Chapter 53 - 52: Exposed

Chapter 53: Chapter 52: Exposed

It was New Year’s Eve once again.

After today, Chen Jianghe would be thirty-one years old. He gave Little Black a few instructions and steered his boat toward Huxing Island. Although he could use Qi Manipulation Flight, there were many in the Inner Waters with higher Cultivation than him. Since the other Senior Fishermen and Farmers all used boats, there was no need for him to stick out like a sore thumb.

Because Hundred Arts Guest Elders stationed in the Inner Waters were forbidden from selling Spirit Pills or Spirit Talismans privately, they also went to Huxing Island on New Year’s Eve to sell their inventory and purchase a new batch of materials. Upon arriving at the Huxing Island port, he noticed the number of Hundred Arts Guest Elders arriving via Qi Manipulation Flight or Sword Flight was visibly higher than in the previous two years.

This puzzled him. When the chaos at Jingyue Lake first erupted, many Hundred Arts Guest Elders had fled. Now, with true chaos fast approaching, why were there new Hundred Arts Guest Elders moving in? With just a cursory glance, he spotted dozens of Cultivators dressed differently from the Senior Fishermen and Farmers, yet they all had silver clouds embroidered on their chests.

Chen Jianghe wondered, "Are they betting on the Yun Family?"

If skilled Cultivators wanted to establish a Cultivation Family, they first needed the approval of a Foundation Establishment Immortal Race, after which they could found their Cultivation Family within that territory. The recent turmoil surrounding the Yun Family had caused their eight-hundred-mile Jingyue Lake territory to shrink to a Fang Yuan of two hundred miles, and their affiliated Cultivation Families had long since scattered. Once the Yun Family recovered, they would undoubtedly reclaim their lost territory. When that time came, vast tracts of empty land containing Tier One Spiritual Veins would become available for Cultivation Families to occupy.

Betting on the Yun Family right now was highly risky, but the potential rewards were equally significant. Judging by the Yun Family’s style of doing things, once one gained their approval, one would likely receive their support. After all, the Yun Family was remarkably humane even toward the lowest-level Fishermen and Farmers.

Chen Jianghe’s ability to enter the Immortal Path was precisely due to the Yun Family’s grace. Without that one Qi Storage Pill, those ten grains of Spiritual Sand, and a copy of the Returning Origin True Water Technique, he didn’t know when he would have ever set foot on the Immortal Dao.

He stopped wondering whether these new Hundred Arts Guest Elders genuinely intended to establish Cultivation Families at Jingyue Lake. Striding toward the Zhonglou Street Marketplace, he needed to dispose of the twenty-six Water Arrow Talismans in his possession.

Over the past three months, he had consumed another nineteen sets of talisman paper, successfully drawing seven Water Arrow Talismans. His proficiency had significantly improved, but his Talisman Success Rate remained stubbornly stagnant, showing no signs of change.

Arriving at the Spirit Talisman Shop, he sold all twenty-six Water Arrow Talismans, receiving twenty-two Spirit Stones and ten grains of Spiritual Sand. After deducting costs, he had made a profit of about eighteen Spirit Stones. This was quite a bit more than he had anticipated.

The moment he stepped out of the Spirit Talisman Shop, he felt his future was incredibly bright. With his Talisman Painting skills, the Magical Artifacts he previously wouldn’t have dared to dream of no longer seemed so far out of reach.

With Spirit Stones in hand, he had to figure out how to exchange them for resources. As for Talisman-Making Materials, he still had one hundred and twelve sheets of talisman paper, along with one full box and another mostly full box of Spiritual Ink. His Talisman Pen could still be used about a hundred more times, so there was absolutely no need to buy a new one; it would be enough to last through the next year’s consumption. Then he would buy Elixirs and Spirit Grass.

Chen Jianghe walked over to the Spiritual Pill Shop opposite the Spirit Talisman Shop. Just as he entered, he spotted a familiar back.

"Daniu."

Yu Daniu turned around at the sound of his name, a look of surprise on his face. "Brother Jianghe."

He seemed unable to believe that Chen Jianghe would be at a Spiritual Pill Shop. He knew that Senior Fishermen and Farmers wouldn’t receive their pay until the following year. The eight Spirit Stones he had lent Chen Jianghe—four of which had been used to pay off other debts—plus the savings used to buy a Qi Storage Pill, should have been completely spent by now. There was no way he could afford another Qi Storage Pill anytime soon.

He had even been considering discussing with his wife whether they should give Chen Jianghe a bit more financial aid. After all, Yun Xiaoniu had been tested and found to have a Spirit Root, and the Yun Family had rewarded him with quite a few resources.

"Daniu, are you here to buy Spirit Pills?" Chen Jianghe asked, not expecting to bump into Yu Daniu here either.

It seemed he could no longer keep his Entry Level status in the Talisman Dao a secret; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to explain where his Spirit Stones came from. Furthermore, there was no need to deliberately hide the fact that he had reached the Entry Level in the Talisman Dao. By coming to Huxing Island to sell Spirit Talismans, the upper echelons of the Yun Family would certainly find out. Rather than waiting for Yu Daniu to hear it from the Yun Family members, it would be better to take the initiative and tell him himself.

"No, I have a fixed yearly quota of ten Qi Blood Pills and three Essence Nourishing Pills. I’m here today to collect my Elixirs," Yu Daniu hid nothing from Chen Jianghe and straightforwardly stated his purpose. "Brother Jianghe, what about you? Are you here to buy Elixirs? I have three Spirit Stones on me right now, and the rest are at home."

Yu Daniu’s meaning was obvious: he was asking if three Spirit Stones were enough, and if not, he could go back home to fetch more.

"Since I’m here to buy Elixirs, I definitely have enough Spirit Stones! Haha, wait for me a moment. Let’s find a place to chat afterward." Touched, Chen Jianghe patted Yu Daniu’s arm. Then, he walked up to the counter and said to the young woman Shopkeeper, "Two Qi Storage Pills and a flask of Fasting Pills."

Yu Daniu’s expression changed slightly, his pupils shrinking as he watched in disbelief as Chen Jianghe pulled out eighteen Spirit Stones and handed them to the Shopkeeper.

That was eighteen Spirit Stones! His wife’s annual stipend from the Yun Family was only eight Spirit Stones, and his was even less—a mere five Spirit Stones. Of course, this was only because he had fathered five children for the Yun Family; otherwise, a live-in son-in-law would only receive an annual stipend of two Spirit Stones. Yet Chen Jianghe hadn’t even blinked as he directly took out eighteen Spirit Stones to purchase Qi Storage Pills and Fasting Pills. This truly shocked him.

"Daniu, come on. Let me tell you some good news."

Chen Jianghe pulled the stunned Yu Daniu out of the Spiritual Pill Shop, turned a corner, and walked into a restaurant. He booked a private room and ordered Medicinal Cuisine worth ten grains of Spiritual Sand. It wasn’t that Chen Jianghe was trying to be flashy; it was just that the cheapest set meal at the Huxing Island restaurant cost ten grains of Spiritual Sand.

"Brother Jianghe, where... where did you get so many Spirit Stones?" Yu Daniu had held it in the entire way, but he finally blurted it out.

"Look what this is." Chen Jianghe took out his Peach Wood Talisman Pen.

"A Talisman Pen!"

Yu Daniu was naturally familiar with the Peach Wood Talisman Pen. He had also dabbled in it for half a year, but since he had absolutely no Talent in the Talisman Dao, he had ultimately been forced to give it up. As a result, he had even been looked down upon by Zhou Miaoyun.

"Brother Jianghe, you can draw Spirit Talismans?" Yu Daniu was simply honest and dependable, not stupid. He immediately connected the dots and looked at Chen Jianghe excitedly.

"Yeah." Chen Jianghe nodded emphatically. "Back when you lent me those eight Spirit Stones, after paying back Peiyao and Fairy Miaoyun, and combining them with my savings to buy a Qi Storage Pill, I found that I still had some left over. So, I figured I might as well try my hand at drawing Spirit Talismans."

"So, you’ve reached the Entry Level in the Talisman Dao?"

"Yes, I can already draw Lower-Grade Water Arrow Talismans."

"You can draw Lower-Grade Spiritual Talismans? That’s wonderful! Brother Jianghe, you’ve actually become a Talisman Master. This is absolutely amazing!" Yu Daniu looked at Chen Jianghe with exhilaration and said excitedly, "I heard Huizhen say that of the Four Extremes of the Hundred Arts—Array, Artifact, Elixir, and Talisman—mastering any one of them can allow a Cultivator to cultivate to Late-Stage Qi Refining and have hope of Foundation Establishment!"