Jade Sword Fish

In the Immortal Alliance, gold wasn't worth much. One Spirit Stone could buy hundreds or even thousands of pounds of it. What was truly expensive was Purple Coral Stone.

Purple Coral Stone was dark purple, its surface covered in fine, rippling patterns. It felt cool to the touch and was mostly found on the deep-sea floor. It was a First-Tier Water-type exotic material.

Water-type Spirit Beasts that consumed it over an extended period could boost their metabolism, nourish their bones, and shorten their growth cycle, so it wasn't cheap.

A one-pound piece of Purple Coral Stone sold for one Spirit Origin on the Immortal Alliance Official Website, while a water-type Spirit Beast cub had to swallow at least three pieces a day to speed up its growth.

By that reckoning, Golden Egg's monthly food bill came to 90 Spirit Origins, equivalent to half a year's wages for his parents. Ordinary cultivators simply couldn't afford it.

So most cultivators chose Blue Coral Gravel as a substitute.

Blue Coral Gravel was cheap. A thousand pounds cost just one Low-Grade Spirit Stone.

But this unranked stone was far less effective than Purple Coral Stone. It couldn't nourish a water-type Spirit Beast's body or shorten its growth cycle; it could only barely fill its stomach.

"Eat a little more." Chen Beiwu stuffed half a pound of gold and two pieces of Purple Coral Stone into Golden Egg's mouth.

A genius deserved treatment befitting a genius. How could one piece of Purple Coral Stone be enough for Golden Egg to develop?

"Gulp."

Under Chen Beiwu's Divine Sense guidance, Golden Egg circulated its innate Spirit Art, Sea Absorption. A faint golden glow spread from the scales covering its body.

Soon, a quarter of an hour passed.

As the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged through the cave abode, Golden Egg's belly bulged high, while its fish body slowly grew half a foot longer before Chen Beiwu's eyes.

"Not bad. Your Dao Practice has increased by another year." Chen Beiwu nodded slightly.

The Spirit Stones he'd spent hadn't disappeared. They'd been converted into Golden Egg's Dao Practice.

That was the power of paying to win!

If he made Golden Egg swallow Blue Coral Gravel at every meal, forget advancing its Dao Practice-the latter would probably complain of hunger every day.

The next morning.

Chen Beiwu opened his eyes, ending a night of cultivation, and returned to the Immortal Alliance.

He took out his phone and bought a ticket online for a Bixi Train to Anyi County.

The train ride from Pingchen Township, with a transfer, took two hours to reach Anyi County.

Anyi County wasn't in Fallen Dragon Prefecture. It was in the south of Five Crags Prefecture, and was a well-known Spirit Materials growing base in Heavenly Derivation Commandery. It produced abundant Lingzhi, Dragonhead Dendrobium, Yellowtail Dendrobium, and many other Spirit Materials cultivated to resemble wild varieties.

After boarding the train, Chen Beiwu took out his phone to pass the time and began browsing the Immortal Alliance Official Website for obscure miscellaneous cultivation manuals that no one wanted.

In the ancient, primeval era, these miscellaneous cultivation manuals would have counted as rare cultivation techniques.

But in the Immortal Alliance Era, the value of these manuals-which couldn't be cultivated alongside Companion Beasts-was practically zero. No cultivator was willing to practice them.

After carefully selecting five fairly ordinary Five Phases cultivation manuals, Chen Beiwu suddenly heard the sound of high heels beside him.

"Tap!"

"Tap!"

"Tap!"

As the sound drew closer, the mature, tall figure of a woman suddenly entered Chen Beiwu's view.

She had a slender waist and wore a dark blue suit skirt, an identification badge pinned at the collar. She wore light beige stockings and matte black high heels with five-centimeter heels.

That's the smell of agarwood.

Chen Beiwu's eyes shifted slightly, and he met the gaze of a pair of phoenix eyes with slightly raised corners.

"Sorry, would you mind moving over?" She smiled, revealing shallow dimples.

Chen Beiwu silently stood up to give her room. He watched her sit beside him, then sat back down and continued browsing the miscellaneous cultivation manuals on the Immortal Alliance Official Website.

"Bzzz! Bzzz!" A phone rang.

"Understood. I'll arrive this afternoon."

Paying no attention to the woman beside him as she talked on the phone, Chen Beiwu selected the last cultivation manual, closed his eyes, and gradually let his thoughts drift.

Soon, the train arrived at its stop. Chen Beiwu got off and found a hotel near Anyi County to stay in.

At the entrance to Strange Fish Studio in Abysswall Market.

"Senior, here's the Phoenix Yellow Dendrobium you asked for."

Seeing the familiar figure, Wanwan's eyes lit up. She hurried over and took a sack out of her Storage Bag.

Chen Beiwu swept it with his Divine Sense, and his heart couldn't help but skip a beat.

Inside the sack, the fine-quality Phoenix Yellow Dendrobium was piled up like cabbages, giving off a faint, elegant fragrance.

He reached out and snapped the stem of one Phoenix Yellow Dendrobium, then slowly pulled it apart. The strands stretched for more than a foot.

In the Immortal Alliance, Phoenix Yellow Dendrobium of this quality could easily be called Dragonhead Dendrobium.

"Very good. Here's the balance." Chen Beiwu nodded with satisfaction and tossed her three Spirit Stones.

"Thank you, Senior." Wanwan happily accepted the Spirit Stones, then tentatively asked, "Do you need any more Phoenix Yellow Dendrobium?"

Chen Beiwu put the sack into his Storage Bag and replied casually, "If I need any, I'll come find you again."

Hearing that, Wanwan was delighted.

If Chen Beiwu placed a few more orders, she could save up enough Spirit Stones to buy the middle volume of the Water Transformation Art.

"Senior, would you like to look around Spirit Fish Shop?" she asked warmly.

What were Exotic Fish?

Fish bearing unusual characteristics, utterly unlike ordinary river fish, were Exotic Fish.

There were many kinds of Exotic Fish, which could roughly be divided into two categories.

One kind was exceptionally sweet and delicious, beloved by gourmands, and fairly ordinary in price.

The other kind had extraordinary effects and could help cultivators advance their Qi Refining cultivation. They were expensive.

Chen Beiwu nodded and didn't refuse.

Earning Spirit Stones solely from Phoenix Yellow Dendrobium was too slow. He wanted to add another way to turn a profit.

As Wanwan entered Strange Fish Studio, a faint osmanthus fragrance wafted toward them, completely free of the fishy stench one would expect at a fish market.

Chen Beiwu turned his head and saw dozens of fish of various colors swimming in the glass tanks on either side of the shop.

"The fish in the tanks on the left are all particularly delicious species, and there are more varieties.

"The rare fish on the right can help cultivators with a Water Spiritual Root improve their Qi Refining cultivation, so there are fewer of them, and they're more expensive," Wanwan explained.

Chen Beiwu glanced to the right and saw that those Exotic Fish were all common species in the Immortal Alliance. They wouldn't earn him much of a price difference, so buying them would be a waste of effort.

Just then, an Exotic Fish in the tank on the left caught Chen Beiwu's eye.

It was an adult Jade-Scaled Fish, about two feet long. Its dorsal and tail fins were semi-transparent, and its entire body was covered in silvery-white scales. From a distance, it looked just like a translucent jade sword.

[Species]: Jade Sword Fish

[Price]: Twenty Spirit Stones (each)

[Description]: Exceptionally fresh and delicious, an exquisite delicacy rarely found in this world.

Looking at the price tag Strange Fish Studio had put up, Chen Beiwu paused.

So cheap. It was the first time he'd seen Jade Sword Fish sold by the fish.

Jade Sword Fish were called Jade-Scaled Fish in the Immortal Alliance, and counted as First-Tier spiritual items.

They were difficult to raise and exceptionally delicious, making them a delicacy that no gourmand could afford to miss. Even Chen Beiwu had heard of their outrageously high price.

It was no exaggeration to say that in the Immortal Alliance, a pound of pure wild Jade-Scaled Fish cost at least a hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Some top-quality specimens could even sell for three hundred Spirit Stones a pound, bringing their price close to that of a Second-Tier spiritual item. Even ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivators couldn't afford to eat them.

"Pack this one for me. I want it alive." Chen Beiwu said without hesitation.