Douluo Dalu - Volume 01-48

by Tang Jia San Shao

  After the auction was finished, Ning Rongrong went to pay, and then brought back their goods. Because of the condition of Fatty’s body, they had no time to enjoy Vast Sea City’s night scenery, and hurried back to the hotel.

  “Fatty, tell us, how did it feel to face those two sea spirit masters?” Dai Mubai asked curiously. Before resting, they still decided to learn more about Fatty’s experience.

  Ma Hongjun said, ”They were pretty hard to deal with! If not for me being able to fly, and my phoenix fire restraining their water, I’m afraid I would’ve lost today. Without these two abilities, even if I was facing only one person, I couldn’t’ve won. They were very good at taking advantage of water. They could easily use their spirit ability to control water and attack me. They looked no different from ordinary spirit abilities, but actually, when used with the water as a medium, it allowed for them to save a lot of spirit power. Of course, vice versa — without water, their strength will be greatly reduced. In general, if we encounter sea spirit masters on the sea, we’d better avoid them. It’s definitely not a wise thing to battle against them under the sea. If that happens, we’re bound to be bogged down into the worst possible disadvantage, since none of us understand the features of water well enough.”

  Tang San nodded and said, ”Fatty’s right. Sea spirit masters might be even harder to deal with than we expected. Let me give you a simple comparison: Fighting with sea spirit masters that have a water attribute in the water, is no different from fighting with fatty in a volcanic vent. The power of water can enhance their capability geometrically. In terms of the fight today, assuming that the battlefield was changed to the sea, fatty would lose without doubt. I’m sure these sea spirit master’s fighting capacity is even more formidable in the sea. If fatty still fights against them in the same way, wanting to change the temperature of the sea, that would be a joke. Therefore, we should be even more careful on the sea this time.”

  Everyone’s face began to become serious, nodding one after the other.

  Tang San said to Bai Chenxiang, “Xiangxiang, we are going to set off tomorrow morning. We’ll have to trouble you at that point. During the ten-day voyage, I want you to keep reconnoitring in the sky to ensure our safety.”

  “Ok.” Bai Chenxiang answered shortly. She could only feel excited if she was able to show her own value.

  Tang San turned to Ning Rongrong,“ Rongrong, on the sea, our main sword is fatty. His phoenix flame can produce an effective restraint towards sea water — therefore, once we encounter any trouble, you should amplify fatty first, in order to ensure his attack output.”

  Ning Rongrong said, “No problem.”

  Then Tang San turned to look at Zhu Zhuqing and Dai Mubai again, “Boss, Zhuqing. If there are going to be battles on the sea, we three will form a team. I’ll use Blue Silver Emperor to get us together. I’ll further discuss our battle method later on.”

  His sight finally landed on Oscar and Ma Hongjun, when Tang San said, “During this voyage, while on the sea, you two are the ones we can rely on most. Fatty, you are going to be the biggest attack output. During a battle, be sure to save your spirit power as much as possible — don’t strike before finding the best chance.”

  “Little Ao. You need to make sure at least eight Swift Flight Mushroom Sausages are on hand at any time. None of us can swim well. With Swift Flight Mushroom Sausages, we can at least have temporary flight.”

  “These are all the things that I can figure out for now. Anything else you guys want to add?” With the real voyage on the sea right around the corner, Tang San had obviously become more discreet. As the soul of the team, he had to plan it comprehensively.

  Oscar said, “I’m alright here. I have prepared a number of Clone Mirror Large Sausages on the way. By then, with the help of Swift Flight Mushroom Sausages, at least it can guarantee us flying in the sky for some time. Besides, with the flying abilities of Little San, Xiangxiang, and fatty, we can make our flight time even longer. Still, there’s one thing I have to point out here. On the sea, our real strength cannot be fully exerted. If we encounter a sea spirit beast more than ten-thousand years old, what shall we do? Even on a ten-day long voyage at sea, I think it’s still very possible.”

  Tang San nodded, saying, “I’ve thought about this point. If it’s merely a normal ten-thousand year-old spirit beast, it won’t threaten us too much. Besides, we have another way to save our lives. I’m going to perform a trial on the effects of the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud on the sea. If it can still keep us invisible, then the best parts of the Dragon Abyss Boat can be exerted.”

  Hearing Tang San’s words, everyone felt enlightened for a moment. If the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud could help the Dragon Abyss Boat move invisibly, then, let alone ten-thousand years old spirit beasts, even hundred-thousand years spirit beasts wouldn’t be something to worry about. They had already experienced the advantages of Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud. As long as they were within the protection of the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, there was no need to worry about safety. Even if someone passed by them, he wouldn’t notice their existence at all.

  After using the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, there would be a warped space around them, and everything covered by it would be just like vanished into thin air. So far at least, through the Seven Devils’ multiple trials, there had been no way to detect the location of the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud. But in terms of whether spirit masters who were more powerful than them could detect it, they couldn’t be sure yet.

  Dai Mubai praised, “Little San, you surely are smart. I was wondering why you bought this thing. If it was merely for escaping, ten thousand gold spirit coins would be too extravagant. But if, as you said, the Dragon Abyss Boat works with the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, then even if we don’t go to rent a boat, it’ll still be easy to get to Sea God Island.”

  Tang San said, “At present, this is just an hypothesis. Whether it can be realized will be determined tomorrow. Chartering a boat is still necessary. None of us swim well, and with a large boat, we can also accommodate more in a faster manner. If there aren’t any other opinions we can have a rest. Fatty, especially you, be sure to recover your spirit power back.”

  Ma Hongjun laughed, saying, “No problem.”

  After a silent night, on the second day’s morning, the Shrek Seven Devils with Bai Chenxiang walked nearly across the entire city, leaving Vast Sea City from the west gate. They went along a wide road out of the city that was exclusively chiseled upon reefs, heading towards the wharf.

  Anyone who wanted to go to the sea from the Vast Sea City wharf needed to go along this road, therefore, although building a road on the reef was tough, the authorities of Vast Sea City spared no effort to build the road in a neat fashion.

  The wharf here was a huge place. More than twenty piers that were several hundred meters long ran out into the sea. It was both the starting point and the terminal point of sea trade, as well as also a huge source of revenue for the entire Vast Sea City.

  Although there mighty spirit beasts were never lacking within the sea, there were also infinite treasures. Relying the sea and living on sea, had become the invariable truth of Vast Sea City. So even though there were a number of people who’d lost their life within the sea spirit beasts’ mouths every year, the situation had never changed.

  Near the sea, most of the soil would be saline — not suitable for growing crops — so only a variety of creatures in the sea could bring revenue to Vast Sea City. And it was alongside the sea that people could extract various resources from it.

  Very quickly, Tang San found the ship he’d rented with Oscar the other day, which was a brand new sea ship, with an appearance that looked quite nice. The hull of the ship was painted a metallic grey, with only some red and white ornaments on the deck. It was said that painting hulls such was to avoid the attacks of spirit beasts.

  The body of the ship was fifty meters in length, and more than twenty meters in width, which was not big among sea ships, but neither was it small. If someon
e looked at it carefully, he would find that, under the grey-colored paint of the hull, there was very thick iron armour protecting the ship’s body.

  The reason why Tang San and Oscar chose this ship was that its defence was fairly good by itself. So even though chartering a ship was expensive, as long as they could arrive at Sea God Island safely, it would be worth it. As far as coming back was concerned, they could rely on their own ability.

  “Welcome to the Sea Devil!” On board the deck, a middle-aged man looking in his fifties moved towards them, showing a welcoming gesture while laughing.

  Tang San introduced him to the others, saying, “This is the Captain of the Sea Devil, Mr. Haider.”

  Haider smiled in a good demeanor, saying, “Welcome you beautiful ladies, and of course, handsome gentlemen. It seems that this voyage will be very charming. I’m very happy to serve you.” Saying that, his sight swept across everyone’s body, and when it passed across the four beautiful ladies, it didn’t stay too long.

  Seeing this scene, Tang San’s pupils shrank slightly, saying nothing.

  With the introduction of Haider, everyone learned that there were eight seamen within the entire Sea Devil. Apart from him as the Captain, there was a chief officer and six sailors.

  The Sea Devil had three layers in total — two above deck and one beneath it. As people who’d spent money, Tang San and the Shrek Seven Devils would naturally live in the two layers above deck, while the crew lived beneath.

  Living on the topmost layer and looking out, gave a unique, lingering charm. There were six rooms in total on this layer, which was absolutely sufficient for eight people to live in.

  The strong smell of the sea started to hit their olfactory sense once they boarded the ship. The whistling sea breeze in the late autumn weather brought chills to them. Luckily, all of them were not ordinary people. With their strong body resistance, this cold wind could barely affect them.

  “Weigh anchor and set off.” Everyone was there. With the order of Captain Haider, the Sea Devil set off.

  Tang San exclusively copied a sea map for him, letting him head in the appointed direction.

  Today’s weather was very nice. It was calm and tranquil on the sea, and the body of the Sea Devil wasn’t small. After weighing anchor, thanks to the hard work of sailors, they easily bore off the dock, heading into the sea. When the the Sea Devil entirely sailed into the sea, and parted from the range of dock, with the order of Captain Haider, the mainsail was set and adjusted, which pushed them towards the destination of their voyage.

  The scenery of the sea couldn’t be replaced by any other view. If one hadn’t actually been to the sea, one might never feel that magnificent upsurging sense. Boundless ocean stretched to the horizon, where water and sky merged together. At this moment, the sun rose up slowly, shining on the sea as the waves glistened.

  All of the Shrek Seven Devils were standing on the second layer of The Sea Devil, looking out at the charming scenery of the sea. Even Xiao Wu, revealed a somewhat bedazzled expression towards the sea in her blank eyes. Sea breeze struck at their bodies, albeit a little cold, yet seemed to strike within each one’s heart, making them somewhat excited with an indescribable carefree feeling.

  This excited feeling lasted until noon.

  Of course, lunch consisted mainly of seafood. A few simple sea fish, boiled in clean water with green vegetables bought in Vast Sea City, without any special garnish, still made everyone eat with relish. Especially since Captain Haider specially added several huge crabs, whose delicious taste could be rarely savored while inland, allowed the Shrek Seven Devils to satisfy a craving.

  However, after lunch, only Tang San, Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun and Bai Chenxiang could keep this mood.

  After lunch, wind and waves started to surge, and the Sea Devil also fluctuated with the waves. At the beginning it was fine, but as time went by, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu and Oscar began to show signs of seasickness.

  Xiao Wu was better off, as she was directly put into Tang San’s Wishful Hundred Treasure Purse, but the three others, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and Oscar, began to vomit tremendously, making the sailors burst out into laughter. Haider told them they’d get accustomed to it after vomiting several times.

  Although Tang San, Dai Mubai, and Ma Hongjun also felt a little uncomfortable, their bodies were the best between the Seven Devils, allowing them to just about endure. As for Bai Chenxiang, once she felt uncomfortable, she would directly fly into the sky, not only to scout but also to avoid the feeling of being seasick.

  After a day passed, all around them was boundless ocean, and any trace of land couldn’t be seen any more. After starting the voyage, they’d still felt much more comfortable than on land, but after a day, each of them had turned pale.

  Occasionally, when it was calm, Tang San would take Xiao Wu out of the Wishful Hundred Treasures Purse to breathe the fresh air outside. But in the real sea, how long could it be calm? Nevertheless, Xiao Wu’s adaptive capacity was much better than he expected. After several times being seasick, her symptoms faded even faster than the rest of the Shrek Seven Devils.

  But Oscar, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong, after this day, not to mention cultivation, they didn’t even dare to eat too much. It seemed that several times of vomiting made them look pale — and as if they would collapse at any time.

  Still, they were, after all, spirit masters over rank sixty. After multiple times transforming their bodies, their adaptive ability was very strong, so they were able to adapt to the jolt on the sea gradually.

  By noon the next day, the sea had finally recovered its calm. Under the light of the sun, the cabin was filled with warmth. Those who’d gotten seasick went to bed with just a little fish soup. As they’d had to adapt to voyage at sea, their bodies were also recovering.

  Tang San was standing on the deck and looking into the distance. Direction could only be distinguished by the sun on the sea. He’d worked out that the direction the Sea Devil was proceeding in was right, and was in the process of approaching Sea God Island.

  Haider came next to Tang San, saying with respect, “Esteemed sir Spirit Master, according to the route, and following the same pattern, we’ll arrive at our destination in eight days. Still, in about half a day from now, we’re going to enter the active area in which spirit beasts dwell. We’ll be counting on your support then.”

  This captain had become much more respectful to them since he had seen Bai Chenxiang flying rapidly in the sky.

  Tang San said calmly, “Captain Haider. You also sail far very often. Generally, if you do encounter powerful spirit beasts, how do you deal with them?”

  Haider smiled slightly, saying, “Generally speaking, spirit beasts hardly attack ships. Only a small number of unruly spirit beasts will assault on their own. Therefore, as long as we don’t displease the spirit beasts within the sea, for the most part it’s alright. But if we really encounter those powerful and grumpy spirit beasts, we’ll have to accept the bad luck. After all, no matter how strong the ship is, it’s basically impossible to hold off those terrible beasts. Every year people die at sea — almost like sacrifices to the sea spirit beasts. But don’t worry, our ship was painted with a special medicine to drive away spirit beasts. They really hate this smell, and won't generally get close. Captains who dare to sail any far distance into the sea, all have a sea map in their brains. Relying on the sea map, we can guarantee our passengers’ safety.”

  “Ah? What sea map?” Tang San asked curiously.

  Haider said, “The sea map of how the powerful sea spirit beasts are distributed. Spirit beasts in the sea are similar to those on the continent, in some aspects. They also have their own territory. And their sense of territory is even stronger than continental spirit beasts. So as long as we don’t enter those really powerful sea spirit beasts’ territory, we won’t irritate them and get into trouble.” Saying this, there was a tinge of pride on his face.

  Tang San gave him a thoughtful look, sayin
g, “It seems that Captain knows a lot about spirit beasts.”

  Haider’s face turned slightly, saying, “When seeking survival on sea, it’s always better to know more. Thus we can live longer. Don't you think so?”

  Tang San smiled, saying nothing any more, and turned his sight towards the sea once again.

  Their time on the sea went by very fast, and the night approached very quickly. Today had been a nice day, and it was easy to see the stars and moon clearly overhead. The fine view of the bright moon rising from the sea made everyone enchanted.

  By taking advantage of the day’s good weather, those who’d gotten seasick had already roughly recovered. They didn’t have the right mood to admire the beautiful scenery, and had gone to bed early.

  Tang San held Xiao Wu and let her lie on his bed. The cabin wasn’t large. Other than the bed, there wasn’t very much room for moving around. Through the window, the enchanting moonlight could just be seen.

  Although the sea breeze wasn’t strong, the temperature in the late night was still very low. Chilling air snuck into the cabin, preventing its temperature from growing high.

  Tang San folded the thick cotton mattress into two layers, putting it on the inner part of the bed, and letting Xiao Wu feel softer and more comfortable while lying on it. The quilt also covered Xiao Wu’s body, while he slept on the outer part with clothes on, blocking the cold from the outside.

  Although the condition was a little tough, Tang San really enjoyed the feeling. Being able to keep out wind and rain for his lover, to him, was a kind of happiness.

  Xiao Wu, leaning against Tang San’s shoulder, slept soundly, with her little hands on his chest. Her long eyelashes touched her eyelids, flickering slightly now and then. Seeing the moonlight from outside, and seeing the beauty in his arms, who was even more beautiful than moonlight, Tang San couldn’t help but feel dazzled.