Chapter 72
Chapter 72
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: The Jingzhe Gathering
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Father, that scoundrel seems to know our tricks.”
Watching Chen Jianghe steer his boat away, the simple-looking young man's gaze was as cold as a blade as he spoke to the approaching elder.
“Smuggling one little green fish for a profit of three spirit stones, and paying a fifty spirit sand intermediary fee—that's very reasonable. How did he see that something was wrong?”
The old man took a deep breath and said helplessly, “So many years have passed. He's become even more cautious.”
“I agree. That kid is just a coward, afraid of death. There's no way he could have seen through our plan.” The once-thin young man now looked middle-aged.
They used to be brokers at Port One, involved in some shady dealings, and had accumulated a good number of spirit stones.
The old man bought his son a spirit beast to help raise the little green fish.
This was also why the simple-looking young man had reached the fourth level of Qi Refining at such a young age and become a high-level Fishery Farmer.
As for why they didn't believe Chen Jianghe had seen through their plan…
It was because they had just come up with this scheme, and Chen Jianghe was their first test subject.
Lure him to Port One, then find an excuse to move away from the port to sign a confidentiality contract, and finally, kill him and plunder his spirit stones and resources.
“No need to keep an eye on people like him. The time investment is too high.”
The old man gave the simple-looking young man a deep look and said earnestly, “Zhuzi, remember, unorthodox methods are not a long-term solution. At most, you can do this for your generation. When the time comes, accumulate a certain amount of wealth, establish a cultivation family, and walk the righteous path of cultivation.”
“Father, I'll remember.”
—
“What crude methods.”
Chen Jianghe returned to his farming waters, scoffing at what had happened at the Mirror Moon Market City port.
The Yun Clan's control over the smuggling of large and small green fish was extremely strict. Anyone caught would have their Dantian crippled, their limbs broken, and be thrown out of Mirror Moon Lake.
For such a small profit of spirit stones over two years, other high-level Fishery Farmers might take the risk, but he absolutely would not.
Drawing spirit talismans was far more profitable than smuggling.
Besides, did they really just want you to join them to earn a small intermediary fee?
They were after your entire fortune.
Having cultivated for twenty-three years, he was no longer a novice. In the cruel world of cultivation, the greatest dangers didn't come from high-level cultivators, but from those at the bottom.
Because they would do anything for spirit stones, completely devoid of morals.
“Master, you're finally back.”
Xiao Hei's voice timely sounded in Chen Jianghe's spiritual consciousness, obediently calling him master.
“Don't even think about the Spirit Nurturing Flower. We'll talk about it in the third month after the new year.” Chen Jianghe cut off whatever Xiao Hei was about to say next.
“What Spirit Nurturing Flower?”
Xiao Hei feigned anger, his disappointed tone transmitting, “I was just concerned about when Master would return.”
“…”
Chen Jianghe sensed a hint of manipulative innocence.
“Master, I'll work hard to raise more Green-Scaled Fish into spirit beasts and earn more spirit stones, so we can exchange them for more cultivation resources.”
Xiao Hei said in a very understanding tone.
Chen Jianghe's mind buzzed. Through the spiritual imprint, he sensed Xiao Hei diving back to the bottom of the lake.
He hadn't mentioned the Spirit Nurturing Flower at all.
“Did I misunderstand this cowardly turtle?”
Listening to Xiao Hei's words, he was deeply moved. Working hard, earning more spirit stones, to exchange for cultivation resources for the two of them.
The words reeked of manipulative innocence, yet he felt an inexplicable sense of comfort and was touched.
After some thought, Chen Jianghe decided to give Xiao Hei one Spirit Nurturing Flower first. After all, he had bought eight of them this time.
They were all bought for Xiao Hei anyway; giving one sooner or later made no difference.
So, he circulated his spiritual power, wrapped a Spirit Nurturing Flower in it, and sent it to the bottom of the lake.
A few days later, the Yun Clan's large boat arrived to distribute the little green fish fry. After counting them, Chen Jianghe placed them into his farming waters under the watchful eye of the boat's manager.
Watching the large boat depart, he couldn't help but think about giving the Spirit Nurturing Flower to Xiao Hei a few days ago.
He had a feeling he'd been tricked.
Over the past few days, whenever he chatted with Xiao Hei, he noticed that Xiao Hei hadn't called him 'Master' even once.
“I've been had.”
Chen Jianghe suddenly realized that Xiao Hei had tricked him out of a Spirit Nurturing Flower.
“Ever since this fellow became a spirit beast, his intelligence has been getting higher and higher.”
Black Crystal Mystic Turtles were already highly intelligent, but Xiao Hei's current intelligence was ridiculously high.
No less than that of a normal adult human.
He might even be a cut above.
“The Three Revolutions Demon Ascension Art can enhance bloodline talent. Could it also enhance intelligence?”
Judging from Xiao Hei's cultivation progress, he had already surpassed most spirit beasts with second-grade bloodlines. He had never seen a spirit beast with a third-grade bloodline, so he couldn't make a comparison.
A spirit beast's physical body and spiritual power were much stronger than those of a cultivator at the same realm. They could also directly consume rare flowers, exotic herbs, and heavenly materials to cultivate, but accumulating spiritual power to advance their cultivation was a slow process.
The reason he could raise his cultivation to the mid-first-order in such a short time was also because Chen Jianghe had spent a lot of resources on him.
But for Xiao Hei to advance to the late-first-order, he would need even more resources. Even giving him all seven remaining Spirit Nurturing Flowers wouldn't be enough for a breakthrough.
He would need at least another twenty or thirty Spirit Nurturing Flowers.
Several more days passed. Chen Jianghe walked out of the cabin and onto the bow, his brows furrowing slightly as he watched the streaks of sword light crossing the sky.
“Why are there fewer and fewer cultivators coming to Mirror Moon Market City?”
It was true that with the initial excitement of the market city's opening fading and the Hundred Treasures Pavilion's opening discounts ending, the number of visitors would naturally decrease.
But the drop seemed a bit too drastic.
He had noticed this trend a few days ago. At the beginning, over a hundred cultivators would fly past on their swords every day.
Many other cultivators also flew on their spiritual energy towards Mirror Moon Market City.
But now, only ten or twenty cultivators flew by on swords each day, and as for the mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators flying on their spiritual energy, he barely saw any.
This was rather strange.
Today was Jingzhe, the day Chen Jianghe had arranged to meet with Yu Daniu and Zhou Miaoyun. He had Xiao Hei dive deep into the lake, then steered his boat towards the Mirror Moon Market City on the lake's central island.
When he arrived at the port, he found it quite deserted. There were only a few dozen scattered cultivators and only four or five mortal guides.
This was a world away from the scene at the market city's opening, when the port was filled with thousands of cultivators and hundreds of mortal guides.
“What on earth is going on?”
Filled with questions, Chen Jianghe headed to the Mirror Moon Immortal Pavilion, which was their appointed meeting place.
Yu Daniu was a manager at the Mirror Moon Immortal Pavilion, which made things more convenient.
After arriving at the Mirror Moon Immortal Pavilion, he was led by an attendant into a private room prepared by Yu Daniu, only to find that Zhou Miaoyun was already there.
“Fairy Miaoyun, my apologies for the wait.”
“I just arrived as well.”
Zhou Miaoyun's expression held a hint of weariness and less of her usual pride as she gave Chen Jianghe a slight nod.
A few breaths later, Yu Daniu walked in. He clearly wasn't very busy. He knew Zhou Miaoyun had already arrived but had waited for Chen Jianghe to get there before making an appearance.
After all, there was still some distance between Yu Daniu and Zhou Miaoyun.
After taking a seat, Chen Jianghe asked, “Daniu, why have the number of cultivators coming to Mirror Moon Market City suddenly dropped so much?”