Chapter 20 - 19: Empty Promises

Chapter 20: Chapter 19: Empty Promises

After the Fisherman and Farmer convention ended, Chen Jianghe purchased all his daily necessities and returned to his breeding waters. With Yun Bufan making an appearance, all the Fishermen and Farmers and Honored Guest Elders felt completely reassured, returning to their usual rhythm of life.

The Yun family had hundreds of years of heritage and profound foundations. Even though the Foundation Establishment Ancestor had passed away unexpectedly, they could still buy Yun Bufan twenty years of time. A young Foundation Establishment Ancestor with limitless potential was the Sea Stabilizing Divine Needle for everyone in the Yun family.

"Only thirty-two grains of Spiritual Sand left," Chen Jianghe sighed.

He deeply felt how quickly Spiritual Sand was consumed, yet he could not afford to stop buying Qi Nourishing Pills. If he relied solely on absorbing the thin Spiritual Qi in the Outer Waters for his Cultivation, it would take an eternity to reach Late-Stage Qi Refining.

He was merely blessed with a long life, not immortality. Various accidents could occur on the path of Cultivation. It was absolutely necessary to rapidly improve his Cultivation and increase his means of self-preservation without attracting unwanted attention.

A few days later, the Yun family delivered the Large Cyan Fish fry, along with the Rice Bran needed to feed them.

Chen Jianghe cast a Water Avoidance Curse and dove to the bottom of the lake.

Little Black seemed to sense Chen Jianghe’s presence. It swam over from a distance, affectionately circling him while squinting its Doudou eyes and blowing bubbles from its mouth. Its ink-black shell shimmered with a faint light, visibly larger than the last time he saw it.

"Open your mouth, Little Black. Time for your reward."

The moment the Qi Nourishing Pill was taken out, its rich fragrance wafted out and spread through the water currents, attracting a large school of Large Cyan Fish fry. Little Black abruptly opened its mouth and swallowed the pill whole, as if afraid it would be snatched away if it hesitated.

"WOO WOO WOO!"

"Work hard, and you’ll get plenty of rewards. Hurry up and absorb the medicinal efficacy of the Qi Nourishing Pill for Refinement."

"WOO WOO!"

Hearing the word "reward," the little worker turtle looked excited, its short limbs paddling joyfully.

"Once I have spare Spirit Stones, I definitely need to buy a Spirit Beast Circle. Being able to communicate telepathically wouldn’t just nurture our bond, but it would also make assigning work much easier," Chen Jianghe thought.

However, remembering that a single Spirit Beast Circle cost twenty Spirit Stones, it instantly felt far beyond his reach. Twenty Spirit Stones could buy ten Qi Nourishing Pills, which would be enough for him to break through to Fourth-Layer Qi Refining. When would he ever have twenty extra Spirit Stones?

Zhou Miaoyun had mentioned that every Senior Fisherman and Farmer kept a Water Element Spirit Beast, so the compensation for breeding Little Cyan Fish shouldn’t be low. Otherwise, how could they afford Spirit Beast Circles? Not to mention, they would also need to buy Spirit Awakening Pills to help the beasts develop intelligence, as well as Spirit-Encompassing Pills for Energy Introduction to open their Qi Sea Dantian.

Five hours later, Little Black’s shell gleamed with a faint luster. Its Doudou eyes appeared even more Spiritual, and the Spiritual Qi radiating from its body had grown much denser. There were faint signs of it converting into Magical Power. These were the symptoms of ascending tiers to become a Spirit Beast.

"Little Black absorbs the medicinal efficacy of the Qi Nourishing Pill even better than I do at Second-Layer Qi Refining. Hardly any of the pill’s power dissipated," Chen Jianghe murmured. This single Qi Nourishing Pill was completely equivalent to two years of Cultivation for Little Black.

"Could it be that Spirit Beasts absorb Elixirs better than Cultivators do?" he wondered. Unable to communicate telepathically with Little Black, he could only make wild guesses. Based on Little Black’s current condition, it would take at most two more years for it to become a Spirit Beast.

"WOO WOO WOO!"

The boost in Cultivation from swallowing the Qi Nourishing Pill made Little Black so excited that it spun in circles in front of Chen Jianghe, dancing with its claws and bobbing its head. Seeing this, a smile graced Chen Jianghe’s lips. The more Spiritual Little Black became, the higher the yield of the Large Cyan Fish would be.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. He had the Spirit Turtle Mark on his Spirit Platform and shared Little Black’s lifespan. Logically speaking, they were already bound by an incredibly profound contract. Did that mean that once Little Black became a Spirit Beast, they could communicate telepathically through the Spirit Turtle Mark on his Spirit Platform? If they could communicate, he could save the Spirit Stones he would otherwise spend on a Spirit Beast Circle.

So what if he had to keep it a secret? Little Black’s duty was to breed cyan fish, not to fight. Furthermore, battles were rarely encountered, and Chen Jianghe was not the flashy type. He kept a low profile and hid his edge, making it highly unlikely for him to get into conflicts with others.

"Little Black, your fish-breeding skills still have room for improvement. You need to work hard and do your best. Once we earn some Spirit Stones, I can reward you with better Elixirs, understand?"

"WOO WOO~"

"Mm, very good. Once my Cultivation reaches Late-Stage Qi Refining, I’ll let you eat Qi Nourishing Pills like candy."

"WOO WOO~"

Little Black clung to Chen Jianghe, its initial excitement turning into anxiety, and its cries growing sharper.

"Haha, I forgot about the actual work.

"Work hard, improve your fish-breeding skills, and increase the yield of the Large Cyan Fish. I’ll reward you with another Qi Nourishing Pill in four years."

"WOO WOO WOO!"

Little Black let out cheerful cries, escorting Chen Jianghe all the way to the lake’s surface before swiftly diving back to the bottom to begin its hard work.

"Without becoming a Spirit Beast, its Spiritual Wisdom is still lacking. Promising the moon is utterly useless; it only understands immediate rewards," he chuckled to himself.

Chen Jianghe leaped onto the fishing boat and entered the cabin. He needed to carefully plan out his future for the next fifty years. Zhou Miaoyun and Gao Peiyao both had their own plans, and Yu Daniu had also started attempting to draw Spirit Talismans.

As long as he stayed alive, his Cultivation would slowly improve over time. However, the shortcut provided by Elixirs gave him other ideas. Being able to rapidly improve his Cultivation meant he would gain the power to protect himself that much sooner. But buying Elixirs required Spirit Stones.

He now earned nearly one Spirit Stone a year, which already far exceeded the income of other Basic-Level Fishermen and Farmers. But this was not enough. He wasn’t the only one who needed Elixirs for Cultivation; there were also Little Black’s rewards to consider. In that case, his meager annual income was merely a drop in the bucket.

Becoming a Senior Fisherman and Farmer might change his current situation, but he would have to wait until Little Black became a Spirit Beast to determine whether it could significantly increase the average weight of the Large Cyan Fish. However, even if Little Black became a Spirit Beast and he met the requirements to be promoted to a Senior Fisherman and Farmer, he would still need to lay low for a while. He had arrived at the Yun family at the age of fourteen, and only eight years had passed since then. Being promoted to a Senior Fisherman and Farmer in two years would be a bit too fast.

From what he understood, the fastest Basic-Level Fisherman and Farmer to ever be promoted had taken twelve years. That person had been hailed as the most talented fisherman in breeding and basked in the limelight within the Yun family, to the point where even the Direct Descendants treated him with a degree of respect. In the end, he was recruited as a live-in son-in-law by the Yun family, marrying a collateral-line woman with No Spiritual Root, and spent the rest of his life as an unpaid fisherman.

Chen Jianghe had a limitless future ahead of him, so naturally, he was unwilling to become a live-in son-in-law for the Yun family. Therefore, in his plans, taking twenty years to become a Senior Fisherman and Farmer was the most appropriate course of action.

"If possible, maybe I should also try my hand at my college major," he mused.

Before transmigrating, Chen Jianghe had been a university student majoring in painting, and his grades had always been consistently excellent. Trying his hand at drawing Spirit Talismans might just uncover an unexpected talent in the Talisman Dao. This way, he wouldn’t be left idle with nothing to do during his next fifty years in the Yun family. If he could cultivate the Talisman Dao to the Middle Grade, he would have a trade to make a living and set up shop in the Marketplace after leaving the Yun family.

"I’ll give it a try once I break through to Mid-Stage Qi Refining," Chen Jianghe decided.

His mind was made up. Before breaking through to Mid-Stage Qi Refining, all his resources had to be focused on improving his Cultivation.