Chapter 27 - 26: Third-Layer Qi Refining

Chapter 27: Chapter 26: Third-Layer Qi Refining

"Fellow Daoist, wait a moment."

Chen Jianghe had just entered the port when someone called out to him.

The speaker was a sturdy, dark-skinned, and honest-looking middle-aged man. As he called out, he gestured mysteriously.

’A familiar face!’

Chen Jianghe’s mind drifted back seven years. It had been the Fish Sleep Stage, and he had come to the port to purchase supplies. That was when this very man had called out to him.

The man had offered to introduce him to the Lann Family for a short-term job as a Spirit Farmer.

Thankfully, he hadn’t gone. Otherwise, he would have been among the more than one hundred Fishermen and Farmers who perished.

Chen Jianghe stopped in his tracks but didn’t walk toward the man. His gaze swept the area, and just as he suspected, he spotted a slim young man behind a flagpole.

Even back then, he’d sensed the young man was a shill, and the whole thing was a setup.

’Looks like they have a new scheme today.’

Unmoved, he started walking again.

The middle-aged man hurried to catch up, positioning himself just behind Chen Jianghe’s shoulder. He whispered, "Fellow Daoist, are you thinking of leaving the Yun Family? I have a safe route to the Qinghe Marketplace."

"You’ve been well these past seven years, I hope."

Chen Jianghe offered a faint smile, his greeting delivered in a flat tone.

Hearing this, the middle-aged man took a closer look at Chen Jianghe’s face and furrowed his brow, seeming to be searching his memory for this face.

Seeing that the man didn’t seem to remember him, Chen Jianghe quickly walked away. There was no reason to wait for the man’s memory to jog.

’He almost led me into a death trap. Why would I stick around to reminisce?’

"What did he say? Is he willing to go to the Qinghe Marketplace?" The slim young man who had been hiding behind the flagpole trotted over.

Seven years had passed, and the youth was now entering middle age, with new wrinkles etched at the corners of his eyes.

"I remember now. He’s that kid who refused to go to the Lann Family to be a Spirit Farmer back then."

The middle-aged man watched Chen Jianghe’s retreating figure. "Seven years, and he’s still alive. What a cautious kid, content to lie low."

Chen Jianghe had left a deep impression on the man. Though seven years had passed and his features were unchanged, his demeanor was different. He had lost his immaturity and gained a calm, steady presence.

"That coward?!" The younger man looked astonished. "After everything that’s happened, he’s still alive. He really is timid as a mouse."

...

「Yuelai Inn.」

It was Chen Jianghe’s turn to pay for the drinks this year, so he hadn’t dawdled, hoping to be the first to arrive at the private room on the second floor overlooking the street.

But when he entered the room, he found Yu Daniu was already there and looked like he had been waiting for quite some time.

"Daniu, you’re here early."

Chen Jianghe chuckled and walked over, sitting down beside Yu Daniu.

"I just got here myself," Yu Daniu said with his usual honesty. "By the way, Brother Jianghe, did you run into any brokers at the port offering trips to the Qinghe Marketplace?"

"I did. They said they had a safe route to the Qinghe Marketplace, but I don’t believe them, and I don’t want to leave anyway."

Chen Jianghe smiled. "Why? Did you run into them too?"

Yu Daniu nodded, his expression turning serious. "I did some digging. They aren’t legitimate brokers at all; they’re human traffickers. I heard they were the ones responsible for recruiting all those short-term Spirit Farmers for the Lann Family back then."

"Daniu, tell Peiyao and Fairy Miaoyun this later. Don’t talk about it out in the open. Just stay far away from those men, and whatever you do, don’t make enemies of them."

Those people didn’t act alone; they likely had an organization in the shadows. Otherwise, the Fishermen and Farmers would have dealt with them long ago.

As they spoke, Zhou Miaoyun and Gao Peiyao walked into the private room.

Chen Jianghe gave Yu Daniu a meaningful look. Taking the cue, Yu Daniu recounted his story about the men at the port who posed as brokers but were actually human traffickers.

"That’s despicable."

Gao Peiyao furrowed her brow, gritting her teeth as she cursed.

Zhou Miaoyun’s expression didn’t change as she listened to Yu Daniu, as if she had long been aware of such dark dealings.

Only after the food and Spirit Wine were served did Yu Daniu notice the shift in the fluctuations of Magical Power around Gao Peiyao.

"Peiyao, you broke through!"

"I did," Gao Peiyao replied with a slight nod.

"It’ll probably take me another four or five years," Yu Daniu said, his voice tinged with envy, though a flicker of disappointment crossed his eyes.

Chen Jianghe watched this exchange, lowering his head to pick at his food without saying a word.

He had noticed the change in Gao Peiyao’s aura the moment she and Zhou Miaoyun walked in.

’Gao Peiyao has a Four-Element Pseudo Spirit Root and the inheritance Old Gao left her. It’s not surprising she broke through to the Third-Layer Qi Refining at seventeen.’

’It takes a year for someone with a Five-Element Mixed Spirit Root to expel the Pill Poison from a Qi Nourishing Pill. With a Four-Element Pseudo Spirit Root, the time would likely be shorter.’

’Then again, maybe she bought a Qi Storage Pill?’

Chen Jianghe pushed the thoughts aside.

Unlike Yu Daniu, he had used the two Spirit Stones Gao Peiyao had given him to buy Qi Nourishing Pills.

That meant he was two years ahead of Yu Daniu in terms of Cultivation.

Now, he could afford another Qi Nourishing Pill. Taking it would allow him to break through to the Third-Layer Qi Refining.

That would put him nearly four years of Cultivation ahead of Yu Daniu.

As the meal progressed and the wine flowed, they exchanged the news they had gathered and discussed the problems they were encountering in their Cultivation.

When it came to news, Yu Daniu did most of the talking, as the others were too afraid to leave their aquaculture territories and rarely visited the port.

In that moment, Yu Daniu’s value to their little group was on full display.

Still, Chen Jianghe noticed that Zhou Miaoyun’s gaze toward Yu Daniu was still tinged with condescension.

’He has no Talent, just a knack for gathering information. That can’t build a long-term, beneficial relationship.’

’Once the Yun Family’s situation stabilizes, no one will need him for information anymore.’

As for their Cultivation problems, it was mostly Chen Jianghe, Yu Daniu, and Gao Peiyao asking Zhou Miaoyun for guidance. After all, she possessed a Fourth-Layer Qi Refining Cultivation.

An hour later, their small gathering came to an end.

Zhou Miaoyun and Gao Peiyao left together.

Chen Jianghe needed to go to the Workshop Association to buy a Qi Nourishing Pill, so he didn’t leave with Yu Daniu either.

When he arrived at the Workshop Association, he found it bustling with activity. This was probably because Port No. 2 and Port No. 3 had both been temporarily shut down.

All the stall owners had moved to Port No. 1.

There were over a hundred stalls, including one selling Magical Artifacts. This had drawn a crowd of Honored Guest Elders and Senior Fishermen and Farmers.

Chen Jianghe made his way to the crowded Magical Artifact stall and stood on his tiptoes to get a look. A single glance at the prices marked on the Wooden Tokens was enough to make him lose all interest.

He browsed for a little while longer before his interest completely waned.

Three new stalls selling Elixirs had appeared in the Workshop Association. Chen Jianghe went straight to the woman’s stall and bought one Qi Nourishing Pill.

Back on his fishing boat, he hung up a ’do not disturb’ sign.

Chen Jianghe sat cross-legged, opened the wooden box, and swallowed the Qi Nourishing Pill. A stream of heat flowed into his abdomen before dispersing into countless warm currents that spread throughout his body.

He immediately began circulating the Returning Origin True Water Technique, absorbing the scattered medicinal energy, and began the Refinement into Magical Power to advance his Cultivation.

「Three hours later.」

"Finally... Third-Layer Qi Refining."

Chen Jianghe slowly opened his eyes, exhaling a murky breath.