Foundation Establishment

Two days later, Ji Yuan only heard about the Foundation Immortal Abode that had appeared on Maple Leaf Island when he went out to deal with those four Half-Spirit Fish.

After hearing about it... he felt nothing in particular.

He wasn't nearly as delighted as the other fishermen.

An Immortal Abode?

Can it be upgraded?

If I upgrade my Cave Abode to Level 100, maybe it will transform directly into a Divine Hall!

Rule over the heavens and earth!

After indulging in his fantasies for a while, he took the four Half-Spirit Fish he had bought for four Spirit Stones and raised them for half a month before selling them for six Spirit Stones.

Ji Yuan then spent four Spirit Stones to buy four more Half-Spirit Fish.

As for the two Spirit Stones he had earned, he put them away.

Thinking of the Immortal Abode, he decided to upgrade his own Cave Abode as well.

That way, the nighttime concentration of spiritual energy would increase by 20%, which would help with his cultivation.

Alternatively, he could upgrade the Pigsty.

Spirit Pigs gained a hundred jin of muscle in seven days. Their flesh also had Body Tempering and auxiliary healing effects.

The Spirit Pigs raised by others didn't have nearly so many abilities. At most, they were delicious and contained an extremely faint trace of spiritual energy.

What Ji Yuan had his eye on was the Body Tempering effect.

From the original owner's memories, he learned that Body Refining was considered a minor path in the cultivation world.

Even someone who trained into what mortals called a Martial Saint would still be no match for a cultivator in the Middle Qi Refining Stage.

After all, no matter how high your martial skills were, your opponent could use the Object Manipulation Technique to summon a flying sword and turn you into pulp from several hundred meters away.

Thus, the vast majority of cultivators focused solely on cultivation and didn't spare the time to temper their bodies.

But Ji Yuan didn't see it that way. Physical strength was strength too... To put it bluntly, once his physique improved, he could exert a few more points of strength even during dual cultivation, and plow a few more fields.

Besides, if he could increase his strength simply by eating and drinking, why wouldn't he?

When Ji Yuan finally carried the four Half-Spirit Fish back to his little home by the banks of Cloud-Rain Marsh, he saw Huang Laotou and Lin Youwei squatting outside the door, apparently discussing something in hushed voices.

What else could they be discussing at a time like this? Most likely, it was the matter of the Foundation Immortal Abode that had swept across all of Zengtou City... Ji Yuan nodded. "All right. I'll put the fish away first, then come out."

Before long, Ji Yuan was squatting beside Lin Youwei.

"You went to Zengtou City. You heard about what happened on Maple Leaf Island, right?" Lin Youwei asked.

"I heard."

Huang Laotou bared his gap-toothed mouth. "So? Are you interested, kid? How about the three of us join forces and go explore Maple Leaf Island too?"

No, damn it. Even cultivators in the Late Qi Refining Stage are fighting over that Foundation Immortal Abode. Are you two cultivators in the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining planning to go there and throw your lives away too...? Ji Yuan smiled.

"I'm only in the Early Qi Refining Stage. I'd better forget it."

"You can't put it that way." Lin Youwei hurriedly refuted him. "Who can say what opportunities will bring? Besides, we won't be going onto the island. We'll just try our luck around the outskirts."

Huang Laotou took out his old tobacco pipe and stuffed some tobacco into it.

"To put it plainly, we're not going there to make a grab for the Immortal Abode. We're going there to profit from the dead."

"It's not just us from Zengtou City. People from the neighboring Taian Ward and Jingde Ward are coming too. By then, who knows how many cultivators in the Qi Refining Stage will be there? There'll be countless casualties. We're going there to profit from them."

"Without the strength of the Eighth or Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, who would really dare make a grab for that Immortal Abode?"

That makes more sense... After hearing him out, Ji Yuan looked somewhat tempted, but after struggling with the decision, he still shook his head.

"I'm timid, and I just advanced to the Third Layer of Qi Refining. I don't know any techniques, and I'm no good at killing. I'd better forget it. I won't go and hold you two back."

After saying this, Ji Yuan stood up and cupped his hands toward the two of them. Then he turned and went back inside.

He didn't give them any chance to refuse.

What they said was indeed true. A chaotic battle like this was a fine opportunity to profit from the dead, but it wasn't certain who would end up among the living and who among the dead.

Ji Yuan could upgrade buildings on his own. There was no need to risk his life over this.

Outside the door.

Lin Youwei and Huang Laotou exchanged a glance. "What do we do?"

"How about our whole family goes together? With more people, we can at least make others wary."

Lin Youwei clenched his teeth and finally made up his mind.

"That works too. With more people, we'll have more help."

The matter of the Lin Family setting out for Maple Leaf Island in full force to fight for the opportunity naturally couldn't escape Ji Yuan's notice, separated as they were by only a wall.

Lin Youwei and Huang Laotou even knocked on Ji Yuan's door and asked him to help look after their home.

For such a small matter, Ji Yuan naturally didn't refuse again.

He leaned against his own doorframe and watched as Huang Laotou summoned his Mantis Boat, while Lin Youwei summoned his Blackwood Boat.

In the end, Lin Youwei carried Zhou Ling and Wu Qin, while Lin Hu boarded Huang Laotou's fishing boat.

The group of five disappeared grandly into the vast Cloud-Rain Marsh.

Watching the clouds and mist drift across the surface of the lake, Ji Yuan pondered for quite a while. Only then did he silently close the door, return to the rear courtyard, take out a Spirit Egg, and begin that day's cultivation.

Ever since learning what had happened over at Maple Leaf Island, Ji Yuan went out even less often.

He hid in the rear courtyard and cultivated all day long. With the neighbors on either side gone, he even practiced his cultivation techniques at home. After this period of ceaseless, grueling cultivation...

It wasn't as though he had gained nothing.

For example, he had completely stabilized his cultivation at the Third Layer of Qi Refining and could even attempt to break through to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining at any time... which was the Middle Qi Refining Stage.

Ji Yuan had never tried because he knew he didn't have enough Spirit Stones.

Relying on Spirit Eggs alone would probably yield less than ideal results.

A breakthrough was something that had to be done in one burst of momentum, so he planned to sell another Spirit Fish and use the Spirit Stones he obtained to attempt a breakthrough into the Middle Qi Refining Stage.

Aside from that, there were his techniques. He had completely mastered all the techniques the original owner currently knew.

Even with the Water Arrow Technique, he could now cast it instantly.

He could basically hit whatever he pointed at.

Five days later, not one of the four Half-Spirit Fish Ji Yuan had purchased the second time had completed the leap in rank. But their bodies had once again grown to their limits, so he had no choice but to carry them to the Fish Pen and sell them.

He earned four Spirit Stones.

Three of the Spirit Stones went toward buying more Half-Spirit Fish, while he made a small profit of one Spirit Stone.

Even though Ji Yuan hadn't deliberately inquired, he still heard quite a few things about Maple Leaf Island on this outing.

For example, many fishermen from the three wards of Zengtou City, Taian Ward, and Jingde Ward had gone there. They hadn't even made it onto the island, yet several battles had already broken out.

Each side had suffered casualties.

Most of those who died were cultivators in the Middle Qi Refining Stage.

For another example, a cultivator in the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining from Taian Ward had relied on his cultivation to force his way onto the island, only to be killed on the spot by a wisp of unknown Sword Qi from the island.

This also made the other fishermen who wanted to fight for the opportunity calm down somewhat.

In addition, because of this great battle, offensive supplies such as Cultivation Pills and Talismans in Zengtou City had seen a slight rise in price.

But none of this had anything to do with Ji Yuan. At present, he was like a bystander, sitting back and watching Cloud-Rain Marsh.

The tides rose and fell.

What he hadn't expected was that when he carried the Half-Spirit Fish home and was just about to toss them into the Fish Pond, he suddenly discovered a shadow as long as an arm inside the Fish Pond.

One of the Half-Spirit Fish... had evolved!