"Oh, it's more prosperous than the last time I came here. Hmm, it's simply earth-shaking."
On a spacious road, Aya, who was wearing a gray cloak, was surprised to see the tall buildings and endless traffic on both sides.
Now, together with Wang Lu and the others, she had arrived at the westernmost part of the Nine Regions, a city called Heaven's Road. As far as the eye could see, it was a bustling scene.
"This is one of the trade hubs between the East and West Continents. Moreover, it's a newly built port city, so naturally, it's changing with each passing day. When you came here, it was just built a hundred years ago. It's not much better than a small fishing village, but now it's a big city with a population of tens of thousands. "
In addition to the prosperity, what was even more impressive was the mixed and open culture of this place. With the development of trade, the communication between the East and West Continents became integrated, and the birth of all kinds of cultural crystallization was even more eye-catching.
Unfortunately, the group didn't have much time to stay here and enjoy the scenery. Wang Lu's schedule was very tight. When they arrived at Heaven's Road City, it happened to be the day when the Mysterious Sky Mansion's merchant fleet was about to set sail to the Western Continent.
Today, about half of the trade between the East and West Continents was controlled by the Mysterious Sky Mansion and its various chambers of commerce. After all, only a behemoth like the Mysterious Sky Mansion had enough resources and manpower to organize cross-continent trade. The Endless Sea's deadly fog, as well as the endless sea monsters and demons, were not something that an ordinary chamber of commerce could deal with.
Through the many years of cooperation between the Wisdom Sect and the Mysterious Sky Mansion, Wang Lu successfully contacted the Mysterious Sky Mansion's branch in Heaven's Road City. He made an appointment with the branch's fleet to set sail together with the merchant fleet to the Western Continent. This kind of fleet only sailed two or three times a year. If they missed this opportunity, they would have to wait for a few months. In addition to the Mysterious Sky Mansion's fleet, although there were many other cargo ships, safety and other issues were difficult to guarantee.
Through the contact information sent by the Mysterious Sky Mansion, Wang Lu and the others found the captain of the fleet at the dock and were ready to set sail. However, as every seasoned adventurer was familiar with the law: In any adventure, most of the time was used to deal with unexpected situations. Wang Lu and the others just happened to encounter an unexpected situation.
"In short, you want to raise the price? The original agreement of one thousand spirit stones is not enough for you? "
On the dock, facing the warm and humid sea breeze, Wang Lu smiled slightly, but there was no warmth in his smile.
Standing in front of Wang Lu was a burly middle-aged man with dark red skin and luxuriously dressed clothes. He was the person in charge of the fleet, Nie Yang. As the Vice President of the Mysterious Sky Mansion's Sky Road City branch, Nie Yang had a very high status in Sky Road City. At the same time, he also had a good cultivation on the Immortal Dao. Normal cultivators would treat him with respect when they saw him, but when Wang Lu looked at him with a cold gaze, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat and panic in his heart.
"Perhaps it's not wrong to say that they're trying to raise the price." In the end, Nie Yang was used to big storms and waves, so he calmed his mind and explained, "But we really have no choice. Recently, the Endless Sea suddenly changed, and the risk has doubled. In order to deal with the risk, the fleet has made a lot of arrangements, and the cost of sailing has increased exponentially. The original agreement of one thousand spirit stones is really not enough, so we had to put down our pride and raise the price … In fact, the price of three thousand spirit stones is not enough to cover the cost."
Wang Lu had no intention to calculate the cost with the other side. Instead, he sneered and said, "If there is no risk in the trade between the East and West Continents, why would it be your turn to do it? You are businessmen, so you should understand the spirit of the contract. "
Nie Yang said, "The contract also stipulates that if force majeure occurs, we have the right to adjust the price."
"Yes, and the definition of force majeure is also up to you to interpret."
Nie Yang said, "Please believe that we absolutely do not intend to blackmail you, but we really have no choice. This kind of thing is also detrimental to the reputation of our Mysterious Sky Mansion. If not for the fleet that set off from West Tomb Port some time ago, stirring up monstrous waves on the Endless Sea, we would not have to do this. In fact, there are not many fleets that are willing to go to the sea now. "
Seeing that Nie Yang refused to budge no matter what, insisting on tripling the already high fare, Wang Lu deeply frowned.
Of course, he didn't care about a few thousand spirit stones. Perhaps it was a huge amount of money for ordinary cultivators, but his net worth was incalculable, thousands of spirit stones were just like pocket money to him. But he really didn't like people raising the price. However, Nie Yang's temporary price increase was also reasonable in the contract...
"If it's difficult, it's better not to follow his fleet."
In the silence, standing behind Wang Lu, a girl in a gray robe softly said.
Wang Lu shook his head. "The Endless Sea is vast and boundless, and the changes are endless. It's not unusual to encounter any situation on the sea. Without a skilled fleet to guide us, it's really difficult to cross the sea."
The girl said, "It's not that difficult. When I came from the Western Continent, I crossed the sea alone. At that time, I didn't find a suitable fleet."
Wang Lu was surprised. "Crossing the sea alone? You swam here!? "
The girl said, "I have the spirit's blessing, so I can walk freely on the water, so I came here directly. Of course, occasionally encountering tsunamis and huge waves will be more troublesome, but generally speaking, as long as I aim straight to the east, I will eventually reach my destination. "
"..." Wang Lu sighed inwardly. No wonder not long after you arrived in Nine Regions, you f * cking deserve it!
Wang Lu had nothing to say. However, upon hearing the girl's words, Nie Yang inwardly disagreed and persuaded, "It's true that brilliant cultivators can fly for a long time, but even if we don't consider the direction at sea, the giant monsters lurking in the sea are no small matter. Legend has it that even a Daoist Master of Yuanying Stage can't resist them. If we don't follow the fleet, it would be troublesome if we encounter the sea monsters."
Wang Lu was also curious, so he asked, "Aya, did you encounter a sea monster attack?"
"Of course, but they were all expelled by me. However, there are indeed many strong people in the sea, so I occasionally feel uncomfortable when I fight them. "
When Aya crossed the sea, in theory, her strength was close to that of a Unity Stage cultivator. But since she still felt uncomfortable, it was not something that Wang Lu's team could deal with head-on. That being the case...
"Then let's get on the ship." Wang Lu shrugged.
—
After paying half of the fare, Wang Lu and the others boarded the fleet. Nie Yang, the person in charge of the fleet, personally led them into the five superior rooms on the pilot ship. The rooms of Wang Lu and the others were specially modified. They were luxuriously decorated and spacious, occupying almost the entire floor of the huge pilot ship. There were only six empty rooms on that floor, five of which were occupied by Wang Lu and the others, leaving only one empty room. In fact, this was the main reason for the huge fare. Otherwise, how could a few travelers cost thousands of spirit stones?
Shortly after the fleet set sail, Nie Yang eagerly came to find Wang Lu. On one hand, he hurriedly expressed his apologies, and on the other hand, he introduced them to a special neighbor.
In this cabin, in addition to Wang Lu and the others, there was only one other passenger, and that was the one who followed behind Nie Yang.
"This is our navigator, Ayun." With a warm smile, Nie Yang pushed the girl next to him forward. "She is our biggest guarantee of safety on this trip to the Western Continent!"
Wang Lu was a bit surprised to size up the girl named Ayun. She looked only thirteen or fourteen years old, a bit like a mixed-race. Her facial features combined the characteristics of both the Eastern and Western Continents. The girl had long hair like a cloud, and her skin was white and ruddy, completely unlike the weathered sea people. At the same time, the girl's dress was also luxurious. Her whole body was spotless, and her short skirt was woven with the best spirit silk, which wrapped her tender but curvy body. Her limbs were exposed, and her wrists and ankles were adorned with precious jade bracelets. Around her delicate neck, there were two necklaces. One was a string of neat and clean shells, and the other was a string of huge round pearls. Most of the trivial jewelry contained a faint immortal spirit aura, which was definitely not a mortal object.
Wang Lu carefully looked at the girl in front of him. At the same time, the girl also raised her eyes, looked at Wang Lu, and slightly nodded to him. Her posture was calm and generous, completely unlike a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl who was ignorant of the world. While nodding, Wang Lu saw that behind the girl's ear, there seemed to be a few pieces of scale-like thing growing.
Nie Yang noticed Wang Lu's gaze, so he smiled and said, "Ayun is a member of the Sea Tribe, the most professional navigator of the Endless Sea."
"Sea Tribe?"
"Yes, legend has it that they are blessed by the Heaven and Earth. They were born in the Endless Sea, and have a unique perception and affinity to this treacherous sea. As we all know, the Endless Sea is unpredictable, and even the most seasoned sailor cannot predict what will happen in the next moment. But the Sea Tribe are keenly aware of the changes in the sea, and can warn in advance. Similarly, the vicious beasts living in the sea usually do not attack the ships of the Sea Tribe. Therefore, as long as there is a Sea Tribe navigator in the fleet, the danger of the Endless Sea will be reduced by 90%. Of course, with such ability, the price is naturally high. Don't look at Ayun's weak and timid appearance, if you want to invite her, it is impossible. "
Nie Yang stretched out his hand, and gestured twice, indicating ten thousand spirit stones.
Wang Lu nodded, indicating that he understood. Nie Yang bringing Ayun to see them was obviously to explain why he raised the price.
Ten thousand spirit stones, tsk tsk, generally speaking, a fleet of ships can make a profit of tens of thousands of spirit stones. This was a business that risked one's life to do. But the Sea Tribe girl only needed to go out to sea to earn ten thousand spirit stones. Sure enough, knowledge is power.
Nie Yang patted Ayun's shoulder and sighed with emotion. "Under normal circumstances, we will not ask the Sea Tribe to come out. But some time ago, the fleet of West Tomb Port encountered sea beasts. The fleet carried many powerful cultivators. Relying on their strength, they didn't put down their offerings as usual and instead fought with the sea beasts. As a result … alas, the bandit-like sea beasts were wiped out, but they also provoked the anger of the vicious beasts in the sea. After the fleet passed through, the entire Endless Sea was not peaceful. Before that, three fleets were attacked by angry sea beasts and were completely wiped out. Now, without a Sea Tribe navigator, no one dares to go out to sea. "
Wang Lu waved his hand. "Alright, I know, we don't need to spend money. We have already paid the down payment, and when we arrive at the destination, we will naturally pay the rest. Are you afraid that we will default on the payment? We are very strict with the spirit of the contract, we will not casually use force majeure as an excuse to change the contract. "
Nie Yang naturally smiled bitterly, and after a moment, he left with Ayun.
Wang Lu watched Ayun's delicate and exquisite back gradually fade away, sighing in his heart.
The West Tomb Port's fleet … wasn't it the Excavation Management's fleet, led by Feng Yin Daoist Master, with a particularly luxurious lineup, nicknamed the Dream Team, but in the end, it was simply a dream team! They had fought to their heart's content in the beginning, but they had left behind a terrible mess that implicated their descendants!
He could only hope that the extra two thousand spirit stones were worth it.
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