Cultivating Immortality: Starting from Ferrying Passengers

Chapter 131 Acting for Heaven
Ten days later, Fang Jingxuan finally had his fill of enjoying the sea breeze and began to get down to business.

He sorted and packed away all his belongings, stuffing the Enlightenment Vine into his storage bag, and also putting away the Tuoyuan. He then set off alone to another small island dozens of nautical miles away.

During this time, Fang Jingxuan had secretly investigated and found that there were cultivators living here, as well as several hundred ordinary people on the island who made a living by fishing and farming.

Upon arriving at the island, Fang Jingxuan found several children playing on the beach and asked them to go back and inform their parents.

At this moment, Fang Jingxuan concealed his cultivation level to the fifth level of Qi Refining, because the cultivators living here were only at the sixth level of Qi Refining, and Fang Jingxuan did not want to frighten them.

A moment later, a male cultivator appeared in front of Fang Jingxuan with some wariness. He stared at Fang Jingxuan, trying to discern his strength.

Fang Jingxuan had naturally fooled him with his feigned cultivation level. After learning about Fang Jingxuan's cultivation level, the man's expression relaxed slightly.

"Fellow Daoist, what brings you to my Golden Crab Island?"

In response to the question, Fang Jingxuan naturally replied:

"Fang came from Baishan. He was tired of the fighting and killing there, so he wanted to find a spiritual island to settle down here."

Since I'm new here and don't know anyone, I have no choice but to swallow my pride and come to ask for your guidance.

Oh, by the way, may I ask your name, my friend? I've prepared a small gift for you; please accept it.

After saying that, Fang Jingxuan took out a bottle of Qi-boosting pills from his storage bag, worth about ten low-grade spirit stones.

Seeing Fang Jingxuan's attitude and receiving the pills, the other party immediately reduced their vigilance.

"I see. My name is Liu Qingsong. I originally came from Baishan and have been here for thirty years. Fellow Daoist Fang, please, let's go in and have some spiritual tea."

Although Liu Qingsong said that, he did not lead Fang Jingxuan into his protective formation. Instead, the two sat down in a pavilion outside.

Fang Jingxuan didn't take Liu Qingsong's caution to heart. If Liu Qingsong would invite him into the cave after just a few words, he would have been dead long ago.

“Our conditions here are simple, and we don’t produce much spiritual tea. I bought these from the Baishan Lianshui Alliance. I hope Fellow Daoist Fang won’t find them too bad.”

After exchanging a few polite words, Liu Qingsong tried to probe Fang Jingxuan's background, but was evaded with his questions.

Fang Jingxuan naturally couldn't reveal his true identity, only saying that he was from Baishan and didn't want to talk about the past.

People from Baishan who come to Waihai are generally unwilling to talk about the past, and Liu Qingsong naturally understood this. So after chatting for a few minutes, he got down to business.

"Fellow Daoist Fang wishes to settle here. Do you have any preferred islands to choose from? To be honest, the islands with the best spiritual veins here are all occupied. Only some low-quality, desolate islands are currently vacant."

"If you also want to take care of your relatives, it's better not to have this kind of island. If all else fails, I suggest you attach yourself to a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator and ask them to carve out a piece of land for you from their island."

Fang Jingxuan simply smiled at Liu Qingsong's suggestion, indicating that he would consider it. He wanted to ask which of the surrounding island lords were influential figures who were not to be trifled with.

"These are not easy to offend. Actually, there are quite a few. For example, there is Long Tail Island in the west. The island lord himself is a Qi Refining Level 8 cultivator. He has four sworn brothers, all of whom are in the late Qi Refining stage. Offending one is equivalent to offending five. Ordinary cultivators dare not provoke them."

And then there's Nanyu Island to the south. Its lord is only at the sixth level of Qi Refining, but he's the brother-in-law of the captain of the 'Giant Whale' hunting ship. That captain is at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. Just imagine the consequences of offending him.

Liu Qingsong probably rarely interacted with cultivators of the same level like this, and he wouldn't discuss these things with ordinary servants either, so he spoke fluently and confidently when Fang Jingxuan asked him questions. After Liu Qingsong shared a lot of information, Fang Jingxuan gradually gained a clear understanding of the distribution of cultivators in this area.

In short, if you're not capable, you're good at it; if you're not capable enough, you have powerful connections.

Those who lack power and connections should either keep a low profile and pay their taxes on time, or choose to join a faction and seek protection.

This is somewhat different from Red Leaf Village. Without the Chu family, a local tyrant, pressing down on them, every cultivator here has to face the pressure of survival.

Just like the warlord conflicts in northern Myanmar, individuals must be mindful of their own safety. Even if someone comes to kill you, do not rely on other forces for help.

However, none of this mattered to Fang Jingxuan. He preferred this place because there was no powerful force like the Chu family here, and the highest cultivation level here was only at the late stage of Qi Refining.

As long as Fang Jingxuan carefully avoids island lords who might involve Foundation Establishment cultivators, he can easily manipulate the rest.

After confirming the information, Fang Jingxuan took his leave, and before leaving, he gave Liu Qingsong a few ounces of spiritual tea as a token of his gratitude.

After obtaining the spiritual tea, Liu Qingsong became even more attentive to Fang Jingxuan, escorting him all the way off the island before returning home.

As soon as Fang Jingxuan left the island, he summoned Tuoyuan and sat cross-legged on its back.

He took out the nautical chart and analyzed each of the islands on it one by one.

After eliminating those with powerful backgrounds and large numbers of people, Fang Jingxuan finally designated three islands as backup options.

He naturally didn't want to pick up a dilapidated island that other cultivators didn't want. In Fang Jingxuan's mind, it had to be at least a mid-grade first-level spiritual vein to be worth his time and for him to settle down there permanently.

Ideally, it should be a first-grade high-quality spiritual vein. This way, the supply of spiritual energy will be more abundant, and if one's cultivation speed increases in the future, it will be able to provide enough energy.

However, Liu Qingsong's words were only one side of the story, and Fang Jingxuan did not choose to believe them completely. He needed time to verify them and ask several other cultivators around him, which would be more prudent.

Over the next two weeks, Fang Jingxuan visited seven or eight island lords in the surrounding area. These cultivators were generally at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, with first-grade low-level spiritual veins, and each of them supported hundreds or thousands of mortals.

These cultivators all had their own skills to make a living. In Fang Jingxuan's view, they were production-oriented cultivators who were not good at fighting. For safety reasons, they banded together and formed a loose alliance called the Maritime Alliance.

The core members of the Maritime Alliance, the five brothers of Longtail Island, Black Toad Hermit, Whale Fishing Master, and several cultivators with Foundation Establishment relationships—these cultivators, totaling no more than twenty people, are the most untouchable forces in this region.

Having thus figured out the distribution of power in this area, Fang Jingxuan's next step was to plot for a spiritual vein and own an island of his own.

So how exactly does it work?

Should we storm their door and drive them out? Or should we negotiate amicably and buy the property from them using spirit stones?
Both styles have their advantages and disadvantages, but Fang Jingxuan felt that he didn't have many spirit stones and couldn't afford such a large sum of spirit stones, so he had no choice but to choose the first one.

Five days later, Fang Jingxuan, accompanied by Tuoyuan, openly appeared before a large island, channeling his magic power and cursing in front of the formation:

"All cultivators inside, come out! Today I will act on behalf of Heaven!"

(End of this chapter)