Free Things Cost the Most
The fishing net in Tang Yuan's hands was the spiderweb his junior sister, a spider demon, had given him when he first arrived in the Demon Realm.
Red Spirit Eels were not only immensely strong, sharp-toothed, and nimble, but could also release lightning. They could break an ordinary spiritual fishing net with a single strike, so they could only be caught one at a time with a fishing rod.
His junior sister, the spider demon in the Demon Realm, had been right. The web she had given him really was a divine tool for catching demons and beasts. Tang Yuan had tested it over the past few months, and the Red Spirit Eels truly could not escape it.
There was no time to lose. Tang Yuan immediately left his courtyard, rented a spirit boat at the Emerald Creek Island dock, and placed a Spirit Stone in it. Then he raced northwest toward Golden Shell Island, swift as wind and lightning.
Although Xi Yunshu had marked the islands and hidden reefs on the survey map, Tang Yuan kept the spirit boat below its top speed to be safe. If he struck a hidden reef halfway there, he could take a Turtle Transformation Pill and turn into a sea turtle, but out on the vast sea, his only possible end would be death.
Early on the morning of the twelfth day of the eighth month, in the year 4024 of the New Immortal Calendar, Tang Yuan arrived at Golden Shell Island.
The wind and waves around Golden Shell Island were no less fierce than those of the Ghost-Fearing Sea, and might even have been worse.
He pulled the fishing boat ashore and tied it down, then immediately swallowed a Turtle Transformation Pill. He circulated his own magic power into the life-bound demon core in his Dantian, then used the core to drive his spiritual power and refine the Turtle Transformation Pill in his belly. Tang Yuan transformed into a giant sea turtle once more. Taking the spiderweb his junior sister in the Demon Realm had given him, he leaped into the water like a divine turtle entering the sea.
Although he was an excellent swimmer in turtle form and could handle the spiderweb with ease, Red Spirit Eels could release lightning, so Tang Yuan was especially careful when using the web to catch them.
Even so, Tang Yuan was shocked several times by the school of Red Spirit Eels and had to retreat for brief rests.
After expending the strength of nine oxen and two tigers over four hours, Tang Yuan finally caught 209 plump Red Spirit Eels.
The sun sank behind the western mountains, and the wind and waves grew stronger and stronger.
Tang Yuan hurriedly returned to human form, put the Red Spirit Eels into his monkey master's animal-hide Storage Bag, and steered the spirit boat swiftly southeast.
Four days later, Tang Yuan went to the Demon Realm and earned another 400 Spirit Stones.
After giving six Red Spirit Eels to Hu Mei'er and Huang You'er, Tang Yuan did not linger in the Demon Realm. He returned directly to the Human Realm. He had now reached the meridian opening eighth layer and needed to prepare a Qi Refining Cultivation Method to make his breakthrough into the Qi Refining Realm...
As a contracted spirit worker of the Xi Household, he could apply to the household for a free upper seventh-grade Cultivation Method, the Mountain Stream Spirit Art, upon reaching the meridian opening eighth layer.
Tang Yuan did not want to learn that seventh-grade technique, so he made repeated trips to the Xuan Dou Cultivator Market to look for a Cultivation Method. But after searching high and low, the highest-grade one he could find was the lower sixth-grade Metal Pivot Fire Spirit Technique.
Tang Yuan's Spirit Root had metal, fire, water, and lightning attributes. Metal was the strongest, making it a mid-grade Spirit Root.
The Metal Pivot Fire Spirit Technique was extremely well suited to cultivators with metal and fire Spirit Roots. Not only could it temper the body, it was also greatly beneficial for controlling fire and refining pills.
Tang Yuan now had 1,681 Spirit Stones on him, and he could still catch Red Spirit Eels at Golden Shell Island three more times, earning another 1,200 Spirit Stones. The Metal Pivot Fire Spirit Technique cost 1,500 Spirit Stones, so he could buy it immediately if he wanted to. He simply felt that its grade was still too low.
After turning it over in his mind, Tang Yuan decided to ask his old friend Kang Cang for advice. They were on good terms, after all, and Kang Cang had been in the Qi Refining Realm for over forty years. He was quite experienced when it came to breaking through into Qi Refining.
On the twenty-sixth day of the eighth month, thunderstorms raged around Emerald Creek Island, and most of the spirit fishing workers stayed home to rest.
Tang Yuan bought some good wine and steamed three Red Spirit Eels for a meal with Kang Cang and Liu Hanchuan.
"My goodness, this Red Spirit Eel is delicious. I'm eighty-five this year, and this is the ninth Red Spirit Eel I've eaten." Kang Cang savored the fish, slightly tipsy.
"Hehe, thank you for your hospitality, Brother Tang. To tell you the truth, this is my first time eating Red Spirit Eel." Liu Hanchuan sucked on a fish bone, his face full of enjoyment.
"I should have invited you both long ago. Thank you for collecting Red Spirit Eels for me these past three months and helping me earn quite a few Spirit Stones." Tang Yuan cupped his hands and took a sip of wine.
"Your home has soundproofing and protective formations, so I'll speak my mind.
"Brother Tang, that damned Xi Shanhu won't let the fishermen sell you Red Spirit Eels. Doesn't that mean your Red Spirit Eel business is finished?" Liu Hanchuan looked indignant. The ten Spirit Stones he earned each month for his trouble had gone up in smoke too.
"It's fine. I can still get Red Spirit Eels, though not as many." Tang Yuan waved a hand.
"That's good.
"The Xi Household has now raised its buying price for Red Spirit Eels to three Spirit Sand for two eels. Though all two hundred of us fishermen are grateful to you, Xi Youde and Xi Shanhu must be nursing a grudge against you.
"You're only at the meridian opening eighth layer. Never mind that Xi Youde is at the Qi refining fourth layer-Xi Shanhu and his brothers are all at the Qi Refining Realm.
"Although you're now an apprentice Alchemist of the Xi Household, with its eldest young lady, Xi Yunshu, protecting you, and Xi Shanhu and his brothers wouldn't dare kill you, they might still shoot arrows at you from the shadows.
"Tang Yuan, you have to be on your guard. For the next few years, you'd better go out as little as possible." Liu Hanchuan looked worried.
"Thank you for the warning. That's why I plan to entrust you and Old Kang with going to Mystic Dipper Market to buy the medicinal herbs, minerals, and other materials I need for pill refinement.
"I'll speak plainly: add a ten-percent markup to all the supplies you buy. At the very least, I'll make sure each of you earns five Spirit Stones a month." Tang Yuan spoke with a serious expression.
"Brother Tang, you're my dearest, dearest big brother.
"Come on, I'll drain mine. Drink as much as you like." Liu Hanchuan topped up Tang Yuan's cup, filled his own, then stood and drained it in one gulp.
"We're all brothers here. No need for ceremony." Tang Yuan laughed and took a sip of wine.
Kang Cang raised his cup and drained it in one gulp as well.
Tang Yuan nodded and took another sip.
Liu Hanchuan immediately refilled all three cups and went back to sucking on the fish bone.
Kang Cang wiped his mouth and sighed softly. "Tang Yuan, thank you for your kindness.
"But staying on guard against Xi Shanhu and hiding at home refining pills only treats the symptoms, not the root. It's no lasting solution.
"As cultivators, we still need to improve our cultivation. What level are you at now?"
"Meridian opening eighth layer." Tang Yuan picked up a bite of food and put it in his mouth.
"What?
"Meridian opening eighth layer?!
"Just over three months ago, I was at the meridian opening sixth layer, and you were only at the meridian opening fifth layer.
"Sure enough, with Spirit Stones in your pocket, you can buy Spiritual Qi and pills. Your cultivation really does advance fast." Liu Hanchuan looked envious.
"Oh, you're at the meridian opening eighth layer now. You can apply to the Xi Household for a free Qi Refining Cultivation Method.
"But as contracted spirit workers, we can only apply for the Mountain Stream Spirit Art."
"Old Kang, to tell you the truth, I wanted to ask your advice about Qi Refining Cultivation Methods today." Tang Yuan cupped his hands.
Kang Cang sighed softly. "The Mountain Stream Spirit Art is what I cultivate. As for my opinion of that upper seventh-grade technique, it's truly hard to put into words.
"Free things cost the most.
"If you have the Spirit Stones, you'd be better off buying a Cultivation Method yourself. You might as well do without the Xi Household's free Mountain Stream Spirit Art." ...