Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: Life Extension Pill
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"He's in seclusion?"
Ruan Tieniu arrived before courtyard number 512. Seeing the 'In Seclusion' sign hanging, he sighed and spoke to the sturdy, middle-aged man beside him.
"Our timing is unfortunate. Fellow Daoist Chen is still in seclusion."
"Tieniu, is his relationship with Alchemist Zhuang really that deep?" The middle-aged man, looking disappointed at the 'In Seclusion' sign, turned to Ruan Tieniu for confirmation.
"Of course it is. The brothers in my demon-hunting team dare to venture deep into the Wandering Immortal Mountain Range precisely because we have Alchemist Zhuang's healing spirit pills."
"If Fellow Daoist Chen hadn't made the introduction, do you think Alchemist Zhuang would have even given me the time of day, Brother Feng?"
Seeing the middle-aged man's doubt, Ruan Tieniu snorted coldly.
But his words also carried a hint of self-mockery. As a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator, he was already considered an upper-tier cultivator.
Yet, in the presence of a high-grade Alchemist, that truly meant nothing.
"Brother Tieniu, don't be angry. I'm just being cautious. After all, this concerns whether we can reach Foundation Establishment in the future."
"Since Talisman Master Chen is in seclusion, we'll come find him another time."
The middle-aged man laughed heartily, patted Ruan Tieniu's arm, and said, "Shall we go to your place for a chat, brother?"
"Let's go to the Qingping Teahouse instead."
A glint flashed in Ruan Tieniu's eyes as he flatly refused and suggested a different location.
"Alright, then. We'll talk in detail at the Qingping Teahouse."
——
Chen Jianghe was unaware of what was happening outside his courtyard. He was completely focused on drawing a spirit talisman.
His goal for the year was simple.
Consume two True Spirit Pills to advance his cultivation.
Then, increase his success rate for drawing mid-grade protection talismans to forty percent.
Only by improving his talisman skills would he have the capital for body tempering.
He was now at the eighth level of Qi Refining and could start planning for Foundation Establishment. Body tempering was one of the five major conditions for it.
He would pour a large amount of resources into securing that twenty percent success rate.
A three-element true spiritual root, he did not have.
As for a second-tier, high-grade spiritual meridian, he could rent a breakthrough site in Qinghe Market City through Gao Peiyao when the time came.
Therefore, if he just cultivated step-by-step to the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining, his chance of success in Foundation Establishment would only be twenty percent.
So, he had to achieve the conditions of a perfected body and a perfected spirit.
Even then, it would only raise his success rate to sixty percent.
Still not safe enough.
The most reliable method was to get his hands on a Foundation Establishment Pill.
Only then could he attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage. After all, even if he failed, he would be able to survive.
In the blink of an eye, more than half a year had passed.
Mid-August.
On the desk, the spirit blood pigskin flashed with spiritual light. A mid-grade protection talisman was complete.
Chen Jianghe put down the wolf-hair talisman brush in his hand.
"Just a little more, and I'll reach a forty percent success rate."
He was very satisfied with this rate of improvement.
In nearly eight months, he had used seventy-three sheets of spirit blood pigskin and successfully created twenty-seven mid-grade protection talismans.
His divine sense could still only extend to thirty-eight feet, showing no improvement.
However, the mass of mana in his Qi sea dantian had become purer, and the degree of liquefaction was noticeably deeper.
"Maoqiu, bring the letters in."
Over these past eight months, five letters had accumulated in the postbox.
After Maoqiu brought the letters over, he first glanced at the sender's name on each one, as was his habit.
Yu Daniu, Gao Peiyao, Jiang Ruxu, Zhou Miaoyun, Ruan Tieniu—they had all sent letters. This surprised Chen Jianghe. Everyone?
He had only been in seclusion for eight months, not eight years.
He first opened Yu Daniu's letter.
Ten breaths later, he turned the letter to dust.
"That Yun Wuniu really is a lost cause."
Chen Jianghe shook his head helplessly, feeling annoyed on Yu Daniu's behalf.
The letter said that Yu Daniu had thought Yun Wuniu would change his ways after getting married, especially with a new daughter-in-law in the house.
Not only had he not reduced Yun Wuniu's resources...
...but he had even given Yun Wuniu thirty percent more, for the sake of his daughter-in-law.
Of course, by giving him more resources, Yu Daniu had hoped Yun Wuniu would consider his wife and share some with her.
After all, she had married into their family, so she was one of their own.
But Yu Daniu never imagined that not only would Yun Wuniu not share the resources with his wife, he would even give everything to a courtesan-cultivator from the Misty Rain Pavilion.
Now, his daughter-in-law spent her days crying before Yun Huizhen.
In his anger, Yu Daniu wanted to cut off Yun Wuniu's resources and banish him to Port Number One.
But things were different now.
Yun Wuniu was a married man, and his wife was from the Zhou Clan, which put Yu Daniu in a difficult position.
To Yu Daniu's relief, his daughter-in-law hadn't reported the family scandal to her own clan, which saved him some face.
But Yun Xiaoniu had stepped forward and suggested to Yu Daniu that they cripple the major acupoints in Yun Wuniu's limbs.
His resources would not be reduced but given entirely to his wife.
The only hope was for the fifth brother to have an heir; nothing else mattered.
Faced with Yun Xiaoniu's ruthless proposal, Yu Daniu was at a loss and could only ask his sworn brother for advice.
The letter was dated February.
So much time had passed; a decision had likely already been made. It wouldn't be appropriate for Chen Jianghe to reply now.
But as for Yun Xiaoniu's suggestion, he didn't know how to judge it.
It was cruel, but for the long-term development of Yun Huizhen's branch of the family, the benefits certainly outweighed the drawbacks.
Besides, Yun Xiaoniu wasn't trying to seize his brother's share of resources; he was leaving them all for his sister-in-law.
But there was one condition: the woman from the Zhou Clan had to bear the fifth brother an heir.
Chen Jianghe hadn't been born into a clan, so he didn't naturally hold the concept of prioritizing clan interests. He couldn't judge whether Yun Xiaoniu's actions were right or wrong.
Next, he opened Ruan Tieniu's letter. It had been placed in the postbox in June, and its contents were simple.
It just asked when Chen Jianghe would be out of seclusion, as he wanted to meet.
"Ruan Tieniu is eager to see me? What urgent business could he have? Could it be related to Alchemist Zhuang?"
Thinking of this, Chen Jianghe opened Jiang Ruxu's letter.
It mentioned Ruan Tieniu.
It said Ruan Tieniu had paid a visit, seemingly to ask Alchemist Zhuang for something, but he had hemmed and hawed and left without ever stating his purpose.
He had also mentioned Chen Jianghe during the visit.
Therefore, Alchemist Zhuang had asked Jiang Ruxu to come and ask Chen Jianghe about it.
But seeing the sign, she could only leave a written message.
"What on earth does this Ruan Tieniu want? He sought out Alchemist Zhuang and even mentioned me?"
Chen Jianghe thought about it. He had no other dealings with Ruan Tieniu.
He just had him help sell spirit talismans and purchase the carcasses of a few demonic beasts.
Most importantly, Ruan Tieniu had also sent him a letter, seeming very eager to see him. This meant it really did have something to do with him.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have written.
Their arrangement was always at the beginning of the year.
Putting these thoughts aside, he opened Zhou Miaoyun's letter.
This was the most recent letter, filled with praise for Yu Daniu. It said her cousin's niece had sent a letter home.
The Yun Clan was treating her very well, especially her parents-in-law, who treated her like their own daughter and gave her abundant cultivation resources.
She had already reached the fifth level of Qi Refining.
This letter made the Zhou Clan very happy. After all, if their daughter was valued after marrying, it meant she hadn't jumped into a pit of fire.
At first, they all thought Yun Wuniu was of poor character and felt their daughter would suffer after marrying him.
Who would have thought she would be enjoying such a good life?
Being valued so highly, she would surely be able to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining in the future.
And if she bore the Yun Clan a few sons...
...she would certainly be valued even more.
Zhou Miaoyun's purpose in writing to Chen Jianghe was to ask him to convey her thanks to Yu Daniu.
After all, the two were now in-laws, and some things were awkward to say directly.
Chen Jianghe sat in his chair, holding Zhou Miaoyun's letter, feeling a mix of helplessness and speechlessness that eventually made him laugh in exasperation.
If it weren't for that scoundrel of a fifth brother, what a wonderful life it would be.
He chose not to reply to either of them, not wanting to get involved in such messy family affairs.
With that kind of free time, he would rather draw a few more spirit talismans.
"An invitation? Doesn't that mean it's at the hour of Hai tonight!"
He opened Gao Peiyao's letter. It was an invitation to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion for this year's Mid-Autumn Auction.
The auction would begin at the hour of Hai.
Gao Peiyao mentioned in her letter that this auction was no ordinary one. The treasures being auctioned were the kind one might only see once in several decades, and she suggested he go and broaden his horizons.
"An auction could be worth checking out."
He could broaden his horizons without wasting too much time.
He checked the time. It was still early outside.
He walked into the courtyard and first checked on the progress of his two spirit beasts. The two mid-tier, first-rank wind wolves had been fully processed.
The flesh, heart marrow, and spirit core had all been eaten by Maoqiu.
According to Xiao Hei, a mid-tier, first-rank spirit core was of little use to him, so it was more cost-effective for Maoqiu to eat it.
He greatly admired this aspect of Xiao Hei.
Although he was merciless when he struck Maoqiu, when it came to doing what was good for Maoqiu, Xiao Hei was never stingy.
"Xiao Hei, stop for a moment. We're going out. We can also sell the demonic beast hides you've prepared."
Chen Jianghe stopped Xiao Hei and Maoqiu.
He had them enter the spirit beast space.
His storage pouch was too small. Wind wolves were large and had a lot of spiritual blood. Just these two would require two trips to the Beast Taming Workshop.
Not to mention waiting to process the Blazing Fire Fox to sell everything together.
But spirit stones were tight right now. He still needed to buy a body tempering art, so getting a new storage pouch would have to wait.
He took the parts of the two wind wolves to the Beast Taming Workshop to be processed.
In total, he received two spirit stones and thirty-five grains of spirit sand.
He also bought fifty pulp barrels.
This was equivalent to netting one spirit stone and eighty-five grains of spirit sand.
That wasn't bad.
It was more than he made raising fish on the outskirts of Mirror Moon Lake, and he still had two more demonic beasts at home to process.
The late-tier, first-rank demonic beast was the real prize.
He took the newly bought pulp barrels back home.
Only then did Chen Jianghe go to Ruan Tieniu's courtyard, number 514, and saw the 'Out' sign hanging on the gate.
He knew Ruan Tieniu had gone into the Wandering Immortal Mountain Range.
A demon hunter spent at most one month a year in the market city; the rest of the time was spent in the Wandering Immortal Mountain Range.
This was why the average lifespan of a demon hunter was only fifty years.
The work was too dangerous.
But if you didn't do it, you couldn't get cultivation resources.
Seeing the plight of low-level demon hunters, Chen Jianghe couldn't help but think of the benefits of the Yun Clan. At the very least, the Yun Clan provided a relatively safe cultivation environment for its low-level cultivators.
Although the pay was a bit low, it wasn't without opportunities for advancement.
Of course, if you went out to take on odd jobs, the Yun Clan wouldn't stop you. If you died, it was your own problem and had nothing to do with the clan.
"Senior Chen."
Just then, a clear and pleasant voice called out. It was Jiang Ruxu and Zhuang Xinyan, who had come to Qingping Alley.
"Senior Chen."
Only when she was right in front of him did Zhuang Xinyan timidly call out.
"It's you two. What are you doing here?" Chen Jianghe said, having returned to his own courtyard gate.
"We're here to find you, of course, Senior."
Jiang Ruxu said with a smile, "Did you see the letter I left, Senior?"
"Yes."
Chen Jianghe nodded.
"Do you know why that Fellow Daoist Ruan was looking for my master, Senior?" Jiang Ruxu asked curiously.
"I don't. I just went to find Fellow Daoist Ruan and saw the 'Out' sign on his door. He must have gone to the Wandering Immortal Mountain Range."
Chen Jianghe said calmly, "We'll have to wait for him to return."
"Did you two come looking for me just for this?"
"Of course not. Master wants to invite you to go to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion with him for tonight's auction. I hear there's some really good stuff!"
As Jiang Ruxu spoke, a mysterious expression appeared on her face.
As for Zhuang Xinyan next to her, she kept her head down for almost the entire time, aside from her initial greeting.
She hadn't said another word.
She had a completely different personality from the lively and spirited Jiang Ruxu.
However, Chen Jianghe was also curious.
Wasn't alchemy something that only people with calm and steady personalities pursued?
How could a lively and active girl like Jiang Ruxu have such high talent in alchemy?
Conversely, why would a quiet and simple girl like Zhuang Xinyan blow up the furnace six times out of ten when refining pills?
It was baffling.
Then, Chen Jianghe asked, "Where is Alchemist Zhuang?"
"My master is waiting at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion."
Jiang Ruxu then said mysteriously, "You might not know this, Senior, but you need an invitation to get into this auction at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion."
"One invitation only lets you bring two people. My master went to a lot of trouble to get two invitations."
"Is that so?"
Chen Jianghe smiled.
"Of course! Master heard that Life Extension Pills will be auctioned this time. Many Foundation Establishment Ancestors from various clans have come."
"Life Extension Pills!"
Chen Jianghe was taken aback.
He had read about Life Extension Pills in the [Yun Clan Journal]. They were second-tier, low-grade spirit pills that could extend a cultivator's lifespan.
One Life Extension Pill could extend one's life by ten years.
Most importantly, the effects of the pills were cumulative, but the effect of the second pill would be halved, and each subsequent one would be halved again.
After taking four pills, there would be no more effect.
In truth, even taking a third Life Extension Pill wasn't cost-effective, given their high price.
If one could really take four, they could extend their life by nearly twenty years.
Chen Jianghe didn't need Life Extension Pills. His lifespan was long, even longer than a Foundation Establishment cultivator's.
He was wondering, however.
If he took a Life Extension Pill, would his own lifespan increase, would Xiao Hei's, or would both of their lifespans increase simultaneously?
"Are you going, Senior? The auction starts at the hour of Hai," Jiang Ruxu urged him forthrightly.
This made Zhuang Xinyan nervous, and she tightened her grip on Jiang Ruxu's arm.
In her mind, this was disrespectful to a senior.
Chen Jianghe didn't mind. He was just an eighth-level Qi Refining cultivator; there was no need to act like a true senior.
"Let's go. Time to broaden my horizons."