Chapter 47: Treasure Ship (Please follow and favorite!)

Early morning.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Yunhe, slightly excited, trained his body bare-chested in the courtyard.

His sweat-drenched body had even grooves and lines, not exaggerated, but beneath it seemed to hide explosive power.

In the first month after arriving at Hongye City, Yunhe found the spiritual materials for refining Pure Yang Water, and with the two other spiritual materials he had already prepared, he spent two days successfully refining Three Yang Heavy Water.

Unlike the tiny amount gathered from the demon beast body, this batch of Three Yang Heavy Water, when first formed, was the size of a fist.

The next day, Yunhe tried using this Three Yang Heavy Water to temper his body, but he almost ended up seriously injured because of it.

He had simply assumed that, since the demon beast body could be used directly, he could do the same, not considering that Three Yang Heavy Water would be too much of a burden for his untrained body.

Don't let its fist-sized appearance fool you—this Three Yang Heavy Water is extremely heavy; it not only tempers the body but can also wear down an opponent's flesh and bones in combat. Since this lump of Three Yang Heavy Water was his own refinement, otherwise, with his somewhat rash act, he might have been directly refined into blood.

Afterward, he became much more cautious, gradually increasing the amount of Three Yang Heavy Water and supplementing it with Blood Qi Powder.

After three years of tempering, his body now bears no comparison to what it was when he first left River Gully Market.

According to Yunhe's estimate, his body now matches that of some cultivators who have just entered the middle of the first stage of body refinement, roughly equivalent to the fourth layer of body refinement.

Such progress is certainly not slow.

Know that the difficulty of body refinement far exceeds that of condensing spiritual energy, and of course the rewards are not small either.

A body refiner at the middle of the first stage can, to a certain extent, rival a first-stage middle demon beast; when fighting other cultivators, if it comes to close combat, cultivators of the same stage can hardly resist.

Thus, the tempering effect of Three Yang Heavy Water on the body is evident.

As for why he is excited,

It is naturally because, after his cultivation base broke through to the seventh layer of Qi Refining, Yunhe eagerly attempted again the 'transmission' of items between his cultivator body and demon beast body.

As expected, his cultivation base underwent a qualitative change, and his primordial spirit and spirit sense also grew considerably.

So this time, Yunhe obtained a seed from the demon beast body.

One seed, containing spiritual energy, a spiritual plant seed!

Although similarly not very useful, the fact that it contains spiritual energy shows Yunhe's hypothesis is correct: if his cultivation base is high enough and his spirit sense strong enough, the two bodies can truly transmit spiritual plants, magical artifacts, elixirs, and so on between them.

Moreover, Yunhe can feel that a seed imbued with spirituality is not yet his limit.

However, not long after he awoke in the demon beast body, its cultivation base showed signs of loosening, then began to break through and fell into sleep.

But it is foreseeable that, if the demon beast body smoothly breaks through to the late first stage, the things that can be transmitted between the two bodies will necessarily be greater and able to contain more spiritual energy.

With these successive breakthroughs in cultivation base and progress in ability, even Yunhe's current disposition cannot help feeling excited, full of hope for the future.

"Yun Dao friend! Yun Dao friend!"

At that moment, a shout came from outside the gate.

"Coming."

Yunhe was already used to this voice; while wiping sweat, he opened the courtyard gate.

Outside the gate stood none other than the plump Daoist, Qian Dajiang.

Three years have passed; aside from being a bit fatter, he seems hardly changed.

"Going to set up a stall?"

Yunhe couldn't help but ask.

Over these three years, he and the plump Daoist Qian Dajiang have become well acquainted; they often go together to set up stalls selling talismans, the difference being that Yunhe sells spiritual talismans while Qian Dajiang sells Daoist talismans.

"No no no." Qian Dajiang waved his hands repeatedly, his face lit with joy, but before he could speak, he froze.

"Eh? Yun Dao friend, I observe that your vitality seems to have changed again; could your cultivation have advanced?"

At this moment, Yunhe, using the Turtle Breath Body Forging Technique, only revealed a cultivation base of the sixth layer of Qi Refining.

"Just a little insight, just a little insight." Yunhe laughed and gave a perfunctory reply, then asked again, "What is it that makes you so urgent?"

Qian Dajiang snapped back to reality and slapped his forehead, saying:

"It's the Ma family; their caravan is heading to Qingshan City!"

"The Ma family?"

Yunhe blinked in surprise.

He then realized.

The Ma family Qian Dajiang spoke of is not the cultivator clan of Hongye City, but one of the five great clans under the Qingzong Sect in Qingshan City; it is said that each of these five clans has at least one Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator holding down the fort.

Many of the Qingzong Sect's external affairs are handled by these five great clans.

"The one leading the group is..." Yunhe was not as happy as Qian Dajiang.

"Ma Shaoyuan! A Great Perfection Qi Refining cultivator!"

"Great Perfection Qi Refining?"

Hearing this, Yunhe came to a realization.

Actually, during these three years staying in Hongye City, there have also been other caravans heading to Qingshan City, and not a few.

However, in Yunhe's view, these caravans either have leaders whose strength is too weak, or their origins are unclear, making it impossible to tell whether they are genuine merchants or bait released by bandit cultivators.

Moreover, although traveling with a caravan is a relatively safe option, Yunhe very much dislikes entrusting his life entirely to people he does not know.

He wants to wait until his cultivation base improves before leaving; then, even if danger arises, he will at least have sufficient self-defense ability.

Now he has broken through to the seventh layer of Qi Refining and entered the late Qi Refining stage; it is indeed time.

He then let out a soft 'Mm'.

"In that case, this is indeed an opportunity to leave. It is also time to fulfill the commission entrusted by Daoist Ran."

Upon hearing 'Daoist Ran,' Qian Dajiang's eyes dimmed slightly, and he said in a low voice:

"Exactly."

The old man surnamed Ran who helped Yunhe forge artifacts passed away a year and a half ago.

But according to him, it was an old ailment from his youth that had flared up.

Cultivators live longer than mortals and their bodily functions decline much more slowly, so the old man surnamed Ran died very suddenly, catching Yunhe and Qian Dajiang off guard.

Before his death, he gave them an item, hoping they would pass it on to his granddaughter when they later went to Qingshan City.

Out of respect for the deceased, the two did not refuse.

Moreover, the old man surnamed Ran never took any Spirit Stones from Yunhe for artifact refining at the end; he only reclaimed that mid-grade Spirit Stone.

It seems he had some foresight of his own death.

However, one cannot be without caution; the item the old man surnamed Ran asked them to carry was sealed with a restriction that could only be opened in a special way.

"I've already arranged things, packed up my belongings, and will meet you at the South Gate in half an hour," Qian Dajiang said.

"Good."

Coincidentally, his Spirit Stones were running low, so it was time to resume beekeeping.

The usually quiet South Gate of Hongye City was now bustling with noise.

Stepping outside, one could see many people gathered here.

And the most eye-catching thing was undoubtedly a massive treasure ship hovering in midair.

Carved beams and painted pillars, exquisite towers and jade halls.

It was also wrapped in thin clouds and rosy light; at a glance one could tell this treasure ship was extraordinary.

"This is exactly the kind of handiwork a large caravan should have."

Qian Dajiang smacked his lips, continually sighing in admiration.

Just this single treasure ship is not something an ordinary cultivation family could produce.

"Indeed."

Yunhe nodded in agreement.

He too had never seen such a magnificent treasure ship before.

"Is this the foundation of a Foundation Establishment family?"

His gaze swept over the treasure ship and finally rested on a cultivator seated at the prow, holding a long sword, eyes slightly narrowed.

This person must be Ma Family's Great Perfection of Qi Refining cultivator, Ma Shaoyuan.

Apparently sensing the gaze, Ma Shaoyuan suddenly turned his head.

Fortunately, Yunhe had already withdrawn his gaze.

"This person has a powerful spiritual sense."

At the same time, the portly Daoist Qian Dajiang stepped forward to chat with a cultivator resembling a steward.

During the conversation he didn't forget to slip some Spirit Stones as a courtesy.

In the end, their conversation seemed quite pleasant.

"All set."

Qian Dajiang gave Yunhe a hand signal.

"However, according to the Ma Family's intention, we can travel together if we just hand over some Spirit Stones; but if we encounter danger or an attack, we need to act together with their people."

Yunhe looked around.

There were still quite a few cultivators accompanying them, most of them mid-stage Qi Refiners, with only one late-stage Qi Refiner.

As for the Ma Family, besides that Great Perfection of Qi Refiner Ma Shaoyuan, they also had a late-stage Qi Refiner.

"Danger?"

Qian Dajiang rubbed his thick arms, saying nonchalantly:

"Ah, just idle talk. I've heard two caravans failed before, but when hasn't a caravan met trouble? It's literally a risk‑taking job. And how could those caravans compare to the Ma Family caravan?"

He then comforted:

"A treasure ship like the Ma Family's surely has a great protective formation aboard; ordinary people or demonic beasts could not breach it."

Yunhe neither agreed nor disagreed.

"Indeed."

Just the name Ma Family alone is more reassuring than most caravans.

If even the Ma Family caravan isn't safe, then other caravans need not be mentioned.

This is the best choice for him and Qian Dajiang at present,

the number of cultivators gathering here keeps growing.

At the same time, many supply wagons arrived, loading crate after crate of goods onto the treasure ship.

Finally.

The golden sun hung high.

The treasure ship, laden with supplies and a large number of cultivators, slowly departed from Hongye City.

Yunhe sat cross-legged in the cabin, silently watching the scenery outside change.

"The treasure ship also has its drawbacks."

Speaking solely of flight speed, it is not as fast as him piloting the Ink Cloud Boat alone.

However, with nearly fifty cultivators gathered here, most of them mid-stage Qi Refiners, it inevitably gives an innate sense of security.

"We should be able to reach Qingshan City smoothly, right?"

With that thought, Yunhe began his cultivation.

Most of the cultivators in the cabin were actually about the same as him.

Only a few, like the smooth‑talking Qian Dajiang, gathered together and whispered.

Night fell.

After leaving the protected area of Hongye City and entering the vast mountains and forests, the treasure ship's voyage was no longer as smooth as before.

Some monsters inhabiting the mountains and forests gradually set their sights on the treasure ship.

Perhaps out of instinctive fear, they dared not launch an attack.

They merely trailed far behind the treasure ship.

Slowly.

The number of monsters gathering kept increasing, already drawing the attention of some cultivators seated inside the cabin.

However, most of these cultivators, like Yunhe, were riding the Ma Family's treasure ship for the first time.

Meanwhile, another group who had obviously ridden it more than once appeared comparatively calm.

"Don't worry, they're just weak monsters; if the Ma Family's treasure ship were so easily destroyed, there wouldn't be a Ma Family caravan." Someone soothed.

When the gathered monsters reached a certain number, some could no longer hold back and launched the first attack.

But as that person said, these monsters couldn't even break the treasure ship, let alone trigger its protective array, and were swiftly slain by the Ma Family cultivators.

Slaying, gathering materials, then slaying again—this routine was carried out with great proficiency.

Yunhe even thought this was part of the Ma Family's "business".

The experience of the first night allowed all the cultivators who had been worried to completely put their minds at ease.

Such "stability".

It lasted a full two days.

When many doubted whether it was truly safe, no major disturbance occurred.

But just when everyone thought the journey was secure, unexpected situations often arose.

Sometimes life is just this pointless, this fucked up!

On the third night of the treasure ship's voyage.

Boom!!!

A violent roar and the treasure ship's slight shaking awakened all the cultivators in meditation.

At the same time.

A cultivator dressed in Ma Family attire rushed into the cabin, his voice echoing inside.

"Fellow Daoists, quickly! There's a horde of monsters!"

Monster horde!

A large group of cultivators filed out and came onto the treasure ship's deck.

In the night sky, countless bats circled around the treasure ship, and their occasional attacks caused white light to flare on the ship.

The protective array has been activated!

Yunhe's gaze first fell upon Ma Shaoyuan, the Ma Family cultivator who had attained Qi Refining Great Perfection, standing at the bow and continually slashing out magical sword qi with his long sword.

He saw that the other's expression was solemn, his gaze icy.

"How does this monster horde feel" Yunhe glanced around, a doubt arising in his heart.

As if they were fleeing?

At the same moment, noticing Yunhe and the others emerging, Ma Shaoyuan seemed about to speak, but suddenly turned his head.

His face filled with disbelief.

Yunhe's heart also gave a sudden jolt.

Instantly, a very bad premonition rose.

Cry——

A clear, long cry cut through the night sky.

"A second-tier beast?!" This was Ma Shaoyuan.

"Damn it!" This was Yunhe.

(End of chapter)