Before long, the battered Treasure Ship slowly sailed into that relatively narrow waterway, jagged with strange rocks and lush with aquatic plants.
The waterway twisted and turned, and the light grew several shades dimmer. The distant cries of battle from Nine Waves Island seemed blocked off, vague and far away.
Chen Qing moored the ship in a relatively open stretch of the waterway and shut down the paddle wheel.
Chen Qing toyed with the Thunderclap Fire Seed in his hand. "No matter what, thirty thousand taels of silver are in hand."
He had no idea how profitable it would be to guard the waterway, but he would take the benefits first.
Standing at the bow, he stirred his thoughts slightly, and the Bone-Corroding Spider silently crawled out from his sleeve.
The little creature moved with astonishing speed. As its mouthparts opened and closed, it precisely sprayed out countless tough spider threads, which then wound around the ship's hull.
The threads were highly poisonous. They could not only serve as a defense, but also as a warning. Any touch or forced impact would tug at the threads at once, allowing Chen Qing to sense it.
Shen Xiuyong's method was indeed effective.
That very afternoon, this relatively remote waterway found business.
Several groups of hurried travelers piloted various small boats, loaded with bulging bundles, trying to slip away through this back door.
The first group consisted of four or five independent cultivators with fierce faces, their auras hovering around Transformation Perfection.
Seeing Chen Qing alone guarding a broken ship, ferocity flickered in their eyes as they attempted to force their way through.
"The Wutai Sect is purging the Demonic Sect's remaining remnants! The waterway ahead has been sealed! Who are you people? What are you carrying aboard? Are there any Zheng Family