Cultivation: I have an equipment slot

Chapter 168 Water Gemstone and Sea Dragon
In the vast underground world, Zhang Yan, Feng Lei, and the dragon had already concealed their forms and could not be seen from the outside at all.

Zhang Yan rode a flying sword, swiftly streaking across the sky.

His goal was very clear: to move quickly in one direction. Although he was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, with the support of supernatural powers, his flight speed was much faster than that of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators.

In less than a quarter of an hour, he arrived at a village.

The village looked somewhat dilapidated, with half of the wooden houses collapsed. Inside these houses lived a group of fish-men who looked no different from ordinary people—if you ignored the children's size and their fish heads.

"They actually all have cultivation within them?" In Zhang Yan's spiritual perception, there were only a few dozen fishmen in this group, but what was amazing was that each of them had fluctuations of magical power.

However, the mana fluctuations on most merfolk are only at the early stage of Qi Refining, which is very weak. Occasionally, a few mana fluctuations at the mid-stage of Weapon Refining are emanating from adult merfolk.

As for the late stage of Qi Refining, he hasn't seen it yet.

Even so, it is still quite amazing.

This means that every one of these fish-men can cultivate; in other words, each of them has a spiritual root, something that humans would never even dare to dream of.

Among humans, those with spiritual roots are one in ten thousand, and those who possess spiritual roots and are capable of cultivation are even fewer.

These fish-men are born with magical powers, and it must be said that the world truly favors them in this respect. However, the world is also fair.

Although each of these fish-men possesses magical power, their intelligence is clearly inferior to that of humans, and their physiques are also not as strong.

It can only be said that you have to give up something to gain something.

"But these fishmen... they feel weird?" Zhang Yan looked at the fishmen and felt that something was off about them.

It took him a long time to realize what was happening.

In this murloc village, there are almost no adult murlocs; they are all old, weak, sick, or disabled. The few adult murlocs that are there are also covered in scars.

"Damn, did they run away?" Suddenly, Zhang Yan thought of a possibility.

This merman village must have been abandoned. He sensed the magical power fluctuations of a Foundation Establishment cultivator here, and he was just wondering where that guy was hiding.

It now appears that the other side has already taken away all the able-bodied young fishmen from the village.

Then only the elderly, weak, sick and disabled were left behind.

"That's clever..." Zhang Yan sneered. Instead of killing the fishmen in the village, he used a supernatural power to seal off the entire village.

Then, he chanted a spell and released a paper crane. After circling in the air a few times, the paper crane chose a direction and flew away.

"over there."

Zhang Yan piloted his flying sword, flying rapidly. Because he was underground, strangely shaped rocks would occasionally appear in the air.

Fortunately, because of Mu Sen, he had a method for controlling flying swords, so his speed did not decrease, but was even faster than usual.

The further Zhang Yan went, the more shocked he became.

This underground world was much larger than he had imagined. He had been flying for so long, yet he didn't feel dizzy at all.

Fortunately, he finally caught up.

Contrary to Zhang Yan's expectations, the fleeing fishmen did not fly. Instead, they used water magic in the swamp, and their speed was quite fast, at least much faster than Qi Refining stage cultivators of the same level.

The leader of these merfolk was a short merfolk with a white beard and white eyebrows.

Upon seeing the white-browed fishman, Feng Lei immediately displayed extreme hostility.

"You better behave yourself." Zhang Yan patted Feng Lei's head.

This guy is really ungrateful for getting a good deal.

It killed so many of the other party's murlocs, yet it doesn't know it's wrong. Now that it's encountered someone who attacked it, it's getting angry instead.

After confirming that the opponent was only a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Zhang Yan revealed himself, channeled his magic power, and pressed down on the opponent.

The poor fishmen were still fleeing when they felt a terrifying threat coming from the sky, and then they saw Zhang Yan descending from the sky with wind and thunder.

Upon seeing this, dozens of fishmen below immediately took out their harpoons and confronted Zhang Yan.

Zhang Yan merely snorted in response to the fishman's provocation.

Instantly, all the fishmen felt the thunderous roar and were all stunned.

Only the old merman in the Foundation Establishment stage had some ability to resist, and he managed to condense an ice crystal to attack Zhang Yan.

The old murloc's magic wasn't sophisticated, and even seemed somewhat crude, but its speed was surprisingly fast. Unfortunately, however, its power was insufficient.

Zhang Yan didn't even need to use any magic weapons; he simply flicked his wrist and shattered the opponent's ice crystals.

When the old fishman saw this, his dead fish eyes almost popped out of their sockets, as if in disbelief. He muttered something under his breath, as if he wanted to fight Zhang Yan to the death.

"snort.

act recklessly."

Seeing this, Zhang Yan's eyes turned cold, and a powerful surge of magic power erupted from his body, catching the old merman completely off guard.

He was knocked unconscious by his powerful magic.

"Hissssss~"

Upon witnessing this scene, Feng Lei couldn't help but wander around Zhang Yan, its eyes filled with joy. It even kept flicking its tongue, as if it wanted to swallow the fishman whole.

However, Zhang Yan stopped him.

Feng Lei wasn't annoyed. He simply used his tail to lift the fishman up and shake him constantly. Then, one by one, blue things fell out and were swallowed by Feng Lei.

"what is this?"

Seeing this, Zhang Yan grabbed Feng Lei, then reached into his mouth and pulled a piece out of his throat.

Feng Lei stared wide-eyed, tears streaming down his face, at Zhang Yan in disbelief.

Zhang Yancai didn't care about it.

He just stared at the blue, gem-like object in his hand.

"This is……

Water gem? "

Even Zhang Yan wasn't entirely sure of the origin of the object in his hand.

I can only tell that it's a water gemstone.

The so-called Water Gem is actually a very rare water-attribute material, and it's also the kind that can be used for anything.

It is very useful for alchemy, weapon crafting, and even for cultivating water-attribute spells.

Putting everything else aside, with the Water Gem, Zhang Yan's water-attribute supernatural power can increase by at least 30%!
However, that requires a large quantity of water-like gemstones, and they must be of relatively high quality.

But putting everything else aside, the water gem he holds alone is probably worth several thousand spirit stones.

This doesn't even include those that were eaten by the wind and thunder.

Thinking of this, the way he looked at Feng Lei changed.

This guy is so greedy!
Perhaps noticing Zhang Yan's gaze, Feng Lei actually made a swallowing motion, and then plunged into his spirit beast pouch.

Zhang Yan: "..."

Seeing Feng Lei's behavior, he felt helpless. Since the food had already been eaten, what could he possibly do to dig it out?
Looking at the Water Gem in his hand, the dizzy old murloc, and the other murlocs.

Zhang Yan smiled.

Then, with a wave of his sleeve, he packed up all the murlocs and took them away.

……

In the damp wooden room, the dim yellow flame flickered gently, casting a somewhat eerie glow over the surroundings.

Zhang Yan sat cross-legged beside a table with wine and dishes on it.

Sitting in front of him was an old fishman with white eyebrows and a white beard.

The old fishman sat upright, his body still trembling, but his dead fish eyes kept stealing glances at the food in front of Zhang Yan.

"Ah……

Eat up.

Seeing this, Zhang Yan chuckled and waved his hand, and a dish of wine and food appeared in front of the old fishman.

The old fishman stared wide-eyed at Zhang Yan, somewhat incredulous.

After receiving Zhang Yan's permission, he immediately began grabbing food from the table and putting it in his mouth.

This was his second day in the underground world.

Although the fish-men have relatively low intelligence, they can still communicate. After a day of communication, he has now learned some basic information.

This underground world was far more vast than he had imagined. At least, according to the old fishman, not only he, but even his great-great-great-great-great-grandfather had never reached its end.

Simply put, even these fish-men don't know how big or how vast this underground world is.

However, Zhang Yan didn't care about any of that; what he was really concerned about was the Water Gem.

"Where did you get this?" Zhang Yan asked the old fishman, taking out the Water Gem.

"This..." Although the old merman couldn't speak the human language at first, he was, after all, a Foundation Establishment cultivator and had the ability to learn.

Therefore, after half a day of instruction, he was already able to use the human language to a certain extent.

"We salvaged this." The old merman readily revealed the identity of the water gem. "Salvaged?"

"Reporting to you, sir, it's a body of water. We often go there to fish for food, and these things were just something we caught along the way." The old fishman didn't care about the water gems in Zhang Yan's hand at all, and instead continued to eat them with great relish.

This old fishman, who came from the underground world, had never eaten human food before, but now, after trying it for the first time, he was already captivated by it.

Moreover, after learning more about it...

Zhang Yancai discovered that although these fish-men possessed magical powers from birth, they had no cultivation system, and their growth was entirely dependent on fate.

They are even inferior to demonic beasts.

After all, for a demon beast, there is still a bloodline to rely on.

These fish-men don't even have the concept of bloodline.

It can be said to be extremely poor.

In other words, these fishmen are basically no longer a fighting force, and even if they were captured and sold as slaves, no one would want them.

but!

These fish-men, however, possess a very special ability.

salvage.

Yes, it's salvage.

They can freely roam the great lakes and marshes, and even use their talents to find some treasures buried in the water, and then salvage them.

These water gems are what they salvaged.

In this respect, the murlocs are still useful.

"Do you still have any of these?" Zhang Yan asked the old fishman, fiddling with the water gem in his hand.

Yes, of course!

There are many more at the bottom of the marsh, but they are all bigger than this one and not easy to retrieve. Besides, this thing is inedible, so we were too lazy to fish it out.

He would only occasionally scoop some up along with the food and keep it nearby for decoration. The old fishman didn't know why Zhang Yan liked this thing so much.

But I'll still tell the truth.

"a lot of……?
Bigger than this?
"Can't I eat or drink?"

Upon hearing the old fishman's words, Zhang Yan felt his blood pressure rise significantly.

What is the other person saying?

He said there were many water gems, and they were all bigger than the one he had.

The other party even felt it was too big and a burden, and was unwilling to salvage it.

Watching the old merman eat.

Zhang Yan didn't know whether he should cry or laugh.

The other party is sitting on a mountain of treasures but doesn't know how to use them.

But on second thought, it's actually normal. These fish-men are uneducated and don't even have any cultivation methods. To them, these water gems are indeed just external objects.

It's nowhere near as real as the food you eat.

With that thought in mind, he calmed himself down and continued, "Then, you retrieve these things for me, and I'll provide you with food, how about that?"

Zhang Yan thought for a moment and then spoke to the old fishman.

"You're willing to exchange food for these things?" Upon hearing Zhang Yan's words, the old fishman's face showed a hint of confusion. Clearly, he didn't understand what Zhang Yan wanted these things for.

“Yes, I’ll trade you food. I’ll give you whatever you have.” Zhang Yan nodded without hesitation.

"Wait a moment." The old fishman glanced at Zhang Yan, finished the last bit of food in his bowl, and then walked out of the house. A short while later, he returned carrying a bag made of fish skin.

Upon opening the bag, a considerable amount of water-like gemstones poured out.

Besides the aquatic gemstones, Zhang Yan also saw other aquatic treasures, each of which was extremely valuable.

Zhang Yan even coveted some of the aquatic creatures.

But now these things are just like garbage, carelessly dumped on the ground.

The old fishman even kicked it.

"My lord, please take a look and see if there's anything you're looking for," the old fishman said casually to Zhang Yan.

"These……

"I'll take them all." Zhang Yan took a deep breath, suppressing his overwhelming joy.

He was certain that he was going to make a fortune this time.

No.

It's not just him.

Rather, it refers to the entire Qingheng Sect.

They're all going to get rich.

Such a vast underground world, with such abundant treasures, is beyond what he can handle alone.

We must notify the sect so that they can participate in the development.

Of course, as the discoverer of the underwater world, and also under the banner of Taiyi Mountain, Zhang Yan would inevitably reap greater benefits.

"Since you need them, sir, then we'll offer them all to you!" Upon hearing Zhang Yan mention his need for these items, the old fishman unhesitatingly pushed them in front of Zhang Yan.

Fishmen are not very intelligent.

But the old fishman was, after all, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and had lived for so long, so he had gained some wisdom.

He knew that although Zhang Yan was being polite to him now, in essence, the fate of his entire clan was still in Zhang Yan's hands.

Now that the other party has taken a liking to these items, he naturally intends to give them all to them.

"So what do you want?" He accepted these aquatic treasures.

Zhang Yan looked at the old fishman.

He considered himself a very fair person, and now that the old fishman had given him so many aquatic treasures.

He couldn't possibly treat the other party unfairly.

After all, he was planning a long-term deal, so he couldn't possibly do a one-off transaction.

"If I could, I would like food."

"There are also some powerful techniques." The old fishman carefully observed Zhang Yan's expression and spoke cautiously.

"Um?

The Dharma Gate?

Upon hearing those two words, Zhang Yan's expression changed. He stared intently at the old fishman, trying to discern something.

If the old merman wanted food, spirit stones, or even magical artifacts and talismans, Zhang Yan could agree to it.

But this particular method is the only one that won't work.

After all, whether it's magical artifacts or talismans, these things are ultimately just external objects, consumables. Giving them to these fishmen wouldn't cause them any trouble.

But this method is different.

With the law, the fish-men can be considered to have truly entered the world of cultivation and become a separate race.

“Food is fine, but you don’t need to mention magic again. Even if I had magic suitable for you fishmen, I wouldn’t give it to you.” Zhang Yan rejected the other party’s request without hesitation, then paused for a moment: “Although I can’t give you magic, I can provide you with some magical artifacts and talismans.”

"But, but, even if we only do this, we might still not be able to defeat those frogmen." The old fishman looked conflicted after hearing Zhang Yan's words.

"What did you say?
Frogman?

"Are there frogmen here?" Zhang Yan asked the old fishman curiously.

"Yes, there are not only frogmen, but also other races. In fact, we fishmen used to be very strong in the underground world, but unfortunately, it seems that something happened and we fishmen suffered a devastating disaster, lost our cultivation methods, and gradually fell to our current state." The old fishman sighed when he said this.

"How strong are those frogmen?"

"What abilities do they have?" Zhang Yan remained unmoved by the old fishman's lament. To him, the current fishman was just right; he had the ability to find treasures, yet he had no powerful opponents and was very easy to control.

If he is too strong, it might not be a good thing for him.

“The frogmen are much stronger than us, and they often come to steal our food.” Upon hearing Zhang Yan mention the frogmen, the old fishman’s face immediately showed a look of horror.

"And sometimes they even hunt us down as a matter of honor." Clearly, for the old fishman, the frogmen were a terrifying memory.

"They have many Foundation Establishment stage frogmen over there. They have magical artifacts and they even tame sea dragons." The old fishman said to Zhang Yan, trembling. "My grandfather was eaten by one of their sea dragons!"

"Um?

what did you say?
"Sea dragon?" Zhang Yan asked the old fishman in disbelief.

There are dragons in this underground world?
But how could a dragon be tamed by frogmen?

(End of this chapter)