novelraw Chapter 245 : You and I Board the Ship
Chapter 245 : You and I Board the Ship
Chapter 245: You and I Board the Ship
After bidding farewell to Xie Wan, Ji Yuan entered a teahouse by the roadside. By the time he went up and came back down, both his appearance and aura had completely changed.
After all, in Southern Sea City, at most there were only Golden Core cultivators.
As long as there were no Nascent Soul cultivators around, no one would be able to see through this Shapeshifting Talisman.
So identifying Ji Yuan’s true identity was simply impossible.
With his altered appearance, he wandered around the streets for a while before finally arriving at the entrance of the Water Dragon Sect’s shop.
This place was his intended trade location. He hadn’t forgotten that the main purpose of this trip was still to complete a sect task—his trip to Ice-Fire Island was just something to do afterward.
He looked up at the signboard hanging above the shop.
“Thousand Talismans”
Upon entering, he found that this shop indeed specialized in talismans—first-tier, second-tier, and even a small selection of pills placed in the corner.
The Duty Disciple who had been counting talismans immediately stowed them away upon seeing the visitor, stood up, and cupped his hands in salute.
“Greetings, Senior.”
Ji Yuan waved his hand. “No need for formalities. I’m just browsing.”
“Yes, understood.”
Though he said that, how would a Qi Refining cultivator dare to sit? He merely lowered his head slightly and stood by attentively.
Ji Yuan had said he was browsing, and he truly began examining the shop in detail.
Most of the talismans sold here were second-tier and water-element based. Judging from the strokes on the talisman corners and heads, the one who drew these talismans clearly had technique and skill far above his own.
At least, Ji Yuan didn’t have such seasoned experience.
But in terms of talent, he figured the person was likely inferior to himself.
Because after examining the whole shop, he hadn’t seen a single talisman formation. Most of the talismans were only mid to low second-tier.
Once he finished browsing all the talismans, the Qi Refining cultivator still didn’t urge him, maintaining a pleasant smile throughout.
Ji Yuan stepped up to him, first scanning the doorway with his Divine Sense to confirm there was no one around. Then, he took out a jade token from his storage pouch and infused it with spiritual energy.
A blue water dragon, symbolizing the Water Dragon Sect, rose from the token.
Seeing this, the slight unease in the Qi Refining cultivator’s heart disappeared completely. He even found the disheveled-looking senior before him to appear much more kindly and approachable.
“So it’s Martial Uncle himself. This junior, Xiao Qing, greets you.”
“Mm. Who’s overseeing this location?”
“It’s Martial Uncle Cang Song. This junior will summon him immediately.”
After Xiao Qing spoke, he turned and went to the back hall. Ji Yuan waited in place. Not long after, hurried footsteps came from within the building.
Turning slightly, Ji Yuan saw an elderly man with white hair and beard rushing out.
His cultivation wasn’t particularly strong—merely at the Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment.
“Wuyou greets Senior Brother Cang Song.”
“No need for such courtesy, Junior Brother Wuyou.”
Cang Song, upon seeing someone from his own sect, was in excellent spirits. He stroked his beard and greeted him with a smile.
“Please, Junior Brother Wuyou, come inside and chat.”
“Thank you, Senior Brother.”
In this faraway Southern Sea City, seeing a fellow sect member was no different than seeing a close relative to Island Lord Cang Song.
Once the two entered, it naturally involved some good food and drinks for hospitality.
Ji Yuan took the opportunity to bring out a storage pouch issued by the sect, sealed with a special restriction. It held all the items for the task he had received.
Cang Song took the pouch and lifted the restriction in front of Ji Yuan. After inspecting the contents carefully and confirming everything was in order, he put it away and handed Ji Yuan a receipt.
Once back at the sect, Ji Yuan could use this receipt to claim his task reward from the Thousand Mechanisms Hall.
“Thank you, Senior Brother.”
“Ai, what are you saying, Junior Brother? You’re the one who had to make this trip.”
“……”
After that, the two reminisced for quite some time, and Ji Yuan also learned many things he hadn’t known before from Island Lord Cang Song—
Even things Xie Wan didn’t know.
After all, some matters only circulated among the upper echelons of the cultivation world.
And in Southern Sea City, Foundation Establishment cultivators definitely counted as upper echelon.
For example, that group of Ephemeral Bloomers—how they managed to gain a foothold in Southern Sea City and even open a direct sea route through the Storm Zone to Ice-Fire Island was due to one of them being a Pseudo-Core cultivator.
Ji Yuan took the chance to ask if they were Demonic Cultivators.
Island Lord Cang Song said there was no clear distinction between righteous and demonic anymore. They acted unscrupulously, without clear alignment.
Such cultivators were becoming more common in Eastern Shang—especially among rogue cultivators. When the righteous path had the upper hand, they called themselves righteous. Now, with the current state of the world, they simply called themselves rogue cultivators.
‘Isn’t that exactly me?’ Ji Yuan muttered to himself.
After chatting for most of the day, he took his leave, saying that the world was in crisis and he needed to return to the sect to report.
Island Lord Cang Song politely said a few words but didn’t insist on him staying.
After all, Ji Yuan spoke the truth. With the current situation, it was best to return to the sect sooner rather than later.
“Then take care on your journey, Junior Brother.”
“Mm.”
“……”
After leaving the place, Ji Yuan headed north. Just before reaching the city gate, he found a nearby place to stay.
Once settled, he used another Shapeshifting Talisman to return to his previous appearance and quietly waited for the Luo Family’s notification.
As for that group of Ephemeral Bloomers—after hearing Island Lord Cang Song’s account, Ji Yuan increasingly felt they resembled those from the Great Love Sect.
The Pseudo-Core cultivator would naturally be Mourning Scattered One. The others… only Ye Zhiqiu and Deng Pinghai remained.
But if it really were them, then the Great Love Sect must have recruited other Foundation Establishment cultivators. After all, an organization led by a Pseudo-Core cultivator could indeed attract such followers.
That, however, was just Ji Yuan’s guess. Whether it was true or not… was uncertain.
Four days passed in the blink of an eye.
By the night of the third day, Ji Yuan had already begun heading south. When he arrived at the southern gate of Southern Sea City, it was just past dawn.
Even the boarding certificate in his storage pouch hadn’t begun to glow yet.
Perhaps it was perfect timing—he happened to see two large ships arriving at the port.
One to the left, one to the right.
The one on the left was naturally the Luo Family’s Whale Patrol Boat. The visible part above the water was shaped like a giant whale skeleton. From its appearance, Ji Yuan thought this vessel was likely capable of submerging beneath the sea.
Perhaps that was how it passed through the Storm Zone—by going underwater.
Overall, the Whale Patrol Boat looked fine—relatively new in appearance, with a fierce design that gave a strong sense of safety at a glance.
As for the right side—the Ephemeral Bloom Boat that looked like a night-blooming flower—there was little to say.
It was pitch black throughout, with severely damaged petals.
Cang Song had casually mentioned this before: the Ephemeral Bloom Boat would close all its petals into a bud when traversing the Storm Zone, essentially brute-forcing its way through.
Which explained why it looked so damaged now.
Once the two large ships docked and steadied, Ji Yuan saw figures appear on both sides.
The Luo Family cultivators were nothing special—just elegantly dressed, exuding an air of superiority.
Ji Yuan paid closer attention to the Ephemeral Bloomers.
Today was the day the Luo Family’s Whale Patrol Boat was setting off, and also the day the Ephemeral Bloom Boat had just returned from Ice-Fire Island. The disembarking Ephemeral Bloomers totaled four people.
Leading them was still the Pseudo-Core realm cultivator.
Ji Yuan glanced once, then looked away.
He had also confirmed—they were not the same people from the Great Love Sect. The leading Pseudo-Core cultivator was a woman—petite and dainty—with exposed arms and ankles that were fair and delicate. The other three were men, none of whom Ji Yuan recognized. Their auras didn’t match either.
As expected, the world was vast. To run into familiar people here… was far too unlikely.
After a few glances, Ji Yuan stepped aside and let them pass.
Once they had left, the boarding certificate in Ji Yuan’s storage pouch began to glow. He stepped forward and arrived at the Whale Patrol Boat.
Standing guard at this time was a Luo Family cultivator at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage.
Middle-aged, slightly portly, dressed in ornate robes.
“Greetings, fellow Daoist.”
Ji Yuan returned the greeting, then took out his boarding certificate from the storage pouch.
Seeing the gold-edged certificate, the Luo Family cultivator’s smile became more genuine. He still inspected it before returning it with both hands.
“Fellow Daoist, please board the ship.”
Seeing no other cultivators arriving, he personally led Ji Yuan onto the Whale Patrol Boat.
“Fellow Daoist, this must be your first trip to Ice-Fire Island? Before we reach the Storm Zone, feel free to enjoy the scenery from the deck. But once we get close, you’ll have to return to your cabin.”
“Alright.”
As they conversed, Ji Yuan stepped over the staircase and finally boarded the magic vessel.
Though the Whale Patrol Boat looked like a giant whale on the outside, it had all the features a magic vessel should have.
The deck was built on the whale’s head, surrounded by railings and galleries. The cabin was inside the whale’s body.
Stepping onto the deck supported by precious spiritual wood, Ji Yuan could clearly see formation patterns on the outer hull and railings of the Whale Patrol Boat.
His Divine Sense swept across and identified them instantly.
The Whale Patrol Boat was protected by Third-Tier formations—no wonder it could pass safely through the Storm Zone.
“Oh, right. Fellow Daoist, do you have any preference for accommodations? Our Whale Patrol Boat has several tiers of rooms… The boarding pass you bought includes access to the Earth-Class cabins. Above that, there are Heaven-Class cabins.”
“You might not know, but those Heaven-Class rooms are so well built, you won’t even feel a shake during the Storm Zone crossing.”
…Another excuse to charge money.
Ji Yuan, traveling far from home, wasn’t too particular. As long as he had a place to stay and could reach Ice-Fire Island safely, that was enough.
“Many thanks for your kind offer, fellow Daoist, but there’s no need. Being able to stay in a ‘Earth’-rank cabin is already enough for me.”
Ji Yuan smiled cheerfully as he explained, and the Luo Family cultivator no longer pressed him. Everyone here carried themselves with dignity—there was no need to insist.
Since that was the case, the Luo Family cultivator called for a maidservant on board to receive Ji Yuan, then excused himself and returned to the dock to welcome other cultivators.
“Take me to the cabin.”
Since the Whale Patrol Boat had not yet set sail, there was not much to see on the deck. Ji Yuan naturally felt it better to return and cultivate.
“Yes, senior, please follow me.”
The lightly dressed maidservant gave a slight bow and led Ji Yuan toward the cabins.
The doorway connecting the deck to the cabins turned out to be the eye of the giant whale—one eye for entry, one for exit.
Ji Yuan took this chance to glance into the “control room” of the Whale Patrol Boat. Surprisingly, it was located inside the whale’s mouth. However, he did not see the captain of the vessel, likely because they had yet to board.
“Senior, this is your guest room.”
Perhaps because Ji Yuan was the first to board, the maidservant led him to Room Earth-One.
From the railing, Ji Yuan looked downward and saw that there were two lower levels—one comprised of “Human”-rank rooms, and the lowest level, which bore no specific designation.
The “Earth”-rank floor had a total of ten rooms. One tier above, the “Heaven”-rank floor had only five.
After glancing around briefly, Ji Yuan entered his own room.
The room was not particularly large, containing only a bed, a meditation cushion, and a small square table—nothing more.
Ji Yuan first activated the room’s restriction array, then attached a few talismans to the door and windows.
Some were for aura isolation, others for soundproofing.
Moreover, the cabin was not suitable for activating the 【Cave Dwelling】, so he instead opened the 【Enlightenment Room】 to continue comprehending the 《Sword Manual》.
About half a day passed this way when Ji Yuan suddenly felt a slight tremor, followed by the entire ship beginning to move.
‘We’ve… set off?’
Ji Yuan rose from his meditation cushion and pushed open the door.
The moment he appeared, several gazes landed on him from the corridor inside the ship.
He met them all with an unflinching gaze. On this level… he didn’t know how many were staying in total, but he saw five Foundation Establishment cultivators in the corridor, including himself.
On the level above, the five rooms all had their doors tightly shut, so Ji Yuan couldn’t tell whether they were occupied. As for the lower “Human”-rank floor, he saw 18 people in the hallway—only three at Early Foundation Establishment, the rest were all Qi Refining cultivators.
Ji Yuan only gave a cursory glance before withdrawing his gaze and exiting through the whale’s eye to the deck.
There, the number of cultivators was greater—over 30 in total, with 8 Foundation Establishment cultivators. Judging by this, it seemed quite a number of people were headed to Ice-Fire Island.
He reckoned there must already be a sizable gathering on the island.
As that thought flashed through Ji Yuan’s mind, he walked toward the railing, watching the massive ship set out to sea.
As he approached, the Qi Refining cultivators standing nearby quickly stepped aside to give him space.
Some, being more polite, even cupped their hands in salute before moving away.
Ji Yuan wasn’t surprised by this. He stood there, watching the ship depart from the dock, and in a daze, he even felt a hint of nostalgia—just like the time he had set out from Zengtou Market to fish.
Except that time, it had been a lake. Now, it was the sea.
At first, they had to look up at the towering Southern Sea City, but gradually it leveled with their line of sight. Later still, it turned into a protruding black dot on the coastline.
Only when the sea met the sky did Ji Yuan finally withdraw his gaze.
“Judging by your expression, fellow Daoist, is this your first time out at sea?”
A cheerful voice came from beside Ji Yuan. He turned and saw a slightly balding old man with a friendly smile. Likely due to years of wind and sun, his skin was darkly tanned. His cultivation wasn’t low either—Mid Foundation Establishment.
“That’s right. I’m from the inland.”
Ji Yuan cupped his hands in return.
“Ah, the inland is great. If I hadn’t spent my whole life floating on the sea and didn’t know how to make a living on land, I’d have moved inland long ago.”
The old man chuckled.
“You’re just teasing me, fellow Daoist. From the looks of it, I’d say you’re doing quite well at sea—don’t want to go inland and suffer tilling the soil, eh?”
With nothing better to do, Ji Yuan chatted along with him.
The balding old man laughed. “Fellow Daoist, you’re quite the character. Doing well? More like catching fish three days and going home empty the other two.”
“And the remaining day?”
“That’s spent traveling.”
“……”
With the old man joining him, Ji Yuan’s journey was no longer dull. He alternated between intense cultivation in the cabin and casual chats on the deck.
Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
According to the old man, they were about halfway through their journey. Another ten days and they would reach the Storm Zone… which would take just a day to cross.
Once through the Storm Zone, they would arrive at Ice-Fire Island.
Everything was going smoothly. Ji Yuan also listened to the old man’s strange seafaring tales—like one about a terrifying sea beast called the “Forbidden Hag,” said to resemble a clump of a woman’s hair.
It was immune to wind and fire, and even if cut apart, it would rapidly regenerate—as if it were immortal.
Moreover, it moved extremely fast in the sea.
“So how do you kill it?” Ji Yuan asked, curious.
The old man laughed.
But before he could reply, a female cultivator behind them chuckled and said, “Fellow Daoist, don’t listen to Old Huang’s nonsense. The Forbidden Hag is just a tale to scare children.”
Ji Yuan: “……”
Old Huang raised an eyebrow, displeased. “I wasn’t talking to you. Why butt in?”
Seeing they might start bickering, Ji Yuan hurried to smooth things over, and after some more idle chat, he returned to the cabin.
Just as he stepped back through the whale’s eye and entered the corridor, he habitually looked toward the fourth floor.
Over the past days, Ji Yuan had noticed that two of the five Heaven-rank rooms on the fourth floor were occupied.
However, their residents were extremely reclusive—he had never seen them even once.
But today was different. He saw a woman in a dark green long dress standing at the door of Room Heaven-Two. She vanished in a flash, retreating back into the room.
Ji Yuan caught only a glimpse of her back, which looked vaguely familiar, though he couldn’t be certain.
He let it go.
Another nine peaceful days passed. On the morning of the tenth day, Ji Yuan was jolted out of his cultivation by the ship rocking more violently than usual.
Startled, he realized they had finally reached the Storm Zone!
Once they crossed it, they would arrive at Ice-Fire Island.
According to Old Huang, they would only truly enter the Storm Zone by dusk of the tenth day. Since it was still early, Ji Yuan stepped outside and ascended to the deck.
The deck was already crowded with cultivators eager to see the spectacle.
And in that moment, Ji Yuan finally laid eyes on the true face of the Storm Zone.