Zombies besiege the city!
The explosive news spread out from Yangzhou as the center, and even in this Chaotic Era, it caused a severe shock!
Yangzhou, the top trading hub of the Great Sui Dynasty, had half fallen into the mouths of the zombies; such a catastrophe, even in this chaotic time, was extremely eye-catching.
The coup initiated by Yuwen Huaji in the past did not even result in one-tenth of the casualties suffered this time!
The call for the crusade against the Heavenly Demons from beyond seemed to gradually become a consensus worldwide, regardless of factions and even transcending the boundaries of good and evil!
This situation, which could summon an army of the undead and turn the living into the dead, indeed exceeded the sensory threshold of normal people—and even the Demon Sect could not accept it!
Only the Yin Gui Faction announced to the outside world that this was not the doing of Tao Yu, and as the Saint Heir of the Yin Gui Faction, Tao Yu would continue heading north as planned.
In due course, he would meet with the heroes from all over to discuss this matter...
...
The five-toothed warship, with five decks rising up to twelve zhang high, could accommodate a crew of eight hundred warriors.
Its five masts stretched full sails, and the ship sped along the current of the Yangtze River like a galloping horse.
This was the ship Du Fuwei confiscated from Yuwen Huaji previously; having witnessed Tao Yu’s divine might, he chose to lend it for his journey.
The sailors and soldiers aboard were veterans who had participated in the battle against the zombies, and they revered Tao Yu as a divine figure.
They had personally witnessed the calamity in Yangzhou and knew how he had turned the tide.
The rumors from the outside world were truly causing them outrage.
At the moment, all of them were holding back their anger.
However, compared to them, Tao Yu was much more relaxed, not letting these trivial matters affect his mood.
"This ship is quite awesome..."
Tao Yu stood at the prow, feeling the stature of the five-toothed warship comparable to the vessels of later times, watching the sea breaking waves below, his expression somewhat contemplative.
At this moment, Tao Yu was completely in a state of Unity of Heaven and Man, transcending the state of Grandmaster, using Yuan Force for Acceleration while inhaling and exhaling the Qi of Heaven and Earth.
Feeling the intake of Free Energy from the world, Tao Yu felt some regret.
"This Yuan Force Acceleration can’t create something out of nothing; the Free Energy of this world can only maintain about seven times my current speed at most. If I go any faster, the efficiency starts to drop drastically."
But because of the consumption concerns of strength and techniques, Tao Yu had been using only five times the speed, so he didn’t have to worry about that for the time being.
However, as his strength increased and the absorption rate accelerated, it might drop to five times, or even lower.
"There’s no need to worry about that for now, but I wonder if there will be some more fun on the road."
Tao Yu was already aware of his reputation, and the Yin Gui Faction also had special pigeons that could find ships. Wen Caiting continued to maintain some contact with the outside world and exchanged intelligence.
For the Yin Gui Faction, they had always been everyone’s target; now with the addition of Tao Yu’s incident, it really didn’t matter!
They were already the most detested sect.
Bai Qing’er looked around; the area was not a narrow waterway, so it didn’t seem there would be any blockage.
"Never mind him, let’s eat fish first."
The boat on the river didn’t seem to be arriving that fast, and Tao Yu was not about to wait for them...
...
"This piece is mine, darn it..."
"Ah, stolen again, don’t just look at me, the fish is so big..."
"..."
Tao Yu’s chopsticks moved like shadows, his Yi Sword Technique reaching the pinnacle of its art; with his state of Unity with Heaven and Man, vulnerabilities were everywhere. He wreaked havoc at the dinner table, giving neither Kou Zhong nor Xu Ziling a chance to eat meat.
Yet under Tao Yu’s formidable pressure, the sword skills of Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were also slowly improving.
It was at this moment that the ship’s steward came running over respectfully and said,
"Master Tao, the ’Amorous Gentleman’ Hou Xibai wishes to come aboard to visit. May I know your intentions?"
"Since he has come, let him aboard."
Tao Yu was also curious about why this fellow came here alone.
Though Hou Xibai was known as Shi Feixuan’s number one fawning follower, it wasn’t likely he had come alone just to face death.
Based on Tao Yu’s own accomplishments in Luoyang, Hou Xibai was simply not his match.
Soon after, Hou Xibai arrived in the hall and saw everyone present.
He didn’t appear to have much hostility, facing two opponents with Grandmaster achievements as well as Kou Zhong among the younger generation as renowned as he, without any sign of fear.
When it came to grace and poise, as long as he didn’t run into Shi Feixuan, this fellow was actually quite acceptable.
"Hou Xibai greets everyone here. I apologize for the intrusion."
"If you know it’s rude, speak quickly. Don’t disturb our meal."
Tao Yu took another tender piece of meat and put it in his mouth, savoring the delicious and tender flavor of fish that burst on his taste buds, then slid smoothly down his throat.
Hou Xibai wasn’t annoyed by these words; their reputation meant that those who sought them out were often ill-intentioned.
But this time, he had been entrusted by someone. Even if it were a dragon’s lair or a tiger’s den, he had to pay a visit.
"On behalf of someone, I wish to ask Young Master Tao, are you responsible for the living dead tragedy?"
Hou Xibai solemnly clasped his hands together.
"How dare you!"
Before Tao Yu could respond, the ship’s captain who accompanied him glared fiercely,
"If not for Master Tao, escaping with a quarter of Yangzhou City’s population would have been fortunate. You ungrateful wretches dare to accuse Master Tao, truly undutiful..."