Changes

Ji Yuan's gaze fell on the Fish Pond. The Spirit Fish that had advanced this time were the "Doghead Catfish" and the "Blood Spirit Crucian Carp."

The Blood Spirit Crucian Carp should fetch one extra Spirit Stone.

"Those two Spirit Fish should sell for at least 35 Spirit Stones. The other five Half-Spirit Fish together should bring in another 8 Spirit Stones."

"That's another 43 Spirit Stones coming in. Even after deducting the cost of buying more Half-Spirit Fish, I'll still have 30 left."

Ji Yuan could not help looking toward the Panel.

Level Two [Fish Pond] upgrade requirements: Low-Grade Spirit Stone ×30, Cold Iron Sand ×5 jin, inscribe a Freezing Talisman.

Perhaps Heaven favored him, or perhaps it was because he had been a fisherman to begin with. This Level Two [Fish Pond] was unlike things such as a [Pigsty] or [Cave Abode], which required 50 Spirit Stones to upgrade.

It only needed 30 Spirit Stones.

More importantly, once the Fish Pond was upgraded, it would produce one drop of Waterbloom Dew every day, worth 8 Spirit Stones... This was stable income, far steadier than advancing Half-Spirit Fish or raising Spirit Pigs.

Eight a day meant 80 in a week, and 8,000 in a month...

The moment the "calculation method" came out, Ji Yuan had already begun happily fantasizing.

Upgrade!

It had to be upgraded!

As for techniques, he did not lack them for now. Besides, no matter how many he learned, with his Fourth Layer of Qi Refining cultivation, he would not be able to use them.

Put simply, his blue bar was limited.

One Object Manipulation Technique to control a Dharma Tool, plus Water Drop Finger as his basic attack, was already about enough.

The same went for Dharma Tools.

So, for the moment, the best use for these Spirit Stones was upgrading the [Fish Pond] and gaining a stable stream of Spirit Stone income.

That way, whatever he wanted to do later would become much easier.

It was just that he did not know the price of Cold Iron Sand. And as for inscribing a Freezing Talisman... would sticking one on be enough?

Or did he have to inscribe it himself?

If he had to do it himself, would that not mean he also needed to learn the art of talisman drawing?

Fine. Tomorrow, he would first go to Zengtou City and ask about the Cold Iron Sand.

After all, the sky was already nearing dusk. Once night fell, the spiritual energy in his room would grow denser. Ji Yuan did not dare waste such excellent cultivation conditions.

Early the next morning, Ji Yuan, who had cultivated bitterly all night, rose at dawn.

He casually killed the two Spirit Fish with two fingers, then came to the door. With a thought, he released his White Boat Spirit Vessel by the shore.

At last, he no longer had to pole that black-canopied boat around to sell fish. Ji Yuan could not help feeling a little emotional.

At least he had traded a bird gun for a cannon.

Unexpectedly, before he could board the vessel and load the fish, a middle-aged man came walking down the nearby path, yawning. His eyes were bloodshot and the circles beneath them dark. He even staggered slightly as he walked, yet there was no scent of alcohol. He seemed to have simply stayed up too many nights in a row.

He first spotted the Spirit Vessel by the lake, and his eyes lit up. Then he saw Ji Yuan carrying two Spirit Fish and stopped in his tracks.

"Ji... Fellow Daoist Ji, are you going to sell fish?"

Deng Yunliang's eyes became much clearer.

If a Spirit Vessel of such fine quality merely made him somewhat envious, then the two Spirit Fish in Ji Yuan's hands thoroughly woke him up.

In Zengtou City, anyone capable of killing Spirit Fish was undoubtedly in the Middle Qi Refining Stage.

And they had to be among the better fighters at that stage, not to mention someone like Ji Yuan, who could kill two Spirit Fish in one go... A ruthless man, a genuine ruthless man!

Deng Yunliang had previously done plenty of currying favor with Middle Qi Refining Stage cultivators in Zengtou City, but he had never imagined one was hidden right beside him.

And he was so young!

"Mm. Fellow Daoist Deng, did you just return from Zengtou City?"

Ji Yuan recalled Wu Qin's question last time and wondered what Deng Yunliang had been up to.

"Yes, yes."

Deng Yunliang hurriedly nodded with a smile.

Ji Yuan gave a sound of acknowledgment and did not ask further. He was not curious about others unless they affected him. He then went back inside to fetch the remaining Half-Spirit Fish. Today, he intended to sell the Fish Pond completely empty.

After Deng Yunliang entered his house, he seemed to recall something. He clenched his fist, turned around several times, but ultimately gave up.

"Fine, I'll try again tonight!"

"I'll definitely turn things around!"

As he pondered, another name popped into his mind... Lin Hu.

"..."

Ji Yuan arrived at the Fish Pen and sold all his catch. The earnings were actually a little higher than he had expected—44 Spirit Stones in all.

It drew sidelong glances from quite a few fishermen nearby.

But this time, he did not conceal his cultivation. His Middle Qi Refining Stage aura spread outward. Even though he was only at the Fourth Layer, it was enough to make those fishermen calm down.

Everyone was only here to seek wealth, not gamble with their lives.

Ji Yuan did not hurry to buy fish. Instead, he first headed to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

"Cold Iron Sand?"

The Water Dragon Sect cultivator on duty gave Ji Yuan a half-smiling glance.

"Yes."

"Do you have Cold Iron Sand?" the Water Dragon Sect cultivator asked in return.

"This..." Ji Yuan frowned. This bastard's temperament was not very good. He was nothing like that old man he had encountered while buying techniques last time, who had been so kind.

"Enough. If you don't have any, stop making trouble here. Get out."

The square-faced cultivator impatiently waved a hand, and Ji Yuan could only cup his fists and take his leave.

Instead, a middle-aged woman in green beside the Talismans section explained, "Cold Iron Sand is in short supply within the Water Dragon Sect right now. Supply is insufficient even for the sect's own use. How could any possibly flow outside?"

"Our Hundred Treasures Pavilion has also only been buying, not selling, lately. If you find any, you can bring it here. We'll buy it at a high price—15 Spirit Stones per jin."

"So expensive?!"

Ji Yuan could not help widening his eyes.

At 15 Spirit Stones per jin, even if he could buy it, it would cost 75 Spirit Stones. Adding the 30 Spirit Stones originally required to upgrade the [Fish Pond], that came to 105 Spirit Stones... enough to exchange for a Middle-Grade Spirit Stone!

A Middle-Grade Spirit Stone.

That damned thing was something only Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators could possess, right?

"What else did you expect?"

The square-faced cultivator who had been speaking in that strange tone finally opened his mouth. "There is a cold-water region northwest of Zengtou City called Clearwave Pool. There may be Cold Iron Sand nearby. If you can gather some, no matter how much, our Water Dragon Sect will buy it."

"Yes."

Ji Yuan cupped his fists toward both of them before leaving the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

Before departing, he asked around nearby and learned that the Hundred Treasures Pavilion had stopped selling Cold Iron Sand half a year ago. Back then, it had only cost 5 Spirit Stones per jin. Unlike now, when the price had tripled and demand still outstripped supply.

"Who knows what the hell the Water Dragon Sect is up to, needing so much Cold Iron Sand."

This sudden change disrupted Ji Yuan's plans. He could only buy eight Half-Spirit Fish first and return home.

For the time being, the path of upgrading the Fish Pond was blocked.

Unless he went searching near Clearwave Pool himself, but Ji Yuan had no plans to venture out and take risks for now.

If he wanted stable income, upgrading the Pigsty would work as well. The Blood Essence it produced daily was even more valuable.

It was just that the upgrade required 50 Spirit Stones, three Rotbone Flowers, and the inscription of Filth-Expelling Runes.

Ji Yuan had also asked around about Rotbone Flowers while he was at it.

The answer he received was that Zengtou City did not have such a thing at all. He would have to search other market towns for it, and even if he found some, it would certainly not be cheap.

Neither the [Fish Pond] nor the [Pigsty] would work for now.

So... did that mean he could only put the idea aside for the time being?

Ji Yuan looked at his Panel, and that did not seem to be the case.

The Panel was called the Building Upgrade Panel. The buildings it had displayed so far were merely things the original owner more or less already possessed, but that did not mean the Panel could only upgrade those buildings.

What about things like an [Alchemy Room] or an [Artifact Refining Room]?