Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Artifacts and Pills
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Chen Jianghe fell into deep thought.
Xiao Hei's cultivation speed was a pleasant surprise, giving him more confidence about leaving the Yun Clan in the future.
With his long lifespan, he certainly couldn't stay in one place for too long. Otherwise, an unchanging appearance over several decades would easily arouse suspicion.
He was now halfway through his twenty-ninth year, approaching the age of thirty.
According to his previous plan, he intended to leave the Yun Clan before his sixtieth birthday and find a new place.
He was confident he could reach the sixth level of Qi Refining by then, giving him a certain degree of self-preservation upon leaving.
But now, he could move up his timeline.
He had already taken the first step in the art of talismans. It wouldn't be long before he could become a low-grade Talisman Master, which would provide him with a substantial extra income.
This would allow him to reach the sixth level of Qi Refining by the age of fifty, and perhaps even break through to the late stage of Qi Refining.
Plus, Xiao Hei had the Three Revolutions Demon Ascension Art, so its cultivation speed was also remarkably fast. In twenty years, as long as he could supply the resources, it should be able to reach the late first-tier.
Therefore, as things stood now, leaving the Yun Clan at fifty seemed the most prudent choice. Not only would he have the means to protect himself, but he would also have accumulated some wealth.
With his mind made up, he continued to read the "Yun Clan Magazine." It took him half a month to finally go through it all carefully.
This gave him a certain understanding of pills and artifacts.
The Spirit Nurturing Pill was a medicinal pill used to assist in the early stages of Qi Refining. A single pill was equivalent to two years of arduous cultivation, but it took a year to expel the pill's toxins.
When one reached the mid-stage of Qi Refining, the effects of the Spirit Nurturing Pill became rather inadequate.
At this point, one would need the mid-grade spirit pill, the Spirit Accumulating Pill.
The Spirit Accumulating Pill could help cultivators with five-element miscellaneous spiritual roots break through the bottleneck from the early to the mid-stage of Qi Refining.
It was also an indispensable cultivation pill for mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators. One Spirit Accumulating Pill was equivalent to a year and a half of hard cultivation, and it took over half a year to expel its toxins.
To break through from the mid-stage to the late-stage of Qi Refining, cultivators with three-element true spiritual roots or lower were best advised to have a high-grade spirit pill, the Calamity Dispelling Pill, on hand.
Of course, it was possible to break through without the Calamity Dispelling Pill, but it would take a long time to overcome the bottleneck, and there was a chance of failure.
"Compared to pills, artifacts are outrageously expensive!"
Chen Jianghe lamented inwardly.
An ordinary low-grade flying sword artifact sold for as much as ten spirit stones, and defensive artifacts of the same grade were typically two to three times the price of offensive ones.
Those in the early stage of Qi Refining couldn't even dream of owning an artifact. Only mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators could accumulate enough wealth to purchase a low-grade one.
However, using a low-grade artifact in the mid-stage of Qi Refining was somewhat restrictive, preventing them from unleashing their full power.
But mid-grade artifacts were so expensive that mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators couldn't afford them.
Generally, only direct descendants of clans or disciples of immortal sects could afford to use artifacts that matched their cultivation level.
"Artifacts are too expensive. Otherwise, having one for protection when I leave the Yun Clan would make me much safer."
Chen Jianghe shook his head. He didn't dare to dream of owning an artifact anytime soon. He would have to wait until he had enough spirit stones.
He placed the jade slip back into his pouch and kept it close. He would have to return it eventually.
Then, he tidied up his desk, took out the high-quality yellow paper, and cut it all into talisman paper.
He then took out the box of unused spirit ink and poured some into the inkstone.
Finally, he moistened the brush and ground the ink.
He currently had only sixty-eight grains of spirit sand on him. After the new year, he would need to buy Spirit Nurturing Pills for Xiao Hei.
Moreover, this New Year's Eve, he would definitely be visiting Yu Daniu's home.
He needed to return the "Yun Clan Magazine," and Yu Daniu had explicitly told him to return it on New Year's Eve. The meaning couldn't be clearer.
He wanted to use this opportunity to catch up.
Yu Daniu had five sons. If he were to visit, how could he go empty-handed?
Earning spirit stones by drawing talismans was quite urgent.
A quarter of an hour later.
The ink was ground, and the brush was moistened.
He picked up the low-grade peach wood talisman brush, his composure serene and his gaze sharp. With fluid, masterful strokes, he began to draw a Water Arrow Talisman on the paper.
Until he had mastered drawing the Water Arrow Talisman, he had no intention of trying other low-grade water-element talismans.
As for talismans of other elements or protective talismans, he wouldn't even think about them until he obtained a first-tier talisman art inheritance.
Without an inheritance, attempting the art of talismans was limited to drawing talismans that matched the elemental attribute of one's own cultivation technique.
Five months passed in the blink of an eye.
Under the candlelight of night, inside the black-canopied boat on the lake, Chen Jianghe's shadow was stretched long, extending out of the cabin to merge with the water and sky.
He paused his brush, and seeing a brilliant flash of light on the talisman paper, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
"A forty percent success rate. Not bad."
In these five months, he had used a total of thirty-five sheets of talisman paper, averaging seven sheets per month.
His spiritual power was sufficient to draw three low-grade talismans, but the mental strain was difficult to endure.
The spiritual energy in the inner waters was abundant, so his spiritual power recovered at a decent rate. However, recovering his mental energy and adjusting his state of mind took seven to eight days.
As he drew more Water Arrow Talismans, his success rate gradually increased, rising from less than twenty percent at the beginning to forty percent.
Out of thirty-five sheets of talisman paper, he had produced seven finished Water Arrow Talismans. He was very pleased with this result.
The only problem was that he was running out of spirit ink again.
His proficiency was still too low, causing him to waste too much spirit ink.
Otherwise, one box of spirit ink should be enough to draw fifty low-grade talismans.
"I still have sixty-two sheets of talisman paper, so I don't need to buy more for now. The spirit ink will last for another seven or eight attempts. I'll need to buy another box."
"Seven Water Arrow Talismans, sold back at eighty percent of the price, will fetch nearly six spirit stones. That's enough to buy Spirit Nurturing Pills for Xiao Hei, and more spirit ink."
Chen Jianghe didn't plan to keep the Water Arrow Talismans. Since he wasn't leaving Mirror Moon Lake, he had no use for them.
It was better to exchange them all for spirit stones to improve his own strength.
Earning nearly six spirit stones in five months was far more profitable than raising little green fish. At his current success rate, he could net ten spirit stones a year.
No wonder the market sold talisman-making materials. With such considerable profits, it was natural that many high-level Fishery Farmers would try to test their talent in the art of talismans.
Some aggressive low-level Fishery Farmers might even forgo buying cultivation resources to save up spirit stones for talisman-making tools and materials.
After all, once they took the first step in the art of talismans, all the spirit stones they spent would come back.
Looking at it this way, Zhou Miaoyun's talisman skills were about to advance to the mid-tier first-grade. She could indeed become the foundation for the Zhou Clan to establish themselves in Qinghe Market City.
The income of a low-grade Talisman Master was certainly much higher than that of someone who had just started, let alone a mid-grade Talisman Master.
Moreover, the higher one's cultivation, the more abundant their spiritual power and the stronger their mental energy, allowing them to draw more talismans.
New Year's Eve.
Chen Jianghe tidied up a bit and spoke to Xiao Hei, telling him not to surface. While he was away, Xiao Hei should stay hidden in the mud at the bottom of the lake as much as possible.
After all, if he were present and someone approached, he could always use the spiritual platform's imprint to tell Xiao Hei to hide deep in the lake.
He was now heading to the lake's central island and couldn't take Xiao Hei with him, so he had to have it hide at the bottom of the lake to avoid any mishaps.
The black-canopied boat followed the fleet heading towards the central island.
The pair of oars, however, lay idle beside the boat. Chen Jianghe was using his spiritual power to propel the vessel forward.