ragginovel Chapter 111 Tickets Are Hard to Come By
Chapter 111 Tickets Are Hard to Come By
With the Thousand Transformations Mask at his disposal, and his aura and magical power able to change at any time, Li Jieqing was quite confident.
Even if the people in the private room were unhappy, once they stepped outside and dropped their pretense, they would have no choice but to accept it.
"The next treasure is a special magical artifact that, once used, can drive away the surrounding sea creatures."
The woman on the stage took out a trumpet-shaped magical artifact and introduced it: "This object can emit an invisible evil sound, which is effective underwater. Even peak first-order sea beasts hate this sound and will stay far away as soon as they hear it, ensuring the safety of you all when you travel to explore the sea. The more magic power you put in, the larger the range of influence will be, up to thousands of miles. The only minor flaw is that it may attract enraged second-order sea beasts."
"..."
Li Jieqing watched as the woman on the platform calmly explained this "minor" flaw, and he couldn't help but admire her.
Also, does the function of this thing sound familiar?
Unlike Li Jieqing, who was interested in the trumpet-shaped structure of the ritual implement.
Most of the other people at the auction house were interested in the effects of the magical artifacts, which could drive away surrounding monsters, making them decent magical artifacts in some way.
Many independent cultivators in Seven Immortal Cities make a living by fishing on the beach. As long as they don't venture too far into the sea, they don't need to worry about attracting second-tier demonic beasts.
So after the atmosphere calmed down a bit, people started bidding one after another.
Not far behind Li Jieqing, someone bid and said to his companion, "If I get this weapon, I might be able to try crossing the sea by myself and go to the Ruyi Sect to become an initiator."
"That's insane..." the man next to him said. "Haven't you heard that sea monsters hate this magic artifact? When they encounter a second-tier monster, they'll only come up in anger to destroy it and eat you in the process. Why not wait and try to get a ticket for a boat?"
"Disaster!"
The man's face was full of bitterness as he complained, "It's so difficult for us locals of Xiaoxin Island to go out to sea these days. I've applied several times, been looked at by both insiders and outsiders, and suffered this humiliation. In the end, I'm sent back and told to stay in the Immortal City for a few years to observe."
"This... I've heard from the older folks that back in the day, it wasn't this difficult to go out to sea from Taipingfang?"
"It's because the upper sect has tightened its grip on things these days, with people watching over the tickets for ships going to sea day and night."
"Sigh, I wonder who's responsible for all of this..."
The murmurs from those behind, having failed to seize the magical artifacts, gradually subsided.
Yes, who exactly is responsible for all of this?
Li Jieqing's expression, hidden beneath his hood, gradually turned solemn.
Indeed, one cannot fully understand the current state of the Seven Immortal Cities without visiting them.
More than twenty years have passed, enough for an ordinary person to live half a lifetime. In recent years, more and more cultivators from overseas have arrived at Xiaoxin Island. However, against this backdrop of prosperity, cultivators from Xiaoxin Island who want to go to sea are all strictly guarded.
This was a decree personally issued by all seven members of the Seven True Ones, requiring them to be outwardly relaxed but inwardly strict.
After Li Jieqing escaped, although the hope was slim, Qi Zhen did not want to give up the last chance.
"In their minds, I'm probably already dead, but they're still guarding against me so closely... Their main purpose is to find the 'Invisible Heavenly Sword' that might be hidden on the island."
Li Jieqing felt that he had guessed Qi Zhen's thoughts.
They want to manage the Immortal City, and they also want to obtain the King of the Rift's treasures, which is why they created this unbalanced situation of going in and out of the sea.
"With only income and no output, how can this last? Let's see how long you can hold out!"
Li Jieqing has given up on trying to get the boat tickets.
Just look at the guy behind him; he wanted to go out to sea, but he got thoroughly harassed and questioned, almost drooling with envy.
……
The auction was nearing its end.
During this time, another batch of materials for the Foundation Building Pill appeared. Although Li Jieqing was tempted, he did not make a move.
He has decided to linger in the Seven Immortal Cities for some time to come, rather than hastily revealing his purpose, lest he arouse suspicion from those with ulterior motives.
The auction ended, and the money and goods were settled.
Li Jieqing stood up, ready to leave.
At this moment, the person who had rushed forward to bid for the Soul-Soothing Fruit appeared and called out, "This humble Daoist is Cheng Wu, fellow Daoist, please wait!"
"hiss--"
Li Jieqing caught a glimpse of the man out of the corner of his eye, then left without looking back, mingling with the crowd descending the stairs.
Cheng Wu quickly caught up and went downstairs as well.
As he chased after Li Jieqing around the corner after leaving Wanbaolou, he lost sight of him, and he didn't even have time to use any of his methods.
"He ran fast. This person should be a native of the Immortal City... Regardless of whether he is or not, I'll apply for the array recording permission here and find out who you are."
Cheng Wu looked around but couldn't find anyone. He thought to himself that this was bad luck and turned to leave.
On the other side...
Li Jieqing put away his black robe, revealing himself as the Taoist Wangyue. He held a whisk in one hand and chanted a Taoist incantation with the other before disappearing near the Wanbao Pavilion.
……
Snakes have their own paths, and rats have theirs.
Under the rule of the Seven Immortals, even the Immortal City has its share of dark places and places where cultivators undergo tribulations.
Where there are cultivators who have robbed others, there must be means to dispose of stolen goods. And where there are means to dispose of stolen goods, there is a hidden chain of interests that unknowingly corrupts the thriving Seven True Immortal Cities.
Specifically, it refers to specific things.
Li Jieqing, through Dong Liuzhi's connections, successfully obtained a bronze plaque, which allowed him to stay in the Seven Immortal Cities for a long time without having to input magic power.
"Fellow Daoist Dong, are you saying that Cheng Wu is a highly regarded disciple of the Seven Immortals?"
Having received the token, Li Jieqing, not forgetting what happened with Chengwu that day, showed up and handed the spirit paper and spirit bamboo juice he had brought to Dong Liuzhi, intending to ask him for clarification.
Upon hearing the purpose of the visit, Dong Liuzhi said, "It's not that he's particularly favored. Each of the Seven Immortals has his own disciples. Cheng Wu is only considered favored by the disciples of Master Baozhang. He's always been stingy and opportunistic—Island Master, please don't spread these words around."
Li Jieqing understood Cheng Wu's matter and began to formulate a plan in his mind.
He planned to stay in the Seven Immortal Cities, but he wasn't going to wait idly. Since the opportunity to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage wasn't available on the market, it would most likely fall into the hands of things related to the Seven Immortal Cities.
To avoid arousing suspicion from Dong Liuzhi, the topic was only touched upon briefly, and Li Jieqing took his leave.
Having obtained a bronze plaque similar to a permanent residence permit in a celestial city, he found a place to live in the nearby Zitanfang. It wasn't the cave dwelling that he would choose in the later stages of Qi Refining, but rather an ordinary courtyard.
It wasn't big, but it was quiet, and Li Jieqing settled down there to his satisfaction.
As the master of a sacred land in the North, the resources he produces are more than enough to sustain him in the Seven Immortal Cities, so there's no reason for him to be suspicious.
After staying there for half a month, he absorbed another wisp of blood energy into his body and used the Treasure Nourishing Technique to nurture the Azure Water Sword and the Thousand Illusions Mask several more times. However, he couldn't smoothly use the Treasure Nourishing Technique on the bracelet spirit artifact. There were too many restrictions within the spirit artifact. In the past, it took the Thousand Illusions Mask two hours to successfully perform the Treasure Nourishing Technique for the first time. Now, with his fully refined magic power, he simply couldn't maintain the Treasure Nourishing Technique on the jade bracelet spirit artifact.
That day.
Seeing that they were living peacefully in the immortal city and no one was causing them any trouble.
Li Jieqing went out and headed towards the place in Zitanfang that sold nautical charts.
Indeed, as the Seven Immortal Cities have grown, sea maps that were never seen in Taiping Market before are now being sold, and the most complete sea maps can mark other cultivation areas.