Chapter 198 Atlantis Part 3

Ships were not ships.

Not in the traditional sense. Ships were things that could voyage the void, things strong enough to move the masses through existence and keep everyone safe while doing so. 

We passed by things the size of continents, most already having one form of life or another. And since seeing that dragon, Wang and I had decided to lean more towards the less troublesome part of the beast.

But again, size was the wrong description. They were the size of continents relative to me, just like how Wang Hou was the size of an an ant relative to me. It wasn’t actual space that they took up but rather how they felt, how they looked from my perspective. 

The dragon had been huge but all the ships here were. 

It was said that the fifteenth ranks ruled existence more so than anyone below or above them. If only because they were the most numerous of the named ranks. They were weak enough that Imperiums and God-Kings didn’t care about them, but they were strong enough to voyage most of the void unperturbed. 

Fifteenth ranks littered the place like mortals at a pier. I would normally not linger around these places for too long but now that I had the Tome and a reliable background, I was less likely to be messed with.

“Senior, look!” Wang Hou pointed at something with his senses, and we watched as a caged fourteenth rank eldritch beast was loaded up onto a giant floating ship. The ship was shaped like an egg on its side, a large oval metallic structure, seemingly reinforced with mithril and all kinds of magic metals. It was a living being, a giant automaton of World-King levels. 

“What terror!” Wang Hou muttered, still staring at the eldritch chaos beast. 

I nodded. 

“I think they’re headed to the Law Lands,” I said. 

“Them? The Law Lands? Why would they drag that chaos thing into the Law Lands? Wouldn’t the elementals attack them?”

“Yes,” I nodded. “But purifying chaos entities into order entities would be a great method of cultivating the dao of order. I’m sure the sects over there pay huge sums for those beasts.”

“Truely?” Wang asked. 

I nodded. 

Dual cultivation worked by letting two opposing forces push against each other in order to train against each other. It was sort of like consensual wrestling, except with love mixed into it. The Yang pushed against the Yin and by doing so, one trained the other. Now it could go anywhere from there, from love to violence. 

This was the more violent aspect. Just like how righteous cultivators could cultivate their righteous path by killing demons, and demonic cultivators could do the same by practicing evil, order cultivators could cultivate their path by cleansing chaos and chaos could do the same by cleansing order. 

In the Second Eternal War, the Heavens had fought against the Hells until Wukong had split the Realm of Imperium.

A major reason for that war was that conflict fed growth. Constant war meant constant growth.

It was, in its own way, another form of dual cultivation.

I looked away. 

“Senior, should we go with them?” Wang Hou asked. “Surely if they sell to the order sects, they can be relied upon to keep their word?”

I thought about that. 

The people of the Law Lands cared greatly about contracts and rules. They cared about order and contracts, but only as long as they were formed between great enough powers. 

I looked at the ship’s lower end. We were insects, rats really. To a fifteenth rank, the ship might feel like a large boat, but to us we were among giants. 

Each ship could be considered a sort of grouping, mostly sects ran each ship. Sometimes it was just one being or two beings, like that dragon and its rider. Other times it was a cooperation of many individuals.

The latter were the best types of ships to be on for numerous reasons. 

One was that the less united the crew was, the more likely that they were only working towards one goal, money. Money for all its faults was a great motivator. That dragon rider for example could have been searching for fresh material. Maybe he was trying to force a dragon onto somebody, or maybe he would sell us all to some demon near hell. 

It was unlikely, but the problem was that if it did happen, then no one would ever know. We were all at the discretion of one person. And when you were a small creature up against the gods deciding your fate, you wanted there to be more than one god. 

And two was the battle ability, two fifteenth ranks were good, but three were better, and the ship Wang Hou had pointed to had ten at least. 

I opened my Tome and consulted it. 

Of course, I said nothing but the Tome read my mind and replied. 

The ship is called The Dark Delver, and they have completed nearly seven hundred thousand laps around the Elemental Domain of Water. They are trust worthy, having moved out here to the Chaordic Bound in search of easier trade. They are known for their reliability and danger. While they do not absolutely protect their guests, they keep beings of the fourteenth rank under control. Demonic cultivators are allowed but they must be kept separate from the righteous path cultivators. 

Many of the Eternal Tome have taken their ships, as well as many traverses of the void. None from the Tome have died. 

There are ten World-Kings among the ship, and they each control different domains, all allowing covering for one another. One of their members is a part of the Primordial Cult, and he is considered to be the most trustworthy World-King there, though followers of the Tome are not looked upon too kindly. 

Death is extremely unlikely for you. 

What about Wang Hou?

As long as he is with you, then the same can be expected. And you have been tainted by Wukong and others. You will not be disliked by the Primordial Cult. 

It took me a moment to think about what it said. 

What others?

Wukong. The things Dane did with his soul. He attempted to mimic an insect’s nature and failed, if only slightly. 

Is that why the insects have been nodding to me up to now? Do they think I’m one of them? I thought my soul was healing.

A burn heals but the skin remains scarred. Your soul is merely familiar to them. Do not worry.

I groaned internally. I’d deal with that at the shrine. 

“We’ll get on that one,” I said to Wang Hou. “It’s got a good reputation.”

AN: 199 will be out Thursday and 200 will be this Friday!