Chapter 172: The Journey to Seize the Treasure, Set Off!

Read content up; Ye's Immortal Village.

The first elite aerial cavalry unit of Ye's Immortal Village, consisting of ten spirit-eagle riders, had been initially established.

Five earth-slave guards and five immortal guards, clad in crimson-fire spirit armor and wielding crimson-fire iron spears, each riding a second or third-tier golden eagle, were conducting aerial combat training.

Inside the ancient painting's immortal village, Ye Mo had spent a dozen days hatching ten golden eagle eggs and completely tamed them. One day inside the ancient painting's immortal village was equivalent to a hundred days outside; spiritual beasts grew at an extraordinary rate, and a dozen days were more than enough for the chicks to grow into second and third-tier golden eagles.

To facilitate the eagle cavalry plan, Ye Mo had long since sent Zhang Pengju back to Qingyun Main Immortal City. Whenever there was a need to stimulate the golden eagles into mating and laying eggs, he would directly bring the spirit eagles to the main immortal city and return immediately afterward.

As for the origin of the golden eagles and the corresponding spiritual grain accounts, no one else besides Ye Mo knew. Even Chang Fei, the chief steward of the city lord's mansion, could not interfere. Everyone in the immortal village assumed that these golden eagles had been purchased by Ye Mo at a heavy price.

Ye Mo was watching the eagle cavalry training when his heart suddenly stirred, and turning his head, he happened to see Chang Fei approaching.

Chang Fei hurried to Ye Mo's side and whispered, "City Lord, we have just received important news. In the central region of our Aolai Archipelago, thousands of miles away, an ancient shipwreck has been discovered in the territory of the Zhu's Immortal Village. Now the entire sea area is buzzing with the news, and various immortal villages have sent warships to investigate. Being on the far eastern edge, we are only receiving the news now."

"An ancient shipwreck? Could it be a shipwreck from before the Immortal City Alliance?"

Ye Mo knitted his brows, a trace of shock in his heart.

"Yes, it's a shipwreck from that era. Legend has it that it was a transport vessel belonging to the Heavenly Dao Alliance, the human race's largest faction, carrying strategic supplies to the front lines. It was attacked by fierce demonic beasts and sank while passing through this sea area.

It is said that the transport ships of the human cultivators back then were colossal, vastly larger than the sea vessels of today. Even ordinary transport ships spanned several hundred zhang in length; I wonder what this one looks like?"

Chang Fei reported.

"Let's go back, we can talk on the way. Call the others back as well so we can discuss how to handle this."

Ye Mo suppressed the shock in his heart, nodded, and walked toward the city lord's mansion with Chang Fei. "Strategic supplies for front-line cultivators should consist of elixirs, spirit weapons, dharma artifacts, and the like. A whole ship of supplies is no small matter."

Half an hour later.

In the main hall of the city lord's mansion, Ye Mo and his core subordinate cultivators gathered together.

Chang Fei recounted the news about the ancient shipwreck.

Everyone was greatly astonished, and immediate discussions broke out.

"An ancient shipwreck? What would it look like?"

Wang Hu's eyes lit up.

"Ha, I think we should invite Fellow Daoist Mo Yun over. Mo Yun builds ships in the dockyard, so he must have some research in this area and might be able to help us."

Mo Ling also suggested.

Ye Mo felt this was a good suggestion, nodded, and said to A Jin nearby, "Go and invite Fellow Daoist Mo, and you may disclose the news to him."

A Jin immediately took the order and left.

Gao Jian could not suppress his excitement, stood up, and said, "Since an ancient shipwreck has been discovered, we should go and vie for it as well! If that ancient shipwreck carries a large batch of supplies, it will be immensely beneficial to the development of our immortal village, and we must absolutely not let it fall into the hands of other immortal villages. Otherwise, it will greatly boost their strength and widen the gap even further!"

Lin Zhi interjected with some worry, "However, Zhu's Immortal Village is a full several thousand miles away from us. Since we received the news, I'm afraid all the other immortal villages have learned of it as well. With over three hundred immortal villages in the Aolai Archipelago, seizing this shipwreck from their hands will be no easy task."

"With three hundred and sixty city lords, even if each brings only a single sea vessel, that's three hundred and sixty ships. No single immortal village can monopolize this ancient shipwreck by itself."

"How difficult is it to seize the ancient shipwreck from thousands of miles away?"

"Even if we manage to seize it, we will have to pass through dozens of immortal villages along the way. How are we supposed to transport it back?"

"I'm afraid going there will be a wasted trip."

Everyone chattered anxiously, and as they thought of the difficulties, their excitement began to fade.

"I still suggest going."

Lin Zhi sneered, "With so many immortal villages going to vie for the ancient shipwreck, even the Lou's Immortal Village, the premier village of Aolai, cannot swallow it alone. Either everyone gets a share, or no one gets anything. Therefore, we should go and strive for a share of the benefits, or look for an opportunity to fish in troubled waters and snatch some gains."

"Haha, fishing in troubled waters is what we excel at. Back during the immortal city assessment, Big Brother Ye snatched tenth place from among over a hundred city lord trainees."

Hearing this, Wang Hu immediately recalled the past and said excitedly.

"Hey, hey, hey, Wang Hu, don't talk nonsense. During the city lord assessment, we were employing tactics. What do you mean by fishing in troubled waters, making it sound so unpleasant."

Mo Ling said with great dissatisfaction.

Wang Hu wore an awkward expression.

Ye Mo pondered for a moment, and seeing that everyone had said their piece, he said, "It seems everyone agrees that we should go and try our luck; let's consider that decided. Now, let's discuss how many ships and men it would be appropriate to send."

Chang Fei said, "No matter how many men we send, can we compare to three hundred and sixty immortal villages? Even if every cultivator in our immortal village goes, it won't showcase our strength."

Hearing this, Lin Zhi nodded in agreement, "Indeed, the journey is too far, and taking too many people would instead become a burden. I don't think it's necessary to send too many personnel. Actually, in a situation like this, no one can be certain who will seize the prize; we can only look at the specific circumstances and adapt on the fly."

Chang Fei then produced a sea chart, pointed to the location of Zhu's Immortal Village, and said, "This is the central region. From our eastern district to Zhu's Immortal Village in the center, the journey is long, and the more sea vessels we have, the greater the variables. I suggest sending ordinary light-armored warships—they are fast, agile, and if any unexpected events occur, we can handle them flexibly without worrying about getting separated from our teammates."

"That place is far away from our immortal village. Otherwise, if we are ambushed by other immortal villages, I'm afraid not a single one of our sea vessels will make it back."

"True."

Quite a few people cautiously agreed.

After all, such a long-distance treasure hunt still required caution.

At this moment, Mo Yun was also escorted in. As soon as he entered, he hurriedly said to Ye Mo, "City Lord Ye, please make sure to take me with you. Ancient shipwrecks are things I have only seen in jade slips and picture albums, never in reality. This is a rare opportunity, and I would love to go and witness it."

Ye Mo smiled and gestured for Mo Yun to take a seat, saying, "Even if Mr. Mo hadn't asked, I intended to invite you along. When the time comes, you might just be able to help."

Mo Yun was overjoyed and said, "If there is any way I can contribute, I will certainly do my utmost. Coincidentally, I have a few blueprints of ancient transport ships here, which I can show everyone..."

Mo Yun took out a jade slip and used his magical power to project several massive images of sea vessels.

Everyone marveled, as the ancient ships were vastly larger than contemporary sea vessels.

Ye Mo immediately made his decision: they would dispatch one light-armored warship, accompanied by himself and the newly established spirit-eagle aerial cavalry—consisting of five earth-slave guards and several other immortal guards, totaling ten spirit eagles (three third-tier and seven second-tier)—along with Mo Yun and a few other cultivators.

It would be a powerful, highly mobile unit.

That very day, the sea vessel of Ye's Immortal Village set sail, rushing toward the shipwreck-infested sea area near Zhu's Immortal Village.

Zhu's Immortal Village, Shipwreck Sea Area.

Warships from various immortal villages appearing in this sea area were gradually increasing in number.

On the very day that Lord Zhu brought his sea vessels to the vicinity of the ancient shipwreck area for the second time, he drove away several of the earliest-arriving sea vessels.

With sea vessels continuously arriving and causing disruptions, Lord Zhu's plan to salvage the ancient shipwreck was completely ruined, and he found himself bogged down in repelling foreign ships. However, facing the ever-growing number of vessels, Zhu's Immortal Village began to feel overmatched and powerless.

By evening, eight sea vessels from various immortal villages had gathered together, slowly closing in on the three sea vessels of Zhu's Immortal Village.

Looking at the sea vessels bearing various foreign flags, Lord Zhu's face darkened so much it seemed as though water might drip from it.

"Peng Zhongwang, you petty villain, if you have the guts, come and fight me one-on-one! What kind of skill is it to drag a whole gang along with you?"

Seeing one particular vessel flying a hateful banner bearing the character "Peng" made Lord Zhu burn with even greater fury.

City Lord Peng stood at the bow of his sea vessel and laughed loudly, "City Lord Zhu, do you really take this sea area for your private backyard? The ancient shipwreck is a legacy left by our predecessor cultivators, and every cultivator in the immortal realm has a share in it. To harbor greedy thoughts of monopolizing it is to invite a joint siege from everyone.

Is such a simple principle something you don't understand, City Lord Zhu? Obediently pack up your men and get lost from this sea area, and you might still preserve your lives. If you foolishly attempt to stop a chariot with your mantis arms, you will only meet the bleak fate of having your ships destroyed and your lives lost!"

"Bah, utter nonsense!"

Lord Zhu's eyes were already red with desperation, and he roared furiously, "I'll die before I retreat! This ancient shipwreck is in my territory, and no one can take it away!"

"Ah, City Lord Peng, we have already done all we could. But since City Lord Zhu is truly unappreciative of the situation, we might as well help him wake up a little earlier."

Hearing Lord Zhu's furious shouts, a voice of regret came from a sea vessel sailing alongside Peng's warship.

"Haha, City Lord Mao speaks wisely. Without a dip in the sea water, City Lord Zhu might never wake up."

Other city lords chimed in agreement.

These eight sea vessels came from eight different immortal villages, and quite a few of the city lords had past grudges with Lord Zhu, so they naturally relished the chance to see him fall.

A small-scale naval battle broke out immediately.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

The sound of cannon fire echoed continuously, one after another.

The warships of Zhu's Immortal Village fought stubbornly without retreating, but inferior in strength and outnumbered three to eight, they managed to hold out for less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea before one warship sank, plunging them into a state of rout.

Under the bitter persuasion of several of his close confidants, Lord Zhu managed to control his raging emotions and ordered the two remaining heavily damaged warships to fall back and evacuate the sea area.

Some of the city lords who bore no deep feud with Lord Zhu immediately ceased their attacks.

Meanwhile, City Lord Peng and a few other city lords, eager to exterminate Lord Zhu completely, gave chase and directly sank the slowest-escaping vessel.

With only a single warship managing to escape back home, Lord Zhu felt a piercing anguish in his heart.

Having driven away Zhu's warships and cleared the battlefield, the eight sea vessels reassembled near the shipwreck area.