Weiyuan Immortal City.

The shipyard.

The one known as "Mr. Zhong" was a young man in his teens.

He stepped onto the deck, took out several instruments, and began to inspect the array patterns.

A short while later.

Mr. Zhong stood up, walked off the deck, and spoke to the expectant, middle-aged Loose Cultivator standing to the side.

"Hmm... There aren’t any major issues. The array isn’t badly damaged, and the hull damage won’t be hard to fix."

"How about one hundred Spirit Stones?"

The price was quite fair.

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged Loose Cultivator’s face lit up with joy. He quickly signed the Spirit Contract and paid the deposit.

"Thank you, Mr. Zhong."

"Come back in a month with the Spirit Contract to pick up your ship."

After seeing the middle-aged Loose Cultivator off, Mr. Zhong nodded.

His name was Zhong Qi.

Though he was young, he hailed from a renowned shipwright family in Weiyuan Immortal City.

His grandfather, known as a master shipwright, had single-handedly overseen the construction of a Tier 2 spirit ship! 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The flagship of Donglong the Luo Clan currently sailing the seas, the "Black Ship" Ghostly Flood Dragon, was built by Zhong Qi’s grandfather, Mr. Zhong.

What was even more admirable was that Mr. Zhong was extremely tight-lipped and never revealed client information!

After the Ghostly Flood Dragon made a spectacular show of force by sinking the Soul Gold, many people had contacted the Zhong Family’s descendants, hoping to commission a replica of a Blood Dao Spirit Ship similar to the Ghostly Flood Dragon.

However, not only had Mr. Zhong never revealed a single word about it while he was alive, but not the slightest description of a Blood Dao Formation could be found among his posthumous belongings or notes.

When this news got out, the prospective buyers were inevitably disappointed.

But they couldn’t help but admire Mr. Zhong’s integrity for keeping his promises and guarding secrets so righteously!

This reputation brought the Zhong Family considerable goodwill.

As a result, even after Mr. Zhong passed away, the family’s standing was maintained and did not decline.

In recent years, Zhong Qi had begun to make a name for himself, demonstrating his extraordinary talent in shipbuilding and arrays!

"Let’s get to work..." Zhong Qi called over the shipwrights, ready to begin the repairs.

At that moment, Zhong Qi’s vision suddenly blurred.

Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he glimpsed several swift, white shadows flitting out of the shipyard’s main gate.

"Huh?"

Zhong Qi rubbed his eyes. There was nothing there.

’Must be my imagination,’ he thought, not dwelling on it. He led the shipwrights and began to work on the spirit ship.

...

「The next day.」

Inside the Zhong Mansion.

Zhong Qi was eating breakfast, his expression calm.

A maidservant approached and handed him a newspaper that smelled of fresh ink.

"Young Master, this is today’s Weiyuan Morning Post."

"Mm, just leave it there," Zhong Qi nodded.

As a trade hub, the cultivators of Weiyuan Immortal City placed a high value on information.

Thus, something akin to a "daily newspaper" had long since come into existence.

Many families, or wealthy Loose Cultivators, subscribed to newspapers year-round to ensure they didn’t miss any critical information.

After finishing his breakfast, Zhong Qi unfolded the paper.

"A Loose Cultivator successfully reached Foundation Establishment... How lucky."

His eyes held a hint of envy.

Even for a Loose Cultivator, succeeding in Foundation Establishment was equivalent to a leap in social class, turning them into a powerful figure the Zhong Family couldn’t afford to offend.

’Foundation Establishment... I wonder if I’ll ever have a chance to reach it in this lifetime?’

Zhong Qi suppressed his thoughts and continued reading the newspaper.

Suddenly, a gruesome, bloody photograph made Zhong Qi’s pupils contract!

"Murder in the outer city. Loose Cultivator brutally slain. Killer exhibits extreme cruelty. Victim’s skull shattered, suspected to be the work of a Body Cultivator or a spirit beast..."

"Wait... this?"

Zhong Qi stared at the photo, his heart trembling in disbelief.

"This person... isn’t this the Loose Cultivator who commissioned our shipyard to repair his ship yesterday?"

Although the corpse was in a horrific state and its face was unrecognizable, the cultivation robe was still quite familiar to Zhong Qi.

With a cultivator’s memory, he was almost certain.

The victim was indeed yesterday’s Loose Cultivator!

"This..."

’Maybe... he just happened to find a wrecked ship, which drew someone’s envy?’

’But these methods are far too vicious...’

Gazing at the miserable corpse, Zhong Qi’s face turned pale. A wave of nausea washed over him, and he almost vomited.

He drank a cup of water and took a long moment to calm himself.

’Forget it... Nothing to be done now that he’s dead.’

’After the spirit ship is repaired, if no one comes to pay the final balance in a few months, I’ll just resell it.’

’I should be able to turn a profit, right?’

As this thought crossed Zhong Qi’s mind, a faint hint of delight appeared on his face.

After all, reselling a medium-grade spirit ship would bring in a profit of a thousand or so Spirit Stones!

A few more windfalls like this, and maybe, in a dozen years or so, he too could afford a Foundation Establishment Elixir!

With these thoughts in mind, Zhong Qi headed to the shipyard to get on with the repair work.

...

However, when he arrived at the shipyard, bad news was waiting for him.

"A shipwright is missing?"

"Mr. Li is gone?" Zhong Qi frowned deeply.

Mr. Li was an old shipwright his family had employed for a long time.

Ever since he could remember, this Mr. Li had been working at the shipyard.

’For someone like him to disappear without a word... it’s not very likely, is it?’

"Have you checked his home?" Zhong Qi pressed.

"We asked. Mr. Li’s wife said he didn’t come home last night."

The shipwrights were all on edge.

"Hm?" Zhong Qi’s frown deepened.

He thought for a moment.

He took out ten Spirit Stones and handed them to a shipwright.

"Make a trip to the Weiyuan Morning Post and place a missing person notice. With what’s left, buy some Spirit Rice for Mr. Li’s wife and kids."

"The rest of you, get to work."

And then, for some reason, Zhong Qi suddenly caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye—what looked like a white figure standing in a shadowy corner of the shipyard.

He rubbed his eyes hard, and the white figure vanished.

’What was that...’

But Zhong Qi didn’t notice that behind him, a pale figure was watching him.

GURGLE.

It rolled its cold, scarlet eyeballs.

...

「Several days later.」

The Zhong Mansion.

Paper money drifted through the air, and sorrowful music played.

Servants and maids clad in white mourning clothes moved through the mansion.

The entire estate was shrouded in a heavy, mournful atmosphere.

"Did you hear?"

"Mr. Zhong is dead, and that array genius from the Zhong Family has gone mad..."

"You mean that Zhong Qi? Mumbling something about a monster we can’t see killing his father?"

"The kid even offended a great Foundation Establishment cultivator under a Perfected Master’s sect. It’s only because Yuqing has a kind heart that she forgave him!"

Near the Zhong Mansion.

In a teahouse just a street away.

Bai Xiuying gazed at the Zhong Mansion, her eyes dark, and swirled the tea in her cup.

"I have a feeling there’s more to this than meets the eye..."

"That Zhong Qi doesn’t seem like a madman."

"Miss Bai, you’re overthinking it... We even used a Nine Rites Spirit Testing Talisman, and there was no reaction."

"The way I see it, the monster was real, but it’s long gone."

"That Mr. Zhong was just scared out of his wits and became hysterical, claiming the monster was right behind us..."

Her partner, an Honored Guest Elder of the immortal city, frowned.

Then, he added,

"The outer city is in a panic right now. More than ten people are dying every day..."

"We should solve this case as soon as possible and kill this demonic cultivator who’s controlling an evil creature and slaughtering innocents in the outer city!"

"That’s the only way to calm the populace and ensure the grand auction can proceed smoothly."

"Mm... you’re right." Bai Xiuying nodded.

She glanced one last time at the Zhong Mansion.

...

The Zhong Mansion.

Zhong Qi’s hair was disheveled, and his eyes were bloodshot.

"Why... Why can’t any of you see it..."

"Is there anyone who can help me? Any other Foundation Establishment cultivators..."

He murmured to himself in his room.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, he fumbled in a drawer and pulled out a Whalebone Brooch!

"Please..."