Chapter 179 - 130: Talisman Dao Advancement

Chapter 179: Chapter 130: Talisman Dao Advancement

Little Black rolled his eyes at Fur Ball. Looking into Fur Ball’s clear, innocent eyes, he almost saw a reflection of his younger self.

Back then, he had been just as naive and ridiculous.

"Stop overthinking and get to work!"

Chen Jianghe circulated the Ten Thousand Waters Scripture, purifying the magical power within his Qi Sea Dantian. Under his Divine Sense Internal Observation, the mass of magical power appeared pitch-black and translucent, resembling an eyeball.

He thought, "Five years should be enough to push my cultivation to Ninth-Layer Qi Refining Perfection, but my physical body cultivation might be a bit difficult."

He was confident in raising his cultivation to Ninth-Layer Qi Refining Perfection within five years, but he had no such certainty about reaching Body Refining Perfection. Reaching Late-Stage Body Refining was easy enough, but advancing to sheer perfection was quite difficult.

However, he had plenty of time to grind it out.

The same applied to his spiritual cultivation; he could slowly polish it to perfection as well. It was exactly as he had told Ji Wujin. Thirty years would eventually be enough to refine both his physical body and spirit to perfection.

Of course, thirty years was a conservative estimate for if things went poorly. He was fairly confident he could achieve physical and spiritual perfection in twenty-five years.

With that in mind, he resumed his seclusion according to his original cultivation schedule: three hours practicing the Ten Thousand Waters Scripture, two hours on the Tidal Body Refining Technique, and seven hours drawing spirit talismans. No matter what, the time spent drawing spirit talismans could not be reduced any further. Otherwise, his annual spirit stone profits wouldn’t be enough to cover the expenses of his cultivation.

As his cultivation level increased, the amount of spirit stones required would only grow. If possible, he didn’t want to waste a single grain of spiritual sand.

Time flew by in a flash.

In mid-April, Chen Jianghe received a message letter from Ruan Tieniu. The letter asked if he knew a tribulation cultivator named Duan Ming.

Reading the contents, Chen Jianghe looked puzzled. He had always been kind to others and strictly avoided trouble, so how could he possibly know a tribulation cultivator? He wondered why this man was asking about him. It seemed the man was inquiring about his relationship with Ruan Tieniu.

This made Chen Jianghe feel as if he was being targeted by a tribulation cultivator. But he didn’t have anything worth being targeted over!

The matter of the Youthful Pill was known only to Alchemist Zhuang, his disciple, and Gao Peiyao. They would never leak it. As for the Foundation Establishment Pill, it was even less likely to be exposed.

Ruan Tieniu was still hoping Chen Jianghe would ask Alchemist Zhuang to concoct more pills for him, so he certainly wouldn’t dare offend Chen Jianghe. Ji Wujin also had Foundation Establishment Pills—Genuine Foundation Establishment Pills, at that—so he definitely wouldn’t leak any news either. Alchemist Zhuang and Gao Peiyao had deep ties with him and wouldn’t sell him out now.

Therefore, the other party couldn’t be after the Youthful Pill or the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Chen Jianghe shook his head and stopped dwelling on the matter. Perhaps he would get some clarity when he met Ruan Tieniu and asked him about it in detail. As long as he didn’t leave the Qinghe Marketplace, he wasn’t afraid of being targeted. Even if someone dared to make a move inside the Qinghe Marketplace, he had nothing to fear as long as they weren’t a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

With Little Black and Fur Ball by his side, even ten Ninth-Layer Qi Refining Cultivators wouldn’t be able to do anything to him. He could still escape with ease. Fleeing along the Qinghe River, a single Water Escape Technique could carry him twelve miles. Which cultivator of the same realm could possibly catch up to him?

At the end of May, Yu Daniu and Zhou Miaoyun each sent him a letter. Both mentioned that Gao Peiyao had sent them a message to gather for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

It was clear from their letters that Yu Daniu and Zhou Miaoyun both understood Gao Peiyao’s underlying message. After this Mid-Autumn gathering, it would likely be difficult for the four of them to ever reunite again. Even if such a day came, it was highly probable that not all of them would be present.

He thought, "To think a Tier Two Lower-Grade Spirit Ore deposit was discovered at Yunmen Mountain!"

Yu Daniu’s letter mentioned the Yun Family’s latest discovery: a spirit ore deposit located at Yunmen Mountain. This was originally the territory of the Qiyun Mountain Bai Family. However, the Qiyun Mountain Bai Family’s territory had been carved up by five Foundation Establishment Immortal Races, including the Yun Family. As a result, Yunmen Mountain now sat squarely at the border of three Foundation Establishment Immortal Races.

Originally, the Yun Family held a massive advantage with their two Foundation Establishment Cultivators and one Tier Two Spirit Beast, allowing them to monopolize half of the spirit ore deposit. The other two Foundation Establishment Immortal Races would then split the remaining half equally.

However, the Puppet Immortal Race Lu Family had intervened, secretly backing the other two Foundation Establishment Immortal Races to fight the Yun Family for the mining rights of the Yunmen Spirit Ore.

He thought, "They actually sent Yun Youniu and Yun Sanniu to Yunmen Mountain. Is the Yun Family Main Lineage starting to suppress Yun Huizhen’s branch?"

Yu Daniu’s letter stated that Yun Youniu and Yun Sanniu had both been promoted to family stewards and dispatched to Yunmen Mountain by Patriarch Yun Xiaotian. This was the exact moment the Yunmen Mountain spirit ore was discovered, making it the most brutal period of conflict. Sending the two brothers there now was a blatant move to suppress Yun Huizhen’s branch.

Although Yu Daniu and Yun Huizhen didn’t want Yun Youniu and Yun Sanniu to go, as children of the family, they had to be ready to step up for the family’s interests at any time. Therefore, they had no way to refuse Patriarch Yun Xiaotian’s arrangements. Otherwise, it would be seen as disloyalty to the family, leaving them without a foothold within the clan.

Chen Jianghe wrote back to Yu Daniu, telling him not to be stingy with spirit stones and to buy a High-Grade Flying Sword for both Yun Youniu and Yun Sanniu. Ideally, he should buy a High-Grade Defensive Spiritual Artifact for each of them as well. If they were short on spirit stones, they only needed to say the word; he had some savings on hand.

As long as they survived this period and waited for the dust to settle over the Yunmen Mountain spirit ore, Yun Youniu and Yun Sanniu could return to Jingyue Lake with massive merits.

As for Zhou Miaoyun, he also sent her a reply.

"See you mid-autumn."

Short and to the point.

By early August, Chen Jianghe walked out of his room and took down the "In Seclusion" sign hanging on the courtyard door. He wasn’t sure if Yu Daniu would arrive early. If he did, he would definitely come looking for him first, so it was better to take the sign down just in case.

Afterward, he took the demon beast parts that Little Black and Fur Ball had processed and sold them at the Demon Beast Workshop.

He had to admit, Little Black and Fur Ball were becoming increasingly skilled at butchering demon beasts. In nearly eight months, they had fully processed all twelve demon beasts, and every single part met the purchasing standards of the Demon Beast Workshop.

All the useful parts from the ten Late-Stage Tier One Demon Beasts sold for a total of one hundred and ninety-two spirit stones. On average, he earned three spirit stones and twenty grains of spiritual sand per demon beast. As for the remaining two Late-Stage Tier One Demon Beasts, their spirit cores were eaten by Little Black, while their heart marrow, internal organs, and flesh and blood were devoured by Fur Ball. The leftover parts sold for twenty-one spirit stones in total.

He had originally spent two hundred and twenty-eight spirit stones to buy all twelve demon beasts. After selling them as parts, he recouped two hundred and thirteen spirit stones. The two spirit beasts were practically covering their own cultivation expenses just by working for him.

This made Chen Jianghe feel a mix of disbelief, deep gratification, and even a little touched.

After selling the parts, Chen Jianghe let Little Black and Fur Ball out of the Spirit Beast Space, allowing them to continue their cultivation. He would just put them back into the Spirit Beast Space when someone came visiting.

He felt quite helpless about this life of hiding, but with his low cultivation, there was no other way. Neither Little Black nor Fur Ball could be exposed. Otherwise, it would invite fatal disaster. Furthermore, they were his trump cards. Once exposed, they would no longer be trump cards.

Returning to his room, Chen Jianghe cast aside all distractions, focused his heart and mind, and continued drawing spirit talismans.

Over these past seven months, he had drawn thirty-three Middle-Grade Five Elements Escape Talismans. The improvement in his cultivation had offset the reduced time spent on drawing. His pure magical power made the process of drawing spirit talismans much more stable and easier to control. It had indeed boosted his talisman success rate.

His success rate for drawing Middle-Grade Five Elements Escape Talismans had risen to nearly fifty percent. If he had a Tier One High-Grade Talisman Dao Inheritance, he would already be able to attempt drawing high-grade spirit talismans.

Of course, his foundation wouldn’t be very solid. It was much better to stabilize his success rate for Middle-Grade Five Elements Escape Talismans at fifty percent before moving on to high-grade ones. That way, his foundation would be far more secure, and he would naturally become a High-Grade Talisman Master when the time was right.

However, many talisman masters were eager for quick success. They would start attempting to draw high-grade spirit talismans when their success rate for middle-grade ones was only at forty percent. Although they might succeed occasionally, their talisman success rate would be abysmally low.

Chen Jianghe didn’t care about the prestigious title of a High-Grade Talisman Master; what he wanted was the profit earned from drawing spirit talismans. Earning spirit stones was his ultimate goal.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Right at that moment, someone knocked on the courtyard door.