Yang Hong glanced at Zhang Zhenyan, not bothering to consider his petty thoughts. Loading most of the people, he directly activated the [Empty Sky Building Ship] and flew towards the Zikun Mountain Range!
The fifth-tier Empty Sky Building Ship was not very fast, only able to fly 5,000 li per hour. Furthermore, it couldn't maintain this speed for extended periods. Typically, it would fly at 5,000 li per hour for six hours, then descend to cruise at a constant speed of 3,000 li per hour for three hours.
This greatly extended their journey home.
However, it wasn't a major issue. He had just plundered the Lingyuan Sect's three branches, accumulating a vast amount of resources, so food was not a problem. Most of the people on the ship were cultivators, with only a few mortals needing to address personal matters. They could stop once every ten days to dump waste, spending most of their time flying in the sky.
Additionally, there was a more troublesome issue: flight altitude.
The Empty Sky Building Ship's maximum flight altitude was only 4,000 zhang, lower than most fourth-tier flying magic tools.
At this altitude, they were inevitably bound to encounter many cultivators.
"Sect Leader, ahead are elders from the Golden Phoenix Sect. They have no ill intentions; they merely wish to inquire about the purpose of our Qingfeng… our sect's arrival."
Zhang Zhenyan came onto the deck of the Empty Sky Building Ship to report to Yang Hong. This was the ninth time. Along the way, he had handled all the roadblocks.
It was because he possessed an immortal appearance, a true immortal cultivated in the Dao, especially with his white hair, white eyebrows, and rosy cheeks, which gave him a friendly demeanor.
He was also helpless. Their newly recognized Sect Leader was somewhat violent. On the way, a third-tier sect had attempted to rob them. Yang Hong unleashed a spell that nearly wiped them out.
Since then, he had taken on the role of scout, leading the way in front of the Empty Sky Building Ship.
Now, he hoped the message he had sent out would quickly reach his patron behind the scenes, so he could escape Yang Hong's clutches.
"You can handle them with any amount up to ten thousand spirit stones. If anyone wants to court death, notify me, and I'll deal with them."
Yang Hong glanced dismissively at the mountains below the Empty Sky Building Ship, which were only 500 zhang high.
These cultivators blocking their path were only after spirit stones, weren't they?
He wanted to travel without hassle, so he would pay.
For a fifth-tier sect, ten thousand spirit stones was already generous. If they were still troublesome, he wouldn't mind adding a few more disciples to the task.
"Yes – I will go and resolve it now."
Zhang Zhenyan quickly nodded in agreement, took the storage bag thrown by Yang Hong, and turned to leave.
Soon, Zhang Zhenyan piloted his flying ship to the sky ten li away, where two fourth-tier flying ships were blocking the path.
He entered one of the larger flying ships without any protection.
"Chen Junyu, I've secured ten thousand spirit stones for you. Take the spirit stones and leave quickly, or that person will kill."
"Zhang Zhenyan, you old bastard, won't you resist at all?"
"No resistance – absolutely no resistance, completely incapable of resisting. You have no idea how terrifying that person is.
Alright, we're old acquaintances, hurry up and leave. Remember to pass a message to the Sheng Yu Sect for me, telling them we've been incorporated."
It turned out that the ones blocking the path were old acquaintances of Zhang Zhenyan, which was why he had kindly come out to negotiate.
And the [Sheng Yu Sect] was one of the eight ninth-tier sects in the Yuruo Plains.
Chen Junyu said helplessly, "I'll try my best. The Sheng Yu Sect's threshold is too high. I'll report to the sixth-tier sect above me, at most I'll report to the seventh-tier [Ziyun Sect]. Any higher, and I'm powerless."
"Alas, Ziyun Sect is fine too. It's at least a seventh-tier sect, with an eighth-tier tribulation-transcending True Monarch presiding over it. Perhaps they can rescue us.
Alright, I won't say anymore, lest that fellow becomes suspicious."
Saying this, Zhang Zhenyan left the flying ship and returned to the front of the Empty Sky Building Ship to continue leading the way.
Along the way, Yang Hong stopped several times, bought a few maps of the Yuruo Plains, and tried to avoid other sects' encampments to reduce trouble.
In fact, it was very simple to gauge the strength of a sect in the Yuruo Plains.
In the Yuruo Plains, tall mountains were not allowed.
A first-tier sect could only possess one peak, up to a hundred zhang high, as its mountain gate. A second-tier sect had two peaks below 200 zhang, a third-tier sect had three small peaks of 300 zhang, and so on.
It was very easy to identify.
Moreover, the arrangement of these peaks followed a fixed pattern. All the peaks formed a massive Bagua formation, limiting the number of sects that could occupy the mountain gate.
Sects without strength couldn't even possess a mountain gate.
It was precisely because he saw the Yuruo Plains as a massive formation that Yang Hong didn't blindly charge through, fearing that he might anger the powers that be here and cause this formation, spanning hundreds of millions of li, to activate and instantly kill him.
He claimed to be a formation master himself, and understood the terror of formations, especially large-scale ones.
When encountering petty thieves blocking the way, he would pay spirit stones if they could be appeased. If not, he would unleash his aura as a seventh-tier Integration Realm cultivator to scare them away.
If they still refused to leave and were courting death, he would decisively slay them.
He was at the fifth-tier Nascent Soul Realm, but his current actual combat power was definitely that of an eighth-tier tribulation-transcending realm.
Fortunately, there weren't many idiots courting death. Yang Hong only took action twice on the way.
The journey back, taking the fifth-tier Empty Sky Building Ship, took a full 2,000-plus hours, a tenfold increase in time compared to the 200-plus hours it took to travel there in the eighth-tier Void Shuttle.
"I must figure out a way to create a teleportation array. Flying like this is too slow."
Safely flying over the peaks of the Zikun Mountain Range, Yang Hong breathed a sigh of relief. There were no more cultivators on the rest of the journey.
However, upon returning to Qingfeng Mountain, Yang Hong was stunned by what he saw.
On the massive Qingfeng Mountain, a flock of eagles soared high, their passionate and crisp cries being quite pleasant to the ear. Clearly, these eagles were very happy.
As the Empty Sky Building Ship approached, their pleasant cries turned into piercing shrieks. Several giant eagles with wingspans exceeding 300 zhang appeared in front of the ship, blocking their path.
Yang Hong and Zhu Yuyan, along with two others, flew out of the Empty Sky Building Ship and looked at Qingfeng Mountain before them. It was indeed their Qingfeng Mountain. Although the terrain had changed slightly, it was undoubtedly Qingfeng Mountain.
"Humans – this place has been occupied by my Golden Winged Thunder Eagle clan. Please leave, or you will face war!"
A giant eagle with the strength of a seventh-tier Demon Lord flew before Yang Hong and shouted loudly in the common human language.
"When you arrived, didn't you see the palaces and various formations on this mountain? You just decided to occupy it?"
Yang Hong's expression was odd. This giant eagle seemed to lack intelligence.
"Hmph – when we arrived, there was no one here. This mountain is mine now, including the entire 8,100 li peak."
The giant eagle suddenly unleashed its full aura, pressing down on Yang Hong.
Yang Hong was unaffected, but behind him, everyone on the Empty Sky Building Ship either collapsed or knelt. Zhang Zhenyan and the other nine flying ships lost control and began to fall towards the ground.
"Oh – you have the bloodline of a Golden-Winged Great Peng bird?"
Sensing the giant eagle's aura, Yang Hong was not alarmed but delighted. The Golden-Winged Great Pengs of the Myriad Demon Sea were one of the Four Overlords. Such a beast was worthy of being the guardian spirit beast of Qingfeng Mountain Villa.
"Very good, it's you. Everyone, submit to me!"
Yang Hong circulated the Qingfeng Breathing Technique, continuously raising his aura to simulate the pressure of a ninth-tier Mahayana realm cultivator. The Golden-Winged Thunder Eagles in the sky began to fall, as did Zhang Zhenyan's flying ship.
"No – you can't do this. My mother is a Demon Emperor, and my father is a Demon Saint…
You can't do this to me."
To Yang Hong's surprise, the giant eagle did not fall directly but struggled, slowly floating in the air.
And its words also startled Yang Hong.