Sea Cultivation: Giant Ships and Heavy Artillery Knock on the Door to All Races

Chapter 269 Recognition, Implicated
ding dong~

Another storage ring mentioned in the will fell out on the spot. It was unclear what kind of illusion it was, but it was able to hide perfectly on the spot. Even Lin Qianfan, who had activated his Divine Realm Eye, could not detect it.

"Lingying City is a long way away. Whether by sailing or using an ultra-long-distance teleportation array, the cost is too high. It's definitely not possible to go there in a short time. Moreover, with my current strength, I would just be a sitting duck if I went. So this matter can only be put on hold for now!"

Although he had promised to return the ring to the Qiu family, Lin Qianfan knew he was not capable of fulfilling that promise at the moment, and he knew he had to act within his means.

Then we'll have to deal with that later. We'll fulfill this agreement when we're confident we can withdraw from a late-stage Golden Core cultivator's grasp.
After all, the Qiu family of the Five Blessings Chamber of Commerce must be powerful, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to cultivate this Senior Qiu. Rashly coming to their door is just like delivering vegetables; it's impossible to explain many issues clearly, and no one will listen anyway.

As for whether the delay might cause changes in the Qiu family, that's beyond Lin Qianfan's control. Although the things he obtained this time are very precious, Lin Qianfan may not need them for two or three hundred years, so he has no psychological burden.

"He probably didn't expect that a Foundation Establishment cultivator would obtain it so easily."

The Black Fang Demon King's intimidating power has a time limit. After his death, his traces and aura will fade with time. If he doesn't show himself for a long time, it will eventually arouse suspicion among those around him.
The fact that it remained undetected for the past ten years was partly due to the beast tides, which kept most people away. Now that the beast tides have subsided, perhaps soon people will suspect something is amiss, and some might even dare to risk coming to investigate.
It's fortunate that Lin Qianfan arrived early and at the right time; otherwise, he might have been left with nothing if he had arrived a few years later.

"He was too badly injured at the time, so he really had no choice but to take this gamble. Otherwise, the Qiu family would have had no chance at all. He was a man who cared about his family. It's a pity that he died like this."

"Check this thing again for any hidden marks. If I carry it on my person, will it be detected by the Qiu family's experts?"

"There are no hidden tricks, just ordinary restrictions. Besides, if the Qiu family really had this ability, why didn't they come here themselves?"

"That's true! Perhaps the Qiu family has already given up hope on this matter."

"Aren't you going to open your storage ring and take a look?"

Xiao Xinglan was puzzled when she saw Lin Qianfan put the ring away.

This storage ring has a double-layered security system, but since the original owner is dead and the soul imprint has dissipated, the remaining restrictions are not difficult, and are even far less difficult than the cave restrictions that were just broken.

But Lin Qianfan showed no interest in opening it to see what was inside. He suppressed his curiosity and put it away, which made Xiao Xinglan, who had been smiling, turn serious.

"I'm not watching!"
Even though I know this contains a huge amount of wealth, and might even be more helpful to me than the first ring, if I really had to choose between the two, I would definitely choose this one.
But isn't this also my way of prematurely overcoming my inner demons? If I fail to keep my promise for even a day, the demon of greed will torment me for that day!
Tribulations are also opportunities! These opportunities are more valuable than any ring!

After hearing Lin Qianfan's explanation, Xiao Xinglan smiled.

"You remained unmoved by immense temptation and willingly accepted the scorching heat of greed; you already possess a glimmer of potential to become a powerful being!"

"Haven't we had this before?"

"There were some, but there were a few more today!"

"Thank you for your recognition! But I hope you can consider me more next time. We share the same fate, so don't side with outsiders. I'll be heartbroken if something like this happens again."

Lin Qianfan suddenly became serious. Although he was dealing with the scene without looking back, it gave Xiao Xinglan the creeps.

"I'm sorry! But I have no choice. You are the weakness in my heart. If I don't get an answer, I will eventually die in this calamity."

"So, do you have an answer now? Are you satisfied?"

"Satisfied!"

"Fool! Meeting me is not your weakness, but your opportunity, understand?"

If Xiao Xinglan had crushed that jade slip directly, Lin Qianfan wouldn't have been tortured in the Dao Heart test. As for the secret technique on the jade box, although it can't be solved now, a solution will naturally be found when Lin Qianfan and Xiao Xinglan both reach the peak of the third rank.

Moreover, although these three jade boxes seem to be priceless, they are not actually necessities for Lin Qianfan. He can't use them now, but when he needs them in the future, he will naturally find ways to get them from other places.

"But isn't this ending better now?"

"It's alright, are we really friends now?"

"Of course, I truly approve of you now, hehe~"

The two then quickly cleaned up the scene to ensure that no one would discover the relevant information later.
Lin Qianfan solemnly collected the remains of the Golden Core expert surnamed Qiu to prevent him from dissipating further.
After any living being dies, its power returns to the great cycle of heaven and earth. However, the stronger a being is in life, the stronger the restraint on its internal power. The corpse of a strong person can remain uncorrupted for a long time, but decomposition and return are the laws of the world. This process can only be delayed to a certain extent, not completely stopped.

After cleaning up all traces inside the cave to ensure that no one could tell that a Golden Core expert had ever passed away there, the two decided not to linger and instead took a detour back to Cangxia Mountain.

"Pick two!"

On the way, Lin Qianfan let Xiao Xinglan choose from five magical treasures.

The superior-grade magic weapon is of very high quality, far superior to the naginata obtained last time, and it cannot be destroyed by a third-order lightning tribulation. Its strength is so high that just one is more than enough to overcome tribulation.

However, Lin Qianfan wouldn't take up much space even if he took more. Not to mention that he wouldn't need them now, main battle magic weapons are all about compatibility. They can only be used as backup magic weapons in the future, or traded away.

"Thank you, my generous friend!"

Xiao Xinglan then selected two high-quality magic weapons that best suited her, to be used as her tribulation-crossing magic weapons and means of combat.

As for Xiao Xinglan's tribulation, her identity cannot be easily exposed, so she can only undergo the tribulation secretly. And the only suitable tribulation site in the four inner sea regions that Lin Qianfan knows of is the Whirlpool Sea.
The Whirlpool Sea is located in the northeast of the Western Regions. The journey is not far, but this trip still requires him to act alone. Lin Qianfan plans to return to Cangxia Island first to report that he is safe, and then turn around and head to the Whirlpool Sea to undergo his tribulation.

Three days later,
Lin Qianfan, who was more cautious on his return journey than on his way there and even deliberately took a longer route, finally arrived back at Cangxia Mountain.

Returning to the Heavenly Pivot Wheel,
Lin Qianfan met with the Third Elder immediately.
"Was the journey smooth?" "Everything went smoothly!"

The trip only took six days, and we didn't encounter any danger or even lift a finger, but the gains were enormous. If I told anyone, no one would believe it.

The Third Elder then briefly recounted the events of the past few days.
Tianji Wheel's business is generally stable and improving, showing a gradual upward trend, and no one has come out to cause trouble.
Although it's not as bustling as the previous two stops, it has great potential. As its reputation grows, the daily transaction volume is increasing, and the expected returns for this stop will surpass those of Haiyue Xiancheng.

"It's quite impressive that you've managed this well without anyone helping you coordinate. Staying a few more days will ensure you earn every penny you're owed. By the way, has Jiang Nanyan replied?"

There are many methods of long-distance communication, such as communication talismans, communication jade slips, and communication arrays, but they all essentially rely on arrays to transmit information.

The communication array that Lin Qianfan used to send and receive messages over long distances was naturally on the Tianji Wheel. This array could cover a range of thousands of miles and was very useful, but it couldn't be carried on his person.

"Yes, Miss Jiang replied to the message the day before yesterday..."

Although Cangxia Mountain is a sect, it is not purely a sect. The strongest Golden Core cultivators of Cangxia Mountain are also the top cultivators of several family forces. The power of Cangxia Mountain is mainly in the hands of these Golden Core family forces. As it has developed, Cangxia Mountain is now more like a sect jointly run by partners.
Therefore, some disciples of Cangxia Mountain are both sect disciples and family members, resulting in a complex web of internal relationships.

Upon learning that Jiang Nanyan had returned to Cangxia Mountain, Lin Qianfan once again used the communication array of the Tianji Wheel to send her a message, asking how things were going, but he did not mention meeting or helping her.

Their relationship was kept brief and to the point, and they never got involved in anything else.

The other party replied quickly.

He stated that the engagement between the Jiang and Wan families had been peacefully dissolved, and apologized for not being able to provide Lin Qianfan with the help he should have as a friend.

"Wow, that's amazing! It only took a short time to resolve!"

There are many types of arranged marriages. Their original marriage agreement should have been an equal marriage where neither the woman nor the man would move in as a daughter-in-law or son-in-law.

However, as they continued their cultivation, a significant gap began to widen between them. Jiang Nanyan successfully proved her potential and had a bright future. She might form a high-grade Golden Core, thus becoming the number one person in the Jiang family, and even potentially the number one person in Cangxia Mountain in the future.
The young master of the Wan family is clearly lacking in this regard. Forget becoming a disciple of a Nascent Soul sect, there's no guarantee he'll even reach the Golden Core stage in the future.

In the world of cultivation, blood ties are often not the most important factor. Even if the young master of the Wan family has a noble bloodline, his status will steadily decline if he fails to demonstrate sufficient potential.

Even if his own father and grandfather are both Golden Core cultivators, and even if they favor him, if he himself doesn't live up to expectations, his status could very well continue to decline until he's even lower than some outstanding disciples from other branches of the family.

If a force cannot even do this, it cannot be said to be prosperous and enduring; it will often decline relatively quickly.

Given the unequal social standing between Jiang and Wan, the marriage alliance was naturally out of the question.

As for past agreements, they were mostly decided by the elders of both sides. Now that the younger generation has the ability to decide their own fate, as long as they don't bring people to break off the engagement, embarrass each other, or create an ugly and unmanageable situation, things can usually be resolved amicably.

At noon the next day,

Lin Qianfan, who had just finished his daily cultivation, noticed something was amiss as soon as he stepped out of the cultivation room. The weather today was quite nice, with only light rain and no strong winds or thunderstorms—perfect weather for doing business.

But today the flow of people was very small, only a small group of ordinary, independent practitioners, with no big clients, which was very different from yesterday.

"what happened?"

Lin Qianfan telepathically contacted Lin Lishen, inquiring about the reason.
Cangxia Mountain is not a small island, but a super-large archipelago with the main island as its core. There are countless Foundation Establishment forces and Foundation Establishment cultivators in the area. It is impossible to digest them in just a few days. This is nothing.
“I don’t know!
Everything was fine last night; some even paid deposits and arranged to pick up their goods today. But this morning, no Foundation Establishment cultivators showed up, and their messages went unanswered.

I'm baffled too. I just asked the dock manager I've gotten to know these past few days, but he stammered and couldn't say anything. He said, "You're cultivating, and I can't disturb you, which led to this situation!"

"Oh no! It seems the Jiang and Wan families' affairs have implicated us, but that doesn't make sense. Why would something so unrelated like this affect me?"

Lin Qianfan had planned to visit Jiang Nanyan at Cangxia Mountain today to ask her to look after Tianji Wheel, and then secretly go to the Whirlpool Sea. Unexpectedly, trouble came first here.

【Fellow Daoist Jiang, would you be free to meet up today? We're in Cangxia Immortal City!】

They definitely couldn't go to the mountain gate to pay their respects. They could only meet in public to see if they could find a solution. If things couldn't be resolved, they would just leave. Lin Qianfan didn't want to get involved in their entanglement.

"Alright! I'll treat you to a meal at Jietianlou Restaurant today, Brother Lin. I'd like to ask you for some business advice!"

When soldiers come, we will block them; when water comes, we will dam it. Although we don't know why we were affected, the problem will always persist if we don't take the initiative to face it.

At the beginning of the You hour,
After changing out of his smart training clothes into a cloud-patterned brocade robe, the handsome Lin Qianfan went alone to the Jietian Tower in Cangxia Immortal City for the gathering.

The Tower Reaching the Heavens, nine stories high and rising ninety-nine feet from the ground, is one of the most prominent landmarks in Cangxia Immortal City.

Each floor is an independent grand restaurant, with the price increasing on each floor. The ninth floor occasionally hosts Golden Core cultivators. Inviting Lin Qianfan here suggests a fairly high-class establishment.

"Brother Lin, it's been a few months, and you're even more dashing than before..."

Jiang Nanyan was exceptionally beautiful, possessing a rare heroic spirit among female cultivators. Coupled with her various prestigious identities, she was a renowned celestial beauty of Cangxia Mountain, attracting countless admirers, both openly and secretly.

Her personal greeting of Lin Qianfan naturally attracted attention.

"Fellow Daoist Jiang is too kind..."

Lin Qianfan was already used to similar occasions, but today he still felt a little uncomfortable. This was a spiritual discomfort caused by too many malicious gazes, which he found very repulsive.

(End of this chapter)