Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Spirit Beast Pavilion
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"Strange as it may sound, my father sent a letter saying that Lan Tianxiang, who had vanished without a trace, actually went to the Qiyun Mountain region and killed over a dozen White Clan disciples, three of whom were in the late stage of Qi Refining."
When Zhou Miaoyun mentioned her father, a flicker of worry crossed her eyes. Stoneglow Town had become the border between the Yun and White Clans.
This meant that the Qi Refining families in Stoneglow Town were all in danger of being annihilated.
"The Lan Clan remnant? Wasn't he already severely injured?"
Gao Peiyao asked Zhou Miaoyun, puzzled.
Gao Peiyao and Chen Jianghe had vivid memories of Lan Tianxiang. They had both felt the oppressive might of a great cultivator at the ninth layer of Qi Refining at Port Two.
In an instant, he had destroyed Port Two, taking the lives of dozens of cultivators. He was utterly ruthless.
"Even if Lan Tianxiang has recovered, why would he go and slaughter members of the White Clan?"
Chen Jianghe's words were subtle, but his meaning was clear.
The Lan Clan had a deep-seated grudge against the Yun Clan.
So why would Lan Tianxiang help the Yun Clan deal with the White Clan?
It seemed completely backward.
"My father's letter didn't specify the reason, but because Lan Tianxiang attacked the White Clan, they've halted their invasion of Stoneglow Town."
Zhou Miaoyun thought for a moment, then lowered her voice.
"Could it be that the Yun Clan disguised themselves as Lan Tianxiang to ambush the White Clan?"
"That's a possibility."
Chen Jianghe and Gao Peiyao both nodded.
Lan Tianxiang's reputation as a demonic killer had already spread throughout the Tiannan region, and his status as a demonic cultivator was set in stone.
It wasn't impossible for the Yun Clan to pose as Lan Tianxiang and ambush the White Clan.
Having reached this point, the three of them tacitly dropped the subject.
The food and wine were served.
The three chatted about other matters for a while before concluding their year-end gathering.
Chen Jianghe bought some daily necessities at the market and then steered his boat back to the inner waters.
He was now a Senior Fishery Farmer and had no need to attend the Fishery Farmer assembly.
The day before New Year's Eve, Chen Jianghe received a letter from Yu Daniu.
"A boy. It seems Daniu's luck is quite good."
The letter said that Yu Daniu's wife had given birth to a plump baby boy. As for whether he had a spiritual root, they would have to wait six years to find out.
Spiritual roots only manifested at the age of six, at which point they could be detected.
However, for Yu Daniu's first child to be a boy was a blessing.
The reason the Yun Clan recruited live-in sons-in-law was that they had suffered severe losses of male heirs and urgently needed new blood to replenish their line.
Furthermore, Yu Daniu had also received a reward from the Yun Clan.
Among the seven families with live-in sons-in-law, Yu Daniu, being the first to have an heir, was rewarded by the Yun Clan with five spirit stones and three Qi and Blood Pills.
At the end of the letter, Yu Daniu told Chen Jianghe where he lived and invited him to visit.
Yu Daniu also casually mentioned that he had written a letter to Gao Peiyao as well, but made no mention of Zhou Miaoyun.
The next day.
The sky was just beginning to lighten. The red sun had yet to peek over the eastern horizon, and a thick fog obscured the view, making it impossible to see anything beyond thirty feet.
Chen Jianghe rowed his fishing boat, cutting through the dense fog as he headed for Lakeheart Island.
On the misty waterway, countless boat shadows could be seen, their prows and sterns stretching for miles. There were boats belonging to Senior Fishery Farmers as well as those of guest retainers.
He had never been to Lakeheart Island, but he only needed to follow the boats ahead. No one wanted to miss the once-a-year opportunity to set foot on the island.
An hour later.
The morning fog had not yet dispersed. Azure waves gently kissed the moss-strewn granite embankment. The copper bell on the bow of the black-canopied boat, covered in dew, chimed with the sound of the tide.
Chen Jianghe disembarked from his fishing boat and stepped onto the port of Lakeheart Island. The first thing he saw was the silhouette of a distant clock tower, its edges traced in gold by the nascent sun.
Suddenly, several streaks of light landed on a nearby wooden bridge, revealing figures who then formed hand seals to retract their spiritual energy. They were guest retainers who had flown over using their Qi.
Watching the crowd surge toward the clock tower,
Chen Jianghe didn't linger either, following along with the flow of people.
On Lakeheart Island, Senior Fishery Farmers and guest retainers were not allowed to wander freely. Their movements were restricted to the port, the market fair, and the coastal residential area.
Moreover, he discovered that the spiritual energy on Lakeheart Island wasn't as dense as he had imagined, only slightly stronger than in the inner waters.
This struck him as very strange.
It was rumored that a second-rank, low-grade spirit vein lay beneath Lakeheart Island. Logically, the spiritual energy shouldn't be so similar to that of the inner waters.
But he was a newcomer, had no acquaintances in the inner waters, and couldn't find anyone to ask.
As they drew closer to the clock tower, they passed through a large residential area, composed of small three-room courtyards.
Yu Daniu lived here.
As he passed by, he saw several Senior Fishery Farmers and one guest retainer turn off toward the coastal residential area.
They were likely visiting friends.
Chen Jianghe didn't go looking for Yu Daniu directly. Instead, he continued to follow the crowd toward the clock tower.
This was his first time on Lakeheart Island; it was better to familiarize himself with the place first.
Besides, Yu Daniu had settled down on Lakeheart Island, and this was his first visit. With Yu Daniu having just had a son, how could he possibly go empty-handed?
He currently had one spirit stone and five grains of spirit sand on him, which should be enough to buy a gift for the child.
A short while later, Chen Jianghe arrived at the clock tower district.
It was a hundred-meter-long street paved with bluestone, lined with a dozen or so shops selling magical artifacts, pills, talismans, materials, puppets, and medicinal cuisine. Each shop also bought back the same resources.
The plaques of these shops all shared a common prefix: 'Yun Clan'.
This meant that all these shops were exclusive properties of the Yun Clan.
It was like a miniature market city.
It had practically all the cultivation resources needed for the Qi Refining stage.
"Huh? Spirit Beast Pavilion. There's even a place that sells spirit beasts."
Curious, Chen Jianghe walked inside. It was a shop of over two hundred square meters, with crystal walls partitioning off sections filled with water. A quick glance revealed more than ten water-type spirit beasts inside.
There were even Black Crystal Mystic Turtles and Little Green Fish!
"Fellow Daoist, what are you looking for?"
A portly middle-aged man walked over. He had no trace of spiritual energy fluctuations, but he appeared to be the shopkeeper.
If he wasn't mistaken, this was likely a Yun Clan disciple without a spiritual root.
"How much for this Black Crystal Mystic Turtle?"
Chen Jianghe asked curiously.
"Fellow Daoist must be looking to buy a spirit beast to help raise Little Green Fish," the portly middle-aged man said with a chuckle.
"You have a good eye, Fellow Daoist. The Black Crystal Mystic Turtle is highly intelligent. After becoming a spirit beast, its intelligence is comparable to that of an adult human. It's the first choice for many Senior Fishery Farmers."
"Since you're a Senior Fishery Farmer, you're one of our own. The Black Crystal Mystic Turtle has a drawback: its bloodline purity is not high. You could say it's ungraded. It's been forcibly nurtured into a spirit beast and cannot awaken any innate abilities, so it can never break through to become a second-rank spirit beast."
The portly middle-aged man sized up Chen Jianghe before stating his price.
"Therefore, it's worth twelve spirit stones. I'll throw in a Soul-Link Lock for simple communication."
"Twelve spirit stones!"
Chen Jianghe was stunned. Xiao Hei was that valuable?
"What about the Black Crystal Mystic Turtle's legacy cultivation art?"
Chen Jianghe wanted to know if his Xiao Hei's legacy art was the same as that of other Black Crystal Mystic Turtles.
"Legacy cultivation art?"
The portly shopkeeper was clearly taken aback, staring at Chen Jianghe with an incredulous look.
"What legacy cultivation art? Spirit beasts just consume resources to raise their cultivation. What kind of cultivation art would they have?"