The flock of flying yao beasts disappeared beyond the horizon, and the airship once again settled into a peaceful rhythm.
Days slipped by quietly.
The endless ocean stretched in every direction, unchanged no matter where one looked. The only things that broke the monotony were the occasional islands that appeared like green jewels scattered across the sea before disappearing behind them, and the countless aquatic yao beasts that surfaced every now and then before diving back into the deep.
Before long...
Two weeks had passed.
Inside his cultivation room, Lin Sheng slowly opened his eyes.
His cultivation had completely stabilized after his recent breakthroughs, and the improvements brought by the Spirit Platform Realm had become more apparent with each passing day.
He released his mental field.
Like invisible ripples spreading across the sea, his spiritual perception expanded in all directions.
Instantly, an enormous amount of information flooded into his mind.
The sound of crashing waves...
The cries of distant seabirds...
The movement of spiritual qi...
Even the currents beneath the ocean.
Everything entered his perception.
Far below the airship, countless powerful auras moved through the deep sea.
Some were enormous enough to rival small islands, while others remained hidden beneath layers of water, revealing only brief traces of their existence before disappearing once more.
Lin Sheng wasn't alarmed.
Instead, he quietly observed them.
"They're watching us..."
He soon realized what was happening.
The airship was flying directly above territories occupied by powerful aquatic yao beasts.
Unlike the mountains of the Eastern Region, the sea had no fixed borders marked by walls or formations.
Every stretch of ocean belonged to someone.
Whenever a massive human airship crossed through those waters, the sea beasts naturally became vigilant.
Fortunately...
They merely observed.
As long as the humans didn't provoke them or descend into their territories, neither side had any intention of starting an unnecessary battle.
The sea maintained a strange balance between the two races.
Lin Sheng withdrew his mental field and returned to cultivation.
The remainder of the journey passed far more peacefully than expected.
---
Another two weeks slipped by.
A full month had passed since the airship departed from Purple Iris Immortal City.
Although they encountered several unexpected situations along the way, including migrating beast flocks, violent storms and turbulent spiritual currents, the journey remained relatively smooth under the protection of the commerce pavilion's powerful formations and experienced crew.
Eventually...
The captain's voice echoed throughout the airship.
"We have arrived."
The passengers gradually left their cultivation rooms.
Lin Sheng followed the crowd down the boarding platform.
The moment his feet touched solid ground, he looked ahead and couldn't help but pause for a moment.
Before him stood one of the largest cultivation stations in the Southern Archipelagos.
Jade Sea Island.
Unlike the inland immortal cities of the Eastern Region, the entire island carried the unique atmosphere of the sea.
Towering docks stretched for several kilometers, accommodating airships, spirit ships and enormous sea vessels arriving from every direction.
Cultivators bustled through the streets carrying demon beast materials harvested from the ocean, while merchants loudly advertised rare treasures brought back from distant islands.
The salty sea breeze mixed with dense spiritual qi, giving the entire island a refreshing yet lively feeling.
Jade Sea Island owed its prosperity to one thing.
Sea Jade.
Deep beneath the surrounding seabed lay countless jade veins formed over thousands of years through the nourishment of rich spiritual currents.
Mortals mined the lower-grade varieties for luxury goods and ornaments.
Cultivators, however, prized the higher-grade Sea Jade for entirely different reasons.
Not only could it calm one's mind and stabilize the spirit during cultivation, but it also served as a widely accepted currency throughout the Southern Archipelagos.
Among high-level cultivators, valuable pieces of Sea Jade were often preferred over ordinary spirit stones.
Some exceptionally rare varieties were said to possess astonishing effects, temporarily strengthening divine sense, sharpening comprehension and greatly increasing one's understanding of cultivation techniques, spells and dao principles during meditation.
Naturally...
Such treasures rarely appeared on the open market.
Lin Sheng quietly took in everything around him.
One thing quickly caught his attention.
Despite Jade Sea Island's immense prosperity, no single force ruled the island.
Instead, countless merchant associations, commerce pavilions and major powers had established branches here, each controlling a portion of the island while maintaining a delicate balance with the others.
It was less a city under one ruler...
And more a meeting point for the entire Southern Archipelagos.
For someone arriving from the Eastern Region...
There could hardly have been a better place to begin.
Lin Sheng didn't linger at the port for long.
After taking in the general layout of Jade Sea Island, he headed toward the island proper. The outer district was the busiest part of the island, with long streets packed so tightly with stalls that one could barely see the stone pavement beneath the crowd. Vendors called out endlessly, displaying everything from dried spiritual herbs and low-grade beast materials to seashell artifacts, strange corals and polished Sea Jade ornaments.
Most of these merchants were hoping to profit from newcomers.
Every few steps someone would enthusiastically recommend an "ancient treasure" or a "rare inheritance" that looked suspiciously new.
Beyond the bustling marketplace lay several large mortal villages. The people living there made their living by fishing, repairing ships or venturing into the shallow seabed in search of low-grade Sea Jade. Although they weren't cultivators, the prosperity brought by Jade Sea Island allowed their lives to be considerably better than ordinary mortals elsewhere.
Crossing into the inner district, the atmosphere changed noticeably.
The noisy stalls disappeared, replaced by elegant buildings and spacious streets. Here stood the headquarters of the major commerce organizations, their plaques hanging proudly above grand entrances. Lin Sheng quickly spotted branches of the Hundred Paths Pavilion, the Listening Rain Pavilion, the Wanfu Dao Pavilion and several merchant associations he had never heard of before.
He originally wanted to visit a library to better understand the Southern Archipelagos, but after asking around, he discovered that only a handful of major powers maintained public libraries, most of which were located in the island's core district and required either status or connections to enter.
There was no need to rush.
For now, gathering information through other means would suffice.
He found an inn in the inner district, rented a quiet courtyard for several months and settled down.
The following morning, Lin Sheng returned to the outer marketplace.
Rather than browsing with his eyes alone, he quietly released a strand of his mental perception, sweeping across the countless stalls as he walked.
Unfortunately...
Nine out of every ten "treasures" were worthless.
Broken artifacts polished to look ancient, ordinary herbs sold as rare spiritual medicines and common ores advertised as millennium-old minerals were everywhere. Even the prices were outrageously inflated, clearly aimed at inexperienced outsiders unfamiliar with the local market.
Lin Sheng couldn't help smiling.
"It seems cultivators are the same everywhere."
After wandering for nearly an hour, he noticed a modest shop tucked away beside the main street.
Unlike the surrounding stalls, its shelves were filled with travel supplies, navigation tools and information related to the Southern Archipelagos.
Exactly what he needed.
Stepping inside, he nodded politely to the shopkeeper.
The middle-aged clerk immediately greeted him with practiced enthusiasm.
"Senior, what may I help you with today?"
"I'm looking for books introducing the Southern Archipelagos," Lin Sheng replied. "A detailed map as well."
The man's smile widened.
"Senior has come to the right place."
He led Lin Sheng toward the back of the shop, where rows of neatly arranged jade slips filled several shelves.
Each shelf was carefully labeled.
Geography, Island Powers, Sea Beast Records, Forbidden Zones, Shipping Routes, Rare Resources.
Lin Sheng's eyes lit up slightly.
This was far more complete than he expected.
He selected several jade slips covering the geography of the archipelagos, the distribution of major powers, important sea routes and records of notable yao beasts before adding a detailed regional map to the pile.
When the clerk quoted the price, even Lin Sheng paused for a moment.
It was absurdly expensive.
Still...
Information was often worth far more than spirit stones.
Without haggling, he paid the requested amount, stored the jade slips inside his storage ring and quietly left the shop, already planning to spend the next few days studying everything the Southern Archipelagos had to offer before taking another step forward.