Chapter 228 - There Are Lots Of Traps In The Sea
'Life is like a show, and people wear an act every single day. These people are not easy. Am I in trouble?'
Chen Shen frowned slightly. In his previous life, he had read some historical novels which stated that unscrupulous merchants would usually act according to the situation.
When encountering rich and gullible customers, they would resort to ruthless means; not only would they rob them of their money, they would even kill them.
When encountering those who were poor, they would spare them off. To put it nicely, they were robbing the rich to help the poor.
'Do they have the same business model here?'
However, on second thought, he presumed otherwise.
'What can this bunch of low-level cultivators do? Who can they attack? Rob me of money? They gotta have what it takes before they can do that.'
Chen Chen shook his head. At the end of the day, he was still just a young man who hadn't had much experience in life and didn't understand the darkness of the world.
God knows what arrangements this group of low-ranking cultivators had made for him, a mighty figure of the Nascent Soul realm.
Chen Chen did not want to take any risks, nor did he want to jeopardize himself in the hands of unconscionable people.
'I don't want to think about it anymore! I'll bid them goodbye!'
With that thought in mind, Chen Chen stood up and said to the female cultivator, "Something cropped up, I badly need to leave."
The female cultivator was startled by his words and hurriedly asked, "What is so important, Senior? There are few islands here. It'll be very troublesome if you get lost."
Chen Chen was unsure whether they planned any evil intentions towards him or not, but he was certain about it after hearing those words.
'Why would an unethical person be so nice?' He didn't want to believe it.
He placed himself in the shoes of the female cultivator. If he was, he would not be willing to serve a person who could kill them effortlessly.
The fact that they didn't laugh out loud despite seeing that the guests were about to leave, was an act of professionalism.
They wouldn't make him stay unless they had other thoughts in mind.
Chen Chen almost could not help but notice and analyze them again. As a cultured person, he didn't like cursing, but it was atrocious that a bunch of Foundation Establishment realm cultivators dared to scheme against him!
"You don't have to worry anymore. Goodbye!"
Chen Chen sneered and walked straight out of the cabin. Without even looking at the few Foundation Establishment cultivators outside, he flew towards the distance.
He did not have the time to feign vulnerability and pretend to be weaker than he was in front of those few Foundation Establishment cultivators.
He couldn't be bothered to kill those low-level cultivators just based on suspicion too.
Besides, since they had the guts to run an unscrupulous business at sea, it was more likely than not that they had some backup plans for instances that unfavorable circumstances do not happen accordingly. He didn't wish to use himself to find out what they were.
If his plan backfired, there would be no way he could reason with anyone. Xia Xishuang was still waiting for him on the Western Border, so he couldn't die.
When on foreign land, it would be better to be careful.
...
Chen Chen flew thousands of kilometers to the east before finally stopping on an island.
The island was called the East Pole Island. As its name suggests, it was the easternmost island on the Boundless Sea. Any further would reach them in the deep sea.
The island was very prosperous, and there were all sorts of amenities on it, with large human traffic.
Chen Chen decided to stay behind and explore, to get more information before proceeding to the east. The location of the Divine Condensation Pearl was still more than 100,000 miles east from this East Pole Island.
Chen Chen didn't dare to imagine what kind of sea it was.
If possible, he would prefer to follow some ships to the sea instead of going alone. Otherwise, traveling such a long distance alone would be scary.
A few moments later, he arrived at a large restaurant on the island.
There were quite a few cultivators in the restaurant, and almost none of them was below the Core Formation realm. Besides, most of them were emitting a strong odor of the sea. They were cultivators who had been lurking in the Boundless Sea for years.
"Senior, you've just arrived at the Boundless Sea, haven't you? What would you like to eat?"
Seeing that Chen Chen was a fresh face, the waiter of the restaurant hurriedly rushed over to attend to him.
"Just something to eat. My main purpose of coming here is actually to inquire about something."
Chen Chen said while giving a few dozen more Spirit Stones.
Seeing this, the waiter didn't stand during the ceremony and instead gave some instructions to the staff in the kitchen before sitting beside Chen Chen, looking as if he was all ready to talk.
Chen Chen first told the waiter about his encounter on the boat.
Hearing this, the waiter immediately pretended to be scared while giving Chen Chen a thumbs-up.
"Senior, you are truly impressive. Those people are indeed bandits. There aren't many great demons in the sea within a 5,000-kilometer-radius, but there are still some terrifying sea demons of the Essence Soul realm."
"Those people often feed cultivators to these terrifying sea demons of the Essence Soul realm which are intelligent creatures. After eating the high-level cultivators, the demons would spit out the storage rings belonging to those cultivators and throw them at those people."
"In the long run, both parties have formed a tacit agreement that would bring them mutual benefit. Over the years, countless Core Formation realm cultivators have died in their hands without knowing the reason."
"Those few low-level cultivators can do that?" Chen Chen was a bit surprised.
The waiter hurriedly waved his hand and said, "No, the group I'm talking about is a major faction. One of the reasons they sent the low-level cultivators to do it is to let the people who board the boat lower their guards."
"Secondly, the lives of these low-level cultivators are worthless to them so that even if they die, they can be replaced easily."
"Lastly, the native islanders on this Boundless Sea who are tour guides have very low levels of cultivation. Hence, the cultivators sent by that faction can easily pretend to be one of them."
Chen Chen had an epiphany.
'I have to admit that there are plenty of dangers in the sea. It's much better on land.'
Of course, if he ran into that group of people next time, he might have to slap them to death.
"I want to travel to the deep sea, is there a crew who is heading there too?"
Chen Chen asked again.
"Haha, you must be kidding Senior, almost everyone in East Pole Island wants to explore the depths of the sea to search for treasures."
"If you'd like to search for treasures also, there are more than a dozen of large spirit boats that you can choose from every day."
"Some of the boats are operated by cultivators, and some belong to those who specialize in this industry. Some would dare to travel as far as 35,000 to 40,000 kilometers deep into the ocean, and the entire trip to and fro would take nearly a month."
"It all depends on your own choice, Senior. Of course, if it's your first time in the Boundless Sea, I suggest that you board the boat of those who specialize in this industry. There is truly high danger in the sea, and once those cultivators find any great treasures, they won't hesitate to kill and snatch the treasures."
As the waiter spoke, his eyes lit up with the light of Spirit Stones.
He could work part-time as an agent.
Chen Chen could not be bothered to look for others either. He simply said, "I want to get on a ship that goes farthest of the sea and will set off preferably within three days."
When the waiter heard his words, his eyes glistened even more brightly, and he hurriedly said, "There's a large boat that is set to sail 35,000 miles into the depths of the sea tomorrow. The owner of the boat is a cultivator from an Essence Soul realm powerhouse, and under his escort, your safety will be guaranteed, although it's quite expensive. A round trip will cost you 20,000 middle-grade Spirit Stones."
20,000 middle-grade Spirit Stones...
That price naturally meant nothing to Chen Chen.
'However, if the owner of the ship can bring a hundred cultivators on board at a time, will he not earn two million Spirit Stones in one trip?'
Chen Chen marveled in his heart. Although that efficiency of making money could not be compared with his, it was much better than that of the Essence Soul realm powerhouses on land.
"So, how are you considering it, Senior? Are you interested?" The waiter asked nervously.
"Sure, please reserve a spot for me," Chen Chen immediately agreed.
'Since he runs such a huge business, he cares about his reputation. He probably won't ruin his business for the sake of robbing a few cultivators.'
Chen Chen was not worried about that.
Of course, the most important thing was that he could silently assess the risks of the Boundless Sea when he was on the ship before finally deciding whether to take the Divine Condensation Pearl or not.
...
He spent the night in the restaurant which doubled as an inn.
In the following morning, the waiter led Chen Chen to board the large boat at sea.
The large ship was 200 meters long and 50 meters wide, with a various densely packed array of patterns engraved on it. Chen Chen could tell at a glance that its value was astonishing.
There were three or four other boats around the large ship.
"Senior, do you have underwater treasures? To find treasures in the deep Boundless Sea, you will have to personally dive underwater. If you don't have a few underwater treasures, I'm afraid it'd be difficult for you to get something after delving down the sea."
Seeing that the shopkeeper still wanted to do business, Chen Chen waved his hand and boarded the ship.
Yu Qiong had prepared those things for him a long time ago.
After boarding the ship, he realized that there were more cultivators on board than he had imagined. There were a total of more than 150 people!
'Three million Spirit Stones! Damn it!'
Chen Chen was greatly astonished. 'Damn it, if there are three or four of such ships here, they can form a large clan!'
'Luckily, this trip takes a month, otherwise, this money-making efficiency can catch up with mine.'
"Is everyone here?"
A majestic voice came from the center of the ship.
"Yes!" a cultivator answered.
"Let's set off now then. I hope you can all gain something this time."
After the majestic voice gave the order, the huge boat was immediately engulfed in the light of a vastly complex array. However, it was just a shield of spiritual power that was not inferior to the great Mountain Protection Arrays.
The giant ship seemed to be sailing towards some desolate land instead of the depths of the sea.
Many cultivators on the boat immediately became nervous when they saw this.
Chen Chen was looking up into the distance.
The Boundless Sea was truly endless, and the turquoise seawater had completely blocked the divine senses.
Under the deep sea, rare treasures and terrifying sea demons were lurking everywhere, which even some Essence Soul realm experts were unaware of.
At this time, a layer of large waves suddenly stirred up in the distance, reaching a height of ten meters. It was like an abyss had suddenly been opened on the calm sea. It was inordinately eerie and terrifying.
Although the ship had yet to depart, they were faced with a huge sense of mystery.