Chapter 129
Chapter 129
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 129
Chapter Title: Time Flies, Merciless are the Years
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Second Brother, get your hands off me."
The enchanting woman frowned, channeling her spiritual power to fling the skinny middle-aged man's hand away before her almond eyes followed his gaze.
The moment she saw Chen Jianghe, her expression changed.
"It's him!"
"He's the one who killed Sixth Brother. What should we do? Should we make a move on this kid?"
"Make a move in Qinghe Market City? Are you trying to get yourself killed!"
The enchanting woman, called Third Sister, glared at Second Brother, then turned her head away, no longer looking at Chen Jianghe.
But she deliberately passed by Chen Jianghe's side.
Feeling the aura emanating from Chen Jianghe, her heart trembled slightly.
"Ninth level of Qi Refining, and he's emitting a faint tidal aura. It's the same body tempering art as the boss, the Tidal Body Tempering Art. Second Brother, stop staring at him. We're no match for him."
"Besides, didn't you see who's next to that kid?"
It seemed Third Sister was extremely wary of Ruan Tieniu, as she said to Second Brother in a low voice, "This kid is friendly with Boss Ruan, and even our boss is wary of Boss Ruan."
"We've finished gathering information on the demon hunters' expeditions. Let's leave the market city quickly and tell the boss about this kid. Whether we keep an eye on him will be up to the boss to decide."
The enchanting woman and the skinny middle-aged man left the demon hunters' trading area.
Chen Jianghe, however, glanced around, feeling as if someone's gaze was fixed on him, like he was being watched.
He had experienced this same feeling once before at the port of Mirror Moon Market City.
Like he was being targeted.
"Brother Chen, what's wrong?" Ruan Tieniu asked, noticing Chen Jianghe looking around, his eyes sharp rather than curious.
This made him feel that something was amiss.
"It's nothing."
Chen Jianghe shook his head. The feeling had suddenly vanished, and he couldn't find any trace of it, so he had to let it go.
"Brother Ruan, you're not going to have me set up a stall here, are you?"
Looking at the dozens of stalls here, most of them were selling spirit talismans and second-hand magical tools.
As for brand-new magical tools?
They were not allowed to be sold here.
Qinghe Market City could turn a blind eye to these demon hunters, but these demon hunters also had to abide by the rules set by the market city.
Only spirit talismans could be freely traded among demon hunters.
Other cultivation resources were forbidden from being sold here.
Of course, second-hand items were not restricted.
"Of course not."
Ruan Tieniu said, then led Chen Jianghe deeper inside. It didn't take long for them to squeeze through the crowd and arrive in front of a group of rough, burly men.
Their auras were all incredibly powerful, and they had all practiced body tempering arts, which was evident from the auras they emitted.
A few of them were even stronger than Chen Jianghe.
This showed that these cultivators were not only at the ninth level of Qi Refining, but their physical cultivation had also reached the late stage of body tempering or higher.
There were even a few who, like Ruan Tieniu, had reached the stage of a perfected body.
"Boss Ruan."
Seeing Ruan Tieniu arrive, these cultivators all greeted him, calling him Boss Ruan.
Ruan Tieniu was the captain of a demon hunting team.
His team members were all late-stage Qi Refining cultivators.
In the past two years, the demon hunting team had expanded by six or seven members, and now Ruan Tieniu's team had twelve people.
Among them, four were cultivators at the ninth level of Qi Refining.
Ruan Tieniu nodded in response to the demon hunters who greeted him, then walked up to a middle-aged man at the ninth level of Qi Refining, whose body radiated a scorching aura.
"Boss Wang, I brought a brother to introduce to you."
"This is my brother, Chen Jianghe. He's a mid-grade Talisman Master. The mid-grade spirit talismans I sold you before were all crafted by him."
"Brother Chen, this is Boss Wang Kun. His demon hunting team has over forty mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators and over twenty late-stage Qi Refining cultivators."
Ruan Tieniu made the introductions.
Chen Jianghe and Wang Kun sized each other up, then cupped their fists in greeting.
"Brother Chen."
"Boss Wang."
Chen Jianghe noticed that this Wang Kun was also a great cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining with a perfected body.
He was quite puzzled.
Where did these demon hunters get the spirit stones for body tempering?
Just from this one trip to the demon hunters' trading market, he had seen no fewer than five cultivators at the ninth level of Qi Refining with perfected bodies.
However, Chen Jianghe wasn't afraid of these people.
If he could just craft a special magical tool for Maoqiu, he was confident he could beat the crap out of this Wang Kun.
As for Xiao Hei.
Chen Jianghe suspected that even Ruan Tieniu, at the tenth level of Qi Refining, probably couldn't break through Xiao Hei's defense.
With great skill comes great confidence; he naturally didn't fear these demon hunters.
Besides, this was Qinghe Market City. Who would dare cause trouble?
"Brother Chen, you can take out the spirit talismans now," Ruan Tieniu said.
"Forty-two mid-grade Five Elements Escape Talismans."
Chen Jianghe took out forty-two mid-grade Five Elements Escape Talismans from his storage pouch but didn't hand them to Wang Kun.
"Forty-two mid-grade Five Elements Escape Talismans. I'll take them at a ten percent discount, so that's three hundred and forty spirit stones and twenty grains of spirit sand."
"Mazi, get the spirit stones for this brother."
Wang Kun called out to someone behind him, and a cultivator walked over. His face wasn't pockmarked.
He gave Chen Jianghe three hundred and forty spirit stones and twenty grains of spirit sand.
Chen Jianghe handed over the spirit talismans.
"Right, there are also demonic beasts. Brother Chen can buy them from Boss Wang. He's the biggest demonic beast dealer in the demon hunters' trading market."
"Even if you want live demonic beasts, he can get them for you."
Ruan Tieniu said with a chuckle.
"Boss Ruan, you flatter me. If you weren't so focused on Foundation Establishment, you'd probably be the biggest dealer in this demon hunters' market."
Wang Kun cupped his fists and offered a compliment.
It was no secret among the demon hunters that Ruan Tieniu was attempting to reach Foundation Establishment. After all, his aura had already surpassed the ninth level of Qi Refining.
His tenth-level Qi Refining cultivation was naturally impossible to hide.
Even as a major dealer, Wang Kun would give someone like Ruan Tieniu, a tenth-level Qi Refining demon hunter, plenty of face.
"Since Brother Chen is Boss Ruan's brother, there's no need for formalities in the future. If you need anything, just come find me, Wang Kun. I can't say for anything else, but I can get you any demonic beast below the second tier. But live ones are more expensive, haha..."
"As for the price, it will definitely be fair."
Wang Kun said proudly.
Chen Jianghe nodded, then said, "I also need to purchase ten first-tier mid-stage demonic beasts and two first-tier late-stage demonic beasts from Boss Wang, preferably with a bloodline quality of second-grade high."
"Haha, Boss Ruan has introduced me to a big client! I'll treat you at Qingping Teahouse later."
Wang Kun laughed heartily. "Mazi, did you hear Brother Chen's request? Go prepare it!"
"Yes, boss."
Mazi replied and then left, disappearing into the crowd of demon hunters, apparently to collect the demonic beast carcasses Chen Jianghe needed.
"Brother Chen wants beasts with second-grade high bloodlines. The first-tier late-stage demonic beasts will be priced at thirty-four spirit stones each. The first-tier mid-stage ones at sixteen spirit stones each."
"The total is two hundred and twenty-eight spirit stones. With so many demonic beasts, it might be difficult for you to carry them, Brother Chen. I'll have Mazi deliver them to you later, and you can give him the spirit stones then."
"Then I thank you, Boss Wang."
Chen Jianghe cupped his fist and said, "I wonder if Boss Wang could arrange for someone to come to my residence at the beginning of each year to collect talismans and deliver demonic beasts?"
"Certainly," Wang Kun agreed readily.
A short while later, Mazi finished collecting the demonic beasts and left the demon hunters' trading market with Chen Jianghe.
As for Ruan Tieniu, he didn't leave with them but stayed behind in the trading market, likely to prepare for his trip to the Wandering Immortal Mountain Range.
They returned to Qingping Alley and arrived at the courtyard gate.
Mazi handed four storage pouches to Chen Jianghe and then stood outside the gate, not at all worried that Chen Jianghe would run off with them.
As the leader of the largest group of demon hunters in Qinghe Market City, Wang Kun's influence was not to be underestimated. Even the rogue cultivators outside the city wouldn't dare to target him.
Besides, demon hunting teams like Wang Kun's and Ruan Tieniu's would welcome rogue cultivators, as it would be an opportunity for unexpected gains.
Chen Jianghe placed the twelve demonic beasts in his courtyard, then came back out and returned the storage pouches.
He also took out two hundred and twenty-eight spirit stones and gave them to Mazi.
"I'll take my leave."
After receiving the spirit stones, Mazi turned and left.
Chen Jianghe didn't go back into his courtyard. He glanced at the sky; it was almost Shen hour, still a long time before the streets were cleared for the night.
He then headed to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
Alchemist Zhuang had been very accommodating to his requests, so he didn't want to keep him waiting for too long.
Upon arriving at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
The familiar late-stage Qi Refining cultivator came forward to greet him.
He said that Gao Peiyao had given instructions that he could go directly to the fifth floor upon arrival.
It was only then that Chen Jianghe learned the name of this late-stage Qi Refining cultivator from the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
His name was Chen Ping.
He shared the same surname, but in the cultivation world, there was no saying that people with the same surname were from the same family five hundred years ago.
At the seventh level of Qi Refining, he had just been promoted by Gao Peiyao to be the manager of the second floor of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
After becoming the second-floor manager, Chen Ping became even more enthusiastic toward Chen Jianghe.
In his view, his promotion was largely due to his good judgment regarding Chen Jianghe.
As for the relationship between Gao Peiyao and Chen Jianghe.
Chen Ping secretly guessed that it might be more than just a childhood friendship.
But he wasn't foolish enough to spread rumors.
As long as he remained exceptionally respectful to Chen Jianghe during Gao Peiyao's tenure, it would bring him many benefits.
Chen Jianghe arrived on the fifth floor.
Only after the same female cultivator announced his arrival did he enter.
"Fairy Peiyao."
Chen Jianghe greeted Gao Peiyao with a cupped fist salute.
"Ruan Tieniu failed in his attempt at Foundation Establishment. He supposedly had a fifty percent chance of success. Does Brother Jianghe think his own chances are higher than that?"
Gao Peiyao got straight to the point.
Nothing that happened in Qinghe Market City could be hidden from the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, so Ruan Tieniu's attempt at Foundation Establishment was no secret to Gao Peiyao.
Previously, Gao Peiyao didn't know what transaction Chen Jianghe had with Alchemist Zhuang.
But now, through Ruan Tieniu's attempt, she had guessed the nature of the deal between Chen Jianghe and Alchemist Zhuang.
A Foundation Establishment Pill!
"If I'm not mistaken, Brother Jianghe has a low-quality Foundation Establishment Pill, which is why you want to use a Beauty Retaining Pill to postpone the optimal age for Foundation Establishment."
"However, I must remind Brother Jianghe of something. Before one's physical and spiritual cultivation have reached perfection, any so-called chance of success in Foundation Establishment is false. It all comes down to luck."
"What!"
Hearing this, Chen Jianghe was stunned. He looked at Gao Peiyao in disbelief, unable to accept that the chances of Foundation Establishment were actually false.
In other words.
Only when both body tempering and spiritual cultivation reached perfection would the increased chances from the other three Foundation Establishment conditions be considered real.
Otherwise, if only one of the two was satisfied, the so-called success rate was unreliable.
This meant that without the prerequisites of a perfected body and perfected spirit, the increased success rate from a Foundation Establishment Pill was also an illusion; its only real function was to save one's life.
"I can't tell Brother Jianghe too much. This involves too many secrets and implicates many powerful factions."
Gao Peiyao looked at Chen Jianghe and said, "So, even with a Beauty Retaining Pill and a Life Extension Pill, can Brother Jianghe raise his physical and spiritual cultivation to perfection within fifteen years?"
"It's not too late for Brother Jianghe to reconsider. I can exchange the Beauty Retaining Grass for a first-tier Talisman Dao inheritance for you."
"In the future, Brother Jianghe could use this inheritance to establish a clan and become its ancestor."
Chen Jianghe took a deep breath.
He was shocked by Gao Peiyao's words.
So, a perfected body and a perfected spirit were the basic conditions for Foundation Establishment. Otherwise, forcefully attempting it was all a matter of luck.
There was no such thing as a certain percentage of success.
"I want to try. For cultivators like us, our path is a struggle against the heavens. If I were to retreat now, wouldn't I be betraying the very reason I began cultivating?"
Chen Jianghe said, not entirely meaning it.
He could only say this, using the struggle against the heavens as his reason.
After all, with his long lifespan, he wasn't worried at all about whether he could cultivate his body and spirit to perfection.
Fifteen years isn't enough?
Then he'd take thirty!
But he couldn't say that out loud.
At this moment, he could only display an attitude of finding endless joy in fighting against the heavens.
Hearing Chen Jianghe's words, Gao Peiyao found that although it was extremely out of character for him, it made a lot of sense.
Isn't cultivation for longevity?
Isn't it a struggle against the heavens?
"Since Brother Jianghe has made up his mind, I won't insist. I can only wish Brother Jianghe success in achieving Foundation Establishment."
Gao Peiyao said solemnly.
But in her heart, she held no hope for Chen Jianghe's success.
His age was too great.
Even with a Life Extension Pill and a Beauty Retaining Pill to buy him twenty years, he was already sixty-six.
There truly wasn't much time left for him.
Perfecting his body in a dozen years was possible.
But to achieve a perfected spirit, that would require a vast amount of rare treasures.
Back then, she had been lucky enough to obtain a Profound Soul Datura. With the help of her master, Deacon Lan, she had refined it into Soul Crystal Dew.
Only then did she manage to cultivate her spirit to perfection in eight years.
"If he were twenty years younger, he might have been able to raise his spiritual cultivation to perfection by consuming Spirit Nurturing Pills and first-tier, high-grade Spirit Nurturing Liquid over a long period."
However, she had already helped Chen Jianghe a great deal; she couldn't possibly do everything in her power to help him achieve Foundation Establishment.
With that, Gao Peiyao handed the Beauty Retaining Grass to Chen Jianghe and said no more. Everyone had their own path.
Well-intentioned advice might inadvertently ruin someone's opportunity.
It could also invite resentment.
The thread of good karma had been woven. How far he could walk along it would depend on his own fate.
"Brother Jianghe, my term here at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion in Qinghe Market City will be over this Mid-Autumn Festival. We should get together again then."
Gao Peiyao said softly.
"So soon?"
Hearing this, Chen Jianghe lamented how quickly time passed. In the blink of an eye, Gao Peiyao's ten-year term in Qinghe Market City was already over.
He hadn't seen Yu Daniu in ten years either.
Although they corresponded, he didn't know what he looked like now.
Sixty-six years old.
His hair must be streaked with gray by now.