Chapter 182
Chapter 182
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 182
Chapter Title: The Origin of the Profound Heaven Dragon Pattern Rope, Ferry Market City
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“A sixty percent success rate for Sealing Talismans, and fifty-eight percent for Spirit Tracking Talismans. For a high-grade Talisman Master, my success rate should be considered the highest.”
Over the past year, all one hundred and seventy-four sets of high-grade talisman-crafting materials have been used up, and several Azure Feather Talisman Brushes have been worn out.
He had successfully crafted one hundred and five high-grade spirit talismans, bringing his overall success rate to over sixty percent.
Among them were twenty-one Giant Strength Talismans, eighteen Swiftness Talismans, thirty-two Sealing Talismans, and thirty-four Spirit Tracking Talismans.
He hadn't crafted any high-grade protective talismans or high-grade Five Elements escape talismans. Throughout the year, all the spirit talismans he made were high-grade special spirit talismans.
At his current level of talisman crafting, only by creating high-grade special spirit talismans could he polish his fundamentals in preparation for crafting second-tier talismans.
“It’s time to try crafting a second-tier talisman.”
Chen Jianghe thought to himself.
Immediately, he stood up, left the front hall, and walked toward the rear courtyard, where he saw Maoqiu still cultivating diligently.
A look of satisfaction appeared on his face.
After being trained by Xiao Hei, Maoqiu had also learned to cherish its time and even possessed a work ethic uncommon among spirit beasts.
It knew that to obtain resources, it had to put in the work.
This was quite commendable.
When they got to Thousand Mountains Market City, he would need to find some work for them. Otherwise, they would just get into trouble out of boredom.
Maoqiu had now grown to seventeen feet, its cultivation advancing rapidly. It had already absorbed and refined more than half of the third second-tier water-element spirit core.
When Maoqiu took a break from its cultivation, Chen Jianghe had it stop for a moment and brought it into the spirit beast space.
After that, he walked out of the courtyard.
He first went next door to check on Jiang Ruxu and Zhuang Xinyan, asking about their cultivation progress.
He also inquired about whether Jiang Ruxu's alchemy skills had improved.
Jiang Ruxu had been a high-grade Alchemist for ten years, but becoming a second-tier Alchemy Grandmaster required not only an improvement in skill but also a deeper understanding of the Dao of Alchemy.
Thus, Jiang Ruxu was still stuck at the high-grade Alchemist level.
Her previously excellent talent for alchemy had hit a bottleneck, and she was beginning to feel a sense of powerlessness.
It made sense, though.
Alchemist Zhuang's talent for alchemy was also excellent, yet he remained a high-grade Alchemist for forty years before becoming an Alchemy Grandmaster.
Chen Jianghe offered Jiang Ruxu some encouragement before leaving the courtyard.
As for Luo Xiyue's place, Chen Jianghe didn't go looking for trouble.
With Gao Peiyao gone, going to see Luo Xiyue would just be him getting the cold shoulder.
However, just as Chen Jianghe stepped out of Jiang Ruxu and Zhuang Xinyan's courtyard, he saw Luo Xiyue standing in front of his own gate.
It seemed she was about to knock.
“Fellow Daoist Luo.”
Chen Jianghe walked over quickly.
Luo Xiyue slowly turned her head. Her exquisite face, phoenix eyes shimmering, held a cold and arrogant expression.
“Is there something you need, Fellow Daoist?” Chen Jianghe asked.
After all, he still needed Luo Xiyue's help to craft the mask 'Thousand Illusions,' which was quite a treasure.
When worn, it allowed one to change their appearance at will, and could also conceal the face below the eyes, just like Ji Wujin's.
Most importantly, 'Thousand Illusions' could block spiritual sense.
But the crafting materials were extremely rare and hard to find. During his year in seclusion, Yu Daniu had left him messages in his mailbox.
He mentioned that the Hundred Refinements Wood and the Azure Nether Stone were incredibly difficult to locate.
Yu Daniu had even sent people to Multitude Treasures Market City and Immortal Gate Market City, but they couldn't find any trace of the Hundred Refinements Wood or the Azure Nether Stone.
These were resources that couldn't be bought with spirit stones alone.
It was because of these messages from Yu Daniu that Chen Jianghe truly understood the value of Phantom God Jade.
For Gao Peiyao to just give him a piece of second-tier, high-grade spirit material like Phantom God Jade, she either had taken a fancy to him or had a favor to ask of him.
Chen Jianghe knew his own worth; it was clear that the second possibility was the reason for Gao Peiyao's special treatment.
She would have a favor to ask of him in the future.
But this puzzled him. He had always appeared unremarkable, so what could Gao Peiyao possibly need his help with?
“Come with me to Ferry Market City.”
“To Ferry Market City?”
A flicker of confusion crossed Chen Jianghe's eyes as he looked at Luo Xiyue and said, “What are we going to Ferry Market City for?”
“To buy resources,” Luo Xiyue said coolly.
“In that case, could you… wait for me for a moment?”
Chen Jianghe had wanted to suggest that Luo Xiyue go by herself, but meeting her icy gaze, the words died on his lips.
“You may, but not past the first quarter of the Si hour.”
“Why?”
“The Hundred Treasures Pavilion's Mid-Autumn Auction in Ferry Market City begins at a quarter past seven in the evening.”
After speaking, Luo Xiyue turned and returned to her own courtyard.
At that moment, Chen Jianghe remembered that today was the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Hundred Treasures Pavilions in most major market cities held two auctions a year.
One was during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the other on New Year's Eve.
“A trip to Ferry Market City isn't a bad idea. I also need to buy a second-tier talisman brush and materials for crafting the Meteorite Lightningfall Talisman.”
Although he could have the Yu Clan handle such matters, going out with Luo Xiyue offered a great sense of security.
Without daring to delay, Chen Jianghe quickly went to the Yu Clan's estate and found Yu Daniu.
Upon seeing Chen Jianghe, Yu Daniu immediately took out a second-tier water-element spirit core.
“Big Brother, two more third-tier demonic beasts have appeared in Qinghe Market City. The disciples of the Tiannan Sect have already halted their training. Peiyao sent a message saying she has to return to the Tiannan Sect within half a year.”
“It will probably be very difficult to find any more second-tier water-element spirit cores.”
As Yu Daniu spoke, he took out nine thousand spirit stones and handed them to Chen Jianghe along with the spirit core.
“Big Brother, don't refuse. Even brothers must keep clear accounts. Renting out the blessed land was your idea, and those cultivators came to Qiyun Mountain to attempt Foundation Establishment because of your reputation.”
“These nine thousand spirit stones plus the second-tier water-element spirit core come to a total of ten thousand five hundred spirit stones. It's only right that we brothers split the profits evenly.”
Chen Jianghe looked at the spirit stones and spirit core Yu Daniu held out to him. He didn't hesitate to take the second-tier water-element spirit core.
But he didn't immediately accept the spirit stones.
“Big Brother, you're a Foundation Establishment cultivator now. You'll need a lot of spirit stones in the future. Splitting the profits from the spirit stones is already me taking the better end of the deal. Please don't refuse, Big Brother.”
Yu Daniu said in a firm tone.
“Alright, but you have to take these spirit talismans.”
Chen Jianghe took out the one hundred and five high-grade special spirit talismans he had crafted.
Eighteen Swiftness Talismans, market value of two hundred and seventy spirit stones.
Twenty-one Giant Strength Talismans, market value of three hundred and fifteen spirit stones.
Thirty-two Sealing Talismans, market value of six hundred and forty spirit stones.
Thirty-four Spirit Tracking Talismans, market value of one thousand and twenty spirit stones.
Calculated at market price, the total value of these high-grade spirit talismans exceeded two thousand spirit stones.
After accounting for the eighty-five percent market buyback rate and deducting the cost of crafting, Chen Jianghe's income from talisman making in the year after his successful Foundation Establishment was about one thousand three hundred spirit stones.
The profits were quite substantial.
Compared to before his breakthrough, his income had more than doubled.
“Hehe, then I won't be polite with you, Big Brother.”
Yu Daniu nonchalantly accepted Chen Jianghe's spirit talismans, then glanced at the nine thousand spirit stones.
His meaning was self-evident.
*I've taken the talismans, so you can't refuse these spirit stones either.*
Chen Jianghe smiled helplessly and put the nine thousand spirit stones into his storage pouch, which nearly filled it to the brim.
He already had two thousand three hundred and twenty-eight spirit stones in his storage pouch.
With these nine thousand spirit stones, the total in Chen Jianghe's possession reached eleven thousand three hundred and twenty-eight.
This was the first time his spirit stone count had surpassed ten thousand.
He felt a small sense of delight.
Afterward, Chen Jianghe chatted with Yu Daniu for a while longer before leaving the Yu Clan's estate and heading towards Luo Xiyue's villa.
He learned from Yu Daniu that the business of renting out blessed lands had begun to collapse dramatically. Now, it was difficult to get even one elderly cultivator to attempt Foundation Establishment in a month.
Since the blessed land rentals began, over a hundred cultivators had come to Qiyun Mountain to attempt Foundation Establishment.
But only eight had succeeded.
The success rate was not even one in ten.
Even so, Qiyun Mountain's reputation as a blessed land had been firmly established.
After all, these were all elderly cultivators attempting Foundation Establishment. For eight out of nearly one hundred and ten to succeed was already quite impressive.
But as the hype surrounding Chen Jianghe's Foundation Establishment at the age of eighty faded.
The minds of those elderly cultivators gradually cleared. Looking back, most of the successful ones had taken Life Extension Pills or Visage Retaining Pills.
Some even had Foundation Establishment Pills to save their lives.
Most of the failed elderly cultivators were rogue cultivators who had gotten carried away by the excitement—truly elderly cultivators.
Without Foundation Establishment Pills, their success rate was naturally abysmally low.
Of course, there was one lucky rogue cultivator, seventy years old, who hadn't taken any Life Extension Pills or Visage Retaining Pills.
He didn't even have a Foundation Establishment Pill.
Yet he succeeded.
Normally, achieving Foundation Establishment at seventy would have made a name for him in the Tiannan Region, but with Chen Jianghe, the old man who achieved Foundation Establishment at eighty, this seventy-year-old's success seemed much more acceptable to people.
Yu Daniu also shared a piece of happy news with Chen Jianghe.
Yu Qirui already had three sons.
He had been married for only a year and a half, yet he had three sons and one daughter.
Chen Jianghe's first thought was that Yu Qirui had taken concubines, but that was normal. As the sole heir of the Yu Clan.
It would be stranger if Yu Qirui *didn't* take concubines.
As the first patriarch of the Yu Clan, Yu Qirui's mission was to become a stud, relentlessly siring heirs for the Yu Clan.
For the Yu Clan, taking concubines for Yu Qirui was a trivial matter.
As soon as the news was announced, the cultivation families in the small towns around Qiyun Mountain would arrange to send their eligible daughters over.
Opportunities to form ties with the Yu Clan were few and far between.
For those small cultivation families, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
If one of them could give birth to an heir with excellent spirit root talent for Yu Qirui, that child would be guaranteed a high-ranking elder position in the Yu Clan in the future.
It was just that these children had only recently been born, so their spirit root quality was still unknown.
But as long as they could be born, it was a good start.
Yu Qirui was a cultivator, and his wives and concubines were also cultivators. As long as they could have children, the chances of them possessing spirit roots were quite high.
Generally speaking, the most difficult thing for cultivators was conceiving.
This made Chen Jianghe marvel at the potent 'talent' of the Yu Clan.
“Hm? A letter from Ruan Tieniu.”
As Chen Jianghe passed by his courtyard gate, his spiritual sense swept over the mailbox and found a letter from Ruan Tieniu.
It wasn't there when he first came out of seclusion, so it must have been delivered by someone from the Yu Clan just now.
Yun Siniu was in seclusion, preparing to attempt Foundation Establishment.
So this letter must have been delivered by a descendant of the Yu Clan's branch family, that is, Yu Daniu's younger brother's line.
Chen Jianghe opened the letter and glanced at the contents.
It turned out that Ruan Tieniu had heard about Chen Jianghe's successful Foundation Establishment and said he had prepared a generous gift for him in Thousand Mountains Market City.
He claimed it would definitely be a pleasant surprise for Chen Jianghe.
He hoped Chen Jianghe could make his way to Thousand Mountains Market City as soon as possible.
After reading the letter, Chen Jianghe turned it to dust, letting the fragments scatter in the wind.
He wasn't particularly looking forward to Ruan Tieniu's "generous gift."
As for the opportunities Ruan Tieniu mentioned, they were all just ploys to get him to ask Luo Xiyue to help modify the Profound Heaven Dragon Pattern Rope.
Knock, knock-knock!
Chen Jianghe knocked on the gate of Luo Xiyue's courtyard.
After about ten breaths, Luo Xiyue, dressed in a light cyan long dress, gracefully walked out of the gate and glanced at Chen Jianghe.
With a wave of her fair hand, a spirit boat appeared.
The two of them flew onto it, and it instantly transformed into a streak of red light, disappearing over the horizon.
It struck Chen Jianghe as odd that an ice beauty like Luo Xiyue would use a red spirit boat.
However, he didn't ask.
Ferry Market City was on the south side of the Heaven-Reaching River, seven thousand miles northeast of Qiyun Mountain.
This was why, despite Ferry Market City being one of the ten major market cities in the Tiannan Region, cultivators from Mirror Moon Lake and Qiyun Mountain preferred to go to Qinghe Market City.
The great distance introduced many uncertain factors.
Even on Luo Xiyue's spirit boat, it would take three full hours to reach Ferry Market City.
If they were to take a large ship, it would likely take over a month of sailing on the river.
On the spirit boat, Luo Xiyue sat cross-legged with her eyes closed in meditation.
Chen Jianghe thought about Ruan Tieniu's request. After a moment of contemplation, he decided to ask about it first.
Whether it worked out or not, at least he would have an answer for Ruan Tieniu when he got to Thousand Mountains Market City.
“Fellow Daoist Luo.”
“Hm?”
Luo Xiyue didn't open her eyes. With her back to Chen Jianghe, she made a soft sound of acknowledgment.
“Could I ask you to modify a dharma artifact… for spirit stones.”
Chen Jianghe asked with a smile.
“The Silver Moon Flowing Wave Sword is the most suitable for you. It needs no modification.”
Luo Xiyue frowned slightly and added, “I do not modify high-grade dharma artifacts, nor top-tier dharma artifacts available on the market.”
“There’s a chance.”
Chen Jianghe thought to himself.
From Luo Xiyue's words, he could tell that she disdained modifying the top-tier dharma artifacts commonly found on the market.
It made sense. The top-tier dharma artifacts Luo Xiyue crafted all possessed powerful special abilities.
Why would she lower herself to modify ordinary top-tier dharma artifacts?
“To be honest, I'm asking for a fellow Daoist. You know him as well—it's Ruan Tieniu, who left Qinghe Market City with us last time.”
“I'm not sure if the Profound Heaven Dragon Pattern Rope he has is…”
“Profound Heaven Dragon Pattern Rope?”
Luo Xiyue slowly turned around, a glint in her phoenix eyes. She asked, “The demonic artifact, Profound Heaven Dragon Pattern Rope?”
“Demonic artifact?”
Chen Jianghe was stunned. This was the first time he had ever heard the term 'demonic artifact'.
“Is it the same Profound Heaven Dragon Pattern Rope that was in the hands of the demonic cultivator Lan Tianxiang?” Luo Xiyue asked.
“Yes.”
Chen Jianghe was surprised that Lan Tianxiang was so famous that even a powerful Foundation Establishment cultivator like Luo Xiyue knew of him.
But then he remembered that Lan Tianxiang had also caused trouble in Qinghe Market City, and it all made sense.
“Five thousand spirit stones.” Luo Xiyue’s cherry-red lips parted slightly, uttering a number that astonished Chen Jianghe.
“Five thousand spirit stones?”
Chen Jianghe was dumbfounded.
It was just modifying a top-tier dharma artifact, not asking her to craft one from scratch with her own materials. Even if she provided the materials and crafted it herself, it couldn't possibly cost five thousand spirit stones.
“The Profound Heaven Dragon Pattern Rope was once a top-tier dharma artifact, nearly a magic treasure, that my master crafted for a False Core senior.”
Luo Xiyue shot Chen Jianghe a look from her elegant eyes. “If my master hadn't been the one to craft it, even ten thousand spirit stones wouldn't be enough.”
“…”
Chen Jianghe was stunned.
Over fifty years ago, when he was still a humble Fishery Farmer at Mirror Moon Lake, he had heard the legends of Lan Tianxiang.
The patriarch of the Lan Clan, who in his youth had luckily stumbled into a Foundation Establishment cultivator's cave residence and inherited their legacy.
Only later was it revealed that this Foundation Establishment cultivator was a demonic cultivator.
The legacy was also a demonic secret art.
As for the Profound Heaven Dragon Pattern Rope, rumors said it was a high-grade offensive dharma artifact.
At the time, Chen Jianghe was only at the third layer of Qi Refining, and the name Profound Heaven Dragon Pattern Rope just sounded powerful to him.
He later learned that a high-grade offensive dharma artifact was just that—it didn't deserve a name.
Even an ordinary top-tier dharma artifact wouldn't have a name if its spirituality was too low.
Furthermore, later rumors claimed that Lan Tianxiang had robbed the Qiyun Mountain market city and later had someone reforge it into a top-tier dharma artifact.
Now, it seemed those rumors were deliberately spread by Lan Tianxiang himself.
The Profound Heaven Dragon Pattern Rope was an extremely powerful top-tier dharma artifact from the very beginning.
What he hadn't expected was that this Profound Heaven Dragon Pattern Rope was actually crafted by Luo Xiyue's master.
“Your master crafts dharma artifacts for demonic cultivators too?”
Chen Jianghe asked curiously.
The moment the words left his mouth, he felt a chill inside the spirit boat. Luo Xiyue's icy gaze fell upon him.
“What is a demonic cultivator?”
“If we judge by the killing of living beings, then righteous cultivators have killed far more than demonic cultivators.”
“If we judge by the cultivation of demonic secret arts, which of those righteous cultivators doesn't have one or two such arts up their sleeve?”
“Peiyao has cultivated demonic secret arts, and so have I. By that measure, we are also demonic cultivators.”
Luo Xiyue seemed to have a strong reaction to the term 'demonic cultivator.' Usually a woman of few words, she had spoken so much at once.
After she finished, she ignored Chen Jianghe and turned her back to him again.
“What a coincidence, I've cultivated demonic secret arts too,” Chen Jianghe thought to himself.
He said nothing more.
He had gotten the answer he wanted.
As long as Luo Xiyue was willing to help Ruan Tieniu modify the Profound Heaven Dragon Pattern Rope, Chen Jianghe could deepen his friendship with Ruan Tieniu.
He could also ask Ruan Tieniu to help him with some things within his capabilities.
Five thousand spirit stones.
That was an astronomical sum.
He didn't know if Ruan Tieniu could afford that many spirit stones.
Ruan Tieniu had no special skills and could only risk his life for resources. How many spirit stones he earned was entirely up to luck.
But Luo Xiyue had already named her price of five thousand spirit stones.
And that was only because her master had been the one to craft the Profound Heaven Dragon Pattern Rope; otherwise, ten thousand wouldn't have been enough.
Even if Ruan Tieniu couldn't afford it, there was nothing Chen Jianghe could do to help.
This was five thousand spirit stones, not five hundred.
“If modifying the Profound Heaven Dragon Pattern Rope costs five thousand spirit stones, then how much is my Silver Moon Flowing Wave Sword worth?”
“And what about the Profound Ice Battle Armor?”
Chen Jianghe looked at Luo Xiyue's back and felt that this ice beauty was surprisingly reliable. When repaying a favor, she didn't cut any corners.
More than three hours passed.
The spirit boat entered a thick bank of clouds and mist. After passing through it, a deep and long canyon could be seen below.
It was at this moment that Chen Jianghe felt several lines of spiritual sense brazenly sweep over the spirit boat.
Luo Xiyue's eyes snapped open, and a powerful wave of magical power emanated from her body, causing the probing spiritual senses to retreat instantly.
“Fellow Daoist, what was that just now?”
Chen Jianghe's eyes showed surprise. He had never seen any cultivator dare to release their spiritual sense so recklessly.
He had never encountered such a thing, whether at Mirror Moon Lake or in Qinghe Market City.
“We are passing over the Serene Valley,” Luo Xiyue said.
“Were those robber cultivators?”
Chen Jianghe asked.
“No, they are people from the Serene Valley.”
“Do people from the Serene Valley dare to scan others with their spiritual sense so brazenly?” Chen Jianghe asked, confused.
“It's fine. We were the ones who entered the airspace above the Serene Valley first.”
Luo Xiyue said nonchalantly.
“Uh…”
Chen Jianghe was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly remembered that the Serene Valley was a large black market. How could they allow other cultivators to fly over their territory so freely?
“Why didn’t we go around?”
“Too much trouble.”
“…”
Chen Jianghe rolled his eyes.
He had thought the other party was being aggressive, but he was wrong. The fact that they didn't attack them directly already made them charitable souls.
He was starting to wonder how someone with Luo Xiyue's cold, arrogant, and inflexible personality even survived in the cultivation world.
Wasn't she afraid of offending a Core Formation expert?
The master of the Serene Valley was a Core Formation expert. Barging into their territory like this was just asking for trouble.
Fortunately, the master of the Serene Valley was kind-hearted and didn't bother with juniors like them. Otherwise, they would have been captured by a Core Formation expert.
Then there would be no one to cry to.
At this point, Chen Jianghe was even considering whether he should travel with Luo Xiyue to Thousand Mountains Market City.
She was a walking troublemaker who had no concept of keeping a low profile!
The sense of security he felt being with her instantly plummeted.
After passing the Serene Valley, they soon arrived at Ferry Market City, as the two places were only about three hundred miles apart.
Ferry Market City was different from Qinghe Market City. There were no tall, imposing city walls here. Looking down from the clouds, it looked like a collection of scattered villages and towns connected together.
But there were many cultivators here, even more than in Qinghe Market City.
This was because it was one of the two major ferry crossings over the Heaven-Reaching River.
The Heaven-Reaching River was seventy thousand miles long, stretching across the Tiannan Region from east to west, dividing the vast and boundless region into north and south.
At its widest point, it could be eight hundred miles across, and even at its narrowest, it was three hundred miles wide.
Ferry Market City was built at this narrowest point, with its territory on both banks of the Heaven-Reaching River.
To cross the Heaven-Reaching River, one either had to have a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation and a spirit boat to fly directly across.
Or they had to obediently take a treasure ship from the ferry crossing.
Violent astral winds raged above the Heaven-Reaching River, ferocious demonic beasts lurked within its waters, and powerful birds of prey circled in the sky above.
Among them were many second-tier demonic beasts, so to cross the Heaven-Reaching River, one had to take a treasure ship from Ferry Market City.
Luo Xiyue put away the spirit boat, and she and Chen Jianghe landed in Ferry Market City.
“Don't look around. Ferry Market City is where you'll find the most robber cultivators,” Luo Xiyue transmitted her voice to him.