Chapter 280
Chapter 280
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 280
Chapter Title: Yun Bufan's Return, Traces of Xiaoniu
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“Alchemy Grandmaster Fairy Jiang is Grandmaster Chen’s confidante? Isn’t Grandmaster Chen in love with Artifact Refining Grandmaster Fairy Luo?!”
Ji Ziyan was a direct daughter of the Alchemy Immortal Ji Clan. Although she rarely ventured out of the Western Border, she had heard of the famous tale between the Man of Great Fortune and Artifact Refining Grandmaster Fairy Luo.
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
Chen Jianghe looked at Zhou Xiaoxuan and shook his head helplessly.
“Fairy Jiang and I are the closest of friends. Fairy Ji, please don’t listen to Xiaoxuan’s nonsense.”
“Hehe…”
Zhou Xiaoxuan pursed her lips and giggled, her graceful figure trembling in a soul-stirring manner.
Ji Ziyan understood.
Regardless of the relationship between Chen Jianghe and Jiang Ruxu, he was clearly not lacking Muscle Regrowth and Bone Mending Pills. Her idea of trading those pills for high-grade second-tier talismans was now out of the question.
“I can offer five Second Revolution Spirit Nourishing Pills. Would that be enough to trade for two high-grade second-tier escape talismans from Grandmaster Chen?”
Ordinarily, Ji Ziyan wouldn't need to trade for high-grade second-tier talismans from Chen Jianghe.
It was just that high-grade second-tier talismans were in short supply everywhere right now.
The opening times for the conventional mystic realm and the unknown mystic realm were not far apart, so everyone was preparing resources.
This was true south of the Heaven-Reaching River, and even more so to the north.
There were only so many Talisman Grandmasters.
Yet, there were two hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators entering the mystic realms.
The cultivators entering the conventional mystic realm were mostly at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, with a few at the late stage.
But for the unknown mystic realm, the cultivator with the lowest cultivation was Chen Jianghe, and even he had broken through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment a few years ago.
In other words, the weakest cultivators entering the unknown mystic realm were at the late stage of Foundation Establishment.
How could the cultivators entering the conventional mystic realm possibly compete for resources against those entering the unknown one?
It was true that Ji Ziyan was a direct daughter of the Alchemy Immortal Ji Clan.
But which of the cultivators entering the unknown mystic realm didn't have a significant background?
High-grade second-tier talisman materials were hard to find. Without them, even a Talisman Grandmaster couldn't conjure high-grade second-tier talismans out of thin air.
“If Fairy Ji adds another twelve thousand spirit stones, I can trade you two high-grade second-tier Purple Lightning Cloud-Piercing Talismans.”
“Lightning-attribute escape talismans? Excellent.”
Hearing they were lightning-attribute escape talismans, Ji Ziyan agreed without the slightest hesitation, taking out five Second Revolution Spirit Nourishing Pills and twelve thousand spirit stones.
Chen Jianghe, in turn, produced two Purple Lightning Cloud-Piercing Talismans.
The value of the items was roughly equal, and both parties were getting something they needed. At this point, it was less about value and more about demand.
With these five Second Revolution Spirit Nourishing Pills, Chen Jianghe was even more confident he could cultivate the *Sea of Consciousness Origin-Solidifying Scripture* to the mid-to-late sixth level.
Ji Ziyan wanted to trade for more high-grade second-tier talismans, but she couldn't spare any more Second Revolution Spirit Nourishing Pills.
It wasn't that she didn't have more.
It was that doing so would undermine the foundation of her own cultivation.
Seeing the difficulty this Grandmaster Alchemist Ji Ziyan faced in trading with Chen Jianghe, Zhou Xiaoxuan felt incredibly fortunate.
“Thank goodness Uncle Chen thinks highly of me. Otherwise, those fifteen sets of high-grade second-tier talisman materials probably wouldn't have even gotten me four talismans.”
“The fifteen high-grade second-tier talismans Uncle Chen promised me, plus the five I’ve managed to acquire over the years—these twenty talismans will be my greatest asset in the mystic realm.”
Zhou Xiaoxuan thought to herself.
With Chen Jianghe's support, she had a considerable number of high-grade second-tier talismans, likely more than any other sect disciple entering the conventional mystic realm this time.
They chatted for a while longer.
Then, a voice came from outside the private room.
The voice sounded familiar to Chen Jianghe. When he saw the cultivator who walked in, he stood up and went to greet him with a smile.
“Xiaoxuan mentioned an old friend was coming. I was wondering who it might be, but I never expected it to be you, Fellow Daoist Yun.”
The newcomer wore a simple white cloud-patterned robe and a crane-crested coronet. He was handsome and possessed a refined, jade-like grace. It was none other than Yun Bufan, the Qilin Son of the Mirror Moon Lake Yun Clan.
Chen Jianghe was truly surprised that the other external aid Zhou Xiaoxuan had invited was Yun Bufan.
He had a very deep impression of Yun Bufan.
In his humble beginnings, he had practically grown up hearing the legends of Yun Bufan.
Reaching Foundation Establishment at thirty-six, a truly heaven-gifted talent.
However, after his breakthrough, he was bogged down by family affairs, unable to venture out for resources, and wasted over sixty years of his life.
During the turmoil in the Tiannan Domain, Mirror Moon Lake was breached by the two clans of Qinghe, and only a few Yun clan members survived.
After entrusting these survivors to the Yu Clan…
Yun Bufan began to wander the chaotic Tiannan Domain, seeking opportunities for a breakthrough, hoping to one day annihilate the two Qinghe clans and avenge the destruction of his home and family.
“Grandmaster Chen, it has been over forty years, yet your spirit is as vibrant as ever.”
Yun Bufan cupped his hands and smiled.
“Brother Yun’s spirit is even greater than before. After journeying through the Tiannan Domain for twenty-four years, you’ve returned at the late stage of Foundation Establishment.”
“You are truly blessed by fortune, with profound opportunities.”
Chen Jianghe also returned the salute with cupped hands.
He mentally calculated the time. He was eighty-three when he left Qiyun Mountain, and now he was one hundred and twenty-eight.
Indeed, forty-five years had passed since they last met.
Given their relationship, and with Yu Daniu as a mutual connection, they could be considered old friends.
As for Yun Bufan wandering for twenty-four years…
According to Yu Daniu, the Yu Clan had moved to Qingyun Town twenty-five years ago. Mirror Moon Lake and Qiyun Mountain were destroyed by the two Qinghe clans a year after that.
By that count, Yun Bufan had indeed been away for twenty-four years.
When he left, Yun Bufan had been struggling to obtain an Ice Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill to break through to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. Now, he had returned as a late-stage cultivator.
His fortune was truly profound.
“Speaking of opportunities, how could mine possibly compare to Brother Chen’s great fortune?”
Others might not know Chen Jianghe’s background, but as his former employer, Yun Bufan knew it all too well.
In terms of origin…
Even Yu Daniu’s was slightly better than Chen Jianghe’s.
Although Yu Daniu was the son of a farmer, at least he had a home.
Before being brought to the Yun Clan, Chen Jianghe was just a street urchin in the mortal world. Because he possessed a spiritual root, the Yun Clan gave him a cultivation technique and spirit stones, allowing him to draw in Qi and establish his Dao foundation.
A former Fishery Farmer of his clan had grown to a height that even he had to look up to. Such fortune was truly immense!
The Man of Great Fortune.
Grandmaster of the Talisman Dao.
His wife was a Grandmaster of Artifact Refining, his confidante a Grandmaster of Alchemy, and his childhood friend a sect disciple with immense potential to reach Core Formation.
Whether in personal achievement or connections, he had reached a level that ordinary cultivators could only gaze at in awe.
After Yun Bufan’s arrival…
Immortal delicacies and spirit dishes were served, along with several pots of top-quality immortal spirit wine.
Since Zhou Xiaoxuan, Yun Bufan, and Ji Ziyan were all entering the conventional mystic realm, their conversation naturally drifted towards matters concerning it.
Although Chen Jianghe wasn't entering the same realm, he had experience from the Wind Snow Valley Mystic Realm.
He had some experience entering mystic realms.
Zhou Xiaoxuan, Yun Bufan, and Ji Ziyan repeatedly asked for his advice.
Chen Jianghe didn't hold back, sharing what to watch out for in a mystic realm and what supplies to prepare.
High-grade first-tier puppets were essential.
If one wanted to obtain a large number of mid- to low-grade second-tier spirit items without putting oneself in danger, the help of high-grade first-tier puppets was necessary.
Then there were talismans and spirit pills, especially escape talismans and second-tier spirit recovery pills.
These were life-saving items for entering a mystic realm.
How many spirit items one obtained was secondary.
Surviving in the mystic realm and walking out safely—that was what truly mattered.
As long as you stayed alive, even just picking up the spoils of others would make the trip worthwhile.
The prerequisite was not to end up like Chen Jianghe in the Wind Snow Valley Mystic Realm, hiding in a cavern until the realm closed.
He didn't even get a chance to pick up storage bags.
The group chatted cheerfully.
Before they knew it, two hours had passed.
As they were about to leave, Zhou Xiaoxuan sent a voice transmission to ask about the talismans and spirit pills. Chen Jianghe reassured her, saying he would give them to her when it was time to head to the mystic realm.
After that…
Zhou Xiaoxuan and Ji Ziyan departed.
Chen Jianghe and Yun Bufan moved to another private room to continue their conversation.
They spoke of Yun Bufan’s experiences over the years.
It was a path full of twists and turns. First, he went north of the Heaven-Reaching River, joined the war between the Qi and Nan nations, and exchanged his military merits for an Ice Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill. Then he crossed south again, back to the lands south of the Heaven-Reaching River, and helped the Qi nation expand its territory in the Western Border.
When the situation stabilized, he made a swift retreat, trading his merits for resources. He then returned north of the river once more to train in the Arctic Snow Forest and the boundless sea.
When the Feng nation was established and war broke out again…
He joined the war between the Feng and Qing nations, but unfortunately never encountered anyone from the two Qinghe clans.
Once the situation in the Feng nation stabilized, he resigned from his post as an immortal official and headed to the Xichuan Prefecture to search for traces of Yun Xiaoniu.
In twenty-five years, through many hardships, he had more or less traveled the entire Tiannan Domain, and his cultivation had risen to the late stage of Foundation Establishment.
To have survived on the battlefield, one had to say Yun Bufan was blessed by fortune and favored by destiny.
“Brother Yun, you were in Xichuan Prefecture for five years. Did you find any news of Xiaoniu?” Chen Jianghe asked urgently.
As Yu Daniu’s eldest son, Yun Xiaoniu was a junior he had watched grow up, and one he was most fond of.
He was naturally very concerned about Yun Xiaoniu’s safety.
If not for the turbulent times, he would have wanted to go to Xichuan Prefecture to look for him as well.
“I did get some news. Xiaoniu and some rogue cultivators went deep into the boundless sea. There were seven of them in total, and only three returned.”
“I found two of them. From the memory fragments of their souls, it seems they stumbled into a restrictive formation and helped a Core Formation Almighty who was trapped inside.”
“My cultivation wasn't at the late stage of Foundation Establishment back then. Otherwise, I could have collected more soul fragments and gotten more information.”
Yun Bufan’s expression turned cold as he added, “Of the three who returned, there’s still one I haven’t found. If I find him, once my cultivation reaches the peak of Foundation Establishment, I will surely be able to confirm Xiaoniu’s whereabouts.”
Hearing this, Chen Jianghe’s heart skipped a beat.
He never thought the refined and gentle Yun Bufan had such a side to him.
But on second thought, having been tempered by the battlefield, Yun Bufan’s heart had long been forged like iron.
When it came to matters concerning Yun Xiaoniu, how could he be merciful?
To perform a soul search at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, one could imagine he must have shattered the other party's soul and collected information from the fragments.
After being subjected to a soul search, the target had only two possible fates.
Either immediate death.
Or becoming an insane, drooling imbecile.
“Stumbling into a restrictive formation and coincidentally saving a Core Formation Almighty… perhaps Xiaoniu was really taken away by that Almighty.”
Chen Jianghe said.
“I was thinking the same thing, Brother Chen. Xiaoniu is a good person blessed by heaven; he will surely turn misfortune into fortune.”
Yun Bufan said with conviction.
The old ancestor of the Yun Clan had been very fond of Yun Xiaoniu's honest and simple nature, and Yun Bufan naturally valued him greatly as well.
After all, Yun Xiaoniu was his nephew.
“Has Brother Yun told Daniu about this?” Chen Jianghe asked.
With this news, there was at least a fifty percent chance that Yun Xiaoniu had truly been taken away by a Core Formation Almighty.
As long as he wasn't dead, it was good news.
“To be honest, Brother Chen, I just came from East Sea Commandery.”
“The reason Zhou Xiaoxuan invited me to enter the mystic realm is partly because of Daniu, and partly because I’m familiar with Mount Muyun.”
Hearing this…
Chen Jianghe understood that Yun Bufan had gone to East Sea Commandery as soon as he got news of Yun Xiaoniu. As for entering the mystic realm, Yu Daniu must have been the one to introduce them.
Yu Daniu and the Zhou Clan were related by marriage.
The mother of Yu Qirui, the head of the Yu Clan, was Zhou Xiaoxuan’s cousin. With the Yu Clan vouching for Yun Bufan’s character…
Zhou Xiaoxuan naturally trusted him.
Furthermore, Yun Bufan’s strength was indeed not weak, and he had survived on the battlefield, which meant he had his own opportunities.
He could help her obtain Core Formation resources.
“Although the mystic realm is filled with spirit items, it’s also fraught with restrictive formations and dangers at every step. There are many powerful demonic beasts, and you must be especially wary of the other cultivators who enter with you.”
Chen Jianghe looked at Yun Bufan and asked, “Brother Yun, you’re entering the unknown mystic realm. How are your preparations?”
“I’ve managed to acquire some resources over my years of travel. I’ve prepared three high-grade second-tier talismans and a few second-tier spirit recovery pills.”
Yun Bufan had obtained more resources than that over the years, but he had used a large portion of them to trade for a spirit-imbued offensive artifact.
As for a spirit-imbued defensive artifact, he didn't dare to even dream of it.
“What about healing pills?”
“I have one Mountain-Suppressing Bone Mending Pill.”
“Uh… forgive my impertinence, Brother Yun, but what kind of high-grade second-tier talismans are those three?”
“All three are offensive talismans.”
“…”
Chen Jianghe was speechless for a moment.
Entering a mystic realm with such meager preparations was no different from suicide.
He was pure cannon fodder.
The last time, he had sold three low-grade second-tier Falling Star Thunder Talismans to Yun Bufan at a price of five hundred spirit stones each.
That was to repay the Yun Clan’s kindness for guiding him onto the path of cultivation.
Although the karmic debt was settled, the friendship remained. He couldn't just stand by and watch Yun Bufan walk to his death.
Besides, some debts of gratitude couldn't be so easily settled.
As Chen Jianghe’s cultivation grew deeper and his strength increased, he placed even more importance on the kindness he received in his humble beginnings.
A basic water-attribute cultivation technique, ten grains of spirit sand, one Spirit Accumulating Pill.
All together, it was worth less than five low-grade spirit stones.
Logically, by selling the Falling Star Thunder Talismans to the Yun Clan at five hundred spirit stones each, he had long since repaid the debt.
But a debt of gratitude couldn't be measured that way.
Without that basic water-attribute cultivation technique, those ten grains of spirit sand, and that one Spirit Accumulating Pill, he would have long turned into a pile of dry bones and returned to the earth.
There would be no Grandmaster Chen of today.
He saves your life, you save his life—that is when a debt of gratitude is truly settled.
While the Yun Clan didn't directly save his life, they did change his destiny. Those three friendship-priced Falling Star Thunder Talismans could be considered repayment, but one could also argue it wasn't enough.
It all came down to one's conscience.
Take the debt he owed to Alchemist Zhuang.
How could he ever repay that?
“Brother Yun, your preparations are far too insufficient. A mystic realm is different from the outside world; any kind of danger is possible.”
“I will give you three Yimu Green Vine Shield Talismans and three Purple Lightning Cloud-Piercing Talismans. These are all high-grade second-tier talismans.”
“Three Muscle Regrowth and Bone Mending Pills, three Heart-Clearing Detoxification Pills, three Dew-Condensing Muscle Regrowth Pills, and three second-tier spirit recovery pills.”
“Brother Chen, you…”
“Brother Yun, please let me finish.”
Chen Jianghe looked at Yun Bufan with a solemn expression and said, “I am not giving you these talismans and spirit pills for free.”
“Of the quasi-third-tier spirit items you obtain in the mystic realm, I want the first two. I will not take any Core Formation spirit items.”
“If Brother Yun is willing, these talismans and spirit pills are yours. If not, then please pretend I never said anything.”
Chen Jianghe’s meaning was clear.
If Yun Bufan obtained one quasi-third-tier spirit item in the mystic realm, it would belong to Chen Jianghe.
If he obtained two, they would also belong to Chen Jianghe.
Only the third quasi-third-tier spirit item he found would be his own.
As for Core Formation spirit items, Chen Jianghe wouldn't take them.
He couldn't even if he wanted to. Any third-tier spirit items would belong to the Tiannan Sect and the Beast Taming Zhou Clan.
“Thank you, Brother Chen.”
Yun Bufan cupped his fists in gratitude.
After wandering for twenty-four years, Yun Bufan was no fool. He understood the dangers of the mystic realm and knew the value of the talismans and spirit pills Chen Jianghe was offering.
Calculated in spirit stones…
The investment Chen Jianghe was making in him was worth one and a half quasi-third-tier spirit items.
Asking for two quasi-third-tier spirit items was only charging half an item's worth of interest. Not only was it not high, but it was also a clear gesture of help.
In fact, even if Chen Jianghe hadn't brought up the talismans and pills, he would have asked to buy some himself.
Over the years of his travels, he had heard of Chen Jianghe’s fame as a Talisman Grandmaster.
And of the fame of that late-stage Qi Refining girl from Qiyun Mountain, Jiang Ruxu.
He had even asked Yu Daniu to write a letter so he could ask Chen Jianghe for help.
“Actually, even if Brother Chen hadn’t mentioned it, I was planning to buy some talismans. I even asked Daniu to write a letter.”
Yun Bufan gave a wry smile.
No matter how good his composure was, he had once been Chen Jianghe’s employer. Now, he had fallen to the point of having to ask Chen Jianghe for help.
How could he possibly feel good about it?
Chen Jianghe took the letter Yun Bufan handed him. It bore Yu Daniu’s signature.
He could tell at a glance that it was Yu Daniu’s handwriting.
He opened the envelope and took out the letter.
Yun Bufan turned to look elsewhere.
However, when Chen Jianghe looked at the clean, neat sheet of paper, there wasn't a single word on it.
Evidently, Yu Daniu knew how precious high-grade second-tier talismans were now, and he probably also knew that Chen Jianghe would be entering the unknown mystic realm.
How could he put Chen Jianghe in a difficult position?
“That Daniu…”
Chen Jianghe sighed inwardly.
From this blank sheet of paper, he could guess Yu Daniu’s intentions. He didn't want to make things difficult for him.
If someone had truly come to him with a letter from Yu Daniu asking for talismans, he naturally wouldn't have refused.
But he knew very well that when his brother considered things, he always prioritized his interests.
After settling the agreement with Yun Bufan…
Chen Jianghe gave the talismans and spirit pills to him, then shared some more information about the mystic realm before leaving the Immortal Gate Restaurant.
He returned to Clearwater Bay.
Chen Jianghe entered his cultivation chamber.
On this trip to the Immortal Gate Market City, he had given away eight high-grade second-tier talismans.
Five Purple Lightning Cloud-Piercing Talismans and three Yimu Green Vine Shield Talismans.
In his three years of seclusion, he had crafted twenty-two high-grade second-tier talismans: six Purple Lightning Cloud-Piercing Talismans, nine Yimu Green Vine Shield Talismans, and seven Yimu Soul-Entangling Talismans.
After giving away eight…
He now had sixteen Purple Lightning Cloud-Piercing Talismans, eighteen Yimu Green Vine Shield Talismans, and eighteen Yimu Soul-Entangling Talismans.
He still had sixty-six sets of high-grade second-tier talisman materials.
“Yun Bufan managed to survive the battlefield and cultivate to the late stage of Foundation Establishment. He has some fortune on his side. Coupled with his three-element true spiritual root talent, strengthening this bond can do no harm.”
“I hope Yun Bufan doesn’t disappoint me, that he can walk out of the mystic realm alive, and preferably with two quasi-third-tier spirit items.”
Chen Jianghe intended to help Yun Bufan, but if he could gain some benefits for himself in the process, he was more than happy to do so.
However, the one he had the highest hopes for was Zhou Xiaoxuan.
She was his biggest investment.
If Zhou Xiaoxuan could obtain a second Core Formation spirit item in the mystic realm, it would be his.
From the current situation…
Chen Jianghe analyzed that because of the opening of the unknown mystic realm, the Core Formation prospects from the previous generation and the prodigies of top immortal clans had begun to hoard high-grade second-tier talisman materials and other mystic realm treasure-hunting resources.
This had led to the trial-takers of this conventional mystic realm having very limited resources.
With his support as a Talisman Grandmaster, plus the spirit pills from Alchemy Grandmaster Jiang Ruxu…
The resources in Zhou Xiaoxuan’s hands could definitely rank in the top five among the trial-takers.
As for a Talisman Treasure?
That would depend on how much her master valued her.
If she was highly valued…
Even though her master was a peak lord who hadn't reached Core Formation, obtaining a Talisman Treasure should still be quite simple.
The prestige of a main lineage peak lord of the Tiannan Sect carried far more weight than that of the patriarchs of those top immortal clans.
Even if Zhou Xiaoxuan didn't obtain a Core Formation spirit item, quasi-third-tier spirit items were practically guaranteed. With so many resources, her preparations were even more abundant than his when he entered the Wind Snow Valley Mystic Realm.
He stopped thinking about these things.
Chen Jianghe circulated the *Myriad Waters True Scripture*, refining the spiritual power of the Dustfall Pill in his divine sea, condensing his magical power, and expelling impurities.
First, he would focus on raising his cultivation to the eighth level of Foundation Establishment.
Once he condensed three hundred and sixty drops of magical power in his dantian, he could break through to the eighth level.
Once his magical power was saturated…
Further cultivation would simply be about cleansing the impurities from his magical power, allowing the power in his dantian to merge and form a sea of magic.
After three years of seclusion, he had already condensed two hundred and eighty-four drops of magical power in his dantian. At most, it would take another seven years to reach the eighth level of Foundation Establishment.
Before the unknown mystic realm opened, even if he couldn't reach the peak of the late stage of Foundation Establishment…
Reaching the eighth level was not a problem.
This met his expectations.
His physical body cultivation, with the help of the Blood Soul Pills, was also progressing rapidly.
Two years ago, Jiang Ruxu had given him the refined Dustfall Pills and Blood Soul Pills. After subtracting what he had used for cultivation in the past two years…
He now had twelve Dustfall Pills and three Blood Soul Pills.
“Three Blood Soul Pills should be enough for my physical body to reach the peak of the sixth level first.”
Chen Jianghe estimated based on his refinement speed of the Blood Soul Pills. In six or seven years at most, he could cultivate the *Tidal Marrow Cleansing Art* to the peak of the sixth level.
The perfection of the Foundation Establishment physical body.
This was a realm that many cultivators at the peak of Foundation Establishment had yet to reach.
When he entered the unknown mystic realm, he would have another asset to rely on.