Kill, Kill, Kill

After looking over the other top-tier Water Attribute artifacts, Zhou Er finally returned to the display stand holding the Lingyuan Jar.

"I'll take this one!"

Zhou Er turned to Gu Fan.

"Brother Er, we can't handle the Spirit Fish inside. Buying it would just waste Spirit Stones."

Gu Fan was willing to spend Spirit Stones on Zhou Er, but that didn't mean she had no sense.

Taking this thing home would be no different from buying a decoration.

"Sister Fan, the Spirit Fish in this jar must have been alive for at least thirty or forty years. You know how long Spirit Fish live. Ordinary first-tier Spirit Fish live for only twenty or thirty years, while second-tier ones live twice as long, up to sixty years at most. This fish has been trapped inside the Lingyuan Jar with nothing to eat or drink, and not enough Spirit Energy. Its lifespan has been cut short even further. I reckon it won't last much longer. We just have to take it home and wait a few years for it to die."

"Besides, with the Spirit Fish inside, we can bargain with the Household and get the Lingyuan Jar for less."

Zhou Er lowered his voice.

Gu Fan was very familiar with Spirit Fish. After hearing him out, she considered it and realized he had a point, but she still hesitated.

"Sister Fan, you know I cultivate heavy water. The Lingyuan Jar's water storage alone would help me a great deal."

Zhou Er took Gu Fan's hand and spoke gently.

Gu Fan cultivated the Bi-Sea Tide Sound Technique too, so she understood the value of a hundred cubic meters of storage space.

Still, the resources required for a top-tier artifact were no small matter.

Looking at Zhou Er's yearning gaze, Gu Fan finally sighed and said,

"If you like it, then this is the one."

Afterward, Gu Fan and Zhou Er haggled with Patriarch Gu Xingjian, and finally bought the Lingyuan Jar for two thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones.

That nearly exhausted their savings from all those years. Zhou Er knew he owed Gu Fan a great deal once again.

He already owed so much that there was no point worrying about it. He could pay her back little by little in the future.

Carrying the Lingyuan Jar, the two returned to Fanhua Island.

"Brother Er, be careful. Don't let the vicious fish inside the Lingyuan Jar hurt you."

Gu Fan warned him.

"I know."

Zhou Er nodded. He would naturally be careful.

Once he reached his room, Zhou Er swept his Spiritual Sense over the Lingyuan Jar and entered it, searching for the man-eating Spirit Fish within.

The fish was about the size of a human head, dark red all over, its fins especially red, like blood.

Sensing Zhou Er's Spiritual Sense, it immediately bared its fangs and swam frantically back and forth. It also fought against Zhou Er, giving him no chance to refine the artifact.

"Little thing, I'll give you one chance. If you behave, I'll spare your life."

Zhou Er sent his thoughts with his Spiritual Sense.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The fish answered him.

"Guess I'll have to kill you, then."

Zhou Er slowly brought the pressure of Foundation Establishment to bear, testing the fish's resistance.

If he could help it, Zhou Er didn't necessarily want to kill the vicious fish.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The fish churned the water inside the Lingyuan Jar, its killing intent undiminished.

Zhou Er's Spiritual Sense nearly took a hit from the frenzied fish, so he immediately withdrew it from the Lingyuan Jar.

There was clearly no reasoning with the fish. Zhou Er did as he had planned and equipped the Lingyuan Jar in his Equipment Slot.

[Name: Zhou Er]

[Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Early Stage (0.37%)]

[Equipment Slot (3/3): Lingyuan Jar, Golden Cicada Slough, Storage Bag.]

[Unsolidified Attributes: Water Affinity (Green), Cicada Concealment (Green), Void Breaking (White).]

[Solidified Attributes: True Essence Flow (White), Blood Qi Abundance (White)...]

After waiting a while, Zhou Er removed the Lingyuan Jar from his Equipment Slot and checked inside with his Spiritual Sense.

Now, only a dead fish floated on the surface of the water in the jar, its soul ripped away.

He took the fish out of the Lingyuan Jar. They could have it for dinner tonight.

"I can't believe that vicious fish died as soon as we got home."

Gu Fan said in surprise as she drank the fish soup. They really were lucky.

Now the Lingyuan Jar could be put to use right away.

"Yeah! Maybe the fish was already at the end of its life. The bumpy journey might have been enough to finish it off."

Zhou Er smiled faintly.

After simmering for a long time, the second-tier Spirit Fish meat turned out incredibly delicious.

After reaching Foundation Establishment, one no longer needed to eat.

But Zhou Er had the Taotie Attribute, which let him turn food into cultivation, so he still ate plenty of Bigu Pills every day.

He could now completely digest two Bigu Pills in a single day. The huge pot of fish soup before him was quickly polished off too.

After the meal, Zhou Er returned to his room and began refining the Lingyuan Jar.

Several hours later, Zhou Er finished refining the Lingyuan Jar.

Once it was refined, Zhou Er poured out all the Spirit Water inside, then placed the heavy water he had refined earlier into the jar for storage.

Heavy water was not easy to refine. Zhou Er had spent months on it before, yet had only managed to refine one cubic meter of water with twice the usual weight.

That one cubic meter of heavy water barely covered the bottom of the Lingyuan Jar with a thin layer.

It would take years to fill the Lingyuan Jar.

Still, there was no need to focus on accumulating heavy water right now. He should solidify the Water Affinity Attribute first.

[Water Affinity (Green): Makes it easier to absorb Water Attribute Spirit Energy. Increases cultivation efficiency by 50% when practicing Water Attribute techniques.]

[Solidification Condition: Spend ten thousand hours in a place rich in Water Attribute Spirit Energy.]

The solidification condition required him to spend time somewhere rich in Water Attribute Spirit Energy.

Fanhua Island lay in Jingyue Lake, surrounded by water. It shouldn't be too hard to find a place rich in Water Attribute Spirit Energy beneath the surface.

There was just one problem. Although he had reached Foundation Establishment, he could only hold his breath underwater for a few hours at most. He still couldn't live underwater.

Yet the solidification condition required ten thousand hours in a place rich in Water Attribute Spirit Energy. That was an enormous amount of time.

If he often had to swim back to the surface for air, he would waste a lot of time.

Fortunately, he had a way around that.

The Water-Avoiding Bead.

[Water-Avoiding Bead: After swallowing it, you can breathe freely underwater for a certain period of time.]

[Attribute gained when equipped: Underwater Breathing (White).]

[Underwater Breathing: Allows you to breathe freely underwater. Movement speed in water +25%. Immune to the force of currents.]

[Solidification Condition: Spend one thousand hours in water.]

[Equip?]

The Water-Avoiding Bead was a common treasure on the island, produced by various Spirit Shells. Islanders used it when gathering spirit materials from deep underwater.

Zhou Er had seen this Attribute before, but at the time, he'd thought the solidification condition would be hard to meet, so he hadn't paid much attention to it.

Now was the perfect time to pair it with Water Affinity and solidify both underwater.

So Zhou Er removed the Storage Bag from his Equipment Slot and put the Water-Avoiding Bead in the empty slot.

That would let him search underwater for a place rich in Water Attribute Spirit Energy.

Before heading into the water, Zhou Er let Gu Fan know.

"Sister Fan, I'm going to look for a place near Fanhua Island that's rich in Water Attribute Spirit Energy so I can cultivate."

Zhou Er said.

"Where are you going? Aside from the fishing grounds, some places underwater aren't safe."

Gu Fan said, worried.

"Sister Fan, I'll take a look underwater first. I know my limits and won't take any risks lightly."

Zhou Er smiled.

Gu Fan still wanted to talk him out of it, but in the end, she gave in to his wishes.

Even so, she couldn't put her mind at ease, so she went with Zhou Er to search the waters near Fanhua Island for a suitable location.

With the Water Affinity Attribute, Zhou Er sensed Water Attribute Spirit Energy far better than ordinary people. He quickly found a cavern.

But something seemed to be nesting inside: a giant crayfish.

It was even bigger than the giant lobsters Zhou Er had seen in his previous life, with a pair of pincers spread wide like iron tongs.

"Brother Er, I'll go get Sister Bai to help deal with this lobster. Then you can cultivate in the cavern."

Gu Fan said.

The giant lobster was a high-grade first-tier Demonic Beast. Since it was aquatic, it was even stronger underwater, making it difficult to deal with.

Of course, it wasn't a challenge for Zhou Er now.

"No need, Sister Fan. You go back first. I can handle this myself."

Zhou Er smiled slightly, then plunged into the water and brought out the Ruyi Ring.

The lobster saw Zhou Er trespassing in its cavern and instantly shot toward him, opening its pincers to clamp down on his head.

Zhou Er was startled by the lobster's speed, but not particularly surprised. Though fast, it was still a little slower than him.

Zhou Er blocked its pincers with his bare hands.

He seized the chance to slip the Ruyi Ring over the lobster's head, then shrank it.

The lobster flicked its tail, trying to escape, but the Ruyi Ring was clamped tight around its head.

The giant lobster's eyes bulged under the Ruyi Ring. Just as its head seemed about to burst, the ring stopped shrinking.

"Submit or die?"

Zhou Er gave the giant lobster a choice.

It was only a first-tier Demonic Beast, but it knew that the person before it was far stronger. It raised its two pincers and stopped, blinking its two eyes, which looked ready to burst.

After all, it was a Spirit Beast. Though its intelligence was limited, it understood who held the upper hand.

"Since you've chosen to submit to me, you'll guard the entrance from now on!"

Zhou Er sent his thoughts with his Spiritual Sense.

The giant lobster waggled its two pincers. It was hard to tell how much it had understood.

Zhou Er had taken over the giant lobster's cavern and made it guard the entrance. It did seem a bit much.

Still, the cavern had been stolen by the giant lobster in the first place. It hadn't belonged to it from the beginning. The lobster ought to thank its lucky stars it had escaped with its life.

Zhou Er thought for a moment. The giant lobster deserved a name, so he said,

"From now on, your name is Dalong."

After this, Zhou Er could gradually tame Dalong by occasionally using the Beast Taming Sutra. As for the Ruyi Ring around Dalong's head, Zhou Er didn't want to take it off just yet. Otherwise, Dalong might escape, and he wouldn't be able to find it.

After subduing Dalong, Zhou Er saw Gu Fan swimming down toward him. He went over, wrapped an arm around her waist, and brought her to shore.

"Sister Fan, go back first. I'll stay here and cultivate in seclusion. I'll come ashore once every ten days, so you don't need to wait for me."

Zhou Er smoothed Gu Fan's damp hair and spoke gently.

"What if I miss you?"

Gu Fan said reluctantly.

"Then come here and find me."

Zhou Er replied.

He wouldn't let romance get in the way of his cultivation.

Gu Fan didn't want to leave, but she wouldn't hold Zhou Er back. She was intimate with him for a while, then used her magic power to dry her clothes and returned to Fanhua Island.

After seeing Gu Fan off, Zhou Er swam back into the cavern and cleared away the silt. The whole cavern was now spotless, and the water was much clearer.

The cavern was shaped like a gourd, with two chambers.

Zhou Er settled in the inner chamber and left Dalong to guard outside. He also set up a small ward at the entrance.

With everything ready, he sat cross-legged in the chamber and began to cultivate.

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye. While Zhou Er was cultivating, Dalong sent a ripple of water from outside to alert him that someone was coming.

Zhou Er guessed that Gu Fan had come to see him. After stopping his cultivation, he left the cavern.

"Sister Bai, Sister Fan."

Zhou Er saw Gu Fan and Bai Zhuozhuo waiting for him on the shore.

"Son-in-law, I'm preparing to enter seclusion and attempt Foundation Establishment, so I need you to come out and take care of things on the island."

Bai Zhuozhuo told Zhou Er.

"All right."

Zhou Er nodded. Returning to the island for ten days or half a month was no big deal.

Bai Zhuozhuo wasn't planning to return to Bashui Immortal City for her seclusion. She would stay on Fanhua Island.

Fanhua Island had a Seclusion Chamber, and the Spirit Energy there was decent.

Zhou Er was essentially guarding Bai Zhuozhuo while she cultivated. But she had protected him for so long, so standing guard for her was the least he could do.

Five days later, Bai Zhuozhuo emerged from seclusion. Her whole bearing seemed even colder, and her skin was noticeably smoother.

After watching her for a moment, Zhou Er knew she had successfully reached Foundation Establishment.

"Congratulations on reaching Foundation Establishment, Sister Bai."

Gu Fan noticed the change in Bai Zhuozhuo too and realized she had succeeded on her first attempt.

"Sister Bai, congratulations!"

Zhou Er added.

"Thanks to the young lady and her husband for protecting me while I cultivated."

Bai Zhuozhuo was very modest. Even after successfully reaching Foundation Establishment, she didn't make a fuss about it.

"Sister Bai, what are your plans now?"

Zhou Er asked.

"What plans could I have? I'll stay on Fanhua Island and keep practicing my swordsmanship. The Sword Manual Master left behind has enough in it to keep me learning for the rest of my life."

Bai Zhuozhuo said.

Fanhua Island's spiritual land could comfortably support at most two Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and she had no plans to leave.

Of course, it wasn't as if she had anywhere better to go.

"Then stay on the island and continue cultivating, Sister Bai. I'll double your salary."

Gu Fan said.

Although Bai Zhuozhuo had chosen to stay and look after Fanhua Island, Gu Fan still paid her a salary every year.

It had previously been around three hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones a year. Now it would rise to six hundred.

For a Foundation Establishment Expert, that was a fairly generous income.

"Young lady, there's no need. I don't have that many uses for Spirit Stones."

Bai Zhuozhuo didn't care much about such things.

"That won't do. I can't let you waste your time, Sister Bai."

Gu Fan still insisted.

In the end, Bai Zhuozhuo haggled the amount down to five hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Bai Zhuozhuo's successful Foundation Establishment brought several days of celebration to all of Fanhua Island.

Zhou Er also relaxed a little and stayed on the island for a few extra days.

One day, just as he was preparing to leave Fanhua Island, he heard an islander shout that they'd found a corpse.

Everyone hurried over to investigate. Zhou Er took a look, too. It was a corpse swollen from soaking in the lake, its skin already a dark purple.

The corpse floated on the water, seemingly drifting toward Bashui Immortal City.

"Could it be another Cultivator Robber causing trouble nearby?"

An islander guessed nervously. They still remembered what had happened two years ago as if it were yesterday.

Bai Zhuozhuo carefully swept her Spiritual Sense over the corpse, and immediately recalled something.

"Don't go near it! That's a Poison Corpse Bomb from a Wugu Dao demonic cultivator."

Bai Zhuozhuo shouted sternly.

At the sound of Bai Zhuozhuo's voice, everyone immediately backed away from the bloated corpse.