Chapter Eight: Three Thousand Abyssal Treasures, One Hundred Thousand Oceanic Jewels

Another dawn broke.

At the farthest horizon where the Cangming Ocean met the sky, the clouds parted by a slender crack, and the first point of orange-red light tore through the indigo heavens, spilling onto the world below.

In the shifting balance of yin and yang, the “Warding Wall” that had vanished into obscurity reappeared once more. Should any old fisherman, long familiar with the sea, have peered closely, they would have noticed a new temple standing upon the wall facing the mouth of the Nine Dragons River—the Five Peaks Temple.

Yet, the mountain-sea warding spell manifested only for a fleeting moment before vanishing again with the cyclical turn of heaven and earth.

Soon, the blazing clouds above caught fire, casting ten thousand rays of golden light across the world, shredding the final remnants of night.

In an unnamed cove along the coastal province of Minzhou, shadows of a hundred masts, driven by sunlight, cut diagonally across the white sands.

The interplay of light and shadow cast a boy standing at the shore, watching the sea, in an almost golden glow.

Some early-rising boat-dwellers greeted him warmly:

“Scholar, out fishing so early again?”

Wang Cheng replied with a smile, “Good morning, Aunt Chen! There’s no need for such formality—just call me Fugui. After the Zhang brothers saved my life and gave me shelter here, I can't simply eat and drink for free when I have both hands and feet.”

He had long since changed out of his old clothes, rolled up sleeves and trousers, barefoot, and except for his fair skin, was scarcely distinguishable from any other fisher boy.

With a fishing net, creel, and a fish-gutting knife, he leapt onto a small boat and drifted away from shore.

All around, dozens of sailboats were moored along the waterways, lashed together with planks to form a floating village—a family fleet on water, like an island adrift.

It was a sight with its own peculiar charm.

Three days ago, Wang Cheng had followed the “Zhang Fushun” in its strategic shift to this temporary settlement of boat people.

The boat-dwellers, known as “egg people” for their fragile lives, lived on water, one boat per family, drifting ceaselessly.

The name derived from the word for “egg”—for their lives, battered by wind and waves year-round, were as delicate and uncertain as an eggshell.

Much like the Water-Gathering Wang family, who also longed for imperial recognition, they were not even accorded the basic rights of citizens in the Great Zhao Dynasty. They could not take the civil service exam, buy land, or even live ashore—forced to drift on water for life.

This temporary settlement lay not far from Yue Port at the river mouth, but the coastline was so convoluted and the land so mountainous, that finding it by land or sea was nigh impossible.

For three days after returning, the weather had been tranquil.

Some might find life on a boat uncomfortable, but Wang Cheng, having spent parts of his childhood aboard, found himself right at home.

Were it not for the looming maritime chaos and his urgent need to grow stronger, he would have liked to stay much longer.

“The key thing is, I can make money here. With money comes strength.”

Soon, Wang Cheng had left the floating village behind and reached a shallow stretch of sea not far from the coast.

He scanned the deep water with utmost focus; before his eyes, streams of multicolored “qi” flowed and shifted.

Following the qi, he changed spots several times, and by noon finally locked onto a location. With practiced ease, he cast the net.

A heavy thud!

At once, Wang Cheng felt the net in his hands suddenly drag downward. He braced himself with a step forward just to maintain his balance.

Something massive beneath the water was fiercely pulling the net.

Instead of alarm, Wang Cheng was delighted—this was exactly the means he had devised to make his fortune; everything was going according to plan.

He stared fixedly into the water, eyes burning.

“After three days of secret trials, I’ve finally hooked a big one.”

Sensing a force greater than his own, he stamped his foot and called out low:

“Four Seas Treasure Coin, lend me power!”

The spirit pattern of “Turtle Body” flashed on the coin’s eye, and with the “one catty turtle, three catties strength” power, Wang Cheng instantly gained three hundred catties of might upon the water.

By comparison, even a modern world weightlifting champion would possess no more.

He adjusted his breathing, using refined inner techniques to unify mind and body, mastering every ounce of strength. The contest, once precarious, was now well within his control.

Even the faint spark of light within him grew ever brighter, on the verge of bursting forth.

At last, with a shoulder shake, Wang Cheng heaved the net from the sea.

He glanced past several ordinary palm-sized fish, focusing instead on a strange creature at the net’s bottom—only a foot long, but its thrashing tail made the boat thump and rattle.

It wore a suit of emerald-green scales, and its mouth, unlike a fish’s, resembled a parrot’s beak.

Most notably, it shone with a vivid red glow in the “Rare and Precious” coin’s vision!

Wang Cheng’s delight was uncontained.

“My luck’s finally here. After three days, I’ve actually fished up one of the Ten-Thousand Marine Rarities—a Parrot-Beaked Bluecoat!”

Astonishingly, as soon as he spoke, a sharp, thin voice echoed from the net:

“My luck’s finally here. After three days, I’ve actually fished up one of the Ten-Thousand Marine Rarities—a Parrot-Beaked Bluecoat!”

Looking closer, the parrot-like mouth of the fish was opening and closing, mimicking Wang Cheng’s voice perfectly.

Anyone uninitiated would have been scared to death; even the boldest would kneel, kowtow, and toss it back to the sea.

But Wang Cheng’s joy only deepened; he quickly plucked it from the net and placed it in a prepared wooden bucket.

The “Rare and Precious” coin had already read its information:

Rare Item: One of the Ten-Thousand Marine Rarities, Parrot-Beaked Bluecoat, 2 jin 7 liang.
The flesh is delicious, greatly replenishing vital energy, an excellent tonic for any cultivator, especially nourishing to the body’s foundation.
Value: 300 incense-spirit coins (price fluctuates; the right buyer may pay much more).
Taboo: Anyone eating its flesh will involuntarily mimic others’ speech for a day—cured by eating preserved or pickled plums.
Grinding the beaks of ten Parrot-Beaked Bluecoats to powder and ingesting it grants the permanent skill: Silver Tongue, the ability to mimic anyone’s voice flawlessly.

“Struck it rich.”

With his get-rich plan proven feasible, Wang Cheng burst out laughing.

Although the Cangming Ocean, warded by generations of imperial spells, teemed with dangers, it also hid three thousand Abyssal Treasures, ten thousand Marine Rarities, and countless other aquatic treasures.

Though five thousand years of civilization had passed, not even the oldest Water-Gathering lineages had truly fathomed the ocean’s secrets—not even one ten-thousandth.

It was known only that Abyssal Treasures were inert, Marine Rarities alive, and much of the Water Branch’s heritage came from treasures dredged from the sea.

As for the Ten-Thousand Marine Rarities, their common trait was...strangeness.

Though aquatic, most bore features of land creatures—a blend of mountain and sea, as if someone in ancient times had conducted biological experiments in the ocean’s depths.

Strange or not, their dazzling effects made them objects of envy: eat one and become immune to all poisons, gain swiftness of foot, or ensure generations of descendants...

Many Water-Gatherers speculated that the Water Branch, weakest of the Heaven, Earth, and Water lines, had poured all its fate and virtue into the Cangming Ocean—else whence so many treasures?

Gold light shone in Wang Cheng’s eyes as the endless sea before him shifted again; beneath the water, points of light appeared.

“Water-Gatherers treat the sea as their field, fishing and foraging for profit—making money from the sea is our birthright.

‘Rare and Precious’ can appraise objects, people, and even the world itself, revealing different aspects in different places.

Others depend on luck when fishing; I can see the treasure’s glow beneath the waves and know exactly where to cast.

Though not unique—other professions too possess such talents: the Treasure-Diver, Pearl Maiden; from the Heavenly Branch, the Geomancer and Five-Senses Spirit Inspector; from the Earth Branch, the Mountain Guardian, Mountain Driver, and Sheepherder.

A scholar may even perform prophetic arts to strike it lucky.

But none are as precise as my Four Seas Treasure Coin.

My father built his fortune through maritime trade, a third industry; I’ll build mine from the first—fishing and gathering. It’s the same principle.

So long as I don’t overreach, this trade will be enough to earn me my credentials and a place among the ranks.”

He pulled the Parrot-Beaked Bluecoat from the bucket once more.

“Money comes and goes; let’s eat first.”

He drew the fish-gutting knife from his belt and drove it down.

With his plan coming together and more bounty sure to follow, what mattered most at this stage was his own skill.

Wang Cheng would not mistake the means for the end.

Having eaten many Marine Rarities since childhood, he knew the best effects came from eating them raw. His knife flashed, slicing one side of the fish into translucent sashimi.

He popped a piece into his mouth—it melted instantly, the rich oils bursting with flavor and bringing immense satisfaction.

“Crude conditions—this will have to do. If only I had ginger, scallions, onions, chili, kaffir lime leaves, soy sauce, crushed peanuts, sesame, oil, and salt mixed in—ah, what a taste that would be...”

Soon, he had devoured half the lively Parrot-Beaked Bluecoat.

He carefully saved the precious beak, intending to bring the head, bones, and remaining flesh back for the Zhang brothers to make a meat porridge.

Soon after, a surge of heat coursed from his belly, and he felt his very bones grow warm.

He quickly sat on the boat and practiced the “Dragon Breath Cultivation” technique, refining his organs and blood, absorbing the great nourishment of the Marine Rarity, the spark of inspiration in his heart growing ever brighter.

As time passed, at last, just as the sun edged toward dusk and yin and yang prepared to shift once more—

A thunderclap exploded in his ears, though his face remained calm as still water.

The inner light, now dazzling, finally burst forth like the rising sun, leaping from his heart. Wang Cheng’s eyes snapped open, shining as bright as day.