Chapter 230 - Don't Forget Your Initial Resolution And You Will Reach The End
The giant ship stationed there for half a day, and the treasure hunting range of the cultivators has expanded to 250 kilometers.
However, very few cultivators would go that far.
It would be good enough for them that they could search within a few kilometers around the ship.
Of course, not everyone conceives the same regard. There were also a few cultivators who traveled dozens of kilometers away in hopes of finding some valuable treasures.
Seeing that each and everyone had their own goals, Chen Chen took a deep breath and imagined the poverty aura of the cultivators of both states, as well as his acquaintances, which aroused his desire in searching for treasures.
"System, use one 50-kilometer tracking opportunity to trace valuable treasures around me."
Chen Chen deliberately used the word 'valuable' to describe the treasure this time, but even so, the system still gave him 50 to 60 results.
"..."
"The Demon Pill left behind by the Void Refinement realm sea demon at the end of its life +1"
"800,000-year-old Deep Sea Spirit Ginseng +1"
"Deep Sea Spiritual Liquid +1"
"Remains of Armored Sea Demon that had been killed by the Thunder Tribulation +1"
...
Two hours later, Chen Chen arrived near a certain sunken ship at the sea bottom.
The wrecked ship should have been submerged in the sea for a long time, and a Nascent Soul Realm Sea Demon has lived in it. Without delay, Chen Chen smacked it to death and then began exploring the wrecked ship.
There were some corpses inside, whom he secretly collected some storage rings from.
He had no other choice but to accumulate abandoned storage rings because there were no other containers to store the treasures that he had collected throughout his journey. He ran out of storage rings provision.
Well, half of the storage rings that he brought were already full before he came here.
"Life is hard."
After sighing, Chen Chen destroyed the sunken ship and then ran around to collect dozens of treasures before flying towards the giant ship.
However, before he could see the giant ship, he felt a strong wave of spiritual power surging from the ship.
"Is this the aftershock of a battle?"
Chen Chen's expression changed, and he immediately accelerated.
When the giant ship entered the range of his divine senses, Chen Chen finally detected what was happening there.
A horrifying shrimp sea demon whose size was nearly twice of the giant ship was ravaging around manically, while the hundreds of cultivators besieged against it, desperately launching various attacks that blasted into spiritual storms.
The battle was extremely intense.
However, everything was within control. Although the sea demon had a massive physical size, its cultivation level was only at the middle of the Essence Soul realm, which was equivalent to that of the giant ship owner.
Although the sea demons had the advantage over the sea, the ship owner had the help of a huge number of cultivators who boarded the ship, in addition to his ten-odd Nascent Soul realm escorts.
Most of the cultivators were above the Nascent Soul realm in terms of the status of cultivation.
Hence, the human cultivators eventually suppressed the sea demon.
When Chen Chen reached the side of the giant ship, the sea demon had been finally defeated, and the ship owner had one of its giant pincers severed using a knife. It eventually sank into the water and fled.
They carried the giant pincer onto the giant ship, and the burly ship owner immediately appeared overjoyed. He exclaimed loudly, "Since we've defeated the sea demon, we will stay here for two more hours! Those of you who have just contributed to this battle will only need to pay half of the usual price during your next visit to this ship again! In addition, I'll also treat all of you to the meat of this Essence Soul realm sea demon! Hahahaha!"
As soon as he said that, the cultivators on the giant ship began praising the ship owner for his generosity.
After traveling for 5,000 kilometers and searching for a long time, it was indeed time for them to board the ship and get some rest to replenish their spiritual power.
...
Of course, the so-called rest didn't mean idling about and zoning out.
The group of cultivators on the giant boat organized a small trade fair where the cultivators would each exchange the treasures that were not of any use to them with another cultivator who might need them.
The ship owner also organized an auction where the cultivators would place bids for the treasures that were handed to him by some cultivators who were afraid of being harmed out there because of the treasures they carried.
However, some pompous cultivators were overjoyed with the valuable treasures they had obtained, where they outrightly paraded their treasures. However, that resulted in the antipathy of the cultivators around him, and some even exhibited deceitful stares, like they had developed something evil in their thoughts.
Seeing that there seemed to be something amiss with the expressions of the other cultivators, those showboating cultivators subconsciously smiled ambiguously while seemingly thinking about something.
Chen Chen seemed particularly out of place when he tried to blend with them.
'The deceit of the world out there has nothing to do with me, I'm just silently maintaining my inner peace and tranquility.'
'I'm not marred by this world.'
He imagined the bloodbaths that would arise somewhere in the future due to the treasures where he was unimpressed. A few Nascent Soul realm cultivators might even end up losing their lives because of them.
He had a heartened smile on his lips.
'The life of a rich man is just so mundane.'
"Little friend, is there something you want to exchange?" asked a middle-aged cultivator next to Chen Chen who got curious at the sight of Chen Chen observing the trade quietly.
Looking at the middle-aged cultivator's face, which was full of vicissitudes from living at sea for years, Chen Chen smiled coyly.
"It's my first time across the sea, and I don't have much experience nor have I found many valuable things. I'm embarrassed."
Seeing Chen Chen's kind appearance, the middle-aged cultivator was convinced of a better impression about him. He also regarded some sympathy for him because he seemed to have preserved his accounts of unforgettable experiences when he first went out to the sea.
He was also that youthful and puerile.
Hence, he began to teach Chen Chen some treasure-hunting skills without being stingy at all.
There were all sorts of tricks that involved deception and trickery.
There was even a method that involved metaphysics— one would have to find ten scrap objects and place them in their bodies to suppress the bad luck before they would get the chance to find a true treasure on the eleventh search.
It was called "after rain comes fair weather".
Looking at the middle-aged cultivator who seemed to be serious about it, Chen Chen kept nodding while listening to the things he was taught.
...
In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.
The giant ship had already traveled 35,000 kilometers across the sea.
The deeper they went, the more treasures they would find.
Chen Chen even had a Deep Sea Spirit Ginseng that was over 200,000 years old in his storage ring.
It was indeed a Spirit Ginseng because it looked just like a large tree.
Those who were unaware would think that it was just an underwater tree because no one has thought about collecting such a large Spirit Ginseng in this world. However, Chen Chen doesn't know why it didn't become a spirit yet.
The heavenly material that his Master Yu Qiong needed, was called the Green Spirit Algae. Chen Chen had found it seven days ago, and he even found three or four of them which ranged from 100,000 to 700,000 years old.
...
"If you go deeper into the Boundless Sea, you might encounter the great demons who are in the Void Refinement realm. All Daoists, we'll stay here for an hour before embarking during our return trip!"
At this moment, the ship owner's words spread throughout the giant ship.
Chen Chen silently looked into the distance, his face continuously stayed calm and composed as ever.
The other cultivators seized the time in delving down the sea in search of treasures.
Chen Chen was not in a hurry because to him, the most precious thing was the beguiling view of the Boundless Sea.
'How sad is it that that group of people has become so obsessed with treasures that they've ignored the most precious thing here?'
'Here comes the problem. Should I risk diving the ocean just to search for the Divine Condensation Pearl?"
Chen Chen was feeling rather conflicted.
For the past half a month, he hadn't been able to figure out Green Bean's deterrent effect.
All the sea demons and marine beasts would all flee in fear whenever they detected Green Bean's aura.
Even when the giant ship encountered the attacks of a few Essence Soul realm sea demons, they fled in fear when Chen Chen secretly released Green Bean.
'I wonder if Green Bean can deter Void Refinement realm sea demons.'
After dwelling on it for a moment, Chen Chen suddenly looked ashamed.
Without realizing it, he had lost himself and forgotten his initial purpose of going out to the sea.
'So what if I have even more treasures with me? Even the Divine Condensation Pearl no longer seems as precious as it used to be...'
'However, I will reach my destination only if I don't forget my original intention.'
'If I do forget it because of all the treasures I've collected along the way, how am I different from those mortals who are so engrossed in treasure hunting that they ignore the true beauty of the sea?'
"Treasures will bewitch the heart, even for a person with extraordinary determination like me."
Chen Chen secretly sighed and decided to find an opportunity to leave the giant ship to search for the Divine Condensation Pearl alone.
Halfway through the journey, a few cultivators lost contact with the ship owner. After several failed attempts to contact them, the ship owner had no choice but to give up.
Chen Chen felt that the only outcome of his silent departure would be that the middle-aged man whom he spoke to, would feel saddened.
After half a month of interaction, they had formed a friendship with each other, and he had also understood a lot of information regarding the Boundless Sea from that man.
While he was feeling melancholic, a wave of mournful music spread from the large boat at the right time.
Hearing the melancholic tune, Chen Chen almost couldn't help but burst into tears.
'That middle-aged man...would probably be really sad for a long time after finding out that I've gone missing.'
'Unfortunately, we have to part ways here.'
'This ship owner may look scruffy, but he has maintained good taste in life. He even played some music to set the mood.'
Chen Chen gently wiped the corner of his eyes, feeling rather surprised.
Immediately afterward, the ship owner, whom Chen Chen thought had good taste, roared furiously, and his voice spread everywhere!
"Who's that!?! Who's playing the demon-luring music!?"