Free Web NovelChapter 438: Chapter 243: Talisman Tracking (Part 2)
"Alright," Luo Dingran agreed.
There were too many items. He needed to register and categorize them one by one, as well as understand their basic uses. This would take a considerable amount of time.
Cheng Zongyang then took the Celestial Secret Talisman and left the Wilderness World.
Back in his study, after an undisturbed night, Cheng Zongyang got up, took the Celestial Secret Talisman from the side, and went to his desk.
’Twenty thousand Points for a single Talisman,’ he thought. ’I must have been out of my mind, spending so much just to find one location.’
’But then again,’ he mused, ’if I can use the Celestial Secret Talisman to find a place countless others couldn’t, it’ll open up so many possibilities.’
Following the instructions for the Celestial Secret Talisman, he took a small knife, pricked his fingertip, and dripped a drop of blood onto the Talisman. Then, he focused his mind, thinking about where the gathering places of this world’s Cultivators were.
After repeating the question in his mind several times, Cheng Zongyang was stunned to see the Talisman showing no reaction.
’It can’t find anything? Could it be that there aren’t any in this world?’ Cheng Zongyang wondered. After a moment’s thought, he decided it probably just needed more time and continued to focus.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the black and gold Talisman suddenly burst into flames. Simultaneously, a piece of information materialized in Cheng Zongyang’s mind, seeming to appear from nowhere: East Sea Abyss.
The name slowly materialized in his mind, then slowly faded away, as if whispered by an unseen voice.
Cheng Zongyang’s eyes snapped open, revealing his excitement.
’So they really do exist!’ Cheng Zongyang immediately entered the Wilderness World. He had never heard of the East Sea Abyss, so his only option was to ask Luo Dingran about it first.
Inside the market cabin, Luo Dingran was surprised to see Cheng Zongyang return so soon after leaving. But before he could speak, Cheng Zongyang asked:
"Do you know of the East Sea Abyss?"
Luo Dingran hadn’t seen the Celestial Secret Talisman, so he didn’t understand why Cheng Zongyang was asking about this so suddenly. But he thought for a moment and said, "The East Sea Abyss? I haven’t heard of that, but I have heard of the Eye of the East Sea."
"The Eye of the East Sea?" Now it was Cheng Zongyang’s turn to frown slightly. He pressed, "Tell me everything."
"My lord, please wait a moment."
Luo Dingran put down the register in his hands and turned to go to the warehouse. A moment later, he returned with a map of Da Liang.
Cheng Zongyang watched as Luo Dingran unfurled the map, expanding it to show a rough layout of the regions beyond the sea.
Soon, Luo Dingran came to Cheng Zongyang’s side, pointed to the very edge of the map on the floor, and said:
"The Eye of the East Sea is in a sea region east of Da Liang. From what I understand, if one were to set sail from Da Liang’s Yangzhou Prefecture and travel east for about two or three months, they would reach a peculiar area.
"That is a vast, circular expanse of sea, about two li wide. Although not exceptionally large, it’s called the Eye of the East Sea because the water in this area wells upward, as peculiar as a spring bubbling to the surface.
"No ship can get close to this area. An Innate Great Perfection Martial Artist once tried to investigate underwater, but was forced to turn back after diving to a depth where even their Innate Gang Qi could no longer hold.
"At that depth, the seafloor was still a bottomless, pitch-black sea cave. Because of this, everyone believes it to be the mouth of the East Sea’s spring, also calling it the Eye of the East Sea."
After hearing this, Cheng Zongyang fell into thought.
’I don’t think the name is wrong,’ he mused. ’Eye of the East Sea is just what outsiders call it, but East Sea Abyss is the name given by the Celestial Secret Talisman.’
’But I’m not sure if they’re two different places. I’ll have to find a chance to go see for myself. Of course, that’ll require thorough preparation.’
A ship, he had; supplies, not a problem; safety, even less of a concern.
The only thing to prepare for was the underwater exploration!
If another world truly lay beneath the waves, he would need to prepare for a deep dive. And since even the Innate Gang Qi of an Innate Expert couldn’t withstand the depths, relying on Martial Arts Cultivation alone wouldn’t be enough; he would need to depend on external forces.
But he had his adaptive Talent. He would need to raise his Talent Level before he dared to venture there.
Furthermore, he had another preparation to make: a Teleportation Array!
If there really was a Cultivation Immortality World under the sea, he had to set up a Teleportation Array to avoid having to deep-dive every time.
’Looks like this is going to take a while.’ With that thought, Cheng Zongyang was no longer in a hurry. His principle was either not to go at all, or to go only when fully prepared and certain of achieving his goal.
"Alright, I understand," Cheng Zongyang said to Luo Dingran. "Thank you for your hard work."
"You are too kind, my lord," Luo Dingran said with a cupped fist salute.
Cheng Zongyang nodded, then retrieved the Flower Roster and left once more.
’The haul this time was enormous,’ he thought, ’but I’ll have to wait for Luo Dingran to finish cataloging everything.’
Leaving the study, Cheng Zongyang had Zhang Zeyu prepare a bath for him and also sent him to have someone notify Li Lu to come over.
He wouldn’t tell Li Lu about the Flower Roster’s true function for now; he just needed him to register all the important personnel in it according to the instructions.
By the time he emerged from his bath, Li Lu was already waiting in the living room, sipping tea. Seeing Cheng Zongyang, he cracked a joke. "Boss, why the bath so early in the morning? Did you get so drunk last night that you just passed out?"
Li Lu’s way of addressing Cheng Zongyang had changed, no longer as casual and brotherly as before. Cheng Zongyang didn’t mind, but Li Lu insisted on being more formal.
Thus, Cheng Zongyang let him address him as he wished.
Amused by Li Lu’s teasing, Cheng Zongyang replied, "It’s not like that. I was just cultivating. I called you over, my friend, because I have something for you."
He didn’t waste any time, retrieving the Flower Roster and handing it to him. "This is the Celestial Break Gang’s Flower Roster. I want you to register all disciples who have entered a hall or are of higher rank..."
Cheng Zongyang explained the detailed registration method and all the precautions one by one, finally saying, "After all the personnel have been registered, bring it back to me. From now on, new members will be registered once a month, and some old members will be *handled*."
After listening, although Li Lu didn’t quite understand why they needed to use a roster for registration, since Cheng Zongyang had given the order, he naturally wouldn’t refuse.
"Alright, I’ve got it," Li Lu said as he took the Flower Roster. It was as thick as a finger joint, enough to write down many names.
Cheng Zongyang then gave him the specially prepared ink as well, adding, "This is special ink that I made. All the names must be written with it. When you run out, come to me for more."
"Okay." Li Lu felt that Cheng Zongyang was being a bit secretive, but he still didn’t ask any further questions.
After Li Lu left with the roster and ink, Cheng Zongyang returned to his study and entered the Wilderness World again.
As night fell and the time passed midnight, Cheng Zongyang, who was in the market cabin studying the holographic projection console, suddenly saw a pop-up notification—
[The Jade Stone Market is now officially closed. As transaction volume has exceeded the 150,000- and 300,000-point thresholds, the Jade Stone Market will undergo a combined fifth and sixth update. The update will last for 168 hours, during which all transaction functions will be temporarily suspended.]
Seeing the notification, Cheng Zongyang nodded slightly.
This was within his expectations, as the transaction volume this time had completely surpassed the 150,000 upgrade quota.
Paying it no mind, he continued to study the holographic console so he could teach Zhang Jinquan how to operate it.
This holographic console was Blue Level and integrated all sorts of comprehensive functions like scanning, image restoration, component analysis, experiment simulation, and a strong AI. It was fully capable of scanning a medicinal herb, recreating it on the console, and simultaneously simulating its corresponding components as data to run an alchemy simulation.
Unfortunately, this AI was restricted to the console and could not be transferred, nor was there a network to transfer it through.
Otherwise, if he could create an AI robot, it would be truly convenient for developing the Wilderness World.
He was willing to try anything that would help develop the Wilderness World.
In the following days, Cheng Zongyang once again fell into a monotonous routine.
Mornings were for studying the holographic console, afternoons for studying Arrays, and afterwards he would take some time to check on the construction site. The majority of his time, however, was spent on studying Arrays. While reading during this period, he would also use a brazier and boiling water to train his adaptive Talent.
Compared to the holographic console, the Arrays were more important.
Seven days passed just like that. As soon as the market cabin’s update was complete, Cheng Zongyang entered the Wilderness World to check on it.
