Fish Pond lv1

"Tomorrow, I'll come again. If you're still behind on this month's Immortal Residence fee, get the hell out of Zengtou Market."

"Understood."

Ji Yuan watched the black-robed man trudge away through the muddy ground by the shore, one foot deep and the other shallow. Just as he was about to close the courtyard gate, someone emerged from the neighboring yard.

It was a bald old man puffing on a dry tobacco pipe. He looked at Ji Yuan's troubled expression and said with a cheerful grin,

"Young Brother Ji, why not borrow some from Liu the Leper? Pay the Immortal Residence fee first."

"Otherwise, with your second level Qi Refining cultivation, once you leave Zengtou Market, I'm afraid there'll be only a dead end waiting for you."

Borrow from Liu the Leper?

That bastard charged eighty percent interest. Once he borrowed it, the interest would roll upon interest, and his whole life would be ruined... Ji Yuan nodded. "I'll think of something."

With that, he shut the courtyard gate.

Old Huang did not try to persuade him further. He had only said it because he had his eye on the referral fee. Fine if it worked out; no matter if it did not.

Ji Yuan returned to the shabby little house. Looking at everything around him, he could not help cursing inwardly, Damn it, I transmigrated into a cultivation world, and I still have to pay rent?!

"With conditions like this, you charge three low-grade spirit stones a month? Why don't you just rob me!"

Ji Yuan flew into a rage—for all of a moment.

He knew the reality of things. Just as Old Huang had said, a Rogue Cultivator at the second level of Qi Refining like him would be a lamb waiting for the slaughter if he left Zengtou Market and traveled through the wilderness.

Either he would be stripped clean by bandit cultivators, then killed to silence him.

Or he would be killed to silence him first, then stripped clean.

Even within Zengtou Market, Rogue Cultivators occasionally turned into bandit cultivators to make a quick killing, let alone out in the wild.

In this world, houses were worthless, and land was worthless.

But safety was worth something.

Just three days ago, Ji Yuan had still been a corporate beast on Blue Star. After work, he had eaten hot pot and sung songs with his friends. Who would have thought that after one night's sleep, he would arrive on this so-called Cangluo Continent?

He had even possessed the body of a boy with the same name and surname in Zengtou Market, under the jurisdiction of the Water Dragon Sect.

The Water Dragon Sect bordered the Cloudrain Marsh, which spanned thousands of li in every direction. It had also established many markets along the shore to gather nearby low-level Rogue Cultivators and have them catch spirit fish and collect heavenly treasures for the sect.

These Rogue Cultivators were all called "fishers."

Zengtou Market was one such market, and the original Ji Yuan had been one of its fishers.

The original Ji Yuan's parents had been fishers too. However, two months ago, when they went out on their boat, they died at the hands of a mid-stage first-rank spirit fish.

Both parents dead, and he himself was about to be thrown out of Zengtou Market for owing rent... Wasn't this a heaven-collapsing opening?

But not necessarily. Usually, this was exactly when the cheat would arrive.

Ji Yuan recalled the novels he had read on Qidian in his previous life. In a daze, a screen of light truly appeared before his eyes...

The screen was filled with lines of text.

[Fish Pond lv0 (Upgradeable)]

[LV1: Spiritual Effect: Fish fry growth speed +20%; semi-spirit fish have a certain chance of evolving into spirit fish]

[Upgrade Requirements: Low-grade spirit stone ×1, plant water-purifying reeds, dredge the waterway (Completed)]

[Chicken Coop lv0]

[LV1: Spiritual Effect: Spirit eggs produced once per day, containing trace spiritual qi and able to stave off hunger]

[Upgrade Requirements: Low-grade spirit stones ×2, ordinary rice ×50 jin (Not completed)]

[Pigsty lv0]

[LV1: Spiritual Effect: Spirit pigs gain a hundred jin of muscle in seven days; their flesh contains body-tempering medicinal properties and can accelerate wound healing]

[Upgrade Requirements: Low-grade spirit stones ×5, iron ingots ×50 jin, coarse salt ×10 jin (Not completed)]

[Cave Dwelling lv0]

[LV1: Spiritual Effect: Walls self-repair, basic dust-warding barrier, nighttime spiritual qi concentration +20%]

[Upgrade Requirements: Low-grade spirit stones ×5, glutinous rice paste ×3 barrels, repair broken roof tiles (Not completed)]

[Spirit Field lv0]

[LV1: Spiritual Effect: Crop cycle -30%; yield contains faint wood spiritual qi]

[Upgrade Requirements: Low-grade spirit stones ×5, plant ash ×50 jin (Not completed)]

[...]

What kind of cheat was this?

A farming cheat?

Before Ji Yuan could ponder it carefully, a flood of memories arose in his mind from thin air. His golden finger was called the "Building Upgrade Panel." Put simply, as long as the relevant conditions were met, the panel could upgrade the corresponding building and grant it the relevant abilities.

For example, the only building that could currently be upgraded was the fish pond at his home.

The requirements were one low-grade spirit stone, planting water-purifying reeds, and dredging the waterway.

Every fisher household in Zengtou Market had a small fish pond for keeping the spirit fish they caught from Cloudrain Marsh. Thus, the requirements of planting water-purifying reeds and dredging the waterway had long since been fulfilled.

As for one low-grade spirit stone... all Ji Yuan had left to his name was precisely one low-grade spirit stone.

Otherwise, he would not have been unable to pay even his rent.

There had originally been some spirit stones stored at home, but the original Ji Yuan's parents had exchanged them all for pills and talismans before their final voyage.

Who would have thought they would be buried in Cloudrain Marsh in a single day?

After the fish pond rose from lv0 to lv1, its abilities would be fish fry growth speed +20%, while semi-spirit fish would have a certain chance of evolving into spirit fish.

The first effect was easy enough to understand. As for semi-spirit fish and spirit fish, Ji Yuan had also learned about them from the original owner's memories.

When fishers like them went out to catch fish, what they mainly caught were semi-spirit fish and spirit fish. Put simply, spirit fish were fish demons—demonic beasts.

Whether their flesh and blood, scales and armor, or certain special parts of their bodies, all were resources in the cultivation world.

Spirit fish were first-rank demonic beasts that had entered the ranks.

In water, a cultivator had to be at least at the fourth level of Qi Refining to deal with an early-stage first-rank spirit fish.

The original Ji Yuan's father had been at the fourth level of Qi Refining, yet he had encountered a mid-stage first-rank spirit fish and lost his life.

Semi-spirit fish were fish that lay between ordinary fish and demonic beasts. They were also the primary targets for someone like Ji Yuan, who was in the early stages of Qi Refining.

And right now, there happened to be one semi-spirit fish in Ji Yuan's fish pond.

It was a Seven-Star Bass that the original Ji Yuan had risked his life to catch three days ago... The original Ji Yuan had also died during that trip upon the vast Cloudrain Marsh, conveniently leaving his body to the later Ji Yuan.

Ji Yuan took out the sole remaining low-grade spirit stone from his clothes... If he had more saved up—say, five low-grade spirit stones—he might still have hesitated.

But with only this one, there was nothing to hesitate over.

Upgrade!

At Ji Yuan's thought, the low-grade spirit stone in his hand turned to powder. At the same time, the effects and upgrade requirements for level 2 [Fish Pond] appeared on his panel.

[Fish Pond lv2]

[Spiritual Effect: Produces 1 drop of Waterglow Dew per day; increased probability of semi-spirit fish advancement; growth speed +30%]

[Upgrade Requirements: Low-grade spirit stones ×30, cold iron sand ×5 jin, inscribe a Frost-Condensing Talisman]

A level 2 fish pond could actually produce Waterglow Dew?

This was a precious treasure. It could heal wounds, restore spiritual qi, and even be used for cultivation. A single drop sold for eight low-grade spirit stones outside.

Before Ji Yuan could rejoice, the sound of churning water came from the fish pond in his back courtyard.

"Not good!"

Ji Yuan rushed into the back courtyard. In the small fish pond to the northwest, water was still splashing.

A line of small words only he could see floated above the pond.

[Fish Pond: lv1]

Inside the fish pond was an arm-length black shadow. Hardly daring to believe it, he stepped forward.

With just one glance, he froze.

Originally, the pond had held only one Seven-Star Bass, a semi-spirit fish worth one spirit stone.

But now, that semi-spirit fish was gone.

In its place was an early-stage first-rank spirit fish worth at least fifteen low-grade spirit stones... a Coldblood Bass.

This was the effect of a level 1 [Fish Pond]?!