Chapter 278: Chapter 245: Boundary River, Ferry
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Three days later, a streak of light shot up into the sky from Taixuan Sect, speeding towards the Central Region.
Once this streak of light flew above a remote boundary, a palm-sized Heavenly Origin Boat shot out from within it, and in the span of a few breaths, the boat expanded to over thirty feet.
As the Heavenly Origin Boat expanded, the streak of light instantly burst into the vessel, and when the light dissipated, the figure of a young man was revealed inside the boat.
This young man was none other than Ye Chen, who had made his preparations and left the Taixuan Sect to head for the Central Region!
And this boat was the newly acquired Heavenly Origin Boat—one of the three Sacred Artifacts gained by Ye Chen!
After receiving news of Fairy Jia Luo from Sister Yu, Ye Chen had made thorough preparations for his journey to the Central Region over these three days.
As for the disciples of Snowdrift Peak, including Sister Yu, Ye Chen learned that Fairy Jia Luo had made other arrangements for them. Fairy Jia Luo had given Sister Yu a Sword Canon to cultivate in seclusion, and other disciples of Snowdrift Peak were to be trained under the guidance of another Peak Master from Taixuan Sect.
Ye Chen had returned all of the Sword Intent Law Beads he got from Sister Yu before he left. Although he hadn't fully comprehended many of the sword formations and sword intents within the beads, he had memorized them and could continue to cultivate without the beads.
Inside the boat.
Ye Chen stood in the cabin of the Heavenly Origin Boat, looking up.
"Heavenly Origin Boat, truly worthy of being a Sacred Artifact vessel, is indeed extraordinary."
Normally, the top of the boat should be exposed, but when Ye Chen entered the Heavenly Origin Boat, a dome of light appeared above him, completely sealing off the boat.
Even more strangely, this dome of light acted like a massive screen, displaying the various landscapes surrounding the boat. It showed so clearly that even the land thousands of meters below, with all its details, could be seen on the screen.
While inside the boat, one could watch the mountains and rivers, the sky and earth pass by through the screen—a truly wonderous feeling!
"With this screen, I don't need to waste spiritual awareness to cover my surroundings. The world around the boat is fully within my sight."
"Additionally, with the boat's incredible speed and its great defensive power capable of resisting attacks from Rotating Pill Realm experts, this is simply a perfect flying treasure!"
Ye Chen sat down cross-legged inside the boat, full of admiration.
"The Heavenly Origin Boat can cover over ten thousand li in one hour, and over a hundred thousand li in a day. With this boat, I can fly out of the Heavenly Wind Kingdom and into the northern Tian Yun Nation within a day."
"In just a few days, I'll be able to fly out of the thirteen countries of the Southern Territory!"
Ye Chen couldn't wait to try out the sensation of flying the boat.
Speak and test! Experience tales at m v|l e'm,p| y- r
Ye Chen lightly tapped a formation at the bow of the Heavenly Origin Boat with his finger, and in an instant, the boat shot forward.
The speed of the Heavenly Origin Boat even exceeded that of a late-stage Rotating Pill Realm expert's streak of light!
As the boat sped forth, Ye Chen saw the land and sky rapidly passing by on the screen, but sitting cross-legged inside, he felt incredibly stable, not sensing even the slightest turbulence. It was as if he was sitting still on solid ground!
Ye Chen nodded in satisfaction.
"The Central Region lies to the north of the thirteen countries of the Southern Territory. To get there from the Heavenly Wind Kingdom, one must pass through five countries and cover a distance of hundreds of thousands of li. I must hasten my journey."
"No time like the present, let's set off now!"
Having experienced the marvels of the Heavenly Origin Boat, Ye Chen no longer hesitated. He operated the boat and sped towards the Central Region.
In moments, the boat had vanished from the skies over the Heavenly Wind Kingdom.
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Six days later, Ye Chen finally arrived at the northernmost country of the thirteen countries of the Southern Territory—Skyfrost Nation.
According to the Barbaric Wilderness Mountain and Sea Map, it wouldn't take long to reach the boundary between the thirteen Southern Territory countries and the Central Region upon entering Skyfrost Nation.
Upon entering the nation, Ye Chen stowed away the Heavenly Origin Boat and continued forward as a streak of light.
About to travel to the Central Region, Ye Chen, of course, wouldn't want to make the distinctly conspicuous Heavenly Origin Boat visible, as the region teemed with many Heavenly Saint Realm experts. Should one of them covet the Heavenly Origin Boat and attempt to rob it, it would bring unnecessary trouble.
Ye Chen's current travel speed was already very fast. Although not as swift as the Heavenly Origin Boat or a late-stage Rotating Pill Realm expert, it surpassed many mid-stage Rotating Pill Realm experts.
After flying for about half a day, Ye Chen finally caught sight of a giant river in the distance.
Seeing the giant river immediately rejuvenated his spirits.
"Is that the Boundary River ahead, the division between the Southern Territory and the Central Region?"
"According to the Barbaric Wilderness Mountain and Sea Map, once I cross the Boundary River, I will enter the Central Region!"
With renewed speed, Ye Chen burst forth and in no time reached the riverbank of the massive waterway.
From afar, Ye Chen could sense the river's immensity, but standing on the riverbank and witnessing the surging river made him even more astonished.
This colossal river was over ten thousand zhang wide. From one side, one couldn't even glimpse the other bank, though Ye Chen knew the land across the river was the territory of the Central Region!
From the Barbaric Wilderness Mountain and Sea Map, Ye Chen learned that the Central Region is the oldest land of martial arts heritage in the Barbaric Wilderness Continent.
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The Central Realm was utterly different from the other regions of the Barbaric Wilderness Continent, giving one the distinct impression of occupying the absolute center of the entire continent!
Outside the vast expanse of the Central Realm, there was a circular river that separated it from all other territories. This circular river seemed to be like a great protecting river of the entire Central Region.
This great river was the one now before Ye Chen—the Boundary River!
No matter whether from the Southern Territory or the Western Desolation, from the Far North or the East, one had to cross this immense river to enter the Central Realm.
Ye Chen stood by the edge of the Boundary River, watching the surging flow of this mighty river.
"Rumor has it that a peerless powerhouse once placed a heaven-reaching forbidden spell on the Boundary River, which prevents any martial artist below the Heavenly Saint Realm from flying above it, not even wading across the river."
"I wonder if my Tian Sheng power would allow me to fly over the Boundary River."
Ye Chen was curious and wanted to give it a try.
With a single thought, the Heavenly Saint Law Bead in his chest burst forth with overwhelming Tian Sheng power, enveloping Ye Chen.
However, as soon as Ye Chen, wrapped in Tian Sheng power, stepped forward to tread above the Boundary River, he felt a terrifying force directly devouring the Tian Sheng power outside his body. In the blink of an eye, the Tian Sheng power under Ye Chen's feet was completely consumed!
This frightened Ye Chen into hastily retracting his extended foot!
Only after Ye Chen stepped back from the Boundary River did the terrifying force vanish as if it had never existed.
"What a formidable force!"
"To directly annihilate my Tian Sheng power, the Boundary River has indeed been placed under a heaven-reaching forbidden spell!"
"Judging by this power, it's likely at least a mid-level Heavenly Saint Realm restriction!"
"Non-Heavenly Saints cannot fly across; it seems that even my Tian Sheng power is not enough to fly over the Boundary River."
Ye Chen put away the Heavenly Saint Law Bead while deep in thought.
"The Central Realm is truly a land of mystery."
"Just this Boundary River alone is enough to shock the mind of all who wish to travel to the Central Realm."
Ye Chen shook his head.
Unable to fly over the Boundary River, he had to find another way to cross it.
Fortunately, Fairy Jia Luo had once visited the Central Realm, and she recorded in the "Barbaric Wilderness Mountain and Sea Map" that there was a specific tool for crossing the Boundary River for those martial artists below the Heavenly Saint Realm—a ferry.
It was said that every day, ferries would appear on the Boundary River, uncontrolled yet able to automatically dock at the countless ports along the riverbank.
To travel to the Central Realm, martial artists below the Heavenly Saint Realm must find a port where a ferry docks and then take a ferry headed to the Central Realm.
In the void, Ye Chen looked ahead at the Boundary River and pondered, "According to the 'Barbaric Wilderness Mountain and Sea Map', there are a total of one hundred and eight ports at the Boundary River bordering the Southern Territory and the Central Realm. A port should be within several tens of miles from here..."
As Ye Chen was contemplating, three streaks of light suddenly shot towards his direction from the sky at great speed.
"Huh? I specially found a secluded place to land and observe the Boundary River, so why is someone flying towards me?" Ye Chen looked up into the sky.
Moments later, the three streaks of light descended beside Ye Chen.
After the light dissipated, they revealed three young men.
Ye Chen saw that the three youths looked strikingly similar to each other, almost as if they were triplets, and each emitted the aura of the late Spirit Sea Realm. Moreover, they all carried a sword on their backs, indicating that they were sword cultivators.
The newcomers were three late-stage Spirit Sea Realm martial artists.
As soon as these three youths landed, they looked at Ye Chen curiously, one of them even chuckled and said to Ye Chen, "Fellow Daoist, by your look, this must be your first time at the edge of the Boundary River, right?"
Ye Chen nodded.
Before Ye Chen could speak, the youth continued, "You can't fly across the Boundary River, you know. When we three first went to the Central Realm, we also tried to fly across the Boundary River. However, as soon as we stepped into the airspace above the river, our True Qi was rapidly drained until eventually, we fell from the sky and were bounced right out of the river."
"We saw you from a distance trying to cross and came specially to remind you that to cross the river, you need to go to the port and find a 'ferry'."
"Let's go, if you are heading to the port, we are too—we can take you there on our way."
"Then my thanks to the three fellow Daoists. May I know how to address you?" Ye Chen said with a smile to the three men.
He thought they had come with some other purpose, but they had arrived with the good intention of warning him.
However, Ye Chen did not reveal that he already knew about the Boundary River and was merely curious to try crossing it himself.
Since he was unfamiliar with the location of the port, it would be beneficial to accompany these men there.
After a brief exchange, Ye Chen learned the names of the three men, who indeed turned out to be triplets named Shi Tianhe, Shi Tianjiang, and Shi Tianhai.
The three of them were all sect disciples from a fifth-grade sect in Tian Yun Nation.
On the way to the port, the youth named Shi Tianhe spoke to Ye Chen, "Fellow Daoist Ye Chen, you are only in the early stage of the Spirit Sea Realm and are planning to go to the Central Realm? The Central Realm is much more dangerous than the Southern Territory—you should be careful."