291: Disdain for a dilapidated ship? Then unleash five dragons to pull a warship!

Below Daozi Peak, the cold wind swirled a few withered yellow leaves across the bluestone plaza.

The atmosphere was somewhat awkward, or one could even say—shabby.

Thousands of Disciples were lined up neatly, their eyes fixed fervently on the front, waiting for the legendary "Sect Warship" that would lead them to conquer all directions and recast their glory to make its appearance.

"Ahem."

Standing at the very front of the line, Li Xiaoyao's old face actually turned a rare shade of red. He rubbed his hands together somewhat awkwardly and gave a grand wave of his wide sleeve.

"Come forth! Azure Cloud Boat!"

Buzz—

A tooth-aching sound of mechanical friction rang out, as if some long-dilapidated antique was struggling to turn over.

A flying boat about fifty meters long, mottled all over, and even featuring several mismatched wooden patches nailed to its gunwales, drifted shakily out of the mist.

It flew very slowly, accompanied by a "creak-creak" noise, like an asthmatic old man jogging.

At the bow, a precarious red lantern hung; half of the character for "Ascending" in "Ascending Immortal" had fallen off, turning it into "Bean Immortal."

Dead silence filled the field.

With a snap, the light in the Disciples' eyes went out.

This was the vehicle they were going to use to challenge the two Great Holy Lands and suppress the world's Prodigies?

This was like others driving aircraft carriers to war while you rode an old bicycle that rattled everywhere except for the bell just to join the fun.

Forget about slapping faces; before they even left the house, their dignity had already been thrown to the wind.

"This... this is our ship?"

Luo Tianfei had changed into clean purple robes. Standing behind Lu Sheng and looking at that broken ship, the corners of her mouth twitched uncontrollably.

She felt her Divine Phoenix Bloodline had been insulted.

"It can't be helped, resources are tight," Li Xiaoyao gave a dry laugh, trying to save face. "Don't look at how broken it is; this was used by the Ancient Emperor's... well, by the fire-stoking boy under the Ancient Emperor. The core formation is still good, and it flies very steadily."

Steady?

A gust of wind blew by, the flying boat wobbled three times, and a piece of rotten wood fell off.

Li Xiaoyao: "..."

Lu Sheng stood with his hands in his pockets, looking expressionlessly at this pile of scrap metal.

"Old man."

Lu Sheng turned his head. There was no emotion in those dark eyes, only the look one gives to an idiot.

"You want us to take this thing to Kunlun?"

"If it falls apart halfway, are we going to swim there or fly there?"

"That's not important!" Li Xiaoyao bit the bullet and argued, "What's important is the people! As long as our strength is great, even taking a broken ship there will be a king's return!"

"Forget it."

Lu Sheng let out a sneer. Taking a long stride, he stepped out and his figure appeared directly at the bow of the broken ship.

Thump.

With just a light landing, the entire flying boat suddenly sank, letting out an overburdened wail.

"This kind of trash isn't worthy of my status."

Standing at the dilapidated bow against the biting mountain wind, Lu Sheng slowly raised his right hand.

"Since there isn't a good ship, then... let's modify it."

The great dragon of his spine suddenly lit up with five-colored divine light.

"Everyone come out, time to work!"

Roar——————!!!!!

Five earth-shattering Dragon roars exploded at the same time, instantly drowning out the sound of the wind across the plaza.

The Void Realm tore open.

Under the horrified gazes of thousands of Disciples, five hundred-meter-long law beasts, carrying world-destroying pressure, soared into the sky from behind Lu Sheng.

Tai Bai Golden Dragon, its sharp edge slicing through the clouds!

Jianmu Azure Dragon, its vitality sprouting vines!

Weak Water Black Dragon, its corrosion bringing the silence of all things!

Red Lotus Fire Dragon, its burning twisting the Void Realm!

Resting Earth Soil Dragon, its suppression heavy as the earth!

The five True Dragons circled once in the air, then under the control of Lu Sheng's will, they dove down—not to attack, but to bite onto five different positions of the flying boat.

Crack! Crack!

The Golden Dragon turned into a ram, sharp and peerless; the Soil Dragon encased the bottom, making it indestructible; the Wood Dragon wound around the hull, repairing and reinforcing it; the Fire Dragon perched at the stern, becoming a propulsion nozzle; the Water Dragon circled the perimeter, forming an absolute defense.

In just three breaths.

That broken wooden boat that could have fallen apart at any moment had completely disappeared.

In its place was a two-hundred-meter-long mythical chariot, flowing with five-colored law divine light, with five living giant Dragons serving as its power core!

The visual impact was simply like taking a scrapped tricycle and magically modifying it into an interstellar warship on the spot.

"Holy... shit..."

Elder Xing Tian's mouth hung wide open, and that curse escaped his lips, representing the inner thoughts of everyone present.

This works too?!

"Board the ship."

Lu Sheng stood atop the ferocious Golden Dragon's head at the ram position, looking down from on high at the dumbfounded crowd below.

He grinned, revealing a row of forest-white teeth, his smile wild and overbearing.

"This is the... flashy warship for going to Kunlun."

"Whoever doesn't get on can stay down there and eat dust."

...Boom!!

A terrifying sonic boom cloud exploded over the sea.

The five-colored warship tore through the sky, its speed so fast that even afterimages couldn't be seen, leaving only a thousand-meter-wide white wake on the ocean.

Above the clouds, the gale howled.

But the interior of this warship was so stable that not even a drop from a cup of tea would spill.

On the Deck—which was actually the broad back of the Soil Dragon—Li Xiaoyao sat on a stone stool, clutching a few plucked beard hairs. Looking at the rapidly receding scenery, his gaze was complex to the extreme.

"Prodigal... too prodigal..."

While Li Xiaoyao felt the sting of waste, he couldn't help but feel proud. "Using five Dragons of Law to pull a ship—this kind of status, I'm afraid even the Ancient Emperor of old was only at this level?"

"Less nonsense."

Lu Sheng sat cross-legged at the bow, eyes closed to rest his mind. "Old man, since we've left home, there are some things you should say, right?"

"Those grandsons at Kunlun—besides that half-step Spirit King Daozi, what other dirty tricks do they have?"

At the mention of serious business, Li Xiaoyao's expression instantly turned solemn.

He glanced around, and only after confirming the soundproofing barrier was active did he lower his voice and say, "I'm not worried about you fighting; even if you can't win, running certainly won't be a problem."

"What I'm worried about is... the inspection."

"Inspection?" Lu Sheng raised an eyebrow.

"Kunlun has a mirror," Li Xiaoyao said heavily. "It is called the 'haotian demon-illuminating mirror'. It is a Divine Artifact left over from ancient times, hanging above the Kunlun Heavenly Gate."

"Anyone entering the Kunlun Holy Land must pass through the mirror's light."

"It can see through all disguises, and it can also reveal... anomalies."

At this point, Li Xiaoyao stared intently at Lu Sheng, his tone filled with deep concern: "Kid, that dharma idol of yours... and that thing you swallowed at the end... that had the scent of the Abyss."

"If you are judged as an 'Abyssal Demon' by the Demon-Illuminating Mirror, it won't just be a matter of winning or losing a competition."

"It will be you against the whole world."

"When that time comes, even if Xing Tian and I, these two sets of old bones, risk our lives, we might not be able to bring you out alive."

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy.

The Abyss was the common enemy of all mankind.

Even if Lu Sheng was human, as long as he was tainted by that aura, in the eyes of those Holy Lands that championed justice, he would be a stain that had to be purified.

Beside them, Luo Tianfei also looked at Lu Sheng nervously.

She had seen that Abyssal Demon Hand with her own eyes.

That aura of extreme evil still made her scalp tingle when she thought about it.

However.

Lu Sheng only slowly opened his eyes.

In those eyes, there was no trace of panic; instead, a flash of eager violence passed through them.

"A mirror?"

Lu Sheng sneered, pulled a spirit fruit from his robe, and took a loud crunching bite.

"If it's the kind of broken mirror that only looks for other people's faults..."

"Wouldn't it be enough just to smash it?"

Li Xiaoyao: "..."

Luo Tianfei: "..."

This conversation was going nowhere.

In this guy's brain, was there simply no such concept as "retreat"?

Just then.

Buzz—!!

The high-speed five-colored warship suddenly jolted without any warning.

The surrounding sky, which had been crystal blue, instantly turned gloomy.

It wasn't dark clouds.

It was blood Qi.

A thick, nauseating smell of blood, mixed with the stench of rotting sea, rushed toward them.

Lu Sheng stopped chewing.

He slowly stood up, walked to the gunwale, and looked down.

He saw that the sea surface below had turned into a shocking dark red at some unknown point.

Amidst the rolling waves, countless pale, bloated corpses floated densely on the water. Following the rise and fall of the waves, they looked like distorted human faces staring intently at the warship in the sky.

And in the center of that sea of corpses.

A throne built from countless white bones was slowly rising with the waves.

"Jie jie jie..."

A sinister laugh, like two rusted iron plates rubbing together, pierced through the sea wind and clearly entered everyone's ears.

"Old dogs of Dengxian Island..."

"Two hundred years..."

"The debt from that sword strike back then... today... shouldn't it be repaid with interest?"

Boom!

As the words fell.

The blood sea below exploded upward.

Nine thousand-meter-long blood pythons condensed from fresh blood, carrying suffocating Evil Qi, opened their bloody maws and bit fiercely toward the five-colored warship in the sky!

On the ship, those Disciples who were traveling far for the first time instantly turned pale and screamed in terror.

"It's the Blood Sea Ancestor!!"

Li Xiaoyao's expression changed drastically, and the folding fan in his hand instantly transformed into a sharp green sword. "Damn it! How is this old devil not dead yet?! He's ambushing us on the mandatory path?!"

Just as Li Xiaoyao was preparing to risk his old life.

A hand lightly pressed onto his shoulder.

"What's the rush."

Lu Sheng stood at the bow. Looking at the nine blood pythons rushing toward them, not only was he not afraid, but he actually... stretched comfortably.

The joints all over his body let out a series of crackling pops, like a sleeping beast waking up.