Chapter 228
Chapter 228
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 228
Chapter Title: A Centenary Year, A Change in the Market City
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Time flowed on, like water.
Two years passed in the blink of an eye.
Golden Ao Mountain.
At the Spirit Spring Abode, Chen Jianghe walked out of his cultivation chamber and into the courtyard. The trunk of the Dragon Pattern Red Pine, as thick as a stone pier, had smooth bark with dragon-like patterns coiling upward.
Its branches were lush and its red leaves swayed, resembling a red umbrella that shielded the spirit spring below.
In recent years, Chen Jianghe hadn't taken any of the Dragon Pattern Red Pine's spirit bark for talisman drawing, allowing its trunk to become suffused with spiritual energy.
Even its leaves and branches were absorbing the spiritual energy from the heavens and earth to strengthen themselves.
Every year, Chen Jianghe would buy three thousand spirit stones' worth of beast blood for the Dragon Pattern Red Pine, all of it spirit blood from late-stage second-tier demonic beasts possessing a dragon's bloodline.
Chen Jianghe was very optimistic about the Dragon Pattern Red Pine. He felt it was worth nurturing, as it might one day become a third-tier spirit plant.
Spicy had a dragon's bloodline and could provide blood for the Dragon Pattern Red Pine, which would also promote its 'metabolism'.
Although its bloodline was noble, its cultivation was too low.
Furthermore, excessive bloodletting would stagnate Spicy's cultivation, making it difficult for it to advance quickly.
Therefore, it was better to spend three thousand spirit stones on the Dragon Pattern Red Pine and allow Spicy to break through to a second-tier spirit beast as soon as possible, so it could assist him sooner.
Over the past two years, Spicy had made great progress in its cultivation. Although it hadn't broken through to a second-tier spirit beast.
Its attack power, however, had surpassed the ninth layer of Qi Refining.
It could rival a tenth-layer Qi Refining cultivator who had failed their Foundation Establishment but was lucky enough to survive.
Chen Jianghe had given the remaining second-tier ice-element spirit core to Spicy, which was the reason for its rapid cultivation growth.
As long as there were enough second-tier ice-element spirit cores, Spicy still had a chance of becoming a second-tier spirit beast before entering the secret realm.
Under Xiao Hei's guidance, Spicy was very sensible and extremely diligent. Although it had an innate disadvantage in planting, it could overcome this with hard work.
It was precisely because of this that Chen Jianghe saw Spicy's potential and deemed it worthy of nurturing.
This spared it the suffering of 'metabolism'.
As for Maoqiu, it had broken through to the mid-stage of the second tier a year ago, its combat power increasing significantly.
If Chen Jianghe didn't use a high-grade second-tier talisman or his [Absolute Freeze], he wouldn't be able to defeat Maoqiu.
One had to know that Maoqiu was a mid-stage second-tier primate spirit beast, and it wielded a heavy profound iron rod refined by Luo Xiyue.
It was a specially made spirit-infused magical tool. Coupled with the spirit beast's abundant magical power and powerful physical body.
Once Maoqiu got close, even a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator would not have an easy time.
Not every late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator possessed a spirit-infused magical tool.
As for mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators?
They were even less of a match for Maoqiu.
The moment Maoqiu reached the mid-stage of the second tier, Chen Jianghe's combat power, without relying on Xiao Hei, had reached the level of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.
If Xiao Hei were to act, he could even contend with a late-stage Foundation Establishment disciple from a sect.
Even if he couldn't win, he could retreat unscathed.
During these two years, Xiao Hei had absorbed all the Spirit Spring Pearls, and even the Water Spirit Jade was absorbed and refined by it.
Chen Jianghe had decided to prioritize nurturing Xiao Hei.
Thus, after Xiao Hei finished absorbing the Spirit Spring Pearls, he gave it the Water Spirit Jade as well, allowing its cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds over the past two years.
Having cultivated to the mid-stage of the second tier, Xiao Hei's speed at devouring and absorbing spiritual items from heaven and earth was astonishingly fast.
That high-grade second-tier Water Spirit Jade was completely devoured by Xiao Hei in just over half a year.
If it were Chen Jianghe, it would have taken at least three years.
"I need to make a trip to the market city to buy resources."
Chen Jianghe had been quite profitable over the past two years, successfully drawing eight high-grade second-tier talismans.
Five Second Wood Azure Vine Shield Talismans and three Second Wood Soul-Entangling Talismans.
Another Second Wood Soul-Entangling Talisman was currently in the spirit-charging phase and would be complete in a month at most.
The spirit would be sealed, and the brush set aside.
By then, Chen Jianghe would have four Second Wood Soul-Entangling Talismans.
A year ago, Chen Jianghe went to the Talisman Master Alliance and handed over one Second Wood Azure Vine Shield Talisman.
This made him feel very uncomfortable, but he showed no sign of dissatisfaction.
In other words, he now had four Second Wood Azure Vine Shield Talismans, three Second Wood Soul-Entangling Talismans, and one semi-finished high-grade second-tier talisman.
Being able to draw four high-grade second-tier talismans in a year was a pleasant surprise for Chen Jianghe.
He still had six high-grade second-tier spirit hides on hand, which needed to be made into high-grade second-tier talismans before the secret realm opened.
However, he was running low on spirit stones.
He hadn't drawn any low-grade second-tier talismans for sale these past few years, so his expenses had exceeded his income.
For the last two years, the income from his spirit fields had barely sustained him.
In the first year, the spirit fields yielded 3.9 shi per mu, for a total value of 9,360 spirit stones.
After subtracting the cost of the Immortal Crystal Rice seeds, the net profit was 4,560 spirit stones.
In the second year, the yield was four shi per mu, returning to the level it was at when Xiao Hei was managing it.
After costs, the profit reached 4,800 spirit stones.
The total profit from the spirit fields over these two years was 9,360 spirit stones.
Nurturing the Dragon Pattern Red Pine by buying beast blood cost three thousand spirit stones a year, totaling six thousand over two years.
He also spent five hundred spirit stones on medicinal herbs.
The spirit stones he actually pocketed amounted to only 2,860. Adding his previous savings, he now had 9,770 spirit stones.
In another three months, this year's Immortal Crystal Rice would be ready for harvest.
Most importantly, the osmanthus fish and sturgeon he had been raising for five years would also be ready for sale in a few months.
By then, he would receive a considerable sum of spirit stones.
But without any absorbable spiritual items from heaven and earth, Xiao Hei would need to consume Water Spirit Pills for cultivation, which was a huge expense.
The effect wasn't great, but the price was not low.
A single pill cost five hundred spirit stones.
After breaking through to the mid-stage of the second tier, Xiao Hei could consume and refine eight Water Spirit Pills in a year.
That was four thousand spirit stones.
Also, the second-tier water-element spirit core Maoqiu had was almost used up.
It would also need Water Spirit Pills for cultivation then.
Maoqiu was not as efficient as Xiao Hei in consuming and refining Water Spirit Pills, but it still needed five pills a year.
That was another 2,500 spirit stones.
The two of them together would cost 6,500 spirit stones a year.
Chen Jianghe also needed to buy a Peach Wood Heart-Cleansing Talisman Brush and three boxes of spirit ink, which was another 1,900 spirit stones.
Moreover, he had to buy spiritual items to aid his physical body cultivation.
Even ordinary second-tier spiritual items that could help with body tempering were quite valuable.
So, even after the bountiful harvest of Immortal Crystal Rice and the sale of the osmanthus fish and sturgeon in a few months, the spirit stones he would get wouldn't be enough for the next two years.
"I've reached a hundred years of age, cultivated for eighty-six years, yet I'm still worrying about low-grade spirit stones. Alas~"
Chen Jianghe lamented the hardships of a low-level cultivator.
He said goodbye to Xiao Hei, then left Golden Ao Mountain for the market city.
Passing through a hidden canyon, a thought crossed his mind, and he used Thousand Illusions to assume the appearance of Ji Wujin.
Half an incense stick's time later, before he even entered the market city, he saw many cultivators with a murderous aura flying past.
"This is already the seventh cultivator reeking of a bloodthirsty aura to enter Thousand Mountains Market City. What's going on?"
The bloodthirsty aura on a cultivator was not formed from slaying demonic beasts.
Slaying too many demonic beasts would condense a ferocious aura, which could intimidate other demonic beasts to some extent during battle.
This ferocious aura could be restrained.
But a bloodthirsty aura was different.
Only those who had been on the battlefield, killed too many people, and carried the heavy resentment of lingering souls could condense a bloodthirsty aura.
This bloodthirsty aura was similar to a ferocious aura.
A bloodthirsty aura could intimidate demonic beasts, but it was even more effective against opposing cultivators. A powerful bloodthirsty aura could directly affect an opponent's mind.
If the opponent's mental state was not strong and their tolerance was low, their soul could be directly shattered by the bloodthirsty aura.
In other words, a bloodthirsty aura was also a form of soul attack.
Generally, ordinary cultivators could not cultivate a bloodthirsty aura.
Demonic cultivators, or generals in immortal kingdoms who entered the path through martial arts, were the ones who could condense a bloodthirsty aura. After they began cultivating, they held an innate combat advantage over ordinary cultivators.
This meant that these cultivators filled with a bloodthirsty aura were all from those immortal kingdoms.
"What are the generals of the immortal kingdoms doing in Thousand Mountains Market City?"
"And so many of them!"
In the past, Chen Jianghe had seen generals from immortal kingdoms entering and leaving Thousand Mountains Market City, but it was a rare sight.
Bumping into one or two in seven or eight years was considered unusual.
Yet in just half an incense stick's time, he had seen seven... no, eight of them.
Just as Chen Jianghe was wondering, another general from an immortal kingdom, reeking of a bloodthirsty aura, flew past him.
Chen Jianghe stopped pondering and flew towards the market city at his fastest speed.
He didn't know what was happening; entering the market city was the safest option for now.
Arriving in the market city, Chen Jianghe was stunned.
"So many immortal kingdom generals? What in the world is going on?"
As Chen Jianghe flew among the peaks of the market city, he sensed dozens of bloodthirsty auras, each representing a general from an immortal kingdom.
The usually rare sight of immortal kingdom generals had turned into dozens of them appearing at once, which was truly unusual.
Chen Jianghe didn't linger and went straight to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion. He planned to trade the spiritual items he had.
He had no more water-element or ice-element spirit cores.
However, he did have one second-tier wood-element spirit core, one second-tier fire-element spirit core, and two second-tier earth-element spirit cores.
He planned to trade them for second-tier water-element or ice-element spirit cores.
As soon as he stepped into the tavern on the first floor of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, he heard a clamor of discussion, seemingly about the immortal kingdom generals outside.
"It's been a year. From the initial four or five immortal kingdom generals to the dozens of them now, what exactly do they want?"
"Yeah, what does Thousand Mountains Market City have that's keeping them here for so long?"
"Several of these immortal kingdom generals are demonic cultivators. They must be generals from the Yue Kingdom."
"There are generals from both the Yue and Yu Kingdoms, but most of them are from Yue."
"Are the two great immortal kingdoms about to start a war of annihilation? Are they here in Thousand Mountains Market City to buy resources?"
"Impossible. The resources needed by the two great immortal kingdoms are controlled by the three major families behind Thousand Mountains Market City. They can't possibly buy precious resources from individual cultivators."
"That's true. The Talisman Master Alliance, controlled by the Cen family, wouldn't allow talisman masters to privately sell mid-grade or high-grade second-tier talismans to the two great immortal kingdoms."
"The Alchemist Exchange, controlled by the Lin family, and the Artifact Refiner Exchange, controlled by the Wang family, wouldn't support them in starting a war of annihilation either."
"This old man believes that these immortal kingdom generals are looking for someone."
"Looking for someone?"
"..."
The chaotic discussions reached his ears, but Chen Jianghe didn't linger. He had no interest in whether the two great immortal kingdoms were looking for someone or about to start a war.
It had nothing to do with him.
Right now, he was focused on bartering for resources that were useful to him.
Arriving at the fourth-floor Bartering Hall of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, he first browsed around as usual, looking for treasures useful to him.
After an hour of looking, he did see a treasure he needed.
But the other party's demands were too harsh, making a trade impossible.
Especially for that complete hide of a peak second-tier demonic beast. The owner was asking for a low-grade Origin Spirit Pill, plus a genuine Foundation Establishment Pill and a Muscle-Growing Bone-Mending Pill.
Wasn't that a joke?
In terms of spirit stones, a complete hide from a peak second-tier demonic beast was worth about twenty thousand spirit stones.
A low-grade Origin Spirit Pill was also worth about twenty thousand spirit stones.
It was an equivalent exchange.
But adding a genuine Foundation Establishment Pill and a Muscle-Growing Bone-Mending Pill on top of that was truly unreasonable.
But on second thought, the secret realm was about to open.
High-grade second-tier talismans were excellent life-saving items.
To draw a high-grade second-tier talisman, one needed a high-grade second-tier spirit hide.
A complete hide from a peak second-tier demonic beast could be cut into three pieces of high-grade second-tier spirit hide. Someone would surely be willing to be the fool who paid the price.
It was only because Chen Jianghe didn't have a low-grade Origin Spirit Pill, a Foundation Establishment Pill, or a Muscle-Growing Bone-Mending Pill. Otherwise, he wouldn't mind being that fool.
"Illusory Heart Grass?!"
Chen Jianghe stared at the sign in front of him. Among the dozen or so treasures listed for trade, there was actually a stalk of Illusory Heart Grass.
Looking at the sign, there were quite a few treasures, but none were particularly precious; they were all items that would typically appear at an auction.
Chen Jianghe glanced at the old woman who had put up the sign, unsure if she was genuinely an old woman or someone in disguise.
"Fellow Daoist, I have a low-grade second-tier escape talisman. I can trade it for this Illusory Heart Grass, but you'll need to give me two hundred spirit stones."
The price of Illusory Heart Grass at auction was around twelve hundred spirit stones.
After deducting the consignment fee, one would only get about one thousand and fifty spirit stones.
Trying to trade Illusory Heart Grass for a low-grade second-tier escape talisman was indeed not an equal exchange.
"One hundred spirit stones."
The old woman said.
Chen Jianghe smiled and turned to leave. Asking for two hundred spirit stones already gave the other party a profit of one hundred and fifty.
Wanting to earn another hundred spirit stones was just greedy.
Chen Jianghe had Profound Ice Jade Marrow and Purple Cloud Vermilion Fruit. He only needed a stalk of Illusory Heart Grass to refine a batch of Foundation Establishment Pills.
But he had already reached Foundation Establishment, so he wasn't in a hurry to refine them.
Besides, Jiang Ruxu didn't have time to refine them right now.
"Fellow Daoist, wait. Two hundred spirit stones it is," the old woman called out to Chen Jianghe.
Chen Jianghe took out a Crimson Flame Cloud-Soaring Talisman. It was the only low-grade second-tier talisman he had on him.
He took the Illusory Heart Grass and two hundred spirit stones from the old woman and handed over the Crimson Flame Cloud-Soaring Talisman.
He continued to wander around the Bartering Hall.
Another hour passed. Chen Jianghe took a sign from the bartering platform, wrote down his own treasures, and the items he wanted in exchange.
Before long, a cultivator approached to inquire.
"Fellow Daoist, I have a second-tier metal-element spirit core. Can I trade it for your second-tier wood-element spirit core?"
"Only water-element and ice-element."
Chen Jianghe said flatly, then closed his eyes to rest, waiting for a cultivator with a water-element spirit core to come.
Half an hour passed.
No one else came to ask, showing that second-tier spirit cores were indeed quite rare.
After all, a second-tier spirit core represented a second-tier demonic beast, and among those of the same tier, demonic beasts were stronger than cultivators.
They were not so easily killed.
After another half an incense stick's time, the kind-faced middle-aged cultivator who had inquired earlier returned.
"Fellow Daoist, this second-tier water-element spirit core for your second-tier wood-element spirit core."
This middle-aged Foundation Establishment cultivator was holding a second-tier water-element spirit core, which he had likely traded his metal-element one for.
Then he came back to trade with Chen Jianghe.
After the exchange, Chen Jianghe still had one fire-element and two earth-element second-tier spirit cores up for trade.
Three hours later.
Chen Jianghe traded away the two earth-element spirit cores for one second-tier water-element spirit core and one second-tier ice-element spirit core.
However, when trading for the ice-element spirit core, Chen Jianghe had to add five hundred spirit stones.
Adding four hundred would have been an equal trade.
But Chen Jianghe needed the second-tier ice-element spirit core more, so he had to accept the loss.
He still had one fire-element second-tier spirit core left. At this point, Chen Jianghe was in no hurry.
He continued to wait for cultivators to approach him for a trade.
Spirit cores themselves were rare. It was basically impossible to buy them with spirit stones, but trading a core for a core was much simpler.
Another two hours passed, and Chen Jianghe's second-tier fire-element spirit core was also traded away.
He exchanged it for a second-tier water-element spirit core.
Now he had three second-tier water-element spirit cores and one second-tier ice-element spirit core.
Chen Jianghe planned to give all three second-tier water-element spirit cores to Xiao Hei, and have Maoqiu consume Water Spirit Pills for its cultivation for the time being.
Maoqiu couldn't rapidly increase its cultivation in a short time.
It was better to centralize the good resources first and help Xiao Hei break through to the late stage of the second tier.
As for the second-tier ice-element spirit core, it was for Spicy. With this core.
Even if Spicy couldn't break through to a second-tier spirit beast before the secret realm opened, it would be very close.
Chen Jianghe erased the writing on his sign, returned it to the bartering platform, but did not leave the Bartering Hall.
Instead, he continued to browse.
Cultivators were coming and going. Perhaps someone now had a treasure he needed, and the terms might not be so harsh.
He browsed for another two hours.
Chen Jianghe had to admit he was overthinking things.
It was true that there were treasures he needed, but the conditions were too demanding.
He simply didn't have enough resources to make a trade.
"Supreme Purity Jade, Thousand-Year Maple Leaf... what a pity. The additional condition for the trade always seems to be a Foundation Establishment Pill!"
Chen Jianghe knew that Foundation Establishment Pills were a hard currency, but he hadn't expected them to be this popular.
It seemed there were many cultivators with families to support.
Otherwise, why would someone who had already reached Foundation Establishment still need a Foundation Establishment Pill? It was obviously for their family members.
He didn't have a dual cultivation partner, so any Foundation Establishment Pills he refined didn't need to be saved and could be used for trading.
He left the fourth-floor Bartering Hall and stopped on the third floor.
He bought a Peach Wood Heart-Cleansing Talisman Brush and three boxes of spirit ink.
He was currently disguised as Ji Wujin, but many cultivators bought talisman brushes, so he wasn't worried about being found out.
As for Water Spirit Pills.
Chen Jianghe didn't plan to buy them now.
Xiao Hei still had seven or eight Water Spirit Pills. He would just have it give them to Maoqiu, and then have Xiao Hei cultivate using the second-tier water-element spirit cores.
He spent nineteen hundred spirit stones.
He had 7,670 spirit stones left.
Chen Jianghe descended from the third floor, saw Chen Ping on the second, but didn't stop and went straight down to the first floor.
That clamor of discussion once again reached his ears.
They were still discussing the matter of the immortal kingdom generals outside. As for the reason, it had gone from two possibilities to three.
One reason was to prepare for a war of annihilation.
Another was to find someone.
The newly added reason seemed to be related to the Spirit Thieves.
"Related to the Spirit Thieves?"
Chen Jianghe walked out of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion and saw an immortal kingdom general not far away. A sharp glint flashed in his deep eyes as he scanned the passing cultivators.
"They really are looking for someone?!"
Chen Jianghe was puzzled.
Judging by the behavior of these immortal kingdom generals, it seemed they were indeed looking for someone. It was just that they couldn't release their divine sense in the market city and had to rely on their eyes.
The next moment, Chen Jianghe flew towards the Spirit Thief Teahouse.
Related to the Spirit Thieves?
Or looking for someone.
This gave him a bad feeling.
However, to find out the specific details, he just needed to go to the Spirit Thief Teahouse. Compared to the Hundred Treasures Tavern.
The information at the Spirit Thief Teahouse was more comprehensive.
In his current disguise, he wasn't worried about being targeted.
Arriving at the Spirit Thief Teahouse, one could feel an atmosphere similar to a bustling mortal marketplace. Cultivators sat three or five to a table, sipping tea and discussing the world.
Their voices were loud, creating a boisterous scene.
They were like the martial heroes of the mortal world, their speech bold and unrestrained, not at all like cultivators.
Chen Jianghe knew that the paths to immortality were varied, and everyone's journey was different.
He ordered a pot of spirit tea for two spirit stones.
The reason for ordering such an expensive one was to match his current appearance.
Dressed in fine robes and jade, if he ordered the cheapest spirit tea, it would be hard not to attract attention.
Chen Jianghe poured himself a cup of spirit tea. The fragrant aroma filled the air, refreshing his heart and mind. It was much better than the Starry Sky tea he usually bought.
He decided to replace the reserve spirit tea at his Spirit Spring Abode.
He was now a Talisman Master Grandmaster, after all. It wasn't a big deal to continue drinking Starry Sky.
But when receiving friends at the Welcoming Immortals Residence, serving Starry Sky tea would be somewhat inappropriate.
"This tea is quite good. The spiritual energy is rich, and the fragrance is light. It suits me well."
Chen Jianghe took a slow sip.
Calming his mind, he listened intently to the noisy discussions of the Spirit Thieves.
"Ruan Tieniu?"
The moment he started listening closely, the name he heard most often was Ruan Tieniu.
The bad premonition in his heart suddenly intensified.
"Don't tell me Ruan Tieniu has fallen in the Boundless Sea!"
Chen Jianghe couldn't help but think the worst. The Boundless Sea was exceptionally dangerous; even sect disciples often perished within it.
The Foundation Establishment disciples of the Tiannan Sect all had to undertake a trial mission in the Boundless Sea, and the death rate was as high as twenty percent.
It was jokingly called the graveyard of sect disciples.
For every ten Tiannan Sect Foundation Establishment disciples who went deep into the Boundless Sea for their trial, two would not return, showing just how high the mortality rate was.
Chen Jianghe calmed his heart and listened carefully to the discussions of the Spirit Thieves.
Indeed, most of them were discussing Ruan Tieniu