Chapter 444: Rent

In the deep sea, tides ebb and flow, waves surge, and strong currents are created by stable water flows in ocean currents or rapidly rushing waves in turbulent streams, which also create layers of undercurrents, much like underwater highways.

Li Qi and Old Ma followed the Merfolk girl, moving swiftly along these underwater highways. Even though he couldn't swim, simply being carried by the currents was quite fast and effortless.

However, these tides were not truly brought about by the moon, but by a single pearl.

Li Qi couldn't help but gaze at the dreamlike, moon-like luminous pearl.

Seeing Li Qi's expression, the Merfolk girl said, "Ah, Sir is curious about that luminous pearl?"

"Indeed, I am a bit curious. It's so dim underwater, and the light seems to come entirely from these luminous pearls. What are they, to possess such power?" Li Qi asked.

The Merfolk girl smiled and said, "Those are pearls spat out by the Mother Clam. They are not just for illumination; the energy of this East Isle underwater is also provided by such luminous pearls."

"The energy of East Isle underwater..." Li Qi pondered, nodding slightly.

In other words, East Isle is essentially driven by these luminous pearls?

Interesting.

Following the current downwards, Li Qi quickly felt the pressure. He was already three or four li underwater.

That's nearly two thousand meters deep, which is already an incredibly terrifying pressure. The sunlight from above had completely disappeared, and the surroundings were so dark that it was impossible to distinguish anything, as if in a void.

Although this is considered shallow sea, or even surface ocean, in the East Sea, for Li Qi, he had already substantively entered the deep sea. The only light sources left were East Isle itself and those luminous pearls, emitting a faint glow, illuminating the surrounding scene.

But in reality, Li Qi discovered that the Merfolks and sea folk didn't need light at all; seeing in the dark was like an instinct for them.

However, for Li Qi, who was accustomed to using his eyes, large numbers of fish abruptly appeared and disappeared in the darkness, and the sea folk also appeared around him at will. Complete darkness enveloped the surroundings, coupled with the icy seawater, stirring considerable unease and fear in his heart.

Li Qi knew this fear was baseless; he had plenty of power and could crush these fish and sea folk into pieces if he fully unleashed it. But he still couldn't suppress this instinctive unease.

This was the ocean's inherent suppression of land creatures, especially someone like Li Qi who had never been to sea.

He probably needed some time to properly adapt to this feeling.

Looking around, Li Qi could see the incredibly vast body of East Isle, as reliable as a continental shelf. It was even covered with dark, sunken caves.

Although his eyes were useless at this moment, Li Qi was a Shaman after all, and he had more than just one sense.

Speaking of which, Li Qi once had the illusion that as his cultivation improved, his eyes would become more and more powerful, capable of seeing through everything and transforming all information into visualizations or something similar.

But as his cultivation advanced, he found that... although he did indeed master more and more observation techniques, and his eyes also became more powerful, able to see further and further, with increasingly strong dynamic vision, eyes... were still just eyes.

That's true. The structure of the eye dictates that it is always just an optical sensor. No matter how sensitive this optical sensor is, it is always an optical matter; it's impossible for it to suddenly gain the function of a gravitational wave sensor.

Therefore, true cultivators, in order to enhance their perception abilities, generally acquire other types of sensors.

So, after realizing he couldn't see, Li Qi took out a translucent, droplet-like insect from his hand.

Then, he placed this insect into his eye socket.

Immediately, the surrounding environment instantly became clear, all darkness had nowhere to hide, and Li Qi gained a considerable degree of dark vision, even able to see in lightless environments by relying on the eye's self-illumination.

The Merfolk girl watched in a daze, seemingly having never seen such an operation of actively putting an insect into one's eye.

Shaman Dao has always been known for its strangeness, and it also cultivates insects.

Li Qi now had some research into the Dao of Shaman Dao Gu, all understood through his research on the Shamanic Silkworm Artifact. And what he was using now was the Eye Worm he had purchased in the past.

The Eye Worm could transform other things into understandable light signals. With this, he had a means of observation underwater.

Li Qi did not delay his journey while doing these things, so it wasn't long before they entered the depths of four or five li underwater, and then swam nearly thirty li towards the left side of East Isle. If divided by body parts, they were almost at the rib position of this Puppet, East Isle.

Here, the Merfolk girl finally stopped.

Li Qi could see that on the rock walls here, a considerable number of Merfolks, both male and female, resided.

The Merfolk Race, perhaps because they live in water, naturally dislike wearing clothes. After all, the resistance caused by clothes is quite significant, far inferior to the Merfolk's scales and skin.

However, female Merfolks actually do not have mammary organs; their upper bodies are flat and smooth.

After all... this seems to be an oviparous race, with no need for lactation, so it doesn't look that absurd. Thus, this race, regardless of gender, has slender and smooth bodies.

They were beautiful, but there was a sense of 'otherness'.

But it didn't matter. Li Qi was used to encountering all sorts of races. He had even seen the Lord of Pestilence; what was a few Merfolks?

"Sir, I'm home. Why don't you wait here for a moment? I'll talk to my family, and then I'll come. I'll be by your side for the next seven days, so please feel free to command me then," the Merfolk turned and faced Li Qi, saying.

"Alright, go back and tell your family. Oh, by the way, do you mind if I come with you?" Li Qi suddenly said.

"Ah? I don't mind... but I'm just going home to report. Could it be that Sir is afraid I'll run away?" The Merfolk girl asked, puzzled.

"No, it's mainly that I'm a bit curious about a Merfolk's home. I've never seen one before, but trespassing would be impolite. It's better to go in with you and see what a Merfolk's living area looks like," Li Qi said.

This answer was indeed true.

He was genuinely just curious. Li Qi's curiosity about unfamiliar races like Merfolks was always strong.

"If that's the case... then there's nothing wrong with it. It's just that my home is simple, and Sir probably won't see any rare sights..." The Merfolk girl seemed a little embarrassed.

"What kind of rare sight could compare to the traditions of the Merfolk Race, passed down for tens of thousands of years? What I want to see is an ordinary Merfolk home. You should know that the more ordinary something is, the more universal Dao it contains," Li Qi said.

What kind of wonder could compare to the Merfolk Race itself?

Or rather, the Merfolk Race's living traditions and family structure are themselves a wonder that has progressed for countless years. For the Merfolks themselves, it might be commonplace, but for Li Qi, this was far more interesting than any garden scenery.

However, this sentence made the Merfolk girl in front of him slightly stunned.

Just as this Sir said, the more ordinary something is, the more profound truth it contains. It's not because the Dao is ordinary, but because the Dao constitutes all things, and seeing too much of it makes it seem ordinary.

To draw an analogy... high-end, avant-garde modern art seems very cutting-edge and innovative, often hyped up and sold for billions, but without it, it's gone, and there won't be any special impact.

But in everyday life, the three-five yuan worth of firewood, rice, oil, and salt are incredibly ordinary, easily obtainable. Yet, this is the true Dao that allows society to function normally. The countless rules of circulation hidden within it seem like nothing at first glance, but the deeper one delves, the more one discovers the wisdom of countless predecessors contained within. If they were gone, the entire society would collapse.

It's not because it's ordinary that it's widespread.

It's because it's widespread that it seems ordinary.

This simple sentence, however, made the Merfolk girl suddenly fall into deep thought. Li Qi did not disturb her, but quietly stood waiting.

After a long while, the Merfolk girl suddenly straightened up, then bowed to Li Qi with very unpracticed etiquette: "Thank you, Sir... Please take this back. I dare not accept your remuneration for this seven-day commission."

Saying that, she extended both hands, returning Li Qi's lamp.

Li Qi smiled: "It's enough that you do your best. This Spiritual Artifact is nothing to me. Take it."

Li Qi could tell that during the time she was in deep thought, many of the chaotic Qi within her body had dissipated. Those must have been the 'cutting-edge trends' that this young girl was pursuing.

New cultivation methods, new spells, though useful, had cultivated a restless Dao Heart.

But when she understood this matter, she voluntarily made a cut, breaking away from these 'cutting-edge modern techniques' and focusing on her foundation. Although she temporarily became weaker, it was beneficial in the long run, which is why she proactively bowed to Li Qi.

In this way, she should be diligent when acting as a guide.

The Merfolk girl nodded gratefully, then said, "My name is Lei Fang. Sir can call me by this name directly. Please slow down, Sir. I will go and greet my family to welcome you."

"No need. Everything as normal is fine. What's the point if we make it grand? Let's go, don't delay," Li Qi urged.

Lei Fang nodded, not daring to object to Li Qi, and then flicked her tail, swimming deeper.

Li Qi led Old Ma, following behind.

Old Ma then gurgled out a few bubbles.

Li Qi rolled his eyes: "What do you mean I'm pretending to be a master to trick a young girl... I am a master, alright? Besides, everyone has their specialties. What's wrong with not being able to swim? Get going!"

Old Ma stuck out his tongue, then sped up, catching up to Lei Fang.

However, as they were moving, Li Qi suddenly noticed something.

Indeed, many Merfolks could be seen around, and... they were all engaged in the pearl cultivation industry, both male and female, but the industry they were engaged in was basically identical.

Why?

Is it their nature? Or is this just an accident?

According to Li Qi's understanding, a Merfolk settlement should have people doing all sorts of things, and their cultivation methods should also vary.

You should know that even in Baiyue, despite the inferior cultivation methods, there were still various industries, and various cultivation methods circulated within the Human Race.

But at first glance, although the surroundings were active and the number of Merfolks was not small, they were all uniformly cultivating pearls!

They embedded pearl oysters on the shell of East Isle, then put a trace of Qi and sand inside, making the pearl oysters continuously generate luminous pearls. But apart from this, they had no other industries.

The sea herdsmen Li Qi saw outside were also other races, not Merfolks.

Is the industry so singular? This is very unfavorable for racial development. Is it that all Merfolks are like this, or only the Merfolks of East Isle?

Harboring such doubts, Li Qi finally arrived at Lei Fang's home.

Lei Fang cheerfully rushed inside.

She shouted loudly: "Father, Mother! I'm back! Oh, I also brought a distinguished guest. This Sir hired me to be his guide for the next seven days. Oh, and this is the payment for this time. He also bought a hundred pearls, so this month's rent is enough!"

Li Qi watched this 'home' from not far away.

Merfolks are an aquatic race, so they naturally wouldn't live on flat and solid ground like humans.

The Human Race is accustomed to living in a two-dimensional world, with only east, south, west, north, front, and back, rarely using up and down.

But Merfolks live in a three-dimensional world. Here there is up and down, and all around... No, it's not just all around here, but a three-dimensional spherical area. So their houses are not built on a flat surface, but carved into the vertical cliffs, and these holes have extensive extensions.

East Isle's body is clearly similar to a tower, it's vertical. They built complex nest Systems on the vertical mountain walls, and they seemed quite practical.

Vertical, but not flat, East Isle's body has many tiny protrusions. Of course, they seem tiny from East Isle's perspective, but in reality, East Isle's body is extremely huge, several hundred li high, so these small protrusions even form 'terrain', like a horizontally lying hilly area.

These Merfolk nests were built in a complex, interconnected way within these hills on the walls. Not only did they not seem crowded, but there was even more than enough space, with large areas used for cultivating pearl oysters.

If Li Qi had to describe it, it was a... beehive?

Something like that. The surrounding environment was like entering a beehive, a three-dimensional nest hanging in the treetops, only its scale was remarkably large.

However, as Li Qi observed the surroundings, he was also thinking about something.

Just now, did Lei Fang mention 'rent'?

In other words... this area has rent?

Who are they paying rent to?

Is this why they are all engaged in the pearl cultivation industry?