Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Breakthrough
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Chen Jianghe saw that Xiao Hei was about to break through and immediately surfaced. Looking down from above, he could see a faint green light flickering in the lake.
He then emerged halfway from the water's surface and cast a Minor Cloud and Rain spell, creating the illusion that he was practicing his arts to conceal the anomaly at the bottom of the lake.
At the same time, his divine sense was locked onto the spiritual mark, closely monitoring Xiao Hei's changes during the breakthrough.
Squeak~
Xiao Hei's head emerged from his shell, his face contorted in pain. His limbs were slowly growing, and gray streams of light were cracking from them.
The faint glow from his shell trapped all the spiritual energy of the Spirit Nurturing Flower within his body. As time passed, his physical form grew another size larger.
Three days later.
The pain on Xiao Hei's face had vanished. His shell was now twice its original size. His limbs, which had grown longer, still appeared somewhat short and stout on his new body.
However, one could clearly see that his four thick limbs were now cracked with gray patterns, no longer completely black but covered in blocky dark spots.
Sensing through the spiritual mark that Xiao Hei's breakthrough was complete, Chen Jianghe immediately dived to the bottom of the lake.
"Master, am I an adult now? It feels like I'm not an adult."
Xiao Hei looked at Chen Jianghe in confusion, extending one of his thick claws, which now had distinct black spots.
"Doesn't the appearance of black spots mean you've reached adulthood?" Chen Jianghe asked, puzzled.
"My body is an adult, but I still feel young," Xiao Hei said earnestly.
"Huh?"
Chen Jianghe was taken aback, then rolled his eyes.
"That's normal. Humans who've just reached adulthood think the same thing."
However, Chen Jianghe sensed something was off.
Xiao Hei possessed a third-grade, high-tier bloodline. Logically, he should reach adulthood at the peak of the late-first-tier, yet he was showing signs of maturity just after breaking through to the late-first-tier.
There was no mistake in his bloodline purity; the aura Xiao Hei emitted was indeed stronger than that of a Mountain Velvet Beast.
Then the abnormality must lie with Xiao Hei himself.
It was because of the Three Revolutions Demon Ascension Art that Xiao Hei's bloodline purity had been elevated to third-grade, high-tier.
Therefore, the timing of his maturation would also not be normal.
Chen Jianghe did a quick calculation in his mind.
Xiao Hei was now thirty-five and had just reached adulthood. Following the typical lifespan of a spirit beast from maturity to the decline of its vitality...
In other words, if Xiao Hei's vitality were to decline at a normal rate, it would happen around the age of eighty.
That left forty-five years.
Instantly, Chen Jianghe felt the pressure mount on his shoulders.
He needed to successfully reach Foundation Establishment within forty-five years, or it would affect Xiao Hei's attempt to break through to the second tier.
He was currently fifty. Forty-five years meant he had to succeed in Foundation Establishment before he turned ninety-five.
"Forty-five years is enough."
Chen Jianghe thought it over. Forty-five years was a long time; he might not even need that long.
If not for the bottleneck in breaking through to the late Qi Refining stage, he would have reached the seventh level of Qi Refining four years ago.
He could have attempted to break through to Foundation Establishment at seventy.
Even if he spent several years grinding down the bottleneck, he wouldn't need until he was ninety-five to attempt Foundation Establishment.
Besides, Xiao Hei's cultivation speed wasn't slow either.
It had taken him seven years to reach the mid-first-tier, and then another nineteen years to advance to the late-first-tier.
Later, as his income from talisman crafting increased, he would provide Xiao Hei with more and more resources. It was highly likely that Xiao Hei could become a second-tier spirit beast within forty years.
At this thought, Chen Jianghe couldn't help but grin.
The lifespan of a second-tier spirit beast.
And a turtle-type one at that.
His smile grew so wide he could hardly close his mouth.
"Master, fire something at me," Xiao Hei suddenly transmitted, asking Chen Jianghe to attack him.
Chen Jianghe didn't hesitate. He immediately channeled his spiritual power, condensed a five-foot-long water arrow, and with a *swoosh*, shot it fiercely at Xiao Hei's shell.
*Bang!*
The water arrow struck the shell, instantly cracking before shattering and dissolving into the lake water.
It didn't even leave a white mark on Xiao Hei's shell.
"Why are you shooting my shell? Hit my tummy."
Xiao Hei stood upright, pointing a short little claw at his plastron—the weakest part of a Black Crystal Mystic Turtle.
"Are you sure?"
Chen Jianghe asked.
He was a sixth-level Qi Refining cultivator, after all. A full-powered strike from him could carve out a small cave two meters deep.
"Yeah, yeah. I feel like my tummy is even harder than my back shell was before," Xiao Hei said.
With Xiao Hei's reassurance, Chen Jianghe felt more confident.
Before Xiao Hei's breakthrough, he couldn't penetrate the defense of the carapace, so he probably couldn't break through the plastron's defense now either.
Immediately, Chen Jianghe condensed another water arrow and shot it at Xiao Hei's plastron. With a crisp sound, the water arrow shattered, leaving the plastron unmarked.
"This must be comparable to a high-grade defensive Dharma tool!"
Chen Jianghe guessed to himself.
He had never seen a high-grade defensive Dharma tool and didn't know its power, but he felt that Xiao Hei's plastron was likely on par with one.
As for the carapace, it had definitely reached the level of a high-grade defensive Dharma tool.
This meant that even a ninth-level Qi Refining grand cultivator would find it difficult to break Xiao Hei's defense without a high-grade flying sword.
Even with a high-grade flying sword, they might not succeed.
And one shouldn't forget that Xiao Hei also had the 'Petrification' divine ability.
"Master, am I tough?"
"Tough. So tough you should be stewed into soup," Chen Jianghe said with a straight face.
"Two-legged beast, I'll fight you to the death!"
Enraged, Xiao Hei spat out a water arrow, shooting it toward Chen Jianghe.
Seeing the weak and feeble water arrow, he knew Xiao Hei was just playing around. But when Chen Jianghe dodged it, the arrow struck the gravel at the bottom of the lake, blasting out a pit three feet wide and over ten feet deep.
Chen Jianghe was stunned, his jaw dropping.
Is this a late-first-tier spirit beast?
A casual spit carried power no weaker than a full-force strike from a sixth-level Qi Refining cultivator.
How could this be considered playing around?
Xiao Hei was playing with him, but he was playing with his life.
No wonder at the same cultivation level, the strength of spirit beasts and demon beasts far surpassed that of cultivators. Unless a cultivator had a Dharma tool corresponding to their cultivation level, they couldn't hope to fight one.
According to the *Yun Clan Journal*, it took three to five Foundation Establishment cultivators to slay a single second-tier spirit beast.
Even with top-tier Dharma tools, it would still require two or three Foundation Establishment cultivators.
The stronger Xiao Hei became, the safer it would be for him to leave Mirror Moon Lake and travel the Tiannan Domain.
From the beginning of raising Xiao Hei until now, he had spent over two hundred spirit stones. Seeing the power of a late-first-tier spirit beast...
Chen Jianghe felt it was worth it.
Isn't this better than a high-grade flying sword?
Uh~
The security of having him was much higher than possessing a high-grade defensive Dharma tool.
Chen Jianghe told Xiao Hei to hide at the bottom of the lake. As for raising the little green fish? He could do it casually; the main task was to stay hidden.
As for the cultivation resources Xiao Hei needed now that he was late-first-tier, he would have to owe him for now. He would make it up to him after finding a new place to settle.
Although the negotiation with Xiao Hei was difficult, under Chen Jianghe's deft promises of future rewards, the result was good.
Back in the boat's cabin.
Chen Jianghe didn't immediately switch to cultivating the *Myriad Waters True Scripture, Qi Refining Chapter*. Switching cultivation techniques required three to five years.
His plan to leave Mirror Moon Lake was only three years away.
He had to break through to the seventh level of Qi Refining within these three years. The bottleneck had just begun to loosen; he absolutely could not give up halfway.
As for the *Myriad Waters True Scripture, Qi Refining Chapter*, he would deal with it after breaking through to the late Qi Refining stage. By then, the time needed to switch techniques would be much shorter than during the mid-Qi Refining stage.
He planned to spend ten hours a day cultivating, grinding down the bottleneck to the late Qi Refining stage.
The rest of the time would be spent crafting spirit talismans.
With his mind made up, he began to act on his plan.
Time flew by in a flash.
Two years passed in the blink of an eye.
During this period, Chen Jianghe received four letters: two from Yu Daniu, one from Gao Peiyao, and one from Zhou Miaoyun.
Yu Daniu's letters were about ordinary matters and explained why he didn't have time to meet up.
Just as Chen Jianghe had expected, Yu Daniu was cultivating the *Cold Pool Body Tempering Art* and needed to stay within the clan grounds, making it difficult for him to get away.
Under the Yun Clan's focused nurturing, Yu Daniu had also obtained a spirit-refining cultivation art, and his father-in-law had secured two Spirit Nurturing Pills for him.
Therefore, before breaking through to the ninth level of Qi Refining, it would be very difficult for Yu Daniu to leave the Yun Clan's territory.
Also, Yun Xiaoniu had broken through to the sixth level of Qi Refining this year, just as he turned twenty-eight.
Yun Youniu, who was a year and a half younger than Yun Xiaoniu, had also broken through to the sixth level of Qi Refining this year, despite having a four-element pseudo-spirit root.
Yun Sanniu and Yun Siniu had both reached the fifth level of Qi Refining.
As for Yun Wuniu, his situation was a bit special. At the third level of Qi Refining, Yu Daniu had sent him to Port Number One to temper his character. According to Yu Daniu, one must first cultivate character, then cultivate immortality.
With Yu Daniu's current status, there was no shortage of cultivation resources. As long as Yun Wuniu completed his character tempering...
...he could receive a large amount of resources and, with his four-element pseudo-spirit root talent, catch up to his brothers in a short time.
Nowadays, all of Yu Daniu's children had become key prospects for the Yun Clan to nurture.
As Yu Daniu's father-in-law reached old age, he gradually relinquished control over their branch's power, which Yun Huizhen took over.
Under Yun Huizhen's planning, their branch was vaguely showing signs of rivaling the main family branch in power.
Chen Jianghe felt that something wasn't right, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Then there was Zhou Miaoyun's letter. She said that the Zhou Clan's development in Lotus Flower Town was not going smoothly, and she wanted Chen Jianghe to help put in a good word for them with Yu Daniu.
Her meaning was simple and clear.
The Zhou Clan wanted to move back to Mirror Moon Lake.
As an outside family, the Zhou Clan was naturally ostracized by the local cultivation clans when trying to develop in a cultivation town like Lotus Flower Town, which thrived on spirit field agriculture.
With the rise of the Yun Clan and the growing prosperity of Mirror Moon Market City, Mirror Moon Lake clearly had a more promising future.
One had to know that the Mirror Moon Lake region now spanned eighteen hundred *li* in area, more than double its previous size.
This meant that several new towns with first-grade, high-tier spirit veins had appeared under the Yun Clan's jurisdiction.
Zhou Miaoyun had developed the idea of occupying a small town for themselves.
She wanted Chen Jianghe to help plead their case.
With Yu Daniu's current status and position in the Yun Clan, he could indeed lease a cultivation town to the Zhou Clan at a low price.
But it wasn't appropriate for Chen Jianghe to be the one to ask.
Zhou Miaoyun would have to ask Yu Daniu first, and then Yu Daniu might ask Chen Jianghe about it.
If he asked, Chen Jianghe would help by putting in a good word.
Of course, if he didn't ask, Chen Jianghe would pretend he knew nothing about it.
He already owed Yu Daniu a huge favor; he couldn't possibly owe him another one because of Zhou Miaoyun.
He had already repaid the friendship from her initial support. Now, they were just ordinary friends, a relationship far less close than the one he had with Gao Peiyao.
Let alone comparing it to his friendship with Yu Daniu.
Gao Peiyao's letter was the one Chen Jianghe had just received.
He returned to the boat's cabin, opened Gao Peiyao's letter, and his brows furrowed tightly.