When Golden Finger Meets Salted Fish

As the ship ventured into deep waters, the scenery became increasingly monotonous, with even reefs and islands growing scarce. Sometimes the ghost ship would sail for two or three days without encountering a single island, gradually creating a sense of isolation from the world.

The cultivators aboard maintained their patience. After all, at their level of cultivation, who hadn't experienced seclusion? Such isolation required enduring loneliness—otherwise, seclusion periods ranging from a few days to several years or decades could drive one mad. However, the sailing experience differed from seclusion; they didn't dare become completely immersed in cultivation and would occasionally emerge onto the deck to look around.

Jiang Mo was different. Unable to tolerate the boredom of staying alone in her cabin, she appeared on deck almost daily.

Perhaps because they encountered her on deck so frequently, occasionally someone would strike up a conversation: "Fellow Daoist, I notice you come to the deck every day to observe. Have you made any discoveries?"

Hearing this, Jiang Mo shook her head and answered: "No." After a moment's thought, she added: "Just that the fish we've been encountering are getting larger."

By now, she had been aboard for over half a month, with the ghost ship having sailed in deep waters for about ten days. The food she had stockpiled in Xianyuan Town was already half gone. Though cultivators could abstain from food and drink, being idle on the ship left little else to do—tigers eat fish too, and fresh seafood was particularly delicious, so she had been paying extra attention during her idle moments.

Hearing her response, most people couldn't help but show complicated expressions. The few with kind attitudes would remind her: "Fellow Daoist, while on this ghost ship, nothing from the outside world can be touched. Not just the fish, even the seawater is beyond our reach."

This was common knowledge, which Jiang Mo understood, making her regret the missed fishing opportunities.

Thus, a month quickly passed. The ghost ship maintained perfect calm, with the righteous and demonic paths preserving their delicate balance. The scenery outside remained largely unchanged, with only sky and sea visible under normal circumstances, occasionally interspersed with islands and seabirds. However, as the ghost ship approached deeper waters, encounters with various strange deep-sea beasts gradually increased.

For instance, one day while some were cultivating and others chatting, those on deck suddenly felt the sky darken. Thinking clouds had blocked the sunlight, they looked up only to discover that what loomed above was no cloud but a strange enormous fish.

The fish had a flat body with two fins spread like wings, spanning over ten zhang in width, trailing a long tail behind. Its face and eyes were hidden beneath its body, and as it flew above the ghost ship, those below looked up directly at its face... They saw a round face on the underside of the strange fish, with two eyes staring at the ghost ship, revealing a mouth full of small, sharp teeth.

Most aboard the ship came from land, rarely encountering the ocean, let alone having any concept of deep-sea beasts. At the first glimpse of the strange fish's appearance, meeting its gaze, they involuntarily held their breath.

They soon realized this strange fish possessed at least Spirit Division realm cultivation, intensifying the pressure from this enormous creature.

"What—what kind of beast is this?" someone asked in a hushed voice.

Not only did no one answer, but the two companions beside the speaker simultaneously covered his mouth with remarkable synchronization—true, their ship had many high-level cultivators, but deep-sea beasts were never to be underestimated. This was their territory, so it was best not to provoke them, letting them believe this was just an empty, broken vessel.

Those on deck held their breath, even though most knew that when viewed from above, everything on the ghost ship would be concealed, showing only emptiness and decay.

But this concealment was designed for humans—who knew if it could deceive a beast's eyes and nose?

While everyone remained tense, they saw the beast merely sniff above the ghost ship. Apparently finding nothing, it flapped its wings and flew away, allowing the sunlight to once again fall on the deck. Soon there was a splash as the creature, a fish that had somehow taken to the air, re-entered the water, creating a spray that glittered in the sunlight.

This incident was merely an interlude, but it made everyone fully aware of the differences between deep-sea beasts and land beasts. After encountering this strange fish, they successively met many other bizarre creatures, each with substantial cultivation power.

Jiang Mo had specifically invited Yun Qingyue to observe these creatures. While the two of them remained relatively composed, some cultivators aboard nearly questioned their life choices.

Take Su Hao and his peers—all considered heaven's chosen, with cultivation levels that, while not the highest aboard the ghost ship, were certainly not the lowest. Yet entering the deep sea, they discovered that even an ordinary fish might possess higher cultivation than theirs. As for those truly at the bottom of the hierarchy on the ghost ship—Nascent Soul cultivators—they trembled in fear when facing such circumstances, retreating into self-imposed isolation.

The deep-sea journey proved more perilous than imagined.

༻༺❀༻✧⋆｡°✩☽༓☾✩°｡⋆✧༺❀༻༺

Danger accompanies opportunity. While everyone recognized the formidable nature of deep-sea beasts, some also saw potential in the situation.

System, for instance, frequently exclaimed in Jiang Mo's ear: "Host, look at all these high-level spirit beasts! Look at that school of fish—they're all at the Spirit Division realm, at least several hundred of them. Why don't you try testing yourself? You haven't fought monsters in ages. Daily tasks for experience points and regular points are fine, but combat power increases faster by defeating monsters."

Jiang Mo had indeed spotted the beasts, which resembled sharks from her memory, with tall dorsal fins and frightening sharp teeth. Not only did she have no desire to provoke them, but even if she wanted to, the ghost ship's barrier made contact impossible.

She explained this to System, deflating its enthusiasm.

While host and System were conversing, Yun Qingyue had appeared on deck, automatically approaching Jiang Mo's side. Seeing her, Jiang Mo's eyes brightened, her mood instantly improving: "Fellow Daoist, out for some fresh air again?"

Yun Qingyue nodded in acknowledgment, then suddenly asked: "Fellow Daoist Jiang, when did you last see an island?"

Hearing the question, Jiang Mo thought for a moment before providing a specific answer: "About five days ago, I believe."

As the ghost ship ventured deeper into the sea, not only did the deep-sea beasts become more numerous, but encounters with islands grew increasingly rare. However, the ship's occupants had their attention captured by the increasingly formidable deep-sea beasts, and since the ghost ship never stopped at islands anyway, few had noticed this pattern.

Though Jiang Mo had noticed these details, she clearly hadn't given them much thought. After answering Senior Sister's question, she casually asked: "Is something wrong?"

Yun Qingyue first shook her head, then asked: "Fellow Daoist Jiang, have you ever wondered where this ghost ship is ultimately taking us? And since this ghost ship isn't under human control, might there come a moment when the barrier surrounding it suddenly disappears?"

The ghost ship had been sailing in deep waters for some time, with countless deep-sea beasts passing by. Perhaps they were deceived by the ghost ship's apparent appearance, or perhaps they had attempted to investigate but were repelled by the ship's intangible nature. Whatever the case, the people aboard relied entirely on the ghost ship's special properties to navigate freely through the deep sea. However, they had ventured into the sea to seek opportunities, not for sightseeing.

Jiang Mo hadn't given it much thought. Hearing the question, she paused: "I... I don't know either."

After gathering her thoughts, she secretly checked her System panel, finding that the main storyline mission hadn't updated, indicating the trigger conditions hadn't been met. This somewhat reassured her, and she said to Yun Qingyue: "Fellow Daoist, do you remember the secret I told you initially? Perhaps we simply haven't encountered them yet. Once we do, the ghost ship should reach its destination."

As the two were casually chatting on deck with others nearby, Jiang Mo kept her words deliberately vague. However, Yun Qingyue understood—she was referring to the merpeople. Though uncertain of the source of Jiang Mo's information, Yun Qingyue inexplicably trusted it somewhat.

Some things and people seem to manifest just by being mentioned.

That very night, as Jiang Mo finished washing up in her cabin and prepared for bed, she suddenly heard System's new mission notification—

"Ding! Congratulations, host, you have triggered main storyline mission two: Midnight Song.

"The vast, boundless ocean—the ghost ship that the host is aboard has been sailing for over a month, having entered the depths of the sea. This is territory untouched by human cultivators for ten thousand years, harboring hidden treasures and endless dangers. The ghost ship's special protection has sheltered you, but this protection is neither constant nor endless.

Tonight, you hear singing from the ocean depths—beautiful and melodious yet mysterious. You decide to investigate, seeking the singer. If you find them, perhaps you'll discover an enormous secret..."

Jiang Mo stared at the mission in silence for a long while. First looking at the boundless night outside her window, then at the mysterious ghost ship beneath her feet, she asked System: "System, this mission wants me to find someone? But I can't even leave the ship—where am I supposed to look? Surely the legendary merpeople won't just jump aboard the ghost ship... they couldn't even if they wanted to, right?!"

According to legend, merpeople were skilled singers who often sang at midnight to enchant passing ships, earning them the nickname "sea demons." Jiang Mo had heard similar legends not just in this cultivation world but in her previous life as well, so System's prompt about midnight singing immediately brought them to mind.

But the merpeople of the cultivation world had vanished for ten thousand years—would they really appear so easily now?

Jiang Mo had a heart full of questions but no one to answer them. After hearing her inquiries, System could only spread its hands and say: "This is a main storyline mission reviewed and issued by the main System. I don't know either, but the main System doesn't make mistakes. Host, just wait and see."

System's response was largely unhelpful, but Jiang Mo agreed on one point—missions issued by the main System couldn't be wrong. It would neither issue erroneous missions nor impossible ones. So Jiang Mo decided to follow System's advice and wait—either for merpeople to actively appear and board the ghost ship, or for the ship to change in a way that would allow her to disembark and search for them.

This wait wasn't particularly long, but developments unfolded contrary to Jiang Mo's expectations. What she encountered first wasn't merpeople or their singing, but a tremendous "BOOM!" followed by the entire ghost ship beginning to shake.