Chapter 170 Massive Information Leak

Half a month later.

An inconspicuous small fishing boat drifted aimlessly around the reef island, finally coming to a halt a few dozen miles to the west.

A young cultivator stood near a winch at the stern of the boat, peering into the deep currents of the sea while keeping a close eye on the rope attached to the winch. The other end of the rope extended deep into the ocean abyss.

"It moved!"

At a certain moment, the rope gave a sudden jolt. The young cultivator immediately snapped to attention and began frantically turning the winch, reeling the rope in rapidly.

"Quick, haul Number Three up!"

Seeing this, a robust man operating the boat immediately stepped forward to help.

After the two of them labored for a good while, the end of the rope finally appeared. A thin, small cultivator clad in a black water-repellent leather armor, with a rope tied around his waist, broke through the water's surface.

"Splash!"

Emerging from the sea, he took a greedy, deep breath of air, his entire body limp and powerless. He allowed the other two to drag him onto the boat, where he collapsed weakly onto the deck.

"Number Three, what's it like down there?"

The robust man asked urgently.

Over the past half-month, they had dived into almost every corner of the sea within dozens of miles around the rocky island, utterly failing to find any trace of the ancient shipwreck. The robust man was growing anxious.

After quite a while, the small man regained some of his strength, an excited expression surfacing on his face. "Boss, Second Brother, I saw it! I saw the mast of a massive ship down there, along with a faint, indistinct hull that must be over a hundred zhang long. It was too far away to make out clear details, just a general outline. But that is definitely a sunken ship!"

"We finally found the shipwreck!"

"All our hard work over the past half-month wasn't in vain!"

Hearing this, the other two were instantly overjoyed.

The robust man even hoisted the small cultivator straight up, asking eagerly, "What else did you see? Tell us the details."

The small cultivator sat up, hurriedly wolfed down a piece of meat, took a few gulps of warm wine, and shook off the robust man's heavy hand. He pointed in a certain direction and said, "Boss, go easy on me, I can barely breathe. If you sail a few miles southwest, there is a massive ship-shaped shadow. I didn't see it clearly, so we'll need to get closer to check it again."

Realizing he had been too impatient, the robust man looked somewhat apologetic, nodded immediately, and said, "Alright, I'll steer the boat a bit closer."

Shortly after, the small fishing boat sailed directly above the ancient vessel.

Having replenished his stamina and spiritual power with some wine and food, the small cultivator once again leaped into the sea.

However, only a brief moment later, the rope began to vibrate violently, signaling an abnormal situation. They had a prior agreement: a single massive shake meant to pull him up, while consecutive violent shakes definitely meant trouble.

Both the robust man and the young cultivator were greatly alarmed.

The robust man even roared aloud, "Something's wrong! Haul him up, quickly!"

The two of them frantically pulled on the rope.

Deep beneath the sea, the small cultivator was also swimming upward with all his might.

Deep in the ocean depths, a massive sea-demon shark was patrolling the area.

Having managed to breach the water's surface, the small cultivator flipped over onto the fishing boat, his expression panicked as he shouted, "Quick, set sail! There's a sea-demon shark lingering near the shipwreck."

Upon hearing this, all the color drained from the robust man's face as he hurriedly spun the boat's helm.

The young cultivator likewise grabbed an oar and began rowing immediately.

Had it been a large seafaring vessel, or if there were a dozen Qi-Condensation stage cultivators present, they wouldn't need to fear this sea-demon shark. But a tiny fishing boat manned by only three Qi-Condensation loose cultivators faced a grave threat.

Just as the small fishing boat pulled a few miles away, a sea-demon shark over ten zhang long surfaced from the water.

The three of them looked back, their faces filled with terror.

The sea-demon shark was an extremely ferocious species of large low-tier demonic beast. An adult sea-demon shark possessed strength peaking at the third tier—something completely beyond the capability of three loose cultivators at the Qi-Condensation stage to handle; even a dozen Qi-Condensation cultivators might not be able to do anything against it.

The three of them rowed for their lives, fleeing in a panic.

Luckily, the sea-demon shark seemed to have little interest in their small fishing boat; it merely surfaced to catch its breath and patrol around, without giving chase.

The three escaped back to the rocky island, only truly feeling at ease once they stepped ashore.

"Boss, there really is an ancient shipwreck down there. But the demonic beasts lingering near the wreck are numerous; there are at least several sea-demon sharks alone. I didn't get a clear look before I was targeted by that beast..."

The small cultivator said, lingering fear still gripping his heart.

"Damn it! We clearly know there's an ancient shipwreck down there, but we lack the strength to salvage it, wasting half a month for nothing."

The robust man couldn't help cursing, feeling utterly depressed.

The three of them sat on the shore, plunged in deep gloom.

If it couldn't be salvaged, even countless treasures inside the ancient shipwreck would amount to nothing for them.

"Boss, actually, our efforts over the past half-month weren't entirely in vain. At least we've pinpointed the exact location of the ancient shipwreck. How about we sell this information? Maybe we can earn a huge sum of spirit stones?"

The young cultivator suddenly suggested.

"Sell the information?"

The robust man was stunned for a moment before understanding dawned on him. He sighed with deep reluctance, turned his head toward the small cultivator, and asked, "Number Three, what do you think?"

The small cultivator offered a bitter smile as well. "That's the only option. With just the three of us brothers, we'll probably never have a way to salvage the cargo from this shipwreck. We might as well give up early and stop wasting time here. This information should fetch a decent price, enough to cover our cultivation expenses for the next few years at least."

Filled with crushing frustration, the robust man slammed his fist against a rock, sending stone shards flying in all directions.

His knuckles suffered minor injuries, the skin scraped raw.

Feeling the slight sting on the back of his hand, the robust man let out a long breath to ease his mood, then nodded fiercely. "Fine, then we'll sell the information. This subsidiary island belongs to the Zhu Family Immortal Village, and it's close by. Let's sell this intelligence to City Lord Zhu and see what price he offers!"

The other two raised no objections and agreed with the robust man's decision.

Without further delay, the three of them set sail once more, heading toward the Zhu Family Immortal Village.

The Zhu Family Immortal Village possessed mediocre strength, controlling three subsidiary islands. Aside from the nearly useless rocky island, the others were a spirit-field island and a spirit-wood island, devoid of any truly valuable resources.

Life in the Zhu Family Immortal Village was barely passable, but it was far from prosperous.

In a side hall of the City Lord's Mansion, the three loose cultivators sat on spirit-wood chairs, nervously rubbing against the sea-demon beast leather draped beneath them, secretly marveling at the luxury of the City Lord's Mansion.

This single piece of demonic beast leather alone could be crafted into several first-tier spirit armors, worth months of their hard labor.

A young cultivator draped in brocade robes walked in, escorted by a middle-aged cultivator in purple robes.

The brocade-robed youth glanced at the three loose cultivators and, seeing their tattered garments, felt a surge of disgust. He couldn't help frowning as he asked, "The three of you insisted on seeing this City Lord—what urgent business could you possibly have?"

The three hurried to their feet, appearing somewhat restrained and cautious.

"City Lord Zhu, this humble one has a massive business proposition. I just don't know if the City Lord can afford the price."

The robust man immediately bowed toward the brocade-robed young cultivator.

The brocade-robed youth grew instantly impatient. "Cut the nonsense and spit it out. This City Lord is busy and has no time to waste chatting with you."

He held these loose cultivators in extreme contempt.

What kind of major business could mere Qi-Condensation loose cultivators possibly have?

"This humble one has discovered an ancient shipwreck—a logistics transport vessel. I wonder if the City Lord is interested in buying this intelligence?"

With no other choice, the robust man quickly revealed his purpose.

"What? You found an ancient shipwreck—a logistics transport ship from the ancient Immortal-Demon War?"

The brocade-robed youth was instantly startled, finding it hard to believe. He pressed further, "Is this true? You aren't wasting this City Lord's time, are you?"

Even the middle-aged cultivator was taken aback.

"How would I dare deceive the City Lord? This matter is absolute truth. We have already pinpointed the location of the shipwreck, but fierce demonic beasts lurk in the ocean depths, and we were unable to get close. That is why we came to find City Lord Zhu!"

The robust man hurriedly explained.

"I'd wager you wouldn't dare spout nonsense. Take these; these spirit stones are a reward for you."

Pacing back and forth in excitement, the brocade-robed youth tossed a cloth pouch brimming with spirit stones directly to the robust man, then shouted toward the outside.

Seven or eight immortal guards hurried inside.

City Lord Zhu commanded, "Escort these two gentlemen to a comfortable lodging; they are esteemed guests of this City Lord, so do not neglect them. Furthermore, have this one lead the way to the location of the ancient shipwreck!"

City Lord Zhu pointed briefly at the small cultivator. Without waiting for a response from the three, he pulled the purple-robed middle-aged man beside him and strode out.

The immortal guards immediately separated the three loose cultivators, leading two of them to a residence within the immortal village while pushing the small cultivator outside to guide them to the ancient shipwreck.

Never expecting City Lord Zhu to be so overbearing and tyrannical, the three cultivators panicked. However, overwhelmed by the shoves of the immortal guards and lacking the courage to resist, they could only comply.

As they walked, City Lord Zhu said to the middle-aged cultivator, "You immediately take a few trusted aides from the village to investigate. I reckon this matter is likely true. Haha! With these supplies, the likes of the Lou Family or the Ao Lai First Immortal Village will all be trampled beneath this City Lord's feet."

"Understood. This subordinate congratulates the City Lord and will depart to investigate right away!"

Equally excited, the purple-robed middle-aged man accepted the order, leading several immortal guards and escorting the small cultivator away.

The small cultivator dared not resist either. Under his guidance, their group indeed discovered the shadow of an ancient shipwreck deep beneath the sea near the rocky island.

However, with sea-demon sharks lingering around, they had no way to dive deeper for a close-up investigation.

That night, the middle-aged cultivator returned to the Zhu Family Immortal Village.

Confirming the accuracy of this intelligence, City Lord Zhu was overjoyed and summoned his trusted cultivator aides deep into the night to discuss the grand strategy for salvaging the ancient shipwreck.

The two loose cultivators were "housed" in a small tower guarded by several immortal guards outside. After identifying the location of the ancient vessel, the small cultivator was also sent to this tower.

Indignant, the young cultivator said, "Boss, what does this fellow surnamed Zhu mean by placing us under house arrest? It looks like we won't be leaving until they salvage the shipwreck."

"I was careless this time!"

Clutching the pouch in his hand, the robust man's expression turned chilling as he cursed bitterly, "Take a look at this, you guys. This City Lord Zhu is truly damn stingy, dismissing us with just this handful of spirit stones. Damn it, information this valuable, and he only gives two hundred spirit stones? Does he take us for beggars?"

"Big Brother, fearing they might take it out on you, I had no choice but to show them the location of the ancient shipwreck. Had I known it would only be for this paltry sum of spirit stones, I wouldn't have pointed out the wreck so easily."

After inspecting the pouch, the small cultivator was also filled with resentment.

This intelligence had been extracted at the risk of their lives, and when split evenly, it amounted to less than a hundred spirit stones per person. He was deeply unreconciled.

"This isn't your fault. Truth be told, we were careless; we shouldn't have all come together—only one of us should have been sent to sell the information. Now, we can only find a way to escape. Since he lacks benevolence, we owe him no loyalty! We'll sell this intelligence in bulk to other immortal villages and see how City Lord Zhu plans to swallow this ancient shipwreck all by himself!"

Consumed by fierce resentment, the robust man said in a deep voice, "Number Three, tonight depends on you."

"I understand. Having acquired news of the ancient shipwreck, City Lord Zhu won't be sleeping easy tonight and will be busy preparing for the salvage. The guards of the City Lord's Mansion should be lax, and the paralyzing incense I have on hand will surely come in handy."

The small cultivator nodded.

The immortal guards of the Zhu Family Immortal Village held these three loose cultivators in far too much contempt; although they placed them under house arrest in the tower, they never bothered to search them.

City Lord Zhu spent the entire night mobilizing manpower, preparing to send large seafaring vessels out to sea and recalling cultivators stationed on the outer islands.

After a night of such turmoil, dawn broke before he finally received a report from an immortal guard: the three loose cultivators had used paralyzing incense to incapacitate a guard and had secretly fled the immortal village.

City Lord Zhu's face turned ashen. He dispatched men in pursuit, but alas, it yielded no results.

The three loose cultivators had long since departed the Zhu Family Spirit Island under the cover of night, escaping far away to sell the intelligence to other immortal villages.