Cultivation begins with ice harvesters

Chapter 39: The Spirit Ship

Legend has it that the Five Sacred Mountains Spirit Ship came from the third-tier gourd spirit island in the Northern Frontier Ice Region. The owner of this spirit island is the Zhang family, which has several Golden Core stage cultivators in charge, making them a formidable force.

Tong Bingfeng was not interested in the master of the Calabash Spirit Island. After all, with his strength, unless he could transform his Qi into liquid and become a Foundation Establishment cultivator one day, he would never be able to set foot on this legendary third-tier spirit island in his lifetime.

The Five Sacred Mountains, a second-tier spirit ship, is one of the many spirit ships in the Zhang family's vast fleet. It spends most of its time traveling between more than ten second-tier spirit islands, buying low and selling high according to the needs of different spirit islands, exchanging goods and resources to earn enough spirit stones.

As for the spirit ship being late, it is common. Although the voyage is within a fixed range and the route is relatively familiar, the monsters in the northern ice region are constantly moving. Once they are attacked by powerful monsters or other unforeseen events occur, it is common for them not to arrive at the trading spirit island on time.

According to the information that Tong Bingfeng bought the second-tier spirit ship from the Ice Sea Market for a high price of five spirit stones, the probability of the ship arriving at Ice Ling Spirit Island on time is only about 50/50.

"It is said that every time a spirit ship arrives, in addition to the merchant caravans from the Zhang family that specialize in trade, there are also some cultivators from different spirit islands who come to trade. If this news is true, it can save an expensive ticket."

Tong Bingfeng had high hopes for the Five Sacred Mountains spirit ship. If everything was true, the transaction of a mere forty-five mid-grade first-tier demon beast corpses was nothing to worry about, and in such a large-scale transaction, it would not cause any trouble or disturbance.

"The Five Sacred Mountains spirit ship will likely be late again this time. If it were to arrive on time, it should have already stopped last night. But I wonder when it will arrive this time?"

"The departure time of the spirit ship is fixed and cannot be delayed. The later the arrival time, the shorter the time it will stay on the spirit island for us to trade."

"What's most despicable are these speculators, who often take the opportunity to raise prices and lower purchase prices. In the end, you and I might have to pay a considerable price and spirit stones for nothing."

"These opportunists who boarded the spirit ship were masters of adapting to circumstances. It's possible that it was their underhanded sabotage that caused the Five Sacred Mountains spirit ship to miss its appointed time."

"Hopefully, the supply of various spiritual items carried on this spirit ship will be plentiful, especially some rare items. As long as the transactions are completed smoothly, we can earn a considerable profit."

Tong Bingfeng was still more than a hundred feet away from the dedicated pier of Binglingling Island when he saw a dense crowd of people, shoulder to shoulder, occupying different positions at different distances from the pier in an orderly manner.

Of course, the distribution of these positions is not determined by the order of arrival, but by their respective cultivation levels and influence on Ice Spirit Island.

For example, those who brazenly occupied the frontmost position near the dock were several cultivators from the Chen family, dressed in yellow robes with a vermilion fruit-shaped emblem embroidered on their left chests.

While there are certainly several late-stage Qi Refining cultivators among them, there are also quite a few infants who are still in their growth stage and have just embarked on the path of cultivation.

However, none of the cultivators present dared to question this scene in the slightest, since apart from the Chen family, all the other cultivators were outsiders.

The reason why Ice Spirit Island was able to survive various beast tides was mainly due to the protection of the Foundation Establishment stage cultivators of the Chen family.

When one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. These little babies naturally have no fighting power at this stage, but their Chen family bloodline is the most powerful proof.

Following them are the local bullies who have been running shops in the Ice Sea Market for many years, and they are divided into two levels, front, middle and back, based on different factors such as shop size and the amount of spirit stones.

As for those on the outermost edge, they were naturally rogue cultivators like Tong Bingfeng. They were penniless and had nothing of value. Although they came for different reasons, their ultimate goal was to take the opportunity to exchange for some spiritual items they needed at prices slightly lower than those in the shops of Binghai Market.

Of course, the independent cultivators who are qualified to be here today are all in relatively good circumstances, and there is still a difference between them and the truly impoverished ice harvesters.

Tong Bingfeng's cultivation level is only at the fourth level of Qi Refining, and his only magic weapon is a first-grade mid-level Azure Water Sword. The only spell he has successfully comprehended and can use smoothly in battle is the first-grade mid-level Water Blade Slash.

Therefore, upon arriving at the dock, he deliberately occupied an inconspicuous corner among the group of independent cultivators, calmly listening to the information emanating from the unreserved discussions of the surrounding cultivators.

As a rogue cultivator participating in the spirit ship transaction for the first time, he had almost zero experience. At this moment, any information he gathered could lay a solid foundation for a smooth transaction, and the only price he needed to pay was a little bit of patience.

Time flies like an arrow.

As the cultivators waited impatiently, the sun in the sky, which had risen in the east, began to hide behind the distant mountains.

During this full day of waiting, the number of cultivators did not decrease in the slightest. Some cultivators from the first-tier spirit island affiliated with Ice Spirit Island also rushed over despite the hardships after receiving the news.

"Bang bang bang"

Suddenly, a series of faint sounds came from afar, but when they looked up, there was still no sign of any spirit ship appearing on the boundless ice field.

"The Five Sacred Mountains spirit ship has arrived."

"Thank goodness, it was only a one-day delay this time."

"The spirit ship has arrived. Hopefully, this time we can exchange it for some spirit items that are truly produced from the third-tier gourd spirit island."

"We don't know how many cultivators on the spirit ship are buying local spiritual items this time. We hope to sell as many spiritual items as possible at high prices."

"We who apply for manual labor jobs don't need to worry about unemployment. As long as the large-scale trading of spiritual items in Huludao continues, we can earn spirit stones by relying on our strength."

Some experienced cultivators, upon hearing such a sound, fell into a state of unusual fervor and excitement.

It was obvious that, compared to Tong Bingfeng's complete ignorance upon his first visit, these cultivators were quite familiar with the Five Mountains Second-Order Spirit Ship.

The twenty-odd Chen family cultivators who were meditating and resting on their exclusive seats in the first row of the dock also opened their eyes and looked at the place where ice and sky meet.

Although the Chen family has Foundation Establishment stage cultivators in charge, they are only a minority. Most Qi Refining stage cultivators never have the opportunity to go to other second-tier spirit islands in their entire lives. Therefore, the Five Sacred Mountains spirit ship is also a highly anticipated spectacle.

"It can traverse icy regions unscathed, and while demonic beasts secretly observe it, they dare not truly provoke it. One wonders just how magnificent this spirit ship in the sea truly is; it is truly something to look forward to."

Through the brief descriptions of other cultivators, Tong Bingfeng had already gained a preliminary understanding and impression of the Five Sacred Mountains Spirit Ship. However, due to his limited knowledge, he was unable to depict a more concrete image.