“Splash...”
A Sea Nation person with a fish head carried a bucket, splashed fresh water onto the deck, and skillfully scrubbed away the bloodstains with a bamboo brush.
The troublemaking yakshas and Sea Dragons had already been dragged away. Seeing that the excitement was over, the surrounding crowd dispersed in all directions.
The yaksha who had just been speaking had turned into a corpse in the blink of an eye. Death could come in an instant.
Hongluo and Wanniang both looked a bit pale.
They had not expected the yaksha to be so brutal, actually daring to violently kill someone in broad daylight.
“Strength is respected in the cultivation world. Although there are major sects and conventional rules agreed upon by various nations, it is ultimately nothing like the Great Song. On this path, everyone is fighting—fighting for opportunities, fighting for destiny, and fighting for a way to survive. In the future, I will also fight. I might also kill people.”
Nan Zhi did not sugarcoat things, simply staring at the two of them as she said calmly: “What happened just now can be considered a wake-up call for us. In the cultivation world, such things can happen to us at any time. We must get used to life and death.”
The yakshas and Sea Dragons were mortal enemies. Even the Wuwei Sect did not dare to casually interfere in the affairs of the two nations, let alone her.
—The two hundred points of faction Favorability was real, but she was not some brainless crowd-pleaser who could just shout “Stop!” or say a few superficial words and expect both sides to obediently lay down their weapons.
The only thing she could do was make good use of her current conditions, strive forward, and climb the great Dao.
“The Wuwei Sect disciples certainly arrived quickly. Just now, I thought you were going to stand up for that yaksha, and my heart was in my throat.”
Wanniang tucked her hair behind her ear. Her expression shifted slightly as she realized that Nan Zhi’s blunt words were for their own good. Exhaling softly, she said: “That yaksha was fierce, and those Sea Dragon people do not seem easy to get along with either. Since we have just arrived, we should stay away from these foreign races. Let us not casually interfere, lest we bring trouble upon ourselves.”
Hongluo had accepted the yaksha's bright pearl, and now she was tugging at Nan Zhi's sleeve, refusing to let go, thinking she had caused trouble.
“How is this related to you? We were just minding our own business and walking along. That yaksha came looking for trouble first, which was why he gave you the pearl to apologize. The Yaksha Nation and the Sea Dragon Kingdom are like fire and water. They fight and tear each other apart the moment they meet. It has nothing to do with us.”
Nan Zhi patted the little hedgehog’s head and showed the two of them the jade token in her hand: “This is not a good place to talk. We have been assigned to Yellow-grade Room 627. The Splendid Platform will only stay at Jueming Cliff for three shichen, so let us head back to our room first and settle down before we talk.”
The ghost and the demon agreed and followed her to find the Yellow-grade rooms. As Nan Zhi turned around, she could not help but glance at the deck.
The deck was perfectly clean, with no trace of blood left.
The stench of blood was swept away by the wind. Flying boats landed one after another, and new cultivators and spirit creatures boarded the ship.
It was as if nothing had ever happened.
...
...
The Yellow-grade Room 627 where the three of them were staying was not hard to find. Among the four tiers of guest rooms—Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow—the Yellow-grade rooms were located at the very bottom of the ship's cabins, below Earth and Mysterious.
Compared to the pavilions and terraces above the deck, the densely packed Yellow-grade area was somewhat cramped and congested.
Stacked level upon level, most of those living here were rogue cultivators, mountain spirits, and foreign sea monsters. They did not interfere with one another and walked with hurried steps.
There were no windows or portholes on the ship's walls. The ceiling of each level was embedded with illumination formations that remained lit twelve shichen a day, making it easy for people to lose track of day and night.
The hull of the ship was hollow, and in the very center stood an irregular, massive stone mountain. There was the sound of trickling water, clear green springs, thick shrubs, and wild flowers scattered everywhere, giving one the illusion of being in a secluded wilderness.
Standing in the Yellow-grade area and looking up, one could see giant pines stretching out from the stone mountain, cascading waterfalls, and the pavilions, terraces, water pavilions, and jade platforms at the top, all hidden in a hazy mist.
Vaguely, the sounds of string and woodwind music could be heard, truly exceptionally moving.
That was where the Heaven-grade rooms were located.
...
“The Wuwei Sect truly has grand methods. This is no ordinary rockery piled up with earth and stone. It looks like they used sword qi to forcefully slice off the peak of some mountain and place it onto this ship.”
Nan Zhi could not help but praise in admiration: “Blowing up a mountain is no great feat, but being able to move such a massive mountain, moving mountains and draining seas, growing trees and creating land—these are indeed extraordinary methods.”
“Of course. The Wuwei Sect, along with the Qingjing Sect and the Hehuan Sect, are listed as the three major sects of the North Province. Within their gates, Deity Transformation and Nascent Soul cultivators are countless. There are even Void Refinement and Body Integration Ancestors presiding over them. It is a place that cultivators all over the world yearn for.”
A black bear spirit passing by could not help but chime in, gesturing toward the top with his furry bear snout: “The three major sects are closely connected. Any of their disciples who board the ship, regardless of their cultivation or age, can go straight to the Mysterious-grade rooms. From the Mysterious-grade rooms upward, there are wine shops, singing and dancing, alchemy rooms, and gambling markets—truly everything one could wish for. It is no different from a scaled-down Rakshasa Sea Market. Unlike us poor rogue cultivators, who finally scrape together enough spirit stones to board the ship, only to have to worry about food and expenses. Tsk tsk, these days, humans and humans, humans and demons, we all share the same world but have completely different fates, damn it!”
Saying this, the black bear suddenly winked at her: “This brother here happens to have a way to make a fortune. I guarantee you will make a huge profit with minimal investment and earn a fortune. You just need to pay fifty middle grade spirit stones to join first. I wonder if this fellow Daoist is interested...”
“You should find someone else, fellow Daoist. I just paid the room rent, and right now I am still worrying about where to earn spirit stones. I am really tight on funds.”
Nan Zhi smiled politely and turned to open her room's formation with her jade token.
Who would have thought the black bear spirit would be so persistent? His gaze fell upon Hongluo, and he leaned his large face closer, showing a critical expression: “I do not know where you are headed, fellow Daoist, but your accompanying little demon looks terribly weak. We have sturdy and powerful demon beasts on hand—wolves, tigers, leopards, bears, insects, foxes, snakes... Even if you do not buy, it is fine to take a look. We also have high grade pills to strengthen the body and temper the meridians, as well as formations and talismans essential for self-defense and ambush! Hey, hey, hey, do not leave! If you do not fancy any of those, we also have items refined by Hehuan Sect alchemists for nourishing the kidneys, strengthening yang, aphrodisiacs, and boosting Dual Cultivation pleasure, for only ten low grade spirit stones a bottle—”
She really should not have casually conversed with people!
What was with this sense of deja vu, like being cornered by a scammer trying to sell things on a train?
Did she look like a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered?
With a forehead full of black lines, Nan Zhi hurriedly squeezed inside and shut the door, locking out the black bear spirit who had still not had his fill of selling.
The human, the demon, and the ghost leaned against the door, looked at one another, and burst into laughter at the same time.
...
“How is it that this cultivation world is no different from the mortal realm? There are thieves and scammers everywhere.”
Wanniang wiped away her tears of laughter and pointed at Nan Zhi: “Nourishing the kidneys, strengthening yang, aphrodisiacs—hahaha! Zhizhi does not even have a lover yet and has never tasted the intimacy between a man and a woman, yet that blind black bear spirit could not even tell.”
“You have not even had any wine today, so how have you lost your mind? Could Hehuan Sect pills casually flow into the outside world for just over ten spirit stones a bottle?”
Nan Zhi hurriedly covered Hongluo’s ears and rolled her eyes at Wanniang: “Do not speak nonsense in front of the child.”
“What does it matter? Do not look at Hongluo having transformed into a young lady and think she is young. If we are being precise, you are the youngest among us.”
As soon as Wanniang said this, Hongluo lifted her chin, nodded, and explained seriously: “It is not easy for us spirit creatures to gain intelligence and transform. No one knows when we might die, so the first thing we do once we gain intelligence is to have pups. If I had not been following Mistress all this time, I would have already given birth to who knows how many litters of hedgehog pups.”
“……”
Nan Zhi's smile froze on her face. She solemnly cupped the little hedgehog's face and urged: “You are still young, just a little baby. You should focus on your cultivation. You are not allowed to say such things in the future.”
She did not care; in her eyes, Hongluo was still a baby.
Finding a male hedgehog to have pups? She would kill any that came near.
—It felt very much like a mother worrying that her sweet, soft, and darling daughter would one day be led astray by some punk.
Rate on N.U.
