Lanke Chess Edge-Chapter 336: This Again!

The turbulent underwater currents swept Ying Feng and the yakshas away, causing the back half of the underwater palace to sway precariously.
Fortunately, the Old Dragon had some control this time, preventing the palace from collapsing. Still, it thoroughly terrified the aquatic denizens of the underwater palace, especially with the True Dragon’s aura, which made countless river creatures tremble.
Ying Feng was directly swept out of the underwater palace by the torrent, along with several other yakshas and aquatic creatures who were similarly disoriented.
The dragon prince shook his head, looking somewhat fearfully towards the Dragon Pool at the back of the palace. He didn’t know what had possessed him just now to dare use such a provocation on his father.
The underwater currents quickly subsided. A yaksha cautiously addressed Ying Feng.
“Your Highness, the Dragon Lord…”
“Just pretend you heard nothing just now, and don’t go spreading it around, or my father will devour you! “
Ying Feng composed himself and replied.
“Yes, yes, yes!”
“This subordinate heard nothing!”
After calming himself down in the water, Ying Feng swam back to the underwater palace. Before he had even reached the dragon pool, he saw his old man emerge from within, his face still flushed with anger.
Ying Feng quickly approached and bowed, his demeanor utterly respectful, as if he had forgotten what he had just said.
“Father! “
The Old Dragon squinted and glanced at him, grunting a nasal “hmph,” before walking towards the main hall. Ying Feng naturally hastened to follow.
As they reached the main hall, fish-maids were hurriedly tidying up items that had been shaken onto the floor, righting overturned chairs and tables.
The Old Dragon paid it no mind, settling onto his precious couch.
“What was it you just said? Your father was half-asleep and didn’t quite catch it. Say it again for me to hear?”
Ying Feng’s heart pounded wildly. That had been an impulsive outburst; how would he dare repeat it now?
“I just wanted to know where Ruoli and Uncle Ji went. I wanted to ask Father if you could tell me their location. Since it’s inconvenient for you to go, I could follow and take a look.”
As he spoke, Ying Feng picked up a cup and teapot from a fish servant’s tray nearby and poured a cup of hot tea for his father.
The Old Dragon snorted coldly as he took the teacup, observing the bubble around the cup that prevented the water from mixing. He neither drank the tea nor spoke, lost in thought for a long time.
“Your sister’s cultivation is higher than yours, and she has Ji Yuan accompanying her, so there should be no problem. Even if you were to pursue them now, you might not be able to find them.”
“But, this…”
Ying Feng paced back and forth.
“Father, aren’t you worried at all? I don’t believe you lack contingency plans. If you know their location or something, at least point me in a direction! “
The Old Dragon raised the teacup and took a small sip.
“No. Just wait for news. If one Ji Yuan isn’t enough, then what use would a hundred or so of you be?”
Although the Old Dragon spoke these words, his Mirage Concealment Technique followed General Giant Whale from the distance like a shadow, disappearing into the water on clear days and transforming into mist when clouds gathered and the wind picked up.
Of course, given the old dragon’s apprehension of Ji Yuan’s keen perception, he maintained quite a far distance between them; he could only barely avoid losing track of them.
…
Although navigational instruments like the compass
1
had long existed, few ships ventured into the open ocean. Aside from encountering the Nine Peaks Mountain Realm-Crossing Ferry a few days ago, Ji Yuan and the Dragon Daughter had not come across any further “man-made traces” for over a month now.
The General Giant Whale’s speed was remarkably swift. Despite his enormous size, his underwater movement techniques were unique; he could smoothly navigate peculiar currents in various waters, and the disorienting mist that rose in some areas did not affect his sense of direction in the slightest.
In the vast ocean, there were naturally some aquatic monsters, but because the sea was simply too vast, even if there were a large number of them, they would appear extremely sparse when spread throughout.
However, the direction in which the General Giant Whale brought Ji Yuan and Ying Ruoli occasionally passed through the territories of some aquatic spirits. Some spirits would come out to observe, while others ignored them, but there was generally no conflict, not even verbal interaction.
In Ji Yuan’s opinion, many of these sea monsters seemed more laid-back than their terrestrial counterparts, or perhaps it was simply because they had too few opportunities to encounter humans.
It was early morning, and a dense fog had risen over the sea. This naturally posed no problem for General Giant Whale, whose direction remained steadfastly unchanged.
The Dragon Daughter sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion on the whale’s back, cultivating with her eyes closed. Ji Yuan, meanwhile, held a book in one hand and a brush in the other. He wasn’t writing at a desk; instead, he sat cross-legged, resting the book on his knees, and continued to deduce his profound techniques.
The dense fog also had a negligible effect on Ji Yuan; he couldn’t see very clearly anyway under normal circumstances. In fact, his vision in the fog might even significantly surpass that of ordinary people.
All around him was the sound of the waves. Ji Yuan was immersed in his deductions of the Way of Transformation. It was precisely at this moment…
“Boom… boom… boom… boom…”
A series of drumbeats drifted from afar.
Ji Yuan had been a bit sensitive to the sound of drumbeats lately. The moment he heard the sound, he almost immediately stood up.
“Uncle Ji, what’s wrong?”
Ying Ruoli opened her eyes and stood up to ask Ji Yuan.
“There are drumbeats!”
“Drumbeats? Could it be like last time again? “
Ji Yuan furrowed his brow and listened carefully for a moment, then spoke with some uncertainty.
“It’s more than one drum… General Giant Whale, head in this direction. “
As he spoke, Ji Yuan pointed in the direction from which the sound was coming. Beneath him, General Giant Whale responded with a grunt and changed course, swimming in that direction.
Not long after, the drumbeats grew clearer. By now, even Ying Ruoli could hear them.
“There really are drumbeats! “
Ying Ruoli’s confirmation made Ji Yuan realize that these drumbeats were not the same as those he had heard on the first day of the Lunar New Year. It seemed he had been overthinking things.
Approximately a few miles from Ji Yuan and his companions, a massive fleet of ships was sailing.
Some of the larger ships were nearly forty to fifty zhang long, surrounded by no fewer than a hundred vessels of various sizes. The drumbeats were coming from these very ships.
On the largest ship in the center, two massive drums were being vigorously beaten by drummers wielding drumsticks.
“Boom… boom… boom… boom…”
“The drumming must not stop! The drumming must not stop! The fleet will use the drums to find the formation in the fog! Drummers, take turns to rest and rotate every five hundred strikes! The drumming must not stop! “
A man in a large cloak shouted commands from a high position at the stern of the ship.
It seemed drummers were beating drums on all the surrounding ships, using the sound to guide the entire fleet, thus preventing any single vessel from getting lost. They were also using the varying intensity of the drumbeats to maintain a subtle sense of distance, preventing collisions.
From General Giant Whale’s current position, the drumbeats were already quite loud for the three of them. Though the dense fog obstructed their view, it had little effect on Ji Yuan and his companions.
“What a massive fleet! “
Ying Ruoli couldn’t help but exclaim. This was the first time she had seen so many ships sailing together since they had ventured out to sea.
“Indeed. This is a massive mortal fleet. To think they’ve sailed all the way into the depths of the Eastern Sea! Where could they be headed? “
“Mister Ji, I can approach a little closer for a look! “
Seeing that both the Dragon Daughter and Ji Yuan were interested, and also because he himself was somewhat curious, General Giant Whale suggested approaching. Seeing that no one objected, he quickly swam closer to the fleet.
The massive fleet was clearly moving quite slowly at the moment, with the sails of most of the ships furled.
For these ordinary people, the fog still had a significant impact. Even with many skilled martial arts experts, their vision would still be extremely limited. The Giant Whale General had already reached the vicinity of several medium-sized ships at the edge of the fleet, yet no one had noticed him.
On the nearest ship, besides the continuous drumming, someone was loudly reminding the crew.
“The Grand Commander said that the stranger the weather, the more cautious we must be of monsters appearing in the sea. Last month, three ships were lured away by monsters, and in the end, they were destroyed with all their crew lost. Everyone, be careful!”
The shouts from the ship naturally reached the ears of Ji Yuan and his companions.
Judging from the current situation, unless it was a demon that had gained significant power, no monster would provoke such a massive fleet. If what the people on the ship were shouting was true, then they must have encountered demons with considerable cultivation.
The General Giant Whale did not merely linger on the periphery. Instead, he carried Ji Yuan and Ying Ruoli, gliding around the entire fleet, pausing by everything, from the outer medium-sized and smaller ships to some of the larger vessels, allowing Ji Yuan to overhear many conversations on each of these ships.
Among them were expressions of longing for home, confusion about the future, and irritable temperaments. Few held firm beliefs.
This was an ocean-faring fleet from a place called Daxiu. Ji Yuan wasn’t sure if it was a dynasty from the Eastern Cloud Continent, but he suspected it was another continent entirely.
This fleet had passed through several countries and visited numerous island nations on their journey. They had been drifting at sea for eight full years, navigating many dangerous waters, and encountered countless predicaments. The fleet’s size had also dwindled from over two hundred ships to fewer than one hundred today.
Such a voyage could be described as fraught with peril and untold hardships, yet the fleet’s mission remained unfulfilled.
At this very moment, the Grand Commander of the fleet stood at the bow of the central ship, hands clasped behind his back, gazing forward, his eyes filled with confusion as he muttered to himself.
“Where exactly is the Immortal Cloud Island that the Imperial Preceptor spoke of? Can it truly harbor an elixir of immortality? It has been eight years. Even if we find it, how long would it take to return? Is His Majesty still alive? Can we… can we even make it back? “
Unbeknownst to the Grand Commander, beneath the bow of his ship floated an enormous whale, almost half the size of his ship, carrying two people on its back.
Ji Yuan sighed and shook his head.
“This again.”
T/n: LOL JY is sick and tired of emperors looking for immortality
Mango rabbit-hole time! Ancient China had their own versions of magnetic compasses, with the earliest recorded example being a magnetic needle floating in a bowl of water, dated to the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD). Astrolabes and the like were European inventions, while the Chinese tended towards armillary spheres, boards and bamboo rulers to orient by the stars (similar in theory to the astrolabe, I believe), and dead reckoning (estimating position based on course and speed). They also had significant documentation on star charts, navigation, and current movements.