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

Chapter 276 Late Stage Second-Order Spirit Refinement, Eating and Wrapping

Pretending nothing had happened, Lin Qianfan quietly returned to the Tianji Wheel.
More than ten days had passed since their departure, and the Tianji Wheel's passenger traffic was even better than when they last returned. Clearly, their business activities were not being restricted and they were operating normally.
On the fourth floor, Lin Qianfan met the Third Elder who had stayed behind.
"Has everything been peaceful lately?"

"good!
During this time, many people tried to probe your whereabouts, but I refused them all, citing your seclusion and breakthrough as the reason.

But this seclusion has been too long. Even with the array protecting you, they'll probably still be able to guess that you weren't on the ship while you were away. How did your business go? Hopefully, they didn't guess it."

The Third Elder didn't know exactly what Lin Qianfan had gone to do, and was worried that if he caused trouble, people would easily associate him with it. Tianji Wheel's alibi wasn't very perfect and could be easily exposed.

"No problem! As long as we truly break through, there won't be any weaknesses!"

Lin Qianfan then checked who had sent him messages and invitations during this period.

There were quite a few people there: leaders of local Foundation Establishment factions, management of Cangxia Immortal City, Foundation Establishment cultivators from Cangxia Mountain, and so on. It seemed that anyone with a bit of status was trying to meet Lin Qianfan; he was very popular.

"Jiang Nanyan and Xiaoshan are both asking me out? Which one of you is it? Or are they both involved in something?"

However, Lin Qianfan did not reply to any of them, but instead went into seclusion.

Lin Qianfan was already ahead in the cultivation of his soul, and this time Xinglan's advancement gave him a large amount of pure and flawless soul power. Now, his primary task is to refine and absorb this power.

Two days later, in the training room,

Lin Qianfan, having gathered the golden runes that were shining all over his body, then stopped his practice. At this point, his cultivation level in the Refining Spirit stage had stabilized at the late stage.

"I've finally reached the late stage of the second tier. Now, the soul defenses of people like Wantongya won't be able to withstand my attacks!"

Lin Qianfan could easily overwhelm ordinary rogue cultivators with his soul attacks, but he couldn't do that against other Golden Core seed cultivators. They had all cultivated soul techniques, which allowed them to defend against sneak attacks, either actively or passively.
Only when the difference in the strength of the two sides' souls is large enough can this kind of move achieve a decisive victory in one strike, which is simple, brutal, and efficient.

"Let's reply to them and arrange to meet at Jietianlou. I want to see if they still have any tricks up their sleeves!"

Lin Qianfan selected the ten most valuable people to befriend from among all the invitees and replied to them all, inviting them to the Jietian Tower that evening. He also stated that the Tianji Wheel would leave Cangxia Mountain after the banquet and head to its next destination.

Logically, the person who framed Lin Qianfan last time shouldn't come out again to continue the feud, but Lin Qianfan still wanted to observe Jiang Nanyan and Xiaoshan up close again to see if he could find any flaws.

That night, on the ninth floor of the Jietian Tower.
Because the restaurant was booked at the last minute, the entire top floor couldn't be booked, and there were still quite a few other guests.
"Brother Lin, it's been a long time! You look amazing... Congratulations on your remarkable progress in cultivation! I am truly impressed! I am ashamed to admit my inferiority!"

Since he had only recently broken through, even just a few hours ago, Lin Qianfan couldn't perfectly conceal his abilities, even when he tried. To those with keen observation, his performance was indeed somewhat different from what it had been like recently.

This surprised Jiang Nanyan greatly; she hadn't expected Lin Qianfan to actually be hiding on the Tianji Wheel to cultivate and break through his cultivation barrier.

"After half a month of seclusion, I've only made some progress. Fellow Daoist Jiang, will there be any more clowns trying to spoil the fun today?"

"Absolutely not! Wan Tongya has been confined to his quarters for ten years, and the other five have also been punished to varying degrees. No one will disturb Brother Lin's enjoyment! You can drink to your heart's content tonight!"

"That's good!"

The others then arrived at the banquet one after another.

The people Lin Qianfan invited tonight are all individuals of certain status and promising futures; in short, they are all potential Golden Core cultivators from various families. Only these people are worth befriending.
This is also one of the purposes of Tianji Lun's business ventures: to expand the Lin family's network of connections. Although these connections are still weak at present, as the Lin family and Lin Qianfan grow stronger, the Lin family will have greater influence in these areas.
Ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators are not within Lin Qianfan's scope of friendship, even if they are influential figures in the local area. In Lin Qianfan's eyes, influential figures without the potential to form a Core are not that important.

"I have long admired Fellow Daoist Lin's name, and meeting you today confirms your extraordinary nature!"

Xiaoshan, who arrived last to scout the location, was somewhat surprised to discover that Lin Qianfan's spiritual realm had reached the late stage.
For most Foundation Establishment cultivators, their concurrent cultivation of the Divine Soul/Body Refining techniques is often lagging behind their Qi Refining cultivation level. Those who can catch up already demonstrate their diligence and hard work, while Lin Qianfan's significant advancement beyond Qi Refining indicates that he possesses considerable talent in this area.

"Fellow Daoist Xiao, you flatter me! I am nothing compared to you!"

Unlike the relatively handsome scions of aristocratic families, Xiaoshan was short, plain-looking, and dressed simply, showing no airs of a senior disciple. At first glance, he might be mistaken for an ordinary rogue cultivator.

However, Lin Qianfan could still sense a trace of threat from him, a threat even greater than that from Chu Junhao. Clearly, this person was quite powerful and should be a strong opponent below the Golden Core stage.

Since the participants had no prior interaction, the banquet was merely a formality, a chance to exchange cultivation experiences, strange tales, and historical anecdotes—a fairly standard guest banquet.

They may be familiar with each other and have many common topics, but Lin Qianfan is the protagonist tonight, so there was no overstepping of social boundaries or the guest overshadowing the host.

Amidst the clinking of glasses,
Lin Qianfan carefully observed everyone's every move. The others showed great respect for Jiang Nanyan and Xiaoshan, clearly indicating their extremely high and universally acknowledged status within Cangxia Mountain.

However, there was no interaction between Jiang Nanyan and Xiaoshan; they seemed to have only a normal fellow disciple relationship. Xiaoshan's eyes weren't even seen wandering around, making one wonder about their relationship.
Although Lin Qianfan arranged this time and place, Jiang Nanyan and Xiaoshan both made it clear that as the hosts, they should take good care of the guests from afar and would not let Lin Qianfan spend money.

Lin Qianfan naturally wouldn't take the initiative to pay the bill. Not only were the prices here not cheap, but he also still harbored resentment about being ripped off last time.

If it weren't for Xinglan's help, Lin Qianfan might already be dead at the hands of the Blood Vulture Demon King. This debt isn't simply pinned on Wan Tongya; someone else has to bear the consequences.

However, both of them were polite and well-mannered tonight, behaving and speaking appropriately, showing no unusual behavior, and not even testing Lin Qianfan. It seemed as if tonight was just an ordinary banquet.

Seeing that he had gained nothing, Lin Qianfan stopped dwelling on it.
Instead, he took advantage of a break in the meal to quietly find the restaurant manager and asked her to immediately pack up the top-quality spiritual dishes for thirty tables and prepare a thousand jars of locally made second-tier aged spiritual wine, which Lin Qianfan wanted to take away.

"Young Master Lin, we'll prepare the goods for you right away. The total spirit stones are..." "No need to tell me how many spirit stones it is. Just put it in the account of Jiang Zhenchuan or Xiao Zhenchuan. They will come to settle the bill later. This is their generous treat to all the crew of my Tianji Ship."

"Huh? Young Master Lin isn't joking, is he? Should I go and verify with them..."

The restaurant manager, who had initially thought she had landed a big business deal, was stunned and realized that Lin Qianfan was there to take advantage of her.

"Do you think I'm Wan Tongya? That I can't understand what you're saying?"

Lin Qianfan, who had been looking kind, instantly enveloped her with his aura. The fourth-level Foundation Establishment cultivator trembled in fear at the sixth-level Foundation Establishment cultivator, demonstrating the vast difference between a core Golden Core seed and an ordinary loose Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"Yes, sir! I will go and prepare a sacred meal for Young Master Lin right away!"

Although she knew Lin Qianfan was there to take advantage of her, she dared not disobey him because she couldn't afford to offend anyone. However, she could guess some of the clues and could only go along with Lin Qianfan's wishes.

The thirty tables of spiritual food weren't particularly high-end, only reaching the most basic second-tier level. After all, it was a banquet to entertain the Qi Refining Realm shipwrights, and this level was more than enough. In fact, it was a significant opportunity for them.

Given the reception capacity and scale of Jietianlou, preparing thirty tables of food wouldn't take long. Soon, the female steward handed Lin Qianfan two corresponding storage bags, one containing spiritual food and the other wine.

Thirty tables of spiritual food were just the tip of the iceberg; a thousand jars of second-grade spiritual wine were the real treasure, enough to make him/her ache with pain.

As for Lin Qianfan's actions, they will understand!

After arriving at the banquet,

Lin Qianfan bid farewell to everyone, promising that he would definitely come back to Cangxia Mountain for the next round of the Tianji Wheel's trade run, and that they would reminisce about their time together then.

"Senior brother, weren't you the one who pulled the strings last time?"

Watching Lin Qianfan's disappearing light, Jiang Nanyan asked.

"What? I don't know what you're talking about! Forgive my ignorance, Senior Brother, but Junior Sister Nan Yan, please explain the logic behind it!"

"Hmph! What's the point of this kind of mystical act?"

"Oh? Wasn't it you, Junior Sister, who stirred things up? How can you blame me for this? Is this outcome not what you wanted?"

"This person is not as simple as you think. This kind of tactic will not only be ineffective against him, but will also make us enemies. It will not benefit either of us! Senior brother, you should restrain yourself!"

"Hehe~ I know my limits, I don't need my junior sister to lecture me. You wouldn't actually have taken a fancy to this pretty boy, would you?"

"Incomprehensible! Senior brother, you'd better watch yourself!"

Jiang Nanyan didn't give Xiaoshan a friendly look. Although she hadn't had much contact with Lin Qianfan, she could clearly sense that Lin Qianfan was different from others. Although Lin Qianfan's cultivation level wasn't high, her intuition told her that Lin Qianfan was dangerous and that provoking him was not a good thing.

"Hmph! What are you pretending for... Hmm? Why is it so expensive?"

Xiaoshan looked at the bill for a staggering eight thousand mid-grade spirit stones for the spiritual food with some suspicion. Although the evening's meal was of a high standard, everyone present was worldly and courteous, only drinking a few extra jars of wine.
Even the best wine shouldn't be this expensive!

"Young Master Xiao, when Young Master Lin left earlier, he forcibly packed up thirty tables of second-tier spiritual food and one thousand jars of Dawn Spiritual Wine from the kitchen, saying that he would put them on your tab! You're going to host a banquet for all the crew of the Tianji Ship!"

The female manager immediately provided a detailed bill, which showed that the second-tier spiritual cuisine was a relatively basic set meal, and the spiritual wine was also the most cost-effective. Clearly, the restaurant had considered the issue for him.

Xiaoshan insisted on paying for today's meal, but now that Lin Qianfan and Jiang Nanyan have left, the restaurant manager has no choice but to give him the bill.

The female steward bowed her head and waist low when she spoke, not daring to speak loudly or look Xiaoshan directly in the eye, for fear of being implicated in trouble, because she could not afford to offend any of these people.

As the head of the nine stewards of the Heavenly Tower and the representative of a certain Golden Core cultivator, she was seen by ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators as one of the most powerful and influential figures in Cangxia Immortal City.

However, in the eyes of the true core Golden Core seed, who also involve several Golden Core cultivators behind her, she is not much different from an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator. Their statuses are unequal, and she has to bow her head when necessary.

"This Fellow Daoist Lin is truly unwilling to suffer even the slightest loss, hahaha~ What a remarkable person! It's just a pity he didn't live to see the end..."

Lin Qianfan's act of killing Wan Tongya in a fit of rage is only the first layer that everyone can see. Whether it was an accidental kill on the stage or a violation of regulations after a gambling match, it would have achieved his goal.
This would incite conflict between the Wan family and the Lin family, thereby weakening the influence of the Wan family and the entire clan faction in Cangxia Mountain.

If Lin Qianfan doesn't fall for it, that's alright, there's a second layer.
Given Wan Tongya's simplistic and foolish thought process, he'll definitely escalate the conflict between the two sides further. Xiaoshan noticed that the Blood Dove Demon King had already left the island several days ago, and his purpose was self-evident.

As long as the Blood Dove Demon King can kill Lin Qianfan, he can achieve his goals in the same way, and in the end, Wantongya will still be unable to escape death.

"You're an eyesore! Get lost!"

Xiaoshan tossed down a money pouch and was the last to leave the restaurant.

"Slave, please leave!"

(End of this chapter)