Flying chariots were uncommon in the empire because they cost as much as a top-grade mysterious
weapon.
Another reason they were rarely seen was that a top-grade mysterious weapon could enhance a
refiner's strength while a flying chariot was only a means of transport.
As such, none of the households in the C County where the Luo family was from would spend that sort
of money on a flying chariot.
Only places with wealth, like the Imperial Capital, were flying chariots commonplace.
As the enormous chariot hovered, slowly descending from the air, Zen stood awestruck at the sight.
This was the first chariot of this size he ever saw!
Other disciples that were waiting were used to seeing them and stood up when they saw the huge
chariot approaching. It was time for them to set out.
The enormous flying chariot docked next to the Bluesky Parking Ground, and a pontoon bridge
extended from its side to the edge of the ground. A few people were disembarking from the flying
chariot waiting near the pontoon bridge.
The disciples of the Cloud Sect waiting on the ground handed their tokens to the checkers. After tickets
were checked, the disciples strode across the bridge and climbed aboard the flying chariot.
Zen followed the crowd. When he walked up to the checkers, he presented his token. The checkers
appeared surprised when they read Zen was just at the marrow refining level, but they didn't make any
comments. After examining the token, they motioned Zen to board the flying chariot.
After that, Zen crossed the pontoon bridge and boarded the flying chariot.
Inside, the chariot was spacious, with rows of seats along the walls that were fixed to the floor. Zen
found a place in a corner and sat down.
Underfoot, a tremor was felt by the passengers as the massive chariot lifted off.
Passengers sitting in window seats could see all of the Cloud Sect as they rose in the air.
Mountains rose up, meeting the skyline and extending endlessly in a continuous line. The Cloud Sect
made up a quarter of the Imperial Capital, but adding the mountain range that lay behind the Cloud
Sect, made it larger than the whole Imperial Capital!
Just then, Zen saw a black mountain.
At the Cloud Sect, most of the mountains were green with thick foliage, which made the black one
stand out from the rest.
'Hell Mountain, ' Zen whispered in his mind.
Sean had described Hell Mountain as being completely black with constant gray smoke rising, and a
sulfurous smell, that appeared as hell from a distance.
Somewhere, within that mountain range was Yan, his younger sister.
Zen stared at the mountain out the window for as far as his eye could see, eager to see everything
there. Soon, he smiled bitterly. 'Have I gone mad? I may be at the marrow refining level, and, true, my
hearing and eyesight have improved, but, how could I possibly think I could see things in that mountain
from up here?'
thought Zen, in a sad, mocking manner. 'Besides which, finding Yan in a place that size is an insane
dream.'
Zen admitted to himself, and yet, his gaze remained fixated on Hell Mountain until the chariot turned
and the mountain disappeared.
The speed that the chariot flew was so fast that it only took six hours to reach the southern part of the
Imperial Capital from the Cloud Sect.
Many of the refiners were whispering amongst themselves while others prepared to disembark. It
seemed that their destination was just around the corner.
Just as they were preparing to land, something unexpected happened!
"Crash!"
Glass shattering suddenly ripped through the cabin as a glazed window on the right side burst and two
green blades came sailing through what remained of the window. The blades were crisscrossing like
scissors and sliced smoothly through the neck of the passenger sitting by the window.
Just before the head fell, a monstrous creature poked its face in through what was left of the window.
Its large, bulbous compound eyes looked around seconds before it snapped the man's head with its
mandible and disappeared again through the window.
Blood spurted up from the man's neck with such force it splattered across the chariot's ceiling.
Passengers sat frozen, dumbfounded at what happened. Within seconds someone screeched, "On
your guard! Blade locusts attack!"
Yet, everyone sat still. They were all battle-hardened and level-headed enough to take on fighting
insect aggression. A momentary panic ensued before cooler heads prevailed and everyone moved to
the middle of the chariot quickly.
"Was that a blade locust?" asked Zen.
He had seen it clearly. It was emerald green, with compound eyes that took up most of its head, and
was the size of an adult man. With wings protruding from its back, the insect had six appendages, and
the two uppermost looked like long flat blades and were extremely sharp. This beast was brutal and
hideous.
Zen had just gotten out of his seat when the window next to him shattered, and a blade locust came
through right at him.
A pair of green blades flew through the open window towards Zen's waist, slicing from either side at
breakneck speed.
This being Zen's first encounter with the evil beast, he was nervous. But, instead of flinching, he threw
a powerful punch aimed at the beast's abdomen.
However, the exoskeleton covering its abdomen was thick.
Zen thought he could crack the exoskeleton with a single blow, but it was too thick.
"Damn!"
His attack failed, giving the giant insect an opening to strike back swinging its two blade-like forelimbs.
"Swoosh!"
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