The Fleet Sets Sail

The one speaking wasn't human, or rather, he had concealed his human form and chosen to appear as a Dharma Idol.

A single Azure Lamp stood in the center of a hall within the shrine.

A deep male voice emanated from the Azure Lamp, angrily rebuking the three people kneeling before him.

"I made so many arrangements in advance, calculated every obstacle, and spent countless gold and silver to secure this sliver of a guaranteed victory."

"Yet this is the result?"

"You are all accomplished in the Dragon Elephant realm, five of you went together, and only three returned?"

"How could you be so foolish?"

"Those Jing and Su families didn't even have anyone capable of holding the fort. How could an old Spider Mother, on the verge of death, trade two for one!"

"Do you really think I'm like that Zhi Zhou, about to die?"

"I give you one year. If you cannot overturn the Destiny Hearth of Crimson Pearl Island before the Yin year arrives, then you shall all tend the lamp for me!"

The three people before him were all cultivators in the Dragon Elephant realm, yet before this Azure Lamp, they didn't even dare to breathe heavily.

Meanwhile, on the other side, a fleet of ships, after much effort, finally departed from the HunZhou Island dock and headed south.

The composition of this fleet was quite peculiar.

The leading ship, over a hundred zhang long, shared the same design as the sunken ship Hun Ling Number at the bottom of the sea, suggesting they were crafted by the same master shipbuilder.

Following the Hun Yi Number was a long string of smaller boats of different sizes and designs.

These small boats were arranged haphazardly, clearly indicating a makeshift team.

However, in the land of Hun Zhou, shipbuilding and navigation technology were extremely scarce, and any ship capable of sailing far out to sea was priceless.

And the ones piloting this fleet of small boats were all direct descendants of the naval soldiers from the Hun Ling Number a hundred years ago.

When Ling Mingji sent back word and cleared the name of the Hun Ling Number, the descendant families of the soldiers on board back then were all in an uproar.

The century-long injustice was finally cleared, and while the restored reputation was secondary, the century's worth of unpaid pensions was the truly significant matter.

The Hun Zhou Prefecture Office controlled countless resources, and the Maritime Affairs Office was the most powerful institution among the three offices and two inspectorates. It had always been generous with rewards for its subordinate navy.

The pensions for fallen martyrs were a huge fortune, enough to change the fate of an entire family.

Currently, this fleet of small boats being able to accompany the Hun Yi Number was also a special reward granted by the Maritime Affairs Office.

Those accompanying were allowed to board the ship before the Hun Yi Number to collect the remains of their ancestors.

However, this wasn't the most important thing. After all, the ship had been sunken for a hundred years and was said to be in pieces, so the probability of finding anything valuable on board was actually not high.

For this accompanying fleet of ships, the real reward was the accompaniment itself.

The vast, boundless sea, while containing countless resources, was also infinitely dangerous!

For these small boats, every time they sailed out to sea was a life-threatening endeavor.

Encountering a ninth-grade demon or ghost could easily lead to the risk of the entire ship perishing.

However, accompanying the Hun Yi Number was different!

This warship had considerable combat power, and was even suppressed by a great cultivator in the Dragon Elephant realm, making it fully capable of contending with a seventh-grade great demon and freely traversing the seas.

Following the Hun Yi Number meant a guarantee of safety, which was more important than anything else.

During the voyage, they would sail and simultaneously search the sea for marine resources with the fleet as the center.

In the ocean, precious fish and spiritual medicines that helped mortals nourish their essence were everywhere.

Returning from this trip would yield at least ten gold coins in profit, which was what the people on the ship valued.

Currently, the voyage had just begun, and among the accompanying ships, there were a large number of sailors who went into the water to fish and hunt.

They used extremely long steel cables connected to their mother ships, hanging from the gunwales and dangling deep into the sea.

From a distance, each ship looked like a large jellyfish, with dense tentacles hanging down.

Among all the ships, only one small black-awning boat had no one going into the water.

This was because there were only two people on this boat, and just operating the small boat was already exhausting!

On the small boat, there was a tall, strong woman in a tight-fitting outfit, holding a peculiar automatic oar.

Every so often, she would inject a surge of Destiny Essence magic power into the oar, maintaining its movement, not daring to stop for a moment.

At the stern of the boat, there was a half-grown boy wearing a strange mask, operating the rudder and closely following the direction of the fleet.

Within the entire fleet, this was the only boat that was the most shabby, with few people and simple conditions.

However, the woman and the child cooperated very well, and the small boat moved forward steadily under their control.

At this moment, the woman suddenly spoke:

"Xiao Qian, with the appearance of the Hun Ling Number this time, I will definitely find the Tide Divination left by Grandpa and find the refining method of the Tide for you."

"After that, we'll receive the Maritime Affairs Office's pension and clear Grandpa's name, and our Jing Family will definitely rise again!"

"By then, you can focus on cultivating and won't have to work so hard!"

The child wearing the mask obediently replied:

"Yes, Aunt, I'll listen to you."

Although the strong woman spoke easily, a hint of worry in her eyes was evident.

Their family had been pushed to a dead end.

So much so that she had even brought her eleven-year-old nephew, who was still nourishing his essence, along.

Under these circumstances, could the other party possibly watch their Jing Family safely overcome this calamity?

Currently, there were many people on the surrounding ships, a mixed bag of good and bad.

But she saw everyone as ill-intentioned enemies.

On the vast sea, with nowhere to settle, she only hoped that the soldiers on the Hun Yi Number would help them out of consideration for being fellow naval descendants!

Thinking of this, she gripped the oar in her hand even tighter.

Once a ship falls behind, the risk will be completely out of control!

Within the Destiny Stele Space, Jing Qian had already slain all the souls except for the Alligator Dragon and the Snow Woman, and was absorbing new cultivation memories.

The ninth-grade Determining Destiny realm, refining the Destiny Constitution and nurturing the Destiny Essence, is a crucial stage for forging the foundation of cultivation and also a stage where cultivators rapidly widen the gap between each other.

Jing Qian had not been on the path for long, but the accumulated White Fang Destiny Essence had officially broken through seven pieces, which was extremely fast.

The accumulation of a cultivator's Destiny Essence has an upper limit based on the quality of their Destiny Constitution.

One White Fang Destiny Constitution can carry one White Fang Destiny Essence.

As cultivation accumulates and the control over the Destiny Constitution deepens, the number of Destiny Essence that can be carried will also increase.

And one Azure Wing Destiny Constitution can carry one Azure Wing Destiny Essence, corresponding to more than ten White Fang Destiny Essence.

Similarly, for those who burn their bodies to determine their destiny, a cultivator who awakens the Azure Wing Destiny Constitution has a natural mana capacity more than ten times that of one who awakens the White Fang Destiny Constitution!

On this basis, effort can no longer completely bridge the huge gap between different grades.

By analogy, Blue Blood, Purple Eye, and even Golden Root, there is a gap of more than ten times between each grade.

For those with a weak Destiny Constitution, every slight breakthrough in Destiny Essence is the result of exhausting resources and mental effort, consuming a large amount of lifespan, and enduring hardship.

Throughout their lives, they cannot understand why some people's Destiny Essence grows as easily as eating and drinking.

But for Jing Qian, with the Sumeru Destiny Constitution sitting in his sea of consciousness, supporting his cultivation framework, the capacity of Destiny Essence he can carry is like an abyss or a sea, and he doesn't need to consider the upper limit in the short term!

The only thing limiting his accumulation of Destiny Essence is the supply of resources and the precipitation of time.

He almost doesn't need to waste too much time on the hardship of breaking through bottlenecks. In battle, killing enemies and slaying souls, there is a clear path to heaven that appears under his feet!

Jing Qian's figure flickered, and he once again escaped from the Void Realm, returning to the endless ocean.

With the mana of the Tide, his entire body was like an arrow leaving the bowstring, slicing towards the deep sea, with a speed already exceeding five hundred kilometers per hour.

In his mind, an unknown sea chart was gradually lighting up, gathering the memories contributed by the souls of various sea monsters.

The surrounding sea area was completely open to him, allowing him to take whatever he wanted!