Ferry Plan

When the conversation grew lively, everyone burst into laughter, drawing the attention of the other sects. Shang Fengzi, Sect Leader of the Penglai Imperial Sword Hall, which had the closest ties with Shu Mountain, could not help but ask.

"Why are you fellow Daoists so happy? Tell me, so I can share in the fun."

Shang Fengzi had a gentle temperament and had been Qing Wei’s close friend for many years, so Qing Wei told him about the upcoming grand tournament between Shu Mountain Sect, Qingyun Sect, and the other sects.

"So that is how it is…" Shang Fengzi stroked his beard and pondered for a moment, as though reaching some decision. Then he said resolutely, "Penglai Imperial Sword Hall would also like to participate in this grand tournament. What do you fellow Daoists think?"

Penglai Imperial Sword Hall wanted to join as well?

The sect leaders looked at one another. Why did this seem to be getting bigger and bigger?

Qing Wei, who knew Shang Fengzi’s temperament well, was more surprised than anyone. He could not help asking, "Penglai’s Dao teachings have always emphasized tranquility and nonaction, remaining undisturbed by worldly matters. Your disciples rarely enter the world or fight others. Why are you doing this…?"

Shang Fengzi smiled bitterly. "Precisely because of that. I want my disciples to participate in the tournament because all they know is to bury their heads in cultivation. When they encounter demons, they can barely protect themselves, much less save others. Not long ago, when the Demon Imprisonment Tower had its incident, some of the demons invaded Penglai and nearly made us suffer a disastrous loss!"

Hearing this, Qing Wei’s face filled with guilt. He cupped his hands in apology. "I never expected Shu Mountain’s disaster to implicate Penglai as well. I truly am sorry, Dao Brother."

Shang Fengzi waved his hand and sighed. "Slaying demons and defending the Dao is the duty of all cultivators. How can we speak of implication? It was simply that incident which made me see clearly just how weak Penglai is in magical combat. If this continues, even preserving our Dao lineage will become difficult. The words ‘Imperial Sword Hall’ will become nothing more than a joke!"

Since he had put it that way, Qing Wei found it difficult to refuse Shang Fengzi’s request. He turned to look at Chu Yang.

Chu Yang chuckled. "Martial Uncle can decide matters concerning the sect tournament himself. I am not good at handling such trivial affairs anyway, so I can take the opportunity to observe and learn."

Qing Wei laughed heartily. "As Sect Leader, you have more important matters to handle. You truly should not be distracted by small things. I will organize this tournament."

At the mention of important matters, Chu Yang suddenly remembered the missing Evil Sword Immortal. Based on Moon Worshipper’s words before his death, the Evil Sword Immortal should now be within the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.

"There is something I would like to ask Sect Leader Yun." Chu Yang looked at Yun Yilan. "Has there been any unusual activity in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains recently?"

The moment he said this, the sect leaders, who had been discussing things animatedly, immediately looked at Chu Yang in surprise.

"The Ten Thousand Great Mountains? Why do you ask, Sect Leader Chu?"

Yun Yilan asked curiously.

The disaster at Shu Mountain was no longer a secret in the cultivation world. Such a major event had inevitably reached everyone’s ears, so Chu Yang did not hide the Evil Sword Immortal’s existence and explained the circumstances.

"The Evil Sword Immortal…" Yun Yilan frowned deeply and slowly shook his head. "So far, we have not discovered anything unusual. However, I have heard that several witch clans hidden deep in the mountains were exterminated. For the righteous path, that should not be a bad thing."

Those witch clans had been sacrifices selected by Moon Worshipper to gather Five Spirit Power. They had nothing to do with the Evil Sword Immortal.

Unable to obtain any useful leads, Chu Yang could only set the matter aside for now. Still, to be safe, he reminded Fenxiang Valley to keep a close watch on any developments within the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.

Dao Xuan Zhenren suddenly sighed. "The Ten Thousand Great Mountains separate Divine Land from the Central Plains. Even if something happens on our side, it would be difficult to inform you in time."

Qing Wei immediately nodded. "That is indeed a problem."

Chu Yang said, "I have had an idea regarding this for quite some time. I want to build a ferry port atop Shu Mountain and construct several large flying ferries for travel between Divine Land and the Central Plains. What do you all think?"

"A ferry that crosses between the two regions… and flies through the sky?" Yun Yilan drew a sharp breath and said admiringly, "Sect Leader Chu, you truly have great ambition. Leaving aside whether it can be built, even if it can, the cost of constructing such ships would be astronomical!"

Master Puhong, kindly and benevolent in appearance, chanted a Buddhist invocation and said leisurely, "If it can truly be done, Shu Mountain Sect will have rendered another great service to the mortal world."

"Monk, do not be so quick to praise him. Whether it can be done is still uncertain!" Dao Xuan Zhenren shot Master Puhong a displeased glance. Among the three sects, only Qingyun Sect and Shu Mountain Sect were closely allied. He was the one truly worried that this strange Sect Leader might do something reckless.

Qing Wei pondered for a moment before asking, "Are you confident?"

"Rest assured, Martial Uncle. It is only artifact forging. To me, it is a small matter." Chu Yang was brimming with confidence. It was not as though he planned to build a ship as massive as Pluton. A ferry capable of carrying several dozen people would be enough. By calculation, the ferry would not even be a tenth the size of Pluton.

With the manpower and resources Chu Yang had in the One Piece world, building a ferry would take only a few days.

The energy device would not need to be large either. Any small one would do. Chu Yang would also inscribe formations that aided flight onto the ferry, greatly reducing its energy requirements.

Once the ship was finished, he could place it inside the space of the Undetectable Extension Charm and bring it back through the Soul Palace. It would not be troublesome at all.

Seeing Chu Yang so confident, Qing Wei finally let go of his last hesitation and nodded with a smile.

When Chonglou had been around, everyone had already witnessed the power of the Demon Refinement Tower. They were thoroughly convinced of Chu Yang’s artifact-forging ability, and they also envied Shu Mountain for gaining a Sect Leader blessed with such extraordinary talent in artifact forging.

What Sect Leader? He was clearly a God of Wealth who had fallen from the heavens.

Among the hundred arts of cultivation, alchemy, artifact forging, formations, and talismans were the most important, with all other arts secondary. Reaching the pinnacle in any one of those four arts represented an inexhaustible source of wealth.

Chu Yang smiled. "Since these are ferries, ports should be built in places other than Shu Mountain as well. I will leave the ports on the Divine Land side to you Sect Leaders."

Dao Xuan and the others immediately agreed. Compared to building flying ferries, constructing a port for docking was no difficult task. The only issue was that the location would need to be chosen carefully. Since the ships flew through the sky, places that were too low would be unsuitable for landing.

Qingyun Sect, Fenxiang Valley, and Tianyin Temple all intended to choose the tallest mountain peak within their respective sects.

Establishing a ferry port could also become a steady, long-term business. Aside from their own disciples, other factions might wish to travel between the two regions. It would be perfectly natural for such people to pay a handling fee to board the ships.

The port usage fee would merely be an extra. The real profit would come from the ticket fare. Viewed this way, Shu Mountain’s ferries would not merely avoid losses—they would be a guaranteed profitable business.

The sect leaders present quickly thought of this as well, and their faces once again filled with envy. They could not even remember how many times they had worn such expressions.

After the ceremony, the various sects gradually departed from Shu Mountain. Those with shallow ties left earlier, while those with deeper ties stayed longer.

The first to leave was Shen Family Fortress.

Shen Qingfeng had looked as though he were sitting on pins and needles during the banquet, and the major sects had all noticed. Others could not help sighing, "If you knew this would happen, why did you do it in the first place?"

When the next Southern Forest Northern Shen Martial Arts Assembly began, it would certainly be livelier than ever. Most of the attendees would likely be there to watch Shen Qingfeng make a fool of himself.

Offending Shu Mountain was not something that could be brushed aside so easily.

The Jianghu forces led by the Four Great Families departed Shu Mountain shortly afterward. Under Chu Yang’s orders, Xie Cangxing and Xia, who had just become disciples, left with them.

The two represented Shu Mountain and would accompany Jiang Cheng and the others to Mingzhou to negotiate with Mo Yi.

However, before everything was settled, Chu Yang reminded Xiahou Jinxuan not to tell his father, Xiahou Zhang, about this matter.

Given Xiahou Zhang’s temperament, if he learned that Mo Yi had occupied his younger brother’s body for years and had lurked within the Xiahou Family for over a decade, he would definitely refuse to cooperate with him in any form.

At that point, things might backfire and take a turn for the worse.

To be safe, Chu Yang sent a clone to follow them in secret. If Mo Yi failed to appreciate his kindness, Chu Yang would have no choice but to use the simplest method to resolve the matter.

Aside from Mo Yi, Long Ming, king of Yaksa Kingdom, had crossed into the human realm using the Crossing Technique unique to the Long Clan to search for the Shennong Cauldron. Yet Chu Yang had not obtained any information from Xiahou Jinxuan and the others.

To restore the water vein of the demon realm, both the Water Spirit Orb and the Shennong Cauldron were indispensable.

According to the original story, the Shennong Cauldron, along with the other two divine artifacts—the Fuxi Sword and the Nüwa Blood Jade—were treasured relics enshrined in Shu Mountain’s Xuan’guang Palace.

But in this world, Shu Mountain had no Xuan’guang Palace, so the whereabouts of the Shennong Cauldron had become a mystery.

No one knew where Long Ming had gone in search of the Shennong Cauldron.

However, given the current hodgepodge nature of the entire world, anything that had not appeared in the Chinese Paladin setting would surely appear in another story.

Chu Yang had already worked out the pattern.

The Shennong Cauldron was not a treasure unique to the Chinese Paladin world…

Chu Yang already had a guess, so he looked forward to seeing how the Shennong Cauldron would appear before him.

By the time the gathering finally ended, the sect’s grand hall, once bustling with voices, had become quiet again. Yet Chu Yang had not expected Qionghua Sect, which had almost no ties with Shu Mountain, to remain behind.

Qionghua Sect’s Sect Leader Suyao seemed to have something to discuss. With so many people around earlier, it had been inconvenient to say it openly. Only after most had left did she approach Chu Yang.

Suyao asked Chu Yang to lend her the Water Spirit Orb. She did not state its purpose, only saying that she would return it after borrowing it for some time.

But Chu Yang, who knew the story, had guessed her intentions.

Qionghua Sect worshipped the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady and revered secret sword-forging arts. Drawing upon the lifetime efforts of three generations of elders, they had forged the two immortal swords, Wangshu and Xihe.

The two immortal swords could only be wielded by people with special destinies and constitutions.

Nineteen years ago, under the leadership of the twenty-fourth Sect Leader, Mahito Taiqing, Qionghua Sect used the power of the twin swords to bind the Illusory Netherworld, opening a passage into it and seizing its spiritual power. They intended to use that power to accomplish the feat of elevating the entire sect to immortality.

As long as they could fly high enough to touch Kunlun’s heavenly light, ordinary people could ascend in broad daylight.

Unfortunately, dreams were beautiful.

The Illusory Netherworld was not going to simply take such an invasion lying down. How could it possibly refrain from retaliating after being attacked at its doorstep?

Countless demons descended upon Qionghua Sect through the Space Rift and fought their enemies. A great battle erupted at once. People died every moment, corpses covered the fields, and blood flowed like rivers.

The scene was exceedingly tragic.

At that time, Suyu, the host of the Wangshu Sword, could not bear the brutal slaughter before her and refused to continue using the Wangshu Sword to bind the Illusory Netherworld.

In the end, this battle had been caused by Qionghua Sect’s greed. They wanted to become immortals, so they forcibly seized the Illusory Netherworld’s spiritual power while claiming that they were slaying demons and eliminating evil to protect the Dao and all living beings.

Suyu saw through this and refused to continue making one mistake after another. She fled down the mountain with the Wangshu Sword and her fellow disciple, Yun Tianqing.

After descending the mountain, the two settled in seclusion on Azure Luan Peak and had a child—Yun Tianhe. Because of the backlash from the Wangshu Sword’s icy power, Suyu passed away after giving birth to Yun Tianhe.

Meanwhile, Xuan Xiao, host of the Xihe Sword, also suffered backlash. He endured the agony of fierce flames burning his body and fell into a bloodthirsty, frenzied path, nearly becoming a madman.

With no other choice, Qionghua Sect’s elders sealed him in ice, using frost power to reduce Xuan Xiao’s suffering and preserve his sanity.

The Water Spirit Orb Suyao sought today was also for Xuan Xiao. She believed that the Water Spirit Orb’s water spirit power could suppress the backlash of the Xihe Sword within him.

Chu Yang did not know whether the Water Spirit Orb would work, but faced with Suyao’s request, he chose to decline politely.

Leaving aside the fact that the Water Spirit Orb had already been given to Jiang Cheng and the others, even if it had not, Chu Yang would not use it to save Xuan Xiao. The agony of flames burning his body was what he deserved.

For their own selfish desires, Qionghua Sect had wantonly created slaughter and karma. Most of the sect, from top to bottom, had already fallen into demonic obsession in pursuit of immortality.

All the lives lost because of their greed should be counted against them.

A cold smile appeared on Chu Yang’s lips.

You want me to help you?

Try again in your next life!

Suyao’s expression became extremely ugly after being refused. With so many disciples watching, she could not back down. Her tone turned resentful as she said, "The Water Spirit Orb is a treasure nurtured by heaven and earth. It belongs to no one. Qionghua Sect merely wishes to borrow it for a time. Why must Sect Leader Chu be so stingy?"

Chu Yang rolled his eyes. "What business is it of yours? Whether I am stingy or not is none of your damn business."

Suyao’s cheeks changed from red to green. She was clearly furious beyond measure. A Sect Leader had actually answered her with such crude words.

Including the Qionghua Sect disciples, everyone present was stunned by Chu Yang’s attitude.

His words seemed filled with hostility.

"Are Sect Leader Chu’s actions today meant to make Shu Mountain Sect and Qionghua Sect break relations from this day onward?"

Seeing that soft tactics did not work, Suyao attempted to threaten Chu Yang with the relationship between the two sects. Though Qionghua Sect did not enjoy Shu Mountain’s prestige, it was still a major cultivation sect second only to Shu Mountain.

Under normal circumstances, no one would lightly choose to offend Qionghua Sect.

But Chu Yang was not among them.

"Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together. Shu Mountain’s Dao is indeed vastly different from Qionghua Sect’s. We slay demons only when they bring disaster upon the mortal world. We will never, for our own selfish desires, engage in the practices of heretics and evil demons."

Chu Yang’s icy words immediately caused a tremendous uproar. He had directly denounced Qionghua Sect as heretics and evil demons.

For a cultivation sect, this was no simple insult.

Suyao flew into a rage upon hearing this. The other Qionghua Sect disciples glared at Chu Yang in fury. The atmosphere between both sides became tense and hostile, as though a fight could break out at any moment.

Xu Changqing immediately led a group of disciples over and surrounded them.

How could Shu Mountain allow others to cause trouble on its territory?!