Chapter 430 - 399: Sailing at Sea and Livelihood Cultivation

Chapter 430: Chapter 399: Sailing at Sea and Livelihood Cultivation

The Spiritual Boat departed from the coast.

The massive ram cleaved through the seawater, kicking up a churning wake. Several seagulls circled the sails, their crisp cries echoing in the air.

Chen Che stood on the deck, the sea breeze whipping his long hair about.

Meng Qianxun, Meng Changtu, Chen Xi, and the others all stood on deck, watching as the giant Spiritual Boat sailed into the storm-tossed Chaotic Sea Region. Thanks to the ship’s Grand Array, the wind and rain were kept at bay.

’I wonder if we’ll be able to find the ruins of the Undersea Palace.’

Chen Che couldn’t help but wonder.

With the threat of Dan Xuanzi and his companions eliminated, this stretch of sea was no longer dangerous. Furthermore, as Chen Che recovered from his injuries, everyone grew restless and was unwilling to waste any more time on the reef.

After some discussion, they decided to venture into the Chaotic Sea Region.

Even if they couldn’t find the Undersea Palace, they at least needed to understand why this sea region was so chaotic. That way, even if Duobao held them accountable later, they would have a complete grasp of the situation.

After all, no one actually wanted to be stationed in this sea region for three years.

As for the ore vein, Chen Che no longer needed to worry. He had already figured out the Primordial Sect’s collection process. They would mine according to plan for the year, and when the time was right, they would make their move.

He had also already contacted Xiao Chan.

Xiao Chan had agreed without the slightest hesitation. In fact, this was what he always did; many of the Primordial Sect’s outposts had been destroyed at his hands. If not for the limits of his own strength, he would have attacked even some of their Golden Core outposts years ago.

The only complication was that two of the Primordial Sect’s Golden Core Cultivators were still in Faqian City, making it difficult for him to slip away on short notice.

Still, he had a year.

That was plenty of time for Xiao Chan to slip free from their surveillance.

As they were leaving the reef, the first batch of Anomalous Copper Ore from the trial mining had already been sent back to Jinyun Valley. Liang Yuan reported that his great hammer was "thirsting for action." He had finished dismantling the Ye Clan’s sword box, and since it was only a Tier Two High Grade Sword Box, it had been easy to work with.

Therefore, he had already begun attempting to forge a new one. With enough High-Tier Ore, the success rate would increase significantly. Once he fully mastered the process, he would then move on to dismantling the sword boxes that belonged to Dan Xuanzi and his brother.

Chen Che remained noncommittal about this. Instead, he told Ding Fei to give Liang Yuan his full support, striving to nurture a Third-rank Casting Master for Jinyun Valley. Meanwhile, on Li Changqing’s end, his success rate in painting Tier Two High Grade Talismans was also steadily improving.

He had a seventy percent success rate with Tier Two Middle Grade talismans. Even limited by his Cultivation, his success rate for Tier Two High Grade Talismans had reached thirty percent.

This was all bankrolled by a massive amount of Spirit Stones; since Li Changqing had joined the valley, the cost of consumed materials like talisman paper, ink, and Talisman Brushes had reached at least 300,000. An ordinary Foundation Establishment Clan would have been bankrupted long ago.

In turn, Li Changqing’s high success rate in Talisman Painting benefited the other disciples.

Many disciples were already applying Talisman Painting in actual combat.

As for when Li Changqing would be able to paint Tier Three Talismans, Chen Che didn’t have high hopes for the near future. After all, his biggest problem was still his low Cultivation, and the Hundred Skills of Cultivation all required sufficient Cultivation to support them.

Once the number of disciples practicing Talisman Painting grew, they could select the most talented among them for focused training. This would prevent a gap from forming in the next generation of painters.

The Spiritual Boat rose high on a massive wave before slamming back down onto the sea’s surface. An ordinary ship would likely have disintegrated from the impact. Meanwhile, the constant undercurrents and whirlpools made the waters below even more treacherous.

For this reason, the Spiritual Boat could only travel on the surface.

To a Cultivator, this sea was nothing short of a deathtrap.

But for the Aquatic Race, it was paradise.

Just then, looking into the distance, they saw two enormous Black Flood Dragons frolicking in the water. Each time their massive bodies churned, they kicked up a bloody spray. The two Black Flood Dragons seemed to be hunting. Upon spotting the Spiritual Boat approaching from afar, they suddenly burst from the water.

HISS—

At that moment, the two Mudskipper Shrimp flanking the ship’s ram rode a wave upward, brandishing their giant Claw Clamps in a show of force.

The Green-Winged Flood Dragon and Sword-Patterned Silver Flood Dragon clinging to the mast also reared their heads.

The two Black Flood Dragons seemed to freeze for a moment. After weighing the relative strengths, they decisively turned, plunged back into the sea, and vanished beneath the waves in a matter of moments.

"Those are Black Dragon Pythons."

Meng Qianxun stepped forward, having recognized the two creatures.

"There are so many Demon Beasts in the Chaotic Sea Region."

Chen Xi also walked to the bow.

Since entering this sea region, they had already encountered several groups of Golden Core Great Demons, including one of the Tigerhead Sharks that had previously besieged them. The moment it saw the Spiritual Boat, it turned to flee.

But the Little Chick chased it down into the depths and dragged it, still alive, onto the deck.

It had to be said, while in the sea, these members of the Aquatic Race could overpower several Cultivators of the same tier. But once out of the water, their combat strength plummeted by seventy to eighty percent. As a result, this Tigerhead Shark went straight into Chen Che’s Alchemy Furnace.

"The Spiritual Qi in this region surged over a short period, affecting the weather. Large numbers of the Aquatic Race, drawn by the Spiritual Qi, chose to settle here. For the High-Tier Aquatic Race, the abundant food supply also gave them a reason to stay."

"Once the Spiritual Qi disperses, this area will return to normal."

Chen Che explained concisely after a moment of thought. Seeing everyone’s pensive expressions, he added, "The principle isn’t complicated. We Cultivators do the same thing. The appearance of a Celestial and Earthly Treasure will attract large numbers of Cultivators."

However, the others present were clearly less interested in the reasons for the Aquatic Race’s migration and more concerned with the concentration of Spiritual Qi in the area.

Hearing Chen Che’s words, Chen Xi took out a Magical Treasure that looked like a compass. The moment it appeared, its needle began to spin wildly like a top.

"What’s that?"

Chen Che asked curiously.

"A Spirit Testing Geomancy device," Chen Xi explained. "It can measure the state of Spiritual Qi in a location. It’s a Tier Three Low Grade Magical Artifact that I found in Thousand Eyes’ inventory."

"Can it measure the concentration of Spiritual Qi?"

Chen Che’s interest was piqued.

"No, it can only measure the stability of the Spiritual Qi."

Chen Xi pointed to the wildly swinging needle on the device. "The wider the swing, the stronger the Spiritual Qi fluctuations, which means the area is less suitable for Cultivation. In Jinyun Valley, Fuyun Mountain, and even within Thunder Accumulation Mountain, the needle is almost perfectly stable."

Chen Che immediately lost interest.

’It seems "quality-of-life" Magical Treasures haven’t even begun to be developed in this world,’ he thought. But on second thought, it made sense. The harsh environment forced most Cultivators to spend their entire lives in pursuit of higher Realms and greater power.

’Without a stable social foundation or cultivators completely freed from the need to produce their own resources, everyone is constantly running around, scrambling for what they need. How could it be like Earth Element Star, which has a stable environment that allows large numbers of Cultivators to conduct this kind of research?’

"Heh, it’s quite... intricate..."

Meng Qianxun took the Spirit Testing Geomancy device, studied it for a moment, and wracked his brain for a compliment before losing interest as well.

For Cultivators like them, one could tell if the Spiritual Qi was chaotic just by calmly sensing it; perceiving Spiritual Qi was one of the very first things a new Cultivator learned. Why would anyone need a Magical Artifact to test it? And to think, this thing was actually a Tier Three Magical Artifact.

One might as well use the Spirit Stones to buy another weapon, another Pill, or another suit of Spirit Armor.

Meng Changtu and his wife, Lu Qinglian, also passed the device between them, and similar expressions crossed their faces. They clearly couldn’t fathom what purpose such a Magical Artifact could possibly serve.