Secular Immortal of the Nine Realms - Chapter 230

Chapter 230: Heading Out to Sea

“Grandfather, can I go with big…”

Fang Zhentian interjected before Fang Zhixue could finish her words.

“Lass, I have never stepped into the world of cultivation myself, but even the world of mortal humans eat humans. It’ll only be more cruel in the world of cultivation. Your big brother has the means to stand his ground in the world of cultivation, but what about you? You’ll only be gobbled up whole. Don’t harbor such thoughts, unless you have the strength to protect yourself. Till then, you should obediently cultivate here!”

Fang Zhixue was indignant. She tried to argue, “Grandfather, why would our ancestral clan gobble me up…”

“Our grandfather is right. Our ancestor was evicted out of the clan, and many years have passed since. Who knows what they are currently thinking? Listen to our grandfather and cultivate here. You won’t be lonely with Victorious Buha and the others here with you,” Fang Chen said.

Fang Zhixue pouted. She might be young, but she wasn’t dumb. She understood the logic too, but she still felt a tinge of indignation for not being able to venture into the world of cultivation.

“Where’s father and mother? I don’t see them in the manor,” Fang Chen asked.

“They have gone out to explore the world. They said they wanted to see what lies beyond Great Xia,” Fang Zhentian replied with a smile.

“What if they meet with danger?” Fang Chen was worried.

“They have Purple Lightning Talismans. That’s enough for them to overcome most dangers. Your father is a careful man, so I doubt they’ll encounter any huge problems. They don’t have cultivation talent, so perhaps it might be good for them to seek their own fortuitous encounter,” Fang Zhentian said. “Don’t worry about the affairs of us elders. Focus on your present instead.”

Fang Chen nodded.

The following day, Fang Chen returned to the capital with Liu Mu.

Zhao Yan and the others had finished copying Chillwater’s martial arts legacies. The imperial palace had also quickly constructed an imperial library in the meantime.

Fang Chen had the three of them deliver the real books to the Fang Manor and instructed them to cultivate in the Fang Clan for the time being. If Zhao Yan ever advanced to Heaven Profound realm, he should pay a visit to Fang Zhentian and request a cultivation method.

At the same time, he had Xu Ge hand Purple Aura Formula’s first three levels into the hands of the Great Xia Shadow Guards and issued some instructions.

After all was done, he left Great Xia with Liu Mu.

They headed to a crowded port. The mortals living here would have never imagined that they often brushed shoulders with cultivators.

“This map points toward our ancestral clan, but the ports indicated on it are of great help,” Fang Chen murmured with a smile as he looked at the boats stopped by the harbor.

There were over a hundred ports indicated on the map, and this was one of them. If not for the map, he wouldn’t have known that there was a port that cultivators frequented in the vicinity.

With just a few quick glances, Fang Chen could already tell which boats belonged to mortals, and which ones belonged to cultivators. He brought Liu Mu to one of the larger boats.

“Ten daosoul imprints. This boat is an artifact…” Fang Chen mumbled.

Just then, a middle-aged man walked up and asked, “This daoist over here, where are you heading to? Our boat heads to four places, namely…”

“Is there a boat here that leads to the Cloudless Monastery?” Fang Chen asked with a smile.

“Cloudless Monastery? Are you heading there to visit a friend? What a coincidence. My boat passes by the area!” the middle-aged man said.

“Are you the captain of this boat?” Fang Chen was curious.

The middle-aged man saw through Fang Chen’s thoughts and replied, “Yes, I am the captain of this boat. I staked all of my fortune into it in hopes of earning a couple of ki stones.”

“How much does the trip to Cloudless Monastery cost for two?” Fang Chen asked.

The middle-aged man glanced at Liu Mu, who was cloaked in a black robe. He could vaguely smell a stench coming from the latter and was curious, but he didn’t probe any deeper. It was taboo in the world of cultivation to infringe on another person’s privacy, and such carelessness could cause death.

“It’ll cost 5 ki stones per passenger,” the middle-aged man replied after some thought.

“That seems a bit pricey, isn’t it?” Fang Chen asked with a smile.

The middle-aged man was indignant. “Fellow daoist, how can you say that? Feel free to ask the people here about Captain Ding if you don’t believe me. My prices have always been fair! There’s no one here who hasn’t heard about my reputation. I believe in conducting my business with honesty so that customers will return! I would never rip anyone off.”

“Captain Ding, how long will the journey take?” Fang Chen smiled.

Captain Ding immediately replied, “Three days. Just three days will suffice.”

“Three days? That’s not too long.” Fang Chen nodded before handing 10 ki stones to Captain Ding.

Captain Ding’s mood lifted upon seeing that he had a deal. He stowed away the ki stones before warmly ushering the two of them onto his boat. He prepared a compartment for them and even had a mortal servant to attend to their needs.

“We’ll be setting off in half a day’s time. Please, rest in your room. Three days will pass in a flash. Someone will inform you when it’s time to alight,” Captain Ding said before rushing off.

As he had said, the boat really set off half a day later.

Fang Chen astral projected his soul out to take a look. He was curious as he knew that Captain Ding, as a seventh stage Ki Refinement cultivator, wouldn’t be strong enough to drive this boat, which was a ten daosoul imprint artifact.

What was driving this boat were low-grade ki stones. Spirit ki was being drawn out of the ki stones to drive the boat, allowing it to move at an incredible speed.

“An artifact that is capable of being channeled through such a method must come from a grade-6 state. No wonder he said that he had spent his whole fortune on it,” Fang Chen thought.

Captain Ding probably had some background too, else he wouldn’t have been able to do this for a living. There were over forty cultivators currently on the boat, and some of them were traveling even further away so they were being charged 7 to 8 ki stones.

Even after factoring in the ki stones expended for driving the boat, Captain Ding could still easily earn over 100 low-grade ki stones for a single trip. This was a highly lucrative business, though the initial cost might be high too.

Without any background, someone would have already tried to rob Captain Ding by now.

Three days passed in a flash.

Fang Chen drew a couple more Purple Lightning Talismans in the meantime, causing his spirit ki to grow significantly. At this rate, he should be able to forge his ninth immortal vein by the end of the month.

“Milord, the boat has reached the shore,” the mortal attendant respectfully knocked on Fang Chen’s door and said.

Seconds later, Fang Chen walked out with Liu Mu.

Before him was a verdant little island. The port wasn’t as prosperous as the one he saw before, being at a much smaller scale.

“Daoist, Cloudless Monastery is located on this island. Boats pass by this place every day, so you should be able to leave whenever you want.” Captain Ding headed to Fang Chen’s side and pointed out a direction for him.

There was indeed a building reminiscent of a monastery in that direction.

“I’ve troubled you, Captain Ding. May we meet again.” Fang Chen clasped his fist before alighting from the boat with Liu Mu.