Chapter 443: Underwater

After Li Qi turned around, he felt an unparalleled strangeness.

Dao of Reason members… this point could be true, after all, what the other party said was reasonable, so much so that he couldn’t even discern its authenticity on his own.

He could only seek verification from multiple sources at that time to see if he could find any flaws.

East Isle should not be formed by蜃 Qi, its reality can still be guaranteed, and the work of these Dao of Reason members on East Isle should also be solid and reliable.

There’s just one thing.

Are these Dao of Reason members aware? Or are they just caught up in it?

Forget it, thinking about these things is meaningless. However, the other party’s understanding of the Spirit Dao and the Dao of Reason can indeed be used for reference, absorbed, and learned. This alone makes them worth befriending.

Even if it’s bait, this bait is sweet and delicious. He’ll eat it first. Li Qi is quite confident in his ability to unhook himself.

If worst comes to worst, he can just run away. With so many trump cards, he has more than enough to save his life.

Hmm, then he’ll make friends for now and see. As for the possible schemes behind it, he’ll take it one step at a time. He can’t just stop doing everything and be on guard like a hedgehog just because someone might plot against him.

However, the most basic safety issues still need attention.

So be it, that’s the decision for now.

Having made his decision, Li Qi prepared to look for a ship.

Although he had no connections on East Isle and virtually no intelligence, he was making two-pronged preparations.

He would look here first, then check with the Dao of Reason. If their relationship was good, he would ask these locals to help him find a Spiritual Artifact ship, which would be more reliable.

Thinking these thoughts, Li Qi walked to Old Ma’s side and truly entered East Isle.

East Isle has five circular platforms. The hands, shoulders, and head of this enormous Puppet are all circular platforms, supporting many buildings that form the city.

He arrived at the circular platform on the left hand, because he saw everyone else going this way, so he just entered directly. He wasn’t clear on the local rules yet, so he would follow the crowd and observe slowly.

Just as he entered the city, Li Qi saw a large marketplace where countless sea folk were hawking various local specialties to newcomers to East Isle.

This was still the sea, but it was quite different from the turbulent East Sea Li Qi had experienced before.

Near the circular platforms of East Isle, the sea was exceptionally calm. There was a vast and easily traversable expanse of tranquil sea with good, clean water quality. Around the circular platforms stood many large, dead coral reefs forming strip-like reefs.

Old Ma slowly paced on this calm sea surface.

Going too fast would easily bump into people. Anyway, it wasn’t far, so just walking at this slow pace was fine.

Near the reefs Li Qi passed, countless lights flickered back and forth. Most of the sea folk were of the snail, clam, and Merfolk races, chatting and laughing. The sounds of selling pearls, peddling brocade, counting money, and weighing goods were ceaseless. Around this circular platform, pavilions and towers, layer upon layer, thousands of them, all like five-colored glass, appeared and disappeared, changing in an instant, as if in the water and clouds.

However, although this scene was mystical and beautiful, no matter how Li Qi looked at it… he felt that this sea market in front of him was a bit like those vendors who set up baskets under highway rest stops to sell agricultural products.

They should be essentially similar, right?

Leading Old Ma, Li Qi was about to pass through this sea market when he saw a Merfolk girl quickly swim towards him, speaking in fluent Human Race elegant speech: “Your Excellency, Your Excellency! Do you want bright pearls? They are all the best bright pearls!”

That Merfolk girl was beautiful, with some shimmering blue-purple scales covering her body. Her lower body was a fish tail, skillfully paddling the water. Her upper body was bare, and looking at her from afar made one avert their gaze, recognizing the Merfolk’s allure.

The Merfolk girl swam to Li Qi’s side and held up a clam shell in both hands. The shell was filled with many pure white pearls.

The pearls glowed with a rich luster, dazzling the eyes. The large ones were four or five inches, and even the small ones were three inches. Each one was like a light bulb. If taken to Baiyue, each would be a treasure worth a thousand gold.

What the other party said was true; they were indeed the best bright pearls, clearly already at the Rank Nine, but they could already be used as raw Materials for Spiritual Artifacts.

Pearls beyond this level were no longer considered 'bright pearls' and could not be called 'Materials for Spiritual Artifacts'; they should be called 'naturally formed Spiritual Artifacts'.

Just like the蜃 pearl, which can create illusions, the oyster pearl, which can produce fire, and the tortoise pearl, which can ward off water, these are all powerful treasure pearls, not raw Materials.

There are even other powerful things, such as Dragon Pearls, and even a moon.

A poem says: “Clams contain bright moons floating in the vast sea, and pearl turtles in the river also spit pearls.” In this legend, the moon is a pearl spat out by a clam shell.

Of course, the Taiyin of this world certainly isn't, but the moons of other worlds might be. These bright pearls can truly hang in the sky as moons.

Li Qi looked at these pearls, secretly tempted. So he dismounted from Old Ma’s back, stepped on the water, and squatted down to the Merfolk girl floating in the water, asking, “How do you sell these pearls?”

“Besides not accepting silver, everything else is fine. What will you use to pay, sir? Whether it’s pure Qi pearls, or Talismanic Incantations, Spiritual Artifacts, or even exotic items for exchange, it’s all possible! These are just samples, and there are even more below!” The Merfolk girl said with a cheerful smile, introducing them to Li Qi.

Li Qi was curious, so he buried his head in the water and looked down.

Putting his head into the water, his eyes gleaming, Li Qi could clearly see that there were many Merfolk girls, snails, clams, and other sea folk below.

It was then that Li Qi realized that those reefs were directly growing on East Isle’s body, forming numerous buildings!

On the submerged body parts of East Isle, this enormous Puppet, there was also an underwater city!

The head, hands, and shoulders supported the city in the air, while East Isle’s body was the underwater city.

Li Qi felt his understanding was still shallow. He had actually thought before that East Isle was just those five trays above, but he never expected that the body of this Puppet also housed underwater residents.

Coral, a beautiful green, with dozens of branches on each tree, no leaves between the branches, growing in clusters within East Isle’s underwater body. Hidden and sheltered by reefs and corals, one could faintly see the numerous sea folk living within, building houses in the water, covering them with seaweed roofs, resting peacefully, with exquisite and beautiful structures.

Beneath these reefs, Li Qi also saw countless blue-white glowing pearl clams, appearing like artificially cultivated clam beds, as well as some barnacles, and even farmed fish schools. There were sea herders driving the fish schools, but not with violence. Instead, they sang softly, and the fish schools would voluntarily gather around them, lining up to eat bait.

Li Qi lifted his head from the water and said with interest, “I’ll take these pearls. I’ll buy one hundred with two Rank Nine Spiritual Artifacts. Is that a fair price?”

Based on the quality of the Qi within the pearls, Li Qi felt this was a very high price, certainly higher than the market price.

One must know that the Spiritual Artifacts in his hand were not standardized Spiritual Artifacts, but active Spiritual Artifacts produced by the Shamanic Silkworm Artifact. Their price was still a notch higher than standardized Spiritual Artifacts.

In fact, outside of the Human Race, Spiritual Artifacts are not that common. The Spiritual Artifact assembly line is a unique technology of the Human Race. Other places are not yet luxurious enough to use Spiritual Artifacts for floor tiles in their homes.

Saying this, Li Qi flipped his hand and took out two Rank Nine Spiritual Artifacts from his Mustard Seed Pouch: a wine cup and a lamp.

Cough, cough… Don’t laugh, don’t laugh. Who says tableware can’t be Spiritual Artifacts? These two are genuine Rank Nine powerful items, alright?

With the Shamanic Silkworm Artifact, Li Qi had too many of these Spiritual Artifacts. He usually kept the ones returned by customers or those that needed recasting.

The wine cup could hold a large amount of liquid, a single cup could hold a thousand catties of wine, and it could also perform illusions. When combined with wine, it could achieve a hypnotic effect as real as illusion. In the Tang Nation’s Upper Garden, it could add to the fun for wine guests, and in other places, it was a Spiritual Artifact that could be useful in various situations.

The lamp, on the other hand, had the function of gathering light, and it could also burn light into flames, possessing the ability to control fire. In the Upper Garden, it was used for light shows, but as everyone knows… the spotlights on an Italian football field can also be of great use on an African battlefield.

For the Merfolk girl in front of him, this was definitely a big deal.

Sure enough, the Merfolk girl’s expression was surprised, and her eyes lit up.

They really lit up, flashing with bright biubiubiu sounds, exceptionally brilliant.

“This… this is too much. For a hundred pearls, one item is enough.” The Merfolk girl immediately said.

Li Qi nodded.

He had estimated the price based on the Tang Nation’s higher rates. In a production area like the East Sea, it should logically be cheaper, but this was also why he proactively offered a high price.

So, Li Qi said, “The extra is for your reward, miss. I am new to East Isle. May I ask you to guide me and show me around East Isle?”

“This one is the reward for guiding.” Li Qi pointed to the lamp and said.

“Guide? That’s fine, but how long will it take?” The Merfolk girl was first delighted, then suddenly realized something and immediately asked again.

“Not long, three days will suffice,” Li Qi said.

“Three days!?” The Merfolk girl was surprised.

Li Qi was stunned: “Is that too long? But if it’s shorter… I’m afraid I won’t be able to see everything.”

“No… no, three days, that one Rank Nine Spiritual Artifact is too expensive. How about… seven days?” The Merfolk girl pondered for a moment, wagging her tail, and her eyes became even brighter.

It was Li Qi’s turn to be surprised.

The East Sea, are the people here so simple and honest?

Twice, his high prices were actively lowered by the seller, making it difficult for him to even extend favors.

However, seven days was still acceptable and within his tolerance, so Li Qi nodded: “Alright, then seven days it is. These two are yours.”

The Merfolk girl joyfully flapped her tail, then looked at the clam shell, picked out the excess, and put the excess away with a strap tied around her waist. Then she held up the clam shell to Li Qi: “Please accept them, sir. As for guiding, when would you like to start, sir?”

“How about starting right now?” Li Qi said.

At this, the Merfolk girl looked troubled. She frowned slightly and said with some difficulty, “But… I still need to go home and report a bit…”

“No matter, I haven’t settled on a place to stay either. I’ll just go with you. Once you’ve taken care of your family matters, then you can show me around as you please. The main thing is to introduce me to the East Isle city area and its operations. There’s no need to worry about lodging,” Li Qi said casually.

Since he said so, the Merfolk girl felt relieved and immediately nodded: “Then as you say, sir. But, sir, are you really comfortable? My home is in the water.”

“What’s wrong with water? Old Ma, let’s go.” Li Qi said to Old Ma.

Old Ma snorted, and his hooves, which were stepping on the water, gently stomped once. The entire horse plunged directly into the water, but he did not choke. The Dragon scales on his body quickly shimmered, his dark, bright eyes flickered, and he quickly adapted to the water.

He was a Dragon Steed, capable of moving freely in water. In water, his speed was much faster than Li Qi’s.

And Li Qi, as a Shaman, had a self-sufficient human body that was a small heaven and earth. He didn’t need to breathe and didn’t rely on external environments to survive. So, although he wasn’t good at swimming and would feel a sense of constraint when moving in water, simply surviving in water was no problem at all.

Seeing Li Qi sink into the water, the Merfolk girl also entered the water, leading Li Qi downwards.

Li Qi himself wasn’t good at swimming. If he were to swim by himself, there would probably be two outcomes.

Either, to accelerate, he would forcefully turn himself into a jet, directly relying on brute force, creating huge disturbances, forcefully propelling himself through the water, wasting most of his power on creating a spectacle. About two tenths of his power would be used for acceleration, and the rest would all turn into huge splashes and wonders, possibly even stirring up massive waves.

Or he would swim slowly, definitely faster than a Mortal, but most likely not as fast as the Merfolk girl in front of him.

That’s why he brought Old Ma.

Li Qi grabbed Old Ma’s saddle with one hand, and Old Ma simply moved the tip of his hoof slightly, and the surrounding water current actively propelled the two forward, following the Merfolk girl.

The Merfolk girl had originally been worried that Li Qi wouldn’t be able to keep up, but after discovering the Dragon Steed’s ability to control water, she no longer worried and swam directly downwards.

Li Qi and Old Ma followed them down.

However, as they swam, it grew darker and darker, yet beautiful stars appeared. The sky transformed into a deep night sky adorned with twinkling stars, and the constellations shifted with the rotation of light.

Li Qi was astonished and couldn’t help but observe the surrounding scenery.

But none of this mattered. The most eye-catching—was the full moon above his head.

It was daytime now; there would be no moon.

Moreover, the moon at this time should have been a new moon, but… this suddenly appearing, flawless, bright moon was a perfectly round full moon.

However, Li Qi even felt that the ocean was experiencing tides due to the moon’s gravity, but these tides did not bring impact. The seawater merely rose slowly, then fell.

The sky, suddenly filled with stars and a full moon, somewhat surprised Li Qi and Old Ma.

But the surrounding Merfolk girls seemed to be accustomed to it.

So, Li Qi looked around at the stars and that full moon, and immediately realized that they were not the moon and stars.

They were… pearls.

Countless pearl light and shadows were projected onto the sea surface above, forming that exquisite sky.