BXBX NOVEL Chapter 180 - 180: Is Your Flying Boat Race Always This Extravagant?!
…Let’s wait and see.”
Ao Sheng fell silent for a moment.
He had a feeling that this enigmatic senior might have some other ideas.
“Another dragon-shaped chariot?”
Someone shook their head:
“This lacks originality. It probably won’t even make it into the top ten… let’s not waste time on this.”
While saying this, the speaker turned towards Ao Sheng and his sister, provocatively tilting their chin. Ao Yuan & Ao Sheng: ‘I???” They felt offended.
“From the Jade Bone Sect, right?”
Ao Sheng narrowed his eyes, discreetly noting the identity of the speaker.
The trio was dressed in black, with skull masks on their faces and hoods embroidered with pale skull patterns, making it hard to distinguish front from back at a glance.
Their vehicle was a giant white bone figure, the bones clear and translucent, resembling jade or glass, quite extraordinary.
Ao Sheng thought about letting his sister drive during the race and knocking these people right off.
Prince Ao Sheng wasn’t one to hold grudges.
But these three dared to curse him before the race, and he couldn’t hold back.
Only by placing in the top three could one have the chance to stand on the victory podium and receive an award personally from the Empress.
He had worked hard for this moment, fighting his way up from the preliminaries. Now, being mocked that he couldn’t even make it into the top ten, Prince Ao Sheng couldn’t tolerate it.
Of course, the Jade Bone Sect cultivators were arrogant for a reason.
They were the runners-up in the last competition.
Two of the top three contestants from the previous race had returned to defend their positions.
The champion didn’t come because, right after winning, he went to the Spirit Charm Sect for an extreme challenge.
He, alone with his spear, cleared eighteen tents, but alas, his strength waned while the fields were endless, and he eventually fell.
It was said that he ascended the mountain flying on his sword.
But when he came down, he was carried by Spirit Charm Sect disciples on a stretcher.
A robust man turned into a mere husk.
At Lu Xuan’s side, after the first dragon head appeared, it didn’t transform into the shape of a chariot as everyone expected.
The dragon head extended backward, forming a complete dragon body.
But unlike a normal dragon.
Its eyes were closed.
It looked less like a soaring dragon and more like a… Dragon corpse.
Then came the second, the third…
Nine dragon corpses emerged, each bound by thick chains extending backward, leading to a huge bronze coffin behind them!
Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin!
This was Lu Xuan’s vehicle for today!
The crowd fell silent.
The three Jade Bone Sect cultivators glanced at their giant bone structure, then at Lu Xuan’s coffin. One of them silently gave a thumbs-up— “Great minds think alike.”
“Brother, you have taste!”
“This is which ghost cultivator’s companion?”
One on his left asked.
“The coffin is beautiful; I like it,’
Another on his right responded.
The crowd erupted in cheers and applause. This was the first time they had seen someone bring a coffin to the Flying Boat Race.
And these nine dragon corpses and the coffin were truly beautiful.
There was not a hint of death about them, rather, they had the beauty of an art piece.
“Please excuse my humble attempt,” Lu Xuan said modestly.
Compared to the glowing wooden fish that added merit to the entire venue and the dazzling ‘Dance Floor Bull,’ his entry was just leveraging the novelty of the theme.
Standard and decent, but not exceptional.
He opened the coffin lid and jumped in.
Cheng Lingzhu also followed suit.
At the inception of the treasure chariot’s construction.
Lu Xuan and Cheng Lingzhu discussed the design together.
He had several plans at the time.
Like a yin-yang palanquin, a pumpkin carriage, a Gundam, a World Tree…
But Cheng Lingzhu was immediately drawn to the Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin.
Hence, today’s flying boat display came to be. Lying side by side with Cheng Lingzhu in the coffin, “This feeling… It’s a bit strange,”
Lu Xuan rasped, “Doesn’t it seem a bit inauspicious?”
“It’s not a real coffin,” Cheng Lingzhu chuckled, “Besides, it’s not like we haven’t laid in a real one before.’
“That’s true,” Lu Xuan agreed.
Cheng Lingzhu was referring to an adventure they had previously, where they were trapped in a burial pit of a great sect underground. The walls were engraved with runes, and the entire burial pit was sealed by Daoist laws.
With Cheng Lingzhu’s then Mortal Transformation Phase cultivation, they couldn’t break out by force.
Eventually, they found a coffin in the pit, left by an enemy of that sect, capable of disrupting the local laws.
After taking the predecessor out of the coffin, Lu Xuan and Cheng Lingzhu laid in it and were flushed out by an underground river.
“Master, can I come in?”
Ye Banzhuang stood on the edge of the coffin, pointing down with a hopeful face.
There was just enough space for her between Lu Xuan and Cheng Lingzhu.
A hand reached out from inside the coffin, and Lu Xuan pointed outside:
“No, you go drive.”
The little girl’s face fell in disappointment.
Cheng Lingzhu gently tapped Lu Xuan, not liking to see the young girl upset, and said with a smile, “Come on in, if Master doesn’t want you, his Madam does.”
Ye Banzhuang blinked a few times, “Master, you see…”
“Alright, alright, come in.”
Lu Xuan sighed, massaging his forehead.
Lu Xuan thought to himself about the perfect environment for a single man and woman together.
Now with this young girl here, it’s not even appropriate to make a move.
Ye Banzhuang giggled and jumped in.
After lying down, she closed her eyes and covered her ears, telling Lu Xuan, “Don’t worry, Master, Banzhuang can’t see or hear anything.”
Then she was flicked on the forehead by both Lu Xuan and Cheng Lingzhu.
The coffin lid quietly closed.
Inside the coffin, changes occurred.
Spiritual energy gathered, and under the effect of spatial array patterns, the space inside the coffin expanded.
The three lying figures gradually stood up, a very wide lounge chair appearing beneath them.
Simultaneously, a pale blue control panel appeared; it was the control panel of the flying boat, equipped with a large screen to view the outside.
Inside such a coffin-shaped flying boat, there was a control panel filled with a sense of technology.
It was like a traditional cigarette plugged into a charging cable, a blend of old-fashioned and reformist beauty.
Cheng Lingzhu sat in the pilot’s seat, as Lu Xuan had other tasks.
A muffled sound came from outside, someone knocked on the coffin a few times.
The coffin lid opened a crack, and Lu Xuan reached out to bring in a three-foot-long wooden sword.
It was for beating other contestants.
The Flying Boat Race allowed attacking others, but not with magical powers.
Either it was the vehicle’s built-in attack methods, powered by demon crystals, releasing ranged/melee weapons.
Or the contestants would jump on the roof, engaging in sword fights.
This wooden sword was made of a special material that couldn’t conduct magical power.
If too much power was input or too much force used, it could explode from not being able to withstand such power.
The organizers spared no effort for the safety of each team.
A cow horn sounded.
Each team entered the track.
“Thirteen teams, thirteen differently shaped flying magical treasures, will complete a three-hundred-mile flying boat race.”
A deep, magnetic male voice sounded.
In the commentary booth, sat a man and a woman, both commentators.
These two, transformed from a pair of winged birds, came from the Flying Boat City and served as commentators for this race.
“For cultivators, this distance is actually quite short, almost instantaneous.”
The female commentator took over, turning to look at him, “But all the treasure chariots are powered by demon crystals provided by the race committee.”
“And the base array patterns that make up the ‘engine’ must be chosen from thirty-six specified patterns.”
“With these two restrictions, the committee cleverly limits the speed of the flying boats.”
The male commentator spoke with a smile.
“The contestants will go through mountains, lakes, forests, swamps, and other complex terrains, facing forbidden air, land, and underwater array restrictions, amidst poisonous flowers and fierce beasts, to complete the race…”
“Of course, there’s no need to worry about the safety of our contestants, as we’ve invited a powerful being to oversee the race and act as the referee.”
High above in the sky, a Bifang mythical bird spread its wings, overseeing everything in the arena.
“Boom!”
The sound of drums roared, and the Flying Boat Race officially began!