Red-clothed Immortal Maiden

After the Ethereal Clouds dispersed, wisps of Nether Mist still drifted through the Graveyard Forest, but they no longer blotted out the sky and covered the earth as before. The view had become somewhat clearer and more open, giving him the feeling of walking through a mass grave.

The burial mounds were all seven or eight meters high, scattered unevenly about.

The stone steles were ancient and weighty, each one towering far above Li Weiyi as he passed beneath them.

Some steles had Ghost Flags planted before them, while others stood beside Yin Banners that gave off strange sounds in the wind.

Just who had been buried here?

Why were they buried aboard a ship?

Was it to carry them home, fallen leaves returning to their roots? Or was this some unique form of burial?

How had they died? And who had raised these mounds and erected these steles for them? Where had those grave-builders gone?

The Bronze Ship was steeped in mystery. There had to be an ancient and tragic story behind it. No one knew who had forged it, how glorious it had once been, or why it had lain dormant on Earth for a thousand years.

Was it now returning to the place from which it had set sail?

Or was it about to resume the journey it had embarked upon in ancient times?

Filled with curiosity and a thirst for knowledge, Li Weiyi searched the Graveyard Forest for half an hour before finally hearing the sound of wind chimes.

"Ding, ding!"

The Bone Wind Chime hung from a Blue Stone Stele more than three meters high, its sound crisp and pleasant.

Though it was said to be made of bone, it was actually as crystal-clear and lustrous as jade, carved with unrecognizable Mysterious Script Symbols.

The thread linking the bells together was woven from silver filaments, uncorrupted and unbroken after a thousand years.

A portrait had been painted upon the Blue Stone Stele. No one knew what pigments had been used, but it had not faded in the slightest. Its colors remained vivid and dazzling, lifelike enough to seem real.

In the portrait, Auspicious Clouds gleamed in brilliant colors, while a Celestial Maiden stood peerlessly beautiful and untouched by worldly dust.

She looked like an immortal maiden standing atop the clouds and gazing down upon the human world. Her red robes were resplendent, her cloudlike hair adorned with exquisite ornaments, and her lovely eyes were so vivid that she seemed capable of stepping straight out of the stele.

"Could an unparalleled Immortal Princess from ages past really be buried in this grave?"

Li Weiyi's gaze returned to the Bone Wind Chime as he considered taking it down for study.

This should count as one of the Immortal Objects too, right?

"Whoosh!"

He pushed off with both legs and leaped upward.

Suddenly, the scorching current in the sole of his right foot surged forth. His body became light as a feather, shooting through the air with a whistle, and in a single jump he landed atop the stone stele more than three meters high.

He swayed unsteadily before finding his footing.

Li Weiyi held his breath and looked down at the ground, as far below as a whole floor of a building. It felt utterly unbelievable.

After cultivating something Transcendent, could he now leap over eaves and walk across walls?

The feeling was too wonderful. Anyone would have felt their heart surge and their spirits soar.

After calming himself, Li Weiyi reached out for the wind chime. But the instant his hand touched one of its bone pieces, dizziness assaulted him, and before his eyes seemed to appear a breathtaking Red-clothed Immortal Maiden.

Her slender, stunning figure layered over itself again and again, endlessly pressing down upon him.

"Bang!"

Li Weiyi fell from the Blue Stone Stele. His head spun violently, as though he had ridden for hours along a bumpy mountain road.

"This thing really is strange. It can't be touched!"

If it had been so easy to take, the White Bone Wind Chime would have been taken away by other Research Team Members long ago. Why would it have waited until now?

Still, Li Weiyi was a man with an overwhelming sense of curiosity and an intense urge to investigate, so he could not resist taking the risk.

He circulated the Jade Void Breathing Technique, directing the scorching current from the sole of his right foot along the Silver Meridian Lines toward his head. A moment later, the dizziness faded, and he recovered.

Li Weiyi respectfully bowed toward the portrait on the Blue Stone Stele. "This junior had no intention of offending you. Please do not blame me... Mm, this junior needs to retrieve the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish and the Yellow Dragon Sword, so I fear I will have to offend you once more. You are an immortal of the heavens, Senior. Surely you would not lower yourself to the level of an ordinary mortal?"

After solemnly bowing three times, Li Weiyi climbed the massive burial mound behind the Blue Stone Stele.

"Senior Brother shouldn't be buried too deeply... Found it!"

Li Weiyi felt through the gray-white grave dirt inch by inch. Finally, at the top of the mound, he felt a hard piece of metal. Brushing the soil away, he found that it was indeed the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish.

One Blue Fish Eye and one Red Fish Eye, both only the size of beans.

Just as before, it looked like an ordinary ancient ornament, with no visible special spirituality.

"This fish eye is the Buddha's Sarira they all want? Its microscopic form really is a planet?"

How was he supposed to activate it?

Before Li Weiyi could put the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish back around his neck, the wind chimes on the Blue Stone Stele suddenly rang wildly. A dangerous sensation that made every hair on his body stand on end swept over him. It felt as if thorns pressed against his back, and icy chill enveloped him.

Not good...

"Sss, sss!"

There was no time to escape.

Many strands of Black Hair sprouted from the grave dirt below and wrapped around his legs.

"Has the corpse risen? But I clearly bowed just now... This Senior is far too petty, isn't she?"

The Black Hair grew at an incredible speed, winding from his legs to his waist, then spreading to his hands and head.

Li Weiyi directed the scorching current from the sole of his right foot through all thirteen Silver Meridian Lines in his body, erupting with all his strength as he tore and struggled.

He lasted only the time of a single breath.

With a bang, the Black Hair dragged him down and flipped him onto the ground, pulling him toward the bottom of the burial mound.

I'm finished!

What in the world was going on?

Senior Sister Cai and the others had dug graves and leveled the ground, doing something far more excessive, yet they had not brought down such calamity. He had merely come to retrieve something that belonged to him. How had he provoked such a terrifying evil thing?

Had he really, by some unfortunate accident, run into a miserly ghost?

"Brother Meng, Old Liu and the others have worked themselves to the bone these past seven days repairing the generator. You have to speak with Captain Gao and have him arrange two good meals for them. We have to celebrate today, no matter what, right?"

Chen Hong followed behind Zhao Meng, seeking credit for the Engineering and Technology Team members.

"Of course. They deserve the greatest credit."

Zhao Meng stepped into the compartment containing the Cold Storage, and his expression changed instantly.

Old Liu and several other Engineering and Technology Team members were all sprawled on the floor, unconscious. Only Xie Jin stood inside with his hands behind his back.

The compartment was messy and dimly lit, yet Xie Jin's cold, smiling eyes could still be seen clearly.

"Bang!"

A brawny Security Team Member standing nearly one meter eighty tall had been lying in ambush to the left of the doorway. He swung a Steel Pipe and smashed it viciously into the doorframe. Had Zhao Meng reacted even a fraction slower, his skull would already have been shattered.

"There's an ambush. Get out!"

Zhao Meng warned Chen Hong, immediately retreating from the Cold Storage compartment as he prepared to raise his gun and return fire.

Another Security Team Member who had been waiting in ambush outside sprang out and seized Zhao Meng from behind, locking his upper body and arms. With a low roar, he tried to slam Zhao Meng against the compartment wall.

Zhao Meng had trained in martial arts since childhood and served in the military for many years. His reactions were lightning-fast.

Before he could be thrown into the wall, his legs kicked off it first. He exerted sudden force, and he and the Security Team Member behind him crashed heavily to the floor together.

After breaking free, Zhao Meng swiftly rolled over and brought down a fist like a hammer.

"Bang!"

His fist struck the man's face, knocking unconscious the Security Team Member who had just restrained him. Blood streamed from the man's mouth.

The Security Team Member wielding the Steel Pipe charged out and swung heavily again.

Zhao Meng had no time to find his gun. He rolled forward and kicked the man in the groin. Amid a scream, the Steel Pipe clattered to the floor, and the Security Team Member's trembling legs buckled as he dropped to his knees.

As Zhao Meng picked up the Steel Pipe, he drove an elbow into the man's temple, sending him toppling sideways onto the ground.

In an instant, he had dealt with two skilled ambushers.

Before Zhao Meng could fully rise to his feet, a third hidden attacker rushed out and struck him in the back with a Stun Gun.

"Sss, sss!"

Zhao Meng's entire body convulsed, his muscles went numb, and he could barely move.

Then, straight ahead of him, Xie Jin rushed forward, leaped into the air, and drove his knee toward Zhao Meng's chest with the full weight of his body.

This was a Flying Knee Strike!

If it landed, Zhao Meng's ribs would surely shatter and his heart chamber would burst.

At this desperate moment where nine deaths awaited every chance of life, Zhao Meng broke free from the Stun Gun behind him and rolled sideways away. Though his entire body was weak and limp, his powerful will to survive made him bite through the tip of his tongue and force his mind awake as he hurled the Steel Pipe in his hand.

With a bang, the Steel Pipe struck the third ambusher's hand, and the Stun Gun immediately fell to the floor.

Zhao Meng seized the chance to pick up the rifle from the ground, chambered a round, and aimed it at Xie Jin, who had just landed. His face was cold and vicious, and killing intent blazed nakedly in his eyes.

"Bang!"

"Crack..."

From the shadows behind him, Chen Hong gripped a length of Steel Rebar, both hands wrapped in black cloth, and smashed it with all his strength into Zhao Meng's right arm near the shoulder.

The sound of breaking bone rang out.

Even Zhao Meng's iron-tower-like, mighty physique could not endure it. He let out a pained roar, his body sagged, and the rifle fell from his hand with a clatter.

He fought not to collapse, slowly turning around. His lips trembled as he stared at Chen Hong with disbelief in his eyes.

No one knew Zhao Meng's strength better than Chen Hong, which was why he could not show even the slightest mercy.

He had to be fast, and he had to be ruthless.

The sunny, cheerful smile was gone from Chen Hong's face. Only sternness and coldness remained. He swung the Steel Rebar again, smashing it into both knees that supported Zhao Meng's body.

"Bang!"

His kneecaps burst apart, and both legs snapped backward.

Zhao Meng could no longer stand. The pain nearly made him pass out. Chen Hong tossed the Steel Rebar onto the floor, picked up the rifle instead, and only fully relaxed after checking the number of bullets inside.

Looking at Zhao Meng's deathly pale face and his furious, confused, unwilling eyes, Chen Hong felt deeply displeased. He rebuked him, "I know what you want to say. Isn't it all your own fault?"

"Didn't I suggest that you lead the brothers to take out Gao Xin, then become captain of the Research Vessel yourself—even captain of the entire Bronze Ship? At that point, everyone aboard would have to listen to us. Whatever we told them to do, they would have to do. If we told them to kneel, they wouldn't dare stand."

"Those useless old, weak, sick, and crippled people should all have been killed as early as possible. They're wasting food."

"As long as we control the supplies and the right to distribute them, we can do whatever we want and live until the very end. But..."

"You're too rigid! You don't have the bearing or ambition of a true overlord at all. You're still bound by all those old rules and regulations. Since you wouldn't take the initiative, I had no choice but to do it. I don't want to die."

Xie Jin glanced warily at the rifle in Chen Hong's hand, then smiled. "Well done. With Zhao Meng dealt with, the rest of the people aboard are nothing to fear. Give me the gun, and I'll ask my cousin to give you the foremost credit."

"This rifle is better kept with me for now."

Chen Hong was no fool. Naturally, he would not hand over the gun. He kept wary of Xie Jin while stripping Zhao Meng's outer clothes.

Once the outerwear was removed, a purple leather soft armor was revealed beneath. At its chest was a bloody five-fingered palmprint, with strange scriptures written in the center of the palm, like the emblem of some Mysterious Organization.

When his fingers touched the soft armor, he felt a wave of icy coldness.

"This should be the Corpse Skin Armor he stripped from those Bone Humans. The armor has not decayed for a thousand years, so it must be a treasure. No wonder he could break free from the Stun Gun."

Chen Hong was delighted. He removed the Corpse Skin Armor from Zhao Meng and put it on himself.

The Corpse Skin Armor seemed able to grow or shrink. Chen Hong's build was far less imposing than Zhao Meng's, yet after putting it on, it fit him perfectly.

Xie Jin knew he could do nothing to Chen Hong for the moment, so he suppressed the anger in his heart and said gently, "Search him quickly. Is the Buddha's Sarira on him?"

After searching him over, Chen Hong revealed a disappointed expression. "The Buddha's Sarira is probably still with his Junior Brother."

Zhao Meng, who had already resigned himself to his fate, immediately turned grim with rage upon hearing this. He roared, "Chen Hong, if you dare harm my Junior Brother, I'll make sure you die without a whole corpse!"

Chen Hong gave him a pitying glance. "I'll believe that when you can stand up. Brother Meng, you taught me to dare to act, dare to fight, and dare to struggle—not to become someone who could only rage helplessly. How have you forgotten that yourself?"

Xie Jin walked over and planted a foot on Zhao Meng's chest, grinding down with all his strength as he bent over with a cold smile. "You're this agitated. That means the Buddha's Sarira is definitely with him, doesn't it?"

Zhao Meng seemed to find strength from nowhere as he tried to prop himself up with his uninjured hand.

But how could he possibly contend with Xie Jin?

Chen Hong said, "Enough. Why bother with a cripple? We haven't fully secured the situation yet. Don't waste time here."

Xie Jin watched Chen Hong leave with the rifle, then crouched down and searched Zhao Meng again.

Naturally, he found nothing.

"Bind them all and take them to the Deck. By the way, have any of you seen Cai Yutong?" Xie Jin did not possess Xie Tianshu's great ambitions. In his eyes, taking Cai Yutong was more important than anything else; he would not trade her even for the Buddha's Sarira.

One Security Team Member replied, "She seems to have gone with those Graduate Students to the Planting Area. They didn't eat the drugged breakfast."