Chapter 1393: News of the Jade Conch

Unless custom-ordered, star-boats bought on Myriad Islands are typically standardized models. In other words, they aren't unique; many identical ones exist.

The one Lu Ye bought wasn't the cheapest, but compared to other star-boats that easily cost hundreds of thousands of spirit jades, it was definitely affordable.

Both its size and performance were inferior to his previous Silver Fish.

Only after arriving in Myriad Sea did Lu Ye realize how precious Su Yuqing's gift truly was. If sold, the Silver Fish would undoubtedly be worth over a hundred thousand spirit jades. Unfortunately, his limited knowledge at the time prevented him from realizing its true value sooner.

Recruitment Isle, as its name suggests, is where various factions and individual groups in Myriad Sea recruit personnel.

It's also a crucial way for most Constellation cultivators to make a living here.

Myriad Sea offers numerous opportunities. There are paths to overnight wealth and ways to accumulate riches gradually. Cultivators who come here, provided they are willing to endure hardship, will never struggle to earn spirit jades. Naturally, how much they earn depends on their individual capabilities.

The Fish Slumber Period had arrived, and its duration was uncertain. Although the Talent Tree still had a good amount of fuel, it wasn't enough for Lu Ye to cultivate deep within Myriad Sea for an extended period. Therefore, he had to find a way to earn spirit jades, at the very least to cover his monthly cultivation expenses.

He had heard Pork mention Recruitment Isle many times, but he had been too busy fishing to visit it before.

Piloting his star-boat, he followed the star map's guidance and arrived at Recruitment Isle in less than half a day.

From afar, the island buzzed with activity, countless cultivators swarming in and out like a migrating school of fish.

Recruitment Isle was an uninhabited island, not controlled by any faction, allowing free access to everyone.

Upon nearing the spiritual island, Lu Ye retracted his star-boat, observed for a moment from mid-air, then swiftly entered.

Although it was an unregulated area with no overall planning and a large number of cultivators coming and going, it wasn't chaotic; rather, it had a sense of order.

Across Recruitment Isle, rows of jade tablets stood crisscrossing. These tablets, likely materials used by Spirit Mark Masters for practice, were inexpensive and readily available; a large piece could be bought for just one spirit jade.

Each jade tablet bore inscriptions. Cultivators passing by could quickly scan them to learn which faction was recruiting, along with their requirements and conditions, all clearly written. If they met the qualifications, they could approach the tablet's owner for discussion.

Some tablets had cultivators waiting nearby, sitting or standing, presumably the ones posting the recruitment information.

Other tablets had no one beside them but contained a musical note. Those interested could use the note to contact the employer for detailed negotiations.

Recruitment Isle had existed for countless years in this location. Despite being unregulated, it had its own set of rules, which cultivators visiting the island voluntarily observed.

Lu Ye followed the crowd to a jade tablet and looked up, seeing a large inscription:

"Zhoutian Isle is consistently recruiting a large number of guards. Excellent remuneration. Interested parties, please discuss in person!"

Standing beside it was a pale, beardless man, likely the employer who posted the recruitment message. Someone was communicating with him telepathically, but after a moment, shook their head and left.

After that person left, Lu Ye approached and spoke with the employer for a few moments, also departing in disappointment.

Simply put, the monthly salary offered was a bit low, only around a hundred spirit jades. While such a salary might suffice for most mid-stage Constellation cultivators' needs, it was far from enough for Lu Ye.

He continued walking, observing each one.

Lu Ye soon discovered that most recruitment messages didn't specify the remuneration; instead, it had to be negotiated with the employer. He spoke to several, but none met his expectations.

A moment later, passing by another jade tablet, Lu Ye's eyes lit up. This one also advertised for guards, but the monthly salary was explicitly stated: a generous eight hundred spirit jades!

Compared to what other factions offered, this was undoubtedly a high price, yet few seemed interested, and no one was negotiating with the employer.

Lu Ye knew that such an anomaly implied something amiss, but to understand the reason, he approached the employer and spoke to them.

Only then did he learn why the high price was offered: the spiritual island where the employer resided might soon go to war with another faction. They were short-staffed and urgently needed assistance, which was why they were offering such a high salary.

Upon realizing the risks involved, Lu Ye immediately lost interest.

Even though the employer said war was only a possibility, not a certainty, Lu Ye had no intention of risking his life for them. As an outsider in the mid-stage Constellation realm, he had no interest in getting involved in disputes between two major factions. In such conflicts, winning might be fine, but losing could easily cost him his life.

Furthermore, even if they won, the monthly salary would undoubtedly be adjusted downwards once the employer's faction no longer needed as many guards.

Thus, while a monthly salary of eight hundred jades looked appealing, it wasn't a sustainable path.

For the next few days, Lu Ye explored Recruitment Isle, but no matter how much he looked, he couldn't find anything suitable, leaving him somewhat frustrated.

Before, fishing yielded a White Spirit worth several thousand spirit jades. Here, he was primarily encountering livelihoods that paid only one or two hundred monthly. For others, having grown accustomed to luxurious meals, it might be difficult to stomach humble fare.

However, Lu Ye came from a humble background, so his emotional disparity wasn't as significant. His demands weren't high; he simply needed to cover his daily cultivation expenses and ideally have some surplus. Yet, his cultivation consumption was considerably higher than that of typical Constellation cultivators, making it quite challenging to meet his requirements.

Just as Lu Ye was quietly pondering his predicament, his musical note suddenly vibrated.

He took it out to check, his expression brightening with joy. He immediately shot into the sky, conjured his star-boat mid-air, and flew straight towards Myriad Islands.

Less than half a day later, he arrived at the Myriad Mercantile Association, walked straight in, and headed to the private room he always used.

Cao Xiang was waiting. Seeing Lu Ye arrive, he stood and bowed, saying, "Fellow Daoist Li!"

Lu Ye quickly returned the bow and asked, "Is the information accurate?"

Cao Xiang smiled faintly. "The source of the information is reliable. Our Myriad Mercantile Association has a dedicated intelligence department. As for its absolute accuracy, no one can guarantee it; after all, it's gathered intelligence. So, whether it's true or false, Fellow Daoist Li will need to verify it yourself."

Lu Ye nodded. What he said made sense; at a time like this, demanding a guarantee of accuracy would be unreasonable.

Cao Xiang handed Lu Ye a jade slip. "The detailed information is all here. Fellow Daoist will know once you check it. I must apologize, though, as this matter has been delayed for quite some time."

Given the Myriad Mercantile Association's capabilities, gathering such information usually wouldn't take long. However, the Jade Snail Star System was extremely remote and had no direct contact with the Myriad Star System, which caused the delay until today.

The jade slip contained information about the Jade Snail Star System. Lu Ye examined it carefully and found that according to the records, to return to the Jade Snail Star System, he would first need to enter a star system called Tianyan, then cross the entire Tianyan Star System to enter one called Yunshang, and finally cross the Yunshang Star System to reach Jade Snail.

In other words, returning to Jade Snail required traversing two entire star systems.

The information came from a cultivator in the Tianyan Star System who had never been to Jade Snail but had previously interacted with people from the Yunshang Star System. During their casual conversations, they had heard the name Jade Snail. As for how the Yunshang Star System people knew about Jade Snail... it was normal for adjacent star systems to have some interaction.

Based solely on the information in the jade slip, the source was somewhat circuitous but highly credible. However, as Cao Xiang mentioned, the absolute accuracy couldn't be guaranteed; Lu Ye would need to verify it himself.

"Originally, Fellow Daoist owed a final payment of seven hundred jades," Cao Xiang said, proactively reducing the price. "However, since the delay was considerable, let's say you pay five hundred jades."

It had been agreed that the intelligence gathering would cost one thousand jades, and Lu Ye had paid three hundred as a deposit, leaving seven hundred outstanding.

Lu Ye didn't stand on ceremony and promptly paid the five hundred jades.

After this transaction, he was left with only five hundred spirit jades, making him feel even poorer.

Leaving the Myriad Mercantile Association, Lu Ye held his musical note, sent out a message, then flashed out and flew away.

A day later, on a reef island in Myriad Sea, Lu Ye, whose appearance had been altered, sat waiting.

A moment later, a figure flew from afar. Seeing Lu Ye from a distance, the figure showed a suspicious expression. Lu Ye's spiritual sense surged, sending a message, and only then did the figure fly closer, landing nearby. He examined Lu Ye from head to toe and exclaimed in astonishment, "What secret art is this, young friend? I can't detect any flaw! I thought I had come to the wrong place."

Lu Ye casually replied, "When traveling, if one's strength isn't sufficient, one needs some means of disguise. Old Tang, take a look at this."

As he spoke, he handed over the jade slip he had received from Cao Xiang.

The person who arrived was naturally Tang Jun. Since their arrival in Myriad Sea, they hadn't contacted each other, and this was their first meeting since their last parting.

Tang Jun took the jade slip and examined it. A moment later, his eyebrows rose. "Where did you get this intelligence?"

"I inquired with the Myriad Mercantile Association," Lu Ye replied.

Tang Jun nodded. "I suspected as much. I considered this method myself before, but as a Moon-Glow cultivator, I'm too obvious a target. I thought you might use this approach, so I didn't pursue it."

The old man was undoubtedly cautious. When traveling, he would try to hide his origins as much as possible to avoid attracting unwanted attention and bringing disaster to his homeland.

"Have you heard of the Tianyan and Yunshang star systems?" Lu Ye asked.

The old man was three thousand years old and a mid-stage Moon-Glow cultivator. Lu Ye didn't believe he hadn't traveled extensively in his youth, so he might know something about these two star systems. If so, the information would be very reliable.

He took deep breaths of fresh air, his chest trembling.

Confusion, bewilderment, and a host of other emotions flooded his mind.

Where was this?

Then, Shi Yu subconsciously surveyed his surroundings, growing even more bewildered.

A single dormitory room?

Even if he had been successfully rescued, he should be in a hospital room now.

And his body... how could there be no injuries at all?

Filled with doubt, Shi Yu's gaze quickly swept across the room, finally settling on a mirror at the head of the bed.

The mirror showed his current appearance: around seventeen or eighteen years old, and very handsome.

But the problem was, this wasn't him!

His former self had been a handsome young man in his twenties with an extraordinary demeanor, who had been working for some time.

Now, this face looked like that of a high school student, no matter how he looked at it.

This change left Shi Yu in a daze for a long time.

Don't tell him the surgery was successful...

His body and face had both changed; this wasn't a matter of surgery at all, but rather divine art.

He had completely transformed into someone else!

Could it be... he had transmigrated?

Besides the mirror at the head of the bed, placed in a spot clearly considered bad feng shui, Shi Yu also found three books nearby.

Shi Yu picked them up and saw the titles, which instantly left him speechless.

"Handbook for Novice Beast Keepers"

"Post-Partum Care for Companion Beasts"

"Guide to Appraising Exotic Beast-Eared Girls"

Shi Yu: ???

The first two book titles seemed normal, but what was up with the last one?

"Ahem."

Shi Yu's gaze sharpened, and he reached out, but his arm stiffened almost immediately.

Just as he was about to open the third book to see what it was, a sharp pain shot through his brain, and a flood of memories surged forth.

Glacier City.

Companion Beast Breeding Base.

Intern Companion Beast Breeder.

Beast Master?