Chapter 253
Chapter 253
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 253
Chapter Title: Maoqiu's Promise and Jiang Ruxu's Network
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"Maoqiu, come with me."
At Clearwater Bay Villa, Chen Jianghe led Maoqiu back to the East Courtyard and under the waterside pavilion.
Then, he took out a talisman brush—a high-grade Green Feather Talisman Brush.
He then produced a sheet of Azure Illusion Spirit Fox hide. It was a resource he had prepared for entering the mystic realm, and he still had one sheet left.
He cut it into fifty pieces.
"Maoqiu, come, try holding the brush."
Chen Jianghe beckoned to Maoqiu and handed over the Green Feather Talisman Brush.
"Master, me?"
Maoqiu was a little confused but took the brush anyway, gripping it tightly and studying it with curiosity.
*Is this the tool Master uses to earn spirit stones?*
Maoqiu was a second-tier spirit beast, and a primate at that. Although its intelligence couldn't compare to Xiao Hei's, it was still comparable to an eight or nine-year-old child.
Xiao Hei's current intelligence was on par with a fourteen or fifteen-year-old youth. However, his spiritual intellect was high, making him exceptionally clever—even more so than the average cultivator.
"Dip it in ink and try drawing a few strokes on the fox hide," Chen Jianghe said with a chuckle.
Maoqiu was currently a bit taller than a cultivator, but there were some exceptionally gifted cultivators born with divine strength and imposing figures. Yun Xiaoniu, for instance, was not much shorter than Maoqiu.
It was just that Maoqiu's intelligence wasn't particularly high; otherwise, Chen Jianghe would have been tempted to let it try alchemy.
As for artifact refinement, he had no legacy for it.
Hearing Chen Jianghe's words,
Maoqiu eagerly gripped the Green Feather Talisman Brush, dipped it in spirit ink, and began to draw forcefully on the fox hide.
*Snap!*
Its arm was stiff, and it used too much force.
The Green Feather Talisman Brush broke.
"Master, it's too fragile."
"..."
Chen Jianghe rolled his eyes. The Green Feather Talisman Brush was a high-grade brush. Though it was essentially a feather, it was extremely hard.
While it couldn't compare to a high-grade flying sword, it was much tougher than a mid-grade one.
Maoqiu had been so forceful it had poked a hole in the stone table. How could the brush not break?
The stone table itself was crafted by a spirit artisan from a first-tier, low-grade spirit material and was incredibly sturdy.
"Master, did I do something wrong? I can learn. I can learn it. Master Turtle said that as long as one is willing to learn, nothing can stump us."
Maoqiu said with determination.
"Alright. Once you're done with your work in the spirit field, practice drawing talismans with a tree branch. I'll teach you some simple runes first."
"When you can skillfully draw a complete rune on the ground with a branch, we'll try with a real brush again."
Chen Jianghe put away the fox hide and the broken Green Feather Talisman Brush.
It was a good thing he hadn't let Maoqiu try alchemy directly. Otherwise, it might have blown up the alchemy furnace.
He had been too naive.
A spirit beast was a spirit beast, after all. How could it draw spirit talismans?
Even cultivators needed a bit of talent to draw talismans. What kind of talent could a spirit beast possibly have for the Hundred Immortal Arts?
Nevertheless, Chen Jianghe demonstrated the patterns for basic talismans—the Water Purification Talisman, the Peace Talisman, and the Dust Dispelling Talisman—for Maoqiu.
He found a patch of sandy ground and demonstrated with a branch over a dozen times before Maoqiu finally memorized the drawing techniques for the three basic talismans.
Afterward, Chen Jianghe left Maoqiu to practice on its own while he returned to his cultivation chamber to cultivate the Myriad Waters True Scripture.
After settling down in Clearwater Bay,
Chen Jianghe would spend three hours a day cultivating the Myriad Waters True Scripture, three hours on the Tidal Marrow Cleansing Art, six hours drawing second-tier, high-grade talismans, and then squeeze in time for alchemy.
He still had a piece of Supreme Clarity Jade, a thousand-year-old maple leaf, and a jade-water lotus leaf, which could be used to create five second-tier, high-grade talismans.
"I only have three Second Wood Soul-Entangling Talismans left. With the materials I have, I'll first draw three Second Wood Green Vine Shield Talismans and two Violet Lightning Cloud-Piercing Talismans."
Chen Jianghe had already asked Jiang Ruxu to help him look for materials to draw second-tier, high-grade talismans in the Immortal Gate Market City.
As an alchemy grandmaster capable of refining second-tier, high-grade spirit pills, it was much easier for Jiang Ruxu to trade for second-tier high-grade and top-grade talisman materials than it was for Chen Jianghe.
Time flew, and half a year passed.
It was now the fifteenth day of the seventh month.
The Myriad Waters True Scripture circulated, refining the vast spiritual power in his divine gate and transforming it into the foundation of magical power in his dantian.
He condensed his sixty-ninth drop of magical power.
To reach the late stage of Foundation Establishment, he needed to cultivate two hundred and forty drops of magical power and turn his dantian into a sea of magical power.
As his realm advanced, his magical power became more profound, his mental strength grew, and the might of his spells increased accordingly.
Of course, the consumption of magical power for spells also increased.
Chen Jianghe had broken through to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment when he was ninety-six, but he lacked cultivation resources afterward and was also cultivating physical and mental techniques.
As a result, his magical power cultivation had stagnated.
In the past ten years, he had only been cultivating the Myriad Waters True Scripture for a little over two years. To be able to cultivate nineteen drops of magical power in that time was only possible because he didn't lack cultivation resources.
In the cavern three hundred zhang beneath Thousand Mountains Market City, Chen Jianghe had used natural spirit treasures for his cultivation.
After arriving at the Immortal Gate Market City, he used Origin Spirit Pills for cultivation.
In terms of cultivation resources, Chen Jianghe had achieved conditions no worse than those of a sect disciple.
If everything went smoothly, he would surely reach the late stage of Foundation Establishment in twenty years at most.
This was also limited by his spiritual root talent. If he had a three-element True Spiritual Root like Yun Bufan, with sufficient resources, it would take him twelve years at most to go from the mid-stage to the late stage of Foundation Establishment.
Resources and spiritual root talent—neither could be lacking.
"To perfect my Jade Dew Flesh-Generating Incantation, I'll likely have to wait until the late stage of Foundation Establishment. As for Absolute Zero... the ice source didn't disappear, which was a pleasant surprise."
Two years ago, in the cavern beneath Thousand Mountains Market City, Chen Jianghe had found it strange. He had already used Absolute Zero in the mystic realm.
Logically, with the ice source depleted, he would need another piece of ten-thousand-year-old profound ice to cultivate Absolute Zero again.
But when he cultivated and inspected his dantian, he found that the ice source hadn't dissipated. The Profound Ice Lotus Seed had appeared.
It was autonomously absorbing spiritual energy and generating a new ice source around it.
This came as a great surprise to Chen Jianghe.
The Profound Ice Lotus Seed didn't absorb spiritual energy quickly, but its speed of condensing the ice source was not slow.
In just over two years, a new ice source the size of a thumbnail had reappeared in his dantian.
At this rate, in another three years at most, the ice source would return to the size it was before he entered the mystic realm.
By then, Chen Jianghe would once again possess his strongest offensive ability.
If he cultivated to the late stage of Foundation Establishment and perfected Absolute Zero, this forbidden art of his might truly be comparable to a talisman treasure.
"This Profound Ice Lotus Seed that Luo Xiyue gave me actually has such a wondrous effect, able to generate an ice source. This way, I'll only need to wait five years to use Absolute Zero again after each use."
Chen Jianghe was delighted, and his thoughts couldn't help but turn to Luo Xiyue.
"Sigh... how could it be easy to go to the Ice Snow Island? Without forming a core, it's impossible to even leave the Tiannan Region."
A helpless expression appeared on Chen Jianghe's face.
The Arctic Snow Forest was perilous, home to many third-tier demonic beasts and even fourth-tier great demons.
Even a Core Formation cultivator couldn't cross the Arctic Snow Forest.
The only option was to go by sea, but entering the Starfall Sea without forming a core was extremely risky.
Two years of the fifty-year period had already passed.
Chen Jianghe didn't know if he could keep his promise to find Luo Xiyue, but he truly wanted that supreme-grade spirit stone.
A supreme-grade spirit stone contained not spiritual energy, but spiritual power—and extremely pure spiritual power at that.
As long as it wasn't completely depleted in one go, a supreme-grade spirit stone had the ability to regenerate its spiritual power.
Obtaining that supreme-grade spirit stone would be like having an inexhaustible supply of cultivation resources for Chen Jianghe.
Furthermore, the primordial qi contained within a supreme-grade spirit stone was far richer than that of a True Spirit Fruit, a Flawless Fruit, or a Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Heart.
In other words,
a supreme-grade spirit stone was itself a type of core formation spirit item, and a higher-grade one at that.
This was a massive opportunity for Chen Jianghe.
If he wanted to seize it, he had to find Luo Xiyue within fifty years.
He settled his mind and cast aside distracting thoughts.
Chen Jianghe then cultivated the Tidal Marrow Cleansing Art for another three hours. With a spirit item like the Water Spirit Jade, cultivating the Tidal Marrow Cleansing Art was twice as effective with half the effort.
His body tempering cultivation progressed rapidly.
It was able to keep pace with his magical power cultivation.
It might even break through to the sixth layer of the technique faster than his magical power cultivation.
Three hours passed.
Chen Jianghe stood up and walked out of the cultivation chamber into the tranquil and elegant courtyard. He glanced at the lush Dragon Pattern Red Pine, which radiated vigorous life.
This Dragon Pattern Red Pine had great potential and a high chance of becoming a third-tier spirit plant in the future.
Chen Jianghe was focusing on nurturing it. He had asked Gao Peiyao to help him exchange for three hundred catties of spirit blood from a peak second-tier demonic beast with a dragon bloodline from the Tiannan Sect.
Of course, Chen Jianghe had given her an Ice Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill in return.
How could he let someone help him for free?
Helping once was fine, but doing it too often could strain a friendship.
Xiao Hei and Latiao had also been let out. One was cultivating in the water feature, while the other was coiled around the Dragon Pattern Red Pine, cultivating.
Over five months ago, the formation at Clearwater Bay was completed, so Chen Jianghe had let both Xiao Hei and Latiao out.
"Maoqiu, come here."
Xiao Hei sensed Chen Jianghe emerging from seclusion and called out to Maoqiu, who was drawing talismans on the sandy ground.
Instantly, Maoqiu scampered over to Xiao Hei's side.
"Go try again with Master."
"Alright, Master Turtle."
Maoqiu quickly ran up to Chen Jianghe, giggling foolishly, communicating via voice transmission while making gestures.
"Master, under Master Turtle's guidance, I can now draw the runes proficiently."
"Huh?!"
Chen Jianghe was taken aback and couldn't help but look at Xiao Hei.
Xiao Hei, measuring twenty-six feet across, lay there like a small hill. His extended turtle head had round eyes wide open, filled with confidence in Maoqiu.
This surprised Chen Jianghe.
Xiao Hei didn't know how to draw talismans, so how did he teach Maoqiu?
"Come, draw the rune for a Water Purification Talisman on the sandy ground with a branch first," Chen Jianghe said.
Maoqiu picked up a branch and drew the Water Purification Talisman rune on the sand with practiced ease. The depth of the lines in the sand was consistent, indicating that Maoqiu had excellent control.
It could wield a brush with stability.
The rune was neat, drawn in a single, fluid motion.
"Not bad. Go cultivate for a bit. I'll go buy you a talisman brush."
He patted Maoqiu's shoulder, praised it, and then left the East Courtyard.
"Master Turtle, Master praised me! I will definitely become the spirit beast genius you spoke of." Maoqiu looked at Xiao Hei excitedly, its eyes filled with joy.
"Rest assured. If I say you're a genius, you are a genius. Even if you're not, you are. You must believe Master Turtle's words." Xiao Hei's round eyes were calm and serene.
"Mhm, mhm, I've always believed Master Turtle's words without a doubt."
Maoqiu's eyes revealed a yearning for the future, and when it looked at Xiao Hei, they were filled with adoration.
...
"Brother Chen~"
Jiang Ruxu and Zhuang Xinyan, who were chatting in the courtyard, were delighted to see Chen Jianghe emerge and immediately went to greet him.
This Clearwater Bay Villa designed by Yu Daniu was quite ingenious.
Although it was divided into an East and a West Courtyard, anyone living in the East Courtyard had to pass through the West Courtyard to leave the villa.
Chen Jianghe didn't know whether to laugh or cry at his sworn brother's well-intentioned design.
"Xinyan, Ruxu, you're both here. I happen to have something for you."
Chen Jianghe took out four second-tier, high-grade talismans: two Second Wood Soul-Entangling Talismans and two Second Wood Green Vine Shield Talismans.
It was just enough to give a set to both Zhuang Xinyan and Jiang Ruxu.
As for the Violet Lightning Cloud-Piercing Talismans?
In the past half-year, he had only managed to turn the Supreme Clarity Jade and the thousand-year-old maple leaf into second-tier, high-grade talismans.
Once he made the jade-water lotus leaf into a talisman, he would give one to each of them.
The situation in the Tiannan Region was currently turbulent. Although the Immortal Gate Market City was unlikely to be affected, it was still wise to be prepared.
In any case, having protective measures would allow them to face any future troubles with composure.
"Hee hee... Thank you, Brother Chen."
Jiang Ruxu accepted them without ceremony, taking the four talismans from Chen Jianghe and handing one Second Wood Soul-Entangling Talisman and one Second Wood Green Vine Shield Talisman to Zhuang Xinyan.
"Thank you, Brother Chen," Zhuang Xinyan said softly, her gentle gaze fixed on Chen Jianghe.
"Oh, right, these are the second-tier high-grade talisman materials I found for you, Brother Chen. There's also one top-grade material."
Jiang Ruxu took out a storage pouch and handed it to Chen Jianghe.
He swept it with his divine sense.
A look of astonishment appeared on Chen Jianghe's face.
"So many?!"
Three pieces of Supreme Clarity Jade, five thousand-year-old maple leaves, and a section of Golden Silk Bloodwood.
The three pieces of Supreme Clarity Jade could be used to draw six second-tier, high-grade talismans.
The five thousand-year-old maple leaves could be used to draw five second-tier, high-grade talismans.
Golden Silk Bloodwood was a second-tier, high-grade spirit plant. This section was from the main trunk, making it a top-grade, second-tier talisman material.
A piece this large could be cut to make five second-tier, high-grade talismans.
In other words, in just half a year, Jiang Ruxu had found him enough materials for sixteen second-tier, high-grade talismans.
"How did you get these?"
Chen Jianghe's expression turned serious as he looked at Jiang Ruxu and asked.
"I applied to become a guest alchemist for the Tiannan Sect. I refine spirit pills for them in exchange for contribution points. I got all these materials from the sect."
Seeing Chen Jianghe's suddenly stern face, Jiang Ruxu answered meekly.
Hearing that this was how she obtained the materials, Chen Jianghe breathed a sigh of relief.
He had been worried that Jiang Ruxu, just like in Thousand Mountains Market City, would overexert her mind for cultivation resources, refining fourteen cauldrons of spirit pills for the Lin family in eight years.
Back then, Jiang Ruxu was only in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, and her alchemy skills were not as refined as they were now.
It was extremely draining on one's mind.
After coming to Clearwater Bay, Chen Jianghe had picked up alchemy again, squeezing in time to refine four to six cauldrons of spirit pills each month.
He was refining first-tier, high-grade spirit pills, which didn't consume much mental energy.
Jiang Ruxu was different; she refined second-tier spirit pills.
"You two must remember, even if you're short on resources, you must not overexert your minds with alchemy or puppet-making."
"Damaging the foundation of your soul will hinder your future cultivation. You can't sacrifice a bright future for a little short-term gain."
Chen Jianghe said solemnly.
Zhuang Xinyan and Jiang Ruxu both nodded obediently, feeling a secret joy in their hearts.
"I'm heading out for a..."
"Senior Sister and I are both free. We can go out with you, Brother Chen."
Before Chen Jianghe could finish his sentence, Jiang Ruxu immediately chimed in.
"Let's go."
Chen Jianghe smiled helplessly.
He left Clearwater Bay with the two women, but instead of heading to the Immortal Gate Market City, they went to Qingyun Town.
He needed to buy some talisman materials and medicinal herbs, which were sold in Qingyun Town.
He bought two peach wood talisman brushes for Maoqiu, spending thirty spirit stones.
In the past, a peach wood brush only cost ten spirit stones. Now, with the rising price of talismans, the prices of brushes, spirit ink, and high-quality yellow paper had all increased.
Of course, this only applied to the materials and brushes for low-grade talismans.
For high-grade talisman materials and brushes, the price hadn't just increased by a certain percentage—it had doubled.
Two peach wood brushes for thirty spirit stones, twenty boxes of spirit ink for thirty spirit stones, and one hundred and twenty sheets of high-quality yellow paper for six spirit stones.
He spent sixty-six spirit stones on brushes and materials for Maoqiu.
He then bought five hundred spirit stones' worth of medicinal herbs for himself. In total, he spent five hundred and sixty-six spirit stones on this trip.
He had five thousand, five hundred and fourteen spirit stones left.
After buying everything,
Chen Jianghe quickly returned to Clearwater Bay with the two women.
It was easy to run into the younger generations of the Yu family in Qingyun Town. It was fine for them to call him Old Ancestor.
But for them to call the two women Old Ancestress was rather inappropriate.
He couldn't tarnish the reputations of these unmarried young women.
Back at Clearwater Bay,
Chen Jianghe called Maoqiu over and gave it the brushes, spirit ink, and high-quality talisman paper.
He had it draw a Water Purification Talisman in front of him and Xiao Hei.
Perhaps it was nervousness, or perhaps it was just not used to holding a brush.
Maoqiu's first three attempts at drawing the Water Purification Talisman failed.
But neither Chen Jianghe nor Xiao Hei showed any impatience. Xiao Hei, in particular, gave Maoqiu an encouraging look.
He firmly believed that Maoqiu could succeed.
Chen Jianghe knew very well how difficult it was for a spirit beast to draw talismans. Even for a primate spirit beast, it was a challenging task.
The magical power of spirit beasts and demonic beasts was the same—rougher and more violent than that of cultivators.
To draw talismans, one needed finer control over their magical power.
On Maoqiu's fourth attempt, its stroke was firm, the rune was delicate, and its magical power was evenly distributed.
With a flash of faint blue light,
a basic Water Purification Talisman was successfully drawn.
"Good, good! I told you you're a genius in the spirit beast world. See? Wasn't Master Turtle right?"
"As long as you believe you can succeed, you will succeed."
Xiao Hei looked pleased, not holding back on his praise.
"Master Turtle, I did it!"
"I did it!"
Maoqiu also jumped up in excitement, its clear eyes filled with joy.
"I have work to do again! I don't have to be idle anymore."
Seeing Maoqiu so happy,
both Chen Jianghe and Xiao Hei looked gratified and nodded.
"A spirit beast talisman master... Grandmaster Maoqiu. Hmm, not bad."
Chen Jianghe looked at Maoqiu, feeling more and more that the creature was teachable, had great potential, and would have a promising future.
"Master, find a path for me?"
"What path?"
Chen Jianghe looked at Xiao Hei, confused by the sudden question.
"You two-leggers have many profound Immortal Arts. Pick one for me too. I want to try a challenge."
Xiao Hei looked seriously at Chen Jianghe and sent a message via his spiritual platform.
"???"
Chen Jianghe was stunned.
*He's making the Hundred Immortal Arts sound too simple!*
Maoqiu could draw talismans because its body shape was similar to a cultivator's, and it was a primate spirit beast.
Being able to draw a talisman was a stroke of luck.
As for how far it could go on the path of talismans, Chen Jianghe felt it wouldn't be very far. A high-grade talisman master would be Maoqiu's limit.
As for Xiao Hei practicing one of the Hundred Arts?
He really didn't know what to choose for him.
Strictly speaking, spirit farming, fishery farming, and spirit mining were all among the Hundred Immortal Arts. Xiao Hei had already achieved considerable success in spirit farming and fishery farming.
High-level Spirit Farmer, High-level Fishery Farmer—these were honors Xiao Hei had earned long ago.
As for spirit mining, Xiao Hei was suited for it, but the current environment wasn't right.
Just like growing immortal crystal rice and raising spirit fish, they were all restricted by the environment and couldn't be done.
As for the Hundred Arts that weren't affected by the environment, none seemed suitable for Xiao Hei.
Formation master, talisman master, alchemist, puppet master, spirit brewer, spirit chef, spirit liquid master, spirit doctor, spirit musician... none of these seemed to fit Xiao Hei.
Especially a formation master, which required a formation legacy.
If he had a formation legacy, Chen Jianghe would have studied the Dao of formations himself.
"The patterns on Xiao Hei's shell are distinctly different from talisman runes, but they resemble the formation runes that Fellow Daoist Liu inscribed when setting up the formation."
"Could Xiao Hei have a talent for the Dao of formations?"
"My soul is unusual, my spiritual essence is strong, and my divine sense surpasses cultivators of the same realm. I should also have a talent for the Dao of formations."
"It seems I need to find a way to obtain a formation legacy to test my and Xiao Hei's talent."
The formation master Gao Peiyao had helped him hire was named Liu Zhiyi.
She was the older sister of Liu Zhining and Liu Zhirou, but Liu Zhiyi was not a disciple of Sunset Glow Peak, but of Verdant Cloud Peak.
She was from the same lineage as Yuan Chenyu but had a different master.
Liu Zhiyi also cultivated the Dao of formations, so she was exempt from the sect's mandatory trial missions. As for mystic realms, she had great autonomy; she could go if she wanted, and no one could force her if she didn't.
It could be said that disciples who also cultivated the Dao of formations held a high status in the Tiannan Sect.
Liu Zhining's master held an even higher status.
Although not the peak lord of Verdant Cloud Peak, he was a Core Formation elder who also cultivated formations, a third-tier formation grandmaster. Sometimes, his words carried more weight than the peak lord's.
However, Chen Jianghe also understood that it was absolutely impossible to obtain a formation legacy from Liu Zhiyi.
Liu Zhiyi's status was something even Gao Peiyao couldn't compare to, let alone a mere rogue cultivator like him.
But Chen Jianghe thought of something for Xiao Hei to do.
And that was to continue raising turtles.
Not the first-grade, high-tier bloodline Black Armor Turtles anymore.
He planned to go to the Immortal Gate Market City to buy a few second-grade, low-tier bloodline, or second-tier, high-grade bloodline spirit turtles.
For cultivating the Sea of Consciousness Solidifying Origin Scripture, mystic turtle soul armor was indispensable.
Otherwise, it would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens for Chen Jianghe to cultivate the Sea of Consciousness Solidifying Origin Scripture to the sixth layer.
Unless he had enough Second Revolution Spirit-Nourishing Pills.
After telling Xiao Hei, Chen Jianghe left Clearwater Bay.
This time, he didn't bring Jiang Ruxu and Zhuang Xinyan. In the cultivation world, where beauties were everywhere, the two women were still exceptionally stunning.
Coupled with Jiang Ruxu's status as an alchemy grandmaster,
it was better not to bring them.
To avoid attracting unnecessary trouble.
...
Tiannan Sect.
Silver Moon Peak. Inside a spirit energy-rich immortal's abode, Perfected Master Lan returned from Heaven-Bearing Peak. Seeing the eagerly waiting Gao Peiyao, she nodded.
"Master, was it a success?"
"Your friend from outside the sect, Chen Jianghe, can be given two compensation options. One of them is related to you."