Chapter 17 - 16: Prospects

Chapter 17: Chapter 16: Prospects

Yuelai Inn.

A servant brought up the dishes and the Immortal Spirit Wine.

Since the Mutual Aid Alliance was newly established and Zhou Miaoyun had just joined, they renegotiated the order for hosting their small gatherings. Starting this year, they would take turns hosting based on age, from oldest to youngest.

Zhou Miaoyun was the oldest at twenty-five. Chen Jianghe came next at twenty-two, followed by Yu Daniu, who was also twenty-two. Gao Peiyao was the youngest at sixteen.

None of them had high demands for food, so the budget was temporarily set at one grain of Spiritual Sand. They would adjust it later once their Cultivation had improved.

"Do you all have plans for the future?"

When the meal was well underway, Zhou Miaoyun looked at the other three. Her beautiful eyes rippled with light as she spoke softly, "I came to the Yun Family to seek the position of Talisman Master Guest Elder. My talent in breeding isn’t very high, so being a Fisherman and Farmer is just a transitional phase for me here."

A Basic-Level Fisherman and Farmer could earn a maximum of one hundred and thirty grains of Spiritual Sand a year. As a descendant of a Cultivation Family, even if she had fallen out of favor, Zhou Miaoyun would still receive no less than two Spirit Stones a year if she stayed home. There was no need for her to come to the Yun Family just to pursue the promotion path of a Fisherman and Farmer.

However, after becoming a Middle-Grade Talisman Master, she would need a faction to rely on. Otherwise, it would be too easy to be robbed or even abducted and stripped of her freedom, forced to be a Talisman Slave for the rest of her life. Compared to the exorbitant rent required to settle in the Marketplace, the Yun Family’s Inner Waters offered much better value.

"My Spirit Root Talent is passable, but my breeding talent is lacking. Fortunately, Grandpa left me some savings. I can Cultivate to the Sixth-Layer Qi Refining in about twenty years, seeking to break through to Late-Stage Qi Refining and become a Yun Family Honored Guest Elder." Gao Peiyao did not shy away from the topic, directly revealing that Old Gao had left her a considerable inheritance.

Cultivating to the Sixth-Layer Qi Refining in twenty years, even with a Four-Element Pseudo Spirit Root, would require resources worth nearly thirty Spirit Stones. Adding the resources she had consumed over the past two years, Old Gao must have left her no less than thirty Spirit Stones.

Old Gao once said his breeding talent was very high. If not for the mining accident in the deep well, he would have definitely become a Senior Fisherman and Farmer and Cultivated to Late-Stage Qi Refining. Because his Dantian was injured, he had to take a Qi Nourishing Pill every five years to stabilize his Cultivation, meaning a necessary expense of nearly three Spirit Stones every five years. Raising fish for over sixty years after that sudden accident, subtracting his expenses, he really could have saved over thirty Spirit Stones.

Zhou Miaoyun and Gao Peiyao successively shared their future plans.

Chen Jianghe fell into deep thought. He didn’t have a concrete plan for the future because his lifespan was simply too long—comparable to that of a Foundation Establishment Ancestor. Once Little Black became a Spirit Beast, his lifespan would stretch even further. Therefore, he definitely couldn’t stay in the same place for too long. Otherwise, his secret of longevity would inevitably be discovered.

Chen Jianghe thought to himself, "Long-term plans can be left undecided, but a plan for the next fifty years can be established."

"My breeding talent is passable. The total yield of my waters this year was two thousand seven hundred catties, with an average weight of three catties and seven taels. I should be able to promote to a Senior Fisherman and Farmer within fifteen years," Chen Jianghe said.

Zhou Miaoyun’s eyes lit up. If one could become a Senior Fisherman and Farmer of the Yun Family, reaching Mid-Stage Qi Refining would be set in stone. There was even hope of breaking past Mid-Stage Qi Refining to become a Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivator.

"If Fellow Daoist Jianghe can become a Senior Fisherman and Farmer, you will be able to purchase a Spirit Beast Circle to raise a Water Element Spirit Beast. It can help you breed the Little Cyan Fish, which will double your harvest," she advised.

"Spirit Beast Circle?" It was the first time Chen Jianghe had heard of it.

Zhou Miaoyun chuckled lightly and explained, "A Spirit Beast Circle is a Beast Taming Magical Artifact. It allows a Cultivator to sign a contract with a Spirit Beast, connecting their minds.

"For a Basic-Level Fisherman and Farmer, having a Water Element Spirit Beast to assist in breeding Large Cyan Fish would lead to a quick promotion to Senior Fisherman and Farmer. However, the price of a Spirit Beast Circle is extremely high—twenty Spirit Stones. It’s not something a Basic-Level Fisherman and Farmer can afford."

Chen Jianghe was startled inwardly. He hadn’t expected that taking in a Spirit Pet required a Spirit Beast Circle as a medium. Originally, he had thought he could just reveal Little Black’s existence once he became a Senior Fisherman and Farmer. To think a Spirit Beast Circle was necessary! It seemed he would have to re-evaluate his plans.

"So there are such intricacies to a Fisherman and Farmer’s breeding. Thank you for telling me, Fairy Miaoyun."

"There’s no need for thanks. With your talent in breeding, Fellow Daoist, you naturally would have learned this after becoming a Senior Fisherman and Farmer." Zhou Miaoyun didn’t try to claim any credit.

Hearing that Chen Jianghe had hope of becoming a Senior Fisherman and Farmer, a flash of pleasant surprise crossed Gao Peiyao’s eyes. The higher the achievements of the alliance members, the greater the assistance they could provide for her Foundation Establishment in the future.

Subsequently, Zhou Miaoyun, Chen Jianghe, and Gao Peiyao all looked toward Yu Daniu. The three of them had already stated their plans for the future. Now, it was only Yu Daniu who had yet to speak.

At this moment, feeling everyone’s gaze converging on him, Yu Daniu’s face instantly flushed red. Overwhelmed with embarrassment, he wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole. His Spirit Root Talent was poor, and he lacked talent in breeding as well. This gave him the feeling that he was the most useless person in their four-member alliance. Whether now or in the future, he would always be the one needing support.

Chen Jianghe saw through Yu Daniu’s predicament but felt helpless about it. The Mutual Aid Alliance was established for the sake of mutual benefit. It wasn’t a charity. Always being on the receiving end of support would inevitably lead to isolation over time.

"I... I... How about I withdraw—"

"Fellow Daoist Daniu, why don’t you try your hand at Talisman Making? Perhaps you have a talent for the Talisman Dao."

Zhou Miaoyun spoke up. "I can pass on my Talisman Making heritage to you, Fellow Daoist, but you must swear an oath not to transmit it to a third party without my consent.

"In return, if you possess talent in the Talisman Dao, any Spirit Talismans you draw over the next thirty years must be handed over to me to sell, and half of the profits will belong to me.

"Of course, if you have no talent in the Talisman Dao, then you won’t need to pay anything."

"Daniu, if you don’t have any other avenues for promotion, you really could try drawing Spirit Talismans." Feeling that this was feasible, Chen Jianghe offered his advice.

If he withdrew from the alliance, Yu Daniu would likely be stuck at Mid-Stage Qi Refining for the rest of his life. Furthermore, Yu Daniu’s departure would also be somewhat disadvantageous to Chen Jianghe. With an imbalance of more women than men, over time, he too would slowly end up isolated.

Most importantly, the conditions Zhou Miaoyun proposed were very reasonable—merely demanding half the profits from his Talisman Making for the next thirty years.

Although the Talisman Dao wasn’t as profound and esoteric as the Array Dao or Alchemy Dao—which strictly required a complete set of heritages just to reach the Entry Level—figuring out how to draw Spirit Talismans on one’s own would still consume a massive amount of Talisman-Making Materials. It would be one thing if a person truly had talent. They might reach the Entry Level in just a few months. But if they lacked talent, they could forget about reaching the Entry Level even after three to five years, squandering a tremendous amount of materials in the process. For Cultivators at the bottom rung, affording that colossal volume of materials was completely out of the question.

Trading half of one’s Talisman Making profits over thirty years for a Talisman Making heritage was truly a bargain for a foundationless, bottom-rung Cultivator. Most crucially, if he failed to reach the Entry Level in the Talisman Dao, he wouldn’t have to pay any price at all.

Yu Daniu nodded at Chen Jianghe, then looked at Zhou Miaoyun and said solemnly, "Thank you, Fairy Miaoyun. I am willing to give it a try."

"Excellent. After the banquet, you may head to fishing boat three-one-two, Fellow Daoist," Zhou Miaoyun said, her face revealing a hint of joy.

For her, if Yu Daniu possessed talent in drawing Spirit Talismans, it meant she would gain half the profits from thirty years of his Talisman Making. If Yu Daniu could become a Middle-Grade Talisman Master, her returns would be even greater. Even if Yu Daniu lacked Talisman Making talent, she stood to lose nothing. After all, the Talisman Making heritage she was giving Yu Daniu was strictly limited to him alone.

"I hope Brother Daniu can become a Talisman Master too."

Gao Peiyao took out a small pouch that exuded the faint fragrance of orchids. Extracting four Spirit Stones from it, she said, "Grandpa didn’t leave me many Spirit Stones. Subtracting what I need for my own Cultivation, I can only lend Brother Jianghe and Brother Daniu two Spirit Stones each."