Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: A Letter from Daniu
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“You wish to buy this journal, fellow Daoist?”
The salesperson in the third-floor technique section took the jade slip from Chen Jianghe's hand. With a sweep of his spiritual sense, he found it was the 'Guide to Processing Demonic Beasts and Price List of Their Parts'.
It wasn't that no cultivators bought it, but most were low-level cultivators in the early stages of Qi Refining.
He observed that Chen Jianghe's spiritual power fluctuations were no less than his own, indicating he was also a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.
Why would he choose to buy a basic skill book essential for demonic beast workshops?
“Yes. Help me remove the restriction on the jade slip.”
Chen Jianghe nodded.
It was only after coming to the third floor of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion that he learned jade slips weren't actually valuable. They were just a special type of jade that could record text and images.
Moreover, they were mined by mortals, unlike spirit stone mines, which required cultivators.
Therefore, jade slips were quite cheap. The two spirit stones were for the content within the slip.
A blank jade slip alone cost only ten grains of spirit sand.
Furthermore, the jade slips in the journal display area could be viewed with spiritual sense, but only a summary was visible.
The rest of the content was sealed by a formation, requiring a salesperson to unseal it before it could be read.
“Two spirit stones.”
The late-stage Qi Refining salesperson didn't ask any more questions. He took the two spirit stones from Chen Jianghe and then used a formation plate to remove the restriction on the jade slip.
In his view, Chen Jianghe was probably buying it for a family member.
With the jade slip in hand, Chen Jianghe went downstairs.
He had no interest in the annual report that chronicled the major events of the Tiannan Region.
One copy cost two spirit stones, enough to buy a Spirit Nourishing Pill.
Arriving on the first floor, he glanced at the corridor overlooking the river and saw that Alchemist Zhuang and Ruan Tieniu had already left.
They must have settled on a price, but he didn't know how much it was.
He didn't want to get involved in their transaction, so naturally, he wouldn't ask.
As long as Ruan Tieniu helped him sell spirit talismans each year and brought him the carcasses of two late-stage first-tier demonic beasts, that was all that mattered.
He returned home.
He hung up the 'In Seclusion' sign and shut the courtyard gate tightly.
Then, he let out Xiao Hei and Maoqiu.
“Alright, what do you need the two of us to do?”
Xiao Hei had the attitude of a diligent worker, looking at Chen Jianghe for instructions.
“Hold on, let me study this first.”
Chen Jianghe took out the jade slip and swept his spiritual sense over it, quickly reading through the latter half of the content.
He immediately felt it was quite difficult.
Cleaning the fur, draining the spiritual blood, and washing the internal organs, all without damaging the heart marrow.
When cleaning the fur, one had to ensure the pelt remained intact and the beast's hair was undamaged. It was delicate, time-consuming work.
Draining the spiritual blood was even more time-consuming, requiring at least half a month to drain it completely.
Washing the internal organs seemed simple, but it was not easy at all.
While cleaning them thoroughly, one had to ensure the organs remained whole and the heart marrow was not damaged.
Fortunately, they weren't doing this professionally. They just needed to separate the pelt, claws, and fangs.
“Xiao Hei, you only need the demonic beast's spirit core, right?”
“Mhm.”
“And Maoqiu eats the flesh, organs, and heart marrow, correct?”
“Jiji~”
“Alright then. Before you start eating, you need to remove the beast's pelt completely, and also preserve the claws and fangs. Can you do that?”
Chen Jianghe asked.
“I can't do it.”
Xiao Hei waved his short little claws and pointed at Maoqiu, saying, “But I can make Maoqiu do it.”
“Uh... alright. But don't rush. Take it slow. It'll take some practice to get used to it.”
This was mainly directed at Xiao Hei.
He was worried that Maoqiu, being clumsy at the start, would fail to process the pelt properly and get beaten up by Xiao Hei.
If Xiao Hei hit too hard, he'd have to spend spirit stones on healing elixirs later.
“Don't worry, we have to trust Maoqiu.”
Xiao Hei walked over to Maoqiu, patted its shoulder with his stubby claws, his beady eyes filled with trust.
“Maoqiu, show our master your resolve. Let's firm up our determination.”
“Jiji~”
“Alright then, you two do your best.”
Chen Jianghe placed the two demonic beasts by the pool and didn't ask how they planned to skin them. After all, he had no experience either.
It was better to let Xiao Hei and Maoqiu figure it out themselves.
The method suitable for cultivators might not be suitable for them.
He had bought the 'Guide to Processing Demonic Beasts and Price List of Their Parts' mainly to understand the prices and which parts to preserve.
“One demonic beast for twenty-three spirit stones can be exchanged for a bottle of Red Cloud True Dew and five Spirit Nurturing Flowers.”
“A bottle of Red Cloud True Dew costs twelve spirit stones, and five Spirit Nurturing Flowers cost twenty. This means feeding Xiao Hei and Maoqiu with demonic beast carcasses is like spending twenty-three spirit stones to get thirty-two spirit stones' worth of resources.”
“A relative saving of nine spirit stones.”
Chen Jianghe chuckled.
A complete pelt from a late-stage first-tier demonic beast was worth anywhere from two to eight spirit stones.
The claws and fangs weren't very valuable, worth about two spirit stones combined.
In other words.
Xiao Hei and Maoqiu's annual resource consumption was originally forty spirit stones, but now it had risen to forty-six.
However, the value they received was now over seventy spirit stones.
Excellent. A great deal.
Putting these thoughts aside, he took out the black pigskins, cut them into talisman-sized pieces, and ended up with one hundred fifty pieces of spirit-blood pigskin from the five skins.
Then he began to draw spirit talismans.
In the next two years, he planned to work hard at drawing mid-grade protection talismans to save up enough spirit stones to buy a body tempering art.
Preferably, he wanted to buy a more expensive body tempering art.
That way, the requirements for supplementary spiritual items would be lower, saving him spirit stones in the long run.
Three months passed quietly.
Chen Jianghe had used twenty-seven pieces of spirit-blood pigskin to create nine mid-grade protection talismans.
His talisman-crafting skill had improved, but not by much.
However, his spiritual soul had grown significantly, and his spiritual sense could now extend to thirty-eight feet.
One must know that after reaching the late stage of Qi Refining, even breaking through a minor realm wouldn't significantly improve one's spiritual soul.
When Chen Jianghe broke through to the eighth level of Qi Refining, his spiritual sense could reach thirty-six feet.
An eighth-level Qi Refining cultivator who hadn't practiced a spiritual art could usually only extend their spiritual sense to thirty feet.
Now, Chen Jianghe's spiritual sense had improved again, reaching thirty-eight feet. It had to be said that drawing spirit talismans was extremely helpful for strengthening the spiritual soul.
“If my talisman-crafting skill reaches the high-grade of the first tier, my spiritual sense could probably extend to sixty, or even seventy, feet.”
Chen Jianghe was delighted.
This way, when he reached the ninth level of Qi Refining and began practicing spiritual cultivation arts, his foundation would be much stronger.
He had a good chance of cultivating his spirit to perfection.
Achieving a perfected spiritual soul was one of the necessary conditions for increasing the success rate of Foundation Establishment.
“Maoqiu, come in.”
Chen Jianghe extended his spiritual sense and saw Maoqiu standing obediently outside the door, holding four letters in its paws.
There were two flying mailboxes: one outside for sending letters, and one inside for receiving them directly.
When the flying post delivered a letter to the outer box, it would be transported into the courtyard, which was very convenient.
Only for sending letters did one need to step out of the courtyard gate and place them in the outer box.
This was to better protect the privacy of the tenant cultivators.
“Jiji~”
Maoqiu pushed open the door, walked in, and respectfully placed the letters on the desk.
“How's the work coming along?”
“Jiji~”
Maoqiu hung its head, looking dejected.
“If Xiao Hei thinks it's not good, then you just have to keep trying. Be more careful, don't rush, and don't be afraid. If it's not done well this time, there's always a next time.”
“Go on.”
“Jiji~”
Chen Jianghe offered a word of comfort, then glanced at the four letters. Two were from Yu Daniu.
One was from Jiang Ruxu, and the last was from Zhou Miaoyun.
“Oh? She actually succeeded.”
Chen Jianghe opened Zhou Miaoyun's letter first. Reading its contents, he looked astonished, somewhat surprised.
Zhou Miaoyun and her niece were living in Mirror Moon Market City and often visited Yu Daniu, but he was always too busy.
After several visits, they had only managed to see Yun Huizhen.
And Yun Xiaoniu.
However, Yun Xiaoniu wasn't interested in Zhou Miaoyun's niece. After all, his potential was immense now, and his mind was focused on cultivation, with no time for such trivial matters.
But Yu Daniu's fifth son had taken a liking to Zhou Miaoyun's niece.
This made Zhou Miaoyun ecstatic. Yun Wuniu's aptitude was much better than Yun Xiaoniu's; he had a four-element pseudo-spiritual root.
In her eyes, Yun Wuniu also had a chance of reaching Foundation Establishment in the future.
“Wuniu has taken a liking to Zhou Miaoyun's niece, Zhou Xiaoxuan. Heh, that kid. Instead of cultivating diligently, he's just thinking about nonsense.”
Yun Wuniu's aptitude was higher than Yun Xiaoniu's, and Yu Daniu had high hopes for him.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been sent to Harbor Number One to temper his character for five years.
But for Yun Wuniu to be thinking about romantic affairs was something Chen Jianghe couldn't quite understand.
Now that he was back from Harbor Number One, shouldn't he be cultivating diligently to catch up to his older brothers?
“I'll see what Daniu thinks. If he's willing, I don't mind acting as a matchmaker for the younger generation.”
Chen Jianghe set Zhou Miaoyun's letter aside for the moment.
He then opened Yu Daniu's letters, starting with the one that had arrived earlier. It had been received in the first month of his seclusion.
It was probably about Foundation Establishment.
After all, Yu Daniu had just turned sixty this year and his cultivation had reached the ninth level of Qi Refining.
However, his body tempering was not perfected, nor had he had time to practice a spiritual art.
But there was still a chance he could succeed in Foundation Establishment.
It all depended on whether Yu Daniu was willing to take the gamble.
In Chen Jianghe's opinion, he definitely shouldn't gamble, as the success rate was less than twenty percent.
But he couldn't say this out loud.
Obstructing someone's path to the Dao was a greater sin than killing their parents. How could he interfere?
Besides, a twenty percent success rate still meant there was a chance of success.
What if he got lucky and made it?
Reading the contents of Yu Daniu's letter, Chen Jianghe breathed a sigh of relief, his worried heart easing slightly.
Yu Daniu wrote that one of Yun Huizhen's cousins—Yun Bufan's direct cousin, Yun Yixuan—was preparing to attempt Foundation Establishment in the fifth month of this year.
He planned to wait until after Yun Yixuan's attempt before making his own decision.
This was because Yun Yixuan's situation was slightly better than his. He had a four-element pseudo-spiritual root and hadn't taken a Calamity Dispelling Pill when breaking through to the late stage of Qi Refining.
He had also practiced a body tempering art, but like Yu Daniu, he hadn't reached perfection.
He also had no Foundation Establishment Pill.
In other words.
With the Yun Clan activating their high-grade second-tier Spirit Gathering Formation to aid his attempt, he had about a thirty percent chance of success.
Ten percent higher than Yu Daniu's.
“He'd gamble on a thirty percent chance?”
Chen Jianghe shook his head. He couldn't understand this gambling mentality at all. Even without his golden finger, he would never take such a risk.
Without a Foundation Establishment Pill, failure meant death.
What was there to gamble?
Wouldn't it be better to just live a few more years?
Next, Chen Jianghe opened Yu Daniu's second letter. To his surprise, it was full of complaints.
This letter was from the second month.
It had arrived a month after the first one.
He was complaining to Chen Jianghe about Yun Wuniu.
In the letter, Yu Daniu expressed great disappointment in Yun Wuniu, using harsh words like 'beast,' 'bastard,' and 'unfilial son' frequently.
After Yun Wuniu returned from Harbor Number One, Yu Daniu had thought his fifth son's character had changed.
He began pouring a large amount of resources into him.
But it turned out that his fifth son had sold off some of the resources to visit the Misty Rain Pavilion.
What kind of place was the Misty Rain Pavilion?
Although Chen Jianghe had never been, he had heard of it. It was a place where female cultivators earned extra income.
An absolute money pit.
Chen Jianghe was also a bit stunned. As the son of a Yun Clan elder, and a direct descendant of a branch head at that, how could he stoop so low?
Was that a place one should go?
Besides spending spirit stones, the most important thing was the loss of vital essence, which was extremely detrimental to future cultivation.
“Daniu wants Wuniu to marry Zhou Xiaoxuan, hoping it will tame his son's temperament.”
Although Yun Wuniu had greatly disappointed Yu Daniu, he was still his son. He couldn't just abandon him.
Of course, his future resources would certainly be reduced.
He would no longer be considered a key prospect for the clan to cultivate, but with Yu Daniu's status, he could still support Yun Wuniu up to the seventh level of Qi Refining.
Zhou Miaoyun probably didn't know about Yun Wuniu's character and was still gloating because he had taken a liking to her niece.
For a moment, Chen Jianghe didn't know how to reply.
Yu Daniu was asking for his opinion on whether his fifth son should marry Zhou Miaoyun's niece.
Zhou Miaoyun's intention was simpler.
Now that the two juniors were interested in each other, she wanted him to act as a go-between, a matchmaker.
If Yun Wuniu's character had been decent, even half as good as Yun Xiaoniu's, Chen Jianghe would have been more than happy to be the matchmaker, especially since Yu Daniu was considering it.
But now, what could he do?
Although his relationship with Zhou Miaoyun wasn't as close as his with Yu Daniu, he couldn't bring himself to push her niece into a pit of fire.
But persuading Yu Daniu to give up the idea wasn't realistic either.
What if Yun Wuniu really did change his ways after getting married?
Who could predict the future?
“I'll deal with this later.”
Spiritual power flowed from Chen Jianghe's hand, turning the three letters to ash.
This was the only thing he could do.
Pretend he hadn't seen the letters yet.
Stay out of it and let things develop naturally, leaving the decision to Yu Daniu and Zhou Miaoyun.
Then, Chen Jianghe picked up Jiang Ruxu's letter.
She must have come to visit, seen the 'In Seclusion' sign on his gate, and left a letter instead.
He unfolded the letter and read it.
The expression on Chen Jianghe's face shifted, his frown easing into an intriguing smile.
“Alchemist Zhuang, are you that eager to get closer to me? Could it be that his lifespan is nearing its end?”
“But my relationship with Gao Peiyao isn't as good as he imagines.”
“If something major really happens in the future, I'm afraid I won't be able to protect his granddaughter!”