Chapter 41 - 40: Spirit Stone Shortage

Chapter 41: Chapter 40: Spirit Stone Shortage

"Are you Chen Jianghe, the one praised by Young Master Bufan?"

"Not bad at all. Producing three Spirit Beasts in just your second cycle of raising Little Cyan Fish proves you truly have exceptional breeding talent."

A massive ship, hundreds of feet long, anchored in the lake channel right in front of Chen Jianghe’s water area. Three Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivators hauled up all the Little Cyan Fish.

The Chief Ship Steward looked at Chen Jianghe with an appreciative gaze, a hint of envy flashing through his eyes.

Did Yun Bufan ever praise him? Chen Jianghe had forgotten.

However, judging by that fleeting hint of envy in the Chief Ship Steward’s eyes, he knew Yun Bufan’s status within the Yun family was skyrocketing.

"I am Yun Wu, the younger brother of Yun San, who is Young Master Bufan’s personal attendant," the Chief Ship Steward said with a faint smile, expressing a desire to be friendly.

"So you are Senior Yun San’s younger brother. Forgive my lack of manners," Chen Jianghe said, cupping his hands in greeting.

At that moment, he recalled a scene from thirteen years ago. It was the first year Yun Bufan had gone to the Outer Waters to concurrently serve as a Steward. Yun Bufan had indeed praised him, saying his breeding talent was quite good, and added that he hoped to see him in the Inner Waters one day.

Thirteen years had passed since then. If Steward Yun Wu hadn’t brought it up, that memory would have remained forever buried in the deepest depths of his mind. Chen Jianghe never expected that a casual remark made by Yun Bufan back then would make a Chief Ship Steward—someone at least at the Eighth-Layer Qi Refining—feel envious.

Yun Wu smiled and nodded at Chen Jianghe, then turned to look at the busy Cultivators nearby. "Have you finished the count?"

"It’s done. Subtracting the three Spirit Beast Little Cyan Fish, there are ninety-two Little Cyan Fish left, with an average weight of one catty and three taels."

"The average weight is that low?" Yun Wu was astonished. He turned to Chen Jianghe and sighed with emotion, "Young Master Bufan truly has a keen eye for talent. He recognized your supreme breeding talent at a single glance."

Chen Jianghe smiled along. He thought, "He really is finding every possible way to flatter Yun Bufan!"

"Three Spirit Beast Little Cyan Fish reward you with three Spirit Stones. With an average weight of one catty and three taels, your commission for the extra three catties and two taels comes to three hundred and twenty grains of Spiritual Sand.

"To be highly regarded by Young Master Bufan means you will definitely achieve great things in the Yun family in the future. Keep up the good work."

Yun Wu took out a Storage Pouch and directly withdrew six Spirit Stones, plus twenty grains of Spiritual Sand, handing them to Chen Jianghe. Then, he patted Chen Jianghe heavily on the shoulder, a gesture to show that he, too, saw great potential in him.

Chen Jianghe thanked him repeatedly.

It was genuine gratitude. After all, Yun Wu had converted his commission of three hundred and twenty grains of Spiritual Sand into three Spirit Stones and twenty grains of Spiritual Sand, essentially giving him an extra fifteen grains of Spiritual Sand.

After seeing Yun Wu off, Chen Jianghe tidied up and prepared to head to Port No.1 to attend the year-end gathering.

Just as he finished, a streak of sword light flew over from Huxing Island, arriving at Zone C No.12 Water Area in the blink of an eye.

"Brother Jianghe."

The Flying Sword stopped above the Upturned Boat. Yu Daniu leaped down with his eldest son, Yun Xiaoniu, landing on the bow of the ship.

"I knew you hadn’t left yet. Let’s go together."

Yu Daniu walked toward Chen Jianghe with an honest, goofy smile on his face and urged his son to greet him. "Xiaoniu, quickly say hello to Mr. Chen."

"I pay my respects to you, Mr. Chen."

Yun Xiaoniu took after Yu Daniu in appearance—dark-skinned and sturdy. At only five years old, he was already 1.3 meters tall. However, his personality was nothing like his father’s; he was quite composed. Standing in front of Chen Jianghe, he offered his polite greeting.

"Xiaoniu has grown taller again. At this rate, he’ll catch up to your height in just a few years," Chen Jianghe praised.

Last New Year’s Eve, Yu Daniu had invited Chen Jianghe to a small banquet at his home, where he had seen Yun Xiaoniu. Back then, Yun Xiaoniu was only four years old but was already 1.1 meters tall. Chen Jianghe had also met Yu Daniu’s second and third sons. The fourth son was still in his wife’s womb at the time.

Yu Daniu’s wife was a beautiful woman and a Fourth-Layer Qi Refining Cultivator. The second and third sons took after their mother, with skin as white as jade and lively, adorable features.

Yu Daniu’s second son was named Yun Youniu. When their eldest son was born, Yu Daniu thought it was pure luck that his wife had managed to get pregnant, so he simply named him Xiaoniu, meaning "little ox."

Who could have expected their second son would be born just a year later? The couple pondered for an entire night before finally settling on the name Yun Youniu, meaning "young ox."

Then, less than two years later, their third son was born. Naming him became a massive headache for the couple. They wanted the third son to share a character with his older brothers so that they would be closer in the future. After agonizing over it for a month, they named the third son Yun Sanniu, meaning "third ox."

Earlier this year, when the fourth son was born, the couple didn’t even bother struggling with a name and directly called him Yun Siniu, meaning "fourth ox."

Meanwhile, Chen Jianghe also figured out why he always felt the Spiritual Qi on Huxing Island wasn’t particularly dense, being roughly on par with the Inner Waters. It turned out that every residence on Huxing Island was equipped with a Spirit Gathering Array. The Spiritual Qi inside Yu Daniu’s home was almost twice as dense as in the Outer Waters.

"Brother Jianghe, why do you think Peiyao wants to leave Jingyue Lake?"

Stepping into the cabin, Yu Daniu channeled his Magical Power to propel the fishing boat toward Port No.1. Chen Jianghe didn’t say anything about this. With Yu Daniu’s Fifth-Layer Qi Refining cultivation, expending this small amount of Magical Power was nothing to him.

"Peiyao isn’t a reckless person. If she wants to leave Jingyue Lake, she must have thought it through carefully," Chen Jianghe said, glancing at Yu Daniu. "Fairy Miaoyun is leaving with Peiyao, so the two of them likely discussed it beforehand. As for the reason, we’ll find out once we arrive at the Yuelai Inn."

Yu Daniu nodded, adding, "It’s good they’re going together. Zhou Miaoyun might be a bit snobbish, but she’s a sworn ally. She wouldn’t go so far as to trick Peiyao.

"Oh, right, Brother Jianghe. I have some extra Spirit Stones on hand. Take them for now." Saying this, Yu Daniu pulled out a Storage Pouch and retrieved eight Spirit Stones.

Chen Jianghe glanced at them, but he did not take the Spirit Stones from Yu Daniu’s hands.

"Brother Jianghe, you don’t need to worry about me lacking Cultivation Resources, nor do you need to worry about Huizhen scolding me when I get back. I discussed this with her before coming, and she agreed to it."

Yu Daniu scratched his head in an honest, goofy manner at the mention of his virtuous wife, revealing a blissful smile.

"Besides, as for the resources I’ll need to break through to Late-Stage Qi Refining in the future, the clan has already promised that as long as three of my children possess a Spirit Root, they will reward me with a Misfortune-Breaking Pill for my breakthrough," he added.

"Alright, I will accept the Spirit Stones."

Chen Jianghe took the Spirit Stones from Yu Daniu’s hands. Since Yu Daniu had put it like that, he couldn’t very well refuse his good intentions. Besides, he was currently in desperate need of Spirit Stones.

Combining his newly acquired pay with the ninety-two grains of Spiritual Sand he had saved up, he now held a total of six Spirit Stones and one hundred and twelve grains of Spiritual Sand.

It seemed like a lot, but it was nowhere near enough. He needed to purchase a Qi Storage Pill to break through to the Fourth-Layer Qi Refining.

If he didn’t use a Qi Storage Pill, he would need to spend two or three years grinding away at the bottleneck. Although he had a long lifespan, it was extremely not cost-effective.

Furthermore, he also had to consider Little Black’s limited lifespan.

A single Qi Storage Pill cost five Spirit Stones. The last time he rewarded Little Black with a Qi Nourishing Pill, he promised it another one if it worked hard for four more years. Therefore, the Spirit Stones on his person were only enough to purchase one Qi Storage Pill and one Qi Nourishing Pill.

Even if Yu Daniu hadn’t offered the Spirit Stones on his own, Chen Jianghe had been planning to ask him for financial help next year. After all, he couldn’t just stop living after buying the Qi Nourishing Pill next year.

Raising Little Cyan Fish operated on a three-year cycle. Before his next payout arrived, he wouldn’t even be able to afford basic daily necessities.

Add to that the fact that Gao Peiyao and Zhou Miaoyun were leaving Jingyue Lake...

Chen Jianghe still owed them two Spirit Stones each. As the saying goes, one should travel with ample funds, so he had to find a way to pay them back!

He thought, "With the eight Spirit Stones Daniu provided, I can execute my previous plans ahead of schedule. Otherwise, relying solely on raising Little Cyan Fish wouldn’t even be enough to sustain basic cultivation for Little Black and me."