Chapter 715: Reaping

The Zhulian Island Group.

The moment Lü Zhong arrived, he noticed something was off.

‘An Ironclad Ship?’

Hovering a thousand zhang in the air, he looked down at a bay below. A colossal ship came into view, its entire hull constructed from a silvery-white metal. Its surface was dotted with turrets, antennae, and other features, giving it a high-tech feel.

The ship was not in good condition, however. The hull bore numerous dents, claw marks, and other damage, clearly caused by a Sea Beast attack.

‘An Ironclad Ship in the Cultivation Realm? How interesting!’

Lü Zhong chuckled softly, his mind instantly racing with possibilities.

Like the origins of this group of humans below.

And their current location.

If he wasn’t mistaken, this technologically advanced nation must have originated from a land barren of Spiritual Qi, very likely on the other side of the Boundless Sea.

Suddenly, an invisible wave swept past him.

‘Is that radar? No, it seems more advanced…’ Lü Zhong mused.

Meanwhile, in the command room of the Ironclad Ship.

“Well? Is it really a legendary cultivator?” Captain Bai Shuyun asked, his expression grave.

Across from him stood a large, scruffy man with an unkempt beard. He was Zang Jian, the ship’s Technology Officer and historian. Lowering the screen in his hands, he sighed and said pessimistically, “Not only is he a cultivator, but according to the ancient texts, he’s an extremely powerful one! If we set the power of that furious whale that attacked us at one, then this individual could be a hundred, or even… ten thousand!”

“We’d best not anger an existence like that. We should address him respectfully as ‘Senior’.”

“‘Senior’… What an archaic term. I understand. I’ll personally lead a party to greet him. Since he’s a legendary Cultivator, his methods might be beyond scientific explanation. Perhaps he can solve our current predicament.” Bai Shuyun nodded, forcing himself to calm down before making his decision.

As part of the Alliance’s exploratory fleet, they had been unfortunate enough to be attacked by a sea monster. Not only had they lost most of their crew, but the engine’s main shaft had also been destroyed from overload.

As a result, they had been forced to stay here, stranded for three long years.

Compared to the potential risks, Bai Shuyun, as captain of the exploration ship Seeking Immortality, believed that attempting to make contact might be the key to changing their circumstances.

After all, no matter how badly it went, it couldn’t be much worse than being marooned on this deserted island chain.

“Forget it, I’ll go with you.” Zang Jian buttoned up his white lab coat and muttered, “I have no idea what language he speaks, but one thing’s for sure, it’s definitely not the Alliance’s common tongue. If I go along, I might be able to help.”

Having come to an agreement, the two of them left the command room.

By this time, Lü Zhong had already landed on the Ironclad Ship.

He could tell that this kilometer-long behemoth had impressive capabilities. The metal used was no worse than Spirit Iron. It was only because it lacked the reinforcement of Runes and Arrays, along with any protective shields, that it seemed less sturdy than a Flying Ship. Still, it was durable enough to have survived an attack from a Tier Four Water Clan member.

‘If one were to add Runes and Arrays…’

A glint appeared in Lü Zhong’s eyes as he considered how he might build his own Floating Fortress. Of course, that was just wishful thinking. Whether the other party was willing to cooperate was another matter entirely.

Soon, the sound of approaching footsteps could be heard.

Seeing the newcomers’ expressions, which were a mixture of curiosity and unease, Lü Zhong simply smiled faintly. He then waited patiently as they tried one language after another in an attempt to communicate with him.

“That’s enough. Let’s use this Common Script.”

“S-Senior, you can understand this? That’s wonderful!” Zang Jian let out a sigh of relief. This happened to be the ancient language he was most proficient in. Had it been any other, he wouldn’t have been able to communicate so easily, and if he had angered this Senior because of it, the consequences would have been dire.

“No, I understand them all. It’s just that you speak Common Script the most fluently,” Lü Zhong admitted freely. Having read countless ancient texts, he had naturally encountered a vast number of languages and scripts. In a first contact situation like this, choosing the language one party was most skilled in was the best way to minimize the chances of misunderstanding.

Before they could react, he introduced himself:

“Cangmingzi of the Celestial Origin Immortal Palace. And you are?”

“Bai Shuyun, Captain of the Seeking Immortality Ship, from the Red Earth Alliance’s advance exploratory fleet!” Bai Shuyun announced, snapping his left fist to his heart in a standard Alliance military salute.

“Zang Jian, Technology Officer and Scribe for the advance exploratory fleet.”

After the introductions, an awkward silence fell between them.

Lü Zhong was thinking to himself that this so-called Red Earth Alliance, as its name suggested, must have originated from a place with red earth. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have chosen such a distinctive name.

Following this, the two sides began a more in-depth conversation.

Their answers were very standard, very formulaic. This was Lü Zhong’s impression. The information they shared had likely been prepared in advance, just as one would expect from a mature civilization.

He learned from the two men that the Red Earth Alliance had been built upon ruins less than five thousand years ago.

Before that, the Red Earth Continent had not been without civilization; however, all previous iterations had ended in annihilation. This cycle of civilization’s rebirth and destruction had repeated an unknown number of times—a process of Reincarnation.

The Red Earth People attributed this to natural disasters.

That was why, after the most recent revival, the Alliance had formed an exploratory fleet to find a way to ensure their civilization’s continuation.

‘Are they truly ignorant, or just pretending…’ Lü Zhong didn’t dwell on the thought.

Regardless of whether the Red Earth People knew the secret behind their destruction, he was certain of one thing: the cyclical annihilation of the Red Earth Civilization was very likely connected to the Central Earth Divinity Transformation cultivators.