Realm-Crossing Vessel
Half a month is neither a long nor a short time.
For those in the Divine Realm, half a month is not even enough to take a nap.
But for Su Ye and his friends, these past two weeks have been counted down by the days.
Zhang Xuan thoroughly Research all the information he could find in the Hurricane Secret Realm, even noting down in his notebook when the Astral Winds were strongest on which mountain.
Xiao Qiyue silently prepared Pills and medicine for her injuries.
Shen Mo, on the other hand, would find an empty Open Ground every day to practice his Dagger.
Su Ye was the most relaxed of the group, cultivating and deduce as usual, without the slightest panic.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
The day has finally arrived for the Star-Ranked Blood Bounty Examination to begin.
Before dawn, the area in front of the Blood Bounty Pavilion branch of the Azure Mansion was already packed with people.
The scene was more than ten times more exaggerated than the day of registration.
A vast array of divine cultivators from various races filled the entire street, their auras intertwined, and Law Fluctuation rose and fell, making the air feel heavy and oppressive.
There was a veteran Peak Middle God, his expression solemn, eyes closed as he meditated.
There were newcomers, like newborn calves, their faces full of excitement, looking around.
There were also a few sinister figures huddled at the edge of the crowd, their eyes scanning the surroundings like Venomous Snakes.
The line stretched out from the entrance of the Blood Bounty Pavilion, turned the corner, and seemed to go on forever.
"Holy crap..."
Xia Zhiqiu shrank back when he saw this.
"Has everyone from the entire Azure Mansion come?"
"The Star-Ranked Blood Bounty Examination only happens once or twice in a century."
Zhang Xuan explained in a low voice, his gaze sweeping across the crowd.
"This is a rare opportunity; nobody wants to miss it."
Su Ye's gaze swept across the crowd, and he spotted several experts.
Those with a deep, focused aura and a stance as firm as a pillar are most likely seasoned veterans who have spent many years navigating the ranks of Middle Gods.
There were several entities that Su Ye could sense that he found vaguely troublesome.
"Let's get in line."
Su Ye spoke calmly
We don't cause trouble, but we're not afraid of trouble either.
Everyone nodded and lined up obediently.
Despite the large number of people, Blood Bounty Pavilion's efficiency was surprisingly high.
The line moved forward slowly, and after about half an hour, it was their turn.
The procedures are very simple.
Verifying identity with Jade Tokens and Blood Bounty Emblem, registering application information, signing a Divine Soul contract... it's written in black and white: enter the Secret Realm, and Life and Death the consequences of your own life.
When it was Xia Zhiqiu's turn to sign the contract, he paused slightly, pen in hand.
"I am responsible for my Life and Death..."
He muttered to himself.
"This thing looks a bit creepy. It's like a waiver you sign before going into the Operating Room."
"Sign it."
Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly.
Whether you're outside the Operating Room or here at the Blood Bounty Pavilion, can you refuse to sign this document?
Xia Zhiqiu chuckled, gritted his teeth, and signed.
After signing the contract, the group was led to the boarding area behind the Blood Bounty Pavilion.
It was a vast, open Central Square, and in the very center of the Central Square, a ship sat quietly...
A giant ship.
Although it's called a "ship," it's actually more like a steel city suspended in mid-air.
The giant ship was entirely silver-gray, its surface covered with intricate Divine Runes and cable-like Energy Lines, and its bow was raised high, like a giant whale with its head held high.
The sides of the ship are densely packed with rows and rows of hatches, which at a glance could probably hold tens of thousands of people.
Beneath the giant ship was a layer of visible, slowly rotating aura of Law, which held the entire ship in mid-air, steady and motionless.
"This is the Blood Bounty Pavilion's 'Realm-Crossing Vessel'."
Zhang Xuan introduced it in a low voice.
"It's specifically designed to transport Examination to the Secret Realm in large numbers; it can carry hundreds of thousands of people at a time."
Xia Zhiqiu tilted her head back, her mouth agape.
"Good heavens, this ship is several times larger than our aircraft carriers on Blue Star! Even our Heavenly King Hall's giant Flying Ship isn't a tenth the size of this. And this is just a 'troop transport ship'?"
"Don't make a fuss."
Zhang Xuan rolled his eyes at him.
"Once you're on the ship, you'll need to open your eyes even wider."
The group followed the procession and slowly boarded the Realm-Crossing Vessel.
The ship's interior was extremely spacious, with wide aisles in the middle and numerous partitioned seats on both sides. Each seat was engraved with a small Divine Runes. When you sat down, a faint light enveloped you, isolating you from the aura and pressure from the outside, making you feel comfortable.
Su Ye and the others found a corner to sit down.
As the last group of people boarded the ship, the ship shuddered slightly, and then the massive vessel slowly rose into the air, steadily heading towards the outskirts of the Azure Mansion.
"The boat is setting sail!"
Xia Zhiqiu peered out the window, her eyes lighting up.
The Realm-Crossing Vessel rose extremely high and soon passed through the skies above Azure Mansion, entering the sky outside the city.
The scenery along the way amazed everyone who saw it.
First, it swept over the vast city of the Azure Mansion. The rows of buildings, floating islands, and crisscrossing light bridges rushed past beneath its feet, as magnificent as a giant scroll slowly unfolding.
Beyond that lay stretches of strange wilderness.
In some places, there are clusters of towering trees, their canopies reaching into the clouds, their trunks so thick they could hold an entire city.
In some areas, flowing lava rivers are everywhere, the crimson lava slowly flowing, reflecting half the sky in orange-red hues.
In other places, pale purple snowflakes drifted down from the sky, turning into sparkling Luminous Crystals as they fell to the ground.
"These... these are all scenic spots and historical sites."
Xia Zhiqiu couldn't take it all in, and kept muttering to herself as she looked.
"No, no, I definitely have to write these places down so I can travel to them all when I have the money!"
Let's get back alive first.
Zhang Xuan poured cold water on the idea, feeling that Xia Zhiqiu had become even more arrogant after arriving in the Divine Realm.
"Hey, you always manage to spoil my fun."
Xia Zhiqiu was dissatisfied.
Su Ye leaned against the window, gazing calmly outside.
But his released Divine Sense was never idle, constantly and subtly enveloping the area around the ship.
Although everyone on this ship is a participant in the Examination, there are all sorts of people in a big forest, so one should always be wary of others.
The Flying Ship had been flying for an unknown period of time when suddenly...
"Arrive."
Zhang Xuan spoke up.
Everyone followed his gaze.
The Realm-Crossing Vessel gradually slowed down, and finally came to a steady stop above a vast plain that stretched as far as the eye could see.
The plain stretched as far as the eye could see, desolate and barren, without a trace of green.
And in the very center of the plain...
A huge, slowly rotating vortex stood there, reaching from the sky to the earth.
That vortex, though called a vortex, was more like a spatial gate that had been forcibly torn open.
The vortex itself is formed by the condensation of countless high-speed rotating Astral Wind, buzzing and the sound of the wind it generates can be heard clearly from a great distance.
At the center of the vortex was a deep, bottomless blackness, as if leading to some unknown abyss.
Zhang Xuan took a deep breath.
"We've arrived at the entrance to the Hurricane Secret Realm Entrance."
This also means that the Star-Ranked Blood Bounty Examination is about to begin.