Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Aftermath of the Auction
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The bloodline aura emanating from Xiao Hei was even stronger than that of the Mountain Velvet Beast, clearly reaching the purity of a superior third-grade bloodline.
Back at Area A, Water Region Six, Chen Jianghe dove to the bottom of the lake, carefully sensing the oppressive bloodline aura that Xiao Hei was emitting.
"It's really stronger than the Mountain Velvet Beast. Doesn't this mean I'm guaranteed to have a second-rank spirit beast in the future?"
Chen Jianghe watched Xiao Hei swim back and forth, tumbling and fawning, and a dazed smile spread across his face.
Seeing Chen Jianghe laugh, Xiao Hei tumbled even more energetically, soon forming a small whirlpool at the bottom of the lake.
"Master, can I have the Spirit Nurturing Flower now?" Xiao Hei finished his performance and sent a telepathic message to Chen Jianghe, its beady eyes squinting.
"Alright, alright, here you go."
Chen Jianghe, in high spirits, took out a Spirit Nurturing Flower and gave it to Xiao Hei.
"Xiao Hei, you must remember, raising fish is important, but your cultivation is even more so. Don't slack off. I'm counting on you in the future."
"Don't worry," Xiao Hei replied cheerfully after swallowing the Spirit Nurturing Flower.
Chen Jianghe felt Xiao Hei's attitude wasn't firm enough, so he said, "Although you have exceptional talent, you were also born with a defect. If you don't cultivate diligently, your lifespan will be capped at one hundred and twenty years, shorter than even an ordinary Black Crystal Mystic Turtle."
"Cultivate! I must cultivate diligently! I want to live for a thousand years, a ten-thousand-year turtle!"
It seemed a sensitive nerve had been struck. Xiao Hei's determined tone came through telepathically.
Only then did Chen Jianghe nod in satisfaction.
Back on the boat, Chen Jianghe suddenly thought of something terrifying.
Before a spirit beast advances to the second rank, its bloodline aura cannot be concealed. This meant that if Xiao Hei were discovered, its superior third-grade bloodline would also be revealed.
Having Xiao Hei stolen would be a minor issue.
Losing his own life would be a major one!
"A Spirit Beast Ring... a high-grade Spirit Beast Ring... that's three hundred spirit stones!"
To hide Xiao Hei's aura, there was only one solution: buy a high-grade Spirit Beast Ring.
A high-grade Spirit Beast Ring could not only house a spirit beast but also conceal its bloodline aura.
But it was worth three hundred spirit stones.
He currently only had ninety-two spirit stones. Saving up to three hundred would take at least another four or five years.
Moreover, he also realized that while Xiao Hei could become a second-rank spirit beast, it would require a massive amount of resources to raise it.
All of which meant spirit stones!
*Caw, caw~~*
Just then, an egret flew over and landed on the prow of the black-canopied boat.
Chen Jianghe looked puzzled. Who would be sending him a letter at this time? It couldn't be Yu Daniu; he had just returned from Mirror Moon Market City.
Then it could only be Zhou Miaoyun.
After opening the letter, however, he found it was signed by Gao Peiyao.
The letter stated there was a lead on Lan Yunyi's storage pouch. Someone had been seen picking it up.
"Wang Kui? It was him!"
Chen Jianghe stared at the letter in his hand, a look of surprise on his face. He couldn't believe the person who had found Lan Yunyi's storage pouch was actually Wang Kui.
That cultivation loafer who hung around the port, borrowing money from everyone.
He had even borrowed fifty spirit grains from Yu Daniu and never paid him back.
Ten years ago, Chen Jianghe had seen Wang Kui once. He had already reached sixty years of age, and his old age was beginning to show.
Without a fortunate encounter, he had no hope of breaking through to the late stage of Qi Refining.
Gao Peiyao's letter explained that two people had originally found Lan Yunyi's storage pouch, and one of them was Wang Kui.
The reason the storage pouch ended up in Wang Kui's hands was that he had a cultivation level of the sixth layer of Qi Refining.
The other person was only at the fourth layer of Qi Refining.
They had agreed that Wang Kui would hold onto it first, and they would split the contents after the heat died down.
But after three years, few people mentioned the demonic cultivator's storage pouch anymore. The other man thought the time was right and went to find Wang Kui to divide the demonic cultivator's assets.
Only to find that Wang Kui had long since vanished without a trace.
He had left the Mirror Moon Lake port long ago, his whereabouts unknown.
In a fit of rage, this person reported the matter to the Yun Clan. Since it involved a demonic cultivator, the Yun Clan didn't dare to be negligent and reported it to the Tiannan Sect.
"It's been three years. Who knows where Wang Kui has run off to? The Tiannan Domain is vast and boundless; how could they possibly find him?"
Chen Jianghe shook his head. To think someone would actually trust a cultivation loafer like Wang Kui.
If he hadn't reported it, he might have lived.
Now that he had, and Wang Kui was nowhere to be found, death was his only outcome.
Gao Peiyao's letter also contained another piece of news: she had already broken through to the eighth layer of Qi Refining and could reach the ninth layer in three years at most.
She had already left the mountain and was now living long-term in the sect's market city, taking on sect missions to accumulate contribution points in preparation for breaking through to Foundation Establishment.
At least until she reached Foundation Establishment, Gao Peiyao would be living in the sect's market city.
Therefore, she gave Chen Jianghe her address for future contact.
"Gao Peiyao is at the eighth layer of Qi Refining, Daniu is at the seventh, and Fellow Daoist Zhou is also at the seventh. Only I am at the sixth layer. I'm still a bit slow."
"But I'm only forty-three. I'm still very young and have plenty of time to cultivate steadily."
For someone with a lifespan of three hundred and sixty years, forty-three was like a youth just past childhood, still a long way from adulthood.
He still had six Spirit Accumulating Pills on hand. He wouldn't even need to use them all to reach the peak of the sixth layer of Qi Refining.
After that, he would slowly polish the bottleneck.
He had no intention of taking the Calamity Dispelling Pill.
Rogue cultivators already had a low success rate when attempting to break through to Foundation Establishment. He certainly wasn't going to deplete his potential beforehand and reduce his chances even further.
*Hoo~*
Chen Jianghe sat cross-legged on the prow, circulating the Guiyuan True Water Art, a basic water-element cultivation technique, breathing in spiritual energy to replenish the magical power in his sea of qi dantian.
Area A, Water Region Six was close to the Lake Heart Island, less than two li away, so the spiritual energy was relatively abundant.
Six hours later, Chen Jianghe ceased his cultivation, rose, and returned to the cabin.
He took out his talisman-crafting materials one by one and laid them on the desk. Focusing his mind, he lifted the brush and began to draw a spiritual talisman on the paper, his strokes like a soaring dragon.
For the past two years, he had been practicing drawing the most complex of the low-grade spiritual talismans, the Five Elements Escape Talisman. As long as he could raise his success rate with it to forty percent.
His talisman crafting skills would have a major breakthrough.
His success rate for drawing offensive spiritual talismans could then increase to seventy percent.
By then, he could attempt to draw mid-grade spiritual talismans. Only by becoming a mid-grade Talisman Master could he, as a rogue cultivator, obtain cultivation resources comparable to those of the core disciples of immortal clans.
He might even surpass them.
He was alone. Unlike Zhou Miaoyun, who had to give a large portion of the spirit stones she earned from talisman crafting back to her clan.
In another two years, his agreement with Talisman Master Chu Lang would expire, and all the spirit stones he earned from crafting talismans would be his own.
If he broke through to become a mid-grade Talisman Master, the speed at which he accumulated wealth would be even faster.
Buying a storage pouch, a Spirit Beast Ring, or even a magical artifact wouldn't be impossible.
---
Yun Clan Ancestral Hall.
The upper echelons of the Yun Clan were gathered here, their faces etched with urgency. Upon seeing Yun Bufan return, Clan Head Yun Xiaotian immediately stood up.
"Bufan, how did it go?"
The other Yun Clan higher-ups also looked at Yun Bufan nervously. This concerned whether the Yun Clan could break the Puppet Immortal Lu Clan's blockade.
The Puppet Immortal Lu Clan was the hegemon of the Tiannan Domain's eastern region. They would never allow a clan with four Foundation Establishment cultivators to appear in their territory.
Of course, with the Tiannan Sect's existence, the Lu Clan could only suppress these Foundation Establishment immortal clans through legitimate channels.
For instance, at auctions, the Lu Clan would prevent clans that already had three Foundation Establishment Ancestors from obtaining Foundation Establishment Pills or third-grade bloodline spirit beasts.
But some clans had broken the Lu Clan's blockade and become top-tier immortal clans with four Foundation Establishment members.
At this auction, the fact that the inferior third-grade bloodline Mountain Velvet Beast was bought by someone from the western region undoubtedly gave the Yun Clan an opportunity.
Because the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the eastern region would absolutely not let a western region cultivator leave safely with the Mountain Velvet Beast.
"There wasn't just one Foundation Establishment cultivator from the western region; three others were waiting to assist."
"However, the Mountain Velvet Beast escaped into a tributary of the Heaven-Reaching River during the chaotic battle. The western region cultivators didn't manage to get the inferior third-grade bloodline cub either."
Yun Bufan said with a faint smile.
"That's good, that's good. As long as the Mountain Velvet Beast is still in the eastern region, our Yun Clan has a chance to obtain it."
Yun Xiaotian smiled with satisfaction.
The seventy-thousand-li Heaven-Reaching River spanned the Tiannan Domain from east to west. As long as the Mountain Velvet Beast didn't enter the main river, it wouldn't be a big problem.
Besides, the Mountain Velvet Beast wouldn't dare enter the main river. The current was so swift that even the Water Repelling Charm of a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator would be ineffective.
Moreover, even late-stage Qi Refining cultivators couldn't fly over the main river using their qi. The fierce astral winds were strong enough to tear through their protective qi barriers.
Since the Mountain Velvet Beast was not yet an adult, it couldn't enter the main river. It could only hide in the tributaries of the Heaven-Reaching River around Mirror Moon Lake.
"Bufan, there is one more thing we need to be wary of."
Ninth Elder Yun Xiaoqian spoke up at this moment, "After you left, the White Clan bought the [Myriad Waters True Scripture - Qi Refining Volume]. It's a superior water-element cultivation art that can increase magical power by thirty percent after cultivation."
"I'm worried the White Clan will make a move against our Yun Clan."
"Haha... Uncle Qian, rest assured. The White Clan no longer has that opportunity."
Hearing this, Yun Bufan burst into laughter and said to the crowd, "In this ambush against the western region cultivators, both sides lost one person. Do you know who the Foundation Establishment cultivator from the eastern region who died was?"
"Could it be the one from the White Clan?"
Instantly, everyone in the hall stood up, their faces filled with excitement and tension as they looked at Yun Bufan.
"It was precisely the White Clan's Foundation Establishment cultivator."
Yun Bufan's eyes turned cold, the corners of his mouth lifting as he said frostily, "Next, it will be time for the various clans of the eastern region to move against the White Clan."
"Father, you can give the order to attack Qiyun Mountain now. But to be cautious, it's best to deploy the clan's guardian spirit beast."
"Our Yun Clan has three Foundation Establishment cultivators and a long-standing feud with the White Clan. It will be enough for us to occupy half of Qiyun Mountain's territory. I doubt the other clans will have much to say about it."
"Mm, I understand," Yun Xiaotian nodded and replied.
"Then this child will go cultivate first."
Yun Bufan left the front hall and headed towards a secret chamber in the back.
Yun Xiaotian returned to the main seat and gestured with his hand for everyone else to sit down.
"You've all heard what Fan'er said."
Yun Xiaotian's expression turned serious. As he aged, his words and actions carried more and more authority.
Although he had missed his best chance for Foundation Establishment, the Yun Clan would have more and more disciples with the potential to reach it in the future.
Therefore, he had to continue planning for the clan, doing everything in his power for its long-term prosperity.
"Currently, our Yun Clan has three urgent matters to attend to. I hope you will all give your utmost for the glory of the clan."
"Please give your orders, Clan Head."
Immediately, all the elders and deacons stood up, bowed, and responded.
"Fourth Elder, Fifth Elder, and Seventh Elder, take the guardian spirit beast, lead twenty late-stage Qi Refining disciples and ten guest guards, and head to Qiyun Mountain immediately. Make sure not a single member of the White Clan is left alive."
Yun Xiaotian's murderous words echoed through the ancestral hall.
"Yes!"
Fourth Elder Yun Zhongwei, Fifth Elder Yun Zhonghou, and Seventh Elder Yun Zhongyong accepted the order and left the ancestral hall.
"Ninth Elder, lead ten of the clan's late-stage Qi Refining cultivators and thirty mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators to search every tributary of the Heaven-Reaching River within the Mirror Moon Lake region. Do your best to find the Mountain Velvet Beast." Yun Xiaotian looked at his lucky cousin.
"I will definitely find the Mountain Velvet Beast and add another second-rank spirit beast to our clan."
Yun Xiaoqian accepted the order and departed.
"Daniu."
"Present."
Yu Daniu stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Yun Xiaotian.
"When you were a Fishery Farmer in the outer water regions, you had dealings with Wang Kui, correct?" Yun Xiaotian asked in a calm voice.
"Yes. Wang Kui was in the water region next to mine. He still owes me fifty spirit grains." Yu Daniu grew angry just thinking about those fifty spirit grains.
Although he didn't lack fifty spirit grains now, he was furious at being deceived.
"Mm. You're familiar with Wang Kui, so you will lead twenty clan cultivators and be responsible for searching for his whereabouts within Mirror Moon Lake."
"Remember, if you do find Wang Kui, you must not kill him, nor can you touch anything in the storage pouch. Everything must be handed over to Deacon Lan of the Tiannan Sect."
Yun Xiaotian instructed gravely.
Lan Yi was a deacon of the Tiannan Sect, a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, and it was rumored she was close to forming her Core.
An existence like that was not someone the Yun Clan could afford to offend.
"I understand."
Yu Daniu left the ancestral hall. Upon returning home, he told his wife, Yun Huizhen, everything. When she heard her father had only been assigned to search for the Mountain Velvet Beast, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Daniu, that Wang Kui has had the demonic cultivator's storage pouch for three years. We don't know if there's a demonic inheritance inside. If there is, Wang Kui has surely cultivated it."
"You must not act recklessly. Let the other clan members make the first move. As a clan deacon, you are more important to the clan."
Yu Daniu was deeply moved by his wife Yun Huizhen's concern and admonitions, but he felt that letting others act first didn't seem right.
After all, he had the superior-grade flying sword his father-in-law had given him, as well as a superior-grade defensive magical artifact.
Even against a demonic cultivator, he had the means to protect himself.
The other late-stage Qi Refining clan members might not have superior-grade flying swords and defensive artifacts.
Of course, he only thought this to himself. He wouldn't dare say it out loud and have his wife complain about his naive ideas.
"I'll be gone for a while, maybe three to five years. Have Xiaoniu visit Brother Jianghe more often. I think Brother Jianghe is quite fond of the boy."
Yu Daniu paused for a moment, scratched his head, and said, "Since I have the chance to leave Lake Heart Island this time, I want to go back to Shixia Town to have a look."
"No."
Yun Huizhen immediately refused.
"Daniu, you are a deacon of the clan now, one of its higher-ups. You absolutely cannot entertain the thought of returning to your old home. Otherwise, it will bring fatal disaster to you, your parents, and your younger siblings."
"You don't need to worry too much. Over the years, I've secretly sent people to check on them and given them a lot of gold and silver. They're living very well now."
(End of this chapter)