Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Seventh Level of Qi Refining
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"Zhou Miaoyun even reached out to Peiyao!"
The first thing mentioned in Gao Peiyao's letter was that Zhou Miaoyun had written to her, hoping she would mediate on her behalf. Zhou Miaoyun wanted to return to the territory of Mirror Moon Lake, even if it was just to the remote Stonerose Town.
It seemed the Zhou Clan could no longer survive in Lotus Flower Town.
They had been pushed out by the local cultivation clans, forced to the point of departure.
The Zhou Clan had chosen to flee for safety when the Yun Clan was at its lowest, seeking a chance of survival. There was nothing wrong with that.
But the Yun Clan did not look kindly on such acts of abandoning ship when disaster struck. Thus, all the cultivation clans that had left before...
...were all blacklisted by the Yun Clan, forbidden from returning to the Mirror Moon Lake territory to re-establish their clans.
Why did the Yun Clan support the cultivation families within its domain? Wasn't it so they could share the risks?
When trouble came, you ran.
The Yun Clan didn't blame you, but they wouldn't welcome you back either.
With Yu Daniu's influence, it wasn't impossible for the Zhou Clan to return, but they would certainly be assigned to a remote area.
And when it came to receiving support from the Yun Clan, they would definitely be treated less favorably than other families.
As for Zhou Miaoyun's wish to return to their original Stonerose Town?
She could forget about it.
Stonerose Town was now the territory of Talisman Master Chu Lang's family. As a high-grade guest Talisman Master who had shared hardships with the Yun Clan and had even taken the fall for them once, he was highly regarded.
As long as the Chu Clan didn't voluntarily leave Stonerose Town, no one could drive them away—not even an elder of the Yun Clan.
If they were forcibly driven out, the good reputation the Yun Clan had built over a century would be shattered.
Furthermore, Stonerose Town was hardly a remote area. The Mirror Moon Lake territory now spanned eighteen hundred square miles, and Stonerose Town was only three hundred miles from the lake itself.
Most importantly, Stonerose Town was also only three hundred miles from Qiyun Mountain.
One could say that Stonerose Town was a necessary stop on the way from Mirror Moon Lake to Qiyun Mountain. Once the Yun Clan relocated to Qiyun Mountain, Stonerose Town would surely receive significant support.
"Stonerose Town? Isn't that just wishful thinking?"
Chen Jianghe shook his head, feeling that Zhou Miaoyun was asking for too much. Her relationship with Yu Daniu wasn't good, yet she still coveted such a prime location. No amount of pleading from anyone would work.
Regarding Gao Peiyao's questions about whether he had also received a letter from Zhou Miaoyun and whether they should help her lease Stonerose Town from the Yun Clan...
Chen Jianghe wouldn't hide the fact that Zhou Miaoyun had also asked for his help.
But as for whether Gao Peiyao should help Zhou Miaoyun plead with Yu Daniu to secure the small cultivation town of Stonerose...
He would only explain the location of Stonerose Town and the Yun Clan's situation. He wouldn't interfere in the decision; it was entirely up to Gao Peiyao's own judgment.
Afterward, Chen Jianghe continued reading about the other matter in Gao Peiyao's letter.
She had gathered the necessary resources for Foundation Establishment and was planning to return to her sect soon to enter seclusion and attempt the breakthrough.
If she succeeded, she might have to stay in the sect for three to five years.
During this period, she would be unable to send or receive any letters from the outside world.
"Is she attempting Foundation Establishment?"
Chen Jianghe turned the letter to dust, letting the fragments scatter in the wind.
Although he didn't know how Gao Peiyao had gathered the resources for Foundation Establishment in such a short time, reaching this step was half the battle won.
With the help of her master, Deacon Lan, Gao Peiyao's chances of success were likely over fifty percent.
"Three to five years... I'll probably have left Mirror Moon Lake by then. Perhaps the next time we meet, Peiyao will already be a lofty Foundation Establishment cultivator."
Chen Jianghe took out a brush and paper and wrote a reply to Gao Peiyao. He detailed the situation with Stonerose Town and the Yun Clan, and then wished her success in her breakthrough. Whether she would receive it before returning to her sect was up to fate.
Over the past two years, the bottleneck to the late stage of Qi Refining had noticeably loosened. He estimated it would take less than a year before he could attempt the breakthrough.
Therefore, Chen Jianghe planned to spend an extra hour meditating and cultivating each day.
Chen Jianghe infused a bit of spiritual power into the "In Seclusion" sign standing at the bow of his boat, making the characters on it brighter.
It wasn't that he was afraid of being disturbed.
The main reason was that he didn't want to see anyone.
Including Yu Daniu and Yun Xiaoniu.
At fifty-two years of age, he still looked as dashing as he had in his youth. In contrast, other cultivators who had passed the age of fifty...
...had more or less put on weight, developed frown lines and crow's feet, and sprouted white hairs.
Although a cultivator's vitality would only begin to decline after sixty, leading to signs of old age, someone in their fifties certainly wouldn't have the appearance of a vibrant young man.
If he ran into an acquaintance now, the anomaly would surely be discovered.
June, the height of summer.
Chen Jianghe's eyes snapped open, a divine light flashing within them. A smile touched his lips as he walked out of the cabin and leaped directly into the lake.
He dove to the lakebed and released Xiao Hei from the Spirit Beast Ring.
"Xiao Hei, stand guard for me."
Chen Jianghe said, then sat cross-legged and placed twenty spirit stones beside him, just in case.
Xiao Hei was still a bit dazed after emerging from the spirit beast space. Hearing Chen Jianghe's words, he jolted to attention.
He lay down ten zhang away from Chen Jianghe, his senses on high alert.
After the Yun Clan's last fish harvest, Chen Jianghe had stopped letting Xiao Hei raise the little green fish. The turtle had spent most of its time in the Spirit Beast Ring.
Moreover, he was waiting for this next harvest to leave Mirror Moon Lake.
*Hoo~*
Chen Jianghe picked up a spirit stone and luxuriously absorbed the spiritual energy within, adjusting his state to its absolute peak.
The next moment.
Under the circulation of the Guiyuan True Water Art, the mana in his Qi Sea Dantian surged wildly through his meridians, and his bones emitted a series of faint cracking sounds.
This was the mana tempering his body during a breakthrough. He gritted his teeth, enduring the immense pain, and circulated his mana through a full cycle.
Four hours later, the mana flowed back into his Qi Sea Dantian, which instantly began to roil like boiling water.
The originally wispy, gaseous mana fused together amidst the turbulence, gradually liquefying.
Another day passed.
As soon as his Qi Sea Dantian calmed, the semi-liquid mana, under the control of his divine sense, slammed into the Gate Point.
With a "boom," a muffled sound echoed like a boulder hitting the ground.
The Gate Point, which sealed the divine sense within the body, was blasted open by the semi-liquid mana.
At that very moment, the dark gray, semi-liquid mana returned to his Qi Sea Dantian and grew calm, as if nothing had ever happened.
The only change was that his mana had become a dark gray, semi-liquid substance.
And the barrier of the Gate Point had been broken through.
"Is this the world as seen through divine sense?"
Chen Jianghe's divine sense extended out from the Gate Point, covering a radius of one zhang. Everything within that area was presented clearly in his mind.
Under his divine sense, the various gases adrift between heaven and earth were clearly distinguishable. Spiritual energy even had colors: black for water-attribute, red for fire, green for wood, brown for earth, and gold for metal.
There were other colors of spiritual energy as well, but they were extremely scarce, far less dense than the five elements.
When his divine sense enveloped a spirit stone, he could see that the spiritual energy within was a white, attributeless energy.
After satisfying his curiosity, he willed his divine sense to probe outward, pushing it to its absolute limit.
"Three zhang?"
"This far? It's almost on par with the eighth level of Qi Refining!"
Chen Jianghe's face showed his astonishment.
The distance one's divine sense could travel from the body was inextricably linked to the strength of one's soul. The farther it could reach, the more powerful the soul.
Most cultivators who had just broken through to the seventh level of Qi Refining could only extend their divine sense one zhang.
Very few could reach two zhang.
"Could it be because of my talisman drawing?"
Drawing talismans consumed mental energy. The long-term cycle of consumption and recovery, then consumption and recovery again...
...could indeed potentially enhance the strength of one's soul.
And thus allow one's divine sense to extend farther from the body.
"Since I cultivate the Dao of Talismans, if I obtain a spiritual cultivation technique in the future, my progress will be twice the result with half the effort."
Chen Jianghe retracted his divine sense, very pleased with the strength of his soul.
Next, he felt his mana. In its semi-liquid state, it was more than twice as strong as its previous gaseous form.
Although the total amount of mana hadn't changed, it had undergone a qualitative transformation.
He could now use spiritual artifacts and cast spells more effectively, making them far more powerful.
"It's time to leave Mirror Moon Lake."
Chen Jianghe opened his eyes, a complex expression within them.
He had stayed at Mirror Moon Lake for a full thirty-eight years.
At fourteen, he had guided qi into his body. At twenty, he broke through to the second level of Qi Refining. At twenty-three, he reached the third level. At twenty-nine, he broke through to the fourth level, becoming a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator.
It took him another five years to reach the fifth level at the age of thirty-four.
Then, another six years to reach the sixth level at forty.
He reached the peak of the sixth level at forty-six and spent six years polishing his bottleneck, finally breaking through to the seventh level at fifty-two.
He had become a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.
As a bottom-tier cultivator in this cruel world of cultivation, he finally had a sliver of power to protect himself.
He could leave Mirror Moon Lake and find a new place to settle.
"Xiao Hei, we're leaving."
Chen Jianghe looked at Xiao Hei and said with a hint of emotion.
"Master, can I say goodbye to my father?" Xiao Hei looked at Chen Jianghe with pleading, hopeful eyes.
"Yes, you can. Enter the spirit beast space for now. I'll let you out when we pass by the outer water region 512."
Chen Jianghe returned Xiao Hei to the Spirit Beast Ring, then floated up to the surface and back to his fishing boat.
He first wrote two letters, one for Yu Daniu and one for Zhou Miaoyun.
He was leaving Mirror Moon Lake, so naturally, he couldn't have them sending letters to water region A-6 anymore.
As for Gao Peiyao, she should have already returned to her sect for seclusion by now.
Even if he sent a letter, she wouldn't receive it.
It would be better to wait until he found a new place to settle before re-establishing contact with Yu Daniu and Gao Peiyao.
Moreover, Chen Jianghe didn't plan to meet Yu Daniu for a farewell. If they met, his unchanging appearance would be discovered.
He trusted Yu Daniu, but he didn't trust other cultivators.
It was better to send a letter.
Once he left Mirror Moon Lake, he would have a plausible reason to explain why his appearance hadn't changed.
After all, Youth-Retaining Pills existed in the cultivation world. Though expensive, they weren't impossible to buy.
After writing the two letters, he used twelve grains of spirit sand to have a white egret deliver them.
The letter to Yu Daniu only required one grain of spirit sand and would arrive the same day.
But the letter to Zhou Miaoyun required eleven grains of spirit sand—one for the egret and ten for the flying post service.
Having done all this, Chen Jianghe changed his clothes and put on a conical hat that veiled his face. With his late-stage Qi Refining cultivation, as long as no one probed him with their divine sense, they wouldn't be able to see his face hidden beneath the hat.
Even if someone did probe with their divine sense, he would sense it in advance and block it.
Unless the gap in their cultivation realms was too vast.
Besides, fighting was forbidden in Mirror Moon Lake Market City, so no reckless late-stage Qi Refining cultivator would dare to casually send out their divine sense.
Once prepared, he didn't steer his boat toward Mirror Moon Lake Market City. Instead, he chose to fly through the air.