Chapter 682 (1/2)

As the ship started spinning around violently, the people onboard already began to lose hope. Although there was no lack of mighty figures on board, they were in the middle of the sea after all. If their ship sank, perhaps as a result of encountering a powerful Heavenly Beast, even a Heavenly King would not be able to fly all the way back to land with his cultivation strength without stopping to rest.

However, after their ship stabilized from all the vigorous spinning, the giant turtle stopped delivering its attacks.

W-What happened? Why did that giant turtle stop attacking? When everyone was still trying to figure out what had happened, they heard a cry for help coming from the ocean.

The leader of the large ship was an old man dressed in a grey coat. He looked like he was in his 70s or 80s. He was the one who had cast the protective shield over the ship. If it wasn’t for him, the ship would probably have sunk.

A dozen Heavenly Jewel Masters stood beside him, and the moment they heard the sudden call for help, the old man waved his hand and ordered, “Go have a look!”

Immediately, someone went to the side of the ship and looked toward the sea. Two figures could be seen flailing in the water, and they looked like they wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer.

“Master Gu Yu, there are two people in the sea. It seems like they won’t be able to hold on for much longer,” the sailor quickly reported.

The old man dressed in a grey coat whose name was Master Gu Yu frowned slightly. “Two people? How can there possibly be two humans in the middle of the sea? Save them first!” As he said that, he led the group of Heavenly Jewel Masters to the side of the ship as they looked into the sea.

At first, he was still somewhat worried that they would encounter enemies at sea, but the moment he saw Zhou Weiqing and Bing’er, the tension in his face vanished.

The reason was because he could guess their ages at a glance. Most Heavenly Jewel Masters had their ages and cultivation bases intricately tied together. The two of them looked like they were in their twenties. Even if they were both Heavenly Jewel Masters, how strong could they be anyway? He immediately waved his hand and ordered his crew to rescue the two of them with a rope.

Zhou Weiqing’s and Bing’er’s bodies could not help but tremble when they stood on the deck. It looked like a sign of frailty to the people on the ship. This was made more apparent since the duo had used their Heavenly Energy to make themselves look paler. However, in truth, both of them were feeling touched! Even though they were still on a ship, being able to step on solid ground felt wonderful.

Zhou Weiqing immediately sat on the floor as he exclaimed sincerely, “Finally, we’re saved! Thank you! Thank you so much!”

The gray-dressed elder looked at them skeptically before he asked, “Hello there young friends, where do you hail from? How did you get stranded in the middle of the sea?”

Zhou Weiqing and Bing’er had already discussed this beforehand, so without any hesitation, Zhou Weiqing smiled wryly as he said, “My wife and I came out to the sea to hunt for Heavenly Beasts, but unfortunately, we came across a Dreadfiend Sea Naga. Even though our ship was merely hit by the waves that the Dreadfiend Sea Naga stirred up, the ship was immediately destroyed. The two of us have been floating in the sea ever since. It’s fortunate that we are both Heavenly Jewel Masters, so we’re much stronger than most people. Otherwise, I believe we wouldn’t have been able to last that long. Once again, thank you very much for saving our lives.”

There was a twinkle in the old man’s eyes. “Both of you are Heavenly Jewel Masters too?” At the moment, he was the only one whose eyes remained relatively calm. The moment everyone around him heard the words ‘Dreadfiend Sea Naga’, each and every one of them went pale at once. After all, the Dreadfiend Sea Naga was like a god in the ocean. Encountering it would be no different from encountering Death itself.

Nodding his head, Zhou Weiqing replied, “Yes! My wife and I are both Heavenly Jewel Masters, but we’ve used up too much of our Heavenly Energy, so we can’t prove it to you now. Please may you take us back to the mainland? I give you my word that we’ll definitely reward you!”

As Zhou Weiqing spoke, he observed the people around him too. The old man seemed ordinary, but his eyes radiated vigor. His Heavenly Energy was converged, and he was no doubt a Heavenly King Master. It was no wonder they dared to journey so far out into the sea, they an expert at that level presiding over them.

Other than the old man, there were five middle-aged men whose Cultivation Bases were in no way weak. They were at least at the Seventh Jewel realm. The remaining seven or eight Heavenly Jewel Masters consisted of both young men and women. They looked at Zhou Weiqing and Bing’er mostly out of curiosity, and in general, they were not hostile at all. It seemed that they were quite decent people.

Then again, this was just a simple conclusion he made from their appearance. While Zhou Weiqing was observing them, the crew was observing him as well. The sincere gratitude glowing in Zhou Weiqing’s and Shangguan Bing’er’s eyes gradually lowered their guards.

Of course, Zhou Weiqing was not putting on a facade at all. He was really feeling grateful! After all, being able to talk to another living person again was such a wonderful feeling. He was close to tears after seeing people again after being out at sea for so long. He had only lasted this long thanks to his strong spirit. Had it been some other person who was in his shoes, they would probably not have been able to last for more than ten days.

The old man slowly walked to Zhou Weiqing and extended a skinny hand to him. He was stunned by the gesture, but he immediately understood the old man’s intention. Zhou Weiqing extended his hand as well and let the old man hold his wrist.

A rich and strong Heavenly Energy suddenly flowed from the old man’s hand into Zhou Weiqing’s body, causing his body to tremble ever so slightly. Soon, the look of gratitude on his face became even more pronounced.

Zhou Weiqing was protected by the Saint Energy. In addition, he had the ring that Tang Xian had given him. It was more than enough for him to conceal his own strength. Unless there was a fight, even a Heavenly Emperor would not be able to identify his true strength if Zhou Weiqing really wanted to conceal it, let alone a Heavenly King.

After a brief examination, a look of surprise appeared on the old man’s face. “Young lad! What a good cultivation base you have! You’re so young but you’re already at the Fifth Jewel Stage! What a limitless future you have ahead of you. It’s fated that we met, and since we’ve rescued you, you might as well stay with us for now. Someone give this couple a cabin and some food. We’ll talk after you two have settled down.”

“Yes!” Instantly, a sailor came forward and led Bing’er and Zhou Weiqing, who barely managed to stand up. They walked into the ship with wobbly feet and their arms around each other.

When they had disappeared into the ship, a middle-aged man standing to Master Gu Yu’s side whispered, “Master, did you find anything suspicious about them?”

Shaking his head, Gu Yu replied, “The young man’s cultivation technique is just an orthodox method, and his cultivation base is quite good. Besides, even if somebody wanted to harm me, they wouldn’t send someone all the way out here just to do that. I think it’s pure coincidence that we ran into them. His cultivation base is only at the Fifth Jewel Stage, so he can’t cause much of a storm even if he has malicious intentions. This time luck doesn’t seem to be on our side. It’s shocking that we actually came across a horrible creature like the Devilish Black Tortoise. I think we’ve harvested quite a lot already. Pass the order down to the captain to set sail for the mainland.”

“Yes, Master.”

Zhou Weiqing and Bing’er had no clue what arrangements the crew had made for them. When they arrived at the cabin prepared for them, both of them could not help but cheer aloud while hugging each other tightly.

There was no doubt that they were very close to the Mysterious Heavenly Mainland. Now that they had met other humans, their loneliness had also abated. Because Zhou Weiqing had concealed his strength, he believed that the crew would not pay much attention to them as long as they lay low and behaved appropriately. Clearly, traveling to the Mysterious Heavenly Mainland on a big ship was much more comfortable than traveling there on their own. On top of that, there was no need for them to worry about the crew having malicious intentions towards the both of them.

Soon after, someone delivered food to them. There was even hot fish soup, which deepened Zhou Weiqing’s liking towards them. After all, even if the drowning was just an act, the crew did save their lives in the end.

The duo lay on the bed and rested for a while. Although the cabin was spartan, the simple wood furniture was more than enough to fill their hearts with joy. Oftentimes, one would only know how to appreciate and cherish a thing after they had lost it.

The sky gradually darkened. When Zhou Weiqing and Bing’er were fast asleepsomebody knocked on their cabin door.

Zhou Weiqing woke up and opened the door. He saw a young man that he had seen earlier in the day standing outside the door. “Mister, can you and your wife follow me, please? Master Gu Yu would like to meet the both of you.”

The young man was not exceptionally polite but he was not stand-offish either. Instead, there was more curiosity in his eyes when he looked at Zhou Weiqing.

Zhou Weiqing quickly responded politely. Bing’er also woke up due to the minor disturbance. After they freshened themselves up, they left the cabin.

The moment the young man saw Bing’er, who had changed into a set of clean clothes and simply made up, he immediately gawked at her, seemingly forgetting himself. His feet were nearly glued to the ground. It was only when Zhou Weiqing finally gave a small cough that he snapped out of his trance.