Endless Sea.
Off the coast of Iron Sand Island.
The vast, boundless sea glittered with fragmented light, as if covered in shimmering, broken silver.
Waves rhythmically slapped against a dilapidated fishing boat, making a 'splash' sound.
This wooden boat was about a zhang long, its hull dark, planks cracked, and patched everywhere.
Jiang Ming looked at the freshly retrieved fishing net, his eyes full of disappointment:
"How is there nothing again? If this continues, let alone buying a new boat, even eating will become a problem."
There were only a few large white fish in the net, each weighing about five jin.
If this were in his previous life, Jiang Ming would have been ecstatic, surely hanging the fish on the back of his car to show off to other fishermen.
But this was a cultivation world.
Fish that contained not a trace of Spiritual Qi were worthless in the eyes of Cultivators.
"One more cast. I hope this time there's a catch."
Jiang Ming removed the fish from the net one by one, then, holding the net with both hands, walked to the bow.
He pushed off with his feet, twisted his waist sharply, and the three-zhang-long fishing net flew out with a 'whoosh,' spreading open like an inverted bowl. As soon as it hit the water, it quickly sank.
Jiang Ming's technique was very practiced, and his movements were swift.
Although he had only been in this world for a little over a month, because he loved fishing in his previous life, and was somewhat familiar with the profession of a fisherman, he adapted quickly.
After he finished his work, he immediately dispelled the Giant Strength Technique he had cast on himself.
Although it was just a Low Grade Spell, even maintaining it continuously didn't consume much Magical Power.
But he was only at the second level of Qi Refining, and his total Magical Power was not much to begin with, so he naturally needed to conserve it.
Looking at the lively white fish flopping on the deck, he decided to continue eating them for lunch today.
Scale, gut, wash, salt.
On the small stove at the stern, a clay pot was 'gurgling' with steam.
Jiang Ming placed the prepared fish over the pot and covered it.
Seafood doesn't require complex cooking; simple steaming is a rare delicacy.
About fifteen minutes later, when the lid was lifted again, a fresh, sweet, and fishy aroma wafted into his nostrils.
"Ugh!"
Jiang Ming retched, nearly throwing up.
Seafood, seafood, it was truly fresh, but also truly fishy, especially without any other seasonings to remove the smell.
Since coming to this world, he had been eating sea fish continuously for a month, and by now he utterly detested it.
But there was no choice; if he didn't eat, he would starve.
As he swallowed, barely tasting the food, he fantasized about the flavors of white rice, shredded pork with green peppers, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and Kung Pao chicken…
This world was somewhat like the Chaotic Star Seas, with very little land area, and humans living on scattered islands.
The island where Jiang Ming was located was called Iron Sand Island, a medium-sized island in the Endless Sea.
Immortals and mortals lived together on the island, with a permanent population of over a hundred thousand, and the Island Lord was a Core Formation Cultivator.
The original owner of this body was an orphan, raised by an old fisherman.
The old fisherman treated the original owner well, not only teaching him fishing skills but also gifting him his fishing boat, which he had used for over ten years.
A few months ago, he even arranged a marriage for him.
Unfortunately, he met the wrong person; the woman was a professional swindler. Once she got the betrothal gifts, she boarded a passenger ship and left Iron Sand Island, disappearing to who knows where.
Those betrothal gifts were almost all the savings of the master and apprentice, and the original owner had also developed genuine feelings for the woman, so he couldn't withstand the blow.
During one night of drinking to drown his sorrows, he accidentally died suddenly.
When Jiang Ming Transmigrated, all that remained was a bare-walled house and a crumbling fishing boat.
"What a terrible start!"
He sighed, tossing the gnawed fish bones into the sea.
Alchemy, Talismans, Formations, and Artifact Forging had extremely high learning costs and thresholds, largely monopolized by Family Cultivators and Sects.
A Loose Cultivator like him, with a four-attribute miscellaneous Spiritual Root and no talent, could only engage in low-threshold professions like Spirit Plant Cultivator, fisherman, or Spirit Chef.
Low-threshold meant intense competition; even with all his effort, he could only barely make a living.
Now, he didn't know how much longer this old fishing boat could last.
Once it broke, he wouldn't even be able to continue as a low-threshold fisherman.
As he was thinking, Jiang Ming suddenly felt a chill under his feet.
Looking down, he saw a crack had appeared in the bottom of the boat at some point, and seawater was gurgling in.
Jiang Ming gave a self-deprecating smile:
"I was unemployed before Transmigration, and now that I've just Transmigrated, my livelihood is about to be ruined again. I don't even have the qualifications to work like an ox or a horse!"
He wasn't panicked; there were many fishing boats nearby, and he was also a Cultivator, so he wouldn't drown.
He just felt a bit regretful that this boat broke so soon.
The Spirit Stones he had saved by being frugal these past few days were far from enough to buy a new one.
【Detected that your fishing boat is damaged. Do you wish to activate the eternal ark provided by this System for you?】
As he was sighing, a light screen abruptly appeared before Jiang Ming's eyes, displaying a line of text.
This was a Golden Finger?
He widened his eyes, not expecting the System to appear at this moment.
When he first Transmigrated, Jiang Ming had searched for the System's existence, but found nothing.
Could it be that the old must go for the new to come?
These thoughts flashed by, and Jiang Ming quickly thought of a problem.
There were many fishing boats within a few nautical miles. If he activated it now, would others notice?
At this moment, a piece of information suddenly appeared in his mind.
Based on this information, he suddenly realized that the eternal ark had the ability to disguise itself, making it look exactly like a fishing boat.
Seeing this, he no longer had any doubts and directly chose to activate it.
The next second, the seawater pouring into the bottom of the boat instantly disappeared, and the crack stopped leaking.
However, other than that, the fishing boat before him seemed to have no changes.
Jiang Ming found it difficult to tell whether what was under his feet was still the old fishing boat or the so-called "eternal ark."
Just then, a light screen appeared on the hull.
【eternal ark Lv1 (Upgradable)】
【Rank: Mortal Weapon (Low Grade)】
【Main Propulsion: Single-Masted Canvas Sail】
【Auxiliary Propulsion: Manual Oars】
【Ability 1: Freely change shape and size; reverts to original form when subjected to a fatal attack (Disguise)】
【Upgrade Conditions: Spirit Stone * 10, Hardwood Plank * 10, Coarse Cloth * 1】
As soon as he read the content, he was surprised to discover:
This eternal ark could actually be upgraded, and the upgrade conditions... seemed to already be met?
He did have ten Spirit Stones on him; they weren't valuable, as one Low-Grade Spirit Stone could be exchanged for a hundred.
But he didn't have hardwood planks and coarse cloth. Could they be the Materials from the previous fishing boat?
Since it could be upgraded again, Jiang Ming naturally wouldn't begrudge ten Spirit Stones and immediately chose to upgrade.
Next, another line of text appeared on the light screen.
【Please choose one of the following abilities as the upgrade direction: Defense, Attack, Disguise, Speed, Fishing, Space】
Almost subconsciously, Jiang Ming wanted to select all six.
But before he could decide, a large amount of information flooded his mind.
He quickly understood that the eternal ark could be upgraded indefinitely as long as the upgrade conditions were met, and each upgrade allowed him to choose one ability.
Jiang Ming pondered for a moment and decided to choose an ability that could earn money.
Only this way could the eternal ark be upgraded quickly.
In the Endless Sea, the main uses of boats were four-fold:
Fishing, transportation, combat, and aquaculture.
Currently, he was only at the second level of Qi Refining, and the eternal ark's Rank was also low, so he certainly couldn't engage in combat with others.
As for transportation, he quickly rejected that too.
The distances between islands in the Endless Sea were vast, and the prices of many items varied greatly.
Trading goods between several islands indeed offered very substantial profits.
But the shipping routes not only had ferocious Yao Beasts but also Rogue Cultivators who killed people to seize treasures.
Without sufficient strength, engaging in transportation was equivalent to delivering goods to one's own demise.
Finally, he was torn between fishing and aquaculture.
Through the information provided by the System, he knew that choosing the "Space" ability would open up an independent Space within the eternal ark, which could be used for aquaculture and later even for planting.
Choosing the "Fishing" ability, on the other hand, would increase fishing yield.
