A Chaotic World

Chapter 336: Canal of Misery

Once he managed to confirm that his pursuers had given up on the chase, Lu Tianzi turned right around and headed back down south.

He had only led the group northwards in order to reduce suspicions.

After all, it was no secret that he and Nanlan Qianxue had come from Bog Town, which was to the north of the Divine Storm City.

Therefore, there was nothing strange at all about him instinctively heading north in response to the sudden pursuit.

And that was where Lu Tianzi wanted his pursuers to believe he had gone as well.

He was not nearly naive enough to believe that they would give up just like that. Perhaps after the first wave of pursuers reported back to their masters, a second wave of effort would be implemented to find him.

To avoid future trouble, Lu Tianzi intended to head in the complete opposite direction.

First, he met up with a worried Nanlan Qianxue in a forested area slightly east of the Divine Storm City.

After seeing Lu Tianzi's figure appear from behind the shadows of the trees, Nanlan Qianxue finally let out a sigh of relief.

With the jade pendant from Xihuang Yuanfeng, any martial artist below the Overlord realm would not be able to lock onto her with their perception as long as she was not channelling any energy.

This made it relatively easier for Nanlan Qianxue to lose anyone who was chasing after her earlier.

Having recorded each other's communication marks in their communication rings, it was not difficult for them to arrange a location to meet up once more.

The two of them then headed further south, into the unknown depths of the central regions.

To lay low, the duo avoided all the major cities and towns on their journey south, only stopping by smaller villages that they came across on the way. Even so, they never stayed at a single place for more than a day.

After all, now that they had both broken through to the Origin Core realm, things were much easier for them.

Even when there were not villages for them to stay at, they were more than capable of surviving in the wilds.

Two weeks later, the duo finally arrived at the shore of a seemingly boundless river.

It was a huge river that cut horizontally across from east to west, and it was impossible to see the other bank. The river flow was slow and steady, and sunlight sparkled off the beautiful surface of the water.

It was a graceful scene, but the duo could not help but furrow their brows.

"There is some sort of strange pressure in the area," Nanlan Qianxue remarked.

"Yeah..." Lu Tianzi nodded. "It seems like our ability to fly is being restricted as long as we are near the river."

Without the ability to fly, were they supposed to swim across this massive river?

"Let's move along the shore and see what we can find," Lu Tianzi suggested. "There should be some way that the locals use to cross."

"Mm," Nanlan Qianxue naturally did not disagree.

It did not take long before the two of them came across a ferry port that was built beside a small tavern.

The ferry port had a simple design, and was effectively just an extended wooden platform out into slightly deeper waters. A relatively grand two-storey wooden ferry was anchored at the far end of the platform, but its captain was nowhere to be seen.

Because of that, Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue could only head into the tavern instead.

There were not many tables laid out in the tavern, but neither were there many customers. Apart from the two of them, there was just a group of five young men drinking merrily around a table.

However, a single glance at them made Lu Tianzi wary.

All five of them were Origin Core realm martial artists, with the strongest of them at the Sixth Cycle Origin Core realm.

Thankfully, they did not even seem to notice Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue's entrance as they continued to indulge in their drinks.

"Welcome!" the tavern keeper hurried over to greet them. "How may I help you?"

"We are actually here for information," Lu Tianzi pushed five low ranked beast cores into the tavern keeper's hands. "We would like to cross the river. May I know where we can find the captain of the ferry at the port?"

"You would like to cross the Canal of Misery too?" the tavern keeper smiled widely as he kept away the beast cores before gesturing to the other group of five. "You can just wait here with the rest of them then. Just like you, they are also waiting for the return of the ferry captain. Unfortunately, the ferry won't be setting off until dusk."

"Canal of Misery?" Lu Tianzi raised an eyebrow. "What a foreboding name..."

"Hahaha, don't worry about it. That's just a name derived from a legend," the tavern keeper laughed while leading them to an empty table. "Legend has it that there was once a loving couple who was crossing the canal when the husband accidentally fell into the water. Since neither of them knows how to swim, the wife could only call out desperately for help while watching the husband sink deeper and deeper into the water. At that moment, the wife spotted a martial artist flying overhead and thought that there was finally hope for her husband. Unfortunately for her, the martial artist could not be deigned to help and continued flying away. Because of that, the husband drowned to death. Filled with misery and hatred, the wife threw herself into the water as well, using her life as a sacrifice to lay down a curse, preventing anyone from flying over the canal. Her curse caused the same martial artist who ignored her plea to fall into the water and drown as well. This is how the Canal of Misery got its name."

"So there's such a story behind it," Lu Tianzi smiled in fascination.

He did not believe that a mere mortal would be able to place such a powerful curse, but there was no harm in listening to such local legends to pass the time.

There was not much time left until dusk, so Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue decided to just wait there while enjoying some simple fare served up by the tavern keeper.

Very soon, dusk arrived, and the last rays of the sun disappeared over the horizon.

Almost immediately, the tavern doors was pushed opened by a figure covered in black.

As if hiding its figure behind loose shirt and pants was not enough, the person even wore a sun hat with a black veil hanging down, shrouding its face from everyone's eyes.

"Anyone who wants to board the ferry, follow me to the port," a female voice sounded out from the figure in black.

"All right, about time!"

"Let's go!"

Those from the group of five cheered happily and left their seats.

Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue naturally followed along as well.

The sky was already dark, and the dazzlingly beautiful river now gave off a slightly eerie feeling.

However, none of the people here was going to let that stop them. Each of them readily paid twenty low ranked beast cores before being allowed onto the ferry.

The interior of the ferry was well furnished, and there were even a few rooms for the passengers to stay in privacy.

Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue were given a room of their own, while the other group of five was given one as well.

However, neither of the groups chose to remain in their rooms.

After leaving the port, the ferry slowly cut through the river water under the tranquil sound of splashing waves. The full moon shone brightly overhead, illuminating the ferry's open deck where its passengers were currently gathered.

In one corner of the open deck, the group of five were seated around a table and drinking merrily once again.

In another corner, Nanlan Qianxue was seated cross legged with her eyes closed, looking like a beautiful statue under backdrop of the night sky.

Beside her, Lu Tianzi stood with his arms rested on the wooden parapet, his gaze directed down at the splashing water below.

Right now, he was thinking back to his fight against Chengban at the Divine Storm Palace.

Lu Tianzi might have won back then, but there were still things that he had learnt from the fight, including his new comprehensions into the Law of Swords.

Apart from that, he also realised one other thing.

Chengban was a martial artist who relied on his comprehensions into the Law of Swords, and was thus able to unleash the strongest might of his techniques by using a sword as a medium.

In that case, shouldn't he try using water as a medium to execute his techniques instead?

After all, Lu Tianzi might have comprehensions in multiple world laws, but because of his natural affiliation towards the water element, his comprehensions towards the Law of Water had always been the deepest.

The idea was simple enough, but how was he supposed to do so?

Unlike a sword, water could not be wielded as a weapon.

If he really wanted to use water as a combat medium, Lu Tianzi would need to find ways to overcome such a limitation.

Lu Tianzi slowly closed his eyes, his perception stretching out and sinking into the waters around him.

He could feel every crest and trough of the waves on the river surface, as well as the many underwater currents.

Even though he was on the ferry, it almost felt as though he was submerged in the Canal of Misery itself.

It might be called a canal, but the water was extremely deep. Even Lu Tianzi's perception was unable to reach the bottom to measure the exact depth.

To him, being surrounded by water was a surreal and enjoyable feeling. He felt right at home in such a situation, and he quickly lost himself in the comfort.

He did not know how much time had passed, but Lu Tianzi's eyes suddenly shot open, a cold light could be seen from within.

"Qianxue," Lu Tianzi said.

"Hmm?" Nanlan Qianxue immediately roused from her light meditation. "Enemies?"

"I'm not sure," Lu Tianzi shook his head. "But we've got company for sure."

The other passengers quickly noticed that something was amiss as well. They promptly kept away their wine and looked around warily.

They did not have to wait long.

Bang-!

The wooden ferry shook heavily as if it had collided against something massive.

Bang-! Bang-! Bang-!

The collisions continued in quick succession, threatening to throw everyone off balance from the rocking of the ferry.

"There's something underwater!" one of the group of five, a well dressed young man in a topknot, exclaimed with a deep frown on his face.

He was the one strongest of the group, and was at the Sixth Cycle Origin Core realm.

"Is it a water beast?"

"Let's go get it! Don't let it wreck the ferry!"

The others in the group immediately drew their weapons.

It was just a wooden ferry that was reinforced with some simple formations, so there was a limit to the amount of damage it could withstand.

No one could fly in the air above the Canal of Misery.

Once it capsized, all of them would be left stranded in the middle of the massive river!