The Invictus crawled across the endless ocean of the higher realm, a wounded titan dragging itself through the clouds. It moved at barely a tenth of its cruising speed, its massive hull shuddering with every league. Each vibration sent a groan through the reinforced crimson wood that sounded like a dying beast.
Elder Xuan Ni stood on the bridge, his knuckles white as he gripped the guardrail. "Open Sky! We are sitting ducks at this speed! If the scouts from the Blue Cloud Sect or the Heavenly Sword Pavilion find us like this, they'll pick us clean. Can you not push the engines?"
Venerable Open Sky didn't even look up from the glowing runic array he was desperately trying to patch. "If I increase the output by even half a percent, the keel will snap. We are holding this ship together with prayer and the last of our high-grade stones. If you want to reach the Crimson Sect alive, you will endure this pace. If not, we can all sink into the abyss together."
