Chapter 26 - 25: Whispers at the Bottom of the Lake

Chapter 26: Chapter 25: Whispers at the Bottom of the Lake

"Hiss~ Hiss, hiss~"

Specks of light, like fragmented gold, settled at the bottom of the lake. Green aquatic plants stretched their limbs with the undercurrent. An Old Turtle, as large as a millstone, emitted low rumbles from its throat like muffled thunder.

SWISH. Little Black wanted to leave to feed the fish, but the Old Turtle clamped a heavy claw down onto his Turtle Shell.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss~" The Old Turtle was furious. It seemed to be lecturing Little Black. Its massive head turned first toward the school of Large Cyan Fish, then twisted to the other side.

A petite Black Crystal Profound Turtle silently watched the two turtles of her kind—one large and one small.

Little Black glanced at the petite Black Crystal Profound Turtle. She was the famous Black Rose of the area, the mating partner his father had found for him.

"Woo~ Woo~" Little Black withdrew his gaze, suppressing the restlessness brought on by the mating season’s male hormones, and very earnestly explained the importance of the Large Cyan Fish over there to the Old Turtle.

"Hiss!" (Rebellious son!)

The Old Turtle fiercely smacked Little Black with its claw again. He didn’t know what was so important about the Large Cyan Fish, nor did he want to know. All he knew was that his son was born defective and needed to find a mating partner as soon as possible.

The mating season of Black Crystal Profound Turtles spanned a very long time, nearly equal to an ordinary mortal’s entire lifespan. Furthermore, Black Crystal Profound Turtles did not easily conceive. From the time they entered their mating season at the age of six, they would conceive at most two or three times over the next fifty or sixty years.

"Hiss, hiss~" (Be good, my child.)

"Woo, woo, woo..." (Don’t force me. My heart is set on the Immortal Dao. I no longer have any desire to linger on the romantic love of the Mortal World.)

Little Black backed away, not wanting to contradict his father.

"Hiss..." (The Immortal Dao? What do you know about the Immortal Dao! We Black Crystal Profound Turtles simply cannot enter the Immortal Dao. Not even the Immortal Fish at the center of the lake can enter the Dao. What are you dreaming of? You were born defective! Your Turtle Shell only has two horizontal and two vertical lines, making eight squares. This means you can only live for eighty years! Do you know how hard it is for us Black Crystal Profound Turtles to reproduce? And you’re still thinking about Cultivation? We can’t achieve the Immortal Dao even in two hundred and forty years, so will eighty years be enough for you?)

The Old Turtle swam his millstone-sized body closer to Little Black. However, he didn’t raise his claw again. Instead, he spoke earnestly to persuade him.

"Woo, woo, woo~~~" (Yes, I was born defective. I only have a third of the lifespan of our kind. That is why I want to live! I also want a lifespan of two hundred and forty years! I can only pursue Cultivation. No matter how hard it is, I must practice Cultivation, because only then will I have the hope of surviving!)

Little Black puffed out his cheeks with all his might, letting out a low, tearing sound.

The Old Turtle froze in place, looking at his son who spoke with such firm determination. He did not know how to continue his lecture.

Not far away, the petite Black Crystal Profound Turtle got a clear look at the patterns on Little Black’s Turtle Shell. She spat out a string of bubbles, turned around, and swam away.

"Hiss~" (Have it your way.)

Dejected, the Old Turtle burrowed into the mud at the bottom of the lake to hibernate.

Little Black didn’t care in the slightest about the departing Black Rose. Without the Old Turtle’s interference, he hurriedly swam toward the school of Large Cyan Fish to urge them to eat, preventing them from fighting and devouring each other.

"The Immortal Dao? Soon! As long as I work hard to feed the fish, he will help me," Little Black thought. He couldn’t help but recall the mark of the Two-Legged Beast faintly appearing in his Spirit Platform.

A few days later, the Yun Family came to collect the fish.

Chen Jianghe tucked the one hundred and eighteen grains of Spiritual Sand he had earned closely to his body. The total yield of the Large Cyan Fish was two thousand eight hundred catties, with an average weight reaching three catties and nine taels. This surprised him greatly.

One hundred and eighteen grains of Spiritual Sand, plus the six grains left over from buying living supplies, made a total of one hundred and twenty-four grains of Spiritual Sand. He also had a Spirit Stone. It was enough to buy a Qi Nourishing Pill.

"It seems that after taking the Qi Nourishing Pill, Little Black has been working even harder," he thought. He had anticipated that this year’s harvest of Large Cyan Fish would be good, but he hadn’t dared to imagine that the average weight would reach three catties and nine taels. This value was approaching that of a Senior Fisherman and Farmer.

"Little Black is about to cross into the Entry Tier and become a Spirit Beast, so his suppression of the Large Cyan Fish has grown stronger, which has caused their average weight to rise," he deduced.

Chen Jianghe jumped off the fishing boat and dove to the bottom of the lake. He saw that the Spiritual Qi on Little Black’s body had become increasingly abundant. He was only one opportunity away from drawing his Spiritual Qi inward and opening his Qi Sea.

"Woo, woo, woo~" Little Black swam in circles around Chen Jianghe, blowing bubbles from his mouth.

"What’s wrong?" Chen Jianghe wondered. He sensed that Little Black was feeling somewhat down, but he couldn’t figure out the reason. If he still couldn’t communicate telepathically after Little Black became a Spirit Beast, then he would have to find a way to buy a Spirit Beast Circle.

Little Black’s low spirits only lasted for a brief moment. Soon after, he began playing with Chen Jianghe at the bottom of the lake.

Chen Jianghe encouraged him, "Little Black, while you work diligently, you must also work hard on your Cultivation. Strive to cross into the Entry Tier and become a Spirit Beast next year."

"Woo~ Woo~ Woo~" Little Black puffed out his cheeks excitedly.

At this moment, several Black Crystal Profound Turtles swam by. Without any fear of Chen Jianghe, they swaggered past him just inches away.

"What is going on here? Why do I feel like these Black Crystal Profound Turtles are looking at Little Black with disdain?" he wondered. Chen Jianghe had experienced the disdainful gaze of the White Egret before, so he was extremely sensitive to this kind of look. This baffled him a bit. Logically speaking, the Spiritual Qi on Little Black’s body was dense. Among the Black Crystal Profound Turtles, he should be a noble figure, looked up to by the rest.

The next moment, Chen Jianghe noticed that those Black Crystal Profound Turtles were somewhat different from Little Black. Little Black’s Turtle Shell had two horizontal and two vertical lines, interlacing to form eight differently shaped squares. However, the Turtle Shells of those Black Crystal Profound Turtles all had five horizontal and three vertical lines, crisscrossing to form twenty-four squares.

"Could it be because of the patterns on his Turtle Shell?" he pondered. "That might be it," he concluded.

Chen Jianghe felt he had guessed the reason for Little Black’s despondency, so he consoled him, "Little Black, you are different from them. You are about to cross into the Entry Tier and become a Spirit Beast, while they will remain Mortal Turtles for their entire lives.

"You must remember, being different from your kind does not mean you are lacking. It means you have extraordinary talent."

"Woo, woo, woo~~" Little Black froze for a moment, then began squeaking frantically, seemingly trying to tell Chen Jianghe the meaning of the squares on his Turtle Shell.

"Work hard and carve out a future that belongs to you," Chen Jianghe added. He was used to seeing Little Black’s excited state. With just a few words, he was able to stir up Little Black’s emotions, as Little Black’s Spiritual Wisdom was far inferior to his own.

Leaving Little Black to spin in circles by himself, he dug out the oilcloth buried deep at the bottom of the lake and tied it to the bottom of the boat.

The end of the year had arrived. It was time to head to Port No.1. Buy a Qi Nourishing Pill and break through to the Third-Layer Qi Refining. Attend the year-end gathering. Attend the Fisherman and Farmer Assembly. Also, it was time to clear out the night soil. Buying the Qi Nourishing Pill and attending the Fisherman and Farmer Assembly were what Chen Jianghe looked forward to the most.

Once he broke through to the Third-Layer Qi Refining, he could practice the Water Escape Technique, thereby gaining a life-saving Magic spell. As long as he didn’t encounter a Cultivator who also practiced a Water Element Cultivation Technique, Cultivators below the Mid-Stage Qi Refining would pose absolutely no threat to him.

Then there was the Fisherman and Farmer Assembly. Yu Daniu had mentioned in his letter that this time, the assembly might no longer be the same old platitudes full of useless nonsense. Instead, there would be some changes that would be highly beneficial to Basic-Level Fishermen and Farmers.

When he arrived at the port, although there were still quite a few fishing boats, there were less than half of what there had been the year before last. Some Fishermen and Farmers had suffered collateral damage and been reduced to dry bones in the lake. Others had fled, leaving the waters of Jingyue Lake entirely.