Prospects

The Welcoming Inn.

A waiter brought over the dishes and Immortal Spirit Wine.

Since the alliance had just been formed, and Zhou Miaoyun had joined them, they also renegotiated the order of hosting their gatherings.

Starting that year, they would take turns hosting from oldest to youngest.

Zhou Miaoyun was the oldest at twenty-five. Chen Jianghe came next at twenty-two, followed by Yu Daniu, who was also twenty-two. Gao Peiyao was the youngest at sixteen.

None of them was particular about food, so they provisionally set the budget at one grain of spirit sand. They would adjust it later, once their cultivation had improved.

"Does everyone have plans for the future?"

After three rounds of wine and a sampling of the dishes, Zhou Miaoyun looked at the three of them, her beautiful eyes shimmering. "I came to the Yun Household hoping to become a talisman master guest retainer. I don't have much talent for fish farming, so being a fisher-farmer is only a transitional step for me here."

A junior fisher-farmer could earn no more than a hundred and thirty grains of spirit sand a year. Zhou Miaoyun came from a cultivation Aristocratic Clan. Even if she was not favored, she would still receive at least two spirit stones a year if she stayed at home.

There was no need for her to come to the Yun Household to advance through the fisher-farmer ranks.

However, once she became a mid-grade talisman master, she would need a faction to rely on. Otherwise, she could easily be robbed, or even abducted and deprived of her freedom, forced to spend her life as a talisman slave.

Compared with paying the steep rent to settle in the Market Ward, the Yun Household's inner waters offered better value.

"My spiritual root aptitude is passable, but I have no talent for fish farming. Fortunately, Grandpa left me some savings. I can reach the sixth level of Qi Refining in about twenty years, then try to break through to the late Qi Refining stage and become a guest retainer of the Yun Household."

Gao Peiyao made no attempt to conceal that Old Gao had left her a substantial inheritance.

Reaching the sixth level of Qi Refining in twenty years would require nearly thirty spirit stones' worth of resources at the very least, even with four-element false spiritual roots.

Including the resources Gao Peiyao had used over the past two years, Old Gao must have left her no fewer than thirty spirit stones.

Old Gao had said that he had considerable talent for fish farming. If not for the accident while mining deep underground, he would certainly have become a Senior Fisher-Farmer and cultivated to the late Qi Refining stage.

Because his Dantian had been injured, he had needed to take a Qi-Nourishing Pill every five years to stabilize his cultivation. In other words, his essential expenses came to nearly three spirit stones every five years.

After farming fish for more than sixty years following that sudden misfortune, he could indeed have saved over thirty spirit stones after expenses.

Zhou Miaoyun and Gao Peiyao had shared their plans for the future in turn.

Chen Jianghe fell into deep thought. He had no definite plan for the future, because his lifespan was far too long, comparable to that of a Foundation Establishment Ancestor.

Once Xiao Hei became a spirit beast, his lifespan would be even longer.

Therefore, he certainly could not stay in the same place for too long. Otherwise, someone would inevitably discover the secret of his longevity.

I can leave my long-term plans undecided, but I can make a plan for the next fifty years.

That was what Chen Jianghe thought.

"I have some talent for fish farming. This year, the total yield from my waters was two thousand seven hundred jin, with an average weight of three jin and seven liang. I should be able to become a Senior Fisher-Farmer within fifteen years."

Zhou Miaoyun's eyes lit up. If he could become a Senior Fisher-Farmer of the Yun Household, reaching the mid Qi Refining stage would be nailed firmly to the board.

He might even have a chance of breaking through the mid Qi Refining stage and becoming a Late Qi Refining Stage cultivator.

"Fellow Daoist Jianghe, if you become a Senior Fisher-Farmer, you can buy a Spirit Beast Ring and raise a water-element spirit beast to help you farm Small Blue Fish. Your harvest could double then."

"A Spirit Beast Ring?" This was the first Chen Jianghe had heard of it.

Zhou Miaoyun chuckled and explained, "A Spirit Beast Ring is a beast-taming magical artifact. It allows a cultivator to form a contract with a spirit beast and link their minds."

"For a junior fisher-farmer, having a water-element spirit beast while raising Big Blue Fish would allow them to become a Senior Fisher-Farmer very quickly. But Spirit Beast Rings are extremely expensive, costing twenty spirit stones. That's beyond what a junior fisher-farmer can afford."

Chen Jianghe was inwardly startled. He had not expected that taking in a spirit pet required a Spirit Beast Ring as an intermediary.

Originally, he had thought he could reveal Xiao Hei's existence once he became a Senior Fisher-Farmer. He had not expected to need a Spirit Beast Ring as well. It seemed he would have to rethink his plans.

"So there's this much to the craft of fish farming. Thank you for telling me, Fairy Miaoyun."

"There's no need for that. With your talent for fish farming, you would naturally learn these things after becoming a Senior Fisher-Farmer."

Zhou Miaoyun had no intention of claiming credit. When Gao Peiyao heard that Chen Jianghe had a chance of becoming a Senior Fisher-Farmer, a trace of delighted surprise flashed through her eyes. The greater the achievements of the alliance's members, the more help they could offer her in reaching Foundation Establishment.

Then Zhou Miaoyun, Chen Jianghe, and Gao Peiyao all looked at Yu Daniu. The three of them had shared their plans for the future.

Only Yu Daniu had yet to speak.

Feeling everyone's gazes converge on him, Yu Daniu immediately flushed scarlet, utterly embarrassed. He wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

His spiritual root aptitude was poor, and he had no talent for fish farming either.

This made him feel that he alone was the most useless member of their four-person alliance. Whether now or in the future, he would always be the one receiving support.

Chen Jianghe saw Yu Daniu's predicament, but there was nothing he could do. Their mutual aid alliance had been established for mutual benefit.

It was not a charity.

If someone remained on the receiving end of support, they would inevitably be isolated over time.

"I, I... perhaps I should leave-"

"Fellow Daoist Daniu, why not try Spirit Talisman Drawing? Perhaps you have talent in the Talisman Dao."

Zhou Miaoyun spoke up. "I can pass on a talisman-making inheritance to you, but you must swear not to pass it on to anyone else without my permission."

"In return, if you do have talent in the Talisman Dao, you must let me sell all the Spirit Talismans you draw over the next thirty years, and half the proceeds will belong to me.

"Of course, if you have no talent in the Talisman Dao, you won't have to give anything."

"Daniu, if you have no other path for advancement, you could try Spirit Talisman Drawing." Chen Jianghe thought it was feasible and offered Yu Daniu his advice.

If Yu Daniu left the alliance, he might remain stuck at the mid Qi Refining stage for the rest of his life.

Besides, Yu Daniu's departure would be somewhat disadvantageous to Chen Jianghe as well.

With yin flourishing and yang declining, he too would gradually be isolated over time.

Most importantly, Zhou Miaoyun's terms were very reasonable. She only wanted half the proceeds from his talisman-making for thirty years.

The Talisman Dao was not as abstruse as the Formation Dao or the Dao of Alchemy, which required a complete inheritance just to get started.

But figuring out Spirit Talisman Drawing on one's own required consuming large quantities of talisman-making materials. If one truly had talent, that was one thing.

They might get started in just a few months.

But without talent, they could forget about getting started even in three to five years, and they would consume large quantities of materials in the meantime.

For cultivators at the bottom, that vast consumption of materials was simply unaffordable.

Trading half the proceeds from thirty years of talisman-making for a talisman-making inheritance was truly a good bargain for a cultivator at the bottom with no foundation to rely on.

Most importantly, if he failed to get started in the Talisman Dao, he would pay no price at all.

Yu Daniu nodded to Chen Jianghe, then turned to Zhou Miaoyun and said solemnly, "Thank you, Fairy Miaoyun. I'm willing to give it a try."

"Good. You can come to fishing boat three-one-two after the meal." Delight showed on Zhou Miaoyun's face.

For her, if Yu Daniu had talent for Spirit Talisman Drawing, it would mean an additional half share of thirty years' worth of talisman-making proceeds.

If Yu Daniu could become a mid-grade talisman master, her returns would be even greater.

Even if Yu Daniu had no talent for talisman-making, she would lose nothing.

The main point was that the talisman-making inheritance she gave Yu Daniu was restricted to him alone.

"I hope Brother Daniu can become a talisman master too."

Gao Peiyao took out a pouch that gave off a delicate orchid fragrance and withdrew four spirit stones. "Grandpa didn't leave me many spirit stones. After setting aside what I need for my own cultivation, I can only lend Brother Jianghe and Brother Daniu two spirit stones each."

(End of chapter)