The broad deck was a hubbub of voices, bustling and crowded, resembling a grand marketplace.
Bored on the ship, people gathered on the deck, engaging in various transactions.
Some set up stalls, others sought purchases, some inquired about the recent situation of the sea tribes, while others scoured for personnel, offering substantial rewards to recruit top experts.
Shouts and calls were incessant.
"Phoenix Flight Flower, can extend life for a thousand years, traded for a top-grade immortal armor."
"Six-patterned purple copper, sun-radiant immortal iron, various rare metals on sale, good quality and low price, bulk purchases receive preferential treatment."
"Seeking Confucian masters proficient in ancient texts, remuneration starting at one hundred thousand immortal crystals."
...
The deck shimmered with treasure light and glowed with immortal mist, displaying a dazzling array of treasures that left one’s eyes overwhelmed.
Many items appeared astonishing but were actually fakes. Without a discerning eye, one could easily be swindled like a fool.
Of course, there were also hidden gems, sold as junk. With good luck, one could unearth items of astonishing value.
Hearing these shouts, Bonu's interest was piqued. She tugged Ji Mo along, intending to find some good items.
At the stern of the ship.
Someone was fishing.
To be precise, it should be fishing for sea monsters.
It was a cultivator with dragon horns on his head, holding a nearly hundred-meter-long sea fishing rod, wrestling with some colossal creature.
His physique was not imposing, but he was lean and agile, his muscles bulging, unleashing unimaginable strength.
Waves crashed on the sea surface, and a massive fish tail incessantly slapped the water. Its dark body, about sixty to seventy meters long, thrashed wildly.
"Captain Ao Cheng, it's a tiger-striped whale!"
Several people nearby exclaimed, gazing at the dragon-horned cultivator with adoration.
The tiger-striped whale was a notorious beast from the Arctic Ocean, with tough skin and immense strength, capable of easily capsizing ships more than ten times its size.
Yet now, it was being toyed with by their captain until it rolled belly-up, unable to break free.
Ao Cheng was the captain of this ship. No one knew his true origin, only that he possessed a trace of dragon bloodline and his strength was unfathomable.
The man and the sea monster were locked in a struggle.
However, the tiger-striped whale ultimately succumbed. In terms of its greatest asset, strength, it was utterly crushed by Ao Cheng. Finally, exhausted, it was reeled in.
But strangely, Ao Cheng released his catch, unhooked the fish, and threw the tiger-striped whale back into the sea.
"Captain Ao Cheng, why did you release the fish? This tiger-striped whale is worth a fortune; its entire body is a treasure."
Several crew members were bewildered, unable to comprehend why Ao Cheng would do such a foolish thing.
It was no different from throwing money into the water; it was too wasteful.
"Too small."
Ao Cheng casually clapped his hands, a peculiar smile on his face.
"Small?"
The crew members exchanged glances. They couldn't fathom how the captain's appetite could be so large to consider such a massive sea monster small.
"Yes, this time, I'm going to catch something big."
Ao Cheng turned to look at the people on the deck, his smile becoming meaningful.
In the depths of his pupils, a sinister glint flashed. No one knew his true intentions.
Ji Mo and Bonu were stopped. The stall owner greeted them with a smile, introducing the merchandise before them.
There, a crystal coffin was displayed, containing an ancient corpse. It was entirely blue and exuded a powerful pressure, indicating it was no ordinary item.
"They're selling dead people too?"
Bonu looked disgusted and turned to leave.
"Little girl, you don't understand," the stall owner stopped her and quickly said, "Have you heard of the Blue-blooded people? Legend has it they were a powerful race that survived from the previous era. This ancient corpse is the divine corpse of a Blue-blooded person."
"This fellow is a Blue-blooded person?"
Ji Mo couldn't help but blink.
"That's right."
The stall owner nodded and continued, "A while ago, ancient ruins were discovered within Blue Jade City, and I unearthed this ancient corpse from there. It was a near-death experience to obtain him. This ancient corpse holds unimaginable value and may contain the secret to the Blue-blooded people's successful evasion of the harvest. I'm not asking for a high price, just some compensation for my hardships."
Seeing Ji Mo's naive appearance, the stall owner thought he had found a fat lamb and was contemplating how to fleece him.
"Good stuff! It must be sold at a high price. I won't agree if it's cheap."
Ji Mo feigned great interest and said, "It's said that the bones of the Blue-blooded people are like vajra, difficult to damage. I wonder if it's true. Shall I give it a squeeze?"
The stall owner was almost laughing out loud. He nodded, "Go ahead and squeeze it. I guarantee it's as hard as iron and difficult to damage."
Ji Mo chuckled and directly reached out. With a crack, he snapped the corpse's leg off on the spot.
"Ah..."
A shrill scream suddenly erupted.
A terrifying thing happened.
The Blue-blooded corpse suddenly came to life, jumped out of the coffin, and started yelling while clutching its broken leg.
"Fake?"
Bonu was startled. She hadn't expected this dried corpse to be a person in disguise.
She was very curious how Ji Mo saw through the trick at a glance when she hadn't noticed anything amiss.
The stall owner flew into a rage. He thought he had encountered a gullible customer, but it turned out to be someone playing the tiger while disguised as a pig. He glared at Ji Mo, intending to attack.
"Forget it, let's go!"
The fake corpse quickly stopped him, pulling him away in haste.
He sensed that Ji Mo was not to be trifled with, and if he made a move, the outcome might not be favorable.
"Kid, I'll remember you."
The stall owner uttered a harsh threat and left indignantly.
"A liar being so arrogant. Believe it or not, I'll break all three of your legs."
Ji Mo snorted, completely unfazed.
Honestly, trying to swindle him. They must have been blind.
The Blue-blooded people were reduced to mere skeletons; where would such a corpse come from?
Besides, only three people escaped alive from underground that day, and you weren't one of them.
This stall owner was truly unlucky to try and trick Ji Mo.
"Mo Mo, how are you so smart?"
Bonu's eyes widened, full of admiration.
"The Blue-blooded people had rotted down to just skeletons; there are no such corpses. When the Chi family digs out my skeleton army later, I'll get some for you to play with."
Ji Mo mused that perhaps the crystal skeleton legion could be controlled by Bonu in the future.
A beautiful loli controlling an undead army – that would be explosive.
"Ew, skeleton soldiers? I don't want them."
Bonu shook her head, looking disgusted.
Surrounded by a bunch of dead bones all day would be too dirty; she didn't want them at all.
Poor Bonu, she had no idea what she was missing.
However, it was understandable, as girls preferred beautiful things.
Ji Mo sighed. If she didn't want them, so be it. He could use them himself later; being an undead mage didn't seem bad either.
Then, with a single move like "Undead Cataclysm," he could sweep across the world, which would be quite imposing.
"Is that?"
Suddenly, Ji Mo's gaze fell upon a stall not far away, and he showed a look of surprise.