Chapter 4224 — The Vast Sea
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Fortunately, apart from lacking in aggression, Huang Xiaotao's spirit bird was otherwise excellent in every respect—swift, steady in flight, highly alert, and above all possessed of extraordinary stamina. For a purely flying spirit beast, such qualities were rare indeed.
Moreover, the route Wei Zhao had chosen from the start ran along the coastal fringe, affording a fair measure of safety. Thus the first few days passed calm and uneventful, without a single hitch.
But next they would have to cut straight across the vast sea—there was no avoiding it. If they kept following the land, they could indeed reach the South Island eventually, but that would require going all the way to the Central Island first and then taking a detour from there to the South Island. The time such a course would consume would be far more than ten days—twenty days, even a month, might not suffice.
On so long a journey, carrying two people on its back—let alone Huang Xiaotao's spirit bird, even the finest flying spirit beast could not endure it. And the airspace around the Central Island was strictly controlled; without the insignia of some major power, ascent was forbidden outright, to say nothing of crossing it. The trouble involved would be more than a trifle.
Of course, had Wei Zhao been riding the personal mount of the Central Island Master's Pavilion from the Tianxing Dao of old, that would be another matter entirely—but alas, it was not.
"It's fine. So long as we stay sufficiently alert, we can avoid any danger ahead of time. There's no need for undue worry." Wei Zhao glanced at Huang Xiaotao, saw her tense expression, and spoke up with a smile to comfort her.
"Mm-hm, with you here, I'm not afraid," Huang Xiaotao said with a docile nod.
In truth, she was no stranger to trial missions. In past years she had spent most of her idle time around the North Island Cultivators' Guild, but had seldom left the bounds of the North Island; even when she did leave, it was at most to places like Mount Hucai Tianwu, never far afield.
This time, however, not only would they cross the whole of Cloud Terrace Island from north to south, but they would also traverse the vast sea. This was her first time in all her life. She had heard no end of tales of the perils of crossing the sea, and to claim she felt not the slightest nervousness would be an outright lie.
Even so, seated beside Wei Zhao, she somehow always felt a quiet reassurance, and the little knot of dread in her heart dispersed with it.
"Crossing the sea, the greatest danger is actually neither the sea beasts below nor the fierce birds above, but cultivators and sea fog," Wei Zhao said, letting Huang Xiaotao nestle close beside him as he explained in a calm, reassuring tone. "The jianghu is a treacherous place, it's true, but so long as one keeps guard against human cultivators and doesn't let them draw near too easily, there won't be much trouble. As for the sea fog—that is the truly deadly nuisance. Fortunately, we've made our preparations in advance, so there's no need for excessive worry."
The open sea stretches boundless in every direction, and once swallowed by sea fog, visibility often shrinks to a mere dozen or so zhang. Not only does it become hard to guard against lurking threats, but worse, one easily loses one's bearings—and to lose one's way in such a place is truly to be a step from death. Many cultivators who come out on missions meet their end beneath the sea fog. R1152