Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Two Years Passed
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One spirit stone wasn't a small amount, but it wasn't a fortune either.
Old Gao either wanted to use that one spirit stone to ensure Chen Jianghe would look after Gao Peiyao in the future, or he genuinely wanted to help him in the early stages of his cultivation.
Whatever the reason, he couldn't accept this spirit stone.
Gao Peiyao possessed a four-element pseudo spiritual root and had been introduced to the path of cultivation by Old Gao. It wouldn't take long for her cultivation to surpass that of Chen Jianghe and Yu Daniu.
The waters of Mirror Moon Lake weren't particularly dangerous, and Chen Jianghe believed Old Gao would have already told Gao Peiyao everything she needed to know about being a Fishery Farmer for the Yun Clan.
This "looking after" was Old Gao's way of asking for Gao Peiyao to be included in their pact, so they could all support each other in the days to come.
"Old Gao has been good to me, how could I take advantage of his situation? I'll find a chance to return this spirit stone to Gao Peiyao later."
Gao Peiyao was more talented, so her joining their pact was a good thing.
There was no need to tarnish it with petty gains.
Chen Jianghe stayed at Port Number One for another ten days to attend the Fishery Farmer Assembly, which was, as always, full of long-winded speeches and empty promises.
The only thing worth noting was that Yun Bufan would no longer be serving as the deacon of the outer waters. It was said that he was returning to Lakeheart Island for secluded cultivation, preparing to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining.
Yun Bufan was three years older than Chen Jianghe, which meant he was about to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining at the age of twenty-three.
As expected of the one even the Yun Clan's Foundation Establishment Ancestor hailed as a heaven-sent prodigy.
Chen Jianghe was envious, but not jealous. He too had an astonishing trump card.
As for Yu Daniu, he had also surprisingly reached the second level of Qi Refining.
Yu Daniu and Chen Jianghe had become Fishery Farmers for the Yun Clan in the same year. They were both given Spirit Nurturing Pills by the clan.
Logically, Yu Daniu should have needed another year to break through to the second level of Qi Refining.
As for buying Spirit Accumulating Pills...
Yu Daniu's talent in raising Great Bluefish was mediocre, and his annual salary was only about fifty grains of spirit sand.
After deducting annual expenses of ten grains of spirit sand, he would only pocket about forty grains by the end of the year.
The first year was unpaid, and the salary from the following five years combined would barely be enough to buy one Spirit Accumulating Pill.
But one couldn't forget that Yu Daniu still had a bad debt of fifty grains of spirit sand with Wang Kui.
"Old Gao must have also approached Daniu and given him a spirit stone. Daniu must have used that spirit stone along with his savings to buy a Spirit Accumulating Pill, which is why his cultivation broke through to the second level of Qi Refining."
It seemed Old Gao had truly reached the end of his lifespan and was already arranging his affairs.
Whether Yu Daniu used the spirit stone from Old Gao was none of Chen Jianghe's business, but he himself would absolutely not use it.
He had a long life ahead of him. As long as he cultivated steadily, he would have plenty of spirit stones in the future.
If he spent this spirit stone, and Gao Peiyao truly ran into trouble in the future, should he help her or not?
If it were a small matter that could be resolved easily without any karmic repercussions, he would help based on the friendship he had built with Gao Peiyao.
But what if it was a troublesome matter that would entangle him in karma?
It wasn't worth owing a favor for a single spirit stone.
After the Fishery Farmer Assembly ended, Chen Jianghe returned to his own farming waters and began his monotonous life, traveling back and forth between the waters and the port.
Cultivating immortality was to cultivate the true self. The first thing to overcome was the monotony, boredom, and loneliness on the path of cultivation.
He was relatively well-off. When he was truly bored, he could dive into the lake to interact with Xiao Hei and nurture their master-pet bond.
His days were quite fulfilling.
Until half a year later, a white egret brought a letter from Gao Peiyao. It turned out that Old Gao's time had come, and he had passed away.
Gao Peiyao had also written a letter to Yu Daniu.
As friends who had known each other for several years, Chen Jianghe and Yu Daniu arranged to meet Gao Peiyao at Port Number Two.
They performed a water burial for Old Gao, seeing him off on his final journey.
Afterward, Chen Jianghe offered a few words of comfort to Gao Peiyao, telling her to send him a message if she needed anything.
Because Gao Peiyao had been brought by Old Gao and was publicly known as his granddaughter, and also because she had successfully guided qi into her body, opened her dantian's sea of qi, and become a first-level Qi Refining cultivator.
Therefore, after Old Gao's death, farming water 511 was inherited by Gao Peiyao, and she became a junior Fishery Farmer of the Yun Clan.
More than two months passed. As the fish hibernation period approached, Gao Peiyao sent another letter to Chen Jianghe.
The letter stated that Old Gao had left behind five spirit stones after his death, and she wanted to give one to Chen Jianghe and one to Yu Daniu to thank them for helping with Old Gao's funeral arrangements.
Chen Jianghe wrote back and refused.
When junior Fishery Farmers like them died, they didn't get grand funerals. It was just a matter of spending a few dozen taels of silver to buy a high-quality silk mat to wrap the body, then tying on heavy stones and sinking it into the lake.
What was there to be so thankful for?
Besides, if Gao Peiyao had really wanted to share the spirit stones, why didn't she mention it in person during Old Gao's water burial?
Instead, she only brought it up two months later.
This was clearly a test to see what Chen Jianghe's and Yu Daniu's attitudes toward her were after Old Gao's death.
Chen Jianghe wasn't angry about this. On the contrary, he admired Gao Peiyao's approach. He would have done the same in her position.
If they had replied with an interest in the spirit stones, it would have shown they had improper intentions, coveting the wealth a friend left for his orphan. They would be untrustworthy for a deep friendship, and there would be no need to associate with them in the future.
He just didn't know if this was Gao Peiyao's own idea or something Old Gao had advised her to do before he died.
If Gao Peiyao had thought of it herself, with such cunning and talent, she might one day be able to leave Mirror Moon Lake.
In his reply, Chen Jianghe also advised Gao Peiyao not to go out to do odd jobs during the fish hibernation period, and not to believe any claims in the market about making quick spirit stones.
Old Gao had once mentioned that some female Fishery Farmers in the outer waters, unable to resist the temptation of spirit stones, took up part-time work at the Misty Rain Pavilion in the market.
Not only did they ruin their foundation, but they also damaged their bodies. Although they earned seven or eight, or even a dozen spirit stones in a short time.
But in the end, due to the loss of their primordial yin and various ailments brought on by their part-time work, they were unable to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining for the rest of their lives.
These were all Old Gao's words, now relayed by Chen Jianghe to caution Gao Peiyao.
It was also possible that Old Gao had already told Gao Peiyao about these things.
Time flew by, and several more months passed.
They had a small gathering at the Joyful Inn. It was still the three of them, only Old Gao had been replaced by Gao Peiyao. They discussed the problems they encountered in their cultivation and shared what they had seen and heard over the past year.
From the conversation between Gao Peiyao and Yu Daniu, Chen Jianghe deduced that Yu Daniu had also not accepted Gao Peiyao's offer to share the spirit stones.
Looking at it now, Yu Daniu's use of the spirit stone from Old Gao was likely because he considered it a sincere gesture of help from the old man.
He had no other intentions.
After getting along for many years, he had a clear understanding of Yu Daniu's character.
Honest and simple-minded, his usual carefree demeanor was a cover for the insecurity that came with being a low-level cultivator.
——
Time flowed on, passing in the blink of an eye.
Another year passed.
Inside the boat cabin, Chen Jianghe circulated his cultivation art, absorbing the sparse spiritual energy from his surroundings. He guided it into his body, circulated it through his meridians, converted it into mana via his spiritual root, and finally gathered it in his dantian.
After three major cycles of the Guiyuan True Water Art, the qi returned to his dantian, and he slowly concluded his session.
"I still need Spirit Accumulating Pills. Relying solely on the sparse spiritual energy of the outer waters, it would take at least another five years to reach the third level of Qi Refining."
It was true that Mirror Moon Lake had a second-tier, low-grade spirit vein, but it was located on the Yun Clan's ancestral land, Lakeheart Island.
Moreover, the Yun Clan had a great protective array around the island, causing very little spiritual energy to leak out. Even the inner waters barely reached the concentration of a first-tier, mid-grade spirit vein.
The outer waters were only slightly better than a place with no spirit vein at all; they didn't even reach the spiritual energy concentration of a first-tier, low-grade spirit vein.
He stood up and walked to the bow of the boat. The night was fading, and a light was gradually emerging in the east, painting thousands of white clouds red.
On the misty surface of the lake, large boats could be faintly seen sailing along the waterways.
It was time to collect the fish again.