Faced with Old Horse's rapid pace, the crew members could only stare helplessly as it overtook them.
For a ship so massive, even burning spirit stones like mad wouldn't allow them to outpace Old Horse.
Unless, that is, they asked a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator to shoulder the enormous vessel and sprint across the waves.
Old Horse paid no heed to the three grand ships. Its four hooves churned furiously, letting out joyful neighs now and then.
The dragon horse clan dwelled on the southern side of the East Sea. After leaving the harbor, Old Horse bolted straight toward the south.
Ming City Port was still three hundred li away from the true East Sea. Those three hundred li still belonged to the territory of Great Xia, but managing a three-hundred-li expanse of ocean was awkward for Great Xia. After all, the imperial court could hardly process exit permits out on the open sea, so they merely dispatched cultivators to patrol the waters on a regular basis.
Once Old Horse covered those three hundred li, water mist rose from the ocean's surface, blurring all sense of direction.
Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou felt a wave of déjà vu. They had encountered a similar situation on their way to the Demon Domain—one had to pass through a blanket of mist before reaching it.
Old Horse was thoroughly familiar with the water mist, able to navigate to the East Sea with its eyes closed.
"It seems thick fog has been laid out in all four cardinal directions," Meng Jingzhou surmised. "What's the purpose, though?"
"It's probably to keep ordinary folk from realizing they live inside a colossal box," Lu Yang said. So far, the mist didn't seem harmful.
"A box? What are you two talking about?" Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou hadn't kept their voices down, so Tao Yaoye and the other two had heard them.
Among the three, only Li Haoran had memories of his past life, wearing an expression that said he had long known about this. Tao Yaoye and Man Gu had never left Great Xia, so they had never experienced crossing the mist.
"It goes like this. Based on what Old Meng and I discovered, the Four Ancient Celestials refined the stars into six continents, shaping the world into a giant box..."
After hearing this, Tao Yaoye and Man Gu were deeply astonished. They had never imagined the world's shape was completely different from what they had envisioned—all this time, they had been living inside a boundless box.
Man Gu was mostly excited. He knew going out with Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou would broaden his horizons. "Does the Ancient Nameless One finally have a name?"
Man Gu remembered that when he first joined the Immortal Cult, the Branch Master had introduced the lore to the three of them, saying the stars had been refined by the Ancient Nameless One.
Li Haoran could no longer stay calm, either. Nowhere in Qin Haoran's memories had it been mentioned that the Four Ancient Celestials had refined the stars.
While the five were chatting, Old Horse had already pulled the carriage through the mist, reaching the East Sea and docking at an island.
"Assuming this island hasn't changed its name, it should still be called Douyun Island. This is a gathering place for cultivators in the vicinity. Two months from now, we'll rendezvous on this island," Old Horse spoke human tongue once more.
This had been agreed upon beforehand. Old Horse was visiting family; it could hardly drag Lu Yang and the others along.
Lu Yang and his companions had come to the East Sea to see the world, not to meet Old Horse's relatives.
Thus, before setting off, they had agreed that once they reached the East Sea, they would part ways to act independently and then reconvene somewhere to return to the Dao Seeking Sect.
"Goodbye, Old Horse."
The five waved farewell to Old Horse.
Stepping out of the carriage, the sea breeze brushed against their faces—an atmosphere utterly unlike anything back in Great Xia.
"Where do we go now?"
"None of us have been to the East Sea before. Let's get a map of the East Sea first, or Junior Brother Li, can you draw one?"
Li Haoran looked troubled and sighed. "The last time Qin Haoran visited the East Sea was a hundred years ago. You know this is the East Sea, not Great Xia."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning that even if almighty experts clash and turn the world upside down, things won't revert to how they were. The factions of the Sea Race fight for territory, borders shift constantly, and the map of the East Sea changes along with them. Only cultivators who reside in the East Sea year-round know what the map looks like today.
"The Sea Race is fiercely territorial. I could draw a map from a hundred years ago, but a route that was safe back then might not be safe now. You wouldn't want to be flying along only to get shot down by the Sea Race, would you?"
"That does sound like a bit of a hassle. Still, no big deal—didn't Old Horse say this Douyun Island is a settlement for East Sea cultivators? There should be maps here."
"True enough. It's a good chance to mingle with the cultivators of the East Sea, too."
Chapter 792