Chapter 168
Chapter 168
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 168
Chapter Title: Profound Ice Sword Art, the Might of Fairy Luo
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"Boss Duan, is that the Chen Jianghe you were talking about?"
A dashing, unrestrained, and handsome young man watched the spirit boat swiftly flying into the Eastern Region.
Looking at Duan Tiande beside him, he said, "The great treasure he's carrying probably isn't as valuable as this spirit boat, is it?"
Small spirit boats were different from the flying vessels that traveled between market cities. They were more compact and much faster.
They also possessed a certain degree of defensive capability.
Usually, only the core disciples of the Tiannan Sect or the key direct descendants of the four great immortal clans would possess a small spirit boat.
Even someone as noble as him didn't own a small spirit boat.
Not even a low-grade one.
"Young Master Qingming, your eyes are as sharp as torches. That is indeed Chen Jianghe. Ji Wujin from Qinghe Market City said he had a great treasure, and it seems that treasure is this very spirit boat."
Duan Tiande looked at the handsome young man, his expression changing to one of fawning as he smiled. "Chen Jianghe has some connections with the Yu Clan of Qiyun Mountain and Gao Peiyao, a Foundation Establishment disciple of the Tiannan Sect."
"But he is undoubtedly a rogue cultivator."
"That male Foundation Establishment cultivator is also a rogue cultivator, originally a demon hunter from Qinghe Market City."
"As for that woman... I don't know her origins. If she's also a rogue cultivator, then this spirit boat must belong to Chen Jianghe, which would be the great treasure Ji Wujin mentioned."
Young Master Qingming executed a secret art, gathering spiritual power at his temples. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he gazed at the distant spirit boat.
He then said calmly, "The cold, beautiful woman is not from one of the four great immortal clans."
"However, is the Ji Wujin you mentioned from the Artifact Refining Immortal Ji Clan of the Western Region?"
"Probably not. You'll be able to tell once you see him, Young Master Qingming. I imagine he's already trailing behind the spirit boat by now."
As the spirit boat drew closer, Duan Tiande glanced at the spirit net over the Luo Xing River. His previous arrangements had been for naught.
He hadn't expected the great treasure in their possession to be a spirit boat.
"Should we intercept them?" Duan Tiande asked.
The spirit boat was incredibly fast. In the mere three breaths it took for them to speak, it had already entered the Eastern Region and was now above the Luo Xing River.
If they didn't decide soon, they would miss the optimal moment and be left far behind by the spirit boat.
"Intercept."
Young Master Qingming nodded, then looked at a plainly dressed middle-aged man behind him and said, "Uncle Mu, you coordinate with Boss Duan."
"Yes, Young Master."
Seeing that Young Master Qingming had made up his mind, Duan Tiande no longer hesitated and looked at the Fifth Chieftain, Chen Feng, behind him.
"Fifth Brother, go and stop that spirit boat."
"Ah~!"
Chen Feng was stunned. He looked at Duan Tiande in astonishment and asked in disbelief, "Me?"
"Yes. Coordinate with Fellow Daoist Mu, and you can stop this flying vessel." Duan Tiande's eyes turned cold, feeling his authority had been challenged, and he glared at Chen Feng.
"...This... alright, alright~"
Watching the rapidly approaching spirit boat, Chen Feng had no choice but to brace himself and go. He summoned a top-grade flying sword into his hand.
He also wore a suit of high-grade defensive armor over his deep cyan robes.
On the spirit boat.
Chen Jianghe sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, resting his mind.
Feeling the speed of the spirit boat, he knew they would reach Mirror Moon Lake in half an hour at most. It was a hundred times faster than a large ship.
The large ships made frequent stops, traveling just over two hundred li a day on the Luo Xing and Youxian Rivers. It took ten days to get from Mirror Moon Lake to Qinghe Market City.
Luo Xiyue's spirit boat could make the journey from Qinghe Market City to Mirror Moon Lake in an hour and a half.
This speed might seem only slightly faster than a Foundation Establishment cultivator flying at full power, but one mustn't forget that a flying spirit boat consumed no spiritual power.
As long as there were enough spirit stones, it could fly indefinitely.
Most importantly, it was safe.
The shorter the journey to Mirror Moon Lake, the safer it was.
Suddenly.
Just as Chen Jianghe was lost in thought with his eyes closed, spiritual power erupted from Luo Xiyue, and an icy chill enveloped the entire spirit boat.
"Fairy Luo, what's wrong?"
Both Chen Jianghe and Ruan Tieniu were taken aback. They shot to their feet and looked at Luo Xiyue in confusion.
Luo Xiyue stood up, her slender, jade-like hand summoning an icicle-like longsword that radiated a bone-chilling cold.
"There are bandits."
Just as Luo Xiyue's voice fell, an attack struck. A sword qi, like a rainbow, viciously stabbed at the spirit boat's light shield.
Boom~
The metal-attribute sword gleam shattered the spirit boat's defensive light shield in an instant.
Immediately after, a long vine shot out. The moment it touched the spirit boat, it burst with dense life force and began to grow wildly, wrapping around the boat and pulling it toward the ground.
"Courting death!"
Ruan Tieniu's expression changed. Gone was his usual honest demeanor, replaced by a fierce gaze fixed on the vine encasing the spirit boat.
He leaped up and violently tore at the vine with his bare hands.
Luo Xiyue waved the icicle longsword in her hand, freezing the vine that enveloped the spirit boat. With a touch of her spiritual power, it instantly shattered, scattering icy wood fragments across the sky.
"They're here."
Chen Jianghe thought to himself.
In that instant, he took out four second-tier talismans and concealed them in his chest, ready to use at a moment's notice.
"Xiao Hei, get ready to act." Chen Jianghe sent a mental message to prepare Xiao Hei.
"Fellow Daoists, we only want..."
Chen Feng and Uncle Mu flew before the spirit boat, looking at Ruan Tieniu, who radiated a fierce aura, and then at Luo Xiyue, who seemed to stand proudly amidst ice and snow.
Chen Feng immediately began to speak, intending to let them go and only keep Chen Jianghe.
But before he could finish his sentence.
He saw Luo Xiyue fly off the spirit boat with her Remnant Snow Sword in hand. Snowflakes filled the air in a ten-zhang radius as a cold light flashed from the blade.
The snowflakes transformed into countless icicles, shooting toward Fifth Chieftain Chen Feng and Uncle Mu.
"That's not right! It's the Profound Ice Sword Art..."
Uncle Mu's expression changed drastically. He immediately summoned a top-grade defensive artifact and retreated rapidly.
Vines grew around his body, sweeping away the incoming icicles and snowflakes.
Bang, bang, bang~
Each snowflake was like a sharp blade, severing the vines and striking the shield of Uncle Mu's top-grade defensive artifact.
With every impact, a layer of white frost covered the shield, as if it were about to freeze over at any moment.
"Frigid River Snow~"
Luo Xiyue brandished her Remnant Snow Sword. Sword qi scattered, condensing into hundreds of ice shards in the air that rained down like a storm.
"Young Master, save me!"
Uncle Mu yelled.
His top-grade defensive artifact was frozen solid, and even the vines around his body had turned into ice sculptures. Uncle Mu wanted to shatter the profound ice, but he lacked a top-grade offensive artifact.
Suddenly, a blazing fire spread for hundreds of meters, shielding Uncle Mu from the attack range of the Profound Ice Sword Art.
"Boss..."
Before Fifth Chieftain Chen Feng could finish his cry, the high-grade defensive armor on his body was pierced by the icicles.
A sweep of the top-grade offensive artifact in his hand only blocked a few ice swords before he was overwhelmed by the blizzard of snowflakes and ice blades.
All signs of life vanished.
Chen Jianghe watched Luo Xiyue standing in the air and couldn't help but swallow. She had repelled two Foundation Establishment cultivators with a single strike.
One dead, one injured.
If someone hadn't intervened to save that wood-attribute cultivator, he too would have likely died miserably under 'Frigid River Snow'.
"Brother Chen, this companion of yours is incredible. She actually has an offensive sword art!" Ruan Tieniu's eyes were wide with shock as he subconsciously sent a mental message.
Chen Jianghe had no time to deal with Ruan Tieniu. He was tempted to release Xiao Hei just to see if it could withstand Luo Xiyue's sword art.
"The Profound Ice Sword Art?"
Young Master Qingming frowned, glanced at Duan Tiande, then sent a mental message to Uncle Mu. They left swiftly, without a trace of hesitation.
"Boss, Young Master Qingming ran off. Should we...?"
"..."
Duan Tiande didn't respond to Lu Shisan. He instantly summoned his flying sword and fled at top speed.
"The Profound Ice Sword Art? How could such a sword art appear here?"
Ji Wujin, riding his large, flying white rat, had already summoned his artifact. But after seeing Luo Xiyue's attack, he put it away again.
He was somewhat speechless.
It was one thing for a mid-grade spirit boat to appear in this rundown place, but for a profound and esoteric offensive sword art like the Profound Ice Sword Art to show up as well...
"No, according to the Ji Clan's rules, once I've made a move, I can't return empty-handed."
Ji Wujin gently patted the large rat's neck. "Baobao, prepare your defenses."
Then, Ji Wujin shouted, "Who dares harm my dear friend!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~
The pure white rat flapped its wings and caught up to the spirit boat.
Chen Jianghe and Ruan Tieniu were still in shock when they suddenly heard Ji Wujin's voice and turned to look.
Seeing Ji Wujin flying over on a large, winged rat struck them as rather comical.
"Brother Chen, you certainly have a wide circle of friends!"
Ruan Tieniu couldn't help but exclaim upon seeing Ji Wujin arrive to help. He was thoroughly impressed by Chen Jianghe's connections.
Luo Xiyue, an artifact refining grandmaster who practiced a profound sword art.
Gao Peiyao, a Foundation Establishment disciple of the Tiannan Sect.
Zhuang Yanfeng, an alchemy grandmaster.
And now, Ji Wujin, a high-grade puppet master and a Foundation Establishment cultivator, also turned out to be Chen Jianghe's close friend.
"Hmph, they were lucky to get away so fast. Daring to ambush my dear friend... I'll remember this."
Ji Wujin stood on the rat's back and cursed hatefully.
"Are you alright, Fellow Daoist?" Ji Wujin's concerned gaze didn't seem feigned.
Chen Jianghe looked at Ji Wujin's concerned face, took a deep breath, and then broke into a smile.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist, for coming from so far to help. I am fine." Chen Jianghe clasped his hands in gratitude.
His words were filled with genuine emotion and sincere gratitude.
"As long as you're fine, that's all that matters."
Ji Wujin's tense expression relaxed considerably, and he let out a sigh of relief. He then turned to Ruan Tieniu and smiled. "Fellow Daoist Ruan, we meet again. I haven't had the chance to congratulate you on your successful Foundation Establishment."
"Haha, the pleasure is mutual. Congratulations to you as well, Fellow Daoist."
A glint of understanding flashed in Ruan Tieniu's eyes. From Chen Jianghe's remark about him "coming from so far to help," he had guessed Ji Wujin's true intentions.
However, the smile on his face remained unchanged.
"This must be Fairy Luo. I never expected you to have cultivated the Profound Ice Sword Art." Ji Wujin greeted Luo Xiyue with a cheerful smile.
Luo Xiyue's ethereal figure landed on the spirit boat. She gave Ji Wujin a cool glance before turning away.
She had no intention of acknowledging him.
"Is he your enemy?"
At that moment, Luo Xiyue's crisp voice entered Chen Jianghe's ears.
"I owe you a favor. I can help you injure him severely."
Chen Jianghe was surprised by Luo Xiyue's mental message. He replied, "Since you believe he's my enemy, Fairy, why not help me kill him?"
"I can't kill him."
"That rat is an exotic beast, a Treasure-Seeking Rat. It's mid-tier second-rank, and its burst speed is faster than the spirit boat. Moreover, he has the aura of a talisman treasure on him."
"..."
Chen Jianghe was shocked to hear Luo Xiyue's words.
He never thought Ji Wujin would have so many trump cards.
A talisman treasure?
That was a talisman only a third-tier Talisman Master could craft. It was like a special magic treasure, allowing one to retreat unscathed even when facing a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.
And that large rat was an exotic Treasure-Seeking Rat.
The *Qinghe Annals* had records of Treasure-Seeking Rats. They were innately gifted wind-attribute exotic beasts with a fourth-grade, high-tier bloodline, and they were exceptionally sensitive to the aura of treasures.
"Ji Wujin is trying to bait me. The Treasure-Seeking Rat must have smelled a treasure's aura on me. But I don't have any treasures, do I?"
"Xiao Hei is a spirit beast, not a treasure. Could it be the aura of the Three Revolutions Demon Ascension Art he's cultivating?"
"No, that's not right either. Xiao Hei has always been in the spirit beast space of the Spirit Beast Ring or a spirit beast pouch. How could the Treasure-Seeking Rat have detected him?"
While Chen Jianghe was lost in thought.
Ji Wujin wasn't the least bit embarrassed by Luo Xiyue ignoring him. He still wore a broad smile.
He looked at Chen Jianghe and said, "Fellow Daoist, after we part ways this time, I don't know when we'll meet again. It seems our transaction will have to happen sooner than planned."
"What transaction?"
Chen Jianghe spread his hands, feigning ignorance.
"Hehe, can you really not guess, Fellow Daoist?"
Ji Wujin chuckled. "If you're unwilling to make the trade, Fellow Daoist, then I'll be on my way."
"How many spirit stones?"
Chen Jianghe asked.
"As expected, you figured it out. Since you have, you should also know how precious this secret is."
At this point, Ji Wujin had switched to a mental message, but he still held up three fingers.
"Three thousand spirit stones."
"I don't have it." Chen Jianghe replied bluntly.
"It seems you truly don't wish to know the secret of Foundation Establishment." Ji Wujin sent the message, gently patted the Treasure-Seeking Rat, and prepared to leave.
"But I really don't have three thousand spirit stones."
Chen Jianghe said helplessly, "Thanks to you, Fellow Daoist, I now only have eighty-one spirit stones and sixty spirit grains on me."
"Bastard, are you crazy or am I?"
A surge of anger rose in Ji Wujin's heart. He felt that Chen Jianghe was toying with him.
Otherwise, why would a high-grade Talisman Master constantly talk about spirit grains?
That was a currency used only by the lowest-level cultivators.
The spiritual energy in spirit grains couldn't even be absorbed and refined.
"Spirit grains, spirit grains! Do you think I'm easy to bully, Fellow Daoist?"
"But I really do have sixty spirit grains on me." Chen Jianghe was speechless. He sensed that Ji Wujin had some aversion to spirit grains.
"Don't mention spirit grains to me again."
Ji Wujin sent an irritated message. If not for his clan's rules, he would have already summoned his talisman treasure and annihilated Chen Jianghe.
"Two thousand eight hundred spirit stones. If you try to haggle any further, I'm leaving. Even if it means breaking the clan rules, I'll disown you as my dear friend."
"Dear friend?"
Chen Jianghe was puzzled. When had he and Ji Wujin become such dear friends?
It seemed that ever since they collaborated on alchemy, he had somehow become Ji Wujin's dear friend.
But what kind of dear friend spends all day trying to bait the other?
"I don't know if the secret of Foundation Establishment you have is real or fake," Chen Jianghe sent via mental message.
"Here's a summary of the secret. You can take a look first."
Ji Wujin took out a jade slip sealed from spiritual sense. To read its contents, one had to first break the light barrier on its surface.
"Toss it over."
"Coward," Ji Wujin cursed inwardly.
But he still tossed the jade slip over.
Witnessing this, Luo Xiyue and Ruan Tieniu knew that Chen Jianghe and Ji Wujin were communicating via mental messages, likely conducting some sort of transaction.
They weren't in a hurry and waited for them to finish.
Chen Jianghe took out a Sealing Talisman, then sent out a stream of spiritual power, keeping the jade slip at a distance of three zhang from himself.
He then broke the spiritual sense barrier on the jade slip and used the Sealing Talisman on it.
This severed the jade slip's spiritual sense connection to the outside world.
With a thread of spiritual power, he drew the jade slip into his hand and checked its contents.
Seeing Chen Jianghe's extreme caution, Ruan Tieniu became even more certain that there was something wrong with the "friendship" between him and Ji Wujin.
He grew wary.
If Ji Wujin made any strange moves, he would immediately summon the Profound Heaven Dragon Pattern Rope... and run!
"There's really a method for a one-hundred-percent successful Foundation Establishment!"
After reading the summary on the jade slip, Chen Jianghe sent a mental message to Ji Wujin: "Two thousand eight hundred spirit stones is acceptable, but I'll need to pay with spiritual items."
"Fine, but it must be at the market's buyback price."
"My buyback price at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion is ninety-eight percent."
"Ninety-five percent."
"Deal."
Chen Jianghe agreed immediately, then held out his hand. The meaning was clear: he wanted the item first before paying.
Ji Wujin glanced at Luo Xiyue, then took out a jade slip and tossed it over.
Chen Jianghe cautiously inspected it first before looking at the contents.
His expression changed, and a smile touched his lips.
"Rest assured, I possess the basic integrity required for a transaction, unlike you, who has lost even the most fundamental trust between cultivators."
Ji Wujin said mockingly.
Chen Jianghe didn't get angry. He began to gather the spiritual items to pay Ji Wujin.
"Fellow Daoist, you should know that with the beast tide outbreak in the Beast Taming Market City, the price of high-grade spirit talismans has skyrocketed. Now that Qinghe Market City is also experiencing a beast tide, the premium is even more unimaginable."
"Fine then, I won't accept spirit talismans as payment," Ji Wujin said.
"But all I have are spirit talismans. If you don't want them, then the deal's off. I'll return this jade slip to you," Chen Jianghe sent via a serious mental message.
"Do you know? In my forty years of traveling, I have never once actively wanted to kill someone. But you, my dear friend, I really want to kill you," Ji Wujin said hatefully.
If it weren't for the clan rule forbidding him from killing a designated dear friend, he would have attacked long ago.
How could he terminate the deal now?
You've already read the contents of the jade slip, and now you're telling me the deal is off? Have you no shame?
"How about this? I'll calculate it based on the market premium, minus twenty percent. That should be acceptable, right?" Chen Jianghe felt that canceling the deal at this point wasn't quite right either.
"Fine," Ji Wujin said through gritted teeth.
"When I become the clan leader, I will definitely change this stupid rule," Ji Wujin silently vowed.
"After the outbreak in the Beast Taming Market City, the peak premium for high-grade protective talismans was one hundred and thirty percent. With the beast tide in Qinghe Market City now, let's calculate it at a one hundred and ten percent premium."
"I'm subtracting twenty percent for you, so that's a ninety percent premium."
"Thirty-seven high-grade protective talismans are worth eight hundred and forty-three spirit stones and sixty spirit grains. Since you don't like spirit grains, let's round it up to eight hundred and forty-four spirit stones."
"Four high-grade Five Elements Escape Talismans, at an eighty percent premium, are worth one hundred and eight spirit stones."
"Ten Godspeed Talismans, let's say a fifty percent premium, that's two hundred and twenty-five spirit stones."
"Five Giant Strength Talismans, also at a fifty percent premium, are one hundred and twelve spirit stones and fifty spirit grains. Rounding up, one hundred and thirteen spirit stones."
"Three Sealing Talismans, at a twenty percent premium..."
"What does the beast tide outbreak have to do with Sealing Talismans?" Ji Wujin glared at Chen Jianghe and said coldly.
"Since you've pointed it out, and we're friends, let's say a friendship price of sixty spirit stones."
At this point, Chen Jianghe paused. That was only one thousand three hundred and fifty spirit stones, and he hadn't even applied the ninety-five percent discount.
He was still far short.
He had no intention of using his second-tier talismans for payment.
Those were his life-saving measures. He could part with anything but his second-tier talismans.
"Three Spirit Gathering Pills, three hundred and sixty spirit stones."
"One second-tier earth-attribute spirit core. Based on the auction price for a second-tier spirit core in Qinghe Market City last time, that's one thousand eight hundred..."
"That was the final price for a special second-tier spirit core."
"Fellow Daoist... sigh, why quibble over such details between friends? Fine, we'll go with the final price for a five-elements attribute second-tier spirit core: one thousand four hundred and eighty spirit stones."
As Chen Jianghe spoke, he shot Ji Wujin a look.
Ji Wujin's face was ashen. If he remembered correctly, one thousand four hundred and eighty spirit stones was the highest final price.
But it didn't matter. He wasn't one to haggle, and he was heading home anyway.
"The total comes to three thousand one hundred and ninety spirit stones. Applying the ninety-five percent discount for you, that's three thousand and thirty spirit stones and fifty spirit grains."
"Let's round it up to three thousand and thirty-one spirit stones. You still need to give me two hundred and thirty-one spirit stones, Fellow Daoist."
Chen Jianghe said, looking at Ji Wujin.
"You're not going to ask me for change before you've even given me the items for payment, are you?" Ji Wujin frowned.
"Thank you for your understanding, Fellow Daoist," Chen Jianghe said with a chuckle.
"Hmph~"
Ji Wujin took out two hundred and thirty-one spirit stones and tossed them over. After catching them, Chen Jianghe took out the spiritual items, wrapped them in spiritual power, and pushed them all across.
Seeing this.
Ji Wujin cursed himself for being blind. He had chosen such a stingy fellow who wouldn't even part with a storage pouch.
Was he worried he would steal his storage pouch?
"The next time we meet, I hope your cultivation hasn't reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment. That way, you'll no longer be qualified to be my dear friend, and then I can kill you!"
With that, Ji Wujin slapped the Treasure-Seeking Rat.
"Baobao, let's go~"
The Treasure-Seeking Rat gave Chen Jianghe a disdainful look, then flapped its wings and carried Ji Wujin away.
Hearing Ji Wujin's parting words, Luo Xiyue slowly turned to face Chen Jianghe. Her cool voice transmitted a mental message.
"You've been designated a 'dear friend' by a direct descendant of the Ji Clan, which means you can successfully reach Foundation Establishment. It's strange... you're already past seventy, yet a direct descendant of the Ji Clan has taken an interest in you."
"However, what he said is true. The next time you meet, if you haven't reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment, he will kill you without mercy."