Chapter 173: I've Reformed
The people on the ship were in chaos. The boatman was a supernatural practitioner with considerable skill, but he needed to control the multi-story ship's course and couldn't attend to everyone.
Three Wonders Fort had three wonders: insects first, medicine second, and beautiful women third. The daughters of Three Wonders Fort were beautiful, with Imperial Consort Che in the palace being a prime example. Their medical skills were superb, with many renowned physicians skilled in using gu worms to treat illnesses.
Ranked first among the three wonders were the insects.
The insect army of Three Wonders Fort was extremely terrifying. Those skilled in medicine were also adept at using poison, and the poisonous insects of Three Wonders Fort were unparalleled. After being incorporated by the imperial court, the emperor ordered Three Wonders Fort to form an insect army, mostly composed of experts skilled in controlling insects.
Now that Three Wonders Fort had rebelled, the insect army had clearly revolted as well. This battlefield was where the imperial army faced off against Three Wonders Fort's insect forces.
They had accidentally strayed into the battlefield and were attacked by Three Wonders Fort's insect army. It would be difficult to escape unscathed.
"These insects are impossible to guard against! I can't deal with so many insects with the Junior Guardian Sword!"
Qin Mu's scalp went numb as countless golden insects flew toward him. He immediately split his focus, sending the Junior Guardian Sword to stab at one of the soldiers while his primordial energy erupted. Countless hair-thin strands of primordial energy burst forth from his hands, forming a fiery red sun.
His primordial energy strands were composed of countless extremely fine primordial energy swords, now forming a setting sun that hummed as it floated in the air.
The Yu Yuan National Academy's Sunset Sword Technique.
The fireball spun rapidly, and countless sword lights burst forth from this setting sun. Each sword pierced a golden insect, and in an instant, the ground around Qin Mu was covered with insect corpses.
At the same time, his Junior Guardian Sword flashed like lightning through a soldier's chest and back again, killing him.
"Excellent swordsmanship!"
The boatman praised, then had his assistant take over steering the ship. He immediately freed himself, took out a fire gourd, and opened it. A cloud of fire flew out from the gourd, transforming into a nine-headed fire phoenix that opened all nine mouths and spewed blazing flames, burning countless insects to death.
The nine-headed fire phoenix spread its wings, enveloping the ship, and shot out streams of fire. Several soldiers from Three Wonders Fort were burned to charcoal before they could even get close.
"This boatman has very deep cultivation, no less than Young General Qin Feiyue!"
Qin Mu's heart stirred. The boatman was a middle-aged man with a sturdy build, and his fire technique was indeed extraordinary. He was likely a Seven Stars realm expert.
Just then, a terrifying golden insect tide surged like waves. A woman dressed as a general stood in the midst of the insect tide, pointed her finger, and the insect tide surged, rushing toward the ship.
"The second wonder of Three Wonders Fort—the girls are indeed beautiful."
The boatman chuckled. The nine-headed fire phoenix whooshed back into the fire gourd. The gourd grew larger and larger, becoming a massive object as tall as three or five people. The mouth of the gourd pointed downward, emitting a terrifying suction force that drew the surging insect tide into the gourd.
The boatman formed hand seals with both hands, striking dozens of seals onto the fire gourd in succession. Various magnificent runes appeared in the air around the huge fire gourd, lighting up one after another before fading and disappearing.
The insect tide inside the gourd was instantly refined into ash.
Qin Mu's eyes lit up. Cultivation was about scholarship. This boatman had deep knowledge of rune and seal techniques.
The female general from Three Wonders Fort was startled. The insect tide beneath her feet halted as she stood in the air, her beautiful eyes blinking. She said, "You are... Fire Bandit Fan Yunxiao? When did you reform and become a boatman?"
The merchants on the ship changed color drastically, and even the officials' faces turned pale. They all used their qi to control their swords, pointing them at the boatman.
The boatman spat twice. "What do you mean by 'reformed'?"
The female general from Three Wonders Fort sneered. "I heard you were a disciple expelled from the Dao Sect. The Dao Sect thought you had evil intentions and kicked you out, so you became a bandit, robbing merchants everywhere. The imperial court has been hunting you for a long time. Now you're playing boatman—isn't that reforming?"
The boatman, Fan Yunxiao, laughed. "In times of peace, I'm a bandit, robbing money. But in times of chaos, how can I still be a bandit? In chaos, being a boatman makes money faster than robbery. General, can you make an exception?"
The female general from Three Wonders Fort snorted coldly, looking around. The insect army of Three Wonders Fort was still fighting the imperial troops. Fighting this bandit now would be thankless and troublesome.
Moreover, although Fan Yunxiao was an expelled disciple of the Dao Sect, his skills were extremely high. The imperial court had been trying to catch him for years without success. She might not be his match. So she rolled her insect cloud and drifted backward.
Fan Yunxiao breathed a sigh of relief and ordered his assistant to steer the ship away.
The merchants on board looked at this burly man with terror in their eyes. Fan Yunxiao quickly said, "Everyone can rest assured—I've reformed. In times of chaos, I don't rob. And you officials, please don't worry—I've reformed. This ship is even registered in the capital!"
An official sneered. "Could Boss Fan's ship be the infamous Cloud-Chasing Pirate Ship from the bandit world?"
"Ha, you flatter me. The Cloud-Chasing Pirate Ship has also been renamed the Cloud-Chasing Passenger Ship. When the world is peaceful again, I'll go back to robbing."
Fan Yunxiao walked over to the merchant who had been eaten down to just his skin by the insects, frowned, and said, "You were on my ship, and I should have protected you with all my heart. But you met with disaster, so I can't accept your fare." With that, he took out a money pouch and handed it to the merchant's attendant.
Everyone on the ship trembled with fear, feeling they had escaped the wolf only to enter the tiger's den. This Fan Yunxiao had plagued merchant caravans for years, robbing everywhere. Boarding his ship meant they were likely doomed.
"I've reformed!"
Fan Yunxiao bowed in all directions. "I've really reformed! Rest assured, I will deliver you all to the capital."
The crowd remained terrified.
Fan Yunxiao had no choice but to look at Qin Mu, smiling. "Young man, your swordsmanship isn't bad. Are you from the Yu Yuan family?"
Qin Mu shook his head. "Qin Mu of the Imperial Academy. Brother Fan's scholarship is very high, truly admirable."
Fan Yunxiao's eyes lit up, and he laughed. "This is the first time someone has praised my scholarship. You have good judgment. It's ridiculous how many people just train blindly without understanding scholarship. They don't realize that cultivation is scholarship. The Dao Sect's ultimate techniques are all built on scholarship. Without scholarship, you can't learn a damn thing."
Qin Mu deeply agreed. Learning teleportation techniques required immense scholarship, and the Dao Sect's Dao Sword also required scholarship. The seals Fan Yunxiao had just used, with their runic transformations, couldn't be done without deep knowledge.
"If you weren't at the Imperial Academy but at the Dao Sect, the old Dao Master would really like you."
Fan Yunxiao recalled the past, his expression darkening. "I still don't know which eye the old master used to see that I had evil intentions. I was very well-behaved when I was at the Dao Sect."
Qin Mu coughed. "Brother Fan, after you were expelled, did you become a bandit?"
Fan Yunxiao clapped his hands heavily in praise. "The old master is truly brilliant! He saw early on that I would become a bandit, so he kicked me out to become one! But I was still well-behaved at the Dao Sect—how did he figure it out..."
Qin Mu was speechless, then suddenly remembered something. "Brother Fan, how is your mathematical skill?"
Fan Yunxiao slumped. "It used to be good, but in recent years as a bandit, I've returned it all to the Dao Master. The Mystic Maiden Calculation Classic and the Supreme Mystery Calculation Classic in the Dao Sect are both very profound and not easy to learn. If I could master them completely, I could learn the fourteen chapters of the Dao Sword. I originally cultivated up to..."
Suddenly, a head popped out from below the deck, shouting, "Chief! Our furnace is broken! That woman from Three Wonders Fort took advantage of our distraction and stuffed a few bugs into our alchemy furnace. They chewed it up!"
"How many times have I told you not to call me chief? I've reformed!"
Fan Yunxiao scratched his head and looked around. "Everyone, does anyone know artifact forging and can fix the furnace?"
Just then, a muffled boom came from the cabin. Several alchemists crawled out of the cabin, their faces blackened, and said, "The furnace exploded!"
Fan Yunxiao's face changed drastically. He cursed, "That damned woman, sneaking in a dirty trick. Abandon ship! Everyone jump!"
Qin Mu stepped forward. "I know artifact forging and have also studied the way of alchemy. Let me take a look first."
Fan Yunxiao was skeptical but followed him into the cabin. The cabin had caught fire, and several fierce-looking bandits were putting out the flames, mostly extinguishing them. However, without the alchemical power from the furnace, the ship had already begun to slow down and could fall from the sky at any moment.
Qin Mu stepped forward and examined the shattered furnace. This type of furnace was a standard model, different from ordinary alchemy cauldrons. The Yan Kang Kingdom had shipyards where countless blacksmiths worked day and night to forge ship furnaces, providing power for the multi-story ships.
This kind of furnace burned spirit stones and dozens of medicinal herbs, converting the medicinal power within the spirit stones and herbs into surging energy. This energy was transmitted through pipes to the bronze beasts at the ship's stern, where it spewed out as rolling flames from their mouths, lifting the ship.
The furnace's structure was extremely complex—a unique treasure created by skilled craftsmen at the Imperial Academy. Besides alchemy, it had a complex digestive system similar to the human body, refining medicinal power into energy.
Normally, if such a furnace broke, one had to find a blacksmith from the Yan Kang Kingdom's shipyards to repair it or replace it with a new one.
"Can it be fixed?" Fan Yunxiao asked nervously.
Qin Mu examined the furnace's structure and had a good idea. "I learned blacksmithing for a few years in the past. I can forge a new one in the time it takes to burn an incense stick. How long can this ship last?"
"If we support it with our own power, we can hold out for the time it takes to burn an incense stick."
Qin Mu immediately began recasting the furnace. With one hand using Vermilion Bird primordial energy and the other using Black Tortoise primordial energy, he swept up countless furnace fragments into the air. He used the Vermilion Bird energy to melt them into molten iron, while with the other hand, he used Black Tortoise energy to cool and rapidly forge various furnace components.
Everyone watched in a daze. Suddenly, the ship gave a slight lurch and began to descend. Fan Yunxiao, unable to watch Qin Mu forge the furnace, rushed out of the cabin and activated his fire gourd, transforming it into a nine-headed phoenix to support the ship.
Although he was a Seven Stars realm expert with abundant magical power, carrying the ship while flying was still extremely taxing.
Time passed moment by moment. Fan Yunxiao's face turned red, the pressure growing greater and greater, harder and harder to bear. Everyone on the ship was terrified—if Fan Yunxiao couldn't hold on, the ship would fall from a thousand zhang high, smashing them all to pieces!
Fan Yunxiao had reached his limit and could no longer hold on. Suddenly, the two bronze beasts at the ship's stern spewed fire from their mouths. The flames surged, and the ship shook violently, then picked up speed and flew forward.
Fan Yunxiao breathed a sigh of relief and withdrew his nine-headed phoenix. He saw that the ship's speed was increasing rapidly, like a fleeting shadow, three to five times faster than before!
Just as he was puzzled, he caught sight of Qin Mu walking out of the cabin. He quickly asked, "Brother Qin, what kind of furnace did you forge?"
Qin Mu said, "I haven't seen the furnace's structural diagram, so I forged it based on my own understanding. It might be different from the original furnace structure. I only learned blacksmithing for a few years..."
Before Fan Yunxiao could speak, there was a thunderous boom as the ship broke the sound barrier, faster than sound itself!
"Brother Qin, who did you learn blacksmithing from?"
Fan Yunxiao was both surprised and delighted. "From now on, when I go robbing, who could ever catch me?"
Qin Mu now understood why the Dao Sect's Dao Master had said he had evil intentions.