I thought we would be able to just sit on our asses in a chariot and ride that thing all the way to the island, but to my immeasurable disappointment, that was impossible in more ways than one.
For starters, the maps apparently aren't scaled correctly, and the actual Heavenly Start Lake was even bigger than the maps made it out to be (and they already made it out to be like a sea rather than a lake). As such, even the narrowest distance between the island and the continent was about 5,000 miles.
Yup.
That's five with three zeroes.
And that's the smallest distance.
Goddammit.
Even if I did have the stones to fly that distance--which I do not--actually crossing the that in a straight line was practically impossible. Both the waters and the skies of the lake were full of demonic beasts ready to pounce, and the winds could get so fast that they knocked full ships sideways in a single gust.
From what Lao Shun told me, even those big-ass warships that the sects use can't cross the waters directly. Instead, we'd have to board one of the island-sanctioned sails and make our way over. Supposedly, their hulls are made out of island-native wood that deters the vast majority of the lake's predators.
It was a safe journey that will likely cost me an arm and a leg.
With the family growing bigger, I am once again getting poorer. Honestly, I might have to resort to selling arts yet again just to make ends meet; we did plunder some Spirit Stones from the city, but it was just about a hundred thousand mid-grade ones in totality. That barely covers me for a few days.
Besides, I had already set up the Ephemeral Comprehension Array as I noticed the kids were getting quite close to the peaks of their realms. I have a feeling at least a few will have major breakthroughs by the time we actually get to the island.
I was blessed enough back on Earth that I never truly worried about money outside the first few post-college years when Yas' and I were living in some downtrodden can't-even-call-it-an-apartment hellhole, but even that didn't have me feeling as poor as I'm feeling right now.
"So, where should we go, then?" was the question I posed to Lao Shun when I learned we can't just ride the chariot all the way to the island.
"There are several options," he said. "Though, realistically, we can really only use one--there's a pier of sorts some four hundred miles east of the Nine Heavens Mountain in a nameless little village. Once a week, I think, a small boat ferries some thirty souls across the lake and to the island."
"... won't there be far too many people waiting?"
"I doubt it," he said. "The fee is hefty, and only the truly desperate take this route as it's hardly secure. Though the boat in question is made from the same wood, it's of lesser quality, and is supposedly extremely old. There are some cultivators on board for protection, but they are more mercenaries that will abandon the ship the moment things turn truly dire."
Well, that's... annoying.
"What are the other ways of going?"
"There's an annual ferry boat outgoing from the Heavenly Sword Sect," Lao Shun said. "We can go there to see when it's scheduled as it's somewhat in the path toward the little village. Though, I imagine that the fee would be... uh..."
"Well," I said, somewhat frustrated. "Maybe if my resident alchemist disciple was being a normal alchemist and concocting pills we can sell for some easy Spirit Stones, these old bones of mine wouldn't need to be rattled with worries of poverty."
"Hmm. The Sect does have relatively frequent auctions that are open to the outsiders," he said, smiling faintly. "It will take us at least a month to get there at this pace. Realistically two, though, as we'd have to disembark frequently for your resident alchemy disciple to concoct pills that you want to sell whereas most other Masters would immediately gift to their disciples."
"..." an auction? My eyebrows shot up slightly at the mention of the word. Of all the things that I'd experienced in this world--and there had been plenty--an auction was not one of them, surprisingly enough.
Even disregarding Lao Shun's little comment, it might be worth it to visit and see if I can sell an art or two I make--no, wait, I can't even fucking make anything as I'm out of points. Shit. Is there anything I've made thus far that can be sold?
... no. Better not risk it.
Haah.
I mean, to be fair, I do have several spatial rings full of random crap just sitting there. Not all of it is in some way connected to a power that would rip me apart if I tried to sell it. In the two months that will take us to get there, while this grinning asswipe concocts some pills to sell, I can ransack through the unending river of crap in my possession and finally sort it all out, pooling what looks sellable on the side.
Ultimately, there was one more thing I could do that would net me a lot of money quickly--but it was a very stupid thing, in fairness: selling a Divine Spirit Stone.
It would fetch a massive amount, especially on an auction, but there's also a good chance it'd paint a big ol' bullseye right on my forehead.
"Alright," I said, sighing. "Start concocting. Nothing too exotic; just do the batches of simpler pills that will sell for a decent amount. Ah, and if you have any recipe you want to study, I'd whip it out now."
"H-huh? Why?"
"Hey, everyone," I called out to the entire chariot and they immediately focused on me. "Turn towards comprehending whatever you are struggling with."
"It's... it's time, again?"
"Ooh~ I can't miss this opportunity! I need to reach the next level!"
"Yaay!"
"Uh, what, what is happening?" that was Han Yimu's confusion bleeding out into the words.
"Oh, Master will fire up an array that will make you feel a hundred times smarter than you are!" Xiu'er said.
"No comments, you two," I immediately intercepted Lan'er and Light who were readying to fire a bullet. "Like she said, Yimu. Start comprehending what you're struggling with. Don't break your concentration. Good luck everyone; I will question all of you on what you achieved after the fact."
As soon as I activated the array, I also closed my eyes... though it was pointless. Just like the last time, I didn't have to actively comprehend it--just thinking about what I specifically wanted to improve caused a flood of knowledge to surge inside my mind.
I chose the one art that was uniquely my own: Song of Hellfire. I was yet to actually test it out, but it was my most powerful attack outside of, uh, special circumstances, so priming it even further was for the best.
... I really should test it out the next time we land.
Even just for a bit.