Chapter 968 Zhenhai City
Ji An gently shook his head, "Please inform me, fellow Daoist."
Whether on his original planet or after embarking on the path of stargazing, he rarely fought in the sea, and the few battles he did have took place near islands.
This battle was a deep-sea operation, which was a considerable test for him.
As for the influence of the Yuan Magnetic Ore, it was not significant. His main attack methods, besides activating the spiritual treasure, could also release Yin-Yang Divine Thunder, which was not within the Five Elements.
In addition to forming a defensive barrier using the power of the five elements, the five flags can also condense yin and yang energies. The only thing to note is that the defensive method of condensing yin and yang energies consumes a lot of spiritual energy.
The Azure Lotus Treasure Banner is only a fourth-tier top-grade item, and its total amount of stored spiritual energy is a weakness, so the duration of the battle needs to be carefully considered.
This is one of the drawbacks of the Five Banners; those physical defensive magical treasures can provide decent defense simply by using the materials they are made of.
If you're going to get bogged down in a war of attrition, it's best to be prepared to retreat.
Yunmiao Sanren began to introduce, "The abyssal sea serpent is entirely black. In the deep sea environment, it blends into the darkness and can conceal its life force, making it difficult to be detected when it is still."
Their heads resemble those of crocodiles, covered with fine, hard scales.
The head is the most sturdy part of a sea beast, easily withstanding attacks from fifth-tier spiritual treasures. For weapon refiners, it's the best material, even better than many high-grade metals.
"The body of the Three-Flower Realm level sea serpent is about three zhang in diameter and more than twenty zhang in length. It has no scales but is covered with thick mucus."
If you think their bodies are their weakness, you're sorely mistaken. The slime can deflect attacks, whether they are magical attacks or direct attacks from magical artifacts. According to calculations, the damage they actually suffer will be reduced by at least 50%.
The most powerful abyssal sea serpent that my beast tamer saw was about five zhang in diameter and thirty zhang in length, and it was very likely a sea beast at the late stage of the Three Flowers Realm.
We don't need to kill the sea monster; we just need to severely injure it and drive it away.
"The abyssal sea serpent can spew venomous water with extremely strong corrosive properties, which can pollute the seawater within a hundred feet in an instant."
These sea creatures move incredibly fast in the water, capable of traversing hundreds of feet in an instant.
Abyssal sea serpents swallow their prey whole when hunting. Their mouths are incredibly tough, and even their tongues are covered in scales, making them capable of withstanding direct attacks from powerful magical artifacts.
"Because they live in the deep sea year-round, they have weak eyesight but possess extremely keen perception."
Its weakness is that it is vulnerable to lightning attacks or extremely powerful earth attacks. Being hit by lightning will slow it down for a short time.
However, lightning-type attacks pose a threat to us when released in seawater, while earth-based attacks are significantly less effective in a marine environment.
Yunmiao Sanren sighed softly and continued:
"Deep-sea creatures rarely come to shallow waters, so we can only fight on their home turf and try to lure them to the surface."
There was no other way; the Yuan Magnetic Vein was located in a deep-sea fissure, which would inevitably form a huge Yuan Magnetic Field, generating energy to sustain the sea creatures.
Even if there are no abyssal sea serpents in the mining area, other high-level sea beasts will occupy it.
After thinking for a moment, Ji An asked:
"At what depth underwater is the Yuan Magnetic Ore Vein located? Besides the Abyssal Sea Serpents, what other dangers might one encounter?"
Lacking experience in deep-sea operations, he needed to gather as much intelligence as possible.
Yunmiao Sanren replied, "The surface of the mineral vein is estimated to be between 1,000 and 1,100 feet underwater. We need to be careful of the underwater currents, which can carry creatures to unknown areas."
Powerful turbulence can even disrupt the flow of magical energy within our bodies. If the undercurrent is strong enough and originates from above, it will be extremely dangerous. In that case, we must unleash our maximum power to move out of the undercurrent's range.
The power of the undercurrents is unimaginable to cultivators who have never ventured into the deep sea; many people meet their end the first time they encounter them.
Xuan Shuang Sanren coughed softly and added:
“The abyssal sea serpent is a very cautious sea creature. If it senses danger, it will retreat immediately. If we lure it to the surface but fail to kill it, it will not give us another chance.”
In the deep sea, cultivators consume mana much faster than on land. Don't hold back once the battle begins; the sooner you end the fight, the greater your advantage.
Crescent Moon Hermit spoke:
"My spiritual treasure can temporarily freeze a certain area of the sea, but the Abyss Sea Serpent is a water-dwelling sea beast, so I don't know how effective it will be."
However, I have refined some fifth-tier lightning beads by drawing upon heavenly lightning, and I will not hesitate to release them in crucial moments.
By chance, he possessed two natal spirit treasures, one of water element and one of fire element. Outsiders all thought that the water element spirit treasure was his natal spirit treasure.
“Good,” Yunmiao Sanren clapped his hands and laughed, “We must compensate any fellow Daoist who releases a one-time consumable item.”
"Alright then, if the plan succeeds and we acquire ownership of the Yuan Magnetic Mine, we'll prioritize compensating everyone for their losses, and then distribute the remaining spoils. What do you all think?"
This battle is quite dangerous, but the rewards are uncertain because the presence of the Abyss Sea Serpent prevents her from obtaining detailed information about the mineral vein.
Only when everyone is willing to pay the price can we achieve final victory.
"Can."
The proposal was unanimously supported. Although Ji An didn't have any disposable items, he agreed that the stronger the allies, the better.
Yunmiao Sanren continued:
"Now it's time to talk about the distribution of profits. I discovered the Yuan Magnetic Mine and completed the initial exploration. I will take 30% of the profits."
The remaining fellow cultivators will each receive 20%, and the remaining 10% will be flexibly allocated based on the battle situation.
This is my proposed solution; let's discuss whether you are willing to accept it.
Her tone was rather forceful; she wasn't afraid to switch allies if someone disagreed with her, which highlights the importance of information.
The cave quieted down, and Ji An realized that these words were mainly directed at him, because the other party and his companions had a deep friendship.
He nodded slightly, "I think it's fair and acceptable."
The other party did not give preferential treatment to others, and the final distribution was flexible and there was nothing wrong with it. Some people made great contributions and should receive more.
As soon as he spoke, the other two echoed him, and they reached a consensus. Then they each described their own fighting style.
After formulating the battle plan, everyone left to rest and recuperate before the operation began.
Half a month has passed.
The vast ocean, with its endless blue waves, ripples and sparkles like countless silver mirrors under the sunlight.
Yunmiao Sanren, who was flying at the forefront of the group, descended from the sky and finally hovered above the edge of a huge island.
Everyone followed her down, and it turned out to be a city built by cultivators. From time to time, they could see cultivators flying in from afar on magical artifacts.
Along the island is a city wall that is a hundred feet high and ten feet wide. Many sections are mottled black and red, looking rather dirty, while others are made of black or blue stones.
Yunmiao Sanren pointed to the enormous city below and spoke in a reverent tone:
"This place is called Zhenhai City, an important stronghold for human cultivators in the distant sea. The island is located on a fifth-grade top-quality spiritual vein, and several Cave Heaven Star Lords are stationed here."
The cultivators who can settle here must have at least the Golden Core level of cultivation; otherwise, they are not qualified to enter the island at all.
The outer city wall is the first line of defense against the beast tide, and the parts where you can see the original color of the stone are the breaches that have been attacked.
This is the city closest to the storm sea; we'll rest here for a few days before setting off again.
The resources here are plentiful and reasonably priced; everyone can trade for supplies to tide them over in the upcoming battle.
Although she had visited many times before, she still felt like a pilgrim at this moment.
Ji An was amazed; he had never seen a fifth-tier top-grade spiritual vein before, and couldn't help but ask:
"Are there sixth-order spiritual veins on Ziwei Star?"
Logically speaking, cultivators of the Cave Heaven realm possess power at the sixth level, and their cultivation should be based on sixth-level spiritual veins.
"Yes, the spiritual vein of Shadow Kunlun Mountain is a sixth-grade low-level spiritual vein, and it is said that there is also a spiritual vein of the same grade deep in the ocean."
It is said that the highest grade for a spiritual vein is the sixth-tier, low-grade, and only the small world refined by a cultivator can be upgraded to a higher grade.
After Yunmiao Sanren finished speaking, he pointed to the city wall below and said:
"Zhenhai City has two entrances and exits, located on the east and west sides of the city wall respectively."
The sky above the city is protected by a no-flying formation, preventing anyone except the Celestial Lord from flying away. Only those who enter the island can fly without being affected.
"Let's go, we'll enter through this entrance. The first time you enter Zhenhai City, you need to spend one top-grade spirit stone to obtain an entry/exit jade token."
Of the group, only Ji An was visiting for the first time. After obtaining the jade token, he entered Zhenhai City with the others.
After entering through the city wall, Ji An froze in place; the scene here was completely different from what he had seen from the air.
What you see from outside the island are rows of buildings, but the reality is a lush mountain range with small towns scattered among them.
The island is called Zhenhai City, which is somewhat of a misnomer.
Noticing his surprise, the Crescent Moon Hermit laughed:
"The mimicry effect of the island-protecting formation can deceive the eyes of cultivators at the Three Flowers Realm. Didn't expect that, did you?"
Ji An nodded and sighed:
"The island is huge. In my understanding, such a large magic array is not suitable for constantly activating the mimicry effect."
The more functions the island-protecting formation has, the more spiritual energy it consumes; he couldn't understand why it was done this way.
"Fellow Daoist, you may not know this, but if we don't activate the mimicry effect, the information on the island can be easily detected by the sea beasts, which is very disadvantageous in resisting the beast tide."
The island-protecting formation has a function that can distinguish the bloodline of cultivators entering the island. If the bloodline is not human, the cultivator will be struck by lightning.
Ji An asked, "How often does a beast tide occur?"
"A small beast tide occurs once every three hundred years, a large beast tide once every thousand years, and a super-large beast tide once every ten thousand years."
During the once-in-ten-thousand-year beast tide, sea beasts at the cave-heaven level appear, and the death of cultivators at the Three Flowers Realm is commonplace.
After chatting for a while, Yunmiao Sanren led everyone to fly to a city deep in the mountains.
After everyone had rented their own cave dwellings, they gathered together, and Yunmiao Sanren spoke up:
"The distribution of spiritual vein grades in Zhenhai City is in a ring shape, divided into three areas, so the defense system is also divided into three layers."
The outermost layer is the sea-encircling city wall, whose main function is to kill low-level sea beasts; the second layer is the area of the fourth-level spiritual veins, and the sea beasts that can come here are basically at the Nascent Soul level.
The third level is the fifth-level secondary spirit realm. This is the core area, the battleground for cultivators at the Three Flowers Realm, and even powerful cultivators at the Cave Heaven level will take action.
The last beast tide happened only two hundred years ago; the stench of blood still lingers on the city walls. Based on monitoring information, a beast tide is not expected to occur in the near future.
"We're going to the Storm Sea, where the surface water is very deep. It's calm during the day, but at night it's filled with lightning and thunder."
Therefore, at night, it's impossible for those abyssal sea serpents to be lured up.
One of the sea serpents' weaknesses is thunder, so they don't rise to the surface at night. However, they dislike the intensity of daylight, so luring them to the surface is not easy.
The best approach is to inflict enough damage on the target to make their anger outweigh their caution.
As he spoke, Yunmiao Sanren took out several jade slips:
"This contains information about the location of the deep-sea rift. You all need to swear an oath not to reveal any information for a hundred years before you can be qualified to examine the jade slip."
If this battle goes poorly and she returns empty-handed, she doesn't want to be a stepping stone for someone else.
Ji An and the others swore an oath to search for the location of the deep-sea rift after obtaining the jade slip.
After discussing the specific duration of their stay, everyone left the cave.
Ji An inquired:
"I intend to visit the shops selling spiritual herbs in various cities over the next few days in order to purchase some high-grade spiritual plant seeds."
Fellow cultivators, could you recommend which cities might sell high-level spiritual seeds?
Time was tight, and he didn't have time to visit every city in turn, so he could only seek out useful information.
Yunmiao Sanren, who was most familiar with the situation on this island, spoke up:
"Let's go and take a look at Canglan City and Yunxia City. These two cities are the most important cities in the innermost layer, and they also have the most diverse range of resources."
She took out a jade slip, then took out a blank jade slip and made a copy, saying:
"This is a map of Zhenhai City. I wish you all your wishes come true."
Ji An accepted the jade slip, cupped his hands in greeting, and said:
"Thank you, fellow Daoist."
After checking the map, he decided to first go to Canglan Town, then to Yunxia Town, and finally back to the small town where he was currently.
Ji An landed in Canglan Town, found a broker and began to tour the city, thus witnessing its abundance.
The pill shop sells top-grade fifth-tier pills, and the weapon-refining shop offers custom-made fifth-tier spiritual treasures, but he has no resources to exchange for these, which makes him acutely aware of his poverty.
Half a day later, the broker brought him to Yunshui Pavilion and said ingratiatingly:
"Senior, this is the largest spiritual medicine shop in the entire Zhenhai City. They also sell all kinds of rare spiritual seeds."
If you don't find what you need here, you probably won't find it in the entire Zhenhai City.
Ji An stepped into the shop with anticipation, found the shopkeeper, and asked directly:
"I've heard that Yunshui Pavilion is the shop with the most complete selection of goods in Zhenhai City. I'd like to buy a seed or seedling of a water-elemental spiritual root. Do you have any?"
The shopkeeper stroked his beard and laughed, "Haha, fellow Daoist, you've come at just the right time. I just obtained a seedling a few days ago."
(End of this chapter)
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