At dusk, Jiang Ming returned home with a heavy fish basket, full of fish.
Actually, his luck today wasn't great. By his usual efficiency, he would at most only catch one Half Spirit Fish.
Fortunately, after advancing to Qi Refining Layer Three, his total magical power increased by thirty percent, and the duration of his Giant Strength Technique also increased.
Today, he cast his net five extra times, finally catching a second Half Spirit Fish in the last net.
Arriving at the fish market, Jiang Ming had just found a stall when a skinny, dark-skinned young man approached him.
"Jiang Ming, protection fee... Daoist Jiang, you've reached Qi Refining Layer Three?"
The young man's words were cut short as he suddenly noticed Jiang Ming's aura was much denser than before.
Realizing Jiang Ming had already advanced, his attitude immediately became more respectful.
After all, in the Cultivation world, strength is revered, and Jiang Ming's Realm was now one layer higher than his.
Jiang Ming looked up, recognizing this person as a subordinate of "Smiling Tiger" Xu Ba, and knew he was here to collect protection fees.
He didn't hesitate, taking out three spiritual crystals and handing them over, then casually asked:
"Where's Brother Xu?"
The skinny, dark-skinned young man's face showed a hint of indignation:
"He's over with that guy named Han! He caught three Half Spirit Fish again today, and the boss told him to pay more protection fees, but he actually dared to refuse. He really doesn't know the rules!"
Jiang Ming frowned slightly, not expecting the Giant Whale Gang to charge extra protection fees based on the number of Half Spirit Fish sold.
No wonder every time Xu Ba came to collect fees, he would always glance at the fish basket, intentionally or unintentionally.
In front of the skinny, dark-skinned young man, he naturally couldn't show dissatisfaction, so he changed the subject, feigning surprise:
"Han Tie actually caught three Half Spirit Fish again. I wonder where he cast his net?"
At the mention of this, the skinny, dark-skinned young man also became interested:
"It's said to be at the junction of the inshore and offshore waters.
"Today, he also brought a few familiar friends to fish together, and their harvests were all quite good, basically one to two fish each."
He was actually willing to share his netting location with friends?
Jiang Ming felt strange in his heart; Han Tie was not usually so generous.
While he was thinking, a middle-aged woman walked up to the stall.
She glanced at the two lively Half Spirit Fish in the basket and said calmly:
"I'll take both of these Half Spirit Fish!"
Jiang Ming quickly processed the Half Spirit Fish and handed them over:
"Here you go. That's twenty spiritual crystals in total!"
The transaction was quickly completed, with money and goods exchanged.
The skinny, dark-skinned young man, who witnessed the entire process, was not surprised by the two Half Spirit Fish.
Today, he had already seen several groups of fishermen with two fish, so he was no longer surprised.
And this was precisely the result Jiang Ming had hoped for.
Walking out of the fish market, Jiang Ming, who was about to go home, suddenly had an idea: he wanted to go to the dock immediately to upgrade the eternal ark.
He had already prepared the stone-patterned wood and iron sand, and now he had enough spiritual crystals.
No sooner said than done!
He carried the empty fish basket and quickly walked towards the dock.
Although upgrading tomorrow wouldn't be too late, he was eager to see what the independent space looked like.
By the dock, many fishermen were still returning from sea, and Jiang Ming's movements did not attract anyone's attention.
He stepped onto the eternal ark and immediately opened the panel, which indeed showed "Upgrade conditions met."
Without hesitation, he decisively chose to upgrade.
【eternal ark Lv3 (Upgrade conditions not met)】
【Grade: Mortal Weapon (High Grade)】
【Main Propulsion: Single-masted sail】
【Auxiliary Propulsion: Manual oars】
【Ability 1: Freely change shape and size, revert to original form when critically damaged (Disguise)】
【Ability 2: Fish catch yield +100% when netting (Fishing)】
【Ability 3: Possesses an independent space of 5 * 5 * 2 cubic meters (Space)】
【Upgrade Conditions: Spiritual Crystal * 200, Hundred-Year Stone-Patterned Wood * 20, Iron Sand * 20 jin】
Jiang Ming didn't bother to examine the conditions for the next level and quickly checked the changes to the eternal ark.
Generally, after each upgrade, the size, sturdiness, and sailing speed of the boat would all increase.
However, due to the existence of the "Disguise" ability, its appearance always remained that of an ordinary fishing boat.
After this upgrade, the overall appearance remained unchanged.
Only a small rectangular wooden box appeared inside the cabin.
Jiang Ming shook it with his hand and found that it was fixed to the bottom of the boat and had no switches.
He placed his palm on the wooden box and slowly injected his magical power.
After a while, a square space clearly appeared in his mind.
With a thought, he could immediately enter it.
However, Jiang Ming did not choose to enter.
If he did that, his body would disappear inside the fishing boat.
If someone discovered him, it would be very difficult to keep it a secret.
Fortunately, the image in his mind was clear enough that he could see it clearly without entering.
The inside of this space was empty, like an enlarged coffin.
Thinking that the eternal ark had the "Disguise" ability and could freely change the internal structure of the boat, Jiang Ming tried to adjust this square space with his mind.
He imagined the appearance of a Fish Pond.
Soon, a platform about one meter high slowly rose in the center of the space.
The platform was hollow inside, and its bottom was actually connected to the sea surface at the bottom of the boat!
Seawater gurgled into the platform, quickly filling it. Jiang Ming quickly sealed the bottom with his mind.
At the same time, a line of text appeared before his eyes:
【Detected that the wooden platform meets the conditions to be a Fish Pond. Do you want to set it as a Fish Pond?】
Set as a Fish Pond?
While Jiang Ming was wondering, a piece of information flooded into his mind.
After receiving it, a look of ecstasy immediately appeared on his face!
If this wooden platform were set as a Fish Pond, the Fish Pond would gain special beneficial effects, such as increasing the growth rate of Spirit Fish and increasing the probability of Spirit Fish advancing.
However, doing so also came with a certain cost.
In the future, when the eternal ark upgraded, the Fish Pond would also upgrade, which meant that the upgrade conditions would increase.
"Set as a Fish Pond!"
Jiang Ming only considered for a moment before making a decision.
He believed that as long as he carefully managed the Fish Pond, its long-term benefits would definitely far exceed the additional upgrade cost!
【Fish Pond Lv1 Effect: Probability of Half Spirit Fish advancing to Tier One Spirit Fish increased by 20%】
After reading the prompt, the smile on Jiang Ming's face grew wider.
He had made the right choice!
This effect was simply too powerful!
Next, he looked at the new upgrade conditions for the eternal ark:
【Upgrade Conditions: Spiritual Crystal * 300, Hundred-Year Stone-Patterned Wood * 20, Iron Sand * 20 jin, net water lotus * 5 plants】
Compared to before, it now required an additional one hundred spiritual crystals and five net water lotus plants.
The net water lotus is a Tier One Spiritual Plant, with the functions of purifying water and releasing Spiritual Qi.
Jiang Ming was still unclear about its specific value and planned to inquire about it in Iron Sand City later.
When he emerged from the fishing boat again, the sky had already grown dim, and there was no one left on the dock.
Jiang Ming dared not delay and quickened his pace towards his small courtyard.
He had been too excited earlier and had momentarily forgotten the time.
Iron Sand Island is vast, and only Iron Sand City has relatively good public order.
Walking at night outside the city carried a significant risk of encountering robbery.
However, what he feared came to pass.
As he passed through a dense forest, several Cultivators suddenly appeared, blocking Jiang Ming's path.