Yingzhou Token

After inspecting the "Yellow Springs Water-Parting Saber" and the "Ten-Thousand-Year Yin Pearl," the Hu Mang turned its attention to the last treasure.

Compared to the exaggerated phenomena of the first two, the third treasure was much simpler; it was a token whose material appeared to be unknown.

Luckily, Hu Mang knew Duanmu, who was still in preschool, before, otherwise he really wouldn't have been able to read those two characters on the sign.

"Ying... zhou?"

"Yingzhou, one of the three fairy islands overseas, the one that's as famous as Penglai?"

Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou are all very famous places, among the few natural high-level Spiritual Qi areas on the entire planet, and ancient sacred sites for cultivation.

Of the Thirty-Six Islands of the Eastern Sea, there is only one Penglai. If it weren't for various ancient records indicating the existence of all three immortal islands, many people would doubt whether there is only one Penglai Immortal Island.

Even though human cultivators have now spread their footprints across the entire planet, they have not discovered the other two immortal islands.

Many geologists have even suggested that these two fairy islands might have disappeared due to geological movements.

So when Hu Mang first saw this thing, he was quite surprised, and soon an idea struck him.

Where did the Ghost Dragon Vein get this thing from?

Could it be that Yingzhou really sank to the bottom of the sea?

"Hey bro, where did you get this thing from? Do you even know where it is?"

Hu Mang patted the deck and said, "Okay."

The deck rocked for a moment, Hu Mang quickly received a message.

"You didn't know it was stolen from inside that Turbid Dragon? So, that Turbid Dragon knew?"

So, Yingzhou really did fall into the sea?

According to ancient records, Yingzhou is located East Sea the Far Eastern Sea Area the East China Sea. It is rich in immortal herbs, jade ointment, and spiritual springs. Its scenery is extremely beautiful and gentle, with many rare birds and auspicious animals. It is a place where immortals and spirits dwell and a secluded paradise. Legend has it that there is black jade ointment on the island, which can prolong life and preserve youth if consumed.

These precious medicinal herbs have been soaking on the seabed for hundreds of years, and are likely contaminated by Turbid Qi. Is it still safe to eat them?

Hu Mang thought about it carefully, but couldn't come up with an answer.

"What a pity. If we knew the coordinates, with the ghost ship's capabilities, we could have really gone for a look around."

Hu Mang put away the three treasures, basked in the sun under the blue sky and sea for a while, and finally recovered about 50-60% of his energy.

He lazily got up, and with a thought, he manifested "Golden Nature Perfection" to check the damage to his physical body, then gasped in shock.

"I can't watch this! It's unbelievable!"

There was no fundamental loss.

After all, he had relevant experience, and the "Black Sha Asura Transformation" was quite powerful, bearing at least half of the pressure.

However, there are countless bruises, internal injuries, and minor damage to the meridians; the body is covered with countless blood spots.

"It's a pity that the Golden Nature Perfection, so these damages could be forced out little by little."

The greatest benefit of Golden Nature Perfection is that it can make the whole body free of leakage, plus the "Flower of Essence", which is actually not bad.

It will only take a month or two at most.

He didn't plan to form his core immediately.

Moreover, there are still some things he doesn't understand.

For example, according to the cultivation system of Heavenly Gate, after the Foundation Establishment, the next step is to form the core.

According to the cultivation system of the Azure Mysterious Realm, one condenses Three Flowers and Five Qi. The Three Flowers are the Flower of Essence, the Flower of Qi, and the Flower of Spirit.

Energy and spirit.

So here's the question.

The location where cultivators of the Heavenly Gate condense their Golden Core is in the Crimson Palace, which is the Middle Dantian.

Following the path of cultivating both essence, energy, and spirit in the Azure Mysterious Realm, the location for condensing the Flower of Qi is also in the Crimson Palace.

In the same location, will these two things interfere with each other?

Hu Mang wanted to figure this out before he could condense the Golden Core.

Old Xie should have finished studying all the Azure Mysterious Realm Cultivation Method materials that he gave Old Xie before.

Go ask him about it later.

Let's go.

The Hu Mang grabbed the rudder and spun it sharply, causing the entire ship to tilt violently to its side, its hull facing upwards, the keel exposed to the sunlight, and seawater cascading down its hull, forming a brief waterfall.

Immediately afterwards, the ship drew a smooth arc in mid-air, flipped 180 degrees, and crashed headfirst into the sea.

After the waves subsided, the ghost ship had vanished without a trace. Only from time to time, countless footprints appeared on the sea, each spanning a hundred miles.

The Hu Mang returned once again to the waters around the Thirty-Six Islands of the Eastern Sea.

This isn't some kind of crime scene psychology.

It's simply because he doesn't know the way!

The ocean is vast, and he might not even be able to distinguish east from west. How could he possibly get to Java Island? He might just end up heading straight for the Saha Continent.

What should you do if Seaquake occurs?

However, upon arrival, he had the ghost ship loiter around the Dragon Blood Tide's perimeter beforehand to avoid being caught off guard by the Sea-Pacifying Divine Warship.

As for himself, he naturally transformed back into Hu Mang and swaggered towards the dock.

"Tsk, that's pathetic."

The entire sea area looked as if it had been ironed from head to tail with a giant iron.

The sea was calm to the point of death, with no waves, no wind, and not even seabirds were willing to fly over that area; the seawater had an eerie light gray color, exuding an indescribable sense of decay.

A thorough cleansing of the Turbid Qi will take at least several years, or even more than a decade.

Even the number of boats at the dock has decreased by more than half.

In the past, the pier was densely packed with merchant ships, fishing boats, and passenger ships. Now, only a few dozen remain, mostly small boats, moored forlornly on mooring bollards, swaying gently with the weak waves.

Those larger ocean-going cargo ships and passenger ships were nowhere to be seen – they were either destroyed in the Dragon Blood Tide or urgently reassigned to various sea routes to continue their journeys. The port's throughput dropped by at least 70%.

Of the three Sea-Pacifying Divine Warships, only one remains, moored alone in its dedicated berth at the deepest part of the harbor. It is surrounded by a cordon, and dozens of shipwrights and monks are busy working around it. From the deck to the hull, there are dents of all sizes everywhere, as if it had been repeatedly hammered by some giant object.

Most striking are the fist-shaped marks on the side of the ship, each the size of a water vat. The edges of the fist marks are clearly visible, with distinct outlines of the five fingers, deeply embedded in the hull. Radial cracks radiate outwards from the marks, clearly indicating that they were forcibly created by some extremely terrifying physical force.

It looks very familiar.

Hu Mang glanced at it once and then turned his head away, pretending to admire the distant sea view.

"It's a shame I haven't learned any palm techniques. If I left a palm print, these people could easily expose my true identity with a simple check."

Hu Mang was relieved.

However, when the Hu Mang arrived on the island, it found it to be extremely lively.

All sorts of trade fairs and underground trading venues sprang up like mushrooms after rain in every corner of the island.

Some are set up in the backyards of proper shops, some are hidden in the basements of residential houses, and some simply spread out a cloth deep in an alley and set up shop on the spot.

The items for sale are incredibly diverse, including Turbid Dragon scales and fragments of dragon bones salvaged from the Dragon Blood Tide, the corpses of sea beasts and Demon Core tainted by turbid Turbid Qi, antique magical Law Artifact salvaged from shipwrecks, and some strange trinkets whose origins even the sellers themselves cannot explain.

The currency for transactions ranged from Spirit Stone to elixirs to Cultivation Method Secret Manual, and even barter. As long as a transaction could be completed, anything was negotiable.

The market is exhibiting an abnormally high level of activity.

Many cultivators emerged from a shop, their faces glowing, carrying bags of Spirit Stone.

As for those who came from certain underground trading venues, they wore masks and looked like they were not meant to be seen by others.

Hu Mang even saw the offices of major banks in Heavenly Gate, Spirit Coin exchange institutions, and even places that offered treasure loans.

You guys are everywhere!

Hu Mang believes this hot market will easily last for at least six months.

And there are countless underground cultivators like him who emerge from the shadows.

No wonder the island's guards are all gone.

There's no need to check; if you did, they'd all be without official identification.

However, some Daoist soldiers are stationed at certain trading venues.

This art style clearly indicates a focus on economic development.

As Hu Mang walked, he looked around, even considering visiting a few trade fairs.

However, large-scale trade fairs require up to several million dollars in deposits upfront.

As for those private circles and underground trade fairs, they undoubtedly need guides.

Therefore, the only places Hu Mang can visit are street shops and roadside stalls.

However, he still thoroughly enjoyed his visit, finding some of the strange and unusual things in the ocean completely new, things he had never even imagined he had seen before.

For example, one could cry on behalf of the living, thus deceiving the mourning coral among the underworld officials.

The Turbid Dragon blood and the Clear Qi, according to the stall owner, is called Yin-Yang Oil. It is said to be able to switch between kidney deficiency and abundant vitality, making it quite interesting.

This is a type of seaweed called "ghost eyebrows" that, when placed on the forehead, can temporarily make a living person mistaken for one of the same kind by evil spirits, but will cause the eyebrows to knot themselves whenever the face changes.

Legend has it that the River of Oblivion moss grows on the rotten bottom of ships covered in Turbid Qi. If you dry it, light it, and let the smoke drift in that direction, you'll find the person you most want to forget...

Regardless of whether these things are useful or how useful they are, they are definitely rare.

Hu Mang couldn't resist and bought a huge pile, intending to send it as a local specialty to his mother and his dorm buddies.

But as he walked, Hu Mang suddenly raised an eyebrow; he had spotted a familiar face.

Xiao Yu was squatting on the ground, examining a stall selling sea urchins for boosting energy, when suddenly someone patted him on the shoulder.

"Long time no see, Fellow Daoist Yu."

The Hu Mang grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

Xiao Yu stared blankly at the other person for a long while before exclaiming in surprise, "You're not dead!?"

"Thanks to you, I'm still alive."

Hu Mang paused for a moment, then asked again:

"Are you all alright? I didn't see our ship at the dock; I thought you had already left."

"No, no, everyone's fine. They're all on this island now, except for Old Zhu."

He's dead!?

"Uh, no..."