Chapter 72: Myriad Islands Lake (Congratulatory Chapter for Elvin2016's Silver Alliance Leader! )
Chapter 72: Myriad Islands Lake (Congratulatory Chapter for Elvin2016's Silver Alliance Leader! )
The State of Yue had a total of thirty-two prefectures.
Among them, Yu Prefecture was located in the northern territory, its area two or three times that of a regular prefecture.
This prefecture was crisscrossed by a dense network of waterways, with boats and ships frequently traveling along the rivers, and wooden and stone bridges visible everywhere. It presented an entirely different scene compared to the area around Green Bamboo Mountain market.
Myriad Islands Lake.
The docks.
Countless fishing boats clustered together, a hundred vessels vying for passage, as subtle ripples spread across the lake's surface, reflecting the sunlight like scattered scales.
Fang Xi arrived at the docks and saw many fishermen, wearing green bamboo hats, green straw cloaks, and grey or black baggy trousers, sitting or standing by the roadside, selling their catch.
"Young man, fancy a big green carp?"
"No, I want to find a boat to take me deep into Myriad Islands Lake."
Fang Xi took out a piece of silver.
That dazzling glint made many fishermen's eyes light up, but they repeatedly shook their heads: "It's very dangerous deep inside Myriad Islands Lake, we wouldn't dare go. . ."
"They say there are immortals deep in Myriad Islands Lake!"
"We can only make a living near the lake. We absolutely dare not offend the immortals, otherwise, if the immortals blame us, we'll have no catch next year, and we'll all starve!"
...
Seeing more and more fishermen approach, Fang Xi smiled, exchanging the silver for a gold ingot: "One trip, and this gold will be enough for you to buy land and a house, so you won't have to go fishing for the rest of your lives. . ."
"I'll go! " A young fisherman immediately stepped forward: "Young master, are you looking for immortals? In fact, this humble one has also ferried several young heroes deep into the lake to seek immortal destiny. . ."
"Anyone else?"
Fang Xi glanced around, recalling the saying: "Under heavy rewards, there are bound to be brave men."
He took out another piece of gold, which indeed attracted many more fishermen.
Fang Xi said no more, inspecting their respective boats. He finally chose one with a depiction of a scarlet carp painted on its bow.
The boatman looked to be in his forties or fifties, with gnarled hands and a weathered face, but in reality, he was only in his thirties, calling himself 'Boss Hai'.
Once Fang Xi chose the boat, Boss Hai punted with a bamboo pole, slowly guiding the boat away from the dock and out into the lake.
Several hours later.
Dusk arrived, the water's surface a mix of golden and faint reddish hues.
Boss Hai, punting the boat, stretched his voice and began to sing a fishing song: "Reeds sway, oh hey. . . little boat glides quietly, oh hey. . . many fish next year, oh hey. . ."
With the setting sun and the evening's fishing song, it indeed had a unique charm.
Fang Xi stood on the boat, feeling the gentle breeze, and stretched languidly.
"Honored guest, would you like dinner?"
At this moment, a woman emerged from the cabin of the small covered boat and asked softly.
She appeared younger than Boss Hai, with a small white flower tucked into her hair. She must have been quite attractive in her youth.
For fishermen, a covered boat was their home; they lived, aged, and died on it.
This woman was, naturally, Boss Hai's wife.
"Very well. . . just a bowl of fish soup!"
Fang Xi nodded, casually tossing a silver bean towards her.
The woman, having received the tip, immediately returned to the cabin, skillfully preparing a crucian carp.
The fish head and bones were stewed into soup, which was thick and milky white. With just a sprinkle of salt, it tasted incredibly fresh and delicious.
The fish body was sliced thinly and roasted over a small flame until slightly golden-brown, also exuding a fragrant aroma.
Paired with homemade local wine, it truly had a unique flavor.
Fang Xi ate with great enjoyment, and gave another silver bean as a tip.
The woman accepted the silver bean but didn't leave, asking sweetly, "The night dew is heavy, does young master require attendance?"
Ancient boatwomen often had part-time occupations, and Fang Xi was not surprised by this. He simply shook his head in refusal.
Boss Hai, who had been punting the boat all this time, couldn't help but sigh inwardly at this scene.
He had lived by the Myriad Islands Lake for years, enduring wind and rain. Although he had no savings, he possessed sharp discernment.
The scarlet carp painted on the bow was the highest honor for a fishing family—in Myriad Islands Lake, after storms, a scarlet-scaled carp with dragon whiskers would occasionally appear. It was extremely precious but also exceptionally difficult to catch. Only a boatman who had successfully caught such a scarlet carp could engrave that mark on their boat's bow.
Boss Hai originally managed to scrape by with his fishing skills. The reason he stepped forward to take Fang Xi's business was because he saw that this young man was extraordinary.
Either a young master born into luxury, or a young hero wandering the martial world.
If he could borrow his seed, perhaps his descendants could pursue scholarship or martial arts and escape the hardship of fishing.
Truly impoverished people in ancient times didn't really care much about such matters.
Unexpectedly, that young master wasn't interested at all.
His sigh seemed to have been heard by Fang Xi.
Fang Xi came to the bow, pointed the direction for Boss Hai, and said at the same time: "Don't worry, once we reach the destination, this young master will reward you heavily!"
...
Five days later.
"Young master. . . past this Golden Ao Head, we dare not go any further. . ."
Boss Hai pointed to a reef not far away that protruded from the lake, shaped like a giant turtle, and said to Fang Xi: "Fishermen in our area generally only dare to fish near the lake. Those who can go this deep are few and far between. . . And based on our experience, going any deeper will surely lead to great misfortune!"
"Hmm, this far is already good."
Fang Xi took out Ge Hong Dan's geomantic map and looked at it, nodding.
The reason he hired a boat was simply because he didn't want to fly too far with his black cloud shuttle.
Arriving at Golden Ao Head, it was indeed very close to Treasure Ship Market.
With that, Fang Xi directly patted his storage bag.
A black cloud appeared, swirling around him, lifting him entirely from the deck.
"You two, you may return."
Fang Xi instructed, tossed down a gold ingot, and then soared away on his black cloud.
"This. . ."
Boss Hai was dumbfounded. Suddenly, he knelt down, repeatedly kowtowing: "Immortal Master is benevolent and compassionate. . . Immortal Master, please do not blame us, Immortal Master, please do not blame us!"
When he stood up, seeing his wife joyfully put the gold into her bosom, he couldn't help but feel a little depressed: "Alas. . . if only Immortal Master had taken a liking to you, it would have been good. . ."
Perhaps, they could have obtained an immortal seed, allowing future generations to also embark on the path of cultivation.
...
Treasure Ship Market was located on Treasure Ship Island.
This island was square in shape, resembling a treasure ship, hence its name.
On the island, there was a first-order spirit vein, which was later occupied by the Dragon Fish Zhong Clan and transformed into a market. Around the market, there were also terraced fields, filled with spirit rice.
Fang Xi changed his appearance, covering half his face, and piloting his black cloud shuttle, arrived at Treasure Ship Island in just half an hour.
There was no flight restriction formation above the island, so he flew past the uneven terraced fields and reached the market entrance.
Looking at the spirit farmers diligently cultivating the land below, occasionally looking up with eyes full of envy, Fang Xi felt a strange mix of emotions.
If not for his golden finger, he might still be a spirit farmer at Green Bamboo Mountain, and then be caught in the fallout during the annihilation of the Situ Clan. . .
"Greetings, Immortal Master! Is this your first time visiting the market?"
At the market entrance, several mortals were squatting. Seeing Fang Xi's artifact descend, they immediately surrounded him: "We are local guides, we know the market inside out. . ."
"Hmm, you then!"
Fang Xi pointed to a young attendant dressed in green.
The young attendant immediately beamed, shooing away his peers, and led the way for Fang Xi: "Entry to Treasure Ship Market requires no passes or spirit stones. . . but if you don't leave by night and are caught by the patrolling cultivators, you'll be in for a harsh time. . . Immortal Master, hiring this humble one for a day only costs one Spirit Crystal! This humble one is Mo Qingyi, it is my good fortune to meet Immortal Master today. . ."
"You. . . seem to be just a mortal?"
Fang Xi had Mo Qingyi lead the way, asking casually.
Mentioning this, Mo Qingyi immediately looked somewhat crestfallen: "This humble one is dull-witted and did not inherit my grandfather's spirit root aptitude. . ."
After a few more exchanges, Fang Xi learned that Myriad Islands Lake was different from Green Bamboo Mountain; it had a large population of descendants of cultivators, many of whom had no spirit roots, but were still raised on the islands, forming villages and towns.
Mortals who could live near the market and find work were certainly direct descendants within three generations of cultivators.
'These islands, each one is practically a small nation? '
'Hmm. . . after all, though called islands, they are quite large. In my previous life's Japan, they could produce a daimyo with hundreds of thousands or even millions of koku. . . '
Fang Xi mused inwardly, then smiled: "Do your job well, and you won't lack rewards. . . I plan to sell some monster beast materials, and also acquire a body cultivation technique, some puppet arts, and beast taming arts inheritances. . ."
Previously, cultivating martial arts in Da Liang was entirely because Da Liang's martial arts were quick to learn, didn't require much material, and helped with the blood-qi breakthrough during Foundation Establishment.
If he had chosen body cultivation techniques from the cultivation world, reaching his current third stage of body cultivation would have cost him a sea of spirit stones.
At the very least, he would have needed to eat spirit rice at every meal, supplemented by medicinal baths made from various spiritual herbs, and pills. . .
Overall, Da Liang's martial arts were more cost-effective.
But now, with no path forward after Grandmaster, Fang Xi had to prepare to jump ship.
Mo Qingyi thought for a moment: "For selling monster beast materials, there are several seniors in the open-air market who have been long-term buyers of various monster beast materials, but the most reputable is the 'Dragon Gate Pavilion' run by the Zhong Clan!"
"As for puppet arts? Please forgive my ignorance, but I haven't heard of any place selling related inheritances. . . However, for beast taming arts, there's Immortal Master Miao, who keeps three spirit pets by his side. He probably has relevant inheritances, you could go ask him."
"Lead the way, to the Dragon Gate Pavilion first! " Fang Xi nodded, quite satisfied with this guide.
If he had come alone, it would have taken who knows how much time and effort to figure out these things.
Dragon Gate Pavilion.
The Dragon Fish Zhong Clan specialized in raising spirit fish. The spirit fish they raised were 'Green Jade Carp', which were delicious and contained very gentle spiritual energy, especially suitable for cultivators with water spirit roots to consume. Long-term consumption was equivalent to cultivating with pills, and there were no pill toxins.
Legend has it that among countless Green Jade Carp, a fish king might even be born. This fish king would awaken a trace of flood dragon blood and was nicknamed 'Little Green Dragon'!
This 'Little Green Dragon', when combined with a few rare spiritual herbs, could be made into 'Green Dragon Soup', which would even benefit powerful Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Unfortunately, most rogue cultivators would never even get a taste of Green Dragon Soup in their lifetime.
Apart from a small portion used by the Zhong Clan themselves, most of these spiritual items had to be offered as tribute to the Black Heaven Sect in exchange for precious resources like Foundation Establishment Pills.
Comments