At the foot of Resonant Jade Mountain, green blossoms covered the slopes, and a faint fragrance lingered in the air.

A man curiously sized up Luo Chen. "You are Murong Yuan?"

Luo Chen studied the man before him. He gave a slight nod, then could not help but ask, "Are you really Shopkeeper Wang's elder?"

Normally, he would not ask something like this so directly. It was just that this man looked incredibly young. Luo Chen's divine consciousness told him that his interlocutor was at most thirty or so, and his well-maintained appearance and the fact that he was an Initiate made him seem no older than seventeen or eighteen. But in most cases, seniority based on cultivation realm only applied among cultivators without blood ties. Could it be that the Wang family followed the same rule even within their family?

The young man smiled. "I am indeed his elder. I may be younger than him by sixty years or so, but according to the family genealogy, I'm two generations above him. He has to call me uncle."

So that was the answer to Luo Chen's doubts. Well, in all fairness, the matter of seniority in the cultivation world had always been a tangled mess. For example, two brothers cultivated together. One reached the Golden Core Realm and remained celibate. The other, limited by talent, married in his twenties or thirties and passed on his bloodline. After three or four hundred years, the latter's family would have branched out through a dozen generations, maybe more. Then, if the former Adept suddenly chose to marry and have a child, that one- or two-year-old child would stand as the senior to all those descendants! As for how to address them...

If that child later had descendants as well, the web of titles would only grow more complicated. In short, unless one could rely on a well-documented genealogy or guidance from elders, it was difficult to sort these things out. For outsiders, it was practically impossible to determine seniority in that way, so they simply relied on cultivation and age.

"Fellow Daoist Murong, you're hiding your cultivation, aren't you?"

"Fellow Daoist Wang, you have sharp eyes. I'm trying to pass as a Qi Refinement cultivator, even though I'm an Initiate. As for why..."

"No need to explain. When you're out in the world, you do what's most convenient."

After getting Luo Chen's confirmation, the young man smiled with quiet satisfaction at his own perception. Still, he kept his composure. "Since we're in the same realm, we can treat each other as peers. My name is Wang An."

Luo Chen cupped his hands. "I am just an ordinary rogue cultivator, Murong Yuan of Coldreach. Greetings, Fellow Daoist Wang An."

Wang An returned the greeting. As for Coldreach, it was just a random island located between the Flying Swallow Archipelago and White Sand Island. Wang An had never heard of such a small place, and neither did he care to find out about it. What he cared about was where Luo Chen was heading. "Fellow Daoist, I heard you wanted to go to Giant Whale Harbor?"

Luo Chen nodded. "Yeah. The situation's chaotic right now, and this place is on the front lines of the war. I'm not strong enough to get involved, and I naturally don't plan to. I've heard Giant Whale Harbor is the Northern Sea headquarters of the Heaven Origin Dao Sect's trade alliance. With their reputation, neither side would dare touch it. It should be safe there."

"You have good insight, but prices over there are extremely high. Ordinary rogue cultivators cannot stay there long," Wang An muttered. "Anyway... The fare you paid before was generous, but that was based on Qi Refinement standards. Since you're actually at Foundation Establishment, we'll need to renegotiate the ticket price a little."

Luo Chen revealed a troubled expression. Wang An seemed to understand his predicament. The letter from Red Tide Harbor had described the situation in detail: Murong Yuan himself carried injuries, and the attendant who had followed him since youth was frail and often ill. Over the years, his savings had long since been depleted. The spirit stones he had paid earlier were basically all he had left.

"Don't worry, I'm not unreasonable." Wang An waved his hand. "All you need to do is follow our lead along the way. If we run into demonic beasts, then we're good. But if we're attacked by raiding cultivators, you'll need to step in and help. After all, we're quite literally in the same boat."

Luo Chen nodded and let out a quiet breath of relief. With that, Wang An concluded his inspection and finished explaining the necessary details. He then remained in the small town at the foot of Resonant Jade Mountain for two days.

On the third day, at sunrise, Luo Chen stood at the port of Resonant Jade Mountain and watched a massive ship sail out. After it emerged, seven or eight smaller ships gathered from all directions. Though smaller in comparison, they were actually no smaller than the largest demon-hunting ships of the Flying Swallow Archipelago. Luo Chen could not help but sigh at the sight. This was the scale of an upper sect. Ordinary sects or merchant families could muster only one or two such ships at most. How could they assemble an entire fleet with such ease?

At this moment, Wang An waved to him from the largest ship. Luo Chen brought Heavenjade and flew up. "Your room is on the second floor. There's a basic spirit-gathering formation inside, about the level of a top-grade first-tier spirit vein. If you activate it with spirit stones, it won't affect your cultivation."

Luo Chen showed surprise. A merchant ship could produce such a concentration of spirit energy? And he was nothing more than an insignificant passenger. For the sect's own Initiates and Adepts, the cultivation environment was surely far superior.

Several figures flew out from midway up Resonant Jade Mountain. Their powerful spirit pressure spread out at once and was sensed by everyone present. Countless low-tier cultivators bowed in unison. Luo Chen followed suit while quietly observing them. There were nine of them, and all of them were Adepts. The foundations of Resonant Jade Mountain were indeed formidable. Judging by the emblems on their robes, three belonged to Resonant Jade Mountain, while the rest were likely members of affiliated forces.

The nine Adepts paid no heed to the bows below. They exchanged brief courtesies among themselves, then each descended onto a merchant ship.

A voice sounded from the ship Luo Chen was on. To his ears, it was calm and composed, yet it echoed thunderously across the port.

"Set off!"

As the great ships set sail, seawater parted before them. Amid rolling white waves, nine massive ships unfurled their sails and headed toward the distant seas under the morning sun.

***

The massive ship Luo Chen was on was named Resonant Jade, and, as the name suggested, she was the flagship of the fleet. Her destination was also the farthest away—she was heading to Giant Whale Harbor. To secure passage on this ship could only be called good fortune.

Inside a room on the second floor, Luo Chen settled Heavenjade in place and looked around the room before lowering his gaze to the floor beneath his feet. A thoughtful expression appeared on his face. "This ship... has a small third-tier spirit vein transplanted onto it?"

It seemed that this was rather common practice here, much unlike in the Eastern Wilderness. The Eastern Wilderness excelled at refining and upgrading spirit veins, while the Northern Sea specialized in moving them elsewhere. The third-tier Black-Green Treasure Basin he'd seen at the auction was a good example; according to Han Zhan, a spirit vein had been transplanted onto it. Now, on this massive ship, the energy signature he sensed was very similar. In other words, it wasn't just a formation, but an actual spirit vein aboard the ship, which supplied the daily spirit energy needed by the cultivators on board.

Well, I guess it's probably due to the environment. There's water everywhere and probably millions of isolated islands. Even if someone can take over a good vein, it's impossible to keep guard against demonic beasts all the time. In that situation, high-tier cultivators can just move the spirit veins on faraway islands to wherever their main base is. As for the losses... well, who cares. The alternative is not getting anything at all.

After reaching this conclusion, Luo Chen could not help but feel emotional. The Northern Sea was far too vast. For low-tier cultivators, attempting to cross the open seas by flight alone was exceedingly dangerous. The drain on spirit power, the constant threat of demonic beasts, and even the occasional appearance of raiding cultivators all placed their lives at risk. Although merchant ships traveled slowly, they allowed cultivators to remain in peak condition at all times, ready to respond to any sudden situation. Flying boats were faster and safer, but they consumed far more mid-grade and even top-grade spirit stones. Very few people on very few occasions would waste large amounts of spirit stones for such a trip. Thus, when all factors were considered, ships remained the best choice.

With these thoughts settled, Luo Chen's interest in the ship diminished. He moved about the room and set up formation flags at regular intervals to block external probing. Once everything was prepared, he sat cross-legged and looked inward. After the battle at Coldlight Island, his aura had been extremely weak, and his body was still covered in wounds. Even after transforming into his Sky Roc True Form, he'd been injured to the point where his internal organs were visible through multiple cuts and holes. But in truth, his injuries were no longer as severe as they looked. Upon inspection, his muscles had knitted back together, his blood had been replenished, and his heart was beating vigorously. The hand that had been cut to the bone by the black and white sabers had long since healed. Aside from his exceptional healing spells, which he could still use to some extent, the greatest contributor was his powerful physique. No—In fact, it was the Withering-Flourishing Fire!

In earlier years, he had used the fire to refine numerous demonic beasts and absorb vast amounts of life force. This life force did not significantly extend his lifespan, but it did grant him a terrifying regenerative power. To others, his injuries had appeared shocking. But to him, they were little more than superficial wounds. He believed that, if he continued to refine life force through the fire and temper his body with medicine, he was sure to reach the fourth tier. Actually... he might very well reach the fifth tier. He would then be comparable to the ancient Titan Beasts, that legendary state where severed limbs regrew and a single drop of blood could be the root of his rebirth.

Yet that lay far in the future. For now, it remained nothing more than a distant hope. Now, Luo Chen's true concern lay in the depletion of his mana.

During the last battle, he had repeatedly unleashed large-scale spells. At the final moment, he had even used his life-bound enchanted treasure to its limits and refined Qian Ting alive. All of this had drained his mana to the very bottom of the tank, and even after more than half a month of continuous consumption of True Flame Pills while cultivating, he had only recovered less than half of it. That might sound like a lot, but it was actually very little considering his needs and his potential. The Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture allowed his Golden Core to rotate on its own and absorb spirit energy at all times. Thus, his recovery speed far exceeded his peers. Yet despite that and despite consuming so many True Flame Pills, he had not recovered even halfway. It was truly disheartening.

The reason was clear: the lack of a third-tier spirit land. Without one, his recovery could never reach full speed. In the current situation, where battle could break out at any moment, his desire for a third-tier spirit land was stronger than ever, but there was nothing he could do about it.

With a sigh, Luo Chen came out of meditation. He opened his eyes and saw Heavenjade staring blankly into space. Guessing her thoughts, he spoke up. "Don't overthink it. This might not be a bad thing for you."

Heavenjade was startled.

"You spent your early years cultivating without guidance, relying purely on instinct. Even now, aside from Ninety Thousand Li, which suits you perfectly, you still haven't been able to grasp the other techniques I taught you. You haven't even mastered the cultivation technique I tailored for you. In the end, it's not your talent, but those early habits holding you back. Take this time while you're recovering to let go of those instincts. Try cultivating the way humans do. You might finally be able to truly understand the Heavenspan Wing Codex. Heavenjade, remember this—when things are going well, prepare for the worst. But when things go wrong, you have to think of the best. Always hold on to hope!"

The woman furrowed her delicate brows, thinking seriously about Luo Chen's words. Luo Chen shook his head and stopped paying attention to her. Instead, he sent out a divine consciousness message. "Senior, this journey is long..."

"What is it? Want to talk about the past again to pass the time?"

"No. It's time for you to make good on your promise."

Han Zhan immediately understood. After a brief pause, he said, "You still haven't removed the dark energy from the Soul-Nurturing Wood..."

"That was not the deal. We agreed that once I secured the Soul-Nurturing Wood for you, you would give me the Nascent Core Art and the Nascent Soul Pill formula," Luo Chen said firmly.

Han Zhan felt a flicker of irritation, but Luo Chen's next words eased it. "Besides, you can see the state I'm in. My mana isn't fully recovered, and I can't even protect myself properly, let alone spend it cleansing the wood. Once I recover, I'll deal with it right away."

Han Zhan was helpless. He realized that aside from Luo Chen's talent in cultivation, he also had an uncanny ability to talk people into doing what he wanted. Every word was measured, leaving no room for rebuttal. "I know. I'm just a bit reluctant. The Nascent Core Art is a core secret of the Falling Cloud Sect, and that Nascent Soul Pill formula... I went through a lot to get it. And now you're getting all that for a single piece of wood... Well, I suppose I don't have much of a choice now anyway."

Luo Chen listened to Han Zhan's rambling with a faint smile and refrained from commenting. Just a piece of wood? He had paid more than five million spirit stones for it, along with several bottles of supreme-grade pills and even a second-tier alchemical formula. However, once he obtained the Nascent Core Art from Han Zhan, he understood the truth. He had made an immense profit! This art alone was worth not just millions, but tens of millions!