Stealthily cultivating in the chaotic world of demons and martial artists-Chapter 72 - 71 Thousand Island Lake (Congratulations to
Chapter 72 -71: Thousand Island Lake (Congratulations to Elvin2016, the Silver Alliance Leader!)_1
Chapter 72 -71: Thousand Island Lake (Congratulations to Elvin2016, the Silver Alliance Leader!)_1
Yue Country has a total of thirty-two counties.
Among them, Yu County is located on the northern border, covering an area two to three times the size of an ordinary county.
This county is crisscrossed by waterways, with boats traveling frequently along the rivers and numerous wooden and stone bridges visible everywhere. Compared to the surroundings of Green Bamboo Mountain Market, it is a completely different scene.
Thousand Island Lake.
The dock.
Countless fishing boats flock together, hundreds of vessels competing in the flow. The lake’s surface ripples gently, shimmering in the sunlight, looking like scattered scales.
Fang Xi arrived at the dock and saw many fishermen wearing green bamboo hats and cloaks, clad in gray or black trousers, sitting or standing by the roadside, offering their catch of the day for sale.
“Youngster, how about a big Daqing carp?”
An old fisherman asked with a smile.
“No, I’m looking for a boat to take me deep into Thousand Island Lake,”
Fang Xi took out a silver bead.
The dazzling light caught many a fisherman’s eye, but they all shook their heads repeatedly, “The deep parts of Thousand Island Lake are too dangerous… we wouldn’t dare to go…”
“It is said that deep within Thousand Island Lake, there lives an Immortal!”
“We can only make a living near the lake, we wouldn’t dare offend an Immortal, else if the Immortal blames us, next year we will have no catch and will all be left to face the northwest wind!”
…
As more and more fishermen gathered around, Fang Xi smiled and replaced the silver bead with a gold ingot, “Go once, and this gold will be enough for you to buy land and houses, so you won’t need to fish for a lifetime…”
“I’ll go!” a young fisherman immediately stepped forward, “Master, are you seeking Immortals? In fact, I have also taken a few young heroes deep into the lake to seek Immortal Fate…”
“Are there any more?”
Fang Xi glanced around, noting that high rewards would surely attract brave souls.
He took out another gold ingot, indeed attracting many fishermen.
Fang Xi didn’t say much more; he checked their boats, and finally chose one with a red carp painted on the bow.
This boat’s captain looked to be in his forties or fifties with rugged features, a face weathered by the elements, but he was actually only in his thirties. He introduced himself as ‘Lord Hai.’
Once Fang Xi had chosen the boat, Lord Hai began to pole the bamboo punt, slowly easing away from the dock and heading into the lake.
Several hours later.
Dusk approached, the water was dyed gold with streaks of light red.
Lord Hai poled the boat and began to sing a fishing song in a loud voice, “The reeds sway yo, hey… The boat moves quietly, hey… Next year’s catch will be plentiful, hey…”
As the sunset, and the fishing song neared its end, it created a rather unique charm.
Fang Xi stood on the boat, feeling the breeze and stretching comfortably.
“Would the honorable guest like to have dinner?”
At that moment, a woman emerged from the small cabin of the boat, asking softly.
She looked younger than Lord Hai, with a small white flower tucked into her hair, and must have been quite pretty when she was younger.
For fishermen, a dark-covered boat was a home, where life and death unfolded.
So, naturally, this woman was Lord Hai’s wife.
“Might as well… I’ll have a bowl of fish soup!”
Fang Xi nodded and casually tossed another silver bead to her.
The woman, pleased with the tip, went back into the cabin and skillfully prepared a crucian carp.
The head and bones were cooked into a soup, thick and white, with just a pinch of coarse salt added. It was very delicious.
The fish meat was sliced thin and grilled over low heat until slightly charred, exuding an enticing aroma.
Complemented by homemade rice wine, it was truly a unique gastronomic experience.
Fang Xi ate heartily and gave another silver bead as a tip.
The woman accepted the silver bead, but instead of leaving, she asked coquettishly, “The night dew is heavy, does the master require tending to?”
Ancient boatwomen often had a side job. Fang Xi wasn’t surprised and directly shook his head to decline.
Lord Hai, who had been poling the boat all this time, saw this scene and couldn’t help but sigh silently.
He had lived by Thousand Island Lake all year round and, despite having no savings, he had developed a keen eye for people.
The red carp on the bow was the highest honor for a fishing household – after storms on Thousand Island Lake, there would occasionally appear an expensive and hard-to-catch type of red carp with dragon whiskers and red scales. Only the boat families that had successfully captured one could engrave the symbol on their boat’s bow.
Although just making ends meet with his fishing skills, Lord Hai had taken Fang Xi’s offer because he saw something extraordinary in the young man.
Not a young master raised in luxury, but likely a young hero exploring the Martial World.
If he could make good use of this connection, perhaps his descendants could learn and practice martial arts, breaking free from the hardship of fishing for a living.
The truly poor in ancient times did not put much stock in such matters.
Yet he didn’t expect that the young master wouldn’t even consider it.
His sigh seemed to have been heard by Fang Xi.
Fang Xi went to the bow and directed Lord Hai, while saying, “Don’t worry, as long as we reach the destination, this young master will reward you handsomely!”
…
Five days later.
“Young Master… beyond the Golden Turtle Head, we dare not continue further inward…”
Lord Hai pointed at a reef sticking out of the lake not far away, shaped like a giant turtle, and said to Fang Xi, “Us fishermen in this area generally only dare to fish near the lake; very few venture as deep as this… And according to our experience, going any deeper would surely bring disaster!”
“Hmm, getting here is already quite good.”
Fang Xi took out Ge Hongdan’s geomancy map and nodded after looking at it.
He had hired a boat simply because he didn’t want to fly too far away with his Black Cloud Cap.
Reaching the Golden Turtle Head, he was indeed very close to the Baochuan Market.
With that said, Fang Xi slapped his Storage Bag.
A mass of dark clouds appeared, swirling around him, lifting him off the deck and into the air.
“You two can go back now.”
Fang Xi instructed, tossing a piece of gold as he steered the Black Cloud away into the distance.
“This…”
Lord Hai stood there stupefied, then suddenly knelt down, kowtowing repeatedly, “Great merciful and compassionate Immortal Master… please forgive me, Immortal Master, please forgive!”
When he got up and saw his wife joyously tucking the gold into her bosom, he couldn’t help feeling a bit gloomy, “Ah… if only the Immortal Master had taken a liking to you… that would have been wonderful…”
Perhaps it would have been possible for their descendants to inherit the immortal seed and embark on the Cultivation Path.
…
The Baochuan Market was located on Baochuan Island.
This island was four-square and resembled a Baochuan, hence the name.
On the island, there was a first-grade Spiritual Vein, which was later occupied by the Dragon Fish Zhong Family, transformed into a market. Around the market, there were terraced fields filled with Spirit Rice.
Fang Xi altered his appearance, covered half of his face, and in just half an hour upon the Black Cloud Cap, he reached Baochuan Island.
Since there was no Space Restriction above the island, he flew over the uneven terraced fields and arrived at the entrance to the market.
Looking at those Spirit Farmers laboring hard in the fields, occasionally looking up with eyes full of envy, Fang Xi felt an indescribable sentiment in his heart.
If not for possessing the cheater, he might still be a Spirit Farmer at Bamboo Mountain, and then would have been affected in the Situ Family’s downfall…
“Respected Immortal Master, welcome. Is this your first visit to the market?”
At the market entrance, several mortals were squatting, and upon seeing Fang Xi descend with his magical tool, they immediately gathered around, “We are local guides, highly familiar with the insides of the market…”
“Hmm, I’ll pick you,” Fang Xi chose a young servant dressed in green.
The servant instantly beamed with joy, dismissing his colleagues, and began to lead the way for Fang Xi, “One does not need a pass to enter Baochuan Market, nor do they need to pay any Spirit Stones… However, if you don’t leave by nightfall and get caught by patrolling cultivators, you’ll be in for a tough time… Immortal Master, for a mere Spirit Crystal a day, you can hire me! My name is Mo Qingyi, and I am fortunate to meet the Immortal Master today…”
“You… seem to be just a mortal?”
Fang Xi had Mo Qingyi lead the way while casually speaking.
Upon mentioning this, Mo Qingyi’s expression became somewhat downhearted, “I am dull-witted and did not inherit my grandfather’s Spiritual Root…”
After a few more words, Fang Xi learned that unlike Bamboo Mountain, Thousand Island Lake hosted a large number of cultivators’ progeny, many of whom lacked Spiritual Roots. Yet, they were still raised on the islands, forming villages and towns.
The mortals able to live near the market and find work must inevitably be direct descendants within three generations of cultivators.
This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.
‘So, each of these islands is quite akin to a small kingdom?’
‘Hmm… after all, though they’re called islands, they’re actually quite large, enough to be considered a daimyo in my previous life’s Japan, commanding several hundred thousand or even a million koku of land…’
Fang Xi thought snidely, then promptly smiled and said, “Do your job well, and you’ll be well rewarded… I plan to sell some monster materials, while also looking to purchase a Body Refining cultivation method, some puppets, and Beast-controlling Skills heritage…”
Previously, in Da Liang, he cultivated Martial Arts simply because it was a fast track that didn’t require any materials, and it also helped break through in stamina during Foundation Establishment.
If he had to cultivate the Cultivation World’s Body Refining methods to reach his current level of third-tier body refining, the Spirit Stones he’d need would be astronomical.
At the very least, he would need to eat Spirit Rice meal after meal, combined with various Spirit Medicines made into medicinal baths, as well as pills…
Overall, the Da Liang Martial Arts was more cost-effective.
But now, with no progress after reaching Grandmaster, Fang Xi had to be prepared to make a change.
Mo Qingyi thought briefly and then said, “If you wish to sell monster materials, there are a few seniors who have been purchasing all kinds of monster materials in the market area for a long time. The most reputable is the ‘Dragon Gate Attic’ owned by the Zhong Family.”
“As for puppet skill? Forgive my ignorance, but I haven’t heard of anywhere selling such heritage… However, regarding Beast-controlling Skills, there is a Master Miao who raises three Spiritual Pets and might have such heritage. You could inquire there.”
“Lead the way ahead, let’s go to Dragon Gate Attic first!” Fang Xi nodded, quite satisfied with the guide.
If it were up to him, figuring out these details would have taken who knows how much time and effort.
Dragon Gate Attic.
The Dragon Fish Zhong Family’s main business was breeding Spirit Fish, particularly the ‘Green Jade Carp,’ which was delicious and contained mild spiritual energy, especially suitable for cultivators with a Water Spiritual Root. Long-term consumption was comparable to cultivating with pills and was free of pill toxins.
It was rumored that among tens of thousands of Green Jade Carps, a Fish King might be born, awakening a trace of Flood Dragon blood, known as ‘Little Green Dragon’!
This ‘Little Green Dragon,’ when combined with several rare Spirit Medicines, could be made into ‘Azure Dragon Soup,’ which even benefitted cultivators at Foundation Establishment.
Unfortunately, most individual cultivators would never even get a whiff of what Azure Dragon Soup tasted like in their lifetime.
Such Spirit Objects, besides a small portion for the Zhong Family’s own use, were mostly offered to the Mysterious Heaven Sect in exchange for Foundation Establishment Pills and other precious resources.
