This Hongwu warship's weapon system and warp-jump system were "weaker"—but only in comparison. Its warp capability was still four times that of a transport ship. And this "four times" wasn't just about far greater jump distance—it also meant the recovery interval between jumps was much shorter.
Put simply: a route that would take a transport ship one month… this Hongwu warship could finish in roughly four days.
Mo Xuan loved it to death. He even puckered up and kissed Xiaotong again and again, making her giggle nonstop. Of course, Xiaotong was only a projection—she had no physical body.
The weapon system wasn't actually weak either: sixteen cannons, and any single cannon could casually blast a kilometer-wide giant meteor into powder. Focused bombardment was even more terrifying. The problem was—everything consumed an outrageous amount of energy. And the warship's other powerful functions were also energy-hungry. Sigh… better not use them unless absolutely necessary.
The truly terrifying part of a Hongwu warship was this:
Aside from being unable to grow spirit plants, it was stronger than an immortal's own immortal garden in almost every other way.
That was why a single Hongwu warship cost 3.5 million points.
The ship Mo Xuan chose had a cargo capacity more than eight times that of his previous transport spirit ship—absolutely insane.
"Activate energy-saving mode. Depart," Mo Xuan ordered.
Xiaotong was, in essence, the Hongwu warship itself. Her intelligence was already excellent—fully automatic piloting was no challenge at all. The warship rolled along a long departure track, flew out of the foundry, and surged into the blue sky.
Its radar performed an energy-saving scan, and immediately a miniature holographic scene of everything within a ten-thousand-kilometer radius appeared.
High-end!
With radar that powerful, prospecting for meteors would be unbelievably satisfying.
Mo Xuan had Xiaotong fly toward Jiang Zou's immortal heaven to claim the spirit isle rewarded by Daojun Qianzao.
Because airspeed over the continent was limited, the Hongwu warship could only fly so fast—otherwise it would've arrived long ago.
Xiaotong was bouncing around excitedly in the cockpit.
Mo Xuan released Xiao Ba, introduced Xiaotong to it, and introduced Xiao Ba to Xiaotong as well.
Xiao Ba was still traumatized by the "Yitiao incident." Remembering its master's warning, it put on a serious face and tried to act like: "I'm vicious! I'm not easy to bully!"
Xiaotong didn't think much of it. She greeted Xiao Ba casually and then paid it little attention.
Xiao Ba quickly realized Xiaotong was unusual. Curious, it stretched a tentacle out to touch her—only for it to pass straight through.
Xiao Ba yanked its tentacle back as if shocked. What?!
It couldn't figure it out, so it tried again.
Mo Xuan watched, secretly amused—Xiao Ba's curiosity really was strong.
Xiaotong couldn't be bothered with it and focused on piloting. Soon they arrived at Jiang Zou's immortal heaven.
Mo Xuan left Xiao Ba behind and went alone to handle the paperwork.
A note written by Daojun Qianzao was basically an imperial edict—how could the office immortals dare to slack off? The process was completed almost instantly.
Under the intensely envious gazes of many earth immortals and immortals, Mo Xuan accepted the token for Spirit Isle No. 03975 with a smile and both hands.
A fully owned spirit isle—his!
In the small immortal world, spirit isles were usually leased to earth immortals, and the rent was not cheap. But Mo Xuan's spirit isle only required him to hand over two tenths of its annual returns. The other eight tenths were his own.
Only heaven immortals could purchase spirit isles outright—naturally, at a sky-high price.
With a brand-new Hongwu warship and a spirit isle to his name, Mo Xuan had completely shed his grassroots status and officially stepped into the ranks of the rich, tall, and handsome.
He no longer felt heartache over the little sun at all—okay, maybe still a little. But it was worth it. The three Daojuns had given him gifts far beyond value.
In high spirits, Mo Xuan flew the Hongwu warship to Teacher Kong's immortal realm.
After hearing the Daojuns' "price," Kong Jian was dumbfounded.
Three cultivation slots, one Hongwu warship, one spirit isle—those three items together exceeded ten million points!
Kong Jian's own clan leased a spirit isle, only half a kilometer in diameter. Even though the rent was steep, it was still the Kong family's biggest source of income.
Yet Xuan'er now possessed a six-kilometer newborn spirit isle with great potential.
Life's twists and turns… even Kong Jian felt a little jealous.
Mo Xuan said directly, "Teacher, the spirit isle is huge. My Mo clan doesn't have many people, and we've only ever farmed Grade-B spirit fields—we lack experience managing a spirit isle. So I'd like to ask members of your clan to help manage it: reclaim fields and cultivate spirit plants. The Mo clan will take two tenths of the spirit-field profits. What do you think?"
This… this…
Kong Jian couldn't stay calm. Leasing a spirit isle normally meant taking six tenths of the profits as rent—yet Xuan'er was offering the Kong clan six tenths of pure profit outright.
It was like a pie falling from heaven—too hot to hold.
But if he refused, Xuan'er would still have to find an experienced earth-immortal clan to manage it anyway.
In the end—better that the water of profit not flow to outsiders.
Kong Jian paced around the hall a few times, then accepted with a guilty conscience.
The trading gathering would begin in two more days. Mo Xuan stayed in Kong Jian's immortal realm, chatting, playing chess, trading couplets—two days passed in a blink.
Then Mo Xuan and Kong Jian went together to Heaven Immortal Juye's immortal heaven.
Naturally, they arrived in the flashy Hongwu warship.
Kong Jian only owned a transport spirit ship and couldn't help feeling envious as he examined the warship's interior. He nodded silently—truly impressive.
Heaven Immortal Juye's immortal heaven was much smaller than Heaven Immortal Jiang Zou's, but it was still a colossal existence, far beyond any earth immortal realm.
On the plaza sat more than ten transport ships and two Hongwu warships.
The rest were cranes and flying spirit beasts, obediently waiting in wooden pens while immortal attendants fed them spirit grain and water.
Mo Xuan's brand-new Hongwu warship was dazzling. It descended next to the two existing Hongwu warships, looking obviously newer and brighter.
Those two belonged to Heaven Immortal Mo Wu and Earth Immortal Qian Fei—both were wealthy big shots.
For an ordinary immortal to own a Hongwu warship—Mo Xuan was the first in the entire Qingyuan Small Immortal World.
Typically, only earth immortals owned transport ships. Ordinary immortals either borrowed from elders or clan immortals, or rented from the academy while slowly saving points. To scrape together 650,000 points was not something you could accomplish in one or two hundred years.
Mo Xuan knew very well it was all luck. He had an exceptionally doting Teacher Kong, and he'd run into a once-in-a-century meteor belt. Otherwise, he'd have had to grind for five hundred years just to barely repay his academy debt—then another five or six hundred years to build an immortal garden—then another five or six hundred more to maybe obtain a transport ship.
Two "dog-luck" miracles were already heaven's mercy. Mo Xuan didn't dare hope for a third.
But now he had a Hongwu warship, a spirit isle, and three cultivation slots in hand—his starting line was already extremely high.
From here on, he could progress steadily without panic.
Mo Xuan and Kong Jian disembarked.
A crowd of immortals immediately surrounded them with congratulations—then their eyes slid toward the gleaming Hongwu warship.
So jealous.
Kong Jian, senior and well-connected, laughed warmly and helped Mo Xuan deflect the attention.
Everyone chatted and laughed as they entered Heaven Immortal Juye's palace together.
Inside the vast hall were hundreds of low tables arranged neatly in eight columns, with meditation cushions beside each.
On every table sat a basket of freshly picked, tender spirit fruits—just taken from the immortal heaven's orchards. Each basket contained sixteen fruits, eight varieties, two of each.
Each immortal received one table; friends sat at adjacent tables.
Kong Jian had excellent social connections. Several earth immortals greeted him the moment he entered and invited him over.
Kong Jian returned bows one by one, explaining he was only accompanying his beloved disciple Xuan'er to broaden his horizons. Then he and Mo Xuan chose two adjacent tables and sat down.
Many of the immortals who'd arrived with them sat near Mo Xuan and chatted—circling around to ask what plans he had for his spirit isle.
Mo Xuan naturally used Teacher Kong as his shield.
When others heard it was a Kong–Mo partnership, they had nothing to say. With a master and disciple that close, where could outsiders possibly squeeze in? They offered a few words of encouragement and dropped the subject.
Mo Xuan picked up a spirit fruit from the basket. It looked like a large plum—pink and fragrant, covered in glistening dew, tender and tempting.
He swallowed unconsciously.
This was produce from an immortal heaven. It wasn't on the level of the Peach of Immortality from Journey to the West, but it was still a rare spirit fruit with strong life-extending effects—though mainly for mortals. For immortals, it was simply a bit of spirit energy and a taste indulgence.
Mo Xuan rolled it in his hand, hid it behind his sleeve, and quietly slipped it into his storage bead.
Kong Jian saw and merely smiled, unconcerned. These baskets were meant as refreshments for the gathering. Even taking the whole basket was fine—though doing so openly would look too embarrassingly rustic.
As more and more Guxin Sect immortals arrived, the hall filled. It was crowded and lively.
Then bells and drums sounded.
The small-statured Heaven Immortal Juye entered with head held high, unhurried and dignified.
All immortals rose and bowed. "Greetings, Heaven Immortal Juye."
Juye waved a hand, indicating there was no need for excessive formality. He walked to the front of the hall, sat on his cushion, and said, "Everyone, sit."
The immortals bowed again and sat.
Juye swept his gaze over the hall, then offered Mo Xuan a warm smile.
Mo Xuan blinked, puzzled. He'd only met Juye once before. Given a heaven immortal's lofty status, there was no need to be so courteous to a newly ascended immortal like him.
With a flick of Juye's sleeve, twenty meteors of varying sizes floated into the air in four neat rows, spinning slowly above the hall.
What was this?
Mo Xuan stared at the meteors, confused.
Kong Jian explained softly, "Xuan'er, this is the gathering's appetizer. By tradition, among these twenty meteors there are three or four that conceal premium treasures. The rest are ordinary—though any of them might still yield something good. It all depends on your eye."
Mo Xuan understood at once.
Interesting—this was basically Earth's gambling on jade stones.
Except here, an immortal's forgery would be so real that you couldn't tell which meteors had been "rigged" to be premium.
The immortals present each used their own methods—celestial vision, divine hearing, mental scanning—every trick in the book. But meteor shells were not easily pierced. Most were completely lost and could only guess. Only a rare few looked confident, as if certain.
The auction began.
The immortals bid in points. Final prices were not high—after all, no one could guarantee that an expensive purchase would actually contain a treasure. It might only hold an extremely ordinary meteor core.
Selling the twenty meteors, Heaven Immortal Juye made a small profit.
One immortal, brimming with confidence, cut a meteor on the spot—only to reveal a basketball-sized core, Grade-B third-tier. A disastrous loss.
With no choice, he smiled bitterly and packed up the core along with the rubble.
Mo Xuan only watched.
He had no interest in gamble-like schemes. Greed for small gains often led to big losses. Still, plenty of immortals loved this kind of thrill—Mo Xuan was happy to just observe and not join in.
After the appetizer, the gathering officially began.
The immortals took out their jade tablets and posted the items they'd brought and what they wanted onto a platform prepared by Heaven Immortal Juye. Matching could be done automatically—fast and convenient.
Mo Xuan wasn't here only to sightsee. He still held several good meteor cores. Through his jade tablet, he posted an offer: he wanted key materials for establishing an immortal garden and defensive formations, in exchange for his cores.
His spirit isle sat in a perilous ocean where demonic beasts ran rampant—defenses could not be neglected at all.
Mo Xuan decided: if he couldn't trade for what he needed here, he would buy them directly from the academy. Expensive or not, his family's safety came first.
Before long, several immortals contacted him.
Grade-A first-rank wood–water mixed energy crystals were extremely sought after; gold–water mixed crystals also had strong demand.
However, none of them had what Mo Xuan wanted. They offered other items of equal value instead.
Mo Xuan refused.
Trade was always voluntary—no need for resentment. Those immortals simply went to contact others.
As for anyone thinking of forcing a deal…
They'd better ask the heaven immortal sitting in the hall first.