Chapter 369: Thunderstorm
"This..." Qingli hesitated.
Seeing her hesitation, the sinister man's expression grew fierce. "Don't tell me you want everyone on this entire tower ship to perish high up in the sky?"
"I... I don't!" Qingli's face paled, and she shook her head frantically.
"That's the right answer!"
The sinister man smiled coldly. "As long as you do everything I say, the worst won't come to pass."
Hearing this, Qingli lowered her head as if accepting her fate. "I... I understand."
...
Ye Chen opened the door. Standing outside was a slender and stunningly beautiful figure—it was none other than Hongyu Pill Venerable.
"Young Master Ye, did you sense my arrival ahead of time?" Hongyu Pill Venerable was a little surprised.
She hadn't even had a chance to knock before Ye Chen actually opened the door!
"Perhaps we're just on the same wavelength."
Ye Chen gave a faint smile.
'Of course, it wasn't because we were on the same wavelength.'
'It was simply because my Divine Soul is so powerful now that I sensed her aura immediately.'
"Is that so?" Hearing Ye Chen's reply, Hongyu Pill Venerable seemed delighted. Her eyes sparkled, as brilliant and captivating as jewels.
"If I'm not mistaken, you were probably kicked out by the people from the Treasure Gathering Chamber of Commerce, weren't you?" Ye Chen asked.
At his words, Hongyu Pill Venerable nodded with a wry smile. "I never thought they'd be so completely merciless."
"It's all because of me; I've ended up dragging you into this," Ye Chen said apologetically. "You can stay and rest here from now on."
"It's not about dragging anyone into anything. Young Master Ye, now you're treating me like a stranger."
Hongyu Pill Venerable glared at Ye Chen, but then she broke into a radiant smile. "However, you're right. I have no other choice but to stay with you."
"I came over to bother you, hoping you might let me stay."
Ye Chen smiled. Of course, he wouldn't refuse.
The two had just entered the room and were chatting for a bit when the Cloud Mist Tower Ship's voice transmission Array suddenly activated, and an urgent voice spread throughout the entire vessel.
"Due to a sudden downturn in the weather, a thunderstorm may appear on the tower ship's route!"
"For the next three days, all esteemed guests on the tower ship are advised to remain in your rooms and not go out. The ship will do everything in its power to combat the thunderstorm and ensure the safety of all our esteemed guests!"
...
Aboard the tower ship, voice transmission Arrays were set up in both public areas and private rooms, though the ones in the rooms could be manually deactivated.
As the warning blared from the voice transmission Arrays everywhere, the entire tower ship instantly fell into a commotion.
Countless people were in an uproar!
"A thunderstorm?"
In the room, Ye Chen was completely bewildered when he heard this.
This was his first time on a Cloud Mist Tower Ship, and he had never even heard of a "thunderstorm" before.
Beside him, Hongyu Pill Venerable explained with a grave expression, "It's an extremely severe, catastrophic weather phenomenon found high in the sky. It often stretches for thousands of miles, covering an incredibly vast area!"
"It's filled with rampaging lightning. Sometimes, an eye will form, creating a powerful storm that, along with the violent lightning, churns the entire firmament!"
"Some of the more ordinary tower ships might even have their hulls pierced by lightning if they're not careful when passing through such dangerous weather, causing them to fall from the sky or disintegrate on the spot, resulting in countless deaths and injuries."
"If that really happens, only powerful Cultivators would be able to survive."
Hearing this, Ye Chen couldn't help but feel a chill.
"If this weather is so dangerous, can't the tower ship just change its route temporarily to avoid the area?" Chi Ming asked.
"If there were time to avoid it, the tower ship wouldn't have issued such a warning."
Hongyu Pill Venerable glanced at Chi Ming and explained, "These weather phenomena often cover an extremely wide area. Especially the ones that form suddenly—there's no time to guard against them. They're impossible to avoid!"
"Moreover, this Cloud Mist Tower Ship is under the command of the Treasure Gathering Chamber of Commerce. It's equipped with countless Forbidden Arrays, personally controlled by the Chamber's experts."
"With the Treasure Gathering Chamber of Commerce's confidence, adverse weather like a thunderstorm—which is a common sight for them—is something they would be wary of at most."
"As for having them steer the ship to avoid it... even if there were enough time, they certainly wouldn't do it."
Ye Chen's eyes flickered, and he nodded slightly.
'The Treasure Gathering Chamber of Commerce controls all sorts of routes, large and small. They've probably seen so many thunderstorms that they're no longer fazed by them. Their various tower ships must have long been prepared with all kinds of countermeasures.'
'Given the scale of this ship, its safety features are probably even more advanced. As long as we obediently stay in our rooms, there shouldn't be any problems.'
"This kind of thing is a headache for the Chamber of Commerce. It has nothing to do with us."
Ye Chen smiled and said, "For the next few days, we just need to stay in our rooms and cultivate."
"Of course," Hongyu Pill Venerable nodded with a smile.
Over the next period of time, the alarms on the tower ship continued to sound intermittently.
However, the passengers' commotion had long since died down.
After all, most of the people on board were not riding a Cloud Mist Tower Ship for the first time.
They had long since grown accustomed to severe weather like thunderstorms.
There was an uproar at the beginning, but afterward, everyone just went back to doing their own thing. In any case, it wasn't their problem to worry about; the Treasure Gathering Chamber of Commerce would naturally figure out a way to deal with the thunderstorm.
This was one of the tower ship's duties in the first place.
The reason the various Cloud Mist Tower Ships were equipped with so many Forbidden Arrays was not only to prevent private fights between guests from damaging the ship, but more importantly, to guard against all kinds of catastrophic weather that could appear at any moment.
And as far as catastrophic weather phenomena went, thunderstorms were relatively common.
Therefore, the crowd did not seem too panicked, and the experts from the Treasure Gathering Chamber of Commerce quickly and methodically sprang into action, each moving to preside over the operation of the Forbidden Arrays.
Time passed, second by second.
Ye Chen walked out into the corridor of the Heaven-Grade Building Number One and gazed outside.
He saw that on the deck below, aside from a few hurried experts from the Chamber of Commerce, there were no ordinary passengers to be seen.
"Hm?"
'Is that the thunderstorm?'
Ye Chen focused his gaze on the horizon.
In the infinitely distant sky ahead, he could vaguely make out what looked like serpents of lightning weaving through the clouds. Even from so far away, Ye Chen could feel an oppressive power slowly gathering.
This spectacle covered nearly the entire Cangqiong, with no end in sight.
'The area covered by this thunderstorm... isn't it a bit too large?'
Ye Chen was a little surprised. This seemed somewhat different from what Hongyu Pill Venerable had described to him.