Chapter 54: Chapter 53: Name Listed on Canglang 33

This tower ship is at least ten zhang tall, with carved beams and painted rafters, intricate corners, pavilions, and towers, fully equipped, just like carrying a massive palace.

What is even more astonishing is that this tower ship is not some mystical spiritual treasure, but completely built using human craftsmanship.

Such a spectacle, who knows how much labor and resources it would consume.

This gigantic tower ship breaks through waves and mist from behind, pushing aside endless green waves, making Chen Kuang’s solitary small boat in front of it seem exceedingly tiny.

With his heart moved, Chen Kuang did not respond to the cheers above but turned around to look at the bow of the small boat.

The raincoat fisherman who should have been rowing with bamboo poles was nowhere to be seen, and only that empty lamp hung there, gently swaying in the wind.

Wen Si has already left, indicating that his task is completed.

Is this the place he was to bring Chen Kuang?

Right here in front of this tower ship?

Is his Cyan Cloud Ladder perhaps on this tower ship?

The surrounding fog suddenly dispersed, and the puzzled Chen Kuang was stunned.

Where is this place?

This place is no longer the mist-covered River of Death; it’s on an open lake surface.

The lake breeze blows directly onto his face, refreshing and delightful.

Looking around, distant mountains overlap, with contrasting hues. The cloud-covered, mist-shrouded scenery and the shimmering lake water resonate like a poetic ink painting.

And here, nearly at the center of the lake, the shore is almost out of sight.

The scenery is nice.

After a moment of thought, Chen Kuang deduced his current location.

The cultivators on the tower ship greeting him have a Liang Kingdom accent, clearly they are locals of Liang Kingdom, and the architecture of the tower ship follows the style of Liang Kingdom.

Clearly, this is still within the Liang Kingdom.

And within the whole Liang Kingdom, there is only one place matching these features.

Nicknamed "Yun Palace Longze," Dongting Lake, rumored to have once been home to the Dragon King, its main body located in Jishao County.

Wen Si carried him downstream into Dongting Lake!

"Does this count as going back home for Brother Lin?"

Chen Kuang wondered where Wen Si had gone, feeling curious.

His intuition told him that the Music Saint surely had other tasks for Brother Lin, which he did not reveal to him.

"Fellow Daoist, it must be a bit lonely to enjoy the beauty of Dongting alone. Since fate has brought us together, why not come up and join us on our journey?"

The few people on the tower ship, seeing Chen Kuang not responding, were not annoyed and continued to invite him.

Through the Fog Flower Forging, Chen Kuang clearly saw their appearance.

Three men and two women, all young.

The one who spoke was undoubtedly the Master, a young man with a high cap and wide belt, long sleeves, and broad robes, with ornaments at his waist, handsome features, and leisurely waving a feather fan in his hand, dressed in extravagant attire.

However, it matched the majestic tower ship instead.

Chen Kuang’s expression was odd.

Even after being in the Imperial Palace for so many years, he had never seen anyone dressed so formally.

Since Su Yu became Emperor, the palace gradually fell into disorder, spreading from the top down. The Taichang Temple became relaxed and rules were no longer emphasized, let alone officials.

However, such a formal and rigid attire in this situation seemed especially ironic.

Because the Emperor Liang had died less than a week ago, and amidst the collapse of the nation, they were dressed up so lavishly.

Moreover, what they were doing was actually lake cruising...

Jishao County is right next to the Imperial City!

On one side, there is a desolate land with no birdsong and warriors fighting to the death.

On the other side, people leisurely enjoy cruising on a tower ship, inviting passers-by to share the beautiful scenery!

Recently escaped from the brink of death, Chen Kuang felt as if he had traveled through time to a magical realm.

"Since my boatman suddenly had urgent matters and ran away, accepting your kind offer would be better than refusing. Could you kindly take me along?"

With a jest, Chen Kuang stood up, put away the Dragon’s Gums, and bowed slightly.

"Haha, fellow Daoist, you’re truly humorous."

The Master laughed aloud. Since he hadn’t seen any trace of a boatman earlier and only saw Chen Kuang alone, he took it as a joke.

Upon boarding the nearby tower ship, Chen Kuang was led to the top level by a maid.

He ascended the floors and found that there’s a world inside the tower ship; each level has dozens of compartments with faint sounds of clinking cups and laughter, as if a banquet was underway.

The top level is spacious, with pavilions linked by artificial hills and garden sceneries.

The few people he had seen earlier were sitting in the central pavilion chatting.

This would be his first real exposure to the proper cultivator circle.

Chen Kuang paused, curiously eavesdropping for a while.

Among them, a young man with thick eyebrows exclaimed with great interest:

"Have you heard? That Li Hongling, who initially led troops to attack the city, was apparently counter-attacked by the ’God of Slaughter’ Huo Hengxuan and died in the Imperial City."

Another young man in blue chuckled:

"That’s old news. The Canglang Ranking published a new edition yesterday. I used my connections to get it as soon as possible."

He grabbed with his hand, and a publication appeared, which he then shook with a hint of showing off.

The Master raised his eyebrows:

"Well, Qi Sibai, people say that your Observatory is affiliated with the mysterious Canglang Ranking, and it seems true."

Qi Sibai smiled noncommittally and sent the publication into the air, unfurling it.

Total of five hundred names arranged sequentially.

And the one at the top is "Shen Xingzhu"!

"She’s been at the top of the Canglang Ranking for a whole decade now, hasn’t she?"

The nearby strikingly beautiful woman in red couldn’t help but sigh: "Stars in Heaven for eternity, a candlelight in the human world... With her name there, I’m afraid for the next hundred years, others will fade into obscurity."

The Master shook his feather fan: "Stars in the skies, naturally unreachable."

The bright-eyed girl in an apricot-yellow dress found the name eye-catching and pursed her lips in displeasure:

"Actually, it’s nothing impressive, maybe I could be there in a few years."

"Haha... cough cough."

The thick-browed young man stifled his laughter: "Achieving this is not far off; you’re already a third of the way there—"

He pretentiously pointed above:

"Well... After all, you’re all surnamed Shen."

The girl in the apricot-yellow dress turned dark, instantly drawing her sword to challenge the thick-browed young man to a duel.

The woman in red quickly held her back, soothing:

"Xiaomei Nan, calm down. If we work hard, given a few hundred years, not saying first place, we can surely enter the top ten."

Upon hearing this, the girl became more furious, screaming and threatening to chop them down.

The Master quickly intervened: "Alright, alright, let’s first look at the changes in the Canglang Ranking."

He seemed to contemplate:

"In my view, if it was just Li Hongling’s demise, it wouldn’t be enough to warrant a sudden update by the Canglang Ranking, should have been included in the next reshuffle."

"There must be other variables involved."

Qi Sibai nodded:

"Brother Lin is indeed astute; apart from removing Li Hongling’s name, an additional spot has been introduced in this update."

The Master widened his eyes in surprise: "An additional spot?!"

He took a deep breath, immediately realizing the gravity of the situation: "Didn’t Huo Hengxuan kill Li Hongling?"

Qi Sibai replied: "Not only was it not Huo Hengxuan, but it was actually a new face nobody heard of."

His finger moved down a bit.

Pointing at the thirty-third spot.

The Master read aloud: "Chen, Kuang?"

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ps: The previous Chapter was modified once by review, I changed it back... I wonder which version everyone read, it would be advisable to go back and review it again, in case it was changed.

The second Chapter will be added tomorrow morning, back pain and dizziness.

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