Yue Country has a total of thirty-two counties.
Among them, the Yu County is located in the northern territory, covering an area two to three times larger than the usual counties.
This county is crisscrossed with waterways, with boats and ships traveling frequently along the river channels. Everywhere you look, there are wooden bridges and stone bridges, presenting a different scene compared to the surrounding Qingzhu Mountain market.
Wan Dao Lake.
The dock.
Countless fishing boats crowded together, vying for space, causing ripples on the lake's surface, reflecting the sunlight like scattered scales.
Fang Xi arrived at the dock and saw many fishermen wearing green bamboo hats, draped in green raincoats, and wearing gray or black trousers, sitting or standing by the roadside, selling their catch.
"Young man, how about a big green carp?"
An old fisherman smiled and spoke.
"No, I want to find a boat to venture deep into Wan Dao Lake."
Fang Xi took out a piece of silver.
The dazzling light caught the eyes of many fishermen, but they shook their heads one after another, "It's very dangerous in the depths of Wan Dao Lake, we dare not go there... "
"It is said that in the depths of Wan Dao Lake, there are immortals!"
"We can only make a living near the lake, dare not offend the immortals. If the immortals are displeased, we will have no catch next year, and everyone will have to go hungry!"
...
Seeing more and more fishermen approaching, Fang Xi smiled and exchanged the silver for a gold ingot. "This gold is enough for you to buy land and a house, and you won't have to fish for a living for the rest of your life."
"I'll go!" A young fisherman immediately stepped forward. "Is the young master looking to seek immortality? In fact, I have taken a few young heroes to the depths of the lake to seek immortal fate..."
"Anyone else?"
Fang Xi glanced around, where there's a generous reward, there will be brave men.
He took out a piece of gold, which indeed attracted many fishermen.
Fang Xi didn't say much, he looked at their respective boats, and finally chose one with a red carp pattern on the bow.
The captain of this boat looked to be in his forties or fifties, with sturdy joints and a weather-beaten face, but he was actually only in his thirties, calling himself 'Captain Hai.'
After Fang Xi chose the boat, Captain Hai raised the bamboo pole and slowly steered the boat away from the dock and into the lake.
Several hours later.
As dusk approached, the water surface was a mix of gold and a hint of red.
Captain Hai paddled the boat and sang a fishing song, "The reeds sway, the boat moves quietly, a bountiful catch next year..."
As the sun set, the fishing song filled the evening with a unique charm.
Fang Xi stood on the deck, feeling the gentle breeze blowing, lazily stretching.
"Would the esteemed guest like to have dinner?"
At this moment, a woman emerged from the cabin of the small black boat and asked softly.
She appeared younger than Captain Hai, with a small white flower pinned to her hair, presumably quite beautiful in her youth.
For fishermen, a small black boat is their home, where they live, grow old, get sick, and die.
This woman is naturally Captain Hai's wife.
"Alright... just a bowl of fish soup!"
Fang Xi nodded and casually tossed a silver bean to her.
The woman received the reward, immediately returned to the cabin, and skillfully prepared a crucian carp.
The fish head and bones were stewed into a thick and white soup, sprinkled with a bit of salt, making it delicious.
The fish body was sliced thinly and roasted over a small fire until slightly golden, emitting a fragrant aroma.
Paired with homemade rice wine, it was quite flavorful.
Fang Xi enjoyed the meal and rewarded another silver bean.
The woman took the silver bean, but did not leave. She asked coyly, "The night dew is heavy, does the young master need any service?"
In ancient times, boatwomen often had side jobs, and Fang Xi was not surprised. He shook his head to decline directly.
Seeing this scene, Captain Hai, who had been paddling the boat all along, couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
He had lived by Wan Dao Lake for years, enduring wind and rain. Although he had little savings, his eyes were sharp.
The red carp at the bow of the boat was the highest honor for a fisherman - after a storm on Wan Dao Lake, there would occasionally appear a rare red-scaled carp with dragon whiskers, extremely precious and difficult to catch. Only the boat owners who successfully caught this red carp could mark it at the bow of their boats.
Captain Hai could barely make ends meet with his fishing skills, but he took on Fang Xi's business because he saw that this young man was extraordinary.
He was not a nobleman in fine clothes, but a wandering hero.
If he could get his support, perhaps the younger generation could learn and practice martial arts, breaking free from the hardship of fishing.
Truly impoverished ancient people didn't care much about such things.
But to his surprise, the young man didn't seem interested at all.
His sigh seemed to be heard by Fang Xi.
Fang Xi approached the bow of the boat, pointed the way for Captain Hai, and said, "Rest assured, once we reach our destination, I will reward you generously!"
...
Five days later.
"Young master... after passing this Jin'ao Head, we dare not continue further..."
Captain Hai pointed to a large rock protruding from the lake not far away, resembling a giant turtle, and said to Fang Xi, "Most of the fishermen in our area only dare to fish near the lake. Very few venture this far... and based on our experience, going further will bring great danger!"
"Well, this is good enough."
Fang Xi took out the geomantic map of Ge Hong and nodded.
He hired the boat not to travel too far with the Black Cloud Dou Fei.
After reaching Jin'ao Head, they were very close to Bao Chuan Market.
With that, Fang Xi slapped his storage bag.
A dark cloud appeared, surrounding him, lifting him off the deck.
"You two can go back now."
Fang Xi ordered and dropped a gold ingot, then controlled the Black Cloud to fly away.
"This..."
Captain Hai stood dumbfounded, then suddenly knelt down, repeatedly kowtowing, "Great immortal, please forgive us, please forgive us!"
When he got up and saw his wife joyfully holding the gold in her arms, he couldn't help feeling a bit frustrated, "Ah... if only the great immortal took a liking to you..."
Perhaps then, they could attain immortal status, and future generations could also embark on the path of cultivation.
...
Bao Chuan Market is located on Bao Chuan Island.
The island is square-shaped, resembling a treasure ship, hence the name.
On the island, there is a first-grade spiritual vein, which was later occupied by the Longyu Zhong family and transformed into a market. Surrounding the market, there are terraced fields planted with spiritual rice.
Fang Xi changed his appearance, covering half of his face, and controlled the Black Cloud Dou Fei. In just half an hour, he arrived at Bao Chuan Island.
There were no restrictions on flying over the island, so he flew over the uneven terraced fields and arrived at the entrance of the market.
Looking at the hardworking spiritual farmers on the ground, occasionally looking up, Fang Xi couldn't help feeling a sense of envy.
If he didn't have the golden finger, he might still be a spiritual farmer in Qingzhu Mountain, and then be affected during the Sutu family's downfall...
"Esteemed immortal, you are welcome. Is this your first time at the market?"
At the entrance of the market, a few mortals squatting down saw Fang Xi's flying device land and immediately surrounded him, "We are local guides who know the market inside out..."
"Well, you."
Fang Xi pointed to a servant boy in green clothes.
The servant boy smiled and dispersed the others, leading the way for Fang Xi, "Entering Bao Chuan Market doesn't require a pass or payment in spiritual stones... but if you don't leave by nightfall and are caught by patrolling cultivators, you'll be in trouble... Esteemed immortal, hire me, and I only ask for one spiritual crystal a day! I am Mo Qingyi, fortunate to meet you today..."
"You... seem to be just a mortal?"
Fang Xi let Mo Qingyi lead the way and casually remarked.
Upon hearing this, Mo Qingyi looked somewhat dejected, "I am dull-witted, without inheriting my grandfather's spiritual root talent..."
After chatting for a few more moments, Fang Xi learned that unlike Qingzhu Mountain, Wan Dao Lake had many descendants of cultivators, many of whom were without spiritual roots but still lived on the islands, forming villages and towns.
Those mortals who could live near the market and find work were usually within three generations of cultivators.
"These islands are like small kingdoms, aren't they?"
"Well... after all, although they are called islands, they are quite large. In the previous life, they could have been famous with tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of stones in Fusang..."
Fang Xi thought to himself, then smiled, "You do your job well, and there will be benefits for you... I plan to sell some monster materials, as well as purchase a body-refining technique, some puppetry, and beast-taming inheritances..."
Previously, in Daliang, he practiced martial arts because Daliang's martial arts were quick to learn and didn't require materials. It also helped with the breakthrough in Qi and blood during foundation building.
However, in the cultivation world, refining the body required a lot of spiritual stones.
At least, he had to eat spiritual rice every day, coupled with various spiritual medicines made into medicinal baths, and elixirs...
Overall, the Daliang martial arts were more cost-effective.
But now, with no way forward after the Grandmaster realm, Fang Xi had to prepare to jump ship.
Mo Qingyi thought for a moment, "If you want to sell monster materials, there are several seniors in the stall area who have been buying various monster materials for a long time. The one with the best reputation is the 'Dragon Gate Pavilion' run by the Zhong family!"
"As for puppetry? Forgive my ignorance, I haven't heard of any place selling related inheritances... but for beast-taming techniques, there is a fairy teacher who raises three spiritual pets. She probably has related inheritances, you can go and ask."
"Lead the way ahead, let's go to the Dragon Gate Pavilion first!" Fang Xi nodded, quite satisfied with this guide.
If he had to figure out all this information himself, who knows how much time and effort it would take.
Dragon Gate Pavilion.
The Longyu Zhong family mainly raised spiritual fish, with the 'Green Jade Carp' being their main business. The taste was delicious, containing gentle spiritual energy, making it especially suitable for water spiritual root cultivators to consume. Long-term consumption was equivalent to taking elixirs for cultivation, and there was no elixir poison.
It was rumored that among the thousands of Green Jade Carps, there might be a Fish King, which awakened a bit of dragon blood, nicknamed 'Little Green Dragon'!
By adding a few precious spiritual medicines, this 'Little Green Dragon' could be made into 'Green Dragon Soup,' which was beneficial even for foundation-building cultivators.
Unfortunately, most wandering cultivators would never taste the Green Dragon Soup in their lifetime.
These spiritual creatures, except for the small portion used by the Min family, were mostly offered to the Xuantian Sect in exchange for precious resources like foundation-building pills.
(End of this chapter)