Chapter 81: A Fair Price
The radiance of daybreak swept over the sea, illuminating everything, including Xu Qing.
Eventually, he exhaled. The terrifying entity at the sea floor had disappeared along with the coming of day. He had no idea who that giant was, nor who the dragon chariot belonged to. He hadn’t seen any mention of them in the sea annals. But even just a distant glimpse of the giant had left him completely shaken, and also convinced that it was something absolutely astonishing. And for something that powerful to be dragging a chariot begged the question of who the owner of the chariot was, and what sort of glory they had commanded in the past. Thankfully, the giant didn’t seem to have any evil intentions, or at least, not toward someone as weak as Xu Qing.
“The Forbidden Sea....” Xu Qing murmured, the vigilance in his eyes growing more intense.
Now that he had personally experienced some of the danger of the sea, he was going to be even more cautious in his travels. And would not deviate at all from the navigation route indicated on the sea chart.
A few days passed.
Xu Qing didn’t see any other people. He was now getting more familiar with the Forbidden Sea. On a few occasions, he encountered sea beasts, and a few times, he was forced to fight. Every encounter ended with him acquiring some organic crafting materials. His dragonwhale had already proved to be invaluable, and what was more, the fighting rapidly improved Xu Qing’s ability to engage in combat on the open water.
He didn’t see any more terrifying entities like that giant.
One day, when the sun was hot and the sea breeze warm, Xu Qing finished his session of cultivation and looked through his dharmaboat defenses at something off in the distance. He frowned.
That was the direction of the Westcoral Archipelago, and beyond that, Sealizard Island. According to the sea chart, he would have to travel for seven more days to reach his destination. The notations on the sea chart indicated that his current path was the safest, and would eventually take him past the Westcoral Archipelago. However, now he was starting to doubt that this was the safest route.
The surface of the water ahead was covered with creeping vines. And in the middle of the vines were some dharmaboats, apparently stranded. However, the boats were so far away that Xu Qing couldn’t tell for sure. He seemed to be on the edge of the vined area, where the vines were less numerous.
Apparently, something had attracted the vines from the depths of the sea floor, and after enough time passed, they would sink back down.
However, now that Xu Qing had arrived, giving the vines a new target, they started speeding in his direction. As he stood at the prow, fully on guard, his hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, causing his dharmaboat to back away from the incoming vines.
Because he hadn’t plowed headlong into the depths of the vines, he didn’t need to waste time going all out to evade them. Unfortunately, they moved with extreme speed, and a couple managed to reach him and start wrapping around the hull of his boat.
The vines, pitch black and as thick as an arm, were covered with countless spikes, making them look extremely vicious. Even more shocking was that they had some sort of power of absorption, and thus, despite not immediately affecting the speed of the dharmaboat, Xu Qing got the feeling they were draining away some of the boat’s spirit power.
Eyes flashing coldly, he pulled out his dagger, jumped over, and slashed the vines off the side of the boat. His quick action, coupled with the boat’s speed, ensured that he was able to escape the area before any more vines could arrive.
Once at a safe distance, he looked back at the area with the vines. That was when he noticed something on the deck.
A few pieces of severed vine were there, wriggling like sea snakes, and oozing a green liquid with corrosive properties that made hissing sounds as it spread onto the deck.
An unsightly expression appeared on Xu Qing’s face. When cutting the vines earlier, he had felt how tough they were; despite his high level of fleshly body power, it had still taken a lot of effort to cut through them.
After thinking the matter over, he performed a right-handed incantation gesture, causing spell formation lines underfoot to glow as the nucleus of the spirit convergence formation appeared.
Studying it, Xu Qing realized that three of the spirit stones in the middle of the formation were duller than the others, as if they were almost completely drained.
So, the vines really do absorb spirit power.
According to the sea annals, there were over a hundred types of creeping vines, although most were similar to each other. Because of having read about them, he was quickly able to judge which type this was. However, neither the sect’s sea charts nor the sea chart he’d acquired from the young merman indicated that creeping vines like this were located around here.
That means that these vines moved to this location from somewhere else. And there is only one type of vine that likes to devour spirit power. Spirit-guzzling creepers.
Xu Qing thought back to the sea annals and frowned.
Spirit-guzzling creepers love to devour spirit power. They can’t be harmed with magical techniques, and can only be severed by using brute force. They can gobble up the power of a dharmaboat, and can also take spirit power from cultivators. If you get caught by them, you’ll die in agony. However, they’re sensitive to mutagen, so they can usually be found in areas where the mutagen is weak.
Xu Qing looked off into the distance.
His current route was the fastest way to get to the Westcoral Archipelago, so if he deviated to avoid the vines, it would cost him a lot of time. Furthermore, he had no idea how much area was covered by the vines. According to the description in the sea annals, when spirit-guzzling creepers invaded, they would usually float about to cover a very large area.
Going around would cost time. And it’s not like I’m out of options. Spirit-guzzling creepers aren’t impossible to deal with.
After a bit more thought, his eyes narrowed, and he reached down to his bag of holding. A moment later, a black medicinal pill appeared in his hand. Of course, it was a black bolus, which contained a large amount of mutagen. Holding the pill in his hand, he stood on the prow and directed his dharmaboat right into the vine-filled area.
Soon, the surface of the water seethed with vines as they rushed voraciously toward Xu Qing and his dharmaboat.
However, as they got close, Xu Qing calmly tossed out the black bolus. As soon as it hit the water, it dissolved, and the mutagen levels skyrocketed. The incoming vines shivered as if they had sensed something profoundly loathsome, and then they roiled away in the opposite direction. Xu Qing’s dharmaboat was now completely unobstructed.
Looking a bit more at ease, Xu Qing sent his dharmaboat moving onward at top speed. Though there were a lot of vines in the area, every black bolus he tossed out forced them away from him.
As he proceeded, and as he tossed out more black boluses, the mutagen around his boat grew more dense. Eventually, there was so much that he didn’t need to throw out any more black boluses. The vines instinctively avoided him.
And thus, as he proceeded, he eventually neared the dharmaboats he’d spotted earlier. That was when the sea breeze carried voices from that boat into his ears.
“You were leading the way, Zhao Zhongheng! And this is where you brought us??”
“Elder Sister Ding, please, calm down.... There weren’t any vines in this area before. They must have shown up only in the last few days. I had no way of knowing! But don’t worry, I already sent a message to my grandfather asking for help. He should send people soon to help free us....”
It was none other than Zhao Zhongheng and his boat The Phoenix, which was stranded by the creeping vines, and had to struggle to make any progress forward. Surrounding him were the other boats in his convoy. All of them were trapped, and the disciples on them looked very anxious as they hacked away at the vines.
Zhao Zhongheng looked quite annoyed. It was absolutely true that he could never have predicted that creeping vines would be in this area. Right now, he was exerting every ounce of strength to try to get The Phoenix free of the vines. Meanwhile, Elder Sister Ding was clearly upset, and all he could do was apologize and beg her to calm down. After all, she had an extraordinary background.
Eventually, he had no choice but to take out a jade box, which he handed to her.
“Don’t be angry, Elder Sister Ding. Trust me, we’ll be fine. I’ll get us to the Westcoral Archipelago. Look, this clearbright lozenge is a rare soul-nourishing medicine. Very expensive! My grandfather gave it to me, and now I’m giving it to you as an apology.”
The beautiful Elder Sister Ding was running very low on patience. Frowning, she took the jade box from Zhao Zhongheng and forced herself to calm down a bit. Then, she opened her mouth to speak.
However, at that very moment, the sound of a dharmaboat reached her ears, and she looked over to see a boat speeding in their direction.
At the prow was a tall figure in a gray robe that flapped in the wind. He had long black hair, and as the sunlight shone through it, a scintillating halo glittered over his head. Beneath that halo was a face that could cause any member of the opposite sex to swoon. It was cold yet handsome, so much so that the creeping vines actually moved out of the way.
Elder Sister Ding’s eyes glittered, and a charming smile appeared on her face as she waved at Xu Qing.
“Junior Brother! How are you dealing with these vines? Are you able to help us a bit?”
Her smile and voice were as sweet as candy, making Zhao Zhongheng, who had just spotted Xu Qing, look very uncomfortable. Despite being extremely polite during their entire journey, Elder Sister Ding had never once smiled at him in this way....
A look of displeasure appeared on his face, and hostility brewed in his heart as he glared at Xu Qing. And that was when he realized he recognized this newcomer.
“It’s you!”
If it was anyone else, he probably would have long forgotten their face. But Xu Qing was the kind of person people didn’t easily forget. As soon as he recognized Xu Qing, he sensed the spirit power fluctuations coming off of him, and realized that he was a lot stronger than the last time they’d met. That said, Zhao Zhongheng was a conclave disciple with a very high status, the type of person who looked down on countless Offpeak disciples. [1]
Eyes turning cold, he coolly said, “Get over here and help us open up a path.”
This was the way he normally bossed around gray-robed Offpeak disciples. After all, based on his experiences, disciples like that were usually in awe of him, and listened to everything he said.
Xu Qing had noticed The Phoenix earlier, as well as the two conclave disciples in pale violet robes who stood upon it. However he hadn’t intended on doing anything other than speed past them.
“Hey, are you deaf?” Zhao Zhongheng shouted. “Didn’t you hear what I said?”
Looking very grim, he summoned a host of water droplets that turned into a sword which shot toward Xu Qing’s dharmaboat. As it neared, a screen of water shot up to block it. The water sword shattered.
Xu Qing’s dharmaboat suddenly decelerated to a stop. He slowly turned and looked at Zhao Zhongheng, his eyes cold. Then the water by his boat seethed as a massive dragonwhale breached the surface. However, it only emerged partly from the water, the sunlight glinting dazzlingly on its surface. It let loose a spine-tingling roar, then smashed down onto the water and sank beneath the surface, creating a huge splash that sent water out in all directions.
The sight caused Zhao Zhongheng’s face to fall. And his attendants all looked on with wide eyes. Even Elder Sister Ding looked surprised.
“A Forbidden Sea dragonwhale!” Zhao Zhongheng gasped, looking at Xu Qing in disbelief. He was a conclave disciple, so he usually exerted crushing pressure on Offpeak disciples. Except... that wasn’t an absolute rule.
An Offpeak disciple who could summon a Forbidden Sea dragonwhale while in the eighth level of the Seaforming Scripture indicated a shocking level of talent. People like that almost always reached Foundation Establishment.
Zhao Zhongheng knew that people like that weren’t worth provoking, and in fact, were worth making friends with. After all, if someone like that reached Foundation Establishment, their status would instantly reach a very high level. And then, they would be someone he would have to offer respectful greetings to.
Looking coldly at Zhao Zhongheng as his facial expression changed, Xu Qing calmly said, “I charge twenty spirit stones per boat. Except yours. For you it’ll be a hundred.”
1. Xu Qing and Zhao Zhongheng met in chapter 65. ☜