Something Is Wrong

Wei Songnian swiftly packed up his stall as he said,

"Junior Brother, you're still at the first level of Qi Condensation, yet your Minor Cloud and Rain Art has already reached the Minor Mastery realm. I've been scraping by at Azure Water Market for over ten years, and I've never seen anyone as outstanding as you.

"I have a question. You once said that you only opened your immortal vein a few days before the sect assessment. The spiritual power in your body shouldn't have been enough to cast the third level of the Minor Cloud and Rain Art, should it?

"Could you broaden my horizons and let me watch you make it rain once?"

This Senior Brother has such a good memory?!

Ji An was startled. He had merely mentioned it in passing back then, never expecting the other man to remember it.

He knew this was the other man testing him. If he had only been spouting nonsense, he would definitely be exposed.

"Of course."

Ji An readily agreed. True gold feared no fire. Wei Songnian knew many people; perhaps he could help spread word of him and firmly establish his image as a spell genius.

When making a living out in the world, one had to learn how to package oneself. It might come in handy someday.

The initial accumulation of Spirit Crystals was simply too difficult. Otherwise, he would not have wanted to draw this kind of attention.

A tree standing above the forest would surely be battered by the wind.

He had already decided that in the future, he would only display his talent in the Minor Cloud and Rain Art, Thick Earth Art, and Wither and Flourish Art.

The roads of the martial world were treacherous, and human hearts were complicated. One had to keep something in reserve.

After Wei Songnian finished packing up, the two crossed the plaza, left the market, and arrived by Azure Water Lake.

Ji An had learned his lesson this time. As he cast the spell, he controlled the output of his spiritual power. Once roughly ninety percent of the spiritual power in his body had been consumed, the hand seals changed, activating the spell.

Beneath white clouds and mist, rain came pouring down with a patter. Half a quarter-hour later, the clouds parted and the mist dispersed.

"Life in the sect isn't easy. With this skill of yours, Junior Brother, finding a secure place to live won't be difficult."

Wei Songnian praised him, and his smile gained another measure of sincerity.

"Come on, I'll take you to have some authentic Silver Scale Fish. I guarantee that once you taste it, you'll never forget it."

Pointing toward the distant docks, he said,

"Liangqiu Shan fishes for spirit fish at the fishing enclosure, and he's also an excellent Spirit Chef. Ordinary people have to reserve in advance if they want to eat spirit fish prepared by him.

"I have some friendship with him. Just come along."

The sect had used formations to divide Azure Water Lake into many fishponds, managed by a branch of the Beast Taming Hall that specialized in raising spirit fish.

Of those waters, around eighty percent were public areas. Many disciples relied on catching spirit fish and gathering water-element spiritual herbs to supplement their cultivation.

Taxes had to be paid for fishing and herb gathering, and any harvest had to pass through the fishing enclosure. Otherwise, the sect rules would deal with them.

Near the fishing enclosure, the two arrived at a tavern and stopped before a large restaurant.

They passed its entrance without going in, then walked several dozen more steps to a small eatery beside it.

The place was not large. Six square tables of raw wood stood inside, and every seat was occupied.

"A Qiu, bring us the biggest Silver Scale Fish. Junior Brother Ji An and I are going to have a good drink."

A simple-looking young man with a faintly flushed face poked his head out from the kitchen.

"Senior Brother Wei, go upstairs and sit first.

"I haven't seen you in quite a few days. I saved the fish maw glue I simmered for you."

"I'll weigh it after we eat the fish."

After exchanging greetings, Wei Songnian led Ji An upstairs with practiced ease and seated him in a small room.

"One fish, four ways. You absolutely won't get this anywhere else.

"The fish head is made into clear soup, the tail is fried and then made into a thick soup, and the body is steamed. Together with A Qiu's secret seasoning, that flavor..."

Wei Songnian swallowed. "It leaves an endless aftertaste."

He shifted into a more comfortable posture, leaned forward slightly, and said earnestly,

"If Junior Brother wants to improve his cultivation quickly, then forgive my bluntness, but using low-quality pills is not appropriate.

"The low-quality Yellow Bud Pills in my hands are fairly effective. The medicinal strength of two pills surpasses that of a single genuine pill by quite a bit.

"However, the time needed to refine the medicinal power and purge the pill toxins will be two or three times that of genuine pills. The time cost is too high."

"I understand the reasoning," Ji An said with some difficulty.

"But the Spirit Crystals in my hands were borrowed, and I don't have enough to keep cultivating with genuine pills."

Wei Songnian placed a Spirit Stone on the table and pushed it toward him.

"Consider this Spirit Stone a loan from me to Junior Brother. You can repay it after your second season of Spirit Grain is harvested."

Ji An was silent for several seconds before pushing the Spirit Stone back.

Wei Songnian's brows furrowed slightly. Someone had actually pushed away a Spirit Stone delivered right to his door—this was beyond his expectations.

The Wei Family had begun as itinerant cultivator merchants. The reason for their rise was that one of their ancestors had supported a promising cultivator from a poor background.

Later, that cultivator soared into the sky and advanced to the Chaoyuan Realm. The Wei Family followed behind and got a sip of the meat broth, transforming from a minor family with only a few cats and dogs into a great clan with several hundred Qi Condensation disciples, nearly ten Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and a high-grade first-rank Spirit Vein.

Their ancestors had left behind an instruction: "Supporting promising poor cultivators is a business more far-reaching than trading goods."

Wei Songnian deeply agreed with this. Since coming to the sect, he had supported two people in succession.

Today, he merely intended to form a good connection. If the other party displayed even greater potential in the future, he would place further bets on him.

Ji An coughed, took out the low-quality pills, pushed them over together, and cupped his hands.

"Since Senior Brother thinks highly of me, I'll accept this Spirit Stone. Exchange all of it for Yellow Bud Pills."

As someone who had crossed over, Ji An viewed cultivation with the mindset of playing a competitive game.

All wealth—every resource—only counted as strength once it was spent. What he needed to do now was raise his cultivation as quickly as possible.

Farm, practice spells, earn Spirit Crystals, improve cultivation. Higher cultivation meant more spiritual power, which meant he could farm and practice spells better—a perfect cycle!

He set himself a small goal: advance to Mid Qi Condensation within a year!

Something felt wrong. Wei Songnian scratched his head.

He took an unopened white jade porcelain bottle from his Storage Bag, poured out two Yellow Bud Pills, and pushed the bottle over.

"Ten pills. Junior Brother, count them."

Without any hesitation, Ji An poured out the pills and counted them, then put them back into the jade bottle.

"Exactly ten. Many thanks, Senior Brother."

Wei Songnian took out a handful of Spirit Crystals, counted out eighty, then thought for a moment and produced a Talisman Bird whose talisman seal had gone dim.

"These are the Spirit Crystals for your change. This Talisman Bird is a gift to Junior Brother, so do not refuse it. It will probably become unusable after another twenty or thirty hours.

"If the spiritual light of the talisman seal begins to scatter, absolutely do not continue using it."

Ji An counted the Spirit Crystals and thanked him once more with a bow.

As the two talked, the cooked spirit fish was served, its fragrance assailing their noses.

Wei Songnian raised his chopsticks. "Eat while it's hot. Don't stand on ceremony. The fish bones have already been removed."

Ji An picked up a piece of fish and placed it in his mouth. Threads of fresh fragrance blossomed across his taste buds.

As the fish entered his stomach, waves of warmth rose within him. His immortal vein automatically absorbed the spiritual qi contained in the fish flesh.

He did not hold back. His chopsticks flew as he ate with great relish.

The fish was not large, and the two quickly finished it.

"Hurry and circulate your cultivation technique to refine the spiritual qi," Wei Songnian said with a smile.

Ji An followed the advice and circulated the Clear Origin Scripture.

Half a quarter-hour later, he ended his cultivation, and a flash of sharp light passed through his eyes.

Although half of his spiritual power had been devoured by the Stone Turtle, refining half a spirit fish had increased his spiritual power limit by an amount equal to three or four days of his usual efforts.

He could not help sighing. Whether one had sufficient resources truly had an enormous impact on cultivation.

The two chatted idly for a while longer before Ji An rose to take his leave.

Wei Songnian brought out a golden flatbread, browned on both sides, from the kitchen and said with a smile,

"The fourth way to eat the spirit fish: stir-fry the fish bones until golden, knead them into dough, and pan-fry them into a flatbread.

"At this point, not a shred of the spiritual qi in the spirit fish has gone to waste."