The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu

Chapter 253: The Grand Plan to Make a Fortune

The next morning, just as the sky began to lighten.

Since it was his clone that kept watch overnight, Long Xuan was able to rest well and felt refreshed, waking up quite early.

However, after a simple wash, his clone, who had been on night duty outside, called him out.

It seemed that something new had happened outside.

Long Xuan didn’t dare to take it lightly and immediately walked out.

When he reached the deck at the bow of the ship and looked down at the sea, a hint of surprise crossed his face.

After a night had passed, the rain had stopped, the wind had ceased, and the sea had returned to a calm state.

But within that same night, it seemed the ship had sailed into a mysterious sea region.

The seawater in this area was pitch black, as if severely polluted, giving off an oppressive feeling that made it quite uncomfortable to look at.

Long Xuan frowned. Why was this seawater black? What kind of danger would arise from black seawater? Could this water be poisonous?

Danger often comes from the unknown, and this black sea was precisely unknown, causing his nerves, which had just relaxed, to tense up again.

At this moment, Nie Qingcheng slowly walked up from behind him and stood beside him, expressionless, gazing out at the sea. It seemed she already knew this situation would occur.

“This is the Death Sea. The signature characteristic of the Death Sea is its black seawater.”

“However, this black seawater is harmless to humans. The filter you invented works well, and this seawater can still be used.”

“For now, we’re okay. We’re on the outskirts of the Death Sea, where the water isn’t as dark.”

“The deeper we go, the blacker the seawater becomes. At the center, the water is as black as ink, and if someone jumps in, they won’t even see their hand in front of their face. They won’t even know how they died.”

Hearing this, Long Xuan was startled and immediately asked, “Do you know why the water here is black? There must be a reason.”

Nie Qingcheng smiled bitterly, “How could I possibly know what’s going on here? I’m not an all-knowing deity. There are far too many unknown mysteries in this world.”

“And this sea region is rarely explored by humans, so information about it is scarce. Everything here, we’ll probably have to figure out for ourselves.”

Not getting the information he wanted, Long Xuan furrowed his brow slightly. At that moment, a dolphin’s call came from the sea, and Ye Qingluan suddenly exclaimed in surprise from behind:

“My Dabu found treasure at the bottom of the sea! It says there are spiritual herbs down there! So many spiritual herbs! Thousands of years old, and too many to count!”

“What?” Long Xuan and Nie Qingcheng were both shocked, quickly revealing expressions of great joy.

At this moment, the rest of the crew was also alarmed, rushing out onto the deck, all looking down with ecstatic expressions, nearly losing their minds with excitement.

“I’m a good swimmer, I’ll go down and check it out. You all stay on the ship for now!”

Qiu Tiandao gave instructions to the people on board, then dropped the anchor. Once the ship stopped, he eagerly dove into the sea.

The others stayed on the deck, resisting the urge to recklessly jump in. The situation was unclear, and for everyone to dive in recklessly would not be wise. They had to suppress their curiosity.

Long Xuan also watched the sea with tension, waiting for Qiu Tiandao to return from the water. Everyone’s nerves were on edge, anxiously waiting.

Time passed minute by minute. Just when everyone’s patience was running thin, Qiu Tiandao’s head finally emerged from the water. Grabbing onto the ship, he panted heavily.

Xiong Dali quickly extended a ladder and urgently shouted, “What’s the situation down there? Is there any danger? Are there spiritual herbs?”

Qiu Tiandao grabbed the ladder and swiftly climbed back onto the deck, exclaiming excitedly, “There’s no danger at all down there. I used my soul sense to scan the area. There are endless varieties of spiritual herbs, too many to count.”

“Among them are fourth-grade spiritual herbs and herbs over a thousand years old, and there’s even a high chance of finding ten-thousand-year-old herbs.”

“We’re going to make a fortune this time!”

Qiu Tiandao pulled out a spiritual herb that looked like seaweed from his clothing and handed it to the captain.

Water-born spiritual herbs can’t be stored in spatial bags; if you open a storage bag underwater, everything inside would get flooded, so the herbs have to be carried personally, making it inconvenient to gather them. Otherwise, how could he have only brought one up?

Long Xuan curiously took the seaweed-like spiritual herb, his eyes gleaming.

“So this is a water-born spiritual herb? I’ve lived inland for so many years and have never used water-born herbs to refine pills. I wonder how effective the pills made from these would be.”

Long Xuan used his soul sense to examine the herb. Although he couldn’t name it, spiritual herbs in this world are ranked by the amount of spiritual energy they contain relative to their size.

This herb contained an enormous amount of spiritual energy, easily classifying it as a fourth-grade herb. If there were many more of these underwater, then he was truly about to strike it rich.

“Are you sure the spiritual herbs down there are endless, too many to count?” Long Xuan’s gaze burned as he stared at Qiu Tiandao, his breathing quickening, completely unable to remain calm at this point.

In a world untouched by humans, the abundance of spiritual herbs was beyond his previous understanding. But now, he finally grasped the concept and understood why all the crew members were so eager to venture into the Death Sea.

In a world without human interference, spiritual herbs were like weeds, growing everywhere beyond imagination. Seizing this land would give you control over the wealth of an entire world.

"I'm certain. Even though the seabed is dark, and the water somewhat murky, my soul perception won’t be wrong. The seabed is filled with spiritual herbs, far more than can be harvested in one go."

"The problem is that the sea is extremely deep, so we have to hold our breath to gather the herbs. Most people with poor swimming skills probably won't be able to reach the bottom, not to mention that storage bags can't be used underwater."

"Therefore, although the seabed is full of spiritual herbs, our harvesting efficiency will likely be very low."

"If we take too long, who knows what dangers we might encounter! At the very least, sea beasts are known to move around," Qiu Tiandao said, still brimming with excitement.

Although gathering herbs from the deep sea would be difficult, his enthusiasm remained undiminished.

"Isn't the only issue that the seabed is too deep and most of the crew can't dive that far? That's easy to solve!"

Long Xuan chuckled. Without delay, he rushed into the captain’s cabin. Under the astonished gazes of everyone, the ship suddenly began to tremble violently.

Moments later, to the shock of all the crew members, the Shenlong ship activated its barrier and slowly started sinking into the sea.

Yes, at this moment, Long Xuan had initiated the submarine mode of the Shenlong ship.

How could the deep seabed be a problem for him? He just needed to steer the ship to the seabed, which would bring the spiritual herbs within arm’s reach. Wouldn’t harvesting them be far more convenient this way?

Even someone with poor lung capacity could easily gather the herbs nearby.

At this moment, the crew finally remembered that this peculiar ship had the ability to dive. Everyone was now full of excitement.

"Hahaha... I almost forgot! The captain's ship can dive like a fish."

"If the seabed is too deep, we might as well just steer the ship to the bottom. Our efficiency will be ten times higher! Hahaha! Brilliant! Truly brilliant!" Shangguan Wuwu exclaimed with a loud laugh.

Now, everyone on board was filled with excitement, their eyes gleaming with enthusiasm.

The ship soon fully submerged, slowly descending to the deepest part of the sea, and the crew's surroundings grew progressively darker.

At this point, Long Xuan turned on the ship’s lights, illuminating the once pitch-black seabed world. The darkness disappeared, alleviating some of the crew’s fear of the abyss.

As the ship ventured deeper, everyone stood at the edge, curiously observing the mysterious underwater world.

Experiencing the seabed from this perspective was a novel experience for everyone.

They saw strange fish with glowing lanterns on their heads, massive unknown creatures, and small fish emitting various colorful lights. These mysterious sea creatures amazed them.

The water here was somewhat murky, but had it been clearer, the underwater world would have undoubtedly been stunning. Everyone had such thoughts in their minds.

After what seemed like an eternity, the ship finally touched the seabed with a soft thud. The ship gently shook before coming to a halt.

At the same time, they finally discovered the vast expanse of spiritual herbs across the seabed—dense and countless. Herbs of grades one to four were all present, including some that were over a thousand years old.

Everyone's breathing quickened, their eyes shining with excitement, growing bright with anticipation.

Unable to control themselves, the crew members rushed out one after another.

Each crew member carried an formation marker from the Shenlong ship, which allowed them to ignore the resistance of the barrier and come and go as they pleased.

Long Xuan didn’t rush out. This ship was his, and according to maritime rules, half of the crew's harvest belonged to the captain. Without the ship, they wouldn't have reaped anything.

With over a hundred people aboard, even if Long Xuan didn’t lift a finger, he would still end up with an ocean of spiritual herbs. Going out to gather them would merely be adding extra icing on the cake.

Moreover, someone needed to stay behind to watch the ship, and this area gave him an unsettling feeling. To be safe, he decided it was better not to leave.

For some unknown reason, Di Xin also stayed aboard and stood beside Long Xuan.

Long Xuan glanced sideways at her and asked with a smile, "Why aren’t you going out to gather herbs? This place is filled with grade-four spiritual herbs; it’s a rare opportunity!"

Di Xin gave him a sidelong glance and responded indifferently, "For one thing, I already have more money than I can spend. For another, these herbs are useless to me."

"Don’t be fooled by the abundance of grade-four spiritual herbs out there. Haven’t you noticed that these herbs are unique to the Death Sea? Do you know what that means?"

"It means there’s no existing alchemy recipe for these herbs outside of this region. So, even though there are plenty of grade-four herbs, they likely won’t sell for a high price. You may be celebrating for nothing."

"Is that so?" Long Xuan showed no signs of disappointment, smiling as he said, "Even if there are no alchemy recipes for these herbs outside, they are still grade-four herbs. With such an overwhelming number, it’s enough to make the crew rich."

"It may not matter to you, but for most impoverished Gu cultivators, the wealth here could increase their fortune tenfold, or even a hundredfold. The temptation is already great enough."

"Besides, the value of these herbs is low only because there are no recipes for them. But what if recipes for these herbs appeared on the market?" Long Xuan suddenly revealed a mysterious smile.

At this moment, an idea formed in his mind. The sheer abundance of herbs here was practically endless and could not be harvested all at once. This could easily become a long-term business opportunity.

The wealth here was too immense, capable of generating incredible profits for him each year. It was absolutely worth developing some alchemy recipes for these herbs and distributing millions of copies across the market.

Once that happened, the herbs would rise in value, allowing Long Xuan, as the captain, to reap immense profits.

Seeing Long Xuan’s mysterious smile, Di Xin seemed to understand something.

"I’ve changed my mind. Instead of standing around here, I’d rather make some more money." With that, Di Xin immediately dashed out of the barrier.

Long Xuan was momentarily stunned and quickly shouted after her, "Hey! Where are you going? The water is cold!"