Chapter 222
Chapter 222
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 222
Chapter Title: A Fairy's Favor, a Great Increase in Strength
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"By the way, Brother Jianghe, what brings you to Sister Xiyue? Should I give you two some privacy?"
Gao Peiyao looked at Chen Jianghe with a smile, her clear and lively phoenix eyes holding a hint of teasing.
Evidently, Gao Peiyao had also heard the rumors circulating outside.
As for the source of these rumors, Chen Jianghe had a guess, and he was ninety-nine percent sure he could pinpoint it to a specific person.
"Peiyao."
Luo Xiyue frowned and chided her softly. She did not appreciate such jokes.
She had come out to gain experience and had met Chen Jianghe by chance, which was already against her master's orders. If such rumors were to reach her master's ears...
Even if she had no feelings for Chen Jianghe.
Her master would kill him without a second thought.
"Hehe~"
Gao Peiyao pursed her lips and giggled, walking over to Luo Xiyue and linking her arm through hers, her smile unwavering.
"Peiyao is joking."
Chen Jianghe said calmly, "I wasn't just looking for Fellow Daoist Luo, but for you as well. It's fortunate you're here; it saves me the trouble of searching for you elsewhere."
Hearing Chen Jianghe's words, Gao Peiyao and Luo Xiyue exchanged a glance, their phoenix eyes shimmering with curiosity as they looked at him.
"Brother Jianghe, what did you need us for?"
Gao Peiyao asked.
Without wasting words, Chen Jianghe took out two jade vials he had prepared in advance. Each contained a Soul-Calming Pill.
"This is a second-tier mid-grade spirit pill, the Soul-Calming Pill. It can heal soul injuries, calm the spirit, and clear away distracting thoughts."
With a wave of his hand, Chen Jianghe sent the two jade vials flying toward Gao Peiyao and Luo Xiyue.
"A spirit pill that heals the soul!"
A ripple of surprise appeared deep in Gao Peiyao's eyes. She gave Chen Jianghe a surprised look before composing herself and exclaiming, "A second-tier spirit pill for healing the soul... even within a sect, it's difficult to acquire one."
Gao Peiyao was merely expressing her admiration and did not ask about the origin of the Soul-Calming Pill.
But she did manage to highlight the pill's value.
Was she perhaps intentionally reminding Luo Xiyue how precious this pill was?
Luo Xiyue picked up the jade vial, poured out the Soul-Calming Pill, and examined it closely before saying, "It is indeed valuable."
"Is it enough to offset one matter?" Chen Jianghe quickly followed up on Luo Xiyue's words.
Luo Xiyue shot Chen Jianghe a sideways glance, then turned her head away and said no more.
Listening to their exchange, Gao Peiyao was a bit puzzled, especially by Chen Jianghe's question about offsetting a matter.
She knew Luo Xiyue's personality quite well.
She rarely spoke much with male cultivators.
However, she felt that the conversation between Luo Xiyue and Chen Jianghe was rather intimate, as if there was some other transaction between them.
But she didn't press the issue.
Everyone had their own secrets. No matter how close two people were, they still had their own privacy.
She, too, had a great secret of her own.
"Brother Jianghe, how are your spiritual and physical cultivation coming along?" Gao Peiyao asked.
"My spiritual cultivation is close to reaching the fifth level of the Soul Sea Origin Consolidation Scripture, but I haven't started on the physical cultivation technique yet."
Chen Jianghe didn't hide anything, nor did he shy away from Luo Xiyue who was standing nearby. He openly shared his cultivation progress.
Gao Peiyao's question was clear.
She wouldn't take the Soul-Calming Pill for free and would offer some cultivation resources as compensation.
As for the Illusory Spirit Jade, the cultivation techniques, and the other small favors she had given him before, those were all payment for him to enter the secret realm and help her contend for the opportunity to form a core.
"Brother Jianghe, have you looked at the body tempering technique I gave you?" Gao Peiyao asked.
Chen Jianghe nodded. "Peiyao, you've been very thoughtful. The spiritual technique, the Soul Sea Origin Consolidation Scripture, is the Foundation Establishment chapter of the Soul-Suppressing and Spirit-Forging Art."
"And the body tempering technique, the Tidal Marrow Cleansing Art, is the Foundation Establishment chapter of the Tidal Body Tempering Art."
Gao Peiyao had indeed been very considerate.
Whether it was the spiritual cultivation technique or the physical one.
Although they might not be the absolute best.
They were the most suitable for Chen Jianghe.
Because they were both continuations of the techniques he had practiced during the Qi Refining stage.
He didn't need to switch techniques, which not only saved him time but also gave him a foundation to build upon, allowing him to start cultivating them directly.
"This is a Water Spirit Essence Pill. It can help you cultivate the Tidal Marrow Cleansing Art."
Gao Peiyao first took out a Water Spirit Essence Pill, which was refined from the spirit essence of a water spirit.
It was a second-tier high-grade spirit pill, extremely rare and considered a divine pill for cultivating water-attribute body tempering techniques.
Even if not used for cultivating water-attribute body tempering techniques, it could still enhance the cultivation of any cultivator who practiced water-system arts.
This was because the water spirit essence itself was a natural treasure that could absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
The spirit essence pearl, formed from the fusion of water spirit qi and a remnant soul, was a top-tier second-grade natural treasure.
"Peiyao, this is too valuable."
"I don't think it's valuable at all. On the contrary, the Soul-Calming Pill Brother Jianghe gave me is a priceless treasure."
Gao Peiyao said seriously, "I've seen similar spirit pills in my sect, but they were impossible to obtain. This pill from you, Brother Jianghe, fills a gap in my soul defense."
"I'm glad it can help." Hearing Gao Peiyao say this, Chen Jianghe stopped being modest.
He accepted the Water Spirit Essence Pill from Gao Peiyao and put it in his storage bag.
"Brother Jianghe, this piece of Water Spirit Jade is a second-tier high-grade spiritual item. It can also help enhance your physical cultivation."
Gao Peiyao took out another piece of Water Spirit Jade and gave it to Chen Jianghe.
This was another absorbable water-attribute natural treasure of considerable value, which could be used to refine a Spirit Origin Pill.
Of course, it could also be used to refine a Spirit Essence Pill, or even be directly absorbed and refined by Chen Jianghe to cultivate either the Myriad Waters True Scripture or the Tidal Marrow Cleansing Art.
"Alright."
Chen Jianghe nodded and accepted the Water Spirit Jade from Gao Peiyao.
Saying "thank you" at this point would seem too insincere.
It would be more genuine to simply give Gao Peiyao two second-tier high-grade talismans once he had successfully drawn them.
Seeing that Gao Peiyao had given Chen Jianghe two treasures in exchange for one Soul-Calming Pill.
Luo Xiyue seemed to feel that she had been too overbearing.
"I don't know what kind of ice-attribute spell you practice, but since you cultivate a water-system art, you must have an ice source in your dantian to cast ice-attribute spells."
As Luo Xiyue spoke, she took out a Profound Ice Lotus Seed, wrapped it in her spiritual power, and pushed it toward Chen Jianghe.
"This Profound Ice Lotus Seed can be refined into an ice source."
"Thank you."
Chen Jianghe didn't stand on ceremony with Luo Xiyue and accepted the Profound Ice Lotus Seed directly.
What Luo Xiyue said was true.
A Profound Ice Lotus Seed could indeed be refined into an ice source.
The moment he saw the Profound Ice Lotus Seed, he knew it was even more suitable for cultivating Absolute Freeze than ten-thousand-year-old profound ice.
It could even significantly increase the power of Absolute Freeze.
After Chen Jianghe left, Gao Peiyao looked at Luo Xiyue and said with a grin, "Sister Xiyue, aren't you being a little too good to Brother Jianghe? That Profound Ice Lotus Seed is a quasi-third-tier spiritual item."
"If it could be nurtured to sprout, it would grow into a third-tier ice-system spiritual plant. Its value far exceeds that of a Soul-Calming Pill."
"Isn't this exactly what you wanted?"
Luo Xiyue let out a light laugh, as beautiful as a snow lotus blooming on an icy mountain under the bright sun, noble and inviolable.
"You kept emphasizing the value of the Soul-Calming Pill and gave him treasures that surpassed its worth. Weren't you just hoping I would help him out as well?"
"Hehe~ Sister, you truly have a discerning eye." Gao Peiyao winked playfully.
Gao Peiyao truly wanted to help her young friend, Chen Jianghe.
She was also curious to see what kind of secrets Chen Jianghe held and how far he could go on the path of cultivation.
She had a secret of her own that she could not share with anyone.
It could allow her to go far on the path of cultivation, but how far she could actually go depended on her own planning.
If Chen Jianghe had no opportunities of his own, he would have never made it this far.
For a friend she got along with well and who possessed great opportunities, Gao Peiyao naturally wanted to help out more.
Perhaps, there would be a time in the future when Chen Jianghe could help her in return.
Spirit Spring Abode.
Chen Jianghe took out the Profound Ice Lotus Seed, which still carried Luo Xiyue's unique, faint fragrance.
"The debt I owe Peiyao is growing larger and larger. Sigh... I can only repay it slowly."
Chen Jianghe was no fool. From the moment he took out the Soul-Calming Pill, Gao Peiyao had been emphasizing its value.
Although the Soul-Calming Pill was only a second-tier mid-grade spirit pill, its value was indeed hard to measure.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to compare it to a mid-grade Spirit Origin Pill.
You could use your connections to get a Spirit Origin Pill, but it was much harder to obtain a pill that could heal soul injuries.
And this was a second-tier mid-grade spirit pill at that.
The materials for refining such a pill were rare to begin with, and combined with the preciousness of the recipe, even sects were short on soul-healing pills.
However, a Soul-Calming Pill could definitely not be exchanged for a piece of Water Spirit Jade plus a Spirit Essence Pill.
Let alone a quasi-third-tier spiritual item like the Profound Ice Lotus Seed.
Chen Jianghe sent a mental message to Spicy Strip, summoning it to his side.
He then swallowed the Profound Ice Lotus Seed.
Immediately, a terrifyingly cold qi emanated from Chen Jianghe's body.
In an instant, the air froze.
Even the spiritual energy materialized at that moment, forming ice crystals of various colors.
Spicy Strip's eyes glowed green with a greedy look as it frantically devoured the stream of cold air, which was even colder than that of ten-thousand-year-old profound ice.
The Profound Ice Lotus Seed entered Chen Jianghe's dantian.
Under the control of his spiritual sense, it landed on the thumbnail-sized ice source.
The icy threads emanating from the Thousand-Mile Ice Seal Imprint tightly wrapped around it, pulling it into the ice source.
Almost instantly.
The ice source in Chen Jianghe's dantian grew to the size of a pebble, and the patterns of the Thousand-Mile Ice Seal Imprint became much clearer.
"Absolute Freeze has reached the minor success stage? This Profound Ice Lotus Seed can actually help me advance the realm of the forbidden art, Absolute Freeze!"
Chen Jianghe had intended to make the ice source more substantial and powerful.
After all, this was his trump card for offense, so naturally, the stronger, the better.
As for saving the Profound Ice Lotus Seed to condense a second ice source?
Chen Jianghe believed that casting a more powerful forbidden art once was far better than casting it twice.
This would also greatly increase his safety.
As for cultivating Absolute Freeze a second time in the future?
He could just find more ten-thousand-year-old profound ice then.
A trump card must be continuously strengthened to be a true trump card.
"As long as I cultivate Absolute Freeze to the major success stage, with my current ice source fused with the Profound Ice Lotus Seed, I can definitely freeze a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, or even a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator, and sever their life force."
The Profound Ice Lotus Seed from Luo Xiyue had come at the perfect time.
It allowed Chen Jianghe to raise the power of his forbidden art, Absolute Freeze, to the level of a Talisman Treasure before entering the secret realm.
He had Xiao Hei for defense.
And a forbidden art for offense.
Time flew, and three months passed.
Chen Jianghe opened his mouth and exhaled. A blast of cold air surged from his dantian, instantly freezing the spirit spring into a thick layer of ice, about three feet deep.
If an outsider were to see this, they would think Chen Jianghe had an ice spiritual root and cultivated an ice-system art.
After absorbing the Profound Ice Lotus Seed, the ice source in his dantian had been changing almost daily, and it was now the size of an egg.
The terrifying profound ice spiritual power seemed as if it would freeze the spiritual power in Chen Jianghe's dantian.
He now needed to use his spiritual power to restrain the ice source.
Otherwise, wherever he went, a ten-zhang radius around him would freeze over.
This also made his forbidden art, Absolute Freeze, even more powerful.
But it was a mutually destructive forbidden art. Unless absolutely necessary, he would not choose to cast Absolute Freeze.
He sealed his dantian with spiritual power and retracted his aura, and the icy air dissipated.
Over the past three months, his cultivation of Absolute Freeze had progressed rapidly, and he was close to reaching the major success stage.
With that Profound Ice Lotus Seed, even if he couldn't cultivate it to the perfect stage before entering the secret realm, he would be very close.
Thanks to Chen Jianghe cultivating with the Profound Ice Lotus Seed, Spicy Strip's cultivation also advanced by leaps and bounds.
Although it didn't break through to become a second-tier spirit beast.
Its attack and defense had improved significantly, comparable to the spell attacks of a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator.
"I now have six Flame Dragon Demon-Breaking Talismans and three Greenwood Immortal Shield Talismans. In a while, I'll need to give Ruan Tieniu two Flame Dragon Demon-Breaking Talismans and two Greenwood Immortal Shield Talismans."
"My main focus should still be on drawing second-tier mid-grade talismans."
"The Flame Dragon Demon-Breaking Talisman and the Greenwood Immortal Shield Talisman can be my conventional tools. I need a large number of them."
In these three months, Chen Jianghe had drawn two more Flame Dragon Demon-Breaking Talismans.
But that was far from enough.
In his mind, he needed at least twenty second-tier mid-grade talismans.
The secret realm trial was too dangerous.
Even disciples from major sects could perish inside.
He had to be fully prepared to deal with any sudden crisis.
Although he had the protection of Gao Peiyao and Luo Xiyue.
He still understood the principle of relying on himself rather than others.
No matter how powerful others were, it was no substitute for being powerful yourself.
Chen Jianghe released his spiritual sense.
It extended out to two hundred forty-eight zhang and seven chi. The feeling of an impending breakthrough was growing stronger.
There was no bottleneck for his spiritual cultivation to break through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. As long as his soul's essence was strong enough, the breakthrough would happen naturally.
When others advanced their spiritual cultivation to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, they needed to build a spiritual platform in their sea of consciousness.
But for him, a spiritual platform had already appeared in his sea of consciousness the moment he first drew qi into his body.
"A letter from Ruan Tieniu?"
When Chen Jianghe's spiritual sense reached his message box, he discovered a letter from Ruan Tieniu.
With a thought, the letter was in his hand.
He opened it and found it was about the Xu brothers.
"Xu Hong is dead?"
Chen Jianghe wasn't surprised. The Xu brothers were spirit thieves, living with their heads on the line.
Thousand Mountains Market City was not like Qinghe Market City.
The Northern Extreme Snowy Forest and the Boundless Sea were not like the periphery of the Wandering Immortal Mountain Range.
This place was far more dangerous, filled with crises at every turn.
Chen Jianghe read the contents of the letter. The Xu brothers, Xu Feng and Xu Hong, had ventured deep into the Boundless Sea in search of opportunities.
They found an opportunity.
And they managed to escape from the jaws of a demonic beast.
But on their way back to Thousand Mountains Market City, they were ambushed by rogue cultivators.
If not for the Rushing Thunder Talisman from Chen Jianghe, even Xu Feng would have died at the hands of those rogue cultivators.
Although Xu Hong had perished.
Fortunately, the treasures they had obtained were not stolen; Xu Feng had managed to bring them back safely to Thousand Mountains Market City.
Once back in the market city, Xu Feng was safe.
As long as he didn't enter someone else's cultivation ground, he couldn't be killed.
So, upon his return, he found Ruan Tieniu and conducted a transaction with him at the Spirit Thief Teahouse.
From Ruan Tieniu's letter, he learned that.
The opportunity Xu Feng had found this time was significant: three top-tier second-grade absorbable natural treasures, and a main material for refining a spirit-nurturing magical artifact.
Basically, Xu Feng had struck it rich this time.
These resources were enough for him to cultivate to the late-Foundation Establishment stage.
Of course, that was limited to his spiritual power cultivation.
After telling him about the Xu brothers, Ruan Tieniu's letter went on to mention the gathering in Thousand Mountains Market City.
Ruan Tieniu had confirmed that he had obtained a spot to enter the secret realm.
"It's good that Ruan Tieniu is entering the secret realm. As long as he's careful, he could be of some help to me."
Chen Jianghe thought to himself.
Then, he turned the letter to dust.
He didn't reply to Ruan Tieniu. In just under three months, the gathering for the secret realm trial participants would be held at the Thousand Mountains Restaurant.
They would naturally meet then.
Time passed quickly.
Mid-November.
Chen Jianghe successfully drew another Greenwood Immortal Shield Talisman.
At that moment, his spiritual cultivation also advanced to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and he reached the fifth level of the Soul Sea Origin Consolidation Scripture.
This further shortened the time it took for Chen Jianghe to draw talismans.
Previously, he could draw at most six second-tier mid-grade talismans in a year. After his cultivation broke through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.
He could now draw seven second-tier mid-grade talismans a year.
Now that his spiritual cultivation had also broken through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, when it came to drawing second-tier mid-grade talismans.
He could already draw eight second-tier mid-grade talismans in a year.
As for drawing second-tier high-grade talismans?
Chen Jianghe hadn't tried yet.
But with his current skill in the art of talismans, it wouldn't be difficult to draw second-tier high-grade talismans.
It would just take a very long time.
Chen Jianghe made a bold guess. At his current cultivation level, if he wanted to draw second-tier high-grade talismans.
He could probably draw at most four in a year.
If that was the case.
His time was becoming increasingly tight.
"After the new year, I must start drawing second-tier high-grade talismans. Otherwise, no matter how many conventional methods I have, without a true ace up my sleeve, it will be difficult to obtain any opportunities."
Chen Jianghe made up his mind.
He continued to cultivate Absolute Freeze, aiming to first bring this forbidden art to the major success stage.
Then he would cultivate the Soul Sea Origin Consolidation Scripture.
His spiritual platform was already built, but according to the cultivation method of the fifth level of the Soul Sea Origin Consolidation Scripture, he needed to construct a barrier in his soul sea to enhance the defense of his soul's essence.
The Soul-Consolidating Mud and Spirit-Nourishing Grass were still somewhat effective, but not greatly so.
But no matter what, Chen Jianghe had to first complete the construction of the soul sea barrier. This was a method of soul defense.
He couldn't be careless in the slightest.
For physical defense, he had magical artifacts and talismans.
But for soul defense, he could only rely on the soul sea barrier cultivation method that came with the Soul Sea Origin Consolidation Scripture.
He currently had eighteen portions of Soul-Consolidating Mud and Spirit-Nourishing Grass.
This was clearly not enough to cultivate the soul sea barrier.
But he was also running low on spirit stones.
He only had four thousand and sixty spirit stones left.
Originally, he thought that with over thirty thousand spirit stones, he wouldn't have to worry about them for the next eight years.
Looking at it now, that was a bit of wishful thinking.
He had to buy Soul-Consolidating Mud and Spirit-Nourishing Grass; this was related to his cultivation of the soul sea barrier.
He also needed to buy the medicinal herbs for refining first-tier high-grade spirit pills.
The herbs for refining pills like the Meridian Opening Pill, Qi and Blood Pill, Body Tempering Pill, and True Spirit Pill would all cost a large sum of spirit stones.
The reason he was buying these herbs.
Was because Chen Jianghe was already a first-tier high-grade alchemist.
In a little over a month, he would be ninety-seven years old.
After eleven years of studying alchemy, his skill had reached the first-tier high-grade level. He could be considered accomplished in the art of alchemy.
The reason he was able to improve so quickly.
Was partly due to his soul being different from ordinary people's, and his spiritual sense being exceptionally powerful.
Another reason was his profound cultivation base. Starting to study alchemy as a Foundation Establishment cultivator naturally gave him a significant advantage.
With Chen Jianghe's current achievements in alchemy, if he were to return to Mirror Moon Lake or Qiyun Mountain, he would undoubtedly be an honored guest of a Foundation Establishment Immortal Clan.
But in Thousand Mountains Market City.
This meager skill in alchemy was truly nothing to show off.
Time flew, and a month and a half passed.
It was New Year's Eve.
Chen Jianghe gave Xiao Hei a heads-up and then left Golden Ao Mountain.
As for why he didn't go with Luo Xiyue.
It was because half a month ago, Luo Xiyue had left a message saying that she and Gao Peiyao had already gone to the market city.
And they would be staying in Thousand Mountains Market City for the foreseeable future.
She told him to go directly to Thousand Mountains Market City when the time came and that he didn't need to wait for her.
Chen Jianghe flew on his spiritual energy. After arriving at the market city, he first went to the Talisman Master Alliance to sell the few talismans he had.
He was short on spirit stones.
In the past month and a half, Chen Jianghe had drawn three Golden Light Body Protection Talismans.
If he had tried to draw Crimson Flame Cloud-Soaring Talismans, he wouldn't have had enough time for three, so he chose the more cost-effective Golden Light Body Protection Talismans.
At his current cultivation level, he could draw sixteen Crimson Flame Cloud-Soaring Talismans in a year.
But if he drew Golden Light Body Protection Talismans, he could draw twenty-four a year.
The increase in his cultivation had caused his spirit stone earning speed to skyrocket.
A Golden Light Body Protection Talisman was priced at one thousand spirit stones. Selling it to the Talisman Master Alliance would fetch nine hundred and fifty.
After subtracting the two hundred and fifty spirit stone cost per talisman.
That was a profit of seven hundred spirit stones.
In a year, by drawing Golden Light Body Protection Talismans, Chen Jianghe could earn sixteen thousand eight hundred spirit stones.
This was pure profit.
Of course, if his long-term goal was truly to earn spirit stones, then Chen Jianghe would choose to draw Crimson Flame Cloud-Soaring Talismans.
In that case, his net income from drawing talismans for a year could reach seventeen thousand six hundred spirit stones.
This was a number he wouldn't have dared to imagine before.
Adding the spirit stones earned by Xiao Hei, Maoqiu, and Spicy Strip.
His annual spirit stone income could exceed twenty thousand.
In other words.
His personal annual income in spirit stones was almost equivalent to the annual income of the Yu Clan of Qiyun Mountain.
Of course, compared to the Mirror Moon Lake Yun Clan, it was still slightly insufficient.
But if he were to draw second-tier mid-grade talismans, then his spirit stone income would surpass that of the Mirror Moon Lake Yun Clan.
"But why do I still feel like I don't have enough spirit stones? Sigh..."