Chapter 476 The Silent Cry (2)
In the easternmost part of the world, one could see a giant flying ship roaming the sky as if it were the sea. Despite its size, it only hosted six people. This ship had been roaming the east part of the world for weeks. It made one wonder where it was heading but no one was bold enough to stop it and ask. While some might not know who owned the ship, everyone knew only powerful people had the ship.
"It is quite surprising that the world seems more peaceful than it has ever been despite the ongoing conflict."
"It is the calm before the storm. Everyone is preparing for the upcoming big war."
"Most of the time, silence is not a great sign. The East has never been involved with the West's business, so you can't feel it. I am sure if you go to the West, you will feel the suffocating pressure caused by the conflict of interest. People are forced to be silent."
"I wonder if Brother will be fine."
"He will be. He is still young—too young, I should say—but he is already part of the 1% of this world. He could take down a nation by himself, so you don't need to worry."
The people staying on the ship knew Basil well. They were, after all, his family even though they weren't related by blood. Each of them shared the same worry over Basil's well-being. Basil had become the world's enemy at the age of twenty and the first person to make the Empire move in the first two millennia.
Even someone as old as Yang Tian Long was quite overwhelmed hearing that; they wondered what Basil was feeling. Was he burdened by it? Basil had been a strong man ever since they met him. No one could tell what he was thinking. They never even saw him flustered even in the most life-threatening moment.
Those traits of his made him very reliable. Anyone would feel they would win as long as they had him on their side. He was hailed as the God of War not only because of his skills on the battlefield but also because his presence alone resembled that of a God. It assured people that they were going to be salvaged.
Basil was but a God. He, too, had a breaking point. Even though he was far more tolerant of stress than most people, he could break down too. His current status and position were extremely pressuring.
No one had dared to become like him for millennia despite knowing the atrocities that the Empire committed because they knew they would break down under the pressure. Basil should be no different. The question was when. Therefore, his family was worried.
Of course, their worry was unfounded. Basil had faced greater adversaries in the past and he didn't break even once. The Empire was indeed fearsome but not enough to make him despair. He was the man who had taken down the corrupted Empire in the past. He could do that for the second and even hundredth time.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"You should stop worrying over him and focus on the task he has entrusted to us," Yan Xueyi stated as she walked to the bow of the ship. "I think we are already close to the land that Basil wants."
"Have you received an enlightenment?" Yang Tian Long asked, curious as to what his fellow Daoist achieved during her month-long Cultivation.
"Not yet, but I am close to breaking through."
"Well, just make sure to not break through when you are on my ship. Not only will you destroy it, but the Tribulation will also kill us all!"
Yan Xueyi waved her hand dismissively, treating Yang Tian Long's words as nonsense. She didn't need to be reminded of that. She had higher Cultivation than Tian Long and a deeper understanding of Dao. She knew what and not to do.
Grr.
The ship rumbled as the air shook faintly, jolting the two Daoists on the ship. The ship could withstand three strikes from ten Daoists of the Immortal Realm. A mere disturbance in the air shouldn't be able to do a thing to it. A quick analysis brought them to the conclusion that the Qi enveloping the ship was disturbed. In other words, a stronger source of Qi was nearby.
As the controller of the ship, Tian Long immediately took the ship down. He didn't want to risk having it stop working in the air and falling to its doom. Not only would it hurt him financially but also mentally since he had a lot of precious memories with it. He was thankful for his quick decision as the ship completely stopped working when it was ten metres above the ground.
Boom.
The ground was wrecked under the ship but that didn't matter since everyone and the ship were unscathed. They immediately got down from the ship and Tian Long quickly stored it. As the two Daoists inspected the surroundings, they put Denzel, Clarissa, Shirley and Julia in the centre. The journey should be a harmless one but it didn't hurt to be careful.
As far as the Daoists' eyes could see, the land they stood on had nothing. Although it was covered in grass, there were no other signs of life. The grass seemed to be the only living thing on the land. Looking up, they found a thick mist covering the sky. The mist was raw, unadulterated Qi that condensed because of its abundance.
They couldn't sense anything past the mist. While it was also the case for the people above the mist, it didn't reassure them in the slightest. There were troublesome creatures who liked to stay in this kind of place—Dragons. Although Tian Long and Xueyi were confident in their skills, fighting Dragons while protecting Danzel and the others would be difficult.
"Let's wrap it up quickly. Basil might have reassured us that this place is safe but that is because he is confident in our ability. We don't have any intention to betray his expectations, but it's better to assume we can't do anything. Anything can happen in this kind of place."
"The Star Vein should be there. Let's move quickly."
Danzel and the girls nodded solemnly and dashed off following Tian Long and Xueyi. They remained vigilant as they were running and, fortunately, nothing happened even after two hours of running.
Tian Long and Xueyi could already tell the Star Vein Basil asked them to secure was close but couldn't pinpoint where it was. They felt like investigating where the rain came from while underwater. They could feel the abundant Qi the place was exuding but couldn't tell its source. They were drowned in it.
"I am probably the only person who knows where it is, but you don't have to worry. There is an easy way to find it; you will stop running when you find it."
Suddenly recalling the clue that Basil gave them, Tian Long and Xueyi wondered if he was just messing with them. They hadn't thought much about it but as they did, they realized that the hint was fairly useless. Who would keep running if they had found the thing they were looking for? They had been bamboozled.
Clicking their tongues at Basil's little prank, they refocused their attention on the way ahead of them. This was the moment when they abruptly stopped running. Layland wasn't joking around. They were sure they had found the Star Vein and they couldn't run anymore. Something was guarding it and fearsome wouldn't be enough to describe it.
"Qilin…" Xueyi muttered.
"I wish the prank was the location of the Star Vein and not the fact that this place is safe," Tian Long said gravely. "Danzel, protect the girls with this Talisman. Get back. Xueyi and I will kill this Qilin."
Qilin was a mythical creature in the East that surpassed Dragons. While Dragons were already considered a myth, there were still reports of their sightings. On the other hand, Qilin was never mentioned despite being a recorded creature that existed in the Age of Chaos. Seeing such a mythical creature was as exciting as it was terrifying.
Standing over 30 metres tall, the Qilin before their eyes had the body of a short-legged horse and the head of a lion. Its whole body was covered in golden fur that was coated in golden lightning. Its mane was the colour of a burning iron and its head was the colour of a peacock's feather. Its slitted golden eyes pierced their souls as it gazed at them.
Crack!
The earth shattered and the sky trembled as it flapped its wings. Tian Long and Xueyi gulped dryly but they were determined to kill it. Activating their Dao, they took out their weapons. Tian Long slashed his sword vertically, splitting the ground and space in two. Xueyi whipped her ribbon at the space before her, causing ice to immediately fill the gap left behind by Tian Long's strike.
The Qilin remained where it was, unfazed by the fearsome strikes that might end its life. It looked at the incoming strikes defiantly before raising one of its legs and slapping the attacks with its hoof. The Qilin was unscathed and it was within the Daoists' expectations. As they proceeded to launch their next attack, the Qilin stomped the ground and their body froze.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmBoom!
It felt like a death sentence. The Qilin's Cultivation Realm was higher than theirs. It completely suppressed them merely by blasting its Qi. It had been so long since the last time they felt so powerless against their opponent. It was frustrating and humiliating.
"Who gave you permission to come here?" the Qilin asked with its thunderous voice.
"This is no one's land. We don't have to have permission to come here," Tian Long answered challengingly.
"Beware of what you say, puny human. You don't have the power to act as mightily as that person."
"That person?" Xueyi wondered out loud. "Has anyone come here before us?"
"Yes. A few months ago, an extraordinary young man came here to challenge me. He wasn't satisfied with the fight, so he bestowed upon me some wisdom to make me stronger. I have become stronger, yet he hasn't come. He told me about sending some people to pick me up, but those people have yet to come."
"…"
Tian Long and Xueyi looked at each other with doubtful looks marring their faces. The Qilin looked at them curiously but said nothing.
"Say…" Tian Long took out a token with the Pacifer Seal carved on it. "Do you know this?"
Crack!
The Qilin flapped its wings in excitement. "Oh! You are the people that the young Dragon Slayer sent to pick me up!"
"Dragon Slayer…? When did he…. Scratch that! That lad has never been normal."
The Qilin knew Basil and it left the two Daoists baffled. Just how strong would Basil be when he reached the peak of his prime?