Volume 6: Overseas Chapter 288: Deep Sea
"Set sail!"
"Weigh anchor!"
The big ship slowly sailed away from the island.
Li Muchan stood at the bow, adding fuel to the fire, while the young man ran up and down, busy turning the sails.
But before they sailed far, the young man suddenly took out a cylindrical object from his waist, then climbed up the mast with nimble hands and feet. He grabbed the cylinder with his left hand and pulled it out, but unexpectedly the cylinder extended a little.
"Someone is following us from the northeast."
The boy hung on the mast like a monkey, with his right eye pressed against the cylinder, as if he could see things that others could not see.
Li Muchan smiled and said, "Don't panic. These people must have followed us. We really underestimated them."
He seemed not to mind being followed at all, but asked, "Is that a Dutch clairvoyance of yours? You seem to be precocious and have a wonderful character. How did you end up stranded overseas?"
The young man said, "I was shipwrecked and my parents died. It was Boss Wu who saved me."
Madam Wu said, "Sir, this child was the one who secretly escorted me off the island."
Li Muchan sighed, "Dozens of adults are not as clear-headed as a child, haha."
As he spoke, he took out the sea map and said, "Look at the islands here. Where do you think we can break out from?"
The young man didn't hesitate. He wiped the sweat from his face and sat down on the deck. He stared at the nautical chart and gestured for a long time before saying, "There are at least eight hundred deserted islands in this sea area, if not a thousand. No matter how many people there are, they can only explore one-tenth of them at best, and most of them are on the periphery. Add to that the Persians, they should be stationed in the southwest and northeast. Let's go in from here..."
Li Muchan asked with a smile, "What about you? How much do you know about this sea area?"
The boy put on his confident expression again and said, "I've already figured out about 20% to 30% of it."
Li Muchan pondered for a moment, then asked, "Do you think there are treasures hidden on these islands?"
It was really strange what he asked.
The young man was a little confused when he heard this. There were countless gold and silver on the island just now, which was also the reason why the pirates were unwilling to leave. If Li Muchan was after the treasure, he should have taken action earlier.
The young man thought for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "These islands are either close or far away. Some are adjacent to each other, some are surrounded by reefs, and some are surrounded by turbulent currents. Even pirates are reluctant to go deep into these islands. Once they go deep into them, even their compasses will fail, and it's easy to get lost."
After listening to this, Li Muchan seemed to be thinking about something and fell silent.
Shangguan Xiaoxian saw him narrow his eyes and knew what he was thinking. But she was also a smart person. She immediately understood Li Muchan's thoughts and asked, "Do you want to know why those remnants of the demon sect came here?"
"That's right." Li Muchan nodded. "I've always felt that there's something fishy about this matter. Perhaps it has something to do with Zhu Da and the others."
Shangguan Xiaoxian thought about it carefully, then made a bold guess: "Do you think the Bodhi relic is also overseas? Or somewhere in this sea area?"
Li Muchan's eyes lit up, "Why do you say that?"
Shangguan Xiaoxian shook his head and said, "It's just a hunch. Besides, didn't they say that this time there's a Persian expert who shares a mastership with the Asura Venerable? And now Zhu Da is the junior fellow of the Demon Cult's founder. They're rivals, and they've all gathered in the East China Sea. They must have ulterior motives. Zhu Da wants the elixir of immortality, but the others might not. If... I mean, if the Bodhi relic is related to the Asura Venerable, does that make sense?"
Ding Linglin followed up, "If Zhu Da had commanded the Seven Seas back then, is it possible that the Asura Venerable would have been defeated overseas?"
Although this was just their speculation, Li Muchan felt a sudden sense of clarity. He whispered, "If this is true, then the Bodhi relic is very likely lost on an island. Or perhaps the Bodhi relic isn't some miraculous medicine at all, otherwise it wouldn't have been left behind by Venerable Ashura."
Li Muchan looked at the young man beside him and asked, "Do you want to venture into the depths?"
The young man didn't answer immediately. Instead, he lowered his head and looked at the chart again. After a while, he said, "I know a route that avoids those reefs."
Li Muchan nodded after hearing this, "Okay."
He made this decision after careful consideration. Since the depths were dangerous, Shen Lang, Li Xunhuan and others might be hiding there. It was impossible for them to be wandering aimlessly on the periphery or on the sea.
Moreover, if Venerable Ashura really died overseas, the most likely place would be the depths of this sea.
It is even very likely that Zhu Da and the other experts have already gone in. This kind of thing should be dealt with sooner rather than later, and we have to go there no matter what.
At this moment, Li Muchan suddenly stood up, and there was no wind around her body. Strands of black hair fluttered in the air. She stretched her waist and flew down from the ship, like a startled wild goose stepping on snow. Her figure was light and ethereal, and she was already far away.
The young man seemed to realize something and hurriedly picked up his clairvoyance to look around. He saw two small boats bobbing up and down with the waves on the sea in the distance. The two people on the boats had their heads cut off, while Li Muchan was looking back with a smile and waving.
The young man was so shocked by what he saw that he was stunned for a long time. "Is this... Qinggong?"
"Of course it's Qinggong," Li Muchan's voice echoed on the boat again. "Boy, I like you. Do you want to learn? I can't teach you Lingkong Xudu, but I can teach you a few of the body movements of Wucai Wuxiang and Qianhuan Piaoxiang."
The boy's face was dark, with a hint of red. He didn't rush to agree after hearing this. Instead, he said doubtfully, "Is it amazing? If not, I won't learn it."
The smile on Li Muchan's face froze. This was the first time he was despised by someone since he became famous all over the world.
Shangguan Xiaoxian was already laughing so hard that she was bent over.
Li Muchan chuckled and said, "You're not very old, but you have a big appetite. How big do you think big is big?"
The young man frowned and thought hard, and after a while he said, "To be the best in the world is to be considered amazing."
Mrs. Wu also laughed when she heard this. "Child, it's not that easy to be the best in the world."
Unexpectedly, the young man said, "Being number one in the world doesn't necessarily mean being number one in martial arts. I heard Brother Wu talk about being number one in swordsmanship, number one in knife skills, number one in palm skills, and number one in boxing. None of these number one skills ended up in a good way. They have to constantly accept challenges from others. Even if they don't lose, they're exhausted. So, I'd rather be number one in Qinggong. Even if someone challenges me, it's just a competition of who can run faster. At least I won't end up in a bad way, right?"
A group of people looked at each other, they didn't expect that this person always had something surprising to say.
Ding Linglin sighed, "If only everyone in the world thought like you, there wouldn't be so much bloodshed and disaster."
"Good boy," Li Muchan said approvingly, "Listen carefully. If you can master my skills to such a level of perfection, you will be unrivaled in the martial arts world. But you must abide by the 'three noes': you cannot be caught, you cannot be caught, and you cannot be hurt. You will be able to roam freely in the vast expanse of the sky and earth, and I guarantee that others will be far behind you."
Unexpectedly, the young man knelt down without even thinking, as if he had been waiting for these words. He kowtowed three times.
"Thank you for your help, sir."
"I'll fulfill it?" Li Muchan raised an eyebrow and asked, "What do you mean?"
The young man stood up, changing his stiff and reserved demeanor. He spoke with a bit of trepidation and embarrassment, "To be honest, ever since I saw you soar up the cliff as if it were flat ground, I've been thinking about you for a long time."
Li Muchan once again examined the young man. Far from blaming him, he praised him wholeheartedly, "Excellent. You know what you want and how to get it. You're already stronger than 90% of the people in the martial arts world. Once you master this skill, you'll be able to catch up with the remaining 10%."
The young man was puzzled. "Excuse me, sir, who is Jiucheng? And who is Yicheng?"
Shangguan Xiaoxian laughed and said, "There are countless warriors in this world. The only difference is you, me, him, and them. They are the 90% of people, and only those who have reached the pinnacle can be you, me, and him."
