Chapter 404 - 198: Immortal Ascension Ceremony · Boundary Sea · Boat Ticket (Part 3)
Chapter 404: Chapter 198: Immortal Ascension Ceremony · Boundary Sea · Boat Ticket (Part 3)
"That’s quite an auspicious number. Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Yan Long. Here’s to your future fortune."
Thunder Sound True Man smiled as he offered his congratulations, and the others quickly followed suit with their own well-wishes.
This time, however, no one discussed the specific auction items. Judging by the number, what was actually sold was unimportant.
"Junior Brother Xiao, great news!"
After the ceremony ended, Master Ming Yan strode over excitedly. "You’ll never guess how many Spirit Stones we made from the sale."
"A grand total of six hundred sixty-six thousand, six hundred sixty-six!"
"This means your journey ahead is bound to be smooth sailing."
Huh?
Xiao Chen was a little skeptical. "Is it really such a coincidence?"
’The five eights before were one thing, but six sixes feels a bit deliberate.’
"It really is that much of a coincidence. We have the ledger to prove it."
Master Ming Yan handed him a ledger containing the transaction records from the auction.
Xiao Chen read through all the names, noticing that the last few items had all been purchased by cultivators from Hezhou. The final sum really did add up to six sixes.
’One could say a lot of care went into faking this ledger. It almost looks real.’
"Alright then. I’ll take your auspicious words to heart, Senior Brother, and enjoy a little of my own good fortune."
Xiao Chen didn’t press the issue. There was no need.
To carry so many Spirit Stones, he took two extra Storage Bags with him.
Now he truly had eight bags tied around his waist.
They practically formed a full circle, hanging all around him.
Xiao Chen felt his need for a Storage Ring skyrocket once again.
’This can’t go on. It seems I’ll have to adjust my plans.’
’Once I reach the Eastern Domain, the first thing I’ll do is find out where they sell Storage Rings.’
’If it’s not too far, I’ll go buy one. It won’t be too late to head to the Hundred Herbs Secret Realm after that.’
’Otherwise, when I get to the Secret Realm, I won’t have anywhere to put the Spirit Medicine I gather.’
With the Immortal Ascension Ceremony over, Xiao Chen had no intention of returning to Qi Yun Peak. Instead, he prepared to head directly to the Eastern Domain.
But before he could leave, he saw Shen Siyue running over to him.
"Daoist, Junior Sister Su asked me to give you this sachet."
The sachet’s workmanship was average. Although it was a little better than the Peace Knot from before, it was clear that Su Wanqing had embroidered it herself.
The front depicted a carp leaping over a lotus flower, while the back showed a blooming Celestial Net Star.
It was stuffed full of fragrant spices. As Xiao Chen held it in his hand, he could faintly smell the light scent of camellia.
"I was wondering why I haven’t seen her recently. Do you know what she’s been busy with?"
"Daoist, Junior Sister Su went into seclusion at home to focus on her cultivation. She said... she won’t come out until she reaches the Golden Core realm."
...
The journey from the Southern Domain to the Eastern Domain spanned several million li.
While passing through Xianghe Market, Xiao Chen made a special stop to buy some Rolling Ball Spirit Rice to eat on the road.
"How much Spirit Rice do you need, Fellow Daoist?"
"I’ll take everything in the bag. How many Spirit Stones in total?"
"That will be one thousand two hundred Spirit Stones, please."
"This is only four hundred jin, right? Did the price go up?"
"Please don’t misunderstand, Fellow Daoist. Prices are rising everywhere."
The Shopkeeper quickly explained, "It’s all the fault of that damned White Bone Demon Body. Who knows how many mu of Spirit Fields it ruined along its path. Once this bag is sold, we’ll be completely out of stock. No more left."
"We’re lucky Master Yanlong intervened in time and saved the Yan’an Grain Storage. Otherwise, we would have sold out the day before yesterday."
The Demonic Calamity was over, but for ordinary cultivators, its various aftereffects were just beginning.
Xiao Chen promptly paid the Spirit Stones.
Afterward, he made no further stops. Traveling almost day and night, he only occasionally paused to admire the passing scenery before arriving directly in Haozhou, the easternmost part of the Southern Domain.
There, he saw with his own eyes the Boundary Sea to the east of Haozhou, stretching out as far as the eye could see.
Standing there and gazing out, it was hard to imagine that an even vaster world existed nearly a million li away.
It was said that in Ancient Times, many cultivators from the Southern Domain had also set out to sea.
However, after exploring aimlessly for hundreds of thousands of li, they all concluded that the land had ended and that only endless sea lay ahead.
Coupled with the countless Demon Beasts lurking in the Boundary Sea that attacked their Spiritual Boats, they all eventually turned back.
The reason cultivators needed Spiritual Boats to cross the sea, rather than just flying, was that even a Golden Core True Man could not fly for extended periods without rest.
A day or two might be fine, but after a month or two, setting aside the mental fatigue, their True Essence would be depleted. They would eventually need to meditate and recuperate.
But on the vast Boundary Sea, there was nowhere to land.
Thus, they had to pilot a Spiritual Boat from the very start of their journey and protect it from damage along the way.
In the end, it was cultivators from the Eastern Domain who first crossed the Boundary Sea to reach the Southern Domain.
According to Ancient Texts, a fierce war initially broke out between the two sides.
But the invaders later discovered that the Southern Domain lacked sufficient Spiritual Qi and was a barren land, so they voluntarily gave up the fight and initiated the first trades instead.
At first, only they came over, and only Golden Core True Men participated in the trade.
Later, however, the Southern Domain also began to put in more effort and actively explore.
They soon discovered that a large Spiritual Boat and a small Spiritual Boat attracted roughly the same number of Demon Beasts on the Boundary Sea.
A Golden Core Cultivator traveling to the Eastern Domain needed to escort at least one Spiritual Boat to rest on midway.
So, why not just bring along some Foundation Establishment Cultivators on the Spiritual Boat and collect a fee in Spirit Stones?
Over millions of years, a relatively mature trade route gradually developed.
Nowadays, one only needed to gather a boatful of cultivators by the Boundary Sea, and cultivators from the Fu Hai Sect would be responsible for the escort.
Xiao Chen flew leisurely along the coast as the salty, damp sea breeze blew against his face.