Chapter 403 - 371: Going to Sea
Chapter 403: Chapter 371: Going to Sea
Early the next morning, the cultivators heading out to sea to gather Spirit Pearls assembled in the center of the camp.
Everyone wore a different expression. Some sat cross-legged, not saying a word. Others opened their storage pouches, checking their equipment over and over to make sure nothing was missing.
Still others spoke in hushed tones, discussing how they might make it back in one piece...
’Four at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer and twelve at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer. This lineup is already quite formidable, but it seems everyone is still a little anxious.’
Zhao Lin thought to himself as he fiddled with the silver dagger in his hand.
Around 7 AM, Gan Xingquan strode into the camp in a flurry, followed by two guards, each holding a tray.
"Is everyone here?"
"We’re all here."
Everyone rose to their feet, gathering their personal belongings to prepare for departure.
"Not so fast. Sit back down."
Gan Xingquan gestured downward with his hand, then lifted the hem of his robe and casually found a place to sit.
Then he said to the two guards, "Hand out the talismans to them."
The two guards walked into the crowd and gave each person a talisman.
Zhao Lin took the talisman and saw that it was a warning talisman. He found it a little strange. ’Can we still call for help if we encounter danger?’
The others also looked confused. Once they entered the sea region to gather Spirit Pearls, everything was left to fate. The sect was forbidden from interfering, so what was the point of handing out warning talismans?
Gan Xingquan didn’t explain. Instead, he held out his palm and said in a heavy tone, "I’m going to teach you a hand seal. If you encounter anyone else underwater and don’t know if they’re friend or foe, immediately form this seal."
"If the other person returns the same hand seal, it means they’re one of us. If not, they’re an Earth Dark Sect cultivator."
As he spoke, he hooked his ring finger over his little finger, pressed his thumb down on his ring finger, and extended his index and middle fingers upward.
"This seal is called the Celestial Secret Seal. All of you, memorize this mana fluctuation."
Gan Xingquan formed the seal, and everyone immediately felt a unique fluctuation of mana.
Hand seals were the most rudimentary form of magic, similar to casting spells with incantation gestures, but much simpler. They had no practical use on their own, other than to emit a pulse of mana.
The depths of the sea were dark and murky. With insufficient light, vision was limited, and even Divine Sense couldn’t be used to identify cultivators from a distance.
In such conditions, a hand seal was like a semaphore signal or a secret countersign, allowing cultivators to quickly distinguish friend from foe.
Zhao Lin nodded slightly. ’This is for the best,’ he thought. ’Without hand seals, the seafloor would be like a dark forest. If you discovered an unidentified cultivator, your only choice would be to strike first to gain the upper hand.’
"Elder Gan, if we run into an Earth Dark Sect cultivator and form this hand seal, wouldn’t that just expose our own identities?"
The question came from a Qi Refining Seventh Layer cultivator named Ran Pengfei.
"There’s no way around it. There’s no perfect solution for this kind of situation. Using the hand seal at least prevents you from accidentally harming our own."
Gan Xingquan spread his hands and explained, "To prevent the Earth Dark Sect from learning the hand seal we use, we implement a new one every time we go out to sea."
The hand seal wasn’t difficult to master, and everyone learned it in a few moments.
Gan Xingquan had everyone perform it once to confirm there were no issues before he began to carefully explain the techniques for gathering Spirit Pearls and how to handle various dangers they might encounter.
"I’m finished. Do you have any more questions?"
Zhao Lin looked at the warning talisman in his hand when a question suddenly occurred to him. "Elder Gan," he asked, "while we’re searching for Spirit Pearls in the sea region, the Earth Dark Sect won’t be sending in Foundation Establishment cultivators, will they?"
Against cultivators of the same level, Zhao Lin had some confidence. Even if he couldn’t win, he could at least use his master-level Water Manipulation Skill to escape. But if he ran into a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he feared he wouldn’t even have time to cry for help.
"Impossible!"
Gan Xingquan immediately shook his head. "The two sects have a formal agreement. Foundation Establishment cultivators are absolutely forbidden from entering this sea region."
"If they dare to violate that agreement, we’ll have grounds to declare war."
He then gave a cold smile. "To be honest, we’d love for the Earth Dark Sect to do just that. Unfortunately for us, they don’t dare."
"That’s what the warning talismans I gave you are for. If you discover the other side has violated the agreement, crush it immediately."
"The talismans have been specially treated, so they can send an alert normally even underwater."
Seeing no more questions, Gan Xingquan took out a jade slip and passed it among the crowd, giving a few more instructions as it circulated.
"The place rich in Spirit Pearls is called the Yongdeng Ansha. This is a Sea Map of the surrounding area. This map is confidential. Memorize it carefully, and do not copy it into your personal jade slips."
The map clearly marked the underwater topography of the sea region, as well as the locations where Spirit Pearls were abundant. With this map, searching for them would be much easier.
In addition, it also detailed the layout of every underwater trap.
These so-called underwater traps were mechanisms similar to hidden arrows or pitfalls, except they were offensive magic deployed by small-scale Arrays.
The reason they didn’t deploy large-scale Arrays was that doing so would also block out Demon Beasts like clams and mussels, which would prevent Spirit Pearls from forming.
Zhao Lin quickly scanned the map, committing its contents to memory.
"Elder Gan, why is this map incomplete?"
A cultivator couldn’t help but ask, noting the map’s many blank areas.
"The Yongdeng Ansha is located right on the central axis between the territories of the two sects. Normally, no one is allowed to cross the border."
Gan Xingquan said slowly, "Only during these few days each month for gathering Spirit Pearls are we allowed into the other’s territory. The terrain on the map was charted by our sect’s cultivators who ventured deep into enemy territory at the risk of their own lives."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. "If any of you can map out the blank areas, you will also be rewarded with merit points!"
Zhao Lin’s interest was piqued. Because Divine Sense was restricted, even high-level cultivators would find it difficult to quickly map the entire seafloor.
’My ultrasound ability doesn’t have that limitation,’ he thought. ’Maybe I can map out a portion of the area while I’m gathering Spirit Pearls.’
Once Gan Xingquan finished his instructions, he stood up and led everyone out of the camp, through the Mountain Protection Array, and to the pier on the south side of the island.
Four small sea vessels were docked at the pier. One was empty, while the other three each had six guard cultivators standing aboard.
Dark clouds now covered the sea, a stark change from the clear skies of the past few days. A storm was brewing, casting a shadow over everyone’s hearts.
"Everyone, the primary mission of this trip is still to gather Spirit Pearls."
Gan Xingquan stepped onto the bow of a ship and declared loudly, "I ask that all of you remain united. Do not, under any circumstances, kill one another over Spirit Pearls. Anyone discovered doing so will be punished severely and without mercy!"
He then glanced out at the sea and continued, "As for the other mission, you know what it is even if I don’t say it: kill the Earth Dark Sect cultivators."
"This is not a requirement; act according to your own abilities. If you encounter people from the Earth Dark Sect, fight if you can, but retreat promptly if you can’t."
"I will only add one thing: if you see a fellow sect member injured or trapped, try your best to rescue them, provided you can ensure your own safety first."
Everyone glanced at one another and nodded in agreement.
"If we kill an Earth Dark Sect cultivator, how do we record it?"
The question came from a female cultivator named Liu Lian.
"Heads are inconvenient to carry, and the smell of blood will attract danger. Just tear off the part of their clothing with the sect’s emblem."
Gan Xingquan smiled and held up five fingers. "So far, the highest number of Earth Dark Sect cultivators killed by a single person on this mission is five."
"If any of you can break that record, I, on behalf of the cultivators stationed here on the island, guarantee you an additional reward."
With that, he waved his hand. "Set sail! We’re off!"
At his command, the guard cultivators steered the sea vessels, heading southeast from Red Tail Island.