Body Tempering

Hearing the words "keep people safe," Ji Yuan seemed to see Huang Laotou's lingering soul standing atop the Spirit Vessel, cursing up a storm.

Ji Yuan was not sure whether the cultivator before him had killed Huang Laotou.

But since Huang Laotou's Spirit Vessel had ended up here, he... was most likely already doomed.

Ji Yuan felt around in his pocket and revealed a bitter smile. "My purse has been rather light lately. I can only have a look."

The long-faced cultivator did not look down on him at all. Instead, he smiled. "Look, look as much as you like. You don't need Spirit Stones to look, and looking doesn't cost money."

It was rare to encounter such a good-natured fisherman. Ji Yuan truly squatted down and gave the goods a careful look.

"My name is Feng Yidao. May I know your esteemed name, fellow Daoist?" Feng Yidao cupped his hands and struck up a conversation.

"My humble name is Ji Yuan. Greetings, Fellow Daoist Feng."

After looking for a while, Ji Yuan got up and left.

It was almost time to pay the Immortal Residence Fee again. Though Ji Yuan had Spirit Stones, it was always best to keep some in reserve.

After returning home, he first inspected the place. Only after confirming that the Fish Pond, Pigsty, and everything else were in order did he put away his Spirit Stones and head next door to the Lin Family.

Ji Yuan did not say that Huang Laotou had died. He merely said that he had seen his Spirit Vessel being sold.

After hearing this, Lin Hu merely threw back his head and roared.

"Heaven has eyes!!!"

The next day, people from the Water Dragon Sect came to collect the Immortal Residence Fee. Unlike last time, when he had been in arrears, Ji Yuan even prepaid next month's fee.

That way, they would not come to disturb him next month.

Ji Yuan produced Spirit Stones every day, but he was afraid of drawing the attention of the Water Dragon Sect's cultivators.

Thus, the fewer dealings he had with them, the better.

Over the next few days, he threw himself heart and soul into the Water Drop Finger technique. To be honest, the technique itself was not difficult. Ji Yuan had entered the basics after just one day.

What was difficult was everything after getting started.

Every time he cast Water Drop Finger, Ji Yuan felt as though his ten fingers had been pressed onto a chopping block and relentlessly pricked with needles. When the technique was about to take form, it felt even more like needles were being driven beneath his fingernails.

Yet once he dispersed the technique, his fingers bore not the slightest injury.

This damned technique—no wonder nobody practiced it... Ji Yuan could only set it aside for now. Everything would have to wait until the Spirit Pig matured and he had undergone a proper round of Body Tempering.

In the blink of an eye, another five days passed.

Ji Yuan dealt with a batch of Half-Spirit Fish that had failed to advance, then bought another batch of Spirit Fish.

While he was at it, he bought a Green-Yellow Chicken from the chicken cultivator.

This way, he could eat seven Spirit Eggs every day. After his cultivation breakthrough, his refining ability had naturally risen as well.

The six Spirit Eggs he used to eat each day no longer put him under any pressure.

On that same day, Ji Yuan looked at the nearly two-hundred-pound Spirit Pig in the [Pigsty] and felt... murderous intent stir within him.

The best method would naturally have been to send it to Luo Tong and have him handle it. That would save trouble and avoid waste.

But Ji Yuan did not dare. He could only do it himself. Standing beside the [Pigsty] in the backyard, he looked at the Spirit Pig lying there without moving.

With a lift of his hand, a dark-blue water arrow appeared in his palm.

"Go!"

He barked softly and thrust his right hand forward. The water arrow smoothly pierced straight through the Spirit Pig's neck. It struggled a few times before falling completely still.

Ji Yuan hurriedly grabbed the wooden bucket he had prepared beforehand, jumped into the Pigsty, and began collecting blood.

The rest was simple. He was butchering a pig for himself to eat; as long as he cleaned it properly, that was enough.

That morning, he deliberately stewed a huge pot of Spirit Pig meat for himself. He did not dare drink the Spirit Pig blood raw, so he made it into blood tofu.

Both tasted quite good.

At first, he did not feel anything while eating. But when he was halfway through, his whole body suddenly began to heat up.

It was as if he were being boiled in water, scorching hot.

Bead-sized drops of sweat rolled out in torrents.

At first, it was merely hot. But after a while, stabbing pain began spreading throughout his body. Ji Yuan could still endure it and keep eating at first.

But before three to five breaths had passed, he could no longer bear it. He even fell from the dining table onto the ground, curling up tightly.

"Fuck!"

"So this is Body Tempering? This is no life for a human being."

For a moment, Ji Yuan even regretted choosing this path. But for the sake of strength, he had no other choice but to grit his teeth and endure.

Pain for a while, eat for a while. Eat for a while, pain for a while.

Later on, he suddenly smelled a foul stench. Raising his hand, he discovered that at some unknown time, a layer of mud-like filth had appeared on his arm.

"Is this... cleansing the sinews and washing the marrow?"

Ji Yuan only knew that Foundation Establishment could bring about a similar effect. He had never expected Body Tempering to work as well. Moreover, with only a slight clench of his fists, he could feel explosive strength surging through him.

He could not even be bothered to clean up. He hurriedly washed himself clean, then changed into a brand-new set of clothes before finally examining his changes in the water mirror.

His features had become even more handsome, and his skin even fairer and more delicate.

If he had once still looked somewhat like a fisherman weathered by years of wind and sun, he now looked entirely like a pampered young nobleman.

In other words, he had finally gained a bit of an immortal cultivator's bearing.

Having tasted the sweetness, Ji Yuan went nowhere over the next four or five days. Even when a Half-Spirit Fish advanced into a Spirit Fish, he could not be bothered to deal with it.

He devoted himself wholeheartedly to stuffing himself with meat, eating with the sort of reckless abandon that said: as long as it did not kill him, he would eat himself to death.

Fortunately, he was still an immortal cultivator, and the Spirit Pig had absorbed a trace of spiritual energy. It could be refined by his cultivation technique.

After several consecutive days, he ate that nearly two-hundred-pound Spirit Pig clean by himself, and he also experienced the wonders of Body Tempering.

There was no need to mention the improvement to his physical constitution. Take Water Drop Finger, for instance.

At present, he could already cast it painlessly. With a casual point, he could fire a finger-sword of formidable attacking power. He had tested it outside his home.

When Water Drop Finger struck the water's surface, it could blast up a great spray.

If that hit someone, would it not leave one huge hole per finger... Compared with the thick and obvious Water Arrow Technique, Water Drop Finger consumed less energy and was harder to detect.

It was absolutely a fine weapon for sneak attacks.

After finishing an entire Spirit Pig, Ji Yuan did not want to eat it again anytime soon. Merely recalling the taste of Spirit Pig meat gave him the urge to vomit.

After resting at home for another day, he finally took that Spirit Fish to Zengtou City.

As expected, he sold it for another eighteen Spirit Stones. This brought the Spirit Stones on him to a full twenty. Since he lacked no techniques, Ji Yuan planned to save them for now.

Later, he would see whether to upgrade the Fish Pond to Level 2 or buy a magical artifact for protection.

Just as he was preparing to leave, he suddenly heard many people in Zengtou City spreading a piece of news.

The war over at Maple Leaf Island... had produced a result!

Zengtou City, Taian Ward, and Jingde Ward had all gained nothing. In the end, every benefit of that Foundation Immortal Abode had been taken by a Foundation Establishment High Person from the Water Dragon Sect.

The other fishermen could only be considered to have made the trip for nothing.

Those like Lin Youwei and his wife... had died for nothing.

After hearing this news, Ji Yuan stood where he was for quite a while before walking toward his little home by the shore.

High-level cultivators regarded low-level cultivators as ants, and sect disciples likewise regarded Rogue Cultivators as ants... For no reason at all, Ji Yuan recalled a sentence he had seen in his previous life.

The true world of immortal cultivation did not have many realms. It had only three forms of address.

Senior, fellow Daoist, and ant.

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