Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: Time is Merciless
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New Year's Eve.
Chen Jianghe steered his boat to the port of Mirror Moon Market City, watching the cultivators come and go in a bustling, endless stream.
A hundred-zhang-long luxurious greatship sailed into the port, and soon, several hundred cultivators disembarked.
Immediately after, other cultivators boarded the greatship and departed from the port.
This passenger ferry route was Chen Jianghe's idea. Although the Yun Clan would have thought of it eventually, he was the one who proposed it first, earning Yu Daniu significant credit.
Traveling to Mirror Moon Market City on the greatship wasn't expensive, just five spirit grains per cultivator, and the return trip was free of charge.
Looking at the increasingly prosperous Mirror Moon Market City, the fares for a single day amounted to at least a dozen spirit stones. No wonder Yu Daniu had said this route had earned the Yun Clan well over fifteen hundred spirit stones.
Judging by this scene, it must be true.
Without lingering at the port, he went straight to the Mirror Moon Treasure Pavilion and, as Yu Daniu had instructed, went up to the second floor.
This wasn't a sales area; it looked more like a resting lounge.
Camphor wood screens carved with various patterns divided the spacious second floor into individual resting areas.
In the center, there was a room.
It was likely the work area for the manager of the Mirror Moon Treasure Pavilion, but it was currently occupied by Yun Xiaoqian.
The elder supervising the oath was someone Chen Jianghe recognized. He had seen him once before; it was the Fifth Elder, Yun Zhonghou, from the Fishery Farmer Assembly.
"Junior Chen Jianghe pays his respects to the two elders."
Chen Jianghe was led into the room and bowed respectfully to Yun Xiaoqian and Yun Zhonghou.
At this time, Yun Zhonghou's face was a web of wrinkles, his hair was completely white, and even his eyebrows were snow-white, giving him an appearance of extreme old age.
A deathly aura leaked from his body, a clear sign that his time was near.
"Mm, was the idea for the passenger ferry route yours?" Yun Xiaoqian's profound gaze fixed on Chen Jianghe, radiating authority.
"It was, junior."
"Good. You've done well."
A smile appeared on Yun Xiaoqian's face as he continued, "Have you brought the spirit stones?"
Chen Jianghe stepped forward, took out the spirit stones Yu Daniu had given him, and handed them to Yun Xiaoqian.
"The amount is correct."
Yun Xiaoqian nodded to Yun Zhonghou, who was beside him, and said, "Grand Elder, you may now impart the cultivation art."
Grand Elder?
Chen Jianghe was puzzled. Wasn't Yun Zhonghou the Fifth Elder of the Yun Clan?
Why did Yun Xiaoqian call him Grand Elder?
He was unaware of the changes in the Yun Clan's upper echelons over the past two years. Second Elder Yun Zhongbo and Fourth Elder Yun Zhongwei had both died of old age.
Yun Zhonghou himself was over one hundred and ten years old this year, and his lifespan was expected to end within the next year or two.
Seventh Elder Yun Zhongyong was one hundred and nine. Having suffered severe injuries in his youth, his lifespan was also limited to the next year or two, and he was expected to pass away around the same time as Yun Zhonghou.
In other words, the elders of the Yun Clan's "Zhong" generation would all pass on within these two years.
Therefore, Yun Zhonghou and Yun Zhongwei had been honored with the title of Grand Elder, while the Supreme Elders were the Yun Clan Ancestor and Yun Bufan.
As the eldest ninth-level Qi Refining great cultivator of the "Xiao" generation, Yun Xiaoqian was now the Great Elder of the Yun Clan.
The other elders of the "Xiao" generation were all ranked by age.
To fill the vacant elder positions, the Yun Clan had begun to vigorously cultivate the direct descendants of the "Yi" generation in the past two years.
That is, Yun Bufan's generation.
Yun Bufan's birth name was Yun Yifan. He changed it to Bufan after being praised by the Yun Clan Ancestor as a "Qilin's son."
Yu Daniu was among those the Yun Clan was focusing on cultivating.
As long as he broke through to the ninth level of Qi Refining, Yu Daniu could become an elder of the Yun Clan, though not one in the main line of succession.
He could only be an elder with a different surname.
"Grand Elder, you may impart the cultivation art now."
Seeing Yun Zhonghou remain motionless, Yun Xiaoqian walked over, gave him a gentle shake, and then carefully transmitted his voice.
Only then did Yun Zhonghou slowly open his eyes. His eyelids drooped, leaving only a narrow slit, his gaze murky and devoid of light.
"Mm, good, good. I remember you, boy. You look the same as ever, haven't changed a bit."
Yun Zhonghou came to Chen Jianghe's side, his hoarse voice sounding out.
His words startled Chen Jianghe.
His appearance indeed hadn't changed at all. Normally, he should have matured.
After all, once New Year's Eve passed, he would be fifty years old.
How could he not have a single wrinkle on his face?
Fortunately, Yun Zhonghou didn't say anything more. Instead, he took out a jade slip and said sternly, "You may make your oath now."
Chen Jianghe didn't hesitate. He immediately swore an oath that the [Myriad Waters True Scripture - Qi Refining Chapter] obtained from the Yun Clan would only be used for his own cultivation and would never be passed on to a third person. If he broke this oath, a heart demon would instantly arise, his dantian would cease to function, and he would die on the spot.
After making the solemn oath and receiving the jade slip, Chen Jianghe bowed to Yun Zhonghou and Yun Xiaoqian, then immediately left the second floor of the Mirror Moon Treasure Pavilion.
He didn't dare to stay with Yun Zhonghou for a moment longer.
Arriving on the first floor, Chen Jianghe took out all the Five Elements Escape Talismans he had drawn over the past two years to exchange for spirit stones.
In two years, he had drawn a total of ninety-seven Five Elements Escape Talismans. At an 85% buyback rate, that amounted to two hundred and forty-seven spirit stones.
He didn't need to buy the materials for talisman making.
He bought three pots of Fasting Pills, spending twenty-four spirit stones.
With the two hundred and twenty-three spirit stones plus his previous savings, he now had a total of three hundred and forty-seven spirit stones.
After leaving the Mirror Moon Treasure Pavilion, he turned directly into the Beast Taming Emporium. He needed to buy a high-grade Spirit Beast Ring.
What he had to do now was hide himself as much as possible.
At the same time, he also had to hide Xiao Hei well.
He had reached the age of fifty, and before he left Mirror Moon Lake, he couldn't afford to be the least bit careless or let a single mistake slip through.
The reason he spent a large sum on Fasting Pills was that he didn't want to leave his farming waters again.
He didn't want to run into any acquaintances.
He just wanted to hide himself, peacefully pass these next few years, and strive to break through to the seventh level of Qi Refining.
Then, he would leave Mirror Moon Lake.
A quarter of an hour later, Chen Jianghe walked out of the Beast Taming Emporium with a new cyan bracelet on his wrist.
This was the high-grade Spirit Beast Ring he had bought for three hundred spirit stones.
After forming a contract with Xiao Hei, he could store Xiao Hei inside it and carry him around.
When he returned to the port, he felt a gaze on him. He glanced around but found nothing unusual.
Without stopping, he immediately steered his boat away from the port.
Just then, two old men stepped out from the crowd. Watching Chen Jianghe disappear across the lake's surface, they revealed a hint of confusion.
"Big brother, that kid is too strange. Thirty years have passed, how does he still look the same?"
The small, thin old man, though his former features were still faintly discernible, had long been forgotten by Chen Jianghe.
"He must be over fifty. Seeing as he hasn't broken through to the late stage of Qi Refining, it won't be long before he looks just like us."
The once robust middle-aged man stared at the passing crowd with murky eyes, like a wolf searching for prey.
"Forget about him. Let's hurry and find a target. If we can get another fifteen spirit stones, we can buy a Calamity Dispelling Pill for Zhuzi."
—--
Chen Jianghe returned to his farming waters, steadied his fishing boat, and then dived to the bottom of the lake, calling Xiao Hei out from the gravel.
He had already marked the Spirit Beast Ring with his blood. As long as Xiao Hei's blood dripped onto it, they would establish a master-servant contract.
Then the Spirit Beast Ring could be used to store Xiao Hei inside.
"Xiao Hei, drip a drop of blood on this Spirit Beast Ring." With a wave of his hand, Chen Jianghe sent the ring flying in front of Xiao Hei.
"What is this thing?"
Xiao Hei didn't drip any blood. Instead, he opened his big mouth and bit down on it. "Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey! It's too hard, I can't eat it."
"I told you to drip blood, not to eat it."
Chen Jianghe looked at Xiao Hei speechlessly, rolling his eyes in exasperation.
"You should've said so earlier."
Xiao Hei grumbled, then carefully tried to scratch his right foreleg with his left, only to find he couldn't reach.
"Just use your spiritual power to force out a drop of blood," Chen Jianghe said, growing impatient as he watched.
"You do it."
Xiao Hei flipped over, spreading his four limbs, presenting an appearance of letting Chen Jianghe do as he pleased.
Chen Jianghe pursed his lips. He'd had the thought, but he knew his own limits; he couldn't possibly break through Xiao Hei's defense.
"Stop dawdling. Hurry up, there are still Spirit Nourishing Flowers to eat."
"Okay, Master, right away."
Hearing that there were Spirit Nourishing Flowers to eat, Xiao Hei tried a carp-flip but failed to get up, using the water current to turn himself over instead.
A dark light flashed, and a drop of blood dripped from his right claw onto the Spirit Beast Ring.
The next moment, however, left Chen Jianghe stunned.
After the blood dripped onto the Spirit Beast Ring, it slid off, fell onto the gravel at the bottom of the lake, and then dissipated.
"The contract failed?"
A high-grade Spirit Beast Ring was a magical artifact used to form contracts with spirit beasts, and it could also store them for easy carrying.
Why wouldn't the contract form?
The Beast Taming Emporium would never sell fake goods. It wasn't worth tarnishing a thousand-year-old reputation for just three hundred spirit stones.
That left only one possibility: Xiao Hei was already contracted to someone else.
"Could it be because of the spiritual platform imprint?"
He and Xiao Hei were connected by a spiritual platform imprint, which could be considered a more profound form of contract.
If that was the case, then he could try to use the spiritual platform imprint to store Xiao Hei in the Spirit Beast Ring.
"Xiao Hei, don't resist."
Chen Jianghe sent a mental message, then put the Spirit Beast Ring back on his wrist. He connected his divine sense to both the spiritual platform imprint and the Spirit Beast Ring, and with a thought, he silently commanded, 'Store.'
Instantly, Xiao Hei, who was larger than a millstone, vanished before his eyes.
He sent his divine sense into the Spirit Beast Ring and found Xiao Hei sleeping soundly inside.
Then, with another thought, he released Xiao Hei.
"Two-legged beast, what did you do to me!"
Xiao Hei furiously sent a mental message to Chen Jianghe.
"That's a spirit beast space meant to protect you. Remember, don't ever resist when I bring you in here in the future."
"Otherwise, don't blame me if you get stewed by someone."
Chen Jianghe said threateningly.
Xiao Hei retracted his turtle head and nodded frantically. His greatest fear now was being stewed into soup.
Then, in a frightened tone, he said, "Master, where are the Spirit Nourishing Flowers? I feel like I'm about to break through."
Chen Jianghe took out the only four remaining Spirit Nourishing Flowers from his storage pouch and gave them all to Xiao Hei. This should be enough for Xiao Hei to break through to the late stage of the first rank.
"Master, you've struck it rich!"
Xiao Hei exclaimed in pleasant surprise. This was the first time he had seen Chen Jianghe take out four Spirit Nourishing Flowers at once.
He immediately opened his huge mouth and devoured all four Spirit Nourishing Flowers in one go.
After a few chews, he swallowed them.
For a moment, a faint cyan light flickered in his belly, visible even from the outside.
A vast amount of spiritual power erupted instantly, but it was tightly confined within his body by the dark glow emanating from his shell.
As time passed, Xiao Hei's aura began to climb, growing stronger and stronger.
This was a sign of an impending breakthrough.