Upon hearing the inquiry, the scholar said, "It’s said that the young master from Jinling has arrived, and the assassins in the dark have already fled! The Shen family only swept through the local Salt Gang, killing dozens of heads. They have no evidence and cannot confront the Cao Bang."
"Salt Gang?" Zhang Chen, who was beside them, was taken aback upon hearing this. What is the origin of this Salt Gang? How dare they oppose the court?
"This brother, what is the origin of this Salt Gang, that they would dare assassinate members of the Shen Family? And they openly oppose court officials?" Zhang Chen showed a curious expression.
"The Salt Gang was originally just a group of salt smugglers who couldn’t make it to the stage, but in recent years, they’ve recruited many experts from who knows where, and I’ve heard people say a deity was born within the Salt Gang, and it’s already become a force. The Salt Gang and the Cao Bang are also secretly colluding, intending to seize control of the nation’s water transportation rights. Seventy percent of the water transportation rights fall under the Shen family, and the Shen family is too domineering, blocking the paths of many. The Salt Gang and Cao Bang rely on water fortunes..." the scholar replied directly to Zhang Chen’s inquiry.
This information wasn’t considered a secret; anyone in the Martial World knew about it.
"I’m afraid it’s not that simple," Zhang Chen pondered inwardly, thinking that the Salt Gang dared to target the legitimate daughter of the Shen family, so there must be something backing them.
"I’m afraid the Jinling Shen family isn’t at peace either," Zhang Chen muttered to himself.
While Zhang Chen was flickering with thoughts in his mind, as Jiang Nan entered the cabin, the large ship, which had paused for several days, finally began to move. With the fleet setting sail, as many as twenty medium-sized ships followed the river downstream.
Three days later, Zhang Chen was sitting at the bow, watching the scenery retreat on both banks. Beside him, Zhang Fei and Zhang Tuowei were fishing with rods in hand.
Suddenly, Zhang Chen’s eyebrows furrowed, and he raised his head to look northward. In his eyes, a reflection of a Blood River appeared: "Has the Sea of Blood emerged?"
The Crystal Core within his body was also vibrating wildly. Zhang Chen sensed that his own Crystal Core had opened a portal, allowing the endless waters of the Sea of Blood to flow from the void to an unknown destination.
"The Sea of Blood can now interfere with reality! The Material Realm has seen the emergence of the Sea of Blood, the Origin of the Sea of Blood is continuously growing, and the Power of Blood Dao will begin to interfere with reality," Zhang Chen thought to himself.
"The emergence of the Sea of Blood is a boon for me, but for the myriad beings of the world, it will surely be a catastrophe."
Countless thoughts swirled in Zhang Chen’s mind: "Has the seed I planted in the old days finally bloomed and borne fruit? Back then in the Northern Land, I passed down countless Blood Dao legacies, but I don’t know if it was the Human Race or the Demon Race that awakened the Sea of Blood."
Unfortunately, although Zhang Chen sensed the emergence of the Sea of Blood, he couldn’t perceive what exactly had happened.
With the emergence of the Sea of Blood, in the future, all blood throughout the world will be mysteriously drawn into the Sea of Blood, even countless souls will be captured by the Sea of Blood, becoming puppets within it. For the world’s beings, that would be nothing short of Eternal Hell.
"Once the Sea of Blood emerges, unless I voluntarily close the Sea of Blood portal, the Sea of Blood cannot be eradicated. The world’s beings will have quite the game to play," Zhang Chen murmered quietly to himself.
As Zhang Chen sensed inwardly, it was only a moment later that a blood-red tempest arose in the Northern Land. Blood-red clouds, like blood itself, surged from the horizon, sweeping in with an overwhelming force, in just a moment spanning thousands of miles and advancing in a blink of an eye to their vicinity from the horizon.
The cloud tops, like blood-red water flows, accompanied by an indescribable stench, passed over people’s heads, moving further away. In just a moment, the entire sky was obscured, reflecting everything in a blood-red hue, turning the world into a crimson scene, as if adorned with scarlet lanterns.
"What’s happening?" A traveler looked up at the sky, seeing the blood-red clouds rolling like a raging wave of blood, his eyes showing a trace of fear.
"Such an anomaly surely indicates the birth of an earth-shattering catastrophe, the world must be changing drastically. I just don’t know where these changes are manifesting," murmured a person from the martial world with a frown.
Everyone on the ship came out one after another, staring with wide eyes at the overwhelming dark clouds, murmuring as if the waters of the Sea of Blood passed through the sky.
Zhang Chen paid no heed to the onlookers, first raising his head to look at the blood-red clouds above before glancing at the river beneath the ship. Under the glow of those crimson clouds, the river water seemed like blood, filled with an unspeakable scarlet and malevolence.
"The emergence of the Sea of Blood, the rise of the Blood Dao, is indeed a good thing for me," Zhang Chen wasn’t alarmed, knowing that all before him was nothing more than a phenomenon of the Sea of Blood’s emergence, with no inherent destructiveness.
"The emergence of the Sea of Blood indicates that the Blood Sea Array has been created by someone, breaking the spatial constraints to summon the Sea of Blood into the Material World. I just don’t know whether the Blood Sea Array was first cultivated by the Demon Race or the Human Race. If it’s the Human Race that created it first, it would be significantly effective in restraining the Northern Land’s Demon Race. If the Demon Race cultivated the Blood Sea Array first, I’m afraid the various Dukes of the Human Race are in for some major suffering."
The large ship sailed on leisurely. Just half a month later, when the ship docked for supplies, Zhang Chen overheard a piece of news about the Sea of Blood, as travelers at the dock discussed:
"Have you heard? Tiger Soul Pass has fallen!" someone exclaimed.
"How could Tiger Soul Pass have fallen when Grand General Jin Dou is overseeing it?" Someone expressed doubt, their voice full of disbelief, suspecting the speaker was spreading false rumors.
"A monster from the Demon Race appeared and summoned a Blood River that submerged Tiger Soul Pass. Every creature that touched the Blood River turned into blood water. Even though Jin Dou had a Steel Body, he couldn’t withstand the invasion of the Sea of Blood and had to abandon the city and flee. It’s said that the Demon Race’s army has already crossed Tiger Soul Pass, intending to sweep across the entire Northern Land." Another person chimed in.
"Tiger Soul Pass has fallen?" Zhang Chen, who was originally sitting at the bow of the boat fishing, was stunned when he heard the conversation around him, pausing his action with the fishing line.
He had a deep impression of Jin Dou at Tiger Soul Pass; after all, Jin Dou’s blasted Divine Techniques were truly troublesome, virtually immortal. If there’s no method to counter his soul, no one in the world could kill Jin Dou.
Not even Twelfth Tier deities!
Jin Dou could transform into a liquid metal form, immortal and formless, practically a war machine—who could defeat him?
"However, if the Blood Sea Array were to appear, the Sea of Blood Power can contaminate everything, especially Extraordinary Items, which get even more corrupted. Although Jin Dou’s Golden Body is formidable, facing the Blood Sea Array, I’m afraid he wouldn’t last long." Zhang Chen pondered in his heart.
"Did Jin Dou die?" Someone asked, their voice filled with concern.
"The Blood Sea Array requires time to activate; Jin Dou is a Bloodline Powerhouse. If he wanted to escape, how could the Blood Sea Array have a chance to envelop him?" Someone responded, "But Jin Dou lost Tiger Soul Pass, leading to a million-strong demon army flooding in. Even if he didn’t die at the hands of the Demon Race, the court probably wouldn’t spare him."
"I’ve heard that Pingbei Marquis’s territory is already in chaos, countless Demon Race troops have entered, and though Pingbei Marquis organized an army to suppress them, the Demon Race is endless, vast, and boundless. Even Pingbei Marquis is struggling to hold on; it’s only a matter of time before his territory falls." Another person interjected.
"Damn it! These demon bastards dare to ravage our Human Race. They truly deserve to die ten thousand times over! Our court has three supreme mysteries; why haven’t they made a move to suppress that pack of beasts?"
"..."
A group of people on the boat engaged in heated discussions, constantly criticizing the court and blaming the various Dukes, especially speaking in foul terms about Prince Pingbian.
Everyone on the boat was from the Martial World, coming and going north and south, speaking without restraint, hurling profanities boldly and harshly.
Zhang Chen sat in the cabin in silence, thinking of the common people fleeing south, surprised that even if the masses evaded Tiger Soul Pass, they still couldn’t outrun the speed of the Demon Race’s invasion.
"Difficult! This matter is related to me, it’s my fault. If not for the Blood Sea Array, Tiger Soul Pass wouldn’t have been so easily breached." Zhang Chen felt somewhat guilty, "But the Human Race will never lack cultivators of the Blood God Scripture. Now that the Demon Race’s Blood Sea Array has emerged, cultivators of the Blood Dao among the Human Race will appear one after another, like mushrooms after the rain, gradually closing the gap."
"The invasion by the Demon Race is the general trend; even without my Blood Dao appearing, the situation wouldn’t improve." Zhang Chen could only continually console himself.
"Time for meals! Time for meals!"
As everyone was engaged in discussion, someone from the galley called out, Zhang Chen and Zhang Fei made their way to the dining hall, where they had coarse bread rolls paired with pickled vegetables. This was the most basic meal; wanting to eat meat required silver, using silver to buy.
Zhang Chen now only had a few taels of silver remaining, so he couldn’t afford meat and simply squatted on free cornbread rolls with pickled vegetables, finding them not too difficult to swallow. In contrast, Zhang Fei looked crestfallen, his face as long as a bitter melon, nibbling at the cornbread roll in small bites.
Beside him, Zhang Tuowei and Chengyu showed no unusual expressions, holding the cornbread roll and eating it appetizingly.
"How many more days until we arrive in Jinling?" Mrs. Zhang asked, tearing the cornbread roll into pieces and soaking them in warm water before putting them in her mouth.
"It’s still early." Zhang Chen shook his head.
Hearing this, Mrs. Zhang’s eyes moved slightly, "There’s something I need to discuss with you."
"What is it?" Zhang Chen looked at Mrs. Zhang, seeing her expression slightly conflicted, clearly not a simple matter.
"We are heading south to Jinling to seek refuge with relatives. Even though there’s a relationship with your mother, us being poor relatives might lead to us being looked down upon. My suggestion is, do we have the opportunity to visit the lady from Guangji aboard the ship and perhaps get acquainted early on, so when we arrive in Jinling City, we would have some aid?" Mrs. Zhang’s expression showed some hesitation, and her eyes looked at Zhang Chen, awaiting his decision.
"Establish kinship in advance?" Hearing this, Zhang Chen’s expression was hesitant, his eyes showing a hint of indecision.