't originally have a name, it seems that according to ancient texts, they took a name for it... Jianmu!"

Above Jianmu, is another world.