Eternal Life by Dual Cultivation-Chapter 48 - 46: Hanyue Continent

Ling Qiyue’s question was not hard to answer.

Since they couldn’t stop hostile forces from acting, their only choice was to focus on getting stronger.

As long as the Ling Family produced more Foundation Establishment powerhouses in the future, their foundation would naturally be as solid as a rock.

"Little Junior Brother is right. We can’t just hope that no new Foundation Establishment powerhouses will ever appear around us,"

Tang Qiu Yao said with a radiant smile. "So, let’s just ignore them and focus on ourselves."

Ling Changqing nodded. "Then... should we go back out to sea? Maybe this time we can bring back even more good things."

"An excellent idea. Let’s set out!"

Ling Qiyue nodded in agreement. The resources they brought back from their last sea voyage were essentially equivalent to her personal income for the past two years.

Clearly, this was a fast track to strengthening the family. With a few more trips like this, the Ling Family’s coffers would surely be much fuller.

After returning to her bedroom to prepare, Ling Qiyue changed into a snow-white combat outfit and then set out with Ling Changqing and Tang Qiu Yao.

...

「Longhuan Island, a thousand miles away. The Wu Family headquarters.」

Patriarch Wu Canglang leaned back in his chair, staring at several Jade Talismans in his hand, frowning in silent contemplation.

Several high-ranking Wu Family Elders sat in the seats below, a tense silence hanging between them.

"So... she still refused?"

After a long moment, Wu Canglang mused, "Could it be they were incompetent and revealed their traces, making her suspicious?"

Wu Jinghong said in a low voice, "It’s normal for her to be suspicious. At a critical moment like this, anyone would overthink things."

"Fortunately, this was only ever a probe. We have other suitable options, so there’s no need to be too disappointed."

The few Loose Cultivators who had visited Ling Qiyue a few days prior were indeed acting under secret orders from the Wu Family. They had hoped to have her refine a few Foundation Establishment Pills for the family’s Elders to consume.

Unfortunately, Ling Qiyue didn’t fall for it. With no other tricks up their sleeves, the Loose Cultivators could only slink away.

In fact, similar methods had been used by other factions in the past, and more than just once or twice.

That was why Ling Qiyue was unwilling to take the risk, even if genuine Loose Cultivators with no potential conflict of interest with the Ling Family came to her door.

The Foundation Establishment powerhouse, Wu Xiuqing, spoke up. Clad in a water-red dress, she looked no older than seventeen or eighteen, her features exquisitely beautiful.

"Why don’t we go to the Hanyue Continent Marketplace and try our luck with a Second Rank Alchemist there? We worked so hard to gather these materials; we can’t let them sit idle. We must quickly convert them into strength for the family. That’s the proper course of action."

Wu Canglang pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded. "That’s the only way. This matter is very important. Xiuqing, you and Elder Cangyuan will make the trip yourselves."

"Bring those other Elders along as well. Once you get the elixirs, have them achieve their breakthroughs there before returning."

Hanyue Continent was a large landmass in the Eastern Pole Ocean, spanning tens of thousands of miles. Not only was it blessed with beautiful scenery and abundant resources, but it also possessed several complete Third Grade Spirit Veins.

The Hanyue Gate, which ruled this land and its many surrounding islands, was a massive power with two Golden Core powerhouses and multiple True Pill and Pseudo Core experts presiding over it.

Therefore, the scale of the Hanyue Continent Marketplace was on a completely different level from those of the Foundation Establishment Clans. The variety and quantity of resources traded were far more abundant.

Many Loose Cultivators who had reached the Qi Cultivation 9th Layer would take up long-term residence in the Hanyue Continent Marketplace. They would do everything in their power to collect the materials needed for refining Foundation Establishment Pills and seek out Second Rank Alchemists, all in pursuit of a chance at Foundation Establishment.

As long as one was willing to pay the price, this path was entirely feasible. In the past, quite a few Cultivators had achieved their desires, becoming Foundation Establishment powerhouses that lower-level Cultivators endlessly envied.

Of course, with the Hanyue Continent Marketplace being so immense, vast numbers of cultivators flocked there, making it an inevitable mix of the good and the bad.

Many utterly vicious Tribulation Cultivators, Demon Cultivators, and Evil Cultivators lay dormant in the Marketplace year-round, eyeing visiting Loose Cultivators like tigers stalking their prey, waiting for the right opportunity to strike and make a big score.

As long as they didn’t act within the Marketplace’s boundaries, the upper echelons of the Hanyue Gate would not interfere.

Thus, over thousands of years, the number of Cultivators who died mysteriously or disappeared around Hanyue Continent was countless, and no one ever investigated.

To leave nothing to chance, Wu Canglang decided to send two Foundation Establishment powerhouses along with a group of Qi Cultivation 9th Layer Elders to guard against ambushes by Tribulation Cultivators.

Wu Xiuqing and Wu Cangyuan both gave a solemn assent, and so the matter was settled.

...

「The perilous deep sea.」

The triple-layered, pale golden light screen projected by the Glazed Yellow Umbrella cascaded down, protecting Ling Changqing and the two women in the center as they descended at a steady pace.

Ling Changqing cautiously looked around. The improvement in his cultivation and the strengthening of his Divine Soul Origin gave him more confidence than last time.

The diving area Ling Qiyue chose this time was different; they followed the line of an uninhabited reef on the sea’s surface, descending gradually.

Thus, after entering the water, Ling Changqing saw an endless underwater mountain range. In his hazy vision, they looked like packs of slumbering Ancient Giant Beasts.

Glowing algae, migrating schools of fish, forests of kelp dancing with the undercurrents, and brilliantly colored shells dotted the rugged slopes.

There were also sea crabs the size of water vats, sea turtles roaming leisurely, starfish creeping slowly, and deadly schools of jellyfish lurking with hidden intent. The sheer spectacle was almost too much for Ling Changqing to take in.

"...We’ve reached a depth of four thousand feet. This must be the place, right?"

A moment later, Tang Qiu Yao said softly. She had already spotted several resources worth harvesting, all of them equivalent to Grade Two Spirit Medicine.

"Little Junior Brother, what do you think?"

Ling Qiyue asked in a soft voice. On a seabed teeming with dangerous creatures, Ling Changqing’s opinion was, of course, the most important.

Ling Changqing sensed his surroundings for a moment and said, "Alright. This is the spot for today, then."

’This time we’re a thousand feet deeper than before. There will undoubtedly be more valuable things to collect, as long as we aren’t targeted by any overly powerful creatures.’

Ling Qiyue breathed a sigh of relief and pointed a few hundred feet away with a jade-like finger.

"Let’s get our hands on those Rock Heart Illusion Spirit Vines first, shall we? Then we can check other places."

It was a large patch of stones that emitted a faint fluorescent glow, their surfaces covered with Snake Scale Moss. There were probably hundreds, if not thousands of them.

Ling Changqing agreed and approached gradually with the two women. Only after confirming that no other dangerous creatures were hiding nearby did he draw his longsword and begin to cut.

A few breaths later, the first stone was cut open smoothly, revealing a vine within that was as white as snow and emitting a soft, fluorescent glow.

Ling Changqing reached out, pulling it into his grasp. He then stored it in a specially prepared, large-capacity Storage Pouch before turning to the next stone.

"Once we get these back and pair them with some supplementary ingredients, we can refine several batches of Second stage Beauty Pills!"

Tang Qiu Yao laughed. "These things are as good as sparkling Spirit Stones."

Ling Qiyue said, "The family certainly can’t use this many Beauty Pills. We’ll have to go to the Hanyue Continent Marketplace to sell most of them. The other resources can be handled the same way."

This wasn’t the first time Ling Qiyue had gone to the Hanyue Continent Marketplace to trade, exchanging what they had for what they needed.

The Marketplace on Zenxin Island was limited in scale and couldn’t provide all the resources the family needed to develop. It was essential to procure supplies from the territories of major powers.