Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Mirror Moon Market City
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Swoosh~
Swoosh~
Chen Jianghe stepped out of the cabin and looked up at the sky. Streaks of sword light shot across the inner waters, heading for the central island.
In just a few breaths, more than a dozen streaks of sword light had already flown past.
Whoosh~
There were also some mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators without magical artifacts who were expending a great deal of spiritual power to fly on their own, passing through the inner waters.
“Flying on your own for twenty or thirty li is one thing, but the harbor is dozens of li from the central island. For a fourth-level Qi Refining cultivator, that trip alone would consume nearly half their spiritual power.”
“If one could establish a passenger route from Harbor One to the central island, it would surely be profitable.”
As he mulled it over, dozens more mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators flew past his aquaculture waters.
You wouldn't even need to charge much, just five spirit grains per cultivator.
You could easily make several dozen spirit stones a day!
Then, Chen Jianghe shook his head. Any money-making scheme he could think of, the Yun Clan would surely have discovered as well.
All the quick ways to get spirit stones were either monopolized or were the methods of rogue and demonic cultivators.
“I could give Daniu a heads-up, though.”
He was just a high-level Fishery Farmer, not qualified to get involved in such a lucrative venture. But Yu Daniu was.
He had fathered five children with spiritual roots for the Yun Clan, was the manager of the Mirror Moon Immortal Pavilion, and his father-in-law was part of the Yun Clan's core decision-making circle.
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. As long as Yu Daniu proposed this passenger route before anyone else in the Yun Clan, it would surely benefit him.
Hummm~
Suddenly, at that moment, a sound tore through the air. A massive flying boat emerged from the distant horizon, cutting through the sea of clouds as it sailed toward the central island.
As the flying boat passed over the skies of Area C, Chen Jianghe saw a massive character for 'Zhou' written on its banner.
It was the flying boat of the Beast Taming Immortal Zhou Clan.
The Yun Clan had reserved such a prime location in the Mirror Moon Market City for the Zhou Clan's Beast Taming Workshop. In return, the Zhou Clan would naturally come to celebrate the market's grand opening.
Before long, another flying boat sailed in from the distant horizon, accompanied by more streaks of sword light and 'impoverished' cultivators flying on their own.
“Hey, so many powerful auras!”
Xiao Hei's voice resounded in Chen Jianghe's spiritual sea.
“What 'hey'? After eating my Spirit Nurturing Flowers, you won't even call me master? You ungrateful turtle.”
Chen Jianghe cursed, but then asked curiously, “You can sense those powerful auras passing by?”
Before reaching the late stage of Qi Refining, a cultivator's divine sense cannot be projected outward. Even after reaching the late stage, when it can be projected, one cannot brazenly scan passing cultivators.
Doing so could easily lead to a fatal disaster.
“I can't sense the big boat flying in the sky, but among those cultivators flying on swords, I can feel a lot of peak first-tier two-legged beasts.”
“Are spirit beasts' senses that sharp?”
Chen Jianghe looked at the cultivators flying past on their swords. He could only faintly sense the potent spiritual power fluctuations they emitted while flying.
But he couldn't clearly perceive their cultivation levels.
“Master.”
“Hm?”
“You should go quickly. I'll hide deep in the mud at the bottom of the lake, at least ten zhang down. I definitely won't be discovered.”
Chen Jianghe was taken aback and asked in confusion, “Go where quickly?”
“To buy Spirit Nurturing Flowers!”
“...”
Chen Jianghe pursed his lips. No wonder Xiao Hei's 'master' had suddenly rolled off the tongue so smoothly. It was thinking about food again.
The next moment, before he could say anything more, he sensed through the spiritual mark that Xiao Hei was already diving down, burrowing into the mud at the lake bottom.
“Cowardly, greedy, and opportunistic. What a mess of bad habits.”
Chen Jianghe cursed under his breath.
Then, he steered his boat toward the central island's harbor.
New Year's Eve.
The Mirror Moon Market City was opening. Yu Daniu had told him long ago that there would be opportunities at the grand opening, so he definitely had to go.
Besides, another year had passed. The spirit talismans he had drawn needed to be sold, and the profits split with Talisman Master Chu Lang.
Arriving at the harbor.
Chen Jianghe discovered that the central island's harbor had been expanded again, to at least ten times its size from his last visit.
The crowds at the harbor were much denser, the foot traffic a hundred times greater than before.
“Mortals?”
He noticed that there were actually mortals at the harbor, and judging by their attire, they weren't the children of the Yun Clan who lacked spiritual roots.
These mortals seemed to be very familiar with the newly opened Mirror Moon Market City, acting as guides among the crowd to earn spirit grains.
Shouldn't this business be controlled by the Yun Clan?
How could there be outside mortals doing this kind of work?
Most of these cultivators were visiting the Mirror Moon Market City for the first time; none would be stingy about spending a couple of spirit grains to hire a guide.
“Could they be the children without spiritual roots from the other cultivation families in the Mirror Moon Lake region? If so, the Yun Clan's support is truly immense.”
Chen Jianghe didn't need a guide. He had been to the central island many times. Even though it had been greatly transformed by the construction of the market city, he could still find his way around.
The next moment, he followed the main waterway of the central island toward the Mirror Moon Market City.
“Big Brother, look! It's that kid!”
“You were right. That kid is a real survivor.”
At the harbor, a lean middle-aged man in the crowd said to a white-haired old man beside him, “Another fourteen years have passed. He's really managed to stay alive!”
The sturdy old man stroked his beard, having also noticed Chen Jianghe. He nodded. “He's dodged two fatal calamities. Let's hope he can dodge the third.”
“Big Brother, are you planning to make a move on him?”
“That depends on whether he takes the bait.”
——
Chen Jianghe didn't know he was being watched. Even if he did, he would just smile calmly and pay it no mind.
As long as you don't believe in free lunches, you won't get scammed.
At most, he would lament the cruelty of time. The middle-aged man from back then was now a white-haired elder, and the once-thin youth now had a face full of wrinkles, having entered his middle to late years.
Of course, if they targeted him as he was leaving Mirror Moon Lake, he would definitely find an opportunity to take them out first.
A moment later, he followed the crowd into the Mirror Moon Market City. The ten-zhang-high archway was particularly conspicuous.
The main waterway of the central island had been rerouted. Seemingly to accentuate the nobility of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, it now flowed directly from the archway to the front of the pavilion, circled it once, and then split into several smaller streams that flowed toward other streets.
Just upon entering the market, one could see the magnificent, crystal-clear Hundred Treasures Pavilion. Its roof, covered in gilded crystal tiles, was dazzling and eye-catching.
It made the equally ornate Mirror Moon Treasure Pavilion and Beast Taming Workshop beside it seem dull in comparison.
“The Yun Clan really spared no expense to curry favor with the Tiannan Sect. Gilded crystal, priceless in the mortal world and still worth a fortune in the cultivation world, is being used as mere bricks and tiles for the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.”
“Heh, how many spirit stones could it cost to build one Hundred Treasures Pavilion? You should know, the Yun Clan paid an exorbitant price to hire a formation master from the Tiannan Sect to set up a peak second-tier defensive grand formation for the market city. Not even a Foundation Establishment Ancestor could break through it. Now *that's* a real power move.”
“It seems the Yun Clan's Mirror Moon Market City is trying to rival Qinghe Market City!”
“Indeed. I heard that for this market city, the Yun Clan not only emptied its savings of several hundred years but also borrowed spirit stones from other Foundation Establishment immortal clans in the Eastern Region.”
Amid the amazed discussions, a voice rang out, causing all the cultivators to surge toward the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
“The Hundred Treasures Pavilion is open! Haha... I've finally waited long enough for their grand opening sale again.”