Bowing deeply to Hu Zhile, Leng Yutang gratefully said, "Miss Hu, today your words have awakened me from a dream. I have learned something valuable.

In the past, I was too narrow-minded, always thinking that ordinary people without Spirit Root couldn't cultivate and were low-level rejects. In hindsight, I was indeed too proud and arrogant. I would trouble you to lead the way, and I'll go to East Lake Port to see if I can be of any help."

The group left the small courtyard, only to find that the storm outside had grown fiercer, indicating the courtyard's protective barrier was quite effective.

With a shake of his body, Yun Mo transformed into a giant form and spread his wings, calling out, "Since we have enough time, Miss Yun Shu put a lot of effort into drawing the Teleportation Talisman, so let's save some energy. It won't take much time for me to carry everyone over."

Hu Zhile and Leng Yutang were fine, as both were Demon Cultivators and had the opportunity to ride Demon Beasts before;

but Ghost Cultivator He Miancun found it quite interesting. In life, she was a lady from a noble family; after death, she became a Ghost Cultivator in the Netherworld by chance, limited to activities in the Netherworld, with little opportunity to venture to the Wilderness World, let alone ride a majestic Ice-winged Eagle.

Sitting on Yun Mo's broad and comfortable back, the experience was novel, and she thought it was no wonder Mr. Jiang took him as a mount; fast, steady, and spacious, truly impressive!

Just as Yun Mo carried the group soaring towards East Lake Port, the winds over East Lake whipped up huge waves, and the rain melded the water and sky into a vast expanse, giant waves pounding a large wooden ship.

"Creak～Creak～"

With violent wind and rain above, and towering waves below, the already dilapidated wooden ship emitted tooth-aching groans, as if it were the last thing on earth being tossed high and then slammed down by the waves, threatening to capsize at any moment.

"Heavens above, help us! Get us to the dock quickly!"

"The rain is so heavy, I can't see a thing. Where's the dock?"

"Could the boatman be lost?"

"Why did it suddenly start raining so hard? Could it be that moving our family has angered the Immortals we worshipped?"

"Ah, spit! Life's been tough and the Immortals never helped, now that we've moved, they're showing their powers? What kind of Immortals are they?"

"Stop talking so much, hurry and pray to the Little Immortal for protection! At East Lake, it's the Little Immortal we should be praying to…"

...

The cabin passengers, swayed, crouched together, clutching anything they could hold onto, fearing they might be thrown out. Seeing another huge wave approaching, the wooden window shattered with a "crack."

Cold lake water mixed with rain and wind poured into the cabin, children crying, adults shouting, chaos ensued.

"What do we do? The storm's too strong. Should we try the old method?" A helper wiped water from his face and shouted angrily, "The Water God must have taken a fancy to a virgin boy or girl, just throw in one crying the loudest and it'll be fine!"

Sailors, long familiar with such waters, had their ways to escape danger; throwing in virgins was one such method.

Especially in waters with legends of deities, when they encountered a storm, it was said that an Immortal in the water had taken a liking to a child on board. Throwing in the one crying the loudest would usually mean safe passage.

The sailors knew full well, there were probably just monsters in the water, give them a tender child to eat, and they'd stop causing trouble. Saying it was to serve the Immortal was merely to comfort the selected child's family.

Just as he finished speaking, another huge wave hit!

The wooden ship creaked like a fallen leaf on the water, bobbing up and down, only the sound of crunching, rumbling in their ears, the cabin door shattered, a few broken planks quickly disappearing into the water.

"This is East Lake!" The boatman steering, his raincoat long drenched, pulled it off and threw it aside, standing in the rain in his thin clothes, shouting hoarsely, "This is the Little Immortal's domain! No throwing children for sacrifices!"

In the past, there wasn't this rule on East Lake, and countless infants had perished in the depths.

It was a sort of survivor's bias—surviving without throwing children was due to the Water God's protection; surviving by throwing children meant giving the Water God virgins; whether you threw them or not, if the ship sank, there was no one left to tell the tale.

So, in bad weather, sailors first prayed to the Water God; if that didn't work, they threw children, an unspoken industry rule.

Yet this summer, the County Magistrate of East Lake Port had posted notices saying East Lake was under their jurisdiction, and the Little Immortal didn't require virgins. If there were storms, one could pray earnestly to the Little Immortal within its domain, and it would surely respond.

The five or six helpers on the large wooden ship were almost at their limit, hoping for an end to the ordeal, and upon hearing the boatman's refusal, resentment simmered.

"What kind of rubbish Immortal is that, if it worked, we'd be safe by now!"

"We set off in the morning to arrive at East Lake Port by afternoon, with this downpour, we've likely veered off course, drifting further away!"

"Being too far to hear is possible, we've got to come up with our own solutions!"

"Throw it! If we don't, it'll be too late!"

"My old lady's waiting for me at home, no need to die for this…"

...

The helpers' shouting pressured the boatman. Suddenly, a voice amid the storm snapped the last thread, "There's a hole in the bottom of the boat! The cabin's taking in water!" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

As the boatman, his mind ringing, instinctively ordered, "Throw out the cargo! Liu Zi, Xiaoniu, patch the boat! Lao Jiao, go to the cabin and…"

He hesitated, a wave took him by surprise, splashing him with cold water, making him shiver all over.