Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Lin Zhao took out a low-grade spirit stone from his storage bag and threw it over.

The boy hurriedly caught it, looked down, and was dumbfounded.

A complete low-grade spirit stone can be exchanged for at least 140 or 150 spirit fragments, and with good luck, up to 200.

He clutched the spirit stone, his expression shifting between surprise and distress, before finally managing to stammer, "Senior... I really don't have any change."

"No need," Lin Zhao said. "Tell me, are there any Tier 3 ships going to sea from Zhenhai Cliff recently?"

The young man looked at the spirit stone in his hand.

He said somewhat awkwardly, "Senior, a third-tier sea vessel is something only Core Formation cultivators possess, and Zhenhai Cliff has very few of them. There really aren't any going out to sea recently."

He placed the spirit stone on the table and pushed it back. Although he looked reluctant, he still honestly said, "I really dare not take this spirit stone."

Lin Zhao glanced at him but did not accept the spirit stones.

Information on third-tier seagoing vessels would also be helpful.

The boy frowned and thought for a long time, then suddenly slapped his forehead: "I've got it! I heard that a third-tier sea ship is recruiting, but the ship is not in Zhenhai Cliff, but in Baichuan Immortal City."

Lin Zhao raised an eyebrow. What a coincidence.

He originally planned to go to Baichuan Immortal City to find a team.

"lead the way."

The boy led him to a shipyard that covered a vast area.

A brand-new plaque hangs above the main gate—Dingling Shipyard.

The shopfronts look newly built.

Lin Zhao stood at the door, gazing at the main building, and couldn't help but touch his nose.

It really was someone I knew.

When he came to Zhenhai Cliff to carry out a mission, he sought "trouble" with Dingling Shipyard in order to make a big scene.

He directly demolished the main building of the shop.

The other side was very cooperative—he was responsible for making the "fight" look good, while the other side was responsible for making the "injuries" look realistic.

Afterwards, both sides tacitly understood the situation.

They're all sensible; it's unlikely to be a trap.

Now a new building has been erected, even more impressive than the one he demolished back then.

He tossed the spirit stone back to the boy.

This time, the boy didn't refuse; he grabbed the spirit stone and ran off.

Lin Zhao entered the shipyard.

Half a day later, he came out with a receipt.

The certificate was a blue iron token with the words "Ding Ling" engraved on the front and the emblem of a sea ship on the back.

The boss of Dingling Shipyard, and the controller of Dingling Zhenren.

He is currently in Baichuan Immortal City, and his third-tier sea vessel, the Dinghai, will depart in three months.

The Dingling Shipyard was essentially a safe haven for the Dinghai Chamber of Commerce's elderly cultivators and their young relatives, intended for their retirement.

Lin Zhao, posing as Qingfeng Daoist and possessing late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, obtained a qualification to board the ship.

Of course, this is only a preliminary selection result for Lin Zhao. After arriving in the Immortal City, he will need to take a closer look at the teams. This is just one of the backup options.

Without further delay, he set off for Baichuan Immortal City.

Baichuan Immortal City is more prosperous than Zhenhai Cliff—the city is crisscrossed by countless vast waterways, and seagoing vessels can sail directly to the city's docks.

The architectural styles are more diverse than inland, ranging from towering stone towers to exotic pavilions built with huge seashells and corals.

The goods sold in the market were completely different from those inland—sea beast materials, seabed spirit minerals, unknown marine spirit plants, and all sorts of strange and unusual things brought back from overseas.

You can also see other races here.

Lin Zhao was walking down the street when several merfolk approached—their upper bodies were human, and their lower bodies were fish tails covered in fine scales.

They walked on land using some kind of water magic, their fish tails supported by a cloud of pale blue mist, three inches off the ground.

Merfolk have more refined features than ordinary humans, with skin that is a light blue-gray and several small gills behind their ears.

Lin Zhao glanced at it a couple more times.

The cultivation world of Cangyun has seven dominant forces, with the human race being the most respected.

Powerful races like the demon race and the monster race were completely suppressed.

Not to mention these smaller tribes.

Only in a place like the Endless Demon Sea can you see so many other races.

He found a seaside inn to stay in.

In three months, he had traveled through all the Tier 3 fleets that had recently set sail from Baichuan Immortal City.

After comparison, it was found that the reputation of the Spirit-Fixing Fleet was quite good, and it had traveled back and forth to the Endless Demon Sea many times.

In the end, he chose the Dingling merchant fleet.

---

Two months later.

The port outside Baichuan Immortal City.

Lin Zhao paid a sum of spirit stones and boarded the Dinghai with the voucher token.

The Dinghai was a third-tier sea vessel, seven hundred zhang long, with a jet-black hull engraved with array patterns, and spiritual light slowly flowing between the patterns.

The Dinghai had five decks, which narrowed from the bottom to the top, making it look like a mountain floating on the water.

The bow of the ship resembles a giant dragon's head, with a shimmering, light-blue bead held in its mouth.

The Dinghai did not set sail alone.

It was the flagship of a fleet, surrounded by thirty second-class seagoing ships, each a hundred feet long, arranged in a fan shape to guard its left and right.

The entire fleet together was like a small, mobile city.

The three Core Formation cultivators of the fleet stood at the bow of the ship.

The eldest brother, Dingling Zhenren, was a burly man with a square face and broad shoulders. He spoke in a loud voice and wore a black battle armor.

The second one is Daoist Wenjing, who has a long beard and a thin face. He is in charge of controlling the direction and formation of the fleet.

The third one is Madam Yunxiang, a young woman dressed in a light blue Taoist robe, who is in charge of the fleet's logistics and commerce.

All three Core Formation Realm cultivators were at least at the mid-stage, with the Spirit-Stabilizing Realm cultivator already at the late-stage Core Formation stage.

Besides them, there were hundreds of Foundation Establishment cultivators and tens of thousands of Qi Refining cultivators on board.

Most Qi Refining cultivators are at the late stage of cultivation—the Endless Demon Sea is teeming with demonic beasts, and ordinary Qi Refining cultivators cannot even protect themselves at sea.

The ship has five decks, with the cargo hold at the bottom filled with goods to be traded on this voyage.

The first floor is the living area for Qi Refining cultivators, with densely packed rooms.

The second floor is for Foundation Establishment cultivators, each with a separate room ten feet in size.

The third floor is for late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators and those at the peak; the rooms there are larger.

The fourth floor is the exclusive area for Core Formation cultivators, offering the best view and the densest spiritual energy.

The fifth level is where the formation and spiritual veins are located. Master Dingling spent a great deal of money to create ten third-tier spiritual pools as the power source for the Dinghai.

Lin Zhao's registered cultivation level is late Foundation Establishment stage.

He was assigned to room number thirty-seven on the third floor, which was thirty feet in size and had a window on the outer side that offered a view of the sea.

The patterns on the ship's hull began to light up layer by layer.

The Dinghai emitted a deep hum, the vibration of spiritual energy being injected into the ship.

Thirty second-tier sea ships on the periphery also started up at the same time, and the spiritual light on their hulls connected into a band of light on the sea surface.

The fleet left the dock of Baichuan Immortal City.

The buildings on the shore grew smaller and smaller, and the noise at the docks faded into the distance.

All that remained was the sea.

The bow of the ship cleaved through the waves with a continuous, muffled roar, and the sea stretched to the unseen horizon, its color growing ever deeper.