Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 390 Retrieving Items from the South China Sea
Under a clear, cloudless sky, a beam of light shot down before a giant city in the southern Muh Grassland, revealing Song Xian's figure.

This city is called Wanghai City, a coastal city in the southern part of the Muhe Grassland. The words "Guilai Fang" are written on the city wall in the Muhe Grassland language. The reason for this name is that many cultivators who went to sea never returned, and the word "Guilai" is used to express their hopes for a better future.

If you go south from Guilaifang, it's less than a few hundred miles to the South China Sea.

Unlike other sea areas, the South China Sea is not only vast, but also frequently haunted by deep-sea monsters, posing a certain degree of danger.

This sea area spans tens of thousands of miles and flows into the boundless sea in the western part of the Mukh Steppe.

The Boundless Sea is also known as the Sea of ​​Death. Its vast expanse is inhabited by a large number of sea monsters, and some people have even seen monsters at the Nascent Soul level.

The South China Sea connects to the boundless ocean, and with numerous islands rich in spiritual energy and abundant cultivation resources in the deep sea, it is not uncommon for demonic beasts to roam. This has led to many independent cultivators forming teams to hunt sea beasts and mine deep-sea resources for a living.

Song Xian came to this place for three reasons: to try his luck, to gather information, and to purchase supplies.

This is the closest market town to the port of the South China Sea. Many cultivators who go out to sea rest here, and many resources in the sea are traded here. Many of the teams that go out to sea to hunt monsters and mine sea cultivation resources sell their goods directly in the shops here.

Perhaps there are Purple Coral Spirit Trees for sale in the market, so he won't have to make the long trip to Pear Blossom Island again.

If there were no Purple Coral Spirit Trees for sale, he would have to find out what level of demonic beasts were in the waters near Pear Blossom Island and make preparations in advance. He would also need to buy high-grade Water-Repelling Pills.

With the abilities of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, although they can explore the deep sea with their own spiritual energy shield, the water pressure at the bottom of the sea is extremely strong, making it difficult to move freely like on land. Moreover, the strong water pressure will constantly consume their own spiritual energy.

Even Foundation Establishment cultivators cannot stay underwater for too long.

High-grade Water-Repelling Pills can greatly alleviate water pressure, making movement easier and conserving spiritual energy.

Song Xian strode into the city. The market was bustling with people, many of whom were groups of cultivators.

He went straight to a shop called Zidong Pavilion. He didn't know anything about the origin of Zidong Pavilion, but it was located in the center of the market, and the pavilion was extremely magnificent and imposing. It was obvious that it was a shop built by a powerful force.

"Welcome, senior. May I ask what you need?" After Song Xian entered the inner room, a female cultivator from the Muhe Grassland came forward to greet him.

"Where is your shopkeeper? I want to see him." Seeing that her cultivation level was low, Song Xian was too lazy to ask any questions and directly asked to see the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper of such a small market was at most a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Even if the Purple East Pavilion is backed by a powerful force, it is impossible for them to send a Golden Core cultivator to oversee a small market.

"Please wait a moment, senior." The woman didn't dare to ask any more questions in front of the Foundation Establishment cultivator and turned to leave.

Before long, a beautiful, plump, fair-skinned woman in her thirties, at the ninth level of Qi Refining, swayed her hips and walked over with a smile. She glanced at Song Xian and then bowed: "I am Aqiusha! I am the manager of this shop. May I ask what brings you here, senior?"

"I am a cultivator from the Qin Kingdom, and I am going to the South China Sea to buy some items needed for exploring the bottom of the deep sea. This is my first time going to the South China Sea, and there are many things I don't understand. I wonder what items your shop recommends?"

"Senior, please follow me." The beautiful woman smiled and led him to a cabinet on the second floor of the pavilion, pointing to a magnificent black and white robe inside.

"If you wish to dive to the bottom of the deep sea, I recommend this second-grade superior water-repelling robe. It contains four miniature pressure-reducing arrays and four miniature water-repelling arrays. The robe is made from the fur of a deep-sea monster, which can greatly reduce the pressure in the deep sea and allow you to move freely in the deep sea."

"How many spirit stones does this item cost?"

"This is our finest water-repelling robe, specially made for cultivators of your caliber who are exploring the deep sea. It is priced at 18,000 spirit stones. Our shop guarantees that when you wear this robe, you will be as free as if you were on flat ground in the deep sea, completely unaffected."

Upon hearing this price, Song Xian secretly clicked his tongue in amazement. The Purple Coral Spirit Tree he wanted, priced as a second-grade superior spirit tree, would cost at most a few thousand spirit stones per tree. However, exploring the deep sea required a second-grade superior magic robe that cost 18,000 spirit stones. How many Purple Coral Spirit Trees would he need to obtain to break even?
He now believed Yu Deshui's words. Even if he knew there were Purple Coral Spirit Trees near Pear Blossom Island, he figured no one would bother to cut them down, as it wouldn't be worth it at all!

No wonder this item is not available for sale on the market.

Although things are valued for their rarity, this item has limited uses, and although its price is slightly higher than that of ordinary second-grade high-quality spirit wood, it's not by much.

"Does your shop sell Purple Coral Spirit Trees?"

"No." The beautiful woman shook her head.

"To be honest, the reason I'm heading to the bottom of the deep sea is to find this Purple Coral Spirit Tree. I've heard that there is a Purple Coral Spirit Tree in the South China Sea. Are you aware of this, fellow Daoist?"

The beautiful woman smiled slightly: "I have also heard of it. It is said that there is indeed such a spiritual tree in the South China Sea, but very few people have taken it."

Song Xian wasn't sure if she was telling the truth or not, or if she was just flattering him to get him to buy a robe. So he asked further, "Is there an island called Pear Blossom Island in the South China Sea? What's the situation around it?"

The beautiful woman still smiled and said, "I am not familiar with the situation at sea. If you wish to inquire about information about the South China Sea, I recommend a place called Wanxiang Pavilion in the market. They specialize in buying sea monsters hunted by cultivators and have long-term cooperation with many famous monster-hunting teams. They are well-informed. You can consult them for information about the South China Sea. They have dedicated personnel to handle this matter."

Song Xian nodded and then left the pavilion. Before long, he found Wanxiang Pavilion, which was also a large and powerful store, as could be seen from its location and scale.

After entering, he explained his purpose, and then a female cultivator led him to a room in the backyard.

Inside, there was a middle-aged man at the eighth level of Qi Refining, with a professional smile on his face. Upon seeing Song Xian arrive, he stood up, bowed, introduced himself, and then asked Song Xian what business he had come for.

"I need clues about the Purple Coral Spirit Tree. Do you know of any?"

The man smiled and nodded: "This junior has information on the whereabouts of the Purple Coral Spirit Tree, including details on the appearance of monsters in the nearby seas, but it will cost one thousand spirit stones."

Without hesitation, Song Xian immediately took out a thousand spirit stones and gave them to him. Compared to spending eighteen thousand spirit stones to buy a water-repelling robe, a thousand spirit stones to confirm the whereabouts of the Purple Coral Spirit Tree was a great deal.

Although Yu Deshui did not lie, he had only heard the news from someone else, so its authenticity could not be guaranteed.

After accepting the spirit stones, the man said "Please wait a moment" and left the room. Song Xian was not worried that he would run away, so he waited there.

Less than half an incense stick's time later, the man returned with a scroll in his hand, which he handed to him with both hands: "This is information about the Purple Coral Spirit Tree. Please take a look."

Song Xian took the dossier and unfolded it. It was full of pictures and text. Not only was the image of the Purple Coral Spirit Tree drawn, but its function, the area where it was located, and the appearance of monsters in the vicinity were also recorded in detail.

Yu Deshui's information is correct; the Purple Coral Spirit Tree is indeed located in the waters near Pear Blossom Island, according to this information.

There is a type of sea limestone at the bottom of the sea near Pear Blossom Island, which is solidified from underwater volcanic eruptions. In addition, the seabed there is filled with spiritual energy and various kinds of algae. Only in this environment can the Purple Coral Spirit Tree grow.

According to records, the Purple Coral Spirit Tree exists at the bottom of the sea within a radius of two to three hundred miles around Pear Blossom Island.

Within a radius of two or three hundred li, it's roughly the size of a town in Bianxi City on land, but in the sea, finding things is never easy, let alone in such a large area.

In addition, the information states that a Black-tailed Python Shark monster inhabits the vicinity of Pear Blossom Island, and three teams have reportedly encountered a fifth-tier Black-tailed Python Shark monster in that area. The Black-tailed Python Shark is skilled in water-attribute magical abilities, its black horn is highly venomous, and it can spray black venom over a wide area. It can also conceal its form, making it difficult to detect.

After carefully reviewing the dossier, Song Xian left Wanxiang Pavilion and returned to Zidong Pavilion, where he bought the second-grade superior water-repelling robe. To prevent the robe from being damaged in case of an accident, he also bought several second-grade superior water-repelling pills and antidote pills.

.........

The sun was shining brightly, the wind was gentle, the sky was a clear blue, and the sea was calm.

Along the coast, large ships, like giant beasts, come and go. These ships are made of special materials and are equipped with magic arrays, giving them a certain degree of defensive capability.

It can travel on the sea as if it were flat land, and it can also dive into the sea.

This ship costs far less than a flying spirit ship and is mainly used for transporting goods at sea. Its speed is naturally incomparable to that of a spirit ship.

Most of the ship owners were independent cultivator teams that went out to sea to hunt monsters, and they needed to use ships to transport the carcasses of the monsters they had killed.

Song Xian's escape light swept past the dock and headed southeast. A month later, he finally arrived at Pear Blossom Island.

This is a very small, deserted island, uninhabited, with only occasional groups of cultivators who go out to sea to hunt stopping here for rest.

Along the way, he had seen many groups of cultivators fighting against demonic beasts, and from time to time, he could also see sea monsters leaping out of the sea.

This clearly shows that there are indeed many monsters lurking in the seabed.

Fighting monsters underwater would be extremely disadvantageous for him.

He is skilled in fire magic, which makes him vulnerable to these sea monsters. In addition, the seabed is full of water, which will greatly reduce the effectiveness of his fire magic.

He could only hope that he wouldn't encounter any powerful monsters; if he did, he would have to escape the seabed first.

After resting on Pear Blossom Island for a night until his spiritual energy was fully restored, Song Xian changed into his second-grade superior water-repelling robe and plunged straight into the sea, diving all the way down.

The deeper he went, the greater the resistance became. Even though the miniature magic array on his robes had reached its limit and was emitting a bright light, he still felt restricted.

Before even reaching the seabed, Song Xian felt immense pressure surging from all directions, as if he were walking through a mud pit.

Damn it, what a swindler.

He secretly grumbled to himself that the manager of Zidong Pavilion made it sound so nice, saying that it was like flat ground in the sea and completely unaffected, but the actual effect was far from that.

With no other option, he could only circulate his spiritual energy to form a defensive shield to resist the invisible pressure. After diving for quite some time, he finally reached the seabed.

At this moment, the spiritual energy shield that had formed on his body had become somewhat distorted and deformed, so he had to continuously infuse it with spiritual energy to prevent it from shattering and hindering his movements.

This was even with a second-tier high-grade magic robe; without it, the spiritual energy shield would have shattered completely long ago.

Even so, this still consumes a lot of spiritual energy. With his current spiritual power, he cannot stay at the bottom of the sea for too long; he must leave after a few hours at most.

Song Xian explored the seabed in all directions. After a short while, he sensed with his divine sense that two demonic beasts were quietly approaching him.

He turned his head and looked closely. In the field of vision of his True Eye, he saw a vaguely serpentine creature approaching him.

Without a doubt, this is the blacktail python shark that inhabits this area.

The information is correct; this black-tailed python shark is indeed adept at concealment. If he didn't possess the Eye of True Observation, he really wouldn't have been able to see its form.

However, even though he was good at concealing himself, the fluctuations of spiritual energy around him were still detected by his divine sense.

Low-level monsters are not very intelligent, and even when facing opponents far stronger than themselves, they will still try to attack.

This area should be the beast's territory, which is why it sneaked over here, intending to launch an attack.

Song Xian didn't want to waste time and spiritual energy on it. Sensing its approach, he moved to the other side and quickly shook off the black-tailed python shark.

Although his movements were hindered underwater, with his cultivation level, he was far beyond the reach of this Qi Refining level demon beast.

After searching the seabed for about half an hour, he finally found a Purple Coral Spirit Tree, which was rooted in a black rock. This was sea limestone formed by an underwater volcanic eruption, and there were a lot of floating green algae nearby.

This purple coral tree is about three feet tall, extremely thick, with few branches and leaves, and its trunk is all purple.

Beside it, a black-tailed python shark swam, its tail black, thin and long, its body spherical, and its head snake-shaped.

During his journey, Song Xian encountered the Black-tailed Python Shark more than once. Because he did not want to waste his spiritual power, he would avoid it when he sensed its approach nearby.

But this time, we had no choice but to take action.

As he drew closer to the Purple Coral Tree, the Black-tailed Python Shark finally noticed him and charged at him.

Its body shot out at an extremely fast speed like a feathered arrow, and in the process, its body slowly became transparent.

This should be the Blacktail Python Shark's talent, but it has nowhere to hide in front of Song Xian.

Before his body could become completely transparent, Song Xian had already unleashed his Flaming Meteor, which hurled flames from his palms and transformed into massive fireballs.

The black-tailed python shark screamed and spewed out a large cloud of black mist from its head. At the same time, water vortexes gathered around its body, like waterspouts, and rushed towards the fireball.

Numerous fireballs rushed into the black mist, instantly purifying it. The condensed waterspouts were as thin as paper before the fireballs, shattering them in an instant.

Fireballs arrived one after another, shattering the water-shaped shield that the Blacktail Python Shark had formed and completely engulfing it.

With Song Xian's current strength, his Flame Meteor Technique can unleash an attack power of up to 1550 points, which is far beyond the capabilities of a mere Qi Refining beast.

Even underwater, where fire magic is weakened, it's still something a monster of this level can't withstand.

(End of this chapter)