Wu Tao was not qualified to participate in the Sea God's Remains. Fortunately, Changping Qian was qualified but unwilling to go, so he ceded the spot to Wu Tao.
Of course, Wu Tao did not receive this qualification for nothing. He also gave Changping Qian all the strange ores he had obtained over the years.
The Sea God's Remains lasted for five full months, a total of 150 days, from its opening to its closure.
This was significantly more time than Wu Tao had in the Huangji Taiyi Secret Realm.
Naturally, due to the distance, Wu Tao had to set off in advance to reach the East Sea and wait near the nearby islands.
On Tainhai Island, within a Pingzhou market, cultivators often traversed through.
The island, as its name suggested, was an artificial island created by cultivators using earth-attribute divine abilities to fill the sea and move mountains, hence Tainhai Island.
Although Tainhai Island was only a hundred miles across, due to its special geographical location, there was a considerable number of cultivators passing through.
It was precisely because of the many cultivators from Qingzhou and the East Sea who traveled to and from Tainhai Island that Pingzhou market, sensing a business opportunity, opened many cave dwellings for rent to these wandering cultivators.
Wu Tao rented a cave dwelling within the market as his temporary residence.
Within Tainhai Island, there was a small spiritual vein, which cultivators had also managed to divert from elsewhere using spatial manipulation divine abilities.
They then excavated cave dwellings along the spiritual vein and rented them out to cultivators like himself for temporary stays.
The cave dwellings were equipped with formations and restrictions. Although Wu Tao found them somewhat crude, they were better than nothing.
The cave dwelling was floored with sea beast hides, which, though hairless, were quite warm and soft. Moon-radiance stones were embedded in the ceiling for illumination.
Despite being merely a rented cave dwelling, its furnishings and layout were complete, comparable to an ordinary cave dwelling.
There was also a stone chamber within the cave dwelling for closed-door cultivation, equipped with a bronze furnace and incense, with basic facilities fully provided.
After inspecting the surroundings, Wu Tao nodded slightly and muttered to himself, "It's decent. It's not a waste of my two hundred spirit stones."
In the past, in Qingzhou, two hundred spirit stones could buy a mid-grade magical artifact.
Now, Wu Tao had to spend such a hefty sum for a mere month's short-term rental, indicating the high cost of living on Tainhai Island.
This cave dwelling was carved into the cliff face.
Standing at the entrance of the cave dwelling, one could see waves after waves of massive ocean breakers relentlessly crashing against the rocks, churning up white foam.
Occasionally, a few silver fish could be seen leaping out of the sea.
Looking into the distance, the sea and the sky merged into a single line, a magnificent and grand spectacle.
The azure sea was like another sky, unconsciously inducing a sense of the world being upside down, of time and space reversing.
Even Wu Tao, who had spent a considerable time in the East Sea a few years prior, couldn't help but remark, "The scenery overseas is indeed different from Qingzhou."
"Truly, each place has its own flavor and characteristics!"
...
After a moment of silence, he suddenly sighed and said, "This is only for a temporary stay of one month until the Sea God's Remains opens!
"If I were to live here permanently, I wouldn't be able to afford such a cave dwelling. Two hundred spirit stones for a month, let alone buying one!"
"Tsk, tsk, how much would that cost..."
Wu Tao calculated the price and clicked his tongue, muttering to himself, "Aside from the disciples of major cultivation families and fellows like myself with dark hearts and black hands, most ordinary cultivators would probably be unable to afford a cave dwelling here even if they went bankrupt."
The spiritual energy around Tainhai Island was not particularly abundant. It was only because the spiritual energy at sea was slightly purer, coupled with the vastness and sparse population, that it was slightly better than most places on the Jiuzhou Continent.
Even though cultivators had used divine abilities to divert a small spiritual vein from elsewhere, it only had a marginal effect.
After all, there were far too many cultivators near Tainhai City. With too many people and too little to go around, it was impossible.
The main reason why the cultivators managing Tainhai Island dared to charge such exorbitant prices was its excellent location and strategic position.
The frequent maritime trade brought a large flow of people to the island.
Therefore, most cultivators who temporarily resided and cultivated here were not inflexible individuals. They were either those who teamed up with friends to hunt sea monsters, collect sea ores and spiritual herbs, or even ruthless individuals who engaged in mutual plunder.
Alternatively, they possessed specific skills, such as being talismans masters, alchemists, artifact refiners, beast tamers, or spirit seekers.
In reality, the overseas regions were even more chaotic and dangerous than the Jiuzhou Continent.
Of course, regardless of where it was, for cultivators who had achieved some level of cultivation, when faced with the Great Dao, weren't they all wading through mountains of corpses and rivers of blood?
It was somewhat better in areas protected by large forces. However, in the outside world, most cultivators never hesitated, never bothered with the idea of cherishing life or showing mercy when possible.
...
For some unknown reason today, the weather suddenly turned excellent. The sea was calm, and the warm sun shone into the cave dwelling, putting Wu Tao in a good mood.
Just then, a series of shouting, like battle cries, echoed from outside.
This piqued Wu Tao's curiosity.
Wu Tao opened the restriction formations, stepped out of the cave dwelling, and saw a scene in the distance that left him dumbfounded.
Over a hundred small artifact ships formed a circle, trapping a giant whale over a thousand feet long in the center. This was a late-stage Core Formation demon beast.
Banners fluttered on the ships, bearing the five characters "Han Shui Zhen Ling Sect." Clearly visible, the cultivators on the ships were holding shiny objects, their purpose unknown.
The colossal whale surged from beneath the water, flapping its broad fins. A powerful spiritual energy enveloped it, stirring up colossal waves.
Under this tempestuous surge, the hulls of the hundred-plus small artifact ships began to sway precariously. If not for the protection of formations, these artifact ships would have capsized long ago.
At that moment, a horn sounded, piercing the sky.
The shiny objects in the cultivators' hands were all cast out simultaneously.
Only then did Wu Tao realize that these objects were a massive fishing net.
The sky was filled with fishing nets, woven from tough, gleaming material – the renowned Chan Xian Cao from the East Sea.
The Chan Xian Cao was covered in countless barbs. The late-stage Core Formation whale, ensnared by the net, could no longer break free, letting out a mournful cry of extreme pain.
The ends of the fishing net were tightly secured to the sterns of the hundred-plus small artifact ships. The ships, operating at full power, pulled in the opposite direction of the whale's struggle.
After several hours of this tug-of-war, the Core Formation whale was truly confined.
A while later, the horn sounded again. Thousands of various magical artifacts flew out, all concentrated on the whale's vulnerable head and back.
This Core Formation whale was truly tough-skinned and thick-fleshed. These magical artifacts not only failed to inflict significant damage but instead provoked its rage.
Its earth-shattering roars made the cultivators on the hundred-plus ships tremble with fear.
The whale unleashed its innate water-attribute divine ability, "Fan Hai Gun Lang" (Ocean-Turning Rolling Waves), creating a massive whirlpool that began to drag the hundred-plus small ships into it.
At this moment, a high-level cultivator at the mid-stage of Core Formation suddenly emerged from one of the ships.
He activated his magical treasure, the Dinghai Xian Cha (Sea-Stabilizing Immortal Fork), and unleashed the sixth-grade divine ability "Zi Ji Lei Guang" (Purple Extreme Lightning), which deeply embedded itself into the whale's spine.
The colossal whale let out a mournful cry, its body erupting with violent lightning. Its frenzied movements ceased.
Another horn blast sounded.
Countless magical artifacts and spells rained down on the defenseless whale.
After a prolonged struggle, the whale flipped over, floating powerlessly on the surface of the sea.
The cultivators on the ships erupted in cheers.
At that moment, the horn sounded again, and the cultivators, working together, pulled the thousand-foot-long whale towards the ships.
...
Someone excitedly said to the mid-stage Core Formation cultivator who had just acted, "Elder! It was worth our three-month pursuit of this Fu Shui Kun. We've finally got it!"
"It wasn't easy, truly not easy! This Fu Shui Kun has reached adulthood, and its innate divine abilities are truly difficult to deal with."
The mid-stage Core Formation cultivator, referred to as Elder, had a gentle disposition, lacking the condescending attitude of high-level cultivators towards those of lower ranks.
He took a handkerchief from someone beside him, wiped his face, and turned to ask, "Are there any disciples who capsized or died this time?"
A Foundation Establishment cultivator standing nearby replied in a low voice, "One ship capsized, and dozens of outer disciples at the Qi Refining stage suffered casualties. However, there were no deaths or injuries among the inner disciples at the Foundation Establishment stage."
The mid-stage Core Formation Elder looked up and saw dozens of cultivator corpses, pale from being submerged in seawater, floating on the ocean surface, beside the wreckage of a ship broken into several pieces.
The next second, the Core Formation Elder sighed helplessly and instructed those around him, "Give these deceased disciples a proper burial."
"Yes!!!"
The voices of four or five people responded in unison.
...
A while later.
"Elder, the disciples' bodies have been properly laid to rest. We can now begin dissecting this adult Fu Shui Kun!" said a leading-looking Foundation Establishment cultivator.
"Hmm, once I extract the inner core from this Fu Shui Kun, you may proceed with the dissection," replied the mid-stage Core Formation Elder.
As soon as he finished speaking, the Core Formation Elder transformed into a streak of light and plunged into the Fu Shui Kun's throat.
The Fu Shui Kun's inner core was located within its stomach.
The whale's stomach was like a vast lake, its walls wrinkled and constantly contracting and expanding. Countless dead fish and shrimp churned in the seawater and stomach fluids, emitting a pungent and unbearable stench.
Fortunately, the mid-stage Core Formation Elder was protected by spiritual energy, otherwise, he would have been instantly devoured by the stomach fluids.
When the mid-stage Core Formation Elder emerged, he held a bright inner core resembling a full moon in his hand.
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