Longevity with a Turtle

Chapter 145: Chapter 114: Daniu’s Choice

Hearing the courtyard doors close, Little Black and Fur Ball leaped out of the pool and resumed their work.

Under Little Black’s pressure, Fur Ball had made significant progress in cleaning the demon beast hides. When casting Water Element Magic to wash the hides, his Magical Power had become much gentler. Moreover, he had started using wooden buckets to manage the Spirit Blood.

It was evident that the two Spirit Beasts were taking their tasks very seriously.

Chen Jianghe didn’t disturb them. He went straight back to his room to begin his solitary cultivation, in addition to drawing Spirit Talismans. Lately, his heart and mind had been restless, making it impossible to settle down. Consequently, the improvement of his Talisman Dao Skills had slowed.

But now, he could finally calm down and focus on drawing Spirit Talismans.

Time flew by, and before he knew it, New Year’s Eve had arrived once again.

Chen Jianghe slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of stale air, feeling the medicinal efficacy in his Shenque finally deplete. The progress of purifying his Magical Power had indeed slowed down significantly. Even though the Ten Thousand Waters Scripture was a Superior Cultivation Technique, it still required the assistance of True Spirit Pills for his Magical Power to undergo rapid Liquefaction.

”With only two True Spirit Pills a year and no other Immortal Materials and Spiritual Objects to assist me, I’m afraid it will take another five years to cultivate to the Ninth-Layer Qi Refining,” he thought.

After his Cultivation reached the Eighth-Layer Qi Refining, he could clearly feel it improving every so often as purifying his Magical Power caused it to rapidly achieve Liquefaction. Over the past few months, he could distinctly feel that the cluster of Magical Power in his Dantian had shrunk by another fraction.

If he had enough Spirit Stones, he could buy more Spiritual Materials and Objects on top of the True Spirit Pills to accelerate the Liquefaction of his Magical Power. However, the prices of such Immortal Materials and Spiritual Objects were exceedingly high, making it difficult for anyone other than a Cultivation Clan to afford them.

Back then, it was precisely because of the Immortal Materials and Spiritual Objects purchased by the Yun Family that Yu Daniu managed to break through to the Ninth-Layer Qi Refining in just three short years. He then spent another three years reaching Ninth-Layer Qi Refining Perfection.

This showed just how massive of a price a Cultivation Clan had to pay to nurture a Ninth-Layer Qi Refining Elder. Naturally, the clan did not want Elders with a low chance of Foundation Establishment to attempt the breakthrough, as every attempt was built upon a mountain of Spirit Stones.

They simply couldn’t afford the loss!

With that in mind, Chen Jianghe stood up and walked out into the courtyard.

The remaining Demon Beast had already been processed by Little Black and Fur Ball. Its Blood and Flesh, organs, and Heart Marrow had been eaten and subjected to Refinement by Fur Ball. As for the Spirit Core, Little Black had swallowed it.

He stored the hide, beast claws, Beast Fang, and Spirit Blood into his Storage Pouch, then sent Little Black and Fur Ball into the Spirit Beast Space.

The five-year lease was up.

He needed to hurry to Home Travel to renew it; otherwise, he would be kicked out of Courtyard 512.

Upon arriving at Home Travel, he waited in line for about seven or eight minutes and paid the rent for another ten years, which cost a total of eighty Spirit Stones. Afterward, he went to the Beast Taming Workshop to sell the Demon Beast parts.

The beast claws, Beast Fang, and Spirit Blood were all recycled at standard market prices, earning him a total of three Spirit Stones. As for the hide, it was sold at a fixed price of one Spirit Stone. After all, Little Black and Fur Ball had only just started learning the process, and treating hides was an incredibly complex and strict procedure. Getting even one Spirit Stone was a good deal.

He had originally bought that Demon Beast for twenty-three Spirit Stones. Selling these parts earned him four Spirit Stones, which meant the beast had effectively cost him nineteen Spirit Stones.

This was already an excellent bargain.

One had to remember that the most precious parts of a Demon Beast—the Spirit Core and the Blood and Flesh Heart Marrow—had all been eaten by Little Black and Fur Ball.

Once he finished these errands, he hurried back home and continued to draw Spirit Talismans. Right now, he didn’t dare to waste a single moment. This wasn’t just time; this was clearly Spirit Stones.

Back in October, Yu Daniu had sent a letter, inviting Chen Jianghe and Gao Peiyao to Jingyue Marketplace to attend Yun Wuniu’s wedding. Chen Jianghe politely declined. He figured that Gao Peiyao likely hadn’t gone either, but he still sent a letter of congratulations.

On the third day of the new year.

The door knocker of the courtyard gate clattered. Chen Jianghe walked out and opened the gate to see a beaming Ruan Tieniu. From the looks of it, he had reaped a bountiful harvest.

”Brother Chen, there are a total of four Second-Grade Lower-Class Bloodline Demon Beasts in here. Two are Late-Stage Tier one, and the other two are Mid-Stage Tier One,” Ruan Tieniu said.

He handed his Storage Pouch to Chen Jianghe and erased the Divine Sense Imprint on it. Obviously, he was leaving it with Chen Jianghe as collateral.

”Many thanks, Brother Ruan.”

Sweeping it with his Divine Sense, Chen Jianghe saw the four Demon Beasts inside the Storage Pouch. He then took out all the Spirit Talismans he had drawn over the past year.

There were thirty-five Middle-Grade Protection Talismans in total. This was three more than the year before. Clearly, his Talisman Dao Skills had improved, his Magical Power had become purer, and the number of times he could draw Spirit Talismans had increased.

”Thirty-five Middle-Grade Protection Talismans!” Ruan Tieniu counted them and said with a hint of embarrassment, ”Even combining the value of my Storage Pouch and these Demon Beasts, I’m still short eight Spirit Stones to match the worth of your talismans, brother.”

”No worries, Brother Ruan. Just go ahead,” Chen Jianghe said with a chuckle.

It was only eight Spirit Stones; he truly wasn’t worried about Ruan Tieniu running off over such an amount. If he actually ran away, Chen Jianghe would lose his channel for buying discounted Spirit Pills. Ruan Tieniu should know which was more important.

Moreover, a Ninth-Layer Qi Refining Cultivator wouldn’t be so poor as to abscond with a ”massive fortune” of eight Spirit Stones.

After watching Ruan Tieniu leave, he carried the Storage Pouch back into the courtyard and placed all four Demon Beasts by the pool.

Two Late-Stage Tier one Flaming Foxes and two Mid-Stage Tier One Wind Wolves. All of them were Second-Grade Lower-Class Bloodline Demon Beasts.

It was evident that Demon Hunters also bullied the weak and feared the strong when selecting their targets. The combat strength of a Demon Beast with a Second-Grade High-Class Bloodline was significantly higher than that of one with a Second-Grade Lower-Class Bloodline. Most crucially, there wasn’t much difference in their selling prices. Naturally, Demon Hunters wouldn’t risk getting injured to hunt a Second-Grade High-Class Bloodline Demon Beast.

”Little Black, do you feel any psychological pressure skinning these Demon Beasts?” Chen Jianghe asked curiously. If it were a Cultivator doing this to other humans, they would inevitably feel a sense of sympathetic grief.

”I just want to eat them,” Little Black replied.

”Uh... pretend I never asked.” Chen Jianghe realized he had asked a pointless question.

The cultivation methods of Spirit Beasts and Cultivators were different. Furthermore, Spirit Beasts and Demon Beasts had gradually evolved into two entirely distinct categories. Moreover, they improved their Cultivation precisely by devouring Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, as well as their own kind. Why would they ever feel any sympathetic grief?

About half an hour later, Ruan Tieniu returned and handed Chen Jianghe two hundred and twenty Spirit Stones and fifty grains of Spiritual Sand. Chen Jianghe then asked him to calculate the price of the Demon Beasts.

The two Late-Stage Tier one Flaming Foxes were forty-six Spirit Stones.

The two Mid-Stage Tier One Wind Wolves were sixteen Spirit Stones.

Chen Jianghe then handed Ruan Tieniu sixty-two Spirit Stones.

After the transaction was completed, Chen Jianghe headed to the Hundred Treasures Tower to purchase two True Spirit Pills, five pieces of Black Pig Hide, and five boxes of Spiritual Ink, spending a total of one hundred Spirit Stones.

The profit from drawing Middle-Grade Spiritual Talismans was higher, but the cost had increased as well. When he drew Lower-Grade Spiritual Talismans, he could make a net profit of around one hundred and ten Spirit Stones a year. Now, the Middle-Grade Protection Talismans he drew in a year could sell for two hundred and twenty Spirit Stones. However, the materials cost nearly sixty-five Spirit Stones.

Calculating it all, his annual net profit was only one hundred and fifty-five Spirit Stones. Compared to drawing Lower-Grade Spiritual Talismans, this was merely a forty percent increase in profit. It was still far from doubling his income.

However, once he started drawing Middle-Grade Five Elements Escape Talismans, his earnings should see a new surge.

Right now, he was left with only one hundred and five Spirit Stones and five grains of Spiritual Sand. However, he had just paid eighty Spirit Stones to rent the small courtyard for ten years, meaning he wouldn’t have to worry about rent for the next decade. As for Fasting Pills, he still had five flasks left. His Spirit Stones had decreased, but his resources had multiplied.

Furthermore, once those four Demon Beasts were processed by Little Black and Fur Ball, their parts should sell for over a dozen Spirit Stones.

”Little Black, when you have Fur Ball process the hides, make sure he’s a bit more careful. Have him practice on the Mid-Stage Tier One Wind Wolves first. Also, you can’t keep getting physical with him; you need to guide him properly,” Chen Jianghe advised.

”Why don’t you do it then?” Little Black retorted.

The first part of his advice had sounded fine, but the latter part rubbed Little Black the wrong way. Hearing that Chen Jianghe took issue with how he supervised Fur Ball, Little Black immediately spread his paws and narrowed his small round eyes.

”Hehe, it was just a suggestion! Don’t take it seriously. You’re the absolute master at this.” Chen Jianghe gave Little Black a thumbs-up and hurriedly retreated to his room.

He had to be joking—he had absolutely zero patience for such meticulous work. It was no wonder that it was mostly female family members fighting over subsidized workstations at the Beast Taming Workshop. Male Cultivators really weren’t suited for this kind of labor.

All he needed to do this year was to raise his Talisman Success Rate for Middle-Grade Protection Talismans to forty percent, and then attempt to draw Middle-Grade Five Elements Escape Talismans.

A moment later, both the room and the courtyard buzzed with activity, each side working without disturbing the other.