"Qin Baili, this is the territory of the Beihua Sect, not a place where you can act recklessly!"
The gray-robed elder said in a deep voice, his eyes changing, and he lightly pointed a finger, a barely noticeable white light flashing past.
The suction in Qin Baili’s right hand seemed to deflate like a punctured balloon and dissipated instantly. Chu Ming felt his body stabilize, the suction disappearing instantly. He looked up.
"Yuchi Yan, he is not one of your Beihua Sect martial artists. Hand him over, and I will leave immediately."
Qin Baili’s eyes darkened as he spoke slowly. He had come for Chu Ming because of matters related to the Skull Society. The Skull Society was under the protection of the Black Water Sect, and paid a tribute of millions of Lower Grade Spirit Stones annually. Now that the Skull Society had been annihilated, if the Black Water Sect did not respond, they would be looked down upon by other martial artists.
"Qin Baili, if I hand him over just because you said so, where would my dignity be? Besides, once someone buys a ship token from my Beihua Sect, they receive our protection. Your personal grievances are none of my concern. Discuss them once we get past the Life and Death Gorge!"
Yuchi Yan replied coldly.
"You! Good, very good!"
Qin Baili’s face looked ugly, as if he had swallowed a fly. His eyes teemed with a murderous aura, and his demeanor became terrifying.
"I wish you good luck passing through the Life and Death Gorge!"
These words were squeezed out from Qin Baili’s mouth, even containing a hint of threat. After speaking, Qin Baili gave Chu Ming a deep, sinister look before turning and leaving.
Facing Qin Baili’s threat, Yuchi Yan’s expression remained unchanged. If it were in the past, he might have worried about encountering the Red Turban Pirates when passing through the Life and Death Gorge, but this time, he was not afraid at all. In fact, he felt a faint sense of anticipation.
Lowering his head, Yuchi Yan glanced at Chu Ming before leaping back to the top layer of the ship, quiet once more.
After the recent series of events, the martial artists who had not bought a ship token looked suspicious and uncertain, with many gritting their teeth and leaving. Even some who had bought tokens wanted to return them.
The Beihua Sect steward hesitated, as returning ship tokens had never happened before, and the value of the Spirit Stones involved was enormous and beyond his decision-making power.
"Return their tokens!"
In his hesitation, an aged voice came from the top layer of the ship—it was the Beihua Sect’s Third Elder, Yuchi Yan.
The steward smiled wryly, helplessly refunding the Spirit Stones to the martial artists.
Qin Baili’s words undoubtedly reminded everyone that this trip through the Life and Death Gorge for the Beihua Sect would not be smooth. If the probability of encountering the Red Turban Pirates was ten percent before, it was now nearly a certainty.
If they didn’t leave now, were they going to await death together with the Beihua Sect?
Originally a group of seventy-some people, only about a dozen chose to stay, most of whom didn’t have enough Spirit Stones to afford the Black Water Sect’s expensive fares.
The Beihua Sect steward looked at Chu Ming with considerable resentment, thinking that if not for Chu Ming, the Beihua Sect would not have run into this trouble. This trip might not only lose them Spirit Stones, but even cost them dearly.
The martial artists boarded the ship, Chu Ming among them. However, all the surrounding martial artists kept a standard distance from him, unwilling to approach, clearly not wanting any association with Chu Ming and fearing retaliation from the Black Water Sect.
"Young hero, this is your room."
Under the guidance of an attendant, Chu Ming circled the ship before arriving at a room door. The attendant gestured politely before retreating.
Opening the door, the room was luxuriously furnished, with expensive Demon Beast hides covering the floor, providing an inexplicable comfort underfoot. The ceiling had five or six strings of Luminous Pearls illuminating the room brightly. In addition to these, a transparent glass pane at the front allowed the martial artist to see clearly outside.
Truly, the design of this ship was ingeniously crafted.
Entering the room, Chu Ming sat cross-legged on the bed, drawing out a Middle Grade Spirit Stone from his Storage Ring to begin cultivation.
Within the Red Turban Pirates, there were many experts at the True Dao level. Now, if he could increase his strength a bit, his chances of survival would greatly improve.
The ship had a hundred rooms, with only a dozen occupied. The rest were empty and lifeless.
In a room at the top of the ship, the Third Elder, Yuchi Yan, spoke indifferently, his gaze turning toward the Life and Death Gorge outside the window.
A steward of the Beihua Sect responded respectfully and withdrew from the room.
The entire ship began to shake violently in an instant. Waves of terrifying energy lifted from the ground, thick plumes of smoke seemingly shrouding the entire space. The turbulence caused deep pits to dot the ground. With a stagger, the ship stabilized and began to ascend, slowly entering the clouds.
The violent shaking of the ship awakened Chu Ming from his cultivation. He gazed through the glass in front, taking in the entire scene outside.
The sea of clouds roiled and transformed, the waves of air rolling like wild beasts dancing, resembling wolves and leopards, beautiful and spectacular. As the ship entered the clouds, countless white clouds wove around it, colliding with and shattering any obstructing Demon Beasts and birds.
The journey through the Life and Death Gorge aboard the ship would take two days, provided there were no hindrances. If they encountered raiders, the journey would take even longer.
After watching the sea of clouds for a while, Chu Ming retracted his gaze and continued with his deep-level cultivation. His cultivation progressed rapidly during this deep-level training.
Aboard the ship, meals were delivered by dedicated attendants at meal times. These meals included various cuts of Demon Beast meat, brimming with energy and featuring smooth textures that, with just a whiff, refreshed the spirit and earned lavish praise.
Apart from cultivating the Spiritual Power within the Middle Grade Spirit Stone, Chu Ming also delved into the insights of Slaughter Sword Intent. Currently, his Slaughter Sword Intent was only at the Early Stage of Tier One, the lowest level. In the Sea of Souls, the blood-colored little sword was crystal clear. When it would solidify into a tangible form—a true sword artifact—that would be the pinnacle of Chu Ming’s Slaughter Sword Intent cultivation.
By then, the Blood Sword in the Sea of Souls could even be summoned outside the body, capable of slaying enemies from ten thousand miles away.
However, this required a long process, and Chu Ming had a long road ahead to reach that stage.
At noon on the second day, while Chu Ming was cultivating in his room, he suddenly felt the ship shake violently, as if it might be overturned at any moment. The martial artists inside the ship instantly cried out in panic.
"The Red Turban Pirates are here!"