Chapter 30

The Fire Shark warship had a very unique propulsion system. It was a massive machine, but it did not use steam to drive it. Instead, it used inscribed arrays and runes, along with a certain type of gemstone, so that during its voyage, there was no loud noise, truly as agile and fierce as a shark, even moving swiftly against the wind like a galloping horse.

The river surface was extremely wide, and with the current cold weather, there were very few boats passing by. Traveling so fast, there was no fear of colliding with other vessels.

The Fire Shark warship gradually left the capital, initially passing through flatlands, with densely packed towns visible along the canal. However, after traveling for hundreds of miles, the area became more desolate, the plains turned into hills, and after a thousand miles, the canal was flanked by high mountains. The river narrowed, and the water flow became visibly rapid, roaring fiercely, causing the Fire Shark warship to rock slightly.

Amidst the high mountains, the cries of monkeys could be heard from time to time, adding a sense of desolation and terror under the night sky.

"Princess, it is now the hour of Wu, and the ship has reached Stone Province. Should we find a place to dock and rest, or continue on? If we continue, it will be dark and dangerous," someone reported. This person stood straight as a spear, piercing the sky, exuding a sharp martial aura.

"What hour of Wu? It's 8 PM," Lou Baiyue checked her pocket watch. "The Emperor has issued new time regulations, and you should study them well. When we return, I will reward you with a pocket watch. We don't need to dock; continue on and activate the moonstone searchlight to travel through the night."

"Thank you, Princess." The person knelt down. "Slave Gun obeys your command. Also, Prince Gushijiu has left his room and is on the deck for some fresh air."

"Go down." Lou Baiyue put on her coat and also walked to the deck of the warship.

The deck was very spacious, able to accommodate hundreds of people without feeling crowded. It was entirely made of steel, with thick iron railings on all sides to prevent people from falling off during rough seas.

However, the cold wind was fierce, making it hard to breathe while standing on the deck. If it were an ordinary person, they might even be blown away.

Guchen Sha, however, stood motionless, his clothes flapping in the wind, gazing at the distant, ink-black mountains, lost in thought.

"Legend has it that Stone Province was once a continuous range of mountains, stretching for thousands of miles, impassable even by monkeys, with no canal. After the Emperor ascended the throne, the mountains were suddenly split, forming this canal, which was then gradually widened, becoming an important waterway. This is truly a miracle, and I can't imagine the power required. My current strength can only move a ten-thousand-pound rock. Even if ten thousand of me worked for a hundred years, we couldn't carve out such a massive canal through the mountains," Guchen Sha observed the steep cliffs and the deep, turbulent river, finding it hard to believe this was the work of human hands just ten years ago.

He had studied geography and knew that the maps from over a decade ago showed a series of mountains with no roads, bridges, or rivers.

Growing up, he had never left the capital, and this journey was giving him a great deal of shock and awe.

"Stone Province is a land of poverty and danger, a hidden threat throughout history. In the mountains, countless cults, bandits, and martial artists have taken root, making it impossible for the army to suppress them. Only under the reign of the current Emperor, with his supreme power, were the mountains moved and the land transformed into a river, greatly improving the situation in Stone Province. Before, to reach the border, one had to detour around Stone Province, adding thousands of miles to the journey. The benefits are countless," Lou Baiyue also came to the deck as the sky grew darker. The surrounding mountains loomed like giant demons, and the night wind was chilling and mournful, with the continuous cries of monkeys adding to the eerie atmosphere.

Guchen Sha found it all very fresh and different from the scenery in the capital. Observing the mountains and rivers, he felt his martial arts understanding deepening.

"Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles."

Swish!

As they spoke, a beam of light shot out from the ship, illuminating the river surface, making it as bright as snow, eliminating the fear of colliding with cliffs in the dark.

This was the moonstone searchlight, a creation of the Heavenly Engineering Academy.

At this moment, suddenly, birds on both sides of the mountains took flight, and countless monkeys let out terrified cries, fleeing into the forests, as if something terrible was happening.

On the illuminated river surface, black shadows appeared, diving and leaping in the water, rapidly approaching the Fire Shark warship.

"Enemy attack!" The experts on the ship also noticed the danger. Clang! Clang! Clang! The alarm bells rang, and the experts on the ship sprang into action in an orderly manner.

"Such reckless fools." Lou Baiyue had anticipated this, her face cold as ice.

"Who are these people? How dare they attack the imperial envoy's ship?" Guchen Sha's gaze was sharp, seeing the black shadows on the river surface. They were wearing black fishskin diving suits, appearing and disappearing in the water, and had already reached the bottom of the Fire Shark warship.

The river was turbulent, with strong currents and whirlpools, even fish would be exhausted, let alone humans. Falling into the water here meant almost certain death, yet these people could swim as if on flat ground, either due to extraordinary talent or great strength, or both.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

These people approached the ship and climbed up like lizards, their movements agile and their demeanor cold and terrifying.

The Fire Shark warship was smooth and slippery, with no objects to climb, but these people had suction cups on their hands, allowing them to easily leap up.

"These are barbarians. They wear black dragon fishskin, which is tough enough to resist blades and arrows and provides speed, warmth, and waterproofing in the water," Lou Baiyue said with disdain. "They are likely targeting me. At the Southern Mountain hunting ground, I killed dozens of barbarians who were performing a sacrifice, transforming them into demonic beings. This is considered a desecration of their gods in the eyes of the barbarians. The evil god has sensed this and issued a divine command in the barbarian temples, promising great rewards to whoever can kill me and offer me as a sacrifice. I myself possess the essence of the ancient emperor 'Xu,' making me a powerful offering. If they capture me and offer me as a sacrifice, the rewards would be unimaginable. Are you regretting coming on my ship?"

"These barbarians are half-human, half-beast. They cannot be reasoned with; only killing can stop them. When they capture someone, the first thing they do is kill and sacrifice, then eat the flesh. I also want to practice my martial arts and gain experience. It's better that the barbarians have attacked," Guchen Sha said as he saw several black shadows leap onto the deck, charging like fierce beasts.

Sssssss...

Fine black threads, like mosquito needles, flashed before their eyes.

"Damn, armor-piercing mosquito needles!" Lou Baiyue waved her sleeves, and the black threads were all caught. But then her sleeves emitted black smoke, indicating they had been corroded by the poison.

"Armor-piercing mosquito needles!" Guchen Sha was quick to react, dodging with all his might. The mosquito needles hit the deck, and the steel emitted a pungent smell, let alone human flesh.

The armor-piercing mosquito needles were extremely vicious hidden weapons, loaded in iron tubes and shot out, capable of hitting an enemy within a hundred steps, even piercing through armor. They were coated with corrosive poison, and even a slight touch would turn a person into pus and blood. They were once the forbidden weapons of the most mysterious sect, the "Skillful Hands Pavilion," in the martial world.

The "Skillful Hands Pavilion" was destroyed by the imperial court, and many valuable craftsmen were captured and incorporated into the Heavenly Engineering Academy for research, but some important figures escaped.

This information was recorded in the imperial archives and was part of the curriculum for the princes.

Sssssss... More and more barbarians climbed onto the deck, each armed with armor-piercing mosquito needles, shooting at Lou Baiyue and Guchen Sha. Even a single hit would be fatal unless one had reached the third transformation of the Dao, with copper skin and iron bones.

"Die!" Lou Baiyue's speed increased, making her movements invisible to the naked eye. The armor-piercing mosquito needles couldn't hit her.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

With another wave of her sleeves, three to five barbarian experts were struck, their internal organs shattered, and they fell into the water, quickly swept away by the current and devoured by fish.

Guchen Sha knew this was true combat. Although the hunting in the Southern Mountains was dangerous, he was always accompanied by imperial experts who would not let him come to harm. But now, if he were hit by a mosquito needle, he would have no place to rest in death.

This thrilling and intense situation made his blood boil.

The Giant Spirit Power, Move Mountains, Turn Rivers, and Invert Seas.

He executed the three techniques without hesitation. On the deck, the wind howled, and the air currents formed vortices, making it hard to stand. He approached a barbarian expert, extended his long arm, grabbed the expert's face, and dug his fingers in with force.

Bang!

The barbarian expert's head was torn open like a rotten watermelon.

Guchen Sha suddenly thought, "The barbarians are cruel and the worst of the worst, with human faces and beastly nature. The ancient emperor's achievement was to kill barbarians as sacrifices to heaven. Can I try a sacrifice now?"

At that moment, he focused his mind and connected with the sacrificial altar formed by the imperial edict in his mind.

Instantly, a ball of barbarian blood and soul seemed to be sucked into the green light space of the sacrificial altar.

The barbarian expert collapsed, as if all his life essence had been drained, becoming a withered log.

To avoid arousing Lou Baiyue's suspicion, Guchen Sha kicked the expert into the river.

"I didn't expect that after the imperial edict transformed into a spatial altar, it would have such power. I understand now. The imperial edict is the strongest magical treasure of all time. How could it only have the ability to sacrifice? The reason I couldn't unlock its power after obtaining it was the lack of the emperor's aura. Only the emperor, using the emperor's aura to nourish the edict, can gradually reveal its mysteries," Guchen Sha realized.

The imperial edict required the emperor's aura.

The emperor's aura is the mysterious power that makes all beings bow and obey, the power of command. This power is the rule.

Even a bedridden emperor, weak and powerless, can issue a command that can cause blood to flow and families to be exterminated, or grant wealth and nobility with a single thought. What is the basis for this? It is authority and the rules of etiquette, which, when nurtured to the extreme, give birth to the emperor's aura.

"I have been using the imperial edict for sacrifices, but it has been like a drop in the bucket, unable to unlock its true power. Only by becoming the emperor, commanding the world, and gathering the power of all beings, will the emperor's aura flow continuously. Could it be... I need to seize the throne?" Guchen Sha was startled by this thought.

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