Chapter 237

Chapter 237: Where to Seek the Way Home

Under Pan Siyuan’s guidance, Li Hui ascended the highest building on the island.

Though it was called the highest, it was only three stories tall, and was named Sparrow Tower because it housed blood-billed sparrows at the top.

As they chatted, Pan Siyuan grew more curious. This young practitioner named Li Yingjun did not seem like a boy of eleven or twelve. His demeanor was calm and composed, exuding an air of confidence that made it hard to imagine what kind of family could cultivate such talent. He felt increasingly cautious.

Li Hui relaxedly sat in the guest seat and engaged in a candlelit conversation with him. Before long, Pan Siyuan revealed everything he knew.

It was inevitable; faced with such an accomplished high monk, it was easy to open one’s heart. The ninth-grade golden lotus had a natural ability to coax secrets out of people, like finding a good teacher and friend, hoping for understanding and redemption.

“Alas!” Li Hui sighed, worried about the current situation.

Through questioning, he learned that Pan Siyuan was the one who had laid the warning talisman. At twenty-eight years old, he was the third son of a notable figure on another large island. Although outwardly appearing clever and capable, he often made foolish choices, trying to achieve victory through small schemes instead of supporting his older brother, the most likely heir to the family business. As a result, he had been sent to this remote island, where he often acted ostentatiously for amusement.

However, these details weren’t the key. The main issue was that Pan Siyuan’s knowledge was limited; his mind only contained information about Paifeng Island, Nanhuan Island, and Qiangya Island.

His father’s large island fell under the jurisdiction of Nanhuan Island, which he called the Giant Island. Yet, from Li Hui’s perspective, this so-called Giant Island held little appeal, and he had no desire to visit.

The only place with a chance of obtaining a broad sea chart seemed to be Paifeng Island.

There, cultivators set up a market, but the journey by boat with the ocean currents took six months. During this season, the currents ran in the opposite direction, making it difficult to travel against them. Even if Ao Chongguang swam rapidly, it would take more than a month to reach.

The problem was that he couldn’t supply enough poison to feed Ao Chongguang, not to mention Ao Chonglin, who was always complaining of hunger and would throw a fit the moment he was released, making it impossible to rely on his aid!

Additionally, there was a major complication: the boats at the dock had just returned, and they had sustained damage due to the mirage snails.

These snails were about the size of jujube seeds, with hard shells, and tended to congregate together, moving with the ocean currents. At their peak, mirage snails could assault entire sea areas for up to three months. Even the massive sea beasts would go around them, fearing they might get trapped.

In a few days, the small island would be struck by the turmoil of the mirage snails, leaving the whole region unrestful. They could only rely on the blood-billed sparrows to communicate with the outside world, so they had to make plans if they wished to leave.

Li Hui frowned slightly. Although he had extended his lifespan by ten years and could live longer with his growing cultivation, he still considered himself quite short-lived compared to other practitioners. Thus, he planned to infiltrate the Haotu Sect to find the real Golden Jade Peach Tree, hoping to help Yao’er restore her essence and produce a life-giving demon peach again.

The current challenge was how far the Hongmo Sect had brought the city’s cultivators. Without any idea, he couldn’t predict the distance. With his current cultivation level, if he stayed for months at each island, he would have gray hair by the time he returned. Therefore, he had to think of a way to swim against the current within a few days.

“Where to seek the way home in the vast ocean?” Li Hui lost himself in thought for a moment before standing up and saying, “Please arrange accommodations for us, Lord Pan. I wonder how overseas cultivators settle transactions?”

“The young master can stay in Sparrow Tower; other places are too shabby to accommodate you and your servants,” Pan Siyuan quickly led the way, explaining as they went down the stairs. “We use black shells and purple shells for payments here, and Condensed Essence Stage practitioners prefer to use spiritual shells for trading.”

Li Hui was slightly surprised. “Oh? Don’t Condensed Essence Stage practitioners use Miao Jade?”

Pan Siyuan smiled and clarified, “Miao Jade veins are mostly hidden deep under the sea and are challenging to mine. The mega islands rumored to have Miao Jade veins exist only in legends. My father traveled to many places when he was young, but only found whispers of them.”

“Tell me about those whispers.”

Pan Siyuan hesitated a bit, then said, “Actually, it’s just one sentence: ‘Nine veins and ten ruins on Blue Moon Island, venomous creatures flourish in the Aofeng Sect. If you seek dragon teeth, go to the center of the Red Sea and the Grand Xuan Dynasty! In a thousand islands to refine, in ten thousand islands to fish, the Heavenly Furnace and myriad waters are originally one family. The small heavenly mystery is hard to inquire; the sea route is long and heads south.’”

“Blue Moon Island, Aofeng Sect?” Li Hui had never heard of these places. Most of his knowledge from texts was limited to the Wutu Continent, and even beyond that, it pertained mostly to the Daling Dynasty. As for the Red Sea and the Grand Xuan Dynasty, they were equally unfamiliar to him.

They didn’t even recognize frost silver and dragon scale gold, instead using black shells and purple shells as currency. But that was fine; often, spirit talismans acted as universal currency, which made Chef Zhao’s offerings of Blood Ignition Talismans a delightful surprise for Pan Siyuan.

The three settled into the guest room of Sparrow Tower. The next day, as the sun rose high, Li Hui finally stretched and got out of bed. Huo Qiniang hurriedly brought a copper basin to serve the “young master” while helping him wash up, saying, “You sleep well, Young Master. This island is more barren than we imagined. We can’t find any spiritual materials, so Chef Zhao has to rely on his stock for breakfast!”

“What about the chef?”

“He? He prepared breakfast and then went out to gather news. Didn’t you mumble about wanting to find sea beasts for travel before sleeping? Because of the mirage snails, there’s supposed to be a migration of sea beasts in the next few days, and the islanders are gearing up to stockpile some food.”

“That’s a tough idea! I was just mentioning it casually; I didn’t expect him to take it seriously!” Li Hui shook his head. “Traveling against the current is easier said than done. We need to maintain speed with a sea beast at the level of the poison dragon eel, and it can’t be too picky about food. It has to be able to replenish energy wherever we go to keep pushing forward.”

The poison dragon eel was not something one could easily find. Previously, it had been close to the level of a spiritual beast, and after becoming a half-demon, it was even smarter and more aggressive. Though its growth potential was not as great as a real demon’s, it far surpassed that of spiritual beasts.

Spiritual beasts could naturally harness spiritual energy and usually were large in size, providing various conveniences for practitioners. However, like half-demons, most spiritual beasts were also artificially cultivated, making true spiritual beasts very rare. Finding a suitable spiritual beast among sea creatures for sea travel was likely as difficult as climbing to the heavens.

Li Hui found it hard to believe he could be so lucky to casually find a suitable spiritual beast for transport. Even using the Fortune Ascending Talisman felt unrealistic.

“Boss, ah, I’ve got some news! I’ve found a way!” Chef Zhao rushed back in a flurry.

“Lower your voice! The young master is having his meal,” Huo Qiniang pinched her waist, blocking Chef Zhao. As the chief steward, she wouldn’t let this fellow make a scene! She needed to put a stop to his bad habits.

“Come have breakfast,” Li Hui tapped the table.

Just as Chef Zhao was about to sit down, he noticed Huo Qiniang glaring at him and shrank his neck, saying, “I’ve already eaten breakfast, but I really got a tip. There’s a ghost ship frequently haunting this area, causing harm to people. They say it holds a sea sacrificial ceremony every once in a while. I thought the boss wouldn’t be afraid of ghosts, and perhaps we can handle that ship to set sail.”

“Oh?” Li Hui put down his bowl and chopsticks, sensing a lead.