Pinghai County, Hai Cao Town pier.
Brawny sailors in short working clothes were busily moving goods, and a strong smell of sea salt assailed their nostrils even before they reached the shore.
Clusters of black-green, kelp-like seaweed were hooked out from the seabed, and people on the shore immediately stepped forward, holding sharp sickles to harvest and cut them.
“Sea skirt grass, if processed properly, makes for an extremely delicious dish, and it also has certain medicinal value. It’s considered Hai Cao Town’s specialty. When this servant was in Fu City before, she often bought this sea skirt grass.”
Two figures strolled along the coast. The one speaking was a tall woman wearing a veil, her voice as melodious as silver bells. It was Nong Yu.
In front of her was Lin Sheng, over two meters tall with a robust Physique, dressed in black tight-fitting clothes. His messy black hair was scattered over his shoulders, and his features were sharply defined. His expression was calm, but he exuded an inexplicable imposing aura that deterred others from approaching.
“It seems this sea skirt grass indeed has quite a reputation.” Lin Sheng nodded, his gaze sweeping over the seaweed and landing on a small merchant ship docked at the pier.
The merchant ship bore a blue crescent flag, and sturdy sailors could be seen from time to time.
Noticing Lin Sheng and Nong Yu, a person on the pier immediately came forward, a respectful smile on his face, and said,
“Lord Lin, you’ve arrived. The ship is ready; just come aboard with this humble one.”
The man was a strong, dark-skinned fellow, clearly a man who had made his living at sea for many years.
This person was Wu Chuan, one of the two Hidden Star Envoys who had greeted them two days prior.
After deciding to go out to sea to search for the bioluminescent jellyfish swarm, Lin Sheng had already found Wu Chuan and stated his intention to go out to sea and take a look.
The latter was quite direct; although a bit puzzled, he immediately arranged a ship to cooperate.
Soon, the group boarded the merchant ship. Although it was only a small merchant ship, it was not comparable to an ordinary fishing boat. The merchant ship underfoot was more than ten meters long and five meters wide, and it was equipped with more than ten sailors.
Moreover, these sailors were all Martial Artists with cultivation, the weakest of whom had Forging Tendons Realm cultivation, presumably all disguised Star Apprentices.
After boarding, Wu Chuan immediately led Lin Sheng and Nong Yu to a room already prepared in the ship. Although not large, the decorations inside were quite good, clearly showing some effort had been put into it.
After doing this, he then gave an order to the waiting sailors.
“Hoist the sails and set sail.”
Soon, amidst shouts, the yellow-white sails were hoisted high, and the merchant ship slowly left the pier, gradually picking up speed.
On the deck, Lin Sheng stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the boundless sea before him.
From time to time, shadows of fish schools, strung together, could be seen swimming past on both sides of the ship.
“My Lord, where are we heading on this voyage? In this humble one’s opinion, there’s a small island three hundred nautical miles to the east. Although very small, it has beautiful scenery worth seeing.”
Wu Chuan stood behind him and respectfully asked.
In his opinion, this Genius from Fulong Tao likely wanted to see the scenery of the East Sea because he wanted to go out to sea. After all, Fulong Tao was far from the East Sea. He rarely had the chance to come here, so he probably hadn't seen the East Sea scenery before.
Lin Sheng looked at Nong Yu, who immediately understood and spoke.
“Captain Wu, steer the ship west, towards the area of the Second Channel.”
“Second Channel!?”
Hearing this, Wu Chuan was startled and looked at Nong Yu with some surprise, not expecting her to be quite knowledgeable about the East Sea. These channel divisions were known only to merchant fleets of considerable size that had been sailing the seas for many years.
However, he soon frowned slightly and said with some hesitation,
“The Second Channel is basically beyond the near-shore boundary. We might encounter Yao Beast attacks or severe weather there.”
He was indeed worried about encountering any accidents, as they hadn't brought many people on this trip.
“It’s fine; just do as I say.”
Lin Sheng said calmly.
“This… alright.”
Seeing Lin Sheng speak, Wu Chuan could only nod in agreement.
After all, the other party was not only a Blazing Star Envoy but also a Disciple of a Grandmaster and an Essence Transformation seed. His status was incomparable to that of a mere Hidden Star Envoy like himself.
Not long after, the ship changed direction and headed west.
*
*
Southern Qi, Northern Lands.
More than a dozen snow-white Giant Wolves were steadfastly in the valley, carrying tall, rugged-featured, strong figures dressed in animal skins on their backs.
These snow-white Giant Wolves were a few sizes larger than an elephant, exuding a terrifying aura. They were clearly powerful Vicious Beasts of high-tier Spirit Beast level.
Especially the leading snow-white Giant Wolf at the very front, which had a tuft of golden fur on its head. Although slightly smaller in size than the other Giant Wolves, its imposing aura was clearly stronger than the others. Even if it wasn't a formidable Vicious Beast of the Yao Beast level, it was very close.
“What, we have to give 1/3 of the Heavenly Granted Spirit Spring to others? Is Huyan Ji, General out of his mind? Their Southern Qi Imperial Family has always occupied 1/3 of the Spirit Spring’s share, which basically meets their internal consumption. But the remaining two-thirds were already insufficient for our several sects’ consumption, and now they want to give some to others? Is this a joke!?”
On one of the snow-white Giant Wolves, a strong, wheat-skinned woman looked at the letter in her hand, directly tearing it into pieces, and said in a deep voice.
“Leader, we cannot agree to this request.”
On the leading golden-furred Giant Wolf was a strong bald old man. Although he looked very old, he exuded a terrifying wild aura, like a sleeping lion that could awaken at any moment.
He slowly opened his eyes, and his pupils were beast-like, brownish-yellow.
A fierce glint flashed in his eyes. His rough hand gently stroked the Giant Wolf he was sitting on, and he slowly said,
“Send a message to Zhong Po. My Snow Wolf Tribe agrees, but tell him to inform Huyan Ji that the favor I owed him before is now nullified.”
“Leader, the Heavenly Granted Spirit Spring is already insufficient for the Geniuses in our tribe. If we give some more away, wouldn't it affect our tribe’s future…”
The wheat-skinned woman, hearing this, showed surprise on her face and spoke somewhat anxiously.
“Are you questioning my decision?”
The bald old man didn't turn his head, only calmly threw out a sentence.
Immediately, the woman felt as if she was being watched by a terrifying Vicious Beast, as if she could be swallowed whole at any moment.
Her words immediately stopped, and she began to tremble, quickly lowering her head.
“Jima wouldn’t dare. It was Jima’s lapse of composure; please forgive me, Leader…”
The bald old man no longer paid attention, gently stroking the golden wolf and falling back into a state of feigned sleep.
Similar situations unfolded in several other places.
However, the final outcome was generally acceptance.
*
Whoosh…
Waves several meters high rolled up and crashed down heavily, making dull thudding sounds.
Fierce waves came one after another, but fortunately, the merchant ship was very sturdy and adapted to such conditions. If it were an ordinary fishing boat, it would have probably been wrecked and its crew lost.
However, dull thudding sounds came from the bottom of the ship, as if someone in the sea was striking the hull with a huge hammer.
“It’s the Ghost Head Fish! Be careful and watch the ship. I’ll go down and deal with that beast.”
Hearing the dense knocking sounds, Wu Chuan frowned and immediately shouted to the sailors on board. As he spoke, he had already torn off his clothes, preparing to jump into the sea.
At this moment, a figure plunged into the water before him.
“Lord Lin!!”
Wu Chuan paused, but quickly reacted and shouted anxiously.
However, no sooner had his voice fallen than Lin Sheng, who had just plunged into the sea a second ago, suddenly leaped out of the water and landed steadily on the deck.
Even his clothes were still as they were, without a single drop of water.
The only change was that he now held a 5-meter-long large fish in his hand.
The fish's head was different from ordinary fish. It had a hammer-shaped fleshy growth on its forehead, which was stained with some wood chips.
“Lord Lin, are you… alright?”
Seeing this, Wu Chuan was stunned for a moment before reacting and quickly stepping forward.
“I’m fine. The Ghost Head Fish you mentioned should be this guy. It looks quite peculiar.”
Lin Sheng shook his head, his fingers already embedded in the Ghost Head Fish’s scales.
Relevant information appeared on the panel.
【Beast Name: Ghost Head Fish (Spirit)】
【Five meters long, head like a heavy hammer, highly aggressive, low intelligence, low-tier Spirit Beast…】
【Ingestion Requirement: None】
【Ingestion Effect: Strength increase 5, Physique increase 4, Agility increase 3】
【Talent: Gill Absorption (Level 1)】
【Talent: Giant Strength (Level 1)】
A low-tier Spirit Beast, and among low-tier Spirit Beasts, it belonged to the lower ranks, with nothing particularly outstanding.
It seemed to have two talents, but strictly speaking, only Giant Strength could be considered a true talent.
In the past two days, driven by curiosity, he occasionally captured some strangely shaped fish he encountered in the sea. Although they were just ordinary beasts, they all had a Gill Absorption Talent.
So he also surmised that Gill Absorption should be a Talent possessed by all sea beasts.
After a glance, he lost interest in the Ghost Head Fish and casually tossed it to Wu Chuan.
“Deal with it.”
“Yes, Lord Lin.”
Catching the Ghost Head Fish, Wu Chuan was somewhat surprised. Although he had seen Lin Sheng take action before, those were just ordinary beasts. This Ghost Head Fish, however, was a genuine Spirit Beast. While not strong, it was in its home territory in the sea.
Even if he could easily capture and kill it, he definitely couldn't do it as swiftly as Lin Sheng just did, bringing it up in a breath.
He felt ashamed of his own capabilities compared to such a method.
“As expected of a Grandmaster’s Disciple. His methods are indeed extraordinary.”
This thought flashed through his mind as he tossed the Ghost Head Fish to a sailor.
“Gut it and scale it. This will be our meal for today.”
Soon, two sailors came forward and carried away the now lifeless Ghost Head Fish.
Looking at the increasingly fierce waves ahead, Wu Chuan couldn't help but speak.
“It’s been two days. We are now in the area of the Second Channel. If we go a few hundred more miles, we’ll be completely out of the near-shore range.”
Hearing this, Lin Sheng’s gaze fell on Nong Yu.
Nong Yu then took out a monocular telescope from her In arms, held it to her eye, and carefully surveyed the surroundings, finally saying,
“We still need to go forward.”
“Still going forward.”
Wu Chuan’s face showed some helplessness, but he still had to obey the order. He commanded the sailors to control the sails and continue sailing forward.
“Nong Yu, how do you determine where those bioluminescent jellyfish swarms are?”
Lin Sheng asked curiously, watching Nong Yu constantly scanning the sea surface with the telescope.
“During their mating season, bioluminescent jellyfish swarms consume a lot of energy, so before that, they emit a special scent. Although humans can hardly smell it, it has a strong attraction for many fish schools, attracting a large number of fish schools to obtain sufficient food before they begin to mate.”
“Now should be the period for accumulating energy, so as long as we can find abnormal fish schools, there’s a high probability of finding the bioluminescent jellyfish swarm’s location.”
Nong Yu explained carefully while looking at the sea.
“I see.” Lin Sheng nodded.
It had to be admitted that Nong Yu’s understanding of sea beasts was indeed extraordinary.
Half a day later.
The waves grew larger and larger. At this point, the merchant ship had reached the near-shore boundary. Standing on the deck, looking at the turbulent seawater, the originally blue seawater had now turned dark blue.
“I’ve found something!!”
At this moment, Nong Yu suddenly shouted excitedly.
“Captain Wu, head north.”
Wu Chuan immediately ordered the sailors to change direction and sail north.
By now, he understood that Lin Sheng’s trip out to sea was clearly not for sightseeing, but to find something.
Understanding this, he didn’t waste any more words and simply went with the flow, just following orders.
Lin Sheng’s heart also stirred. He narrowed his eyes, focused his vision, and looked in the direction Nong Yu’s telescope pointed.
He only saw nearly a hundred half-meter-long sea fish in the waves, rapidly swimming north.
“Young Master, did you see them? Those are Three-Eyed Fish. They rarely come to this near-shore boundary on normal days. Their appearance here is very likely due to external influence.”
Nong Yu put down the telescope and said excitedly.
As the ship turned, the distance to the fish school gradually closed.
Even without a telescope, their location could already be seen.
Half an hour later.
Besides the Three-Eyed Fish, another fish school was discovered, also heading north.
This made Nong Yu even more certain of her guess.
Soon, half a day passed, and by now, the sky had darkened, and it was nightfall.
Dark clouds gathered in the sky, obscuring any starlight or moonlight, and the East Sea was shrouded in darkness.
“Oh no, we’ve run into cloudy weather. We might lose track of these fish schools.”
Looking at the gray sky, Nong Yu’s delicate brows furrowed, and she couldn't help but say.
As she spoke, a thunderous boom and a flash of lightning occurred, momentarily blinding them.
She picked up her telescope and looked at the sea surface again, but the fish schools were no longer in sight.
“Oh no, the fish schools are gone! They must have submerged and changed their position.”
Nong Yu’s face showed anxiety, and she said urgently.
She even wanted to jump into the sea to search for them herself.
However, Lin Sheng stopped her.
“No rush, head northwest.” Lin Sheng said calmly.
Nong Yu might not be able to find those fish schools, but that didn't mean he couldn't. When he switched to a high-perception exotic beast, he could clearly see through the sea surface, hundreds of meters away, the fish schools rapidly swimming northwest.
In fact, the number of fish schools was two more than before.