Chapter 257 The Hunter Who Killed Immortals (8)
(Mount Xilean- Holy Sword Sect)
(Two Hours Later…)
"Please allow me," Lin Kun smiled gently as he waved his hand in the air.
A large golden boat appeared from his storage ring and landed on the ground with a heavy thump.
The boat was around the size of a two story building and a white mist slowly wrapped around its bottom half.
Lin Kun snapped his fingers and a wooden bridge slid down the side of the boat which led directly to the upper deck.
Xu Lu nodded her head coldly and then walked upwards with confident steps. Her four other companions followed closely behind.
In addition to Cao Jia and Lin Kun, two more cultivators had decided to join the expedition to the Gobrean Jungle.
Their names were Fu Qiu and Shen Guo. Both were true disciples who studied the way of the sword.
Fu Qiu had a scholarly aura about him and held a white fan in his hand which he used to periodically wave in front of his face.
Shen Guo on the other hand was a bit more… unsettling.
Xu Lu could not put her finger on it but something about the way he stared at her was setting off alarm bells in her head.
He had a plain appearance for a cultivator with a nose that bent slightly to the left.
The sword attached to his hip was flat and had an unusual amount of flexibility since it was wrapped around his body like a belt.
Xu Lu walked onboard the golden ship and immediately headed for a small corner on the deck.
She gracefully sat down cross legged and closed her eyes.
There was a cold and unapproachable aura surrounding her body. This was the image that Xu Lu wanted to project to the outside world.
She wanted the saintess to be someone who was dedicated to cultivation and a strong but silent type.
Xu Lu took in a few deep breaths and then began to meditate. She focused on the qi in her body and slowly moved it throughout her meridians.
The temperature around her body plummeted and traces of frost could be seen on the floor below her feet.
Her four other companions climbed up the bridge and saw the saintess cultivating alone in the corner of the deck.
"Wow… the saintess is really dedicated," Cao Jia whistled with admiration as she began to pluck a few strings on her zither.
A soft but mournful tune filled the air as the music cultivator slowly swayed from side to side. She was lost in the rhythm of her own beat.
Lin Kun headed towards the front of the ship but spared a backwards glance at Xu Lu's motionless body.
An unknown emotion surfaced briefly in his eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.
Fu Qiu and Shen Guo leaned against a nearby railing and exchanged some small words. Their eyes would occasionally wander in the direction of the saintess.
She was a total mystery.
For twenty years it was known that the Holy Sword Sect had found someone to take the position of saintess but…
No one had seen her.
In fact, there were some people who didn't even believe that the saintess existed in the first place.
Outer disciples mostly but even the inner and true disciples could not help but be curious about the unknown cultivator who stood at the top of the younger generation.
How powerful was she? What was her personality like?
How beautiful was her appearance?
So far two of those questions had been answered and according to the rumors… she must be an otherworldly beauty for her master to conceal her face with a mask.
Xu Lu ignored the stares and focused on the flow of qi through her body. The only source of strength that she had in this strange world was her cultivation.
Clearly her master could not be trusted and there was something about her fellow sect members that aroused feelings of hatred and disgust from the original Xu Lu.
She needed to get stronger.
Especially considering her task.
Xu Lu was not a prophet but even she could predict that the Holy Sword Sect would not be happy if their saintess fell into the demonic way.
The saintess frowned slightly as the floor beneath her feet shuddered. She opened her eyes and discovered that the golden boat was slowly floating upwards.
Even though Xu Lu's face was expressionless, she felt a sense of amazement as the boat lifted up from the ground as if by magic.
The white mist on the bottom of the boat got even thicker as it began to soar through the air in a north eastern direction.
Not as fast an airplane but… Xu Lu would be lying if she said that she did not enjoy the feeling of the breeze blowing through her hair. 𝗳𝒓𝙚e𝓌e𝚋𝙣𝚘𝐯𝙚𝙡.𝑐૦m
It would feel even better if she could take off her mask but… that was unfortunately something that could not happen.
Xu Lu could feel dark emotions rising up in her chest and turned towards the horizon in order to distract herself.
The numerous rising peaks of the Holy Sword Sect became little more than green dots in the distance.
Below the boat was a lush green tropical forest with small, tiny wooden villages interspersed in all the greenery.
The people living in the villages seemed like tiny insects as they walked from building to building or planted crops in their fields.
Xu Lu absentmindedly wondered what they thought when they saw a golden boat flying through the air high above in the sky.
Did they admire cultivators and wish to be one?
Or did they fear cultivators as mortals with the powers of gods?
Perhaps it was a mixture of both.
Xu Lu could not help but feel like this world was a twisted place.
There was no use for armies or strategy when the outcome of war depended on which side had individuals with high cultivation levels.
Mortals had no way to get justice for any crimes that cultivators committed since they could wipe out their entire village with a wave of their palms.
Were humans supposed to have this level of power?
"On the sunlight dawn… my love…. parting is a sweet sorrow that I must endure," a soft melodic singing voice pierced through the mental fog clouding Xu Lu's mind.
She glanced in the direction of the sound and saw the short haired female cultivator plucking the strings of her zither.
"The waves of times… I see them rolling through the wind," Cao Jia sang mournfully as her fingers gently caressed the side of her instrument.
There was something about her voice that Xu Lu found utterly captivating. Cao Jia continued to sing, and a ray of sunlight shone down on her body.
The rest of the world faded away until Cao Jia was the only one in Xu Lu's eyes. She was the most significant person in her life.
She was perfection.
There was nothing else more important than listening to her music.
She was….
Xu Lu clenched her fist tightly and used her fingernails to pierce the soft underside of her palm.
Tiny droplets of blood flowed down from her hand and landed on the floor below.
"Stop using illusions and petty tricks," Xu Lu calmly spoke as she regained her sanity.
Cao Jia clapped her hands together gleefully and looked at Xu Lu with an expression of respect and admiration on her face.