Chapter 254 : Enigmatic Mysteries
The Crimson Blood Sect members mostly wore dark red clothing, resembling the color of coagulated blood, their entire beings emanating a dangerous bloody aura. Though not as visually horrifying as the Nine Abyss Sect members, their mere presence on the street would ensure no one thought them approachable—each one fearsome enough to silence crying children at night.
However, compared to the sinister individuals of the Nine Abyss Sect, the Crimson Blood Sect members, though countless killers, could at least be called straightforward. More importantly, in such a murderous sect, the principle of "strength commands respect" was ingrained in everyone's bones.
Jiang Mo was powerful. Under this premise, her previous provocation wasn't something intolerable in the eyes of Crimson Blood Sect disciples. Or to put it differently, the strong naturally had privileges, and rules could only constrain those who weren't strong enough—given this understanding, Jiang Mo's initiative to socialize with Crimson Blood Sect disciples became quite easy.
Currently, the ghost ship carried only three to four hundred people in total, with the seven sects' disciples and those from smaller sects or independent cultivators split roughly evenly, averaging about thirty disciples per sect. The Crimson Blood Sect had sent neither too many nor too few—exactly thirty people, including five elders and twenty-five disciples.
The elders held higher positions and naturally knew more information, but apart from their elevated status, their advanced age made them more shrewd and cautious.
Jiang Mo merely wanted to inquire about Senior Sister's past affairs, without engaging in any battle of wits. Therefore, she initially avoided contact with those elders, choosing instead to approach the ordinary disciples.
By this time, Jiang Mo had explored the ghost ship from top to bottom, but not being of demonic race, she hadn't discovered the secrets hidden within those seemingly decorative patterns. Beyond this, the only remarkable feature of the ghost ship was its hull, crafted from unknown materials of extraordinary hardness. Even with Jiang Mo's current cultivation level, after secretly scratching at the hull several times with her nails, she couldn't leave significant marks.
It was just an exceptionally sturdy ship, and Jiang Mo quickly lost interest. Having spent many years in secluded cultivation, now knowing Senior Sister was just next door, she couldn't muster the patience to continue focused cultivation. Thus, she would come out to the deck daily, either watching fish or birds.
Honestly, ocean travel was extremely boring, far less interesting than river journeys. At least the latter offered scenery on both shores, whereas after entering the sea, the coastline was difficult to spot, leaving nothing but endless ocean to view, with occasional reefs—speaking of reefs, another peculiarity of the ghost ship became apparent. When encountering reefs during its journey, it never avoided them, regardless of size. Ordinary reefs were certainly no concern for cultivators; any magical artifact could shatter them. But the ghost ship was different—it didn't break through them, it passed directly through them!
Today, with nothing particular to do, Jiang Mo stood on deck watching as the ghost ship headed toward a reef. This was the largest cluster of reefs the ghost ship had encountered in recent days, perhaps better described as a reef island. As the ghost ship passed through, the reef's summit was nearly level with the deck.
Jiang Mo watched as the ghost ship penetrated the reef, the dark massive rock almost brushing against her, instinctively reaching out to grab it.
Unfortunately, as someone aboard the ghost ship, she now shared its nature, able to see but not touch the reef before her. They seemed to exist in different dimensions—her hand grasped at empty air as she passed through the huge rock.
No matter how many times she experienced this, Jiang Mo remained curious. However, as she turned around this time, she saw several Crimson Blood Sect disciples standing not far away, watching her. Their gaze, just like hers observing the ghost ship, was full of inquiry, but showed no unusual reaction to her previous actions. After a moment's thought, Jiang Mo simply waved them over.
The Crimson Blood Sect members were all quite bold. Seeing Jiang Mo's gesture, they approached, maintaining a respectful attitude toward the powerful: "May we ask why Senior has summoned us?"
Jiang Mo was straightforward, pointing at the now-distant reef island and asking: "What exactly is the nature of this ghost ship? Do you know?"
She asked with such confidence, as if her mere asking guaranteed an answer. The Crimson Blood Sect disciples exchanged glances before honestly shaking their heads: "We don't know. We Crimson Blood Sect members excel at combat, but have little research into such strange phenomena. If Senior is truly curious, perhaps inquire with the Harmony Sect—they have all kinds of talented individuals."
This was true. Though the Harmony Sect's cultivation methods seemed somewhat improper, those who rose through their ranks were all multi-talented. Formation refiners, pill refiners, talisman refiners, sound refiners—they had experts in everything. They also had specialists in painting and calligraphy, chess, divination—in short, if you could imagine it, they could find someone skilled in it.
Jiang Mo had heard something about this, but decided against approaching them. After some thought, she asked: "When did you board this ship?"
There was nothing to hide about this, so the Crimson Blood Sect disciple answered readily: "Ten days ago." Without waiting for Jiang Mo's next question, he offered additional information: "This ghost ship's origins are unknown, its movements difficult to track. We boarded ten days ago; after three days it docked once, stayed for a full day before departing again, then sailed for another three days before reaching Xianyuan Town, where it again remained for an entire day."
Jiang Mo understood—the ghost ship's sailing and docking seemed to follow a pattern. It docked every three days, stayed for a full day, then continued with new passengers. Calculating the time, it had been nearly three days since she and Yun Qingyue had boarded, meaning the next docking shouldn't be far off.
Building on this topic, Jiang Mo engaged in casual conversation with these disciples, and by afternoon, both parties had become quite familiar.
༻༺❀༻✧⋆｡°✩☽༓☾✩°｡⋆✧༺❀༻༺
The ghost ship's mysteries were not easily unraveled by ordinary people. Just as everyone thought they had discovered its pattern, expecting it to dock after three days, this time the appointed day arrived but the ghost ship continued sailing without stopping.
Many were surprised, with some suggesting that perhaps the ghost ship, now fully loaded, would no longer dock but head directly for the deep sea.
However, most cultivators were skilled at determining direction, unlike the directionally-challenged Jiang Mo, and could naturally discern from the rising sun, setting moon, and revolving stars that the ship continued to sail along the coast rather than hastening toward the deep sea.
After fruitless discussion, everyone could only continue observing the situation.
Jiang Mo appeared unconcerned about this. After spending two days socializing with the Crimson Blood Sect members and hearing considerable information from them, today she finally took advantage of the empty deck to ask what she most wanted to know: "I've heard the Crimson Blood Sect Leader possesses extraordinary power, a Grand Achievement realm cultivator. How formidable is she exactly? Do you know?"
These Crimson Blood Sect disciples had been quite loose-lipped, revealing all sorts of information after just two days of acquaintance. But this time, at the mention of the Crimson Blood Sect Leader, they became alert for the first time, casually deflecting: "The Sect Leader? Of course she's formidable."
Seeing their reaction, Jiang Mo realized they were reluctant to speak and raised an eyebrow.
Noticing this, another disciple hurriedly explained: "Senior, we're not being evasive. It's just that the Sect Leader's position is exalted, not someone ordinary disciples like us can encounter. Even the elders leading us don't easily gain audience with the Sect Leader. Especially in recent years, the Sect Leader has appeared in public even less frequently—I can't even remember when I last saw her."
Jiang Mo looked at him and realized he wasn't lying. It seemed the Demonic Sect Leader was even more reclusive than she was.
However, considering that Sect Leader Zhu might be Senior Sister's biological mother, Jiang Mo suppressed her criticism and moved to the main topic: "Is that so? I heard that eighty years ago, Sect Leader Zhu recovered her long-lost daughter. Has she been training your Young Sect Leader these years?"
The incident at Mingzong Mountain had caused quite a stir, with all kinds of information spreading throughout the cultivation world. Naturally, the Crimson Blood Sect's sudden withdrawal, abandoning the other three sects, was widely discussed. Some said the Crimson Blood Sect Leader was cowardly and fled, but others with some knowledge spread word that she had found her daughter at Mingzong Mountain and left early with her.
As for Yun Qingyue's background, with so many witnesses present back then, rumors inevitably spread. Gradually, stories about Yun Qingyue recognizing the Crimson Blood Sect Leader as her mother, betraying her sect to become the Crimson Blood Sect's Young Mistress, circulated throughout the cultivation world.
The Crimson Blood Sect members had heard these rumors but neither confirmed nor denied them, making the situation even more enigmatic.
Now, faced with Jiang Mo's direct question, the Crimson Blood Sect disciples didn't overthink, especially since the information itself wasn't particularly sensitive: "Well... we're not certain. Our Sect Leader hasn't appeared in public for a long time. That Immortal Maiden Qingyue is reportedly our Sect Leader's daughter, and she did stay briefly with the Crimson Blood Sect for a year, but she left afterward, and the Sect Leader never announced her as the Young Sect Leader."
Afterward, elders had instructed them to treat her courteously if they ever encountered her.
But this they didn't share with outsiders.
Their answer wasn't surprising. After all, Yun Qingyue had been a righteous path disciple for over thirty years, always dedicated to eliminating demons and upholding righteousness. Even if her background had been revealed and she had left her sect, it would likely be difficult for her to immediately join a demonic sect.
System had been listening to this information alongside Jiang Mo and sighed: "Why didn't Senior Sister stay with the Crimson Blood Sect? Having such support would be great—'Young Sect Leader' sounds much more impressive than 'Senior Sister.'"
Jiang Mo agreed, but the prerequisite was that Sect Leader Zhu truly was Senior Sister's biological mother and bore goodwill toward her—honestly, this was also a question. If Senior Sister was truly Sect Leader Zhu's daughter, and the latter cared about her, how had she ended up as an infant outside Xuanqing Sect's gates?
All in all, the matter was perplexing, with much that couldn't be shared with outsiders.
Jiang Mo could tell they were withholding information, but she didn't press further. Thinking of another approach, she was about to inquire indirectly: "So you all..."
Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly felt a gaze upon her. The look carried a hint of scrutiny. Following the sensation, she turned to see a woman wearing a veil approaching.
Jiang Mo didn't recognize her, but the Crimson Blood Sect disciples clearly did. They abruptly became formal, bowing as Jiang Mo looked over, addressing her: "Elder Qi."
The woman swept her gaze over them indifferently, causing the Crimson Blood Sect disciples to stiffen. They quickly excused themselves and scattered like birds and beasts.
Jiang Mo felt somewhat awkward, experiencing the embarrassment of having her information-gathering overheard by its subject, and feeling grateful it wasn't Senior Sister who had heard their earlier conversation. However, the woman said nothing, merely giving Jiang Mo the same indifferent glance before turning and leaving.