Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Xiao Hei's Ascension
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"Good, the Foundation Establishment Pill wasn't lost."
Yun Xiaotian smiled, a cunning glint flashing in his eyes, and said to Yun Bufan, "Although the Ancestor is injured, it's not so severe as to affect his lifespan."
"Some time ago, the Fourth, Sixth, and Seventh Elders each led a team to the surrounding market cities and have already purchased the spiritual herbs needed for the Ancestor's recovery. He'll be fully healed in five years at most."
A look of joy crossed Yun Bufan's face. If the Foundation Establishment Ancestor was fine, it meant his own chances of successfully reaching Foundation Establishment were over eighty percent.
But then, he felt a bit puzzled.
Why spread the news that he would definitely succeed in reaching Foundation Establishment within ten years?
Spreading rumors that the Foundation Establishment Pill was lost and the Foundation Establishment Ancestor was gravely injured with his end approaching—Yun Bufan could understand that.
It was likely a preparation for his own smooth breakthrough to Foundation Establishment.
The major powers around Mirror Moon Lake each had only one Foundation Establishment Ancestor. They would not sit idly by and watch the Yun Clan have two Foundation Establishment Ancestors at the same time.
Therefore, the Yun Clan's Ancestor had been gravely injured in a sneak attack by the White Clan of Qiyun Mountain, bringing his end near, and the Foundation Establishment Pill had been stolen.
This would undoubtedly make those powers lower their guard against the Yun Clan.
As for the White Clan of Qiyun Mountain clarifying that they hadn't stolen the Yun Clan's Foundation Establishment Pill, that didn't matter.
Just as those powers wouldn't believe the Yun Clan's side of the story, they wouldn't believe the White Clan's self-clarification either.
Only by muddying the waters could the Yun Clan hope to produce two Foundation Establishment cultivators.
"Fan'er, that you will certainly succeed in reaching Foundation Establishment within ten years is a message the Ancestor specifically requested we spread."
"Everything has two sides. A mix of truth and falsehood, falsehood and truth, is the only way to ensure your breakthrough goes smoothly."
Second Elder Yun Zhongbo noticed the confusion in Yun Bufan's eyes. He brought up the Ancestor to reassure him, "What you need to do now is cultivate diligently and reach the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining as soon as possible."
"Yes, Fan'er understands."
Yun Bufan replied respectfully and then exited the ancestral hall.
"Clan Head, I hope your plan succeeds. Once Bufan successfully reaches Foundation Establishment, our Yun Clan will have both the Ancestor and Bufan as Foundation Establishment cultivators to back us. At that time~"
Fourth Elder Yun Zhongwei's eyes were filled with longing for the future, as if he could already see the glorious era of the Yun Clan having three Foundation Establishment cultivators.
"We may be old, but you, Clan Head, have not yet reached the age of fifty. You have a great chance of reaching Foundation Establishment!"
...
Time flowed on, and half a year passed.
The setting sun cast its light down, a faint golden mist drifting over the calm lake surface. With a *splash*, Chen Jianghe's head broke the surface, sending ripples spreading out.
"After half a year of hard training, my Water Escape Art has finally reached the peak of the early Qi Refining stage."
With Xiao Hei's arrival, Chen Jianghe no longer needed to feed the little green fish at all. Moreover, Xiao Hei seemed to have an extraordinary talent for raising fish.
Within a month, he had familiarized himself with the process of raising the little green fish. Under Xiao Hei's care, the fry no longer crashed into each other to fight for food.
Although some nipping still occurred, Xiao Hei always stopped it in time, preventing any fish from going belly-up.
He had spent half a year refining his Water Escape Art. With a single cast, he could travel over half a mile. Chen Jianghe didn't know how talented he was at cultivating arts.
But he felt that he was doing quite well.
In the past six months, the little green fish fry, under Xiao Hei's care, had also undergone some changes in size.
Chen Jianghe made a rough calculation. The average weight of the fry should have decreased by about half a pound.
This meant that the fifty grains of spirit sand were secured.
"It seems the pay for an advanced Fishery Farmer is much higher than a junior one. In three years, just from the average weight bonus, I should be able to earn two spirit stones."
Half a pound lost in six months meant at least two pounds could be lost in three years. That was two spirit stones.
That was equivalent to four years of income for an ordinary junior Fishery Farmer.
If he was lucky and managed to raise a little green fish to the level of a spirit beast, that would be another three spirit stones.
"No wonder Old Gao had ambitions of breaking through to the late stage of Qi Refining. The income of an advanced Fishery Farmer is truly substantial."
Suddenly, Chen Jianghe felt a slight tremor in his spiritual sea. The spirit turtle sigil began to glow.
"Xiao Hei is about to ascend!"
He immediately dove to the bottom of the lake, swimming toward Xiao Hei's location.
The undercurrent at the lakebed stirred up silvery-white sand. A jet-black turtle shell was absorbing and expelling spiritual energy. Eerie blue runes flowed from the crevices of the shell, startling schools of fish into swishing their tails and avoiding the invisible vortex.
Xiao Hei's front claws were sunk deep in the silt, yet he remained motionless. Only the slight tremor of his neck stirred the water as all the spiritual energy in his body converged toward his head, seemingly about to condense the spirit core unique to spirit beasts.
*Whoosh!*
With each breath, Xiao Hei gathered the surrounding spiritual energy onto his shell. It would circulate once along the shell's patterns before being drawn into his mouth like a silken thread.
"Xiao Hei's body is getting bigger?"
Chen Jianghe stood about thirty yards away from Xiao Hei, acting as his guardian, only to find that his body was growing at a visible rate.
Before long, he had grown to the size of a millstone.
This left Chen Jianghe very confused.
The little green fish nourished their bodies with spiritual energy, reducing their size to internalize the energy and condense a core.
But Xiao Hei was the opposite. It seemed the larger his body became, the faster he could absorb spiritual energy, allowing him to gather all his energy to condense a core and ascend to become a spirit beast.
Chen Jianghe didn't know that at this moment, within Xiao Hei's mind, a spiritual sea was gradually becoming visible. Rich spiritual energy gathered above it, forming a vortex that began to condense a spirit core.
Above the spiritual sea, a human-shaped sigil shone with a brilliant halo, merging into the vortex as if helping Xiao Hei condense his spirit core.
*"Wuu~ wuu~"* (Two-legger, I'm going to succeed!)
Xiao Hei roared with excitement in his heart.
The spiritual energy gathered faster and faster. At the bottom of the vortex above the spiritual sea, the nascent form of a spirit core had already appeared.
Four hours passed.
The spiritual energy condensed into a core. Xiao Hei had successfully ascended, transforming into a spirit beast.
Suddenly, cracks bloomed from the center of his shell, changing the original pattern of two horizontal and two vertical lines. Before long, it evolved into three horizontal and two vertical lines, the intersecting patterns forming twelve squares.
The turtle head, once self-conscious due to its imperfections, finally lifted high, its murky eyes reflecting the bright moon in the sky.
The spirit core condensed.
The spiritual sea solidified. The two-legger sigil upon it was clearly visible, identical to Chen Jianghe in every way.
Xiao Hei's spiritual sense touched the sigil on his spiritual sea, and a piece of information flooded his mind.
【Lifespan: 120 years】
*"Wuu~ wuu~ wuu~"* (This turtle lord has made it!)
In his excitement, Xiao Hei's millstone-sized body flipped over on the lakebed, the resulting waves churning up countless grains of sand.
Seeing the sweeping sand, Chen Jianghe quickly dodged to the side before approaching Xiao Hei, his heart filled with joy.
After nearly ten years, Xiao Hei had finally ascended and become a spirit beast.
This meant he now had a true spirit beast, and his 'Breeding Talent' would be enhanced once again.
It was highly likely he could now raise a little green fish to the level of a spirit beast.
Of course, that was all secondary. The most crucial thing was that with Xiao Hei becoming a spirit beast, his own lifespan limit should also increase.
The next moment.
Chen Jianghe's spiritual sense surged toward his spiritual sea, reaching out to touch the now fully manifested spirit turtle sigil.
It looked exactly like Xiao Hei did now.
Immediately after, his own lifespan limit was revealed.
【Lifespan: 360 years】