Cultivation begins with ice harvesters

Chapter 40: The Five Mountains

The sky over the icy northern frontier is forever covered with lead-gray cold clouds. The fierce winds swirl with ice shards, cutting through the void and creating fine, ethereal patterns. The vast ice plain stretches as far as the eye can see, with ice layers thousands of feet thick, gleaming with a chilling, bluish light.

In this extremely cold and harsh world, the Five Sacred Mountains, a second-tier low-grade spirit ship, sailed quietly and unimpeded. Before the spirit ship even got close, the ice layer a hundred feet in front of it had already shattered under the impact of some mysterious force. The overwhelming pressure unique to the second-tier spirit ship made the cultivators waiting at the dock of the Ice Spirit Island feel apprehensive.

The Five Sacred Mountains Spirit Ship is made entirely of Xuanbing Iron, a specialty of the Northern Frontier, and sinking spirit wood. The ship is thirty feet long and ten feet wide. Its overall shape is modeled after the Five Sacred Mountains in the human world. The bow is high, like Mount Tai pressing down. The sides of the ship have five staggered protruding facets with hard and strong lines, giving it a majestic and heavy feel.

The ship's base was shrouded in a pale blue spiritual aura, the unique spiritual armor light of a second-tier spirit ship. Although it had dimmed considerably after the great battle, it still exuded an inviolable majesty. Eight spirit cannon bases were arranged on each side of the ship's hull, with the muzzles gleaming with a dark spiritual light. These were the core components of the spirit ship's integrated offense and defense.

The Spirit Cannon's attack is based on spirit stones, and each shot requires the addition of a thousand spirit stones, making it a true gold-devouring beast. The destructive power of such a weapon is unimaginable, which is the source of the Five Mountains' confidence in traversing different second-tier spirit islands.

With the Foundation Establishment stage cultivator in charge and controlling it, the eight spirit cannons firing simultaneously could theoretically injure a third-tier demonic beast.

The Five Sacred Mountains were covered in shocking yet tragic battle marks, each wound revealing a harrowing struggle. On the left side of the Five Sacred Mountains carving at the bow, a sharp blade of energy had cleaved a half-zhang-deep crack. The Xuanbing Iron at the edge of the crack had already shattered, but it was not completely destroyed, leaving faint traces of the collision between the golden blade light and the ice spiritual energy.

The spirit armor on the left side of the ship was cracked in a large area, and dark blue ice marks covered the spirit wood planks. This was caused by the ice magic bombardment of the monsters in the northern ice region. The ice layer fused with the spirit armor, frozen as hard as iron, but still firmly protected the core of the ship.

Three spirit cannon bases on the right side of the ship were damaged, the muzzles were twisted by brute force, the surrounding spirit pattern array eyes were broken, and scattered fragments of spirit materials were scattered, but the original exquisite array structure could still be seen.

The sails had long been torn to shreds by the gale and magic. The few remaining pieces of dark blue canvas were frozen stiff, stained with congealed dark red blood and torn by the claws of demonic beasts. The mast was made of millennia-old warm jade, which emitted a faint warmth even in the extreme cold. The mast was covered with fine claw marks, but it remained straight and upright, never bending.

The Five Sacred Mountains Suppressing Spirit Jade hanging from the bottom of the ship was originally bright white and warm, but now it was covered with cracks and its spiritual light was dim. However, it still firmly locked the spiritual energy of the ship and prevented it from dissipating. Several broken fangs of demonic beasts were also embedded in the jade. The cold beast energy and the spiritual energy of the jade clashed with each other, forming a strange aura.

From afar, the Five Sacred Mountains resembled a battle-hardened general returning from the ashes. The cold hardness of the Xuanbing Iron, the vigor of the Spirit Wood, the vicissitudes of battle scars, and the majesty of the remaining spiritual light intertwined under the skylight of the icy region. It stood on the icy plain, its form towering like a mountain. Even with its wounds, it still exuded the unique weight and domineering presence of a second-tier spirit ship.

The faint spiritual pressure emanating from the ship forced the raging icy winds back several feet, causing ice shards to swirl around it, making it difficult for the extreme cold to approach. Its battered body concealed an indomitable fighting spirit, and its mottled scars told tales of the perilous battles fought in the icy realm, blending seamlessly with the vast and bitterly cold northern frontier.

"Such a powerful spirit ship, sailing through the icy region, must have fought against some incredibly powerful monster to inflict such severe damage."

As the Five Sacred Mountains spirit ship approached from afar, Tong Bingfeng, witnessing this scene for the first time, was utterly overwhelmed with a profound sense of awe.

As for the other cultivators, although they were somewhat shocked to see the Five Sacred Mountains spirit ship, they soon became even more eager to take its place.

In fact, for most cultivators, the extent of the Five Sacred Mountains' losses is not important, as long as they can complete the exchange of goods on time.

"The Five Sacred Mountains spirit ship has arrived. We, the cultivators of Ice Spirit Island, welcome the cultivators of the Upper Clan to come and trade."

A Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Chen family also appeared at the opportune moment. He was suspended in mid-air, his aura, unique to Foundation Establishment cultivators, was completely undisguised, attracting attention like a bright light in the dark night.

This is also a valid guideline, indicating that the second-tier spirit island is still under the control of the cultivators, and the spirit ship can safely dock for repairs and transactions.

As the saying goes, though they were close, they were worlds apart. From the moment the Five Sacred Mountains ship revealed its true form to when it finally arrived and stopped at the dock, a full hour had passed.

When this sea monster finally came to a stop, Tong Bingfeng felt even more insignificant. This behemoth could easily crush the group of cultivators waiting on the shore with just a gentle impact.

"The Five Sacred Mountains spirit ship will stay at Ice Ling Spirit Island for three days. Fellow Daoists who need to trade, please go and return quickly. Once the time limit is exceeded, we will not wait."

After a long while, following a solemn announcement by an old man, the spirit ship finally opened an entrance for the cultivators to disembark.

As for using spirit ships to conduct transactions, the Zhang family of Huludao did not object. After all, it was impossible for a single family to meet the needs of all cultivators, let alone the fact that these cultivators were paying the corresponding fees as required.

"Ice Spirit Island, Chen Family: All Foundation Establishment cultivators must come to the Five Mountains Spirit Ship within one incense stick's time to assist in repairing the spirit cannon. Those who fail to arrive within the time limit will be considered to have disobeyed the family's orders and will be beheaded as a warning to others."

The old man's loud and stern commands did not cease in the slightest. In his eyes, the Chen family, who lived in seclusion on the Ice Spirit Island, were not worth worrying about at all.

As both are Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, there is a significant difference between them, and they don't worry about any negative impact from ordering each other around.

"It is truly astonishing that a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Chen family, who are considered high and mighty and unapproachable by us independent cultivators, would one day receive such treatment."

What Tong Bingfeng saw and heard today truly broadened his horizons, and for a moment he even forgot the real purpose of his trip: to sell the corpse of a mid-grade first-level demon beast in his storage bag.

"Young friend, are you here to make a transaction?"

"I wonder if you're selling local spiritual items or looking to buy specialty spiritual items from other second-tier spiritual islands? I've traveled extensively with the Five Sacred Mountains spirit ship, and I'm quite knowledgeable. I operate with integrity and honest transactions. Would you be willing to exchange ideas, young friend?"

He was only jolted out of his shock when an elderly man with white hair and beard, ruddy complexion, and a kind face, exuding the aura of a terrestrial immortal, came to his door.

"I am a local cultivator from Ice Spirit Island. I greet you, fellow Daoist. I have come here partly to broaden my horizons and partly to sell some demon beast corpses. I wonder if you would be willing to purchase them?"