The Will of the Bronze Ship's Master

Li Weiyi looked back worriedly. Only after confirming that Li Ling had not followed did he relax slightly.

The Bronze Ship, the Golden Crow corpse, the Black Flood Dragon corpse—each was a treasure. If she found out, she might bring over every expert from the entire Cangli Tribe, even the entire Jiu Li Tribe.

Yet he was also secretly puzzled and on guard. Why had Li Ling not dared to pursue him?

She had even dared to travel back and forth through a place as terrifying as the Departed Spirit Mist Domain. She absolutely could not be judged by the standards of an ordinary teenage girl.

"Only forward, never back. Why think so much? I haven't encountered any danger in this sea of coffins."

Li Weiyi leaped down from the trestle and charged into the boundless "landmass" of Floating Coffins.

The stench of blood and decay grew thicker, faster.

The place where he had first come ashore was different from Coffin Dock Crossing, so all he could do now was locate the Bronze Ship's general direction. At the same time, unlike Li Ling, he felt no fear. The Blood Sea Coffin Dock only looked gloomy and terrifying; in reality, it was exceptionally still and peaceful.

Thus, after racing dozens of li, he began shouting Zhao Meng's name into the fog, or Old Liu's—Liu Bing's.

He kept changing direction and location as he continued to call out.

Half a day later.

Li Weiyi no longer knew how far he was from the shore. Every shout had gone unanswered, and his confidence was steadily draining away. He was deeply worried that the Bronze Ship had already set sail again, heading somewhere even farther away.

If that were truly the case, what would happen to the Research Team Members aboard, who lacked food and water?

What would happen to Senior Brother?

Another half day passed. Li Weiyi had likely traveled nearly two hundred li from the shore.

Floating Coffins stretched without end, and the yin fog was dense.

He felt as if the entire world was steeped in death. There were no living things apart from himself. Panic unlike anything he had ever known seized him; distracting thoughts tangled in his mind, leaving him at a loss. The Bronze Ship might... really have sailed far away.

From the yin fog in the distance came a familiar voice. "Weiyi, is that you?"

"Brother Weiyi, it's Qin Ke."

Li Weiyi, who had been resting atop a four-meter-long jade coffin, was instantly invigorated. He rushed toward the source of the voices at top speed.

Before long, the Floating Coffins rocked violently across the water's surface, and an enormous figure emerged from the mist.

The figure stood as tall as a two-story building. His head was as large as a water jar, his mouth as wide as a basin, and his legs were thicker than Li Weiyi's entire body, brimming with explosive power.

His face was covered in a thick beard, and he wore nothing but a pair of patchwork underpants. Even the way he walked carried an imposing air.

He held a white Yin Banner in his left hand. When he shook it, scriptures rose and fell upon it, its radiance spreading dozens of zhang away. In his right palm sat an old blue-and-white porcelain jar, like an urn for ashes.

"Haha!"

Naturally, the two fellow disciples were delighted to meet again. They stopped when they were a zhang apart.

Zhao Meng's laughter boomed like thunder, his voice thunderously loud.

Li Weiyi was dumbfounded. He had to crane his head high just to see Zhao Meng's face. He was both delighted and incredulous. "Senior Brother... what happened? How did you grow so tall?"

"This is nothing yet. I might grow even more in the future. I'm following a path of continuously consuming the blood of Ancient Immortal Giant Beasts. My physique is quite extraordinary."

Zhao Meng now stood six meters tall, his skin nearly golden. Parts of his arms were covered in Black Flood Dragon scales, and numerous bottles and jars were strapped across his body.

The Yin Banner in his hand was over three meters long. At its top were nine skulls with ruby-red gemstone eyes. From each skull's mouth hung a white streamer, every streamer covered in incomprehensible scriptures.

Li Weiyi had seen this Yin Banner before in the Sea of Tombs and Forest of Steles aboard the Bronze Ship. It had been planted atop a certain burial mound.

How had Senior Brother activated it?

"Senior Brother, you've cultivated magical power... opened a spring-eye?" Li Weiyi had told Zhao Meng how he opened his spring-eye aboard the Bronze Ship. Zhao Meng had also practiced the Jade Void Breathing Technique for years, so it was not strange for him to open a spring-eye in a short time.

"How could opening a spring be so easy? Do you think everyone has talent like yours? Master said it himself—my talent only reaches your knees."

Zhao Meng glanced at the Yin Banner in his hand, saw Li Weiyi's confusion, and explained, "Its glow has nothing to do with me. Have you found land? Where's Gao Huan?"

"I found it, of course, but it's a long story..."

Hearing movement, Li Weiyi looked past Zhao Meng.

Qin Ke emerged from the fog holding a one-foot-tall Spirit Tablet in both hands. Behind her came Old Liu and Old Guan, carrying a stone coffin between them.

Old Liu and Old Guan were both members of the Engineering and Technology Team, but Li Weiyi could no longer recognize either of them. One had drunk Golden Crow Blood and grown an enormous bird's head. The other had drunk Black Flood Dragon Blood and grown a flood dragon's head covered in black scales.

Two Deformed Races!

Li Weiyi did not see anyone else coming behind them and asked in confusion, "Where are the others?"

"They're all on the ship. They've already left."

Zhao Meng appeared utterly relaxed, as though he were not worried about their safety in the slightest. He plopped down and began telling Li Weiyi in detail about everything that had happened aboard the Bronze Ship over the past two days.

Li Weiyi listened intently, filled with questions. Partway through, he interrupted, "The master of the Bronze Ship appeared?"

"Not exactly. Anyway, I didn't see Their true form. After the Golden Crow Blood and Black Flood Dragon Blood were cleansed by the energy of Immortal Radiance, anyone could drink them. One drop would keep you from feeling hungry for days, and it would also increase your physical strength. The Research Team Members won't starve to death. By following the master of the Bronze Ship, they may become extraordinary beings in the future."

They—an expression of mystery, reverence, and the unknown.

Zhao Meng's expression suddenly turned grave. "But it isn't all good news! They issued a will, ordering the owner of the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish... well, that means you. They want you to reach the Longevity Realm as soon as possible. There's something only you must do, and Their time is already running short."

Li Weiyi froze, then could neither laugh nor cry. "What does that mean?"

Zhao Meng said, "It seems our sect promised Him something, planting karmic ties that require the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish's owner to inherit and bear. I don't know the specifics either. Anyway, once your cultivation reaches the Longevity Realm, He'll come find you. Won't you know then? If it comes down to it, we martial brothers will shoulder it together."

"I don't even know what the Longevity Realm is yet." Li Weiyi laughed.

An aged, hoarse voice rang out. "The Spring Realm, the Five Seas Realm, the Dao Seed Realm. The fourth major realm after those is the Longevity Realm. Boy, you should count yourself fortunate. To forge karmic ties with the Bronze Ship's master, to be able to serve Him, and to have Him send the three of us to guide you—no one knows how many people would be green with envy over such an opportunity and treatment."

Zhao Meng had studied this world's language and writing under Senior Disciple Sister, so he was even more familiar with them than Li Weiyi and could understand what that aged voice had just said. He nodded vigorously. Even he felt that the Bronze Ship's master was a being of immense power; working for Him meant having a patron in this foreign world.

Even if that patron had only just awakened, seemed to have something immensely important to do now, and apparently did not think much of insignificant people like them, it still felt as though a great tree stood above their heads, sheltering them.

After searching for quite a while, Li Weiyi discovered that the aged voice was actually coming from the urn of ashes in Zhao Meng's hands.

Looking at Zhao Meng, he asked quietly, "Another sinister aberration?"

"By order of the Bronze Ship's master, from this day onward, this old man shall be your guide on the path of martial and spell cultivation." The urn's lid bounced as the voice sounded.

A middle-aged woman's voice came from the Spirit Tablet in Qin Ke's hand. "I am your guide on the Spirit God Cultivation Path."

From within the stone coffin carried by Old Liu and Old Guan came a deep, restrained voice. "I'm rather miscellaneous—I know a little of everything. I'll be responsible for planning your cultivation path. Spring Realm in two years, Five Seas Realm in three, Dao Seed Realm in five. You must reach the Longevity Realm within ten years. Ten years—you only have ten years!"

"You may regard it as the Bronze Ship master's decree, or as a transaction, but you must not ignore it. Because in ten years... or perhaps just a little longer, what is going to happen will affect you and those around you as well."

Li Weiyi's fingers touched the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish. In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through his mind, and his expression gradually turned solemn. He realized that Senior Brother, the Bronze Ship's master, and these three sinister aberrations were not joking.

Moreover, it seemed there was no possibility of shirking or refusing.

He truly remained muddled and uncertain about cultivation; there were simply too many unknowns.

If famous masters and great experts were willing to guide him, that was naturally something he could only wish for.

But...

There were too many questions in his heart.

Li Weiyi clasped his fists and asked, "May I ask how the three seniors should be addressed?"

The old man in the urn said, "The three of us were once renowned figures upon this land. But now, this old man is no more than a single urn of ashes. That husband-and-wife pair—one has only a fragment of her soul left, residing in a Spirit Tablet, while the other has only a ruined corpse remaining. If not for the Bronze Ship's master, we would not even have preserved this last shred of soul-consciousness. Since we are already in such bedraggled straits, there is no need to speak of the past."

The middle-aged woman in the Spirit Tablet said, "Agreed."

"Agreed," said the voice within the stone coffin.

The old man in the urn added, "Just call me Urn Senior."

"Senior Spirit Tablet."

"Coffin Senior."

All three introduced themselves.

Were they really this easygoing, this down-to-earth?

They were completely different from Zen Sea Observing Mist and Yu Tuo Nan.

Perhaps it was the will of the Bronze Ship's master.

Li Weiyi's gaze swept over the urn of ashes, the Spirit Tablet, and the stone coffin one by one before he asked directly, "Do the three seniors know what karmic ties exist between the Chan Sect and the Bronze Ship's master? Why must I reach the Longevity Realm as quickly as possible? And why do I only have ten years? I heard that ten years is only enough for cultivators of superior talent to open four springs."

"How many springs have you opened now?" Urn Senior asked.

"Three Springs."

"How long did it take?"

Li Weiyi said, "Less than half a month!"

"Doesn't that settle it? What superior talent, what inferior talent—you're different. You're someone the Bronze Ship's master has taken a liking to." Urn Senior said.

Coffin Senior within the stone coffin spoke in an unhurried tone throughout. "No, I disagree with him. Li Weiyi, you are not someone the Bronze Ship's master has taken a liking to. You can only be yourself. Only when cultivators understand what they want and what they seek can they gradually forge an unwavering Dao Heart over the long years of cultivation ahead. Therefore, what those karmic ties are is not truly important to you right now."

Li Weiyi pondered deeply.

Coffin Senior continued, "I will only ask you two questions. What are you pursuing at this stage? What do you want? There is no need to answer in haste. Let us return to Lingxiao Shengjing first."

Li Weiyi's lips moved, but in the end, he did not answer at once. He wanted to think it through first.

The group headed toward the shore.

Zhao Meng was also thinking over those two questions, but his mood was relaxed. "Anyway, at this stage, I just want to find Senior Disciple Sister. She must be from this world."

Half an hour later, Li Weiyi emerged from his thoughts. He remembered that Li Ling might still be at Coffin Dock Crossing, and that Shi Jiuzhai and his disciples might be blocking Dragon Slaying Pass.

"Since the three seniors know of Lingxiao Shengjing, I presume you were all from here in life? Apart from the Departed Spirit Mist Domain at Coffin Dock Crossing, is there another route back?" Li Weiyi asked.

Urn Senior was very lively and laughed. "You've come to the right person with that question! When it comes to the Blood Sea Coffin Dock and the Departed Spirit Mist Domain, no one knows them better than your Coffin Senior. He was once of the Nine Li..."

"Shut up."

The voice from the stone coffin sounded. "Is there some danger over at Coffin Dock Crossing?"

"Danger would be hard to say, but I'd like to avoid it if possible," Li Weiyi said.

The voice within the stone coffin said, "There is another route, though it is more roundabout. Next, I will use the Nine Emperor Banner to determine our bearings and guide the way. The one holding the banner, walk in front!"

The Nine Emperor Banner was the white Yin Banner in Zhao Meng's hand. The rubies in the eyes of its nine skulls could provide it with secret energy akin to magical power. The scriptures and radiance emanating from the banner pointed the group in the direction they needed to travel.

The shore was far too distant. They had already been walking quickly, but when the sky turned completely dark, they still had not reached land.

They found an area of Floating Coffins where a giant coffin blocked the Cold Wind and the ground was stable, preparing to rest there for the night.

Following Coffin Senior's instructions, Zhao Meng planted the white Yin Banner in his hand into the gap between the two coffins. The banner could suppress souls; within the area shrouded by its radiance, departed spirits dared not approach. It had been Coffin Senior's treasure in life.

Li Weiyi took food from the Evil Camel Bell and distributed it among everyone.

They had only just finished eating.

Bang! Bang...

The Blue Flower Urn hopped out from the corner. "It's time to cultivate—time to cultivate! All of you, together. And you, Li Weiyi, stop dwelling on that old coffin's damned questions for now. He's always going on about abstruse, unfathomable, illusory nonsense. What matters most is reality. You must open the fourth spring as soon as possible. All of us are relying on you to protect us now. If some random person who's opened five springs or six springs shows up and wipes us all out in one fell swoop, what the hell would be the point of talking about the Longevity Realm?"

Li Weiyi said, "Senior, opening a spring shouldn't be something that can be done just because one says so, right? It has to be done step by step."

"Bullshit! With the vigorous Blood Qi of Golden Crow Blood, your Chan Sect's supreme Breathing Technique, and this old man's guidance, the first four springs pose no danger at all. With your bloodline and talent, you can blast them open as easily as turning your hand over. But once you reach the Fifth Spring, there'll be some danger. You'll need to get a Spring-Opening Needle from a great provincial city to open it quickly."

Urn Senior was hot-tempered. Once he decided to do something, he did it at once, directly beginning to guide Li Weiyi in forcibly breaking open the Fourth Spring in his left palm.