Boarding the Ship

"Degree of waste and consumption?"

"Yes, meaning that if you absorb spiritual energy from a spirit stone to cultivate, you don't actually absorb the exact amount of energy contained within it. A lot of spiritual energy will dissipate during the process."

Saying this, Liao Pantu paused and added:

"Since you are now in the cultivation world, let me give you one more piece of advice. Do not exchange mid-grade spirit stones for ordinary spirit stones, especially not in those shops."

Hearing this, Lin Xiao figured that such an exchange would likely result in a huge loss, so he decisively agreed.

Then, for some reason, he thought of Senior Liao's cave dwelling.

The roof inside seemed to be made entirely of ordinary spirit stones; no mid-grade spirit stones were used at all.

Lin Xiao blinked, secretly thinking that paving a roof with mid-grade spirit stones was something even someone as incredibly wealthy as Senior Liao could not quite afford.

Returning to the inn, Jiang Youfu and Lin Xiao took the spiritual food to Yuan Qing's room, watched him eat it, and then returned to their own room.

Early the next morning, before the sun even rose, the three of them set out for the boarding point outside Yuanling City.

Last night, Yuan Qing was extremely surprised to see that Lin Xiao and the others had actually brought him spiritual food.

After all, there were not many shops selling spiritual food in Yuanling City.

Lin Xiao told him that they just happened to see a mobile vendor selling it on the street, and since it was not expensive, they bought it for him to try.

Smelling the appetizing aroma of the spiritual food on the table and hearing Lin Xiao's explanation, Yuan Qing did not doubt his story at all, even though he knew there were probably very few people in Yuanling City capable of making such spiritual food. He immediately sat down and began to eat.

By now, even if Lin Xiao told Yuan Qing that he was the sect master of the Tianxuan Sect, Yuan Qing would probably believe him without hesitation.

Let alone something as simple as a small vendor selling spiritual food in Yuanling City.

Not long after finishing his meal, he could not resist his drowsiness and went back to bed to sleep.

When he was woken up by Lin Xiao and the others the next day, Yuan Qing discovered that his body had recovered more overnight than it had in the previous few days combined.

He could already move freely like a normal person, though he still could not use his spiritual power for the time being.

Yuan Qing did not think much of it; he only felt increasingly grateful to Lin Xiao and the others.

However, this was not because the healing effect of the spiritual food made by Jiang Youfu was much better than that of Sun Yigao's pills. It was because Lin Xiao had only given Yuan Qing Sun Yigao's pill when he was critically injured and unconscious.

Later, Yuan Qing had been taking his own pills.

Coupled with the fact that his body was severely depleted, his recovery had been very slow.

Now, with Sun Yigao's pill as a foundation and Jiang Youfu's spiritual food to consolidate it, the combination naturally allowed his body to heal quickly.

It was still early dawn, but a long line had already formed at the boarding point.

Because Lin Xiao remembered the voice reminding him that the ship would depart at the hour of Chen when he bought the tickets, he had deliberately come out early.

In the open space at the west gate of Yuanling City, a massive spirit ship was already parked. From a distance, one could see a protective array covering the hull, with only a small opening at the boarding entrance.

This way, no one could sneak aboard from anywhere else.

Two guards stood outside the small opening, but there was no one responsible for collecting tickets.

Everyone just walked toward the opening holding the ticket they had purchased. Then, just like collecting the entrance fee for Yuanling City, the ticket would be absorbed the moment the person passed through.

This completely eliminated the possibility of evading the fare.

Not long after Lin Xiao and the other two boarded the ship, they saw the two guards at the entrance say to the people behind:

"The boarding capacity for Yuanling City has been reached. Please come early in five days, fellow Daoists."

They spoke very loudly to ensure everyone in the back could hear.

Lin Xiao and the other two, who were still strolling along the gunwale, naturally heard it as well.

"Ah? Hasn't the ship always departed at the hour of Si? Why is it so early this time!"

"Exactly, you guys are scamming people!"

"And it's obvious that the number of people boarding today is much smaller! I missed the departure last time, but it wasn't like they stopped letting people on after such a short time!"

...

The people who failed to board the ship began to clamor below.

But the two guards paid them no mind. They quickly turned and entered the opening, then sealed it shut.

Seeing this, Lin Xiao recalled that when he went to buy a ticket for Yuan Qing yesterday, no one had reminded him of the specific departure time like they had three days ago.

As for the departure date, it was actually on every ticket, and one only needed to use their divine sense to check it.

Of course, for those in the Qi Condensation stage, they would have to stick the ticket to their forehead to check it, provided they could use their divine sense.

The people who failed to board voiced their dissatisfaction below, but they did not dare to curse too loudly. Everyone knew that in the Southern Spirit Domain, these spirit ships were jointly operated by several powerful sects.

However, the spirit ship ignored these people who failed to board. Just moments after closing the entrance, the massive spirit ship slowly rose into the air and flew toward the distance at a steady speed.

Standing on the deck, Lin Xiao watched the scenery receding below.

The flying speed of this spirit ship was truly not slow.

There were also some other guests strolling around the deck. Occasionally, there were cultivators who liked to strike up conversations, as well as those peddling goods.

There were still many empty rooms on the ship.

These passenger cabins had a total of five floors. Each room was not large, and they were not numbered, allowing guests to choose freely.

In other words, as long as no one had set up a restriction from the inside, anyone could enter.

Although the spirit ship was not slow, the distance was vast, and the journey would take several days. They could not just wander around the deck the whole time.

So Lin Xiao and the other two went and picked two adjacent empty rooms to stay in.

Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu shared one room, while Yuan Qing had one to himself.

Lin Xiao lent Yuan Qing an isolating defensive array.

Then he stayed in the adjacent room with Jiang Youfu to cultivate.

After all, there was really nothing to do on the ship, and wandering around too much would draw too much attention. It was better to stay in the room and cultivate.

During this time, a few people came and knocked on their door. Lin Xiao had noticed earlier that many guests on the ship had opened their doors, so to avoid drawing the attention of those with ulterior motives, he followed the crowd and opened his as well.

Before departing from Yuanling City, all three of them had disguised themselves using the high-level disguise masks generously sponsored by Senior Liao.

It was said that even Nascent Soul or Deity Transformation experts might not be able to see through their true appearances.

Among those who knocked on the door, one came to peddle goods, while the rest came to ask if they could travel together or wanted to make friends.

Lin Xiao coldly rejected all of them.

Because Senior Liao had said that if you pretended to be hesitant or weak, these people would definitely think there was a chance you would agree, and that you were easy to bully, which would likely lead to endless trouble.

Therefore, it was better to directly put on a cold, unapproachable demeanor, which would actually help avoid some trouble.