Chapter 100
Chapter 100
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Switching Cultivation Techniques
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"Southwest District, Courtyard 512. What a coincidence, same district number as when I was raising fish on the outskirts of Mirror Moon Lake."
Qingping Alley was a series of single-room courtyards.
Chen Jianghe paid a year's rent at the housing agency and, with the formation plate they gave him, arrived at Courtyard 512 in the Southwest District.
It was a compound with high, dark green walls and a gate made of red pine, exuding a faint, tranquil fragrance.
Below the door knocker was a circular recess that perfectly matched the formation plate in his hand.
He first imprinted his spiritual sense onto the formation plate before placing it into the recess. With a soft click, a stream of cyan light spread from the plate, flowing across the entire gate.
With a thought, the gate opened.
He stepped inside. It was a single-room courtyard covering less than a tenth of an acre. The yard itself was about thirty square meters, and the room was just under twelve. The dark green brick walls and brown roof tiles gave it a serene and understated feel, which suited his personality.
"It's not large, but it's enough for me to live in."
Although the single-room courtyards in Qinghe Market City weren't spacious, they offered exceptional security and privacy!
This small courtyard, less than a tenth of an acre, was surprisingly equipped with three small second-rank, low-grade formations.
A Spirit Gathering Formation, a Defensive Formation, and a Sense-Shielding Formation.
The Spirit Gathering Formation was for concentrating spiritual energy. The courtyards in the Southwest District all had second-rank, low-grade Spirit Gathering Formations.
Those in the Northwest District had first-rank, high-grade ones instead.
The spiritual energy on the streets of Qinghe Market City wasn't particularly abundant, only slightly better than a first-rank, mid-grade spirit vein, but not quite reaching the level of a first-rank, high-grade one.
The Defensive Formation in the Southwest District courtyards was also second-rank, low-grade, capable of withstanding a Foundation Establishment cultivator's attacks for a short time.
Never mind whether a Foundation Establishment cultivator would even dare to cause trouble in Qinghe Market City.
Even if one did, the second-rank, low-grade Defensive Formation could hold for dozens of breaths, by which time the late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators of Qinghe Market City would have already arrived.
Therefore, the placement of a defensive formation in every courtyard was a dual-layer security measure.
The Sense-Shielding Formation was a formation that blocked the spiritual sense of Foundation Establishment cultivators.
In other words.
Whatever you did inside the courtyard, no cultivator outside could discover it. Even the spiritual sense of a Foundation Establishment cultivator couldn't penetrate the yard.
It offered a very high degree of privacy.
Furthermore, when looking down from above Qinghe Market City, one could only see hazy outlines of the courtyards; the naked eye was also unable to see inside from the outside.
For Chen Jianghe, this was undoubtedly a very thoughtful feature.
He had Xiao Hei and Maoqiu with him, both of whom possessed third-grade bloodlines.
Xiao Hei even had a third-grade, high-tier bloodline. If this were discovered, he would likely become a celebrity in Qinghe Market City.
A rogue cultivator carrying two spirit beasts with third-grade bloodlines... he probably wouldn't be able to leave Qinghe Market City for the rest of his life.
Chen Jianghe walked into the room and took a look. The furnishings were very simple: a wooden bed and a set of a table and chairs.
There was nothing else.
As for receiving guests, people usually didn't bring them home. Instead, they would go to the taverns in Qinghe Market City or the scenic corridor on the first floor of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
"This is really nice. It's a shame I'll have to move out when the owner returns. I wonder if there will be any other vacant single-room courtyards then."
After inspecting the courtyard, Chen Jianghe left, satisfied.
Now that he was settled in Qinghe Market City, the next steps were to purchase talisman-crafting materials and the Fasting Pills that were mandatory in the city.
The thought of Fasting Pills made Chen Jianghe feel a bit helpless.
At Mirror Moon Lake, his daily expenses for a year amounted to only about ten grains of spirit sand. But here in Qinghe Market City, even if he did nothing...
He had to spend sixteen spirit stones a year.
And that was just for him alone. If it were a large family, the cost would be far more than sixteen spirit stones.
No wonder Zhou Miaoyun's family had left Qinghe Market City.
If one's income in spirit stones was insufficient, it was simply impossible to survive.
A short while later, Chen Jianghe arrived at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion and went straight to the second floor, where he spent eight spirit stones on a jar of Fasting Pills.
Then he bought a box of spirit ink and fifty sheets of high-quality yellow paper.
In total, he spent eleven spirit stones.
Adding the eight spirit stones for rent, he now had only fifteen grains of spirit sand left.
However, he still had some talisman-crafting materials in his storage bag; the ones he bought back in Mirror Moon Lake Market City weren't used up yet.
He had over twenty sheets of high-quality yellow paper and more than half a box of spirit ink remaining.
The first-rank, low-grade peachwood talisman brush could still be used another two hundred times or so.
The mid-grade wolf-hair talisman brush could be used many more times, as he had hardly crafted any mid-grade spirit talismans since buying it.
"Sigh, I suppose I'll have to sell the Frost Talisman at a loss."
When he subdued Maoqiu, Xiao Hei had been a bit rough, so he needed to buy some healing spirit fluid.
With only fifteen grains of spirit sand on him, it definitely wasn't enough to buy the spirit fluid.
After much thought, he decided to sell that Frost Talisman first. Selling the high-grade Protective Talisman and high-grade Five Elements Escape Talisman would be an even greater loss.
As for the mid-grade flying sword he got from the robber cultivator, it was best to wait a few years before selling it.
He went to the spirit talisman counter and sold the high-grade Frost Talisman.
He now had an extra eight spirit stones and fifty grains of spirit sand. Adding the fifteen grains he already had, he now had sixty-five grains of spirit sand.
"I need to get back and start crafting talismans right away. Otherwise, I don't know when these tight days will end."
When he first started on the path of talisman crafting, he felt his good days were coming, only to find that he still didn't have enough spirit stones.
After becoming a low-grade Talisman Master, his annual net profit could reach dozens of spirit stones.
He thought a prosperous life had truly arrived.
But he was still poor.
So poor that he was now starting to sell off his possessions.
"Fellow cultivator, what can I get for you?"
At the spirit fluid counter, a young female clerk at the sixth level of Qi Refining smiled at Chen Jianghe.
The clerks in the Hundred Treasures Pavilion of Qinghe Market City were all at the sixth level of Qi Refining.
This was a level higher than in Mirror Moon Lake Market City.
It seemed Mirror Moon Lake Market City still had a long way to go to catch up to Qinghe Market City.
"A first-rank healing spirit fluid."
"Would you like a mid-grade, high-grade, or low-grade healing spirit fluid?"
Chen Jianghe thought for a moment. Xiao Hei had hit Maoqiu quite hard. A low-grade healing spirit fluid would work, but the recovery would probably take a long time.
"How many spirit stones for a mid-grade healing spirit fluid?"
"Five spirit stones."
"I'll take one."
Chen Jianghe paid the five spirit stones and took the mid-grade healing spirit fluid from the female clerk.
Spirit fluids had effects similar to spirit pills but were slightly cheaper because it was difficult to absorb all the spiritual power from a fluid—at most, one could absorb seventy percent.
With spirit pills, one could absorb up to ninety percent of the medicinal power.
Therefore, even though there were types of spirit fluids that could enhance cultivation and were slightly cheaper than spirit pills, cultivators generally still chose spirit pills.
He was short on funds and had no choice but to buy the healing spirit fluid. A typical mid-grade healing spirit pill would cost at least seven or eight spirit stones, maybe even ten.
After buying what he needed, he left the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
The sky was already approaching nine o'clock at night. Soon, the cultivators on the streets would be leaving, either returning to their residences or leaving the market city.
"The market city has posted new subsidized jobs! Let's go see!"
"Let's go, together."
"I wonder what kind of jobs they'll be. I just hope it's not cleaning spirit beast pelts again. The smell is unbearable."
"Yeah, and the requirements are so high. You can't waste a single drop of spirit beast blood."
"..."
As Chen Jianghe walked along the bluestone path beside River Street, he watched many cultivators hurry past him.
It seemed they were rushing to compete for the subsidized jobs offered by Qinghe Market City.
Chen Jianghe knew a little about these subsidized jobs; Jiang Ruxu had told him about them yesterday.
Qinghe Market City would periodically offer some short-term subsidized jobs, which served as a form of welfare for cultivators with families.
It was also a way to attract more cultivators to settle in Qinghe Market City.
For example, processing the pelts, organs, and spiritual blood of spirit beasts was originally a low-paying and short-term job.
Over a year, one couldn't possibly earn enough spirit stones to cover the rent and the cost of Fasting Pills in Qinghe Market City.
Therefore, Qinghe Market City would subsidize these positions, allowing the lower-cultivation family members of cultivator clans to earn some extra spirit stones.
Being a guide in Qinghe Market City was also a subsidized position.
For the long-term development of the market city, the existence of guides was essential. Otherwise, cultivators visiting for the first time would be completely lost.
Moreover, being a guide was a long-term, stable, subsidized position, but it had requirements: only female cultivators between the ages of twelve and thirty-five were accepted.
Male cultivators were not wanted.
The pay for guiding one cultivator was ten grains of spirit sand.
According to Jiang Ruxu, in a good year, she could earn eight spirit stones, and with the eight spirit stones subsidized by Qinghe Market City...
That was sixteen spirit stones a year.
After deducting rent and the cost of Fasting Pills, she was left with four spirit stones, which was much better than being a Fishery Farmer at Mirror Moon Lake.
But the conditions were strict.
After the age of thirty-five, you were laid off.
The silkworm raising and silk reeling that Zhou Miaoyun had written about in her letter was also a semi-subsidized position.
The level of support was not as high as cleaning spirit beast pelts.
Returning home, he closed the courtyard gate and hung up the "In Seclusion" sign.
With a thought, he activated the defensive formation, making it impossible for anyone to force their way in from the outside.
Immediately after, he circulated his magic power and dug a pit against the courtyard wall, sixteen feet long, ten feet wide, and ten feet deep.
*Splash~*
Chen Jianghe performed the Water Condensation Incantation, filling the deep pit with water.
Only then did he release Xiao Hei from the spirit beast space.
"This is our home?" Xiao Hei looked around curiously. "This is way too small. It's not even big enough for me to run two laps."
Xiao Hei looked at the thirty-something-square-meter courtyard with some disdain.
"I'm not asking you to run, I'm asking you to swim. See? This is where you'll be staying."
Chen Jianghe pointed to the home he had just built for Xiao Hei, a simple water pit.
"Two-legged beast, I'll fight you!"
"Don't be dramatic. It's not that small. It takes up half the courtyard. What more do you want?" Chen Jianghe shrugged.
The water pit was a bit small for Xiao Hei.
But it was still eighteen square meters, occupying half the courtyard.
"In the future, you have to get me a bigger home," Xiao Hei said, then jumped into the water pit.
"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey."
He immediately poked his turtle head out. It was too shallow, and he got a mouthful of mud.
"Master, where are my cultivation resources? I want to eat Spirit Nurturing Flowers," Xiao Hei suddenly remembered that he had moved to a new home but hadn't received his promised resources.
"We just moved in. I haven't even started crafting talismans yet. Where would I get the spirit stones to buy you resources?" Chen Jianghe rolled his eyes.
"Hehe, that's true."
Xiao Hei grinned foolishly and sent a telepathic message, "In the future, I'll raise a whole lake of fish. When that time comes, I'll support you."
"Alright, you said it."
Chen Jianghe smiled, then released Maoqiu. He saw that the wound on its back had already scabbed over; a spirit beast's recovery ability was quite strong.
However, the leg that had been pierced through had yet to grow new flesh. Relying on the spirit beast's natural healing, it would probably take three to five years.
"This is for you. From now on, you listen to Xiao Hei and stay quietly in the courtyard."
Chen Jianghe gave the first-rank, mid-grade healing spirit fluid to Maoqiu and gave it a few instructions before entering the room.
Maoqiu was also a water-type spirit beast. As long as it listened to Xiao Hei and behaved, it wouldn't get beaten.
Walking into the room, he cast a Dust Cleansing Art.
He then went to the table and took out his talisman-crafting materials.
Being so short on funds, he certainly couldn't craft mid-grade spirit talismans. Besides, he didn't have the capital to do so.
To be safe, Chen Jianghe planned to craft low-grade spirit talismans in his spare time over the next few years.
Because he had no time to improve his talisman crafting skills.
Crafting talismans was just something to do in his free time.
His main focus now was to switch cultivation techniques. He was already at the seventh level of Qi Refining. If he didn't switch, a basic technique like the Guiyuan True Water Art wouldn't allow him to continue cultivating.
"Thank goodness for the Myriad Waters True Scripture that Daniu gave me. Otherwise, I would have had to postpone switching techniques for another five or six years."
Although his lifespan was long and not improving his cultivation for five or six years wouldn't affect his future Foundation Establishment...
Being able to advance five or six years earlier was naturally a good thing.
Moreover, the Myriad Waters True Scripture that Yu Daniu had fought for him was a superior technique that increased magic power by thirty percent.
It was a treasure that couldn't be bought even with spirit stones.
"I'll need to craft spirit talismans for a month first, and then I'll switch to the Myriad Waters True Scripture."
It was better to accumulate some spirit stones first.
In case that cultivator who left a deposit suddenly returned, he would have some spirit stones to manage the situation.
His mind was made up.
He cleared his mind of distracting thoughts, focused his spirit, and began to craft low-grade Five Elements Escape Talismans. This was currently his most profitable talisman.
A month later, he had successfully crafted four Water Escape Talismans.
Having cultivated to the seventh level of Qi Refining, his magic power had become semi-liquid, which had improved his stability when crafting talismans.
It could be considered an improvement in his talisman crafting skills.
If he switched cultivation techniques, his magic power would be amplified by thirty percent, and he would be able to craft more talismans.
His annual income would also increase.
"Four Water Escape Talismans can be sold for ten spirit stones. That's enough for my short-term needs."
Chen Jianghe put the talisman-crafting materials back into his storage bag, then sat cross-legged on the bed. The cultivation method of the Myriad Waters True Scripture appeared in his mind.
As a basic water-type cultivation technique, the Guiyuan True Water Art was very convenient when switching to other water-type techniques.
This was because the magic power cultivated by the Guiyuan True Water Art had no special properties, and thus would not conflict with other water-type techniques.
This was the benefit of a basic technique.
It gave rogue cultivators a chance to build a foundation.
However, when switching techniques, one's cultivation progress was slow, so it would waste about three to five years.
But this could be compensated for with spirit pills.
Just like Yu Daniu back then, after switching to the Spirit Condensation True Water Scripture, his foundation was solid, and with the help of spirit pills, he broke through to the eighth level of Qi Refining in just four years.
Chen Jianghe focused his mind and calmed his qi. Following the method described in the Myriad Waters True Scripture, he circulated the magic power in his body, moving it through the major acupoints in a Grand Heavenly Cycle.
He began to imbue the magic power in his Qi Sea Dantian with the unique properties of the Myriad Waters True Scripture.