"I won't bother strolling around Wansha City. I'll head to the ship first." Joe Di had no interest in sightseeing; what else did he need to buy? The Qi Family's commercial building had already stocked him with everything he could need—why waste time in the city?
After he spoke, Joe Di noticed that Sherry Frost and Zane Wang looked displeased. He was puzzled—what did his decision to skip the city have to do with them? Who were they showing attitude to?
Felix Zheng paused for a moment, then said, "In that case, let's all rest in our rooms for a while before heading out on our own."
Upon hearing Felix Zheng's words, Joe Di suddenly understood. Sherry Frost and Zane Wang were being petty; they thought he wanted to get to the big room first and pick the best spot.
Joe Di couldn't be bothered to explain. He had only planned to check out the shared sleeping area—if it was decent, he wouldn't mind staying there.
The group of five passed inspection and boarded the massive airship. As soon as Joe Di stepped aboard, his spiritual sense swept over the first floor's communal sleeping quarters.
Seeing the state of the first-floor dormitory, Joe Di finally understood why Felix Zheng and the others were willing to pay so much for a big room.
The communal area on the first floor was noisy, and there were still several days before departure. Worse yet, Joe Di could clearly see fresh bloodstains at the entrance—evidence of a recent fight.
Spending ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones to live in this dormitory was definitely unsafe.
Room B31 on the second floor was considered one of the worst among the big rooms, but compared to the first-floor dormitory, it was ten times better—at the very least.
Joe Di was genuinely tempted to spend some spirit stones for a private suite, but he restrained himself. Even the young master of a cultivation clan wouldn't spend so lavishly. If he acted too conspicuously, it might attract unwanted attention.
"This room is pretty nice!" As soon as they entered Room B31 on the second floor, Celia Qi exclaimed with delight. Even though Joe Di hadn't spent much time with her, he knew she was easily satisfied.
She thought the room was good because it was spacious; both the living area and the main cultivation chamber were open and bright—the biggest parts of the suite.
Everyone looked to Felix Zheng. Naturally, each person wanted the main cultivation chamber, but it was only large enough for one. The question was, who would get to use it?
Felix Zheng coughed. "Now that we're a team, we're all brothers and sisters—friends in the same boat. Frost Junior Sister is a core disciple of Trueblade Sect, and she's delayed her trip to Skyveil just to accompany us. I suggest we let her use the main cultivation chamber. What do you all think?"
Neither Zane Wang nor Celia Qi objected, and Joe Di didn't want to stand out, so he neither agreed nor disagreed.
Joe Di expected Sherry Frost to politely decline, but to his surprise, she accepted it as a matter of course. After a simple gesture of thanks to Felix Zheng and the others, she went straight into the main cultivation chamber.
Was this woman shameless, or did she really think she deserved the best room? Either way, Joe Di felt she was perfectly suited for the cultivation world. Her skin was thicker than his had been back in Pearl City's streets.
"Daoist Zimo, you..." Seeing Joe Di remain silent, Felix Zheng asked him directly. His silence implied he didn't agree with Sherry Frost taking the main cultivation chamber.
When Felix Zheng asked, Joe Di clasped his hands and said, "I'll just take the auxiliary cultivation room. I feel like I'm close to a breakthrough, so I need to go into seclusion for a while."
The auxiliary cultivation room wasn't necessarily better than the living area, but Joe Di didn't want to use the pet cultivation room, nor did he want to share a living space with others.
"Alright, then Daoist Zimo will take the auxiliary cultivation room. Zane, what about you?" Felix Zheng asked Zane Wang again.
This made Joe Di feel a bit more favorable toward Felix Zheng. Compared to Sherry Frost's selfishness, Felix was at least considerate.
Zane Wang pointed to the third cultivation room. "I'll take the second auxiliary cultivation room."
That was actually a pet cultivation room, about the same size as the auxiliary cultivation room.
"Alright, in that case, I'll partition off the living room with Junior Sister Qi," Felix Zheng said decisively.
Celia Qi was easygoing. She remained cheerful and said, "The spiritual energy on this ship is abundant. Once we reach Skyveil, I must break through to the second level of Foundation Establishment."
...
As soon as Joe Di entered the auxiliary cultivation room, he set up his own restriction, then laid down a Concealment Array and a Defensive Array.
According to what he'd learned, it would take six months to travel from Wansha City to Skyveil. He intended to use those six months to reach the seventh level of Foundation Establishment.
Joe Di tossed out piles of spirit stones and began to cultivate furiously. With his current level of array mastery, no matter how much commotion his cultivation made, the fifth-grade Concealment Array would keep him hidden from prying eyes.
Several days passed in a flash. Joe Di didn't leave his room, but he could sense that the ship had started moving.
Before entering the cultivation room, Joe Di had said he would be in seclusion. Felix Zheng and the others were tactful and didn't disturb his closed-door cultivation.
Piles of spirit stones were refined by Joe Di's circulation of the star meridian, transforming into pure spiritual energy that constantly replenished his true essence. Each day, the starry sky within him grew clearer, and his cultivation grew deeper.
After only two months, a surge of powerful true essence broke through the barrier of the sixth level of Foundation Establishment, allowing Joe Di to step into the seventh level.
The strength of the star meridian meant Joe Di barely needed extra time; as soon as he reached the seventh level of Foundation Establishment, his cultivation stabilized.
Joe Di tossed out another pile of spirit stones. All he had was Foundation True Fire, so his attempts at artifact refinement were ineffective. He decided to keep cultivating instead.
Joe Di had prepared the spirit stones but hadn't started cultivating when the restriction at his door was triggered.
Joe Di frowned. He had told everyone not to disturb his cultivation, so who was touching his restriction? Sweeping his divine sense outside, he saw three people—Celia Qi, Sherry Frost, and Zane Wang. It was Celia who had triggered his restriction.
If Zane Wang or Sherry Frost had dared to touch his restriction, Joe Di would have lost his temper, flaunting his status as a scion of a cultivation clan. But since it was Celia Qi, he wasn't that angry.
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Putting away the spirit stones, Joe Di cast a Dust Removal Technique on himself, then released the restriction and walked out of the cultivation room.
"Junior Sister Qi, I'm in seclusion. Is there something urgent?" Joe Di wasn't angry with Celia, but since she interrupted his cultivation, he wanted to know the reason.
Celia Qi replied anxiously, "I'm really sorry, Senior Brother Zimo. I had no other choice but to disturb your cultivation..."
Seeing Celia's flustered expression, Joe Di waved his hand. "We're all heading to Skyveil together. If you need help and I can provide it, just ask. By the way, where's Daoist Zheng?"
Celia wiped her eyes and said, "Brother Zheng is in trouble. I couldn't find anyone else to help..."
"What exactly happened?" Joe Di was puzzled. When they boarded the ship, Felix Zheng had warned everyone not to go out unnecessarily—fighting on this ship was permitted.
Since Felix Zheng had warned others, how did he end up in trouble himself? Joe Di couldn't believe Felix would get into trouble while in closed-door cultivation.
"This morning, Brother Zheng told me he received word that a Zhu Zhen Pill had appeared on the ship. He's about to break through to the third level of Foundation Establishment, and with a single Zhu Zhen Pill, he could succeed. So he went to try to buy one. But when I messaged him this afternoon, he didn't reply. I hurried to the ship's market and found out Brother Zheng was in trouble..." Celia's voice trembled.
"What happened to him?" Joe Di was starting to understand.
The Zhu Zhen Pill was indeed the medicine Felix Zheng needed most. It wasn't surprising that he'd try to buy one. But who sent him the message, knowing exactly what he needed?
"I asked around and learned that Brother Zheng didn't go to buy a Zhu Zhen Pill, but instead tried to purchase Xing Zhen Grass. For some reason, he was injured and detained, and now they demand a ransom of a hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones for his release..." Celia trailed off, unable to continue.
Though they lived in a suite that cost forty thousand high-grade spirit stones, those stones had taken them a long time to save. Coming up with a hundred thousand spirit stones was out of the question, and even if they could, who would be willing?
Just now, she'd asked Senior Sister Frost and Senior Brother Wang, but both had been evasive, indicating they couldn't come up with that many spirit stones.
She was truly desperate, which was why she'd come to ask Joe Di for help. No one close to her was willing to pay the spirit stones, and Joe Di was just someone they'd rented with after meeting—would he be willing to help?
Joe Di glanced at Sherry Frost and Zane Wang. Both were disciples of the top sect Trueblade Sect, and judging by the occasional treasures they produced, Joe Di guessed they could probably come up with some spirit stones.
"Since we need a hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones, let's pool our resources. How much can each of you contribute? My suggestion is we gather the spirit stones and go over to ask for an explanation—maybe we won't even need to pay." Joe Di's impression of Felix Zheng was positive; Felix liked to take the lead, wore white, and was willing to make sacrifices for the group.
To put it simply, Felix Zheng liked being in charge.
(Recommended: A modern cultivation novel, 'Return of the Star Realm: Urban Supreme.' Synopsis: After eight hundred years of roaming the Star Realm, when Chu Muchen earned the title 'Ten Thousand Treasures' and achieved the Nine-Star Supreme Dao, he felt neither joy nor sorrow. He questioned his true path—why cultivate? Then he began amassing resources, vowing to unlock the legendary Great World Migration. Returning to Earth!
I'm saving the Earth arc for later in my book. If you want to read about cultivation on Earth, check out this novel. The writing is solid, and don't worry about the word count—just add it to your favorites. That's all for today's update. Good night, friends!)