Wang Changqing continued, "Mortals like this old man who live on the various islands must either perform labor service or pay spirit stones, otherwise they are not permitted to reside on the islands. This is because Immortal Masters have placed protective spells on these islands, so we mortals need not fear attacks from spirit beasts or the Celestial Wind, allowing us to live in peace. Moreover, the Immortal Masters possess great powers, so when we mortals travel long distances by sea, we usually try to hire one or two to accompany the ship. In this way, if we encounter spirit beasts in the sea, we have a chance to survive. Of course, those Immortal Masters willing to accept such employment are the ones with relatively free status."
"Celestial Wind?" Han Li's face flickered with a hint of confusion at this term.
He knew about spirit beasts! But this "Celestial Wind" was something he had never heard of.
"Has the Immortal Master never experienced the Celestial Wind in the places he stayed before?" The old man looked surprised.
"The places where I cultivated before indeed never encountered the Celestial Wind! What exactly is this Celestial Wind that it can be mentioned alongside spirit beasts?" Han Li said frankly, looking quite unconcerned.
Hearing Han Li's words, Wang Changqing felt somewhat suspicious in his heart but still explained honestly, "The Celestial Wind, spirit beasts, and Ghost Fog are known as the Three Great Calamities of our Seven Star Sea. Spirit beasts need no explanation—the Immortal Master surely knows more about them than I do. Most spirit beasts in the sea are enormous in size and are adept at water-attribute demonic arts. We mortals certainly have no way to deal with them. Only Immortal Masters can possibly slay them."
"The Celestial Wind is a hurricane that appears twice a year from one end of the Seven Star Sea and blows regularly to the other end. Wherever it passes, waves surge to the heavens, houses are destroyed and people die. If we lived on islands without Immortal Master protection, we mortals would surely face dire consequences. Moreover, I've heard that even Immortal Masters, once caught in the Celestial Wind, find it extremely difficult to escape, and may even perish within it." Wang Changqing's face showed a trace of fear as he spoke.
"Then what kind of natural disaster is this Ghost Fog?" Han Li asked calmly.
He wanted to understand these Three Great Calamities clearly, so he could be prepared if he encountered them!
But hearing Han Li's question, the old man finally became certain that this Immortal Master truly knew nothing about matters at sea—even the most mysterious of the Three Great Calamities, the Ghost Fog, was completely unknown to him. He truly wondered where this Immortal Master had been cultivating all along? Could he have come from the mainland? But this was the Chaotic Star Sea—apart from other sea regions, what mainland was there nearby?
Suppressing his inner curiosity, Wang Changqing continued explaining to Han Li without delay, "The Ghost Fog is the most terrifying and mysterious of the Three Great Calamities of the Seven Star Sea. It is said to be a black mist that drifts unpredictably over the sea surface. Not only do we mortals die without fail upon seeing it, but even Immortal Masters cannot avoid it quickly enough. For any living thing shrouded by this mist has never emerged again—not even Immortal Masters are exceptions! However, although this mist is formidable, it only appears in certain locations and never approaches larger islands. As long as one avoids it in time, one can preserve one's life. Therefore, although terrifying, it is actually the one that kills the fewest among the Three Great Calamities." The old man spoke with a hint of relief in his expression.
Hearing this, Han Li fell into thought.
"What kind of wretched place is this? If this is true, wouldn't my plan to find a small island with spiritual energy and cultivate alone fall through? Otherwise, if I encountered those so-called Celestial Wind or Ghost Fog, wouldn't I die unjustly?"
Han Li felt somewhat depressed!
Seeing Han Li's somewhat displeased expression after hearing his words, the old man grew uneasy.
"Could it be that something he said had offended the Immortal Master?"
Just as the old man was murmuring to himself, Han Li pondered for a moment and then asked again, "Why did that Shopkeeper Gu earlier want me so much to live on Kui Star Island? And this ship is now heading to that island, isn't it?"
Han Li stared at the old man's face, showing no obvious emotion.
Seeing Han Li's expression, the old man's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help showing a trace of hesitation.
Seeing this, Han Li naturally realized there was indeed something fishy going on. He softened his expression and said, "Mr. Wang, please rest assured. I'm only asking to understand the full story. After all, I can't just agree to Shopkeeper Gu's request without knowing anything, can I? If I truly need to help with some small matter, I wouldn't be unable to make a trip to Kui Star Island."
Hearing Han Li say this, Wang Changqing knew he had no choice but to speak the truth, otherwise he would greatly offend this Immortal Master and surely face unpleasant consequences.
So he cleared his throat and said with a trembling smile, "Immortal Master, please don't blame this old man. Actually, there's nothing to hide about this matter—it's just that the Immortal Master hadn't asked before."
Hearing such evasive words, Han Li mentally rolled his eyes.
But the old man immediately went on to explain the cause of the matter.
It turned out that this ship had indeed just completed a delivery and was on its way back to Kui Star Island.
This Shopkeeper Gu was not a native mortal of Kui Star Island, but was born on one of its subordinate islands. However, after making his fortune in business, he had just moved to live on Kui Star Island.
Because the truly profitable business was long-distance trade between the major islands. And this kind of trade could only be conducted by mortals from Kui Star Island, to highlight the difference in status between mortals on the main island and those on subordinate islands.
Shopkeeper Gu had originally been doing short-distance trade between subordinate islands, so after moving to this island, he naturally wanted his business to improve further.
But after his whole family moved to the main island, Shopkeeper Gu was shocked to discover that this long-distance trade business between major islands was not something one could join freely. It had long been allocated by the Immortal Masters on the island to specific quotas. Only ten families on the island were permitted to do this highly profitable business.
Moreover, these ten families were not fixed. They were determined through a martial arts competition held every three years.
Families wanting to enter this business would invite an Immortal Master to engage in a magical challenge. Only by successfully challenging the Immortal Masters of the families who had previously obtained qualification could they gain permission to trade between major islands.
When Shopkeeper Gu heard this news, he immediately panicked.
Because he had previously only done short-distance business, he had never encountered spirit beasts and had never hired any cultivators. Therefore, he knew very few cultivators!
He had originally planned to slowly hire one at great expense once he got the business opportunity.
But now it was too late.
Because when he received the news, the three-year martial competition was not far off. There was no time for him to slowly contact and search!
One must know that although there were many Immortal Masters on Kui Star Island, most cultivators were proud and haughty. Those willing to accept employment by mortals were already rare, and most of them had some distant or close relationship with these mortals before they would lend a hand.
As for the few other Immortal Masters who could have helped, they were all acquainted to varying degrees with the current ten Immortal Masters and felt it improper to challenge them. Therefore, in the short term, Shopkeeper Gu simply couldn't find any cultivators in Kui Star Island willing to help.
With no other choice, he took the opportunity of delivering goods to return to the island where he was born, hoping to ask a cultivator who was a distant relative to help. But unexpectedly, that Immortal Master had just left on a long journey.
Now, Shopkeeper Gu was truly at a loss.
And now, Han Li, an outside cultivator, had stumbled onto his ship. How could this not make Shopkeeper Gu, who had been searching everywhere for a cultivator, overjoyed?
Although he didn't know Han Li's level of cultivation, it was still better than giving up the opportunity and waiting another three years!
Therefore, he tried his utmost to win over Han Li, hoping Han Li would fight on his behalf to compete for the opportunity.
After hearing all this, Han Li was completely speechless.
At first, hearing that cultivators could be hired by mortals to go to sea, he had already found it incredible. And now, for the sake of some qualification for trade between major islands for mortals, they would engage in unprovoked magical duels. This was something Han Li found hard to accept for the moment.
It seemed that although cultivators were still a superior class in this place, they were not like in the Tian Nan region where they disdained interaction with mortals. Instead, the two groups had a complex and intricate relationship.
However, for him to fight in a magical duel on behalf of Shopkeeper Gu's trade qualification—let's skip that. He wasn't that desperate yet!
But he still had one doubt in his heart, so he smiled lightly and asked slowly, "Mr. Wang, I'm too inexperienced. There's one more question I'd like to ask."
"If the Immortal Master has any questions, please feel free to ask! This old man will do his best to answer!" The old man hastily said respectfully.
"I'm a bit confused! If transporting goods to various islands is needed, why entrust it to us mortals? Don't the various Immortal Masters have magic treasures like storage pouches? Wouldn't it be faster and safer to transport them by flying with such items?"