Five Years

Chen Jianghe politely declined Yu Daniu's warm invitation, citing the limit on how long a Senior Fisher-Farmer could remain on Heart of the Lake Island.

In truth, there were too many people in the courtyard, and he did not want to get involved with too many of them.

After returning to the Inner Waters, he took stock of his assets.

One trip to Heart of the Lake Island had left him with only seventy grains of spirit sand.

Buying a gift for Yu Daniu's son had cost forty grains of spirit sand.

It was not worth much, but it carried his good wishes.

Once he had secured his fishing boat, Chen Jianghe eagerly jumped into the lake and dived to the bottom, where he saw Xiao Hei taking a school of Small Blue Fish for a swim.

Judging by their size, these Small Blue Fish had probably lost another three or four taels, and the spiritual energy around their bodies had grown even more abundant.

"Xiao Hei."

Chen Jianghe called Xiao Hei over and looked at him solemnly. "After entering the ranks of spirit beasts, did you awaken a divine ability?"

"Yes."

Xiao Hei swam over with his millstone-sized body, extended his turtle head, as wide as the mouth of a bowl, and opened his broad mouth in a grin, blowing a bubble.

Then his body changed. His formerly ink-black shell turned deep blue-green, making him look like a turtle statue carved from thousand-year-old blue-green jade.

"What divine ability is this?"

"Petrification. It strengthens my physical defenses. Hmm... I don't think you could hurt me." Xiao Hei gave Chen Jianghe a serious once-over.

"..."

"What else changed after you entered the ranks?"

"My lifespan!"

When the subject turned to his lifespan, Xiao Hei grew visibly excited.

"Do you know? I gained forty years of life! Forty whole years! That's half my original lifespan. Cultivation is wonderful."

"Uh..."

Chen Jianghe was too embarrassed to mention his own lifespan. When Xiao Hei had entered the ranks of spirit beasts, he had gained a hundred and twenty years of life.

"Well, anything else?"

"Let me think... Oh, right! The two-legged beast's mark on my spiritual platform is clearer now. I can see that it looks just like you. And I can communicate with you now."

"How strange. I could communicate with Azure-Scaled Fish and other aquatic creatures before, so why couldn't I communicate with two-legged beasts?"

Xiao Hei tried to scratch his head with a foreclaw, but it was too short to reach.

Bastard.

Chen Jianghe cursed inwardly, but he wore a smile as he asked, "What is bloodline purity?"

"Do you really think I know everything?"

"I'm just a little turtle who's only just entered the ranks. How would I know so much?"

Xiao Hei spread his four limbs, swung his head, and rolled his beady eyes, looking every bit a turtle newcomer to the Immortal Dao.

The corner of Chen Jianghe's mouth twitched. He could fully appreciate what the fat shopkeeper had meant by a useless turtle with high intelligence and a long lifespan.

He showed no respect at all for his master.

Chen Jianghe rose to the surface and returned to the cabin.

He was now completely certain that Xiao Hei was different from other Black Crystal Mystic Tortoises. Thanks to the mark on his spiritual platform, Xiao Hei had the potential to become a second-tier spirit beast.

He just did not yet know the grade of Xiao Hei's bloodline purity.

When the right opportunity arose, he would ask about spirit beast bloodline purity grades.

Gathering his thoughts, he sat cross-legged in meditation.

He absorbed the abundant spiritual energy in the Inner Waters and circulated the Origin Returning True Water Art, guiding the spiritual energy through a full circuit and converting it into magical power.

A single day in the mountains, and a thousand years had passed in the world.

Time flashed past like a white colt glimpsed through a crack, and five years slipped quietly away.

That day.

Whoosh...

Chen Jianghe finished his cultivation and regulated his breathing, slowly opening his eyes as he exhaled a breath of stale air.

His dantian had expanded to the size of a goose egg, and magical power filled it completely. He had finished expanding his dantian for the Early Qi Refining Stage.

"Cultivating in the Inner Waters really is much faster. I can buy a Qi-Nurturing Pill and break through to the Fourth Level of Qi Refining now."

Six years, without taking any Qi-Nourishing Pills along the way. He had reached Qi Refining Third Layer Perfection nearly four years earlier than expected. Had he taken Qi-Nourishing Pills, it would have been even faster.

The Inner Waters and Outer Waters were entirely different worlds. The difference in spiritual energy concentration was enormous.

Perhaps because it had been their first time raising Small Blue Fish, neither he nor Xiao Hei had much experience.

They had failed to raise any Small Blue Fish into spirit beasts.

They had only reduced the average weight from four jin and five taels to one jin and six taels, earning a commission of two hundred and ninety grains of spirit sand.

Thus, it had only been enough to buy one Qi-Nourishing Pill for Xiao Hei. After all, he had promised it to Xiao Hei earlier, and he could not pocket that Qi-Nourishing Pill.

"This batch produced three spirit beast Small Blue Fish. Together with the commission for their average weight, that should be enough to buy a Qi-Nurturing Pill."

Xiao Hei seemed to have grasped the knack of raising Small Blue Fish. He had actually raised three spirit beast Small Blue Fish in this batch.

For every Small Blue Fish raised into a spirit beast, the Yun Household rewarded one spirit stone-an actual spirit stone, not an equivalent payment in spirit sand.

Three Small Blue Fish meant three spirit stones.

"Caw! Caw!"

At the cry of a White Egret, Chen Jianghe stepped out of the cabin and removed the letter tied to its leg.

He returned to the cabin and opened the message tube.

"A joint letter from Gao Peiyao and Zhou Miaoyun."

Chen Jianghe frowned and quickly read through the letter. Just what could have prompted the two of them to send a joint letter?

"They're leaving Mirror Moon Lake?"

The letter offered little explanation, saying they would discuss it in detail at the year-end gathering.

They had also written to Yu Daniu. Clearly, they hoped he could attend this year's gathering.

Over the past five years, Chen Jianghe had attended every year-end gathering, but Yu Daniu had often been absent.

He had attended only once in those five years.

During those five years, their little alliance had undergone changes so great that they left one dumbfounded.

First was Zhou Miaoyun. Two years ago, she had broken through to Qi Refining, Fifth Layer, and had made great progress in the Talisman Dao.

At one gathering, she had boldly declared that she would become a Mid-Grade Talisman Master within ten years.

Then there was Gao Peiyao. She had broken through to the Fourth Level of Qi Refining three years ago and should now be close to reaching Qi Refining, Fifth Layer.

But Yu Daniu had changed the most.

Yu Daniu was now a prominent figure at Mirror Moon Lake. In the six years since marrying into the Yun Household, he had fathered four children.

All were boys-a truly outrageous feat that made the other live-in sons-in-law hate him enough to grind their back teeth to pieces.

Most infuriating of all, his wife's belly was not idle now, either. She had become pregnant again three months ago.

It could be said that, in their six years of marriage, Yu Daniu's wife's belly had been put to full use.

The Yun Household consequently valued Yu Daniu highly and rewarded him with considerable cultivation resources. Half a year ago, he had actually reached Qi Refining, Fifth Layer.

If things continued like this...

Yu Daniu might become the first person in their alliance to break through to the Late Qi Refining Stage.

Compared with Yu Daniu's comfortable life in the Yun Household, the six Junior Fisher-Farmers who had married into the household alongside him were having a hard time.

Four had children: three sons and one daughter.

Those with sons were doing all right, barely scraping by.

The three sons-in-law who had either fathered a daughter or remained childless were miserable. Not only did they endure scorn outside, but their wives also beat them savagely at home.

One son-in-law's wife had even wanted to borrow Yu Daniu's seed.

Most absurdly, the Yun Household's higher-ups had tacitly approved of this. But Yu Daniu cherished his wife and had not let that younger female cousin of hers have her way.

"Why would they think of leaving Mirror Moon Lake?"

"Forget it. Once I hand over the Small Blue Fish to the Yun Household tomorrow, I'll find out when I go to the Welcoming Inn."

Chen Jianghe was puzzled. The outside world was far from peaceful now, and Lan Tianxiang was showing himself more and more frequently.

Attacks by Lan Tianxiang had occurred in three places at the same time.

It was truly outrageous.

(End of chapter)