Chapter 246
Chapter 246
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 246
Chapter Title: Bountiful Harvest, Maoqiu's Bloodline Ascension
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Standing on a snowy mountain at the edge of the Northern Extremity Snow Forest, he gazed at Thousand Mountains Market City. The nearest Spirit-Thieving Tea House was now a ruin, with thick black smoke billowing from it.
A mountain peak was severed, as if sliced clean by a magical treasure. Only the mountain's body remained, its summit gone.
He activated his Dharma Eye.
Within the market city, buildings had collapsed. Raging flames consumed the broken walls and ruins. Even the landmark Hundred Treasures Tower had crumbled, reduced to ashes in the blaze.
He looked toward the location of the Talisman Master Alliance.
The palace grounds were flooded, its dome encased in ice.
Through the translucent ice, the bodies of cultivators could still be seen.
"Xiao Hei, burrow into the earth!"
Chen Jianghe vaulted onto Xiao Hei's neck. As Xiao Hei retracted its head, Chen Jianghe hid in the safest spot, and they burrowed deep into the mountain.
His Dharma Eye swept across the ruined Thousand Mountains Market City, revealing many cultivators clad in armor.
A monstrous bloody aura emanated from them; most were cultivators from the immortal kingdoms.
There were Qi Refining soldiers and Foundation Establishment generals. From the looks of it, they were cleaning up the battlefield, scavenging for any remaining resources in Thousand Mountains Market City.
"How could this have happened?"
Deep underground, Xiao Hei used the [Profound Earth Rock-Shattering Escape] to carry Chen Jianghe out of the market city, heading in the direction of the Tiannan Sect.
"There's the aura of a Core Formation cultivator."
Xiao Hei sent a mental message.
"Dive deeper underground."
Chen Jianghe made a decisive call, telling Xiao Hei to quickly descend deeper. Leaving Thousand Mountains Market City was impossible at this moment.
They could only hide for now.
The three major clans in Thousand Mountains Market City all had Core Formation grandmasters. For them to be annihilated, it surely wasn't the work of a single kingdom.
This meant there were Core Formation grandmasters in Thousand Mountains Market City, and more than one.
They dove five hundred zhang deep.
Chen Jianghe deployed eight Sealing Talismans, completely concealing his aura.
"Xiao Hei, give me some of your drool."
At this moment, Chen Jianghe felt no disgust. Ensuring his safety was paramount; he had to completely hide his presence.
"What are you thinking? I can only make demonic beasts forget your scent."
Xiao Hei replied, speechless.
However, its turtle shell began to glow faintly, enveloping the five-zhang-wide cavern they had created.
It caused both him and Chen Jianghe to enter a state of suspended animation, reducing their auras to the absolute minimum, making them undetectable.
Chen Jianghe took out the high-grade Azure Feather Talisman Brush and the Azure Illusion Spirit Fox Hide, quickly drawing first-tier special spirit talismans.
A quarter of an hour later.
He only stopped drawing talismans when he began to feel mentally fatigued.
He placed Sealing Talismans in every corner of the cavern.
After finishing all this, Chen Jianghe let out a long sigh of relief. As long as a Core Formation grandmaster wasn't actively searching for him, he would be hard to find.
"It's only been half a year. How did Thousand Mountains Market City end up like this? Even if the kingdoms of Yu and Yue attacked together, there were three Core Formation grandmasters in the city!"
"No, that's not right. Two of the Core Formation grandmasters from Thousand Mountains Market City were summoned by the Tiannan Sect and went to the southern border to put pressure on the Zhou Clan."
Chen Jianghe suddenly remembered. Thousand Mountains Market City only had one Core Formation grandmaster stationed there, while the kingdoms of Yue and Yu each had more than three.
In that case, once the war began, Thousand Mountains Market City would be the first to fall, inevitably conquered by the kingdoms of Yu and Yue.
Among the three powers near the Northern Extremity Snow Forest, if the two kingdoms were to start a war of annihilation, they would first have to eliminate the neutral party.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be a war of annihilation, but a war of being annihilated.
Before entering the mystic realm, Chen Jianghe had sensed that the Tiannan Domain was on the verge of turmoil.
The Beast Taming Zhou Clan was the catalyst.
The Tiannan Sect, feeling its control over the subordinate powers waning, would surely reshuffle the deck and support the rise of new forces.
"That damned Zhou Clan!"
Chen Jianghe cursed inwardly. If they didn't have the strength to protect their treasures, they should have just obediently handed them over to the Tiannan Sect.
Now, look what happened. All the cultivators in the Tiannan Domain were suffering because of them.
Chen Jianghe didn't really care about others.
The main thing was that he disliked conflict and instability, which made him feel very insecure.
It would be fine if he had reached Core Formation.
But he was just a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, completely unable to withstand a major upheaval in the Tiannan Domain's cultivation world.
Even a safe place like Thousand Mountains Market City had been reduced to ruins, which meant that even Core Formation grandmasters weren't safe.
If those immortal kingdom generals and Core Formation grandmasters discovered him and learned that he had returned from the mystic realm...
They would surely treat him like a prize, seizing his storage bags.
As for killing him?
That was unlikely. After all, his reputation as a Talisman Grandmaster had already spread far and wide in Thousand Mountains Market City.
If the cultivators from the immortal kingdoms captured him, they would definitely imprison him and turn him into a talisman-drawing tool for their nation.
"My fish~"
"My turtles~"
"My medicinal spring and stream that I worked so hard to cultivate!"
Chen Jianghe's heart was bleeding.
He was raising mandarin fish and sturgeon in the river. That was all spirit stones, worth seven or eight thousand spirit stones.
The cost alone was one thousand two hundred spirit stones!
And there were one hundred and forty-eight Black-Armored Turtles, more than half of which were already early first-tier spirit beasts.
They were worth no less than two thousand spirit stones.
In addition, the spirit pills he had invested over the years would be worth over a thousand spirit stones.
And the section of the river where he often threw in spirit pills, as well as the pond for raising the Black-Armored Turtles—they were on the verge of becoming a medicinal stream and a medicinal spring.
Their value was immeasurable.
All in all, with Thousand Mountains Market City in ruins, Chen Jianghe's losses exceeded ten thousand spirit stones.
"If I had known this would happen, I should have sold that white tiger, the twenty-some mountain monkeys, and the sixty-some Azure Feather Swallows before entering the mystic realm."
"That's another thousand-plus spirit stones lost. Sigh!"
Over ten thousand spirit stones!
That was enough for him to buy three pieces of high-grade second-tier spirit hides.
Chen Jianghe sat cross-legged and circulated the [Soul Sea Foundation Consolidating Scripture] to calm his agitated heart.
Ever since he set foot on the path of immortality...
He had been frugal, wishing he could split one spirit stone in two. Suddenly losing over ten thousand spirit stones, while not a crippling blow...
It still hurt his heart!
An hour later.
Chen Jianghe's mood stabilized. He began to take stock of his gains from the mystic realm to distract himself.
Six storage bags appeared before him.
Three of them were his own.
Two belonged to Lu Qingming, and one to He Lingchuan.
Chen Jianghe's spiritual sense swept over the three ownerless storage bags, examining the spiritual items inside.
"So little? Don't tell me this fellow hid himself away as soon as he entered the mystic realm!"
Chen Jianghe's spiritual sense probed He Lingchuan's storage bag. Inside were only thirty-six or thirty-seven second-tier spiritual items.
Fifteen mid-grade second-tier spiritual items and twenty-two low-grade ones.
It was truly quite meager.
Fortunately, there was one third-tier spiritual item.
A low-grade third-tier spiritual material, the Weak Water Stone, an auxiliary material for refining magical treasures.
There were also 7,360 spirit stones and some other miscellaneous items, which were not of great value to Chen Jianghe. It just about covered the losses he suffered from the destruction of Thousand Mountains Market City.
Next, Chen Jianghe's spiritual sense entered Lu Qingming's storage bag. There were quite a few spiritual items inside: twenty-eight mid-grade second-tier items and seventy-one low-grade second-tier items.
Sixteen thousand spirit stones and three damaged second-tier puppets.
A fist-sized piece of Wind Sha Profound Iron. It was too small to be a full portion of auxiliary material for refining a magical treasure, but it was still quite valuable.
"Thousand-Year Snow Jade Marrow?!"
Chen Jianghe held a thumb-sized piece of snow jade in his hand. It was milky white and smooth, containing immense spiritual power.
Thousand-Year Snow Jade Marrow, a mid-grade third-tier spiritual item. It could be used as an auxiliary material for magical treasures or refined into third-tier spirit pills. It was truly a rare find.
Although it wasn't a Core Formation spiritual item, its value was in no way inferior.
"Fellow Daoist Lu is truly a good person!"
Chen Jianghe didn't hold back, giving Lu Qingming a "good person card".
He carefully stored the Thousand-Year Snow Jade Marrow, along with the fist-sized Wind Sha Profound Iron and the Weak Water Stone.
Then, a jade slip appeared in Chen Jianghe's hand.
It wasn't a flawless white jade slip; one could see runes flowing within it. This was a legacy jade slip.
A sweep of his spiritual sense.
It was a puppet legacy.
It contained the first-tier and second-tier puppet legacies, as well as production notes. This was the true priceless treasure.
A second-tier puppet legacy could give rise to a powerful Foundation Establishment immortal clan. With proper planning, it could become a Core Formation immortal clan within five hundred years.
"Fellow Daoist Lu has truly given me quite a few surprises."
Chen Jianghe put away the legacy jade slip.
Then, his spiritual sense probed Lu Qingming's other storage bag, which was filled with miscellaneous items.
"Huh? There's High Clarity Jade too!"
Chen Jianghe discovered two pieces of High Clarity Jade, which made his expression light up. He only had one Purple Lightning Cloud-Piercing Talisman left.
These two pieces of High Clarity Jade could be used to draw four high-grade second-tier spirit talismans, bolstering his protective measures.
He immediately and happily placed the High Clarity Jade into his own storage bag.
Then, he consolidated the miscellaneous items from Lu Qingming and He Lingchuan into a single storage bag.
He placed the mid-grade and low-grade second-tier spiritual items into another storage bag.
"These few top-tier magical artifacts, and these three storage bags... I need to find a place to dump them."
Sell off the top-tier magical artifacts?
Chen Jianghe thought it was improper. Their value wasn't high enough to be worth the risk.
As for the storage bags...
After the lesson from Qingfeng Stronghold, Chen Jianghe knew very well that some storage bags had special markings on them.
He couldn't keep them on his person for long.
Otherwise, it would lead to trouble.
Chen Jianghe put the five top-tier magical artifacts into the three storage bags. Then, he had Xiao Hei use the [Profound Earth Rock-Shattering Escape] to dive down to an underground river, where he tossed them in, along with the three damaged puppets, to be carried away by the current.
"Ninety-three low-grade second-tier spiritual items, forty-three mid-grade second-tier spiritual items, three third-tier spiritual items, and two pieces of High Clarity Jade. Their value cannot be measured in low-grade spirit stones."
"And 23,360 spirit stones. Murder and arson are truly the quickest way to wealth."
"They probably wanted to rob me, but they ended up being my little wealth-bringers instead."
"The path of cultivation is fraught with danger. One must not harbor greed, or it will surely cost one's life."
Chen Jianghe didn't develop any ideas of becoming a rogue cultivator just because he had gained so much from Lu Qingming and He Lingchuan.
Instead, he became even more vigilant with himself.
One must not easily give in to greed, and especially not act on the impulse to kill.
After sorting through the belongings of Lu Qingming and He Lingchuan, he began to take stock of his own spiritual items.
One mid-stage second-tier wind-attribute spirit core.
One mid-stage second-tier Wind-Rending Wolf carcass.
Fifty-three mid-grade second-tier spiritual items and one hundred thirty-one low-grade second-tier spiritual items. This was more than what He Lingchuan and Lu Qingming had combined.
Six pieces of Water Spirit Jade; Xiao Hei had used four during its breakthrough.
The two Spirit Pond Pearls had also been used.
The Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Heart was given to Luo Xiyue.
Adding the items he'd traded from Ruan Tieniu, he had: two Spirit Spring Pearls, three stalks of Ice Heart Grass, one Moon Gazing Stone, a section of Profound Ice Sinking Wood, four stalks of Three-Leaf Blood Lotus Grass, one Ice Soul Pearl, a piece of Profound Ice Jade Marrow, one Hundred-Year Snow Lotus, one water-attribute Spirit Essence Pearl, one True Spirit Fruit, and one measure of Darktide Gold Sand.
This trip to the mystic realm was truly a bountiful harvest.
Especially the third-tier spiritual items. He alone had obtained three, including the Core Formation spiritual item, the True Spirit Fruit.
At this moment, his wealth probably surpassed that of an ordinary Core Formation grandmaster.
After all, not every Core Formation grandmaster possessed a magical treasure. The auxiliary materials for refining one were relatively easy to come by.
But the main materials were exceptionally rare.
This was also why Gao Peiyao said Chen Jianghe had a great opportunity.
If not for Chen Jianghe, she would never have obtained the Darktide Gold Sand.
To a Core Formation grandmaster, the value of Darktide Gold Sand was far greater than that of the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Heart, the Flawless Fruit, or the True Spirit Fruit.
Obtaining the main material for refining a magical treasure was basically the same as owning one.
Only a Core Formation grandmaster who possessed a magical treasure could be considered a complete one. Otherwise, they would have a hard time holding their head high among their peers.
Chen Jianghe consolidated the low- and mid-grade second-tier spiritual items.
In total, there were ninety-six mid-grade second-tier spiritual items and two hundred twenty-four low-grade second-tier spiritual items.
The price of low-grade second-tier spiritual items was relatively low, generally around five or six hundred spirit stones, rarely exceeding one thousand.
Taking an average of seven hundred spirit stones per item, the two hundred twenty-four low-grade second-tier items were worth nearly one hundred sixty thousand spirit stones.
Mid-grade second-tier spiritual items were priced a bit higher.
At one thousand five hundred spirit stones per item, the ninety-six mid-grade second-tier items were worth over one hundred forty thousand spirit stones.
Added together, that was three hundred thousand spirit stones.
For the first time, Chen Jianghe felt rich.
Of course, this was just the small stuff. Three hundred thousand spirit stones couldn't buy a single True Spirit Fruit, let alone the even more valuable Darktide Gold Sand.
As for the other spiritual items, excluding the third-tier ones, they would be worth no less than two hundred thousand spirit stones.
Spirit Spring Pearls, Moon Gazing Stones, Ice Soul Pearls, Hundred-Year Snow Lotuses—these were all treasures that were hard to buy with spirit stones.
"The most valuable thing I have should be the Three-Leaf Blood Lotus Grass, but I don't know what tier it is."
The Three-Leaf Blood Lotus Grass could enhance the bloodline of spirit beasts and demonic beasts. Such a miraculous effect was unheard of and unseen.
Even the [Annals of Tiannan] had no record of such a wondrous spiritual item.
There weren't even any spiritual items with similar effects.
"Xiao Hei, let's cultivate here for now."
Chen Jianghe took out a Spirit Spring Pearl and gave it to Xiao Hei, letting it devour the pearl to cultivate.
As for leaving?
Chen Jianghe decided to wait a while, until the turmoil in Thousand Mountains Market City subsided. He was carrying great treasures, so it was best to be cautious.
Even if he were to leave, he would need to prepare sufficient protective measures.
He didn't lack cultivation resources now; cultivating here was the same as cultivating anywhere else.
Besides, Jiang Ruxu and Zhuang Xinyan had already gone to the Immortal Sect Market City, so they wouldn't be affected by the war.
Even if the Tiannan Domain descended into chaos...
War would not break out at the foot of the immortal sect. Otherwise, where would the sect's prestige be?
The Tiannan Sect was the only immortal sect in the Tiannan Domain. To command the reverence of the Core Formation immortal clans and the four top-tier immortal clans, it had to maintain this transcendent authority.
"If you give me that True Spirit Fruit and the snow lotus, I can raise my bloodline to high-grade fourth-tier."
Xiao Hei said with a grin.
"Uh... you can forget about it!"
"We'll talk when your cultivation reaches the peak of the second tier."
Chen Jianghe rolled his eyes.
What a joke.
This True Spirit Fruit was a Core Formation spiritual item that could only be chanced upon, not sought. Forget buying it with spirit stones; it was hard to obtain even through barter.
To Chen Jianghe, even the Darktide Gold Sand wasn't as precious as the True Spirit Fruit.
All the spiritual items on him combined couldn't compare to this True Spirit Fruit. It concerned his future Core Formation, which was no small matter.
The next moment.
Chen Jianghe released Maoqiu. He looked at the injuries on its body—patches of green skin corroded by the venom of the Spirit-Devouring Poisonous Python.
Although Chen Jianghe had decisively cut away a piece of Maoqiu's flesh, some residual poison remained.
But looking at Maoqiu's expression, it showed no signs of suffering from the venom.
It hadn't even affected its combat strength when it killed Lu Qingming.
The cavern was dark and damp, so dark one couldn't see their hand in front of their face, but it didn't affect their vision.
When Maoqiu saw that only Chen Jianghe and Xiao Hei were in the cavern and there was no danger, its body trembled, and it squatted down on the dirt floor.
"Brace yourself."
Chen Jianghe sent a mental message. The Silver Moon Flowing Wave Sword appeared in his hand, and he sliced at Maoqiu's abdomen.
He cut away a piece of flesh infected by the green venom.
He was out of Heart-Clearing Detoxification Pills; otherwise, he wouldn't have had to carve out this piece of flesh.
Seeing that the Spirit-Devouring Poisonous Python's venom had penetrated quite deep, Chen Jianghe struck again, carving out a three-foot chunk of flesh.
Exposing the white ribs beneath.
Bright red blood flowed out.
Maoqiu remained perfectly still, clenching its jaw. A tremor flickered in its eyes, and beads of sweat formed on its head, but it endured the pain, allowing Chen Jianghe to work on its body.
"Take these three Jade Dew Pills."
Chen Jianghe took out three Jade Dew Pills for Maoqiu to consume. He formed the Jade Dew hand seal and cast the [Jade Dew Flesh-Growing Incantation].
Under the combined effect of the spirit pills condensed from Jade Dew spiritual power and the [Jade Dew Flesh-Growing Incantation], the acupoints in Maoqiu's flesh closed, staunching the flow of blood. New flesh began to granulate and heal rapidly.
The time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
Maoqiu's flesh recovered.
Chen Jianghe took out the four stalks of Three-Leaf Blood Lotus Grass and said calmly, "This Three-Leaf Blood Lotus Grass can improve the purity of your bloodline. Your Lord Turtle here fought to get it for you. Go on, take it."
He handed over the Three-Leaf Blood Lotus Grass.
Chen Jianghe didn't take credit for himself.
According to his own thinking, he truly hadn't planned on giving the Three-Leaf Blood Lotus Grass to Maoqiu, even if Xiao Hei didn't need it.
He would have preferred to give it to Latiao.
After all, raising Latiao's bloodline to high-grade fourth-tier was far more cost-effective than raising Maoqiu's to low-grade fourth-tier.
However, Xiao Hei's words could influence his final decision.
"Thank you, Master! I will definitely cultivate hard and work hard!" Maoqiu was overjoyed upon hearing this and thanked Chen Jianghe gratefully.
Chen Jianghe smiled and nodded.
But inwardly, he felt a bit helpless.
A high-level spirit farmer, cultivated with such difficulty, would no longer be able to work. Wasn't that a waste of talent?
Then, Maoqiu took the four stalks of Three-Leaf Blood Lotus Grass and went over to Xiao Hei.
"Lord Turtle, I..."
"Cultivate hard and protect Master. Don't worry about anything else."
Xiao Hei patted Maoqiu's arm, grinned widely, and instructed it earnestly.
"Yes, I'll listen to Lord Turtle."
Having received Xiao Hei's permission, Maoqiu finally consumed the Three-Leaf Blood Lotus Grass. It then sat cross-legged like a cultivator and began to refine its effects.
Both Chen Jianghe and Xiao Hei stared at Maoqiu, watching the changes after it swallowed the Three-Leaf Blood Lotus Grass.
As soon as Maoqiu swallowed the grass, an intense red light erupted from its body.
This prompted Chen Jianghe to form hand seals to reinforce the cavern while using Sealing Talismans to isolate the aura of Maoqiu's bloodline ascension.
A blood-red light shone from its body, forming a blood-colored lotus platform beneath it.
It began to purge the impurities from Maoqiu's body.
To be precise, the impurities in its bloodline.
As the impurities were removed, the bloodline power within Maoqiu began to revert to its ancestral state. A faint, almost imperceptible pressure started to emerge.
Ten hours later.
Maoqiu's fur turned gray, its body shrank, and the aura of its bloodline reached high-grade third-tier.
It now had the foundation to become a third-tier spirit beast.
The ascension was not over.
Maoqiu's fur color continued to change, gradually shifting toward its original color as time passed.
"White?"
"Xiao Hei, what demonic beast is Maoqiu's bloodline from?"
Seeing Maoqiu's fur changing back to white, Chen Jianghe grew puzzled. When Mountain Velvet Beasts were first-tier, their fur was entirely white.
At the second tier, it was black.
As for the third tier?
Mountain Velvet Beasts had a low-grade third-tier bloodline. Without a great opportunity, it was impossible for them to become third-tier demonic beasts.
Therefore, as of now, there were no third-tier Mountain Velvet Beasts in the Tiannan Domain.
"... A monkey."
"Obviously."
"Then why are you asking?"
Xiao Hei glanced at Chen Jianghe with a look of disdain.
Chen Jianghe chuckled.
In his mind, he was reviewing information about primate-type demonic beasts.
According to the [Annals of Tiannan], the monkeys with the highest bloodlines were the Turtle-Shelled Apes of the Wandering Immortal Mountain Range and the Frigid Snow Beasts of the Northern Extremity Snow Forest.
The Turtle-Shelled Ape had a high-grade fourth-tier bloodline. It was typically earth-attribute, a yellow monkey, but it grew a turtle shell, giving it extremely formidable defense.
If it obtained a specially-made Spirit-Nurturing magical artifact...
It would basically have no weaknesses.
As for the Frigid Snow Beast, Chen Jianghe had seen one in the mystic realm. The snow-colored monkey that Luo Xiyue and Gao Peiyao had lured away was a Frigid Snow Beast.
It also had a high-grade fourth-tier bloodline, but it was ice-attribute.
The Mountain Velvet Beast, however, was a water-attribute demonic beast, seemingly unrelated to the Turtle-Shelled Ape and the Frigid Snow Beast.
Three days passed.
Maoqiu's divine fur had turned white again, and its body had shrunk to eight feet, just a bit taller than a cultivator.
Watching Maoqiu's transformation, Chen Jianghe was astonished.
The bloodline ascension had brought about such a drastic change in Maoqiu's size.
Previously, Maoqiu had been over two zhang tall. Now, with its bloodline purity raised to low-grade fourth-tier, it had shrunk to a height of eight feet.
It looked much more agile, not as large and clumsy as before.
Another two days passed.
Maoqiu's bloodline purity ascension was complete. It opened its large, intelligent eyes and looked at its white fur.
It also felt the purer, more vigorous magical power within its body.
"Lord Turtle, I did it!"
"I feel like my strength has increased a lot! I'm stronger, and my movements are more agile."
Maoqiu looked at Xiao Hei in pleasant surprise, describing the changes after its bloodline ascension.
"Fool, what did I teach you!"
Xiao Hei scolded.
Maoqiu immediately turned to Chen Jianghe and sent a joyous mental message: "Master, I did it! My strength has greatly increased, my magical power is pure and vigorous, and I've become much stronger."
"..."