Chapter 437: East China Sea Coast

The journey from the Li River to the East Sea was uneventful.

The boatmen and the revived Boat Master were extremely deferential to Li Qi, but their respect also implied distance.

Except when absolutely necessary, they would never approach within three zhang of Li Qi and would have no interaction with him, essentially treating him as if he were enshrined on an altar.

But that didn't matter; Li Qi didn't need to get along with everyone, and since they held him in awe, Li Qi simply didn't disturb them.

Along the way, Li Qi was either in the cabin or at the bow, silent and doing nothing but quietly Cultivating and pondering the profound and abstruse doubts of the Dao.

As a result, with constant acceleration and no one daring to approach due to the treasure ship, the journey was smooth.

However, there were a few unexpected occurrences along the way.

Some mountain spirits and water monsters began to frequently appear by the water's edge.

This was normal; without the suppression of the Mountain and Water Righteous Gods, mountain spirits and water monsters were bound to run rampant for a period, but this power vacuum would quickly be filled.

Li Qi even took some time to offer sacrifices to accelerate the Li River's spirit, hoping it could Awaken quickly and become the Li River's Righteous God.

Of course, this wasn't certain.

The difficulty of Awakening an Innate Spirit was too high; although the God of the Li River itself had the intention to Awaken, the success rate for such matters was still too low.

It was basically impossible, and Li Qi was just giving it a try.

But it didn't matter; the divine position wouldn't remain vacant for too long; someone would always ascend to it. If not the Li River's spirit, then someone else, as long as that person hadn't been too deeply tainted by the Baiyue.

To be honest, Li Qi couldn't manage that much; he still couldn't control the impact of his every action and could only see the outcome later.

However, in Li Qi's opinion, killing the God of the Li River wasn't a bad thing.

Hopefully, this could slightly change the 'world' of the Li River basin, although he didn't know if the change would be for better or worse, not changing it would certainly be bad.

Less than a month passed quickly, and the inland river stage was over.

The current became noticeably swifter, and the water clearer. The Human Race along the way gradually decreased, replaced by the demon race.

The South Sea, after all, was the demon race's territory.

"Old... Old Master, the South Sea has arrived," the Boat Master, mustering his courage, walked up and said to Li Qi at the bow.

Li Qi opened his eyes: "Hmm, so? Aren't we going to the port?"

"That... Old, Old Master, when you fought the Li Shui God last time, a crack opened in the treasure ship. This ship might still be able to sail inland, but I'm afraid it cannot sail in the Deep Ocean. It might be troublesome for you to find another ship, Old Master," the Boat Master said, head bowed and voice trembling slightly.

Li Qi glanced at the treasure ship beneath his feet.

In the True Knowledge Dao Resonance's vision, there were indeed cracks, but they had just newly chiseled them.

He had no pressure at all when fighting the Li Shui God, so how could there be residual waves damaging this ship?

However, looking at their expressions, they would truly be scared to death if they went to sea with him, wouldn't they?

Oh well, there's no need to force them.

He'd just let them deceive him.

So, Li Qi nodded: "Very well, then you may return on your own. I will find another ship."

"I'm truly sorry, Old Master... If there's another Opportunity—" The Boat Master breathed a sigh of relief, about to say some polite words, but Li Qi had already mounted his old horse, only to see the Dragon Steed soar into the sky, with Azure Thunder rumbling, flying towards the sea entrance.

No need for pleasantries; it's better to get to the East Sea quickly.

The South Sea to the East Sea was not far, and it was possible to travel without crossing the open ocean, so Li Qi decided not to take a ship for this coastal distance and simply fly over on his old horse.

Along the coastline, Li Qi and his old horse passed through forests, beaches, and numerous strange architectural complexes.

That seemed to be the territory of the demon race, but Li Qi had no intention of provoking them, so he merely passed by honestly.

Moreover, no one would be idle enough to stop Li Qi; after all, a seventh-rank was already quite strong. Even in the world, a seventh-rank was a rank that could wander around without worrying about being ambushed.

As long as Li Qi didn't openly display hostility and was just passing through, no one would bother him.

Leaving the Baiyue Area and entering the South Sea.

Seven more days passed, and it had now been over forty days since Li Qi left Chang'an.

He finally arrived at the coast of the East Sea.

The salty sea breeze whistled, and suspended in mid-air, Li Qi observed the East Sea.

At the horizon, sea tides continuously crashed against the shore, gulls flew and boats moved chaotically. One could see a hundred rivers flowing into the sea; numerous rivers meandered across the land, then rolled into the sea, yet failed to stir up even a ripple.

The vast ocean was boundless; even with Li Qi's vision, and considering that the world was a flat continent with no horizon, he still couldn't see the full extent of the Deep Ocean.

Looking out, there was nothing but water, endless water. The azure seawater continuously churned, advancing towards the riverbanks, with surging waves, eroding day and night, making the entire ocean rumble.

However, if one looked closely, one could spot some small black dots in the water, which were islands and reefs.

Looking further out, there were accumulated Qi like dark eyebrows, or like white mist, rising and falling, transforming instantly. They appeared as city gates, towers, temples, and various other forms, with figures, chariots, interspersed among layers of peaks and ridges, exceptionally magnificent.

Those were not real things; they were formed by the cloud Qi from the depths of the ocean, and they were also one of the East Sea's scenic views.

The old horse galloped through the sky, drawing an Azure Thunder, but amidst the rumbling of the waves, it seemed remarkably quiet.

Li Qi was focused on finding an island.

Its name: East Isle, was a necessary destination for going out to sea. Only there could one find ships capable of sailing the Deep Ocean; the old horse couldn't advance in the Deep Ocean.

Just then, Li Qi suddenly noticed that below the old horse... there seemed to be a continent moving.

Then, as he cast his gaze down, he saw a colossal, indescribable strange fish suddenly slap the surface of the sea, sending waves soaring to the sky, even splashing onto Li Qi, who was ten thousand meters high!

Li Qi quickly dodged, and only then did he notice the strange fish's entire body.

Its body was tens of miles long, like a small island!

Li Qi immediately recalled the books he had read and indeed found a record.

This was a Sea Qiyu!

The book recorded that when a Sea Qiyu appeared, it stretched for a hundred miles, with oysters and clams accumulating on its back, and its blood was as vast as a mountain. Boatmen often mistook it for an island and, approaching it, were frequently capsized.

Its habit was to spray water during the day, creating tides and currents. At night, it sprayed fire, making the sea surface completely red, looking like fire raining from the sky. My poem says: "Its power wants to swallow the boat, its light sprays fire first." And also: "The Sea Qiyu spits out Yin fire, a thousand miles of waves turn red."

The magnificent giant fish did not linger, merely swimming slowly, continuously exhaling and inhaling tides, stirring up wave after wave.

Li Qi and the old horse exchanged glances, and Li Qi let out a long breath: "We're still by the shore and have already seen such a sight. How vast must this East Sea be?"

The old horse nodded repeatedly, whinnying: "Lü lü lü..."

Li Qi heard it and laughed: "I understand what you mean. Let's go down first. No more flying; let's find some locals first."

Hearing this, the old horse immediately flew downwards.

As a Dragon Steed, he had the ability to tread water, so there was no need to worry about sinking.

The suggestion he had just given Li Qi was that since Li Qi didn't know the way, it would be better to go down directly, find other passersby on the water, ask for directions, and see where East Isle was.

Li Qi knew of East Isle's existence. These maritime cities were jointly built by the Dao of Reason and the East Sea, totaling over six thousand, each with a number, distributed along the coast of the East Sea.

Their purpose was to serve as landing points, ports, and supply stations for outsiders, as not all outsiders could survive in the East Sea.

Even Li Qi would probably find it difficult to survive alone in the East Sea.

Unlike elsewhere, the sea here naturally possessed a certain suppression of rank, as if it were connected as one...

Li Qi knew the reason.

A legendary Great Power, the East Sea Dragon Lord, once refined the entire world's ocean, making it his Dao field.

Of course, this Dragon Lord was already dead.

In the past, this Dragon Lord repeatedly vacillated between the Divine Dao and the Human Dao, on one hand accepting the Heavenly God's conferment in the Divine Dao to become a 'Sea God,' and on the other hand accepting the Human Dao's imperial court's conferment to become a 'Dragon King.'

He himself was a high-ranking member of the True Dragon race; although not as powerful as the 'Azure Dragon' or 'Ying Dragon,' it was said he had touched the edge of the second rank.

But such chaotic jumping between three sides, and daring to occupy and refine the East Sea, hoping to use it as a Dao foundation for advancement...

The ultimate result was that he was skinned and had his tendons pulled out, and now he was thoroughly dead. This was done by the Human Emperor himself back then.

The Human Emperor going to sea and personally shooting the Sea God has now become an allusion.

However, although the Dragon Lord died, the fact that this vast ocean was refined into a single entity remained. For some unknown reason, no one forcibly broke apart this whole, and it has simply been passed down.

Therefore, the current East Sea is essentially the Dao field of a being close to the second rank. The dangers within are countless, as are the treasures and Opportunities. It is said that when the Dragon Lord was shot and killed by that Human Emperor, his scattered flesh and blood, scales, and even the remnants of his inner miniature world fell throughout the East Sea, forming areas of treasure and grotto-heavens, adding much vitality to the East Sea.

Of course, it also created a unique格局 here.

For example, the demon dragon.

At the same time, Li Qi had also investigated the social situation here before coming.

Reading is a good habit and should be cultivated well. Understanding more before traveling can save a lot of detours.

After reading the books, Li Qi knew that the East Sea was different from other Dao Orthodoxy because... True Dragons were simply too few.

As a race born at the ninth rank, capable of reaching seventh-rank longevity by simply sleeping until adulthood, and with sixth-rank being the minimum after a bit of Cultivation, the number of True Dragons was pitifully small.

Therefore, True Dragons found it difficult to maintain such a vast territory, and thus the East Sea's ecosystem was maintained by a large number of 'demon dragons.'

Those Yao who recognized the Dao of Heaven’s Evolution cultivated by the True Dragons would leave the Demon Dao and join the East Sea.

demon dragons were the largest ethnic group in the East Sea.

All kinds of Yao transformed into Dragons. This is what is meant by 'various Dragons changing forms'; all sorts of spiritual snakes, divine turtles, large fish, and seahorses all aimed to transform into Dragons.

For this purpose, True Dragons even built peculiar structures like 'Dragon Gates' to help these Yao transform into Dragons.

As the saying goes, 'At the Dragon Gate, Dragons are seen, numbering in the thousands.'

As long as you go to the Dragon Gate, no matter when, you can see Yao attempting to transform themselves into Dragons, with thousands succeeding every day.

As for those who fail?

That number is unknown.

These demon dragons, one by one, loved to use the remnants of the former 'Dragon Lord' to form their own territories, each occupying a piece of treasure land.

The Dragon Lord's remains were the most fiercely contested items among the East Sea demon dragons, while the True Dragons remained indifferent and unconcerned.

In other words, the true local powers of the East Sea were the demon dragons.

True Dragons only appeared in very rare circumstances. Li Qi was already prepared not to see a single True Dragon this time; 'divine Dragon seen only by its head, not its tail' was a very apt description.

Besides the demon dragons, there was another group to pay attention to.

That was the treasure hunters.

The Dragon Lord's remains were the only known, publicly accessible, and unsupervised Great Power corpse in the world, and everyone knew its location: anywhere in the East Sea.

As long as you had the ability and capability, you could come to the East Sea to dig around and see if you could find anything.

Therefore, treasure hunters from all over the world came to the East Sea, fighting desperately, seeking treasure, and trying to secure a prosperous future for themselves.

Treasure hunting was a very dangerous profession. Not only did one have to compete with various demon dragons, but internal strife was also a daily occurrence. Not to mention, the Dragon Lord's remains were not easy to deal with; one might accidentally be killed by the 'treasure' one found.

For example, the Dragon Lord's blood; when vitalized, that stuff was a seventh-rank entity, and a single drop could kill many people.

Therefore, the True Dragons' inaction, the demon dragons' entrenched presence, the Dragon Lord's remains, and the gathering of treasure hunters made the East Sea region quite turbulent.

However, Li Qi already had the means to protect himself, so there was no need to worry too much.

As he was thinking this, Li Qi suddenly saw a... floating island ahead.

"I've found someone to ask for directions. Let's go, old horse, we're going over there," Li Qi said, ending his thoughts, to the old horse.

The old horse neighed, picked up speed, and moved rapidly across the water towards the artificial floating island.

These floating islands were the Human Race's habitats.

The East Sea also had Human Race, but it was a water country. Occasional islands were already occupied, and their area was limited, making it easy to deplete resources, so the East Sea Human Race mostly subsisted on boats.

They used their unique methods to weave boats and ships, forming artificial small islands that floated on the sea, traveling by riding fish, and living in their boats.

Finding human habitation made things easier.

Li Qi, riding his old horse, approached.

He saw that the boat-island immediately became alert, and an old man stepped on the water, treading on a large fish, coming towards Li Qi.

The old man had reddish eyes and a dark face, wearing only green cloth, standing on the back of a large fish, and shouted to Li Qi: "Guest, where do you come from!"

He spoke the language of the East Sea, which Li Qi, fortunately, had learned before coming.

So, Li Qi replied: "Old man, I come from the Western Lands and wish to ask for directions!"

Tomorrow I have a follow-up appointment at the hospital, so there might be a break in updates, but I'll try my best not to.