Chapter 4: Going to work The next day. As soon as the sky was getting light, Deacon Ling Zifeng could not wait to give orders, for all the pearl divers to go into the water and continue searching for the Jade Crystal Donghua Pearls. It was only because the head of the family sent someone to urge him again last night, and the messenger hinted that foreign enemies were approaching and the situation was serious, so Ling Zifeng did not dare to delay any longer. With his cultivation at the peak of the sixth level of Qi training, he has been in this position for ten years. The benefits are not much, but not too little either. At least it can ensure that he has enough resources for cultivation and improvement. Ling Zifeng felt that if he could have more time, it should not be too difficult for him to break through the bottleneck of the seventh level of Qi training. By then, if I spend some more spiritual stone resources to manage things, maybe I can switch to a position with more benefits? But...if he can't get through this hurdle, he might lose his position as deacon. Thinking of this, Ling Zifeng on the deck gritted his teeth and shouted loudly with a sullen face: "From now on, anyone who brings back a high-quality jade crystal winter bead will be rewarded with 25 spiritual sands, and can also get an extra meal in the evening! Plenty of spiritual rice, meat and spiritual wine. Everyone, pay attention!" The pearl divers gathered on the deck cheered. It was so rare for the deacon to be so generous. As long as I can find a Jade Crystal Donghua Pearl and survive to come back alive, I can have a good meal tonight? Ling Changqing in the crowd smiled silently. He had seen too many such tricks of painting big rosy pictures to motivate subordinates to fight for their lives.
It is well known that the standards set by the top management of the Ling family are: as long as the pearl diver can bring back a high-quality jade crystal winter pearl, the reward and number of family merits he can get are far more than the numbers Ling Zifeng said. As a result, after being deducted at every level, by the time the pearl diver got his hands on it, the reward for a Jade Crystal Donghua Pearl was only twenty pieces of Lingsha plus a little family merit. The pearl divers have always been aware of this blatant practice of taking kickbacks, but they dare not speak out and can only accept their fate. In Ling Changqing's opinion, it is really the same in any time and space world. The group that works the most and suffers the most will always get the least benefits. Those who work less or even no work can get the most benefits, and many people take it for granted. Think about the engineering subcontracting system in previous lives. After layers of subcontracting and commission taking, all the money was taken away by the middlemen. How much could the people who actually did the work get? Sighing secretly, Ling Changqing touched the water-repellent talisman on his chest. After the deacon finished his lecture, he walked towards the rope ladder on the side of the ship. There are numerous small boats alongside the large sea ship. Each pearl diver can choose to board one and be sent to the distant sea by the servants responsible for rowing the boat. Then they can decide for themselves where to land in the water. In order to avoid conflicts among pearl divers, situations where they snatch their harvests or even harm their companions, each pearl diver has a different entry point and activity area. This arrangement is not ineffective, but it is also limited. After all, the deacon will not ask about what happens underwater. It is no secret that some pearl divers who have a great enough grudge against each other would sneak underwater for a long distance and then settle their grudges in the simplest and crudest way, or even snatch each other's spoils. Half of the reduction in the number of pearl divers was due to this, and the rest were due to bad luck and the attacks of some ferocious sea beasts. The job of a pearl diver is indeed not easy to get into. If you are not careful, you may lose your life. However, as a low-level monk, the range of choices you have is really limited. Compared to many other hard and tiring jobs, going to sea to collect pearls is a relatively high-paying way of making a living, provided that you can ensure that you come back alive. "That lucky guy has already gone into the water..." On the large ship, Chen Tong stared at the sea hundreds of feet away with a sinister look in his eyes. From afar, he saw Ling Changqing had packed up his tools, left the boat and slowly dived into the sea. At this moment, Deacon Ling Zifeng had returned to the ship to rest, leaving only a few close relatives of the Ling family and some servants and guards on duty on the deck. "Brother, shall we go down too?" Beside him, a dark-skinned man whispered, "This kid is really lucky. Even the deacon appreciates him. I wonder if he can be as good as before..."
"Maybe one of them accidentally fed the sea monster!" Chen Tong smiled coldly, and the jealousy and resentment in his heart was hard to suppress. In addition to being rejected last time when he asked to borrow money, there was another reason that Chen Tong was unwilling to talk about: Ling Changqing was too young. Although his current cultivation was low, no one could guarantee whether he would have the opportunity to make further progress in the future. If Ling Changqing is really lucky in the future and is fortunate enough to cultivate to the fourth or even fifth level of Qi training, I am afraid that the deacon will value him more and transfer him to work by his side? After all, youth is capital, which means unlimited possibilities. Even among the lower-level monks, young people with talent and brains are easily looked up to. When that time really comes, the difference in status between the two will be immediately apparent, and even Chen Tong will probably have to kowtow and smile in front of the other party. Absolutely intolerable! "Okay, Brother Chen, let's get in the water too!" Chen Tong's companion whispered, "You have returned empty-handed for several days in a row. Be careful this time, otherwise you know the steward's temper." Chen Tong withdrew his gaze in dismay and said in a low voice: "Okay, let's go down." Even with his cultivation, the whip marks on his back still caused waves of pain, making Chen Tong feel humiliated and resentful. Under the sea surface in the distance, Ling Changqing had already calmly dived to the seabed dozens of feet deep. The water-repelling talisman attached to his chest emitted a faint golden light, and combined with the effect of the three-level water-controlling technique, it withstood the huge pressure of the sea water, allowing Ling Changqing to remain free to move underwater. The rugged, dark reefs come into view, the dense seaweed sparkles with colorful light, and numerous marine creatures of various shapes and sizes cruise around leisurely. The seemingly beautiful, peaceful and tranquil underwater world is actually full of hidden dangers. You never know what deadly creature might suddenly pop out, leaving pearl divers defenseless. Therefore, Ling Changqing did not dare to take it lightly at all. He kept his mind tense at all times and carefully paid attention to any movement around him. A primary magical short sword, a water escape talisman, two heavy armor talismans, two thunder control talismans, and several sealing talismans, all of which are primary-level talismans. In addition, there was a silver mesh bag wrapped around his waist and a healing pill hidden in his arms. These were all the belongings that Ling Changqing had. Compared to the unpredictable dangers of the underwater world, Ling Changqing's limited skills and methods are not enough to ensure safety. Once you are targeted by a ferocious sea beast, you will be eaten to the bone if you are not careful! However, this is the fate of all pearl divers. Every pearl diver will die at the bottom of the sea for various reasons within a few years or even more than ten years from the time he first goes into the water, and few can have a good end. Of course, Ling Changqing now has some confidence. As long as he doesn't deliberately commit suicide, it shouldn't be difficult to survive and leave here smoothly. With the help of the power of the Water Control Technique, Ling Changqing's body floated lightly in the sea water, shuttling among countless strange-shaped reefs like a fish. At the bottom of those reefs, one can occasionally see dark caves of varying sizes, emitting a chilling and chilling atmosphere that is extremely creepy. Ling Changqing concentrated his mind and swam leisurely, carefully sensing and distinguishing the breath between the many caves, looking for traces of the sand-bathing sea clams. The Sand-Bathed Sea Clam is the seabed shellfish that breeds the Jade Crystal Winter Pearl. It is alert and cunning by nature, and good at camouflage and hiding. Although it is not yet a first-level monster, it is not easy to find and capture in an underwater environment. The top management of the Ling family had considered breeding this kind of thing artificially to ensure that they could continue to obtain large quantities of Jade Crystal Winter Hua Pearls, but after several attempts, they ended in failure. Any sand-bathing sea clam that has had its pearl taken away once will never produce new Jade Crystal Winter Pearls again in its lifetime.
Later, the top management of the Ling family gave up this idea, and whenever the inventory was insufficient, they would send the family's pearl divers to sea to ensure the family's needs. After searching silently for half an hour, Ling Changqing finally locked onto the target with the help of his significantly enhanced spiritual power and intuition. It was a cave with a diameter of more than three feet. It was completely silent inside, with only tiny bubbles occasionally gushing out silently. If nothing goes wrong, there should be an adult sand-bathing sea clam hidden in it. If I'm lucky, there might be two or three? Of course, if you make a wrong judgment and break into the lair of a deep-sea blood python, you will be sending meat to your doorstep. In the past, many inexperienced and unlucky pearl divers have lost their lives in this way. Ling Changqing leaned gently against the cave entrance and stayed there for a moment, looking around with sharp eyes, familiarizing himself with the surrounding terrain, especially paying attention to whether there were other pearl divers approaching his territory. He didn't want the gains he had worked so hard for to be snatched away by others at the critical moment. Holding the weapon tightly in his hand, Ling Changqing slowly entered the cave through the entrance. The light of the water-repellent talisman illuminated the wrinkled and uneven cave wall, and occasionally a few clumps of fluffy seaweed could be seen. The freezing cold sea water flowed sideways, gradually going deeper. After searching for nearly a hundred feet, Ling Changqing finally found the hiding place of the sand-bathing sea clams. Half buried in the thick gray-black sea sand was a sea clam the size of a human head with a faint golden-red luster, emitting a faint evil aura. Moreover, according to Ling Changqing's intuition, there must be a Jade Crystal Winter Flower Pearl inside this sand-bathing sea clam, so he would not be too happy in vain. Ling Changqing let out a sigh of relief. In the first year or so since he became a pearl diver, misjudgment was commonplace. Even if he finally found an adult sand-bathing sea clam, it would still escape if he was not careful. Or maybe you finally catch a sand-bathing sea clam, but it's empty inside and you can't see any trace of the Jade Crystal Donghua Pearl. The reason why it is going so smoothly now is basically because my spiritual power has been enhanced, as well as my luck and fortune have improved significantly. Therefore, my luck is surprisingly good and I rarely fail. At this time, the sand-bathing clam seemed unaware that its catastrophe was imminent. Its hard clam shell opened and closed slightly, silently spitting out strings of fine bubbles. Ling Changqing did not hesitate. He took out the sealing talisman, locked the breath of the Sand Bathing Sea Clam, and activated the spiritual power in his body. "Om~" The dark red light net disappeared in a flash, and before the Sand-Bath Clam could react, the sealing talisman had already stuck firmly to the surface of the clam shell. Then a silver wire net bag was cast over its head, locking it tightly so that it could not move. All the movements were done in one go. (End of this chapter)