From a carp to a dragon god

Chapter 6 Trade in the East China Sea

Yu's father, Yu's mother, and Zhu Sanniang left first, leaving only Yu Shuyang and Li Zhen in the training room, who were just cousins chatting.

"You haven't entered the Dao yet? How did you transform into a human?"

Yu Shuyang was very curious about this. He learned that Li Zhen had been afraid to overcome the tribulation and build his foundation because of the threat from the Shouwen demon.

"Fish-skin clothing is a specialty of the Painted-skin Fish Tribe in the East China Sea. I still have two. Cousin, if you like it, I'll give you one."

Li Zhen took out two palm-sized paper figures from his bellyband and showed them to Yu Shuyang.

The paper figures all look like children and are basically the same in appearance, except for some differences in height and age. I think they are a custom-made set.

He picked up the older one, which looked about ten years old. He didn't tie the hair into a sky-high bun, but a boy's bun instead, with one on the left and one on the right side of his head, like little Nezha.

"How do you use this thing?"

The fish skin jacket feels like a piece of fish scale in your hand. If you don’t know how to use it, you really can’t use it.

Li Zhen explained several spells one by one, and repeated his experience in daily use. This thing is a talisman.

Three runes were sacrificed and refined, and they were filled with magic power. Even without any Taoist skills, one can drive them by following the spells. It looks like fish skin, but the principle is the transformation of mirage.

All three runes are incomplete. I think they must have been hidden intentionally. After all, they are the specialty of the Painted Skin Fish Clan, and they have to be protected from being cracked and imitated.

Yu Shuyang used the Ren Yang water energy to refine the three runes, then used the mirage energy to pinch his face according to the spell, and picked up the fish skin coat and put it on.

I saw a young man with his hair half-tied up in a ponytail, half hanging on his shoulder, skin as pink as peach, face as bright as the autumn moon, bright eyes and white teeth.

Driving it is indeed as easy as putting on clothes. Every move he makes is like putting on clothes. To outsiders, it looks like a real person.

"You are indeed a good treasure, cousin Li Zhen, how can I thank you?

This time you came, not only did you give me the true seed inheritance, you also gave me fish skin clothing."

Yu Shuyang knew that his family kept them here in order to make things clear so that they wouldn't have any unresolved knots in their hearts.

"Cousin, don't say that, I'm the one who should be thanking you.

You have lived in a blessed land for a long time and don't know the dangers on the other side of the East China Sea.

The true seed of the word "longevity" is a legacy for you, but a death warrant for me, because I am a short-lived insect spirit.

To be honest, only the longevity insect can be used as medicine. Any cat, dog, or even a mouse can enjoy this heaven-sent opportunity."

Li Zhen said this very frankly. All his fantasies had been shattered in the past five or six years. The East China Sea was too big. Even his father, a fifth-rank demon fairy and the General of the Water Palace, who was a descendant of twelve princes, could not save his life.

"No matter what, I still have to thank my cousin. If you don't think of repaying the kindness of others, you have no conscience.

From now on, if you need any help from your cousin, just come to me."

In his previous life, Yu Shuyang was a sword immortal who took pleasure in taking revenge. The most important thing for him was to have a righteous heart. If others treated me tenfold, I would repay them a hundredfold.

Although the true text of the word "Shou" has not yet revealed any trace of inheritance, it does not hinder his style as a sword immortal.

"Then I would like to thank my cousin right here. This time, my mother and I came here not only to transfer the true seed, but also to open up a trade route directly to the East China Sea.

I haven't figured out anything about this yet, does my cousin have any good suggestions?"

This question stumped Yu Shuyang. The bulk transactions in the East China Sea had always been controlled by the Dragon King of the East China Sea. For outsiders to intervene was like snatching food from a tiger's mouth.

However, Li Zhen and his mother have lived in Donghai for many years. It is impossible for them not to know the inside story. They dared to do this, so there must be something behind it.

"Cousin, you should know the rules of the East China Sea. The risks here are too great. Think twice before you act."

"Thank you for your concern, cousin. You have been in the blessed land for so long that you don't know the changes on the sea.

Among the five great pillars of the Qingqiu Fox Kingdom, three have already broken through to the first rank, and together with the king, there are now four first rank people.

A few years ago, the Fox Kingdom signed an alliance with the Qingling Emperor and the Dongyi Emperor on the Dongling Island to share what they had.

Now that six First-Rank masters have spoken publicly, the Dragon Palace can only turn a blind eye and no longer dare to act as overbearingly as before and seal off the Hai City. Li Zhen explained the situation. This news has been circulating in the East China Sea for several years, but for some reason, it has rarely been heard in the inland areas.

"Then let me ask you, since this incident happened several years ago, what is the situation at sea?

Logically speaking, merchants chase profit, and after trade is liberalized, merchants will automatically rush over. These gourmets have the most sensitive noses and rush over as soon as they smell something."

Yu Shuyang felt that there must be huge risks hidden here, otherwise the situation would not be like it is now.

"My cousin is very clever. At the beginning, several coastal merchants naturally flocked to it, and the situation was very prosperous.

The six first-rank officials even reclaimed land from the sea and built a Golden Deer Island specifically for use as a market town.

This also angered the Dragon Palace in the East China Sea. The two sides began to bid against each other, turning the entire East China Sea upside down, and the talisman money became worthless.

I discussed with my mother that instead of living off our savings, it would be better to open up a trade route from Wuzhou. On the one hand, it would prevent the value of the talisman coins from becoming less and less valuable, and on the other hand, it would also expand the trade route.

I've also done some careful research. It seems those coastal merchants are in cahoots with the Dragon Palace. Their goods aren't as plentiful as those inland, yet the prices have skyrocketed."

"If that's the case, then we shouldn't get involved. The waters here are deep, and it's easy to drown a few small figures.

Think about it, isn't this the truth? Otherwise, if the maritime merchants had colluded with the Dragon Palace, inland merchants would have flocked in long ago.

If you are sure to make money, how could it be someone else's turn to take advantage?

As I said, businessmen are only interested in profit. Since they are all sitting on their hands, we can imagine the turbulent situation behind it."

The more Yu Shuyang spoke, the more he felt that there was a conspiracy behind the scenes, so it was better not to get involved.

"My cousin is truly talented. Your analysis is so insightful and truly admirable.

But there is something helpless about this matter. You know that my mother practices the way of the bridesmaid, which is a way to welcome good luck and send happiness.

Because of me, it has been delayed for several years. Recently, I have become more distant from my father and have lost a lot of spiritual merit."

Li Zhen revealed his shortcomings and told the truth, still unwilling to give up.

"This matter cannot be settled with just a few words; it ultimately depends on what the adults think.

What we say doesn't count, but doing business is nothing more than two things: one is to have what others don't, and the other is to be better than others.

Just like this fish skin jacket, there is no problem selling it in the inland area. Why not think about it the other way around?
This way, you can be safe and earn some food.”

Yu Shuyang always felt that the East China Sea was a muddy place. If he wanted to make money, he didn't necessarily have to go this way. It might be possible to change his thinking.

Little did people know that fish-skin clothing is a specialty of the Painted-Skin Fish Clan, and is only sold in the Donghai Market, with a rule of not selling more than one item to one customer.

Such businesses are everywhere in the East China Sea, and the Dragon Palace is behind them.

Yu Shuyang talked a lot with Li Zhen and learned a lot of secrets about the East China Sea. The East China Sea is not dominated by the Dragon Palace alone, there are many other forces as well.

For example, in the Fox Kingdom of Qingqiu, there are four people with first-grade cultivation. Humans and foxes live together in the country. Many fox monsters transform into humans, marry humans and have children.

On the Dongling Island are two first-rank emperors, Emperor Qingling and Emperor Dongyi. Living on the island are the nine tribes of Dongyi, who fled from Zhongzhou after being defeated in ancient times.

Like the Yazhou Islands where Li Zhen lives, there are eight islands and five cities that gather together monsters, more than a dozen with second or third grade cultivation, and hundreds of families that can be called aristocratic immortal families. You should know that the minimum threshold for aristocratic immortal families is to have a fifth-grade monster fairy.

In addition to the large islands where people live, there are many nameless small islands in the East China Sea, as numerous as the stars in the sky, and the number of East China Sea independent cultivators living on them is even more numerous.

The Dragon Palace in the East China Sea controls trade, relying more on the rich resources in the sea. There are a large number of aquatic monsters, and a group of dragon sons and grandsons are in charge of the waters and open sea markets for trading.

There are only three large islands that can challenge it. The independent cultivators in the East China Sea are solitary and fence-sitters, and they will go with the flow.

The sea merchants have more dealings with the East China Sea Dragon Palace, and the two sides are so familiar with each other that they are almost like one. If it were not for the intimidation of six top masters with first-grade cultivation, there would be no waves of business war.

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(End of this chapter)