90: Chapter 90 Core Realization, Qualitative Change in Foundation

Elder Tianji placed the bone fragment on the table.

He did not state a price immediately.

Instead, he withdrew a palm-sized, dark golden square tray from his sleeve and placed the bone fragment upon it.

A layer of extremely thin light patterns emerged on the surface of the tray, rippling toward the edges like fine waves stirred by the wind on water.

With each ripple, a line of ancient characters that Lu Changyuan did not recognize appeared on the tray's surface.

These characters were not written; they emerged from the depths of the tray itself.

The strokes were ancient, so old they seemed to have been buried for thousands of years before seeing the light for the first time.

Elder Tianji stared at those characters for quite a while.

Then he looked up.

"Star-Falling Sea Eye."

"That place existed before this sea of stars was even called the 'Star Sea'."

He pushed the tray forward so that Lu Changyuan could also clearly see the light patterns on it.

"This fragment of yours is not an ordinary rubbing. It is a fragment that has been brushed by the Black Tide and pulled from the depths by the old key of the Northern Xuan Turtle Vein.

In other words, it is not just a piece of a map—it is a piece of a key."

Lu Changyuan's expression shifted slightly.

"A key?"

"Correct." Elder Tianji extended a finger and tapped the bone fragment.

"The complete Star-Falling Sea Eye map can open the door itself.

Although yours is fragmentary, the position of the damage is very convenient—it is exactly the section of the door bolt.

When you reach the place where it can be used, it will be far more valuable than a complete map of the periphery."

He paused.

"One hundred thousand."

Lu Hu, standing to the side, couldn't help but gasp.

He didn't understand what these Star Realm trading points were.

However, the tone Elder Tianji used when stating this number was completely different from the tone Manager Zhou of Jubao Pavilion used when quoting amounts of Spirit Stones.

When Manager Zhou quoted a number, it was like cutting off his own flesh.

When Elder Tianji quoted a number, it sounded like he was commenting on the nice weather today.

Lu Changyuan did not reply immediately either.

He quickly did some mental math.

When Elder Tianji had looked at the terrain map earlier, he had said that what Blue Moon Island lacked was not a powerful Magic Treasure, but a set of foundational items that could simultaneously elevate the people, ships, fields, sea beasts, and Workshop.

One hundred thousand trading points sounded like a lot, but if the items in the treasury were so expensive that one piece could cost eighty or ninety thousand, then these one hundred thousand wouldn't last long.

He didn't keep these thoughts to himself.

"Senior," he asked directly, "with one hundred thousand points, how many things can I exchange for in your treasury?"

Elder Tianji chuckled.

There was a hint of appreciation in that smile.

"A good question."

He raised his hand and wiped across the square tray.

The starlight around the reef suddenly brightened.

It did not light up from the sea surface.

It came from overhead.

Lu Changyuan looked up.

The night sky, which had originally only contained mist and dark clouds, was now covered by a layer of extremely faint silvery light.

Within the silver light, one after another, light curtains were pulled open from the void, as if someone had unfurled an endless manifest from the depths of the Star Sea.

On every light curtain floated an item—not a physical object, but a phantom image, yet so clear that one could see the dew on the leaves, the patterns on the scales, and the tiny nicks worn into sword blades by the passage of time.

The light curtains flipped over page by page.

Lu Hu watched, his mouth hanging open, forgetting to close it.

He saw a tree that was entirely silver-white; the fruits hanging from its crown were not fruits, but golden light cores that pulsed one by one.

He saw a young beast curled up in deep sleep, its scales dark gold, and every breath it took made the surrounding light curtains expand and contract, as if the entire space were keeping time with its rhythm.

He saw a sword.

The blade was very narrow.

Three star cores of different colors were embedded in the crossguard.

A line of text floated beside the sword.

Lu Hu did not recognize the characters.

But he recognized the sword.

Even though that sword was just a phantom image, it made the blade at his waist tremble slightly.

Elder Tianji did not rush them, letting the two of them watch for quite a while.

The light curtains continued to flip.

Lu Changyuan saw a coral—entirely transparent, with extremely fine stardust flowing inside.

Every time it flowed in a circle, a wisp of pale white light mist drifted out.

When the light mist touched the phantom image of a dead sea area on the adjacent light curtain, the color of that sea area visibly cleared up a little.

He saw a jade-colored spike with roots anchored in a piece of black soil; the head of the spike hung with three plump, golden grains.

A faint Spiritual Qi flowed within each grain.

He saw many things.

Too many.

So many that for the first time, he understood what it meant to "not know how to choose."

Opening up Blue Moon Island, defending Xuangui Island to the death, scavenging for goods in the Xingyan market, picking up bottom-priced populations on Black Reef Island—at those times, he was always looking for whatever he lacked.

If he lacked Spirit Stones, he sought Spirit Stones; if he lacked combat power, he sought combat power; if he lacked time, he traded his life for time.

The direction of every endeavor was very clear.

But now it was different.

He held one hundred thousand trading points in his hand, facing an entire treasury that far exceeded the level of the local cultivation world.

He could exchange for an immortal sword capable of cleaving through the defense of a Golden Core Late Stage Cultivator in one strike.

He could also exchange for an Earth Vein Jade Heart that could directly jump the grade of Blue Moon Island's Spiritual Vein by one level.

He could exchange for a Star Sea ancient beast cub that, upon reaching adulthood, could go head-to-head with a Nascent Soul Early Stage Cultivator.

He could also exchange for a thousand-year spirit milk spring eye that could batch-cleanse the marrow of all the Mortal Martial Artists on the island.

Every item was excellent.

But he could only choose a few.

And once he chose wrong, the path Blue Moon Island would take for the next few decades would be skewed.

Elder Tianji seemed to enjoy watching him in this state.

The old man topped up his teacup and sipped slowly.

"Little fellow," he set down the cup, "you are here to exchange items for your territory, not for yourself."

Lu Changyuan's heart stirred.

"What does Senior mean?"

"Take out the terrain map you showed me earlier."

Lu Changyuan immediately took out the Blue Moon Island terrain map and spread it out on the table.

Elder Tianji reached out and pointed to several places on the map:

"The water veins are on the cold side—which means your spiritual plants cannot be those that prefer warmth.

The reef plates are fragmented—which means things with deep root systems won't survive.

The Outer Port is decent—which means the sea routes are better to travel than the land routes.

There is residual Devilish Qi from the magic tide in the near seas—which means purification capabilities are more urgent than offensive capabilities."

His finger moved to the location on the map marked with the population.

"Six thousand four hundred quota, plus the original population, nearly ten thousand people.

With so many people, how many Foundation Establishment Cultivators are there?"

"Over ten."

"What about food?"

"We rely on external purchases and spiritual field supplements." Lu Changyuan did not hide anything.

"The Foundation of the spiritual fields is poor; the yield cannot support the current population."

Elder Tianji nodded.

He looked over the terrain map once.

He also flipped through a few pages of the total population quota registry.

Finally, he picked up the bottle of purification liquid and shook it.

Then he raised his hand and pointed at the sky full of light curtains several times.

Six light curtains flew over from different directions, landing above the wooden table in a row.

"I will filter out six items for you first."

"As for the remaining points, you can choose for yourself."

He pointed to the first light curtain.

Inside the light curtain was the transparent coral that Lu Changyuan had noticed earlier.

"Starlight Coral mother branch," Elder Tianji said, "plant it under the Outer Port berths, and it will expand outward on its own.

One mother branch can pave thirty zhang of purified water area in a year.

That seabed of yours in the near seas that was polluted by the magic tide will be clean in three years of paving.

Whatever you raise in the purified sea area will survive—seaweed, fish schools, shellfish farms, including the pure water needed for your devil-cleansing thunder bamboo."

He pointed to the second light curtain.

Inside the light curtain was a spike half a person tall, its roots anchored in black soil, with three golden grains hanging from the head of the spike.

"earth vein jade spike," the old man said, "this thing is not picky about soil.

Cold soil, gravelly ground, the thin soil layer on the edge of the reef plates—it can take root in all of them.

It yields three harvests a season, and each mu can support forty people.

The population that your island's meager spiritual fields cannot support, it will help you support.

Its roots can also improve the soil quality—after planting for three years, the underlying soil layer can change from thin soil to arable land."

Lu Changyuan quickly did the math in his mind.

Forty people per mu.

Three harvests a season.

Even if he only planted one hundred mu, he could support twelve thousand more people in a year.

He pressed his fingers lightly on his knee.

This was no longer just food.

This was the root of the population.

Elder Tianji pointed to the third light curtain.

Inside the light curtain was an egg the size of a human head; the eggshell was dark cyan, with extremely faint golden patterns flowing slowly on the surface, resembling ocean currents.

"Sea-Covering Xuan Turtle egg," the old man said, "after this thing hatches, it spends the first three hundred years growing its shell; its offensive power is not strong, but its defensive power can rank in the top ten among its peers.

If you raise it in the Outer Port, the ships, berths, and warehouses in the port will all be under its shell.

Sea beasts below the Golden Core stage will not dare to approach.

Three hundred years later, when it reaches adulthood, if a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator wants to move against your island, they will have to ask if its shell agrees first."

Lu Hu swallowed his saliva on the side.

Three hundred years.

He was wondering if he could live until then.

But Lu Changyuan was not thinking about three hundred years later.

He was thinking about what a young beast that could keep sea beasts below the Golden Core stage from approaching meant for the current Blue Moon Island—it meant that the cargo ships docked at the Outer Port berths would no longer have to fear being capsized by semi-demonized sea beasts in the middle of the night, it meant that fishing boats in the Outer Sea could go fishing by sticking close to its deterrence zone, and it meant that Blue Moon Island had gained a layer of living defense line that could operate continuously without consuming Spirit Stones or manpower.

Elder Tianji pointed to the fourth light curtain.

Inside the light curtain was a cluster of dark blue vines; the vines were covered in fine, dense golden patterns, and the roots were deeply anchored in the cracks of a reef.

"Gold-patterned Iron Thorn Vine," the old man said, "it specializes in drilling into the crevices of reefs. The hardness of its vine body is comparable to Third-Grade Cold Iron. Once fully grown, it can connect an entire piece of fragmented reef plate into a single whole. Your Outer Port's reef plate is too fragmented; whenever the waves are a bit high, the edges collapse. Half the money spent on repairing the Pier and berths goes into patching the reef. Plant a circle of this, and in three years, the reef plate will be stronger than a city wall. The mature vines can be cut down and used as ship keels; they are more resistant to sea beast gnawing than the wooden keels you use now."

Lu Changyuan memorized four words in his heart: reef plate, ship keel.

Elder Tianji pointed to the fifth light screen.

Inside the light screen was a fist-sized shell. The shell was translucent white, and inside, a faint blue light was slowly rotating.

"cold marrow jade shell," the old man said, "the water vein on your island is on the colder side—other spirit shells fear the cold, but this one does not. Place it in the cold water layer of the Outer Port, and it will find a cold spring eye to attach itself to, secreting a layer of cold jade marrow every year. Cold jade marrow is the best auxiliary Cultivation material for water-attribute Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage, and it is also a basic spiritual material for refining water-attribute Magical Artifacts. One mother shell can produce three to five layers of cold jade marrow a year, and each layer can sell for three thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones in the Outer Sea market."

Lu Hu started calculating on the side.

One mother shell, three to five layers a year, three thousand per layer.

That is nine thousand to fifteen thousand a year.

Ten mother shells would be ninety thousand to one hundred and fifty thousand.

He held his breath for a long time before blurting out, "Young Lord, this thing can make money."

Elder Tianji chuckled.

"Your guard is faster at calculating than fighting."

Lu Hu's face flushed.

Elder Tianji pointed to the sixth light screen.

Inside the light screen was a section of emerald green bamboo.

It was different from the devil-cleansing thunder bamboo.

On the nodes of this bamboo were naturally formed silver runes; they were not carved, but grew out. The runes flickered in rhythm with the bamboo's own breathing, like the ocean tide.

"tide sound spirit bamboo," the old man said, "it cannot purify Devilish Qi. But it can coexist with any kind of spirit bamboo. Plant it next to your devil-cleansing thunder bamboo, and the thunder bamboo's speed at purifying Devilish Qi will triple. At the same time, it will absorb the water Spiritual Qi that dissipates during the rise and fall of the tides and convert it into wood Spiritual Qi that can be absorbed by the Spiritual Vein—if you plant twenty tide sound spirit bamboo here on the micro-Spiritual Vein on your island, its grade can be raised by half a level to one level within five years."

Lu Changyuan looked at that section of bamboo.

He thought of the Thunder Bamboo Garden.

He thought of Ye Zhe's thin, small figure.

He thought of Luo Qingcheng trading a wisp of Geng Metal Sword Intent for thirty percent of the future thunder nodes.

He thought of the relentless drive Su Qingli showed even after failing three times to test the purification liquid.

The devil-cleansing thunder bamboo had only been masked in its aura.

It needed more time.

None of the six items Elder Tianji chose were for fighting.

But each one hit the weakest joints of Blue Moon Island.

Purifying the sea area, food Foundation, Outer Port defense, reef plate stability, turning local products into cash, and cultivating the Spiritual Vein.

These six directions pushed Blue Moon Island right to the threshold of transforming from "a small island that can fight" into "a large island that can grow on its own."

"Senior," Lu Changyuan stood up and bowed solemnly, "I want all six."

Elder Tianji smiled and flicked the square plate a few times.

The six light screens lit up simultaneously.

The number on the square plate jumped to twelve thousand.

"The six items total eighty-eight thousand trading points. Browse for the remaining twelve thousand yourself."

The light screen began to turn pages again.

Lu Changyuan looked through them page by page.

The things he could exchange for twelve thousand were clearly a grade lower than the previous six. But for his current cultivation level and the next stage of development for Blue Moon Island, each one was worth more than Spirit Stones.

He first exchanged for one hundred catties of thousand-year spirit milk.

Not a spring—a spring was too expensive; twelve thousand couldn't afford it. One hundred catties of spirit milk was enough for him to distribute a few catties to each of the ten or so Foundation Establishment Cultivators on the island, solidifying their Foundations at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment once more.

He continued browsing with the remaining points.

When he reached the last page, he stopped.

In the corner of the light screen was a black box wrapped in heavy chains.

The box was not big.

It was not much longer than his palm.

The chains sealing the box were not real chains—they were a physical form condensed from some kind of Restriction. On each link of the chain floated a dark red rune, slowly rotating like half-open, half-closed eyes.

A line of text was marked under the box.

Twenty thousand trading points.

Lu Changyuan stared at the box.

He didn't click on it.

But the heavenly secret jade slip jumped very lightly in his Sea of Consciousness.

It wasn't a warning.

It was the kind of movement he had only felt on two occasions—the first was on the full moon night when the Jade Slip was first activated, and the second was when it popped up the incomplete clues about the Star-Falling Sea Eye.

Elder Tianji had already appeared beside him at some point.

"Interested?"

"Senior, what is inside this?"

Elder Tianji stroked his beard.

"An old thing sealed by thirteen Nascent Soul Stage level Restrictions. I don't know how many years it has been sealed, but it has passed through more than twenty buyers in my hands—each buyer failed to open it in the end and returned it as it was."

"Why?"

"Because the price to open it is written on the cover of the Restriction."

The old man reached out and tapped the light screen.

The box rotated half a turn.

A line of tiny ancient characters appeared on the bottom of the box.

Lu Changyuan recognized a few of them.

The first word of that line was—Blood Sacrifice.

Elder Tianji withdrew his hand and looked at him.

"Little guy, you don't have enough points left. If you want to exchange for this, you have to return one of the items you just exchanged. Or—" he paused, "you can keep your points for now. When you feel you are ready, come find me again."

Lu Changyuan was silent for a few breaths.

Then he flipped the light screen back to the front.

"Senior, I will not return them."

"Six base items, one hundred catties of spirit milk. Points spent."

Elder Tianji looked at him.

The old man neither said good nor bad.

He took out a small jade talisman from his sleeve and placed it on the table.

"This is my contact talisman. It is valid for three times."

"Within three times, if you come to find me, I will come. After three times, the talisman will shatter."

Lu Changyuan took the jade talisman.

The talisman felt warm and smooth in his hand.

He kept it close to his body.

Elder Tianji stood up and brushed his clothes.

"The mother seeds and cultivation methods for the six base items will be delivered to your island. The seeds of the earth vein jade spike can be planted in the soil under the seventh day's sunlight. Don't forget to test the water temperature before putting the Starlight Coral mother branch into the water—that cold sea of yours is just right for it. When the Sea-Covering Xuan Turtle egg hatches, someone needs to be there to watch over it; it will remember the person guarding it at the very first moment it breaks its shell. Remember, whoever that is, it will be closest to them in the future."

Lu Changyuan memorized each one.

The old man turned around.

The starlight began to retract.

The light screens extinguished one by one.

The reef was shrouded in thin mist again.

The light of that thatched cottage also dimmed.

"Senior!" Lu Changyuan called out.

Elder Tianji turned his head back.

"That box," Lu Changyuan asked, "what exactly is inside it?"

The old man smiled.

That smile blended with the sea mist, making it hard to see clearly.

"When you no longer have only one life to bet, come and ask me again."

"For now—"

His figure became increasingly faint.

"Go back and grow your island."

The mist dispersed.

The reef was empty.

The wooden table, teacups, thatched cottage, along with the starlight that had paved the light screens overhead, all disappeared as if they had never existed.

Only a dark gold Storage Ring placed on the table proved that everything just now was real.

Lu Changyuan picked up the ring.

He probed his Divine Sense inside.

Six clusters of mother seeds wrapped in light membranes floated quietly in the storage space, and ten sealed jade jars were stacked next to them—that was one hundred catties of thousand-year spirit milk.

He withdrew his Divine Sense and put the ring on his finger.

The sea breeze poured back into this reef.

It was salty and cold.

It was exactly the same as when he arrived.

Lu Hu stood behind him, holding it in for a long time before speaking: "Young Lord, was this trip—worth it?"

Lu Changyuan looked down at the ring on his hand.

He looked up again in the direction of Blue Moon Island.

"Whether it's worth it," he said, "we'll only know in three years."

He turned around.

"Let's go. There are over six thousand people on the island waiting to eat."

The two released the spirit boat.

The spirit boat broke through the sea mist and flew toward Blue Moon Island.

The nameless reef behind them became smaller and smaller.

On the horizon ahead, a line of gray-blue island shadow was slowly emerging in the morning light.

Lu Changyuan pressed the contact jade talisman in his bosom.

Three times.

He silently noted a date in his heart.

The day Blue Moon Island planted all six base items, raised them, and grew the first harvest, he would use his first contact opportunity.

By then, what he would ask was not what was inside that box.

It was whether the Restriction on that box could be opened with the life he held in his hands.