Chapter 174

Inside the compartment, the four walls were isolated using a special black wood. It felt hard and solid underfoot.

Lin Hui judged that the wood must be incredibly dense.

"Is this your first time riding a Moth Carriage, Four Faces?" Fox asked, leaning against the wooden wall.

"Mm, it is indeed my first time," Lin Hui nodded.

"Then you should slowly get used to it. With your potential, there will be plenty of opportunities to ride Moth Carriages in the future. The sect has its own Moth Carriages—quite a few of them. This particular type is a special breed cultivated specifically for transport." Fox smiled. "Take a sniff. Smell anything?"

Hearing this, Lin Hui sniffed gently and immediately detected an extremely faint, elegant fragrance.

"It’s a bit fragrant. Like pear blossoms?"

"Not that. Smell again." Fox paused; she had used a pear blossom-scented body wash before leaving.

"Mm... the sweet scent of honey?" Lin Hui detected another scent.

"Correct. That is one of this Moth Carriage's functions. The powder on its body has a natural soothing, hypnotic effect. It allows for a good sleep during the journey, so you'll be at your destination when you wake up," Fox explained.

"What about at night? If the trip is long and we have to fly through the night, what then?" Lin Hui asked.

"The Moth Carriage is a nocturnal creature of the Mist Zone. At night, its wings enclose the seating area, and we use wooden boards from the inside to seal ourselves off. There are also water and food reserves here to tide us over if needed." Fox patted a wooden board under her right foot, which produced a hollow echo.

"What if I get diarrhea?" Yellow Ox, standing to the side, laughed.

"Then you can jump down, finish your business, and chase after us," Fox said grumpily.

"I was asking for Brother Four Faces, you know." Yellow Ox raised his hand.

"Then we'd have to land temporarily. Just hold it. Generally, people who ride Moth Carriages have that much control, don't they?" Fox said, speechless.

Lin Hui nodded.

Given his current physical condition, very little of what he ate turned into waste. His digestive functions were becoming increasingly powerful, absorbing the vast majority of energy from food. Previously, he moved his bowels once a day; now, he visited the latrine at least once a week.

"Alright, let's go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we return." Fox slapped the inner wall of the wooden partition in front of her.

Pa.

The Moth Carriage spread its wings and flapped gently.

With a whoosh, Lin Hui felt the world outside sink rapidly. Their elevation rose swiftly.

Countless wisps of Mist rushed toward them but were blocked by an invisible force, forming a hemispherical isolation cavity.

"The Moth Carriage has its own isolation effect against the Mist, so we don't need to burn Tranquil Incense. This is one of the reasons we chose to modify it," Fox introduced.

"So that's how it is." Lin Hui nodded.

"We're going this way. We have to pass over the Life and Death Sea. You two pay attention; don't cultivate or cause a commotion unless necessary, to avoid attracting troublesome monsters from that area," Fox continued, her tone becoming noticeably more serious.

"The Life and Death Sea? That is indeed dangerous." Hearing this, Yellow Ox also turned solemn.

Seeing Lin Hui's lack of reaction, he hurriedly explained, "The so-called Life and Death Sea is a special ocean located on one side of Xingdao City. No one knows exactly how large it is. It's called the Life and Death Sea because, for half the year, high temperatures evaporate the ocean into a highly toxic, acidic gas. During the other half, low temperatures condense it back into water. During every transition, massive numbers of marine monsters emerge to hunt."

"Such a place exists?" Lin Hui was surprised. He felt like he hadn't seen enough of the world; he had heard of the Jade Sea, but this was his first time hearing of the Life and Death Sea.

"Outside the Mist Zone, there are wonders everywhere. Mistborn left behind texts recording a journey where they flew on a Moth Carriage for decades without reaching the boundary of the Life and Death Sea," Fox responded. "Moreover, the monsters in the Life and Death Sea start at the Destructive level. The tiers over there aren't within our Taisu Alliance's classification system. Comparatively, the monsters surrounding the Alliance are much safer."

She paused, then smiled and added, "But don't worry, we are only skirting the edge of the Life and Death Sea, not entering it. As long as we don't make a huge commotion, the monsters there won't discover us."

Lin Hui nodded, a marvelous sense of curiosity rising in his heart regarding the bizarre and motley world outside the Mist Zone.

The Moth Carriage whistled as it soared, constantly accelerating. Massive amounts of Mist flashed past on both sides. Ahead, aside from white Mist, nothing could be seen; it was unknown how the moth distinguished direction.

After a while, Fox suggested everyone cultivate or rest; she would alert them when they were close.

So, the three of them each took a spot and began their cultivation.

Time passed slowly.

Lacking reference points, Lin Hui couldn't gauge the Moth Carriage's speed. He felt it was slightly slower than his own full speed, but not by much. Coupled with high-altitude flight, it was efficient.

He asked Fox how long it would take. She replied that it would take over four double-hours—eight or nine hours total.

Judging by this, the distance to the Xingdao District was quite far. If Xingdao City, known as the closest to Tuyue, required flying this far, how did Song Zhanlong and his people manage to run all the way to Tuyue back then?

"You wouldn't know. Large merchant caravans travel between Tuyue and Xingdao year-round. Traveling on foot, one can pass through the Great Vortex, which is much shorter. However, the Great Vortex seems connected to the Life and Death Sea and is affected by the Black Mist, so it's only passable for a few short periods each year," Fox explained. "We are currently in a forbidden period."

Lin Hui nodded in understanding. "Then what is the Great Vortex?"

"Look." Fox suddenly stood up and looked toward the front right. She raised her hand and pointed into the distance. "That is a Great Vortex."

Lin Hui stood up and looked over.

The Mist seemed pulled by a massive gravitational force. The surroundings cleared, revealing scenery in the distance.

A vast gray-white ocean lay there, looking as if it were composed of countless masses of white mud. In the sea, a massive vortex slowly rotated.

They were positioned above a black mountain range by the seaside, at least several thousand meters up, yet there was no sensation of thin air. The vortex was right next to the mountain range, in the offshore waters.

Strong winds blew. Standing on the Moth Carriage, looking through the invisible isolation cavity, Lin Hui gazed at the vortex, which was as massive as a mountain range. He saw black dots constantly entering and exiting it, flying back and forth; they all seemed to be passing through that vortex to some unknown place.

"That is the Life and Death Sea," Fox introduced. "Don't let the distance deceive you; although it looks close, we are at least seven or eight hundred kilometers away."

"Do people live there?" Lin Hui asked.

"Yes. It's another country, the one closest to us, called Hongyin. But the situation there is different. Because the monsters are more numerous and stronger than in Taisu, their population has always been low. Furthermore, due to constant warfare, their military rule is extremely strict, and they have a custom of plundering populations from the outside. I suggest we don't get close."

Lin Hui nodded.

He gazed at the gray-white ocean and the massive vortex until the surrounding Mist closed in again, obscuring his sight.

He sat down and continued to circulate his Internal Force. After several hours passed quietly, the Moth Carriage vibrated slightly and began to decelerate.

Lin Hui opened his eyes and saw Fox and Yellow Ox standing together, their lips moving slightly as they chatted via sound transmission.

"You're awake? We're about to arrive," Yellow Ox said.

"Xingdao? It's my first time in a district outside of Tuyue. I wonder what it looks like..." Lin Hui smiled.

"We will enter the Mist-Free Zone momentarily. You can get up and look. We'll land at the edge, at a place called Qishan Town. Fellow sect members are there to receive us," Yellow Ox said.

"Does Benevolent Heart Sect have people everywhere?" Lin Hui asked.

"Within the Taisu Alliance, yes. All districts have them. After all, we are an old, established sect that has developed for thousands of years," Yellow Ox laughed.

Lin Hui felt inwardly shaken.

The Benevolent Heart Sect’s scale seemed to be on a completely different level from any other sect he had heard of.

Gathering his thoughts, he looked out of the Moth Carriage.

They had just entered the Mist-Free Zone. The towering wall of Mist was penetrated in an instant, and the view ahead suddenly cleared.

Immediately afterward, a massive black wall appeared at the edge of Lin Hui's vision.

The wall was so high it pierced straight into the Mist above; the top couldn't be seen at all. It was riddled with gaps and holes; clearly, it had recently withstood a great battle.

"Something happened here not long ago. You've likely heard. Consequently, the Inner City's high wall was breached for a time. Now they are grabbing people to repair the wall. That's why so many Outer City people fled. In these times, who wants to perform corvée labor? It kills people." Yellow Ox sighed.

Lin Hui looked closely and saw tiny human figures within the breaches, working hard to patch the structure. Outside the wall, hoisting ropes lifted baskets of materials.

"Our mission is to eliminate a district official named Zhu Chengqiu. He possesses high strength and is an Elder of the local Shayue Sect's Rain Palace. In fact, a year ago, he wasn't an Elder yet. He was rapidly promoted to his current position by establishing merit through capturing our sect members," Yellow Ox said.

"Do we know his specific realm?" Lin Hui asked.

"Unknown. Based on his recent battle records, he is at least on par with a High Divine Officer. He’s extremely vigilant and knows the local Xingdao experts like the back of his hand. Because of this, the local sect members have no way to move against him—he’s familiar with every High Divine Officer in the area and will notice even the slightest mobilization."

"That is why they transferred unfamiliar faces like us from Tuyue," Fox added from the side. "Rest assured, Four Faces. Brother Ox will take the main offense, will support, and you just keep watch. This is mainly to broaden your horizons. Once you have more experience, you'll lead a team alone. We came up the same way."

"Okay." Lin Hui looked down.

Outside the tall black wall, the small towns looked like scorched ruins—desolate, dilapidated, and gray-black, like dirty piles of charcoal. Hardly any people could be seen; there was little vitality. The only noise came from flocks of crows skimming through the air.

"Alright, pay attention. We're about to land. Our tracks might have been leaked, so upon landing, eliminate all surrounding troubles. Execute all hostilities," Yellow Ox reminded.

"Okay!" Lin Hui and Fox nodded simultaneously.

Lin Hui roughly gauged the strength he’d revealed. In their eyes, he should appear to be at the peak of the Circulation realm. As long as he was careful, that should be enough to handle the vast majority of dangers.

Although he was already capable of killing a High Divine Officer, he still didn’t understand the Benevolent Heart Sect well enough. He was just a newcomer. If he didn’t keep a few trump cards in reserve and ended up being sold out, he’d be in serious trouble.

"Careful! They're coming!" Yellow Ox called out solemnly.

Lin Hui gripped the hilt of the Ruyi sword on his back and looked down.

On the black earth below, more than ten dark figures were rushing at extreme speed toward their landing spot.

The five figures at the front were all ablaze with the white fire of Internal Force. Clearly, every one of them was in the Circulation realm. The remaining ones had ordinary white Internal Force light—just ordinary Internal Force martial artists.

"Circulation experts are usually so rare… and there are this many here? It's an ambush!" Fox laughed.

"Good chance to warm up first, isn't it?" Yellow Ox chuckled. "I'll take the leader."

Before the Moth Carriage even touched down, he flipped over the edge and leaped out.