Chapter 8: Foundation Establishment Stage
Two days later, Ji Yuan only heard about the appearance of a Foundation Establishment Immortal Residence on Maple Leaf Island when he went out to deal with the four semi-spiritual fish.
After hearing it… he just felt indifferent.
He was not the least bit excited like the other fishermen.
Immortal Residence?
Could it be upgraded?
If he managed to upgrade his Cave Dwelling to level 100, maybe it could directly transform into a Divine Temple!
Command the entire universe!
He fantasized for a while.
The four semi-spiritual fish he had bought for four spirit stones, after raising them for half a month, he sold for six spirit stones.
Ji Yuan spent another four spirit stones to buy four more semi-spiritual fish.
The remaining two spirit stones he earned, he put away for savings.
Thinking of the Immortal Residence, he also planned to upgrade his 【Cave Dwelling】.
By then, the nighttime spiritual energy concentration would increase by 20%, which would better assist his cultivation.
Alternatively, upgrading the 【Pigsty】 was also a good choice.
In seven days, spiritual pigs could gain a hundred jin of muscle, and their flesh had body tempering effects, along with assisting in healing injuries.
Other people's spiritual pigs certainly didn’t have these abilities.
At most, they just tasted delicious and contained extremely faint traces of spiritual energy.
What Ji Yuan had his eyes on was the body tempering effect.
From the original owner's memories, he knew that in this world of cultivation, body refinement was considered a minor path.
Even if someone managed to become a so-called Martial Saint in the eyes of mortals, they still couldn’t defeat a cultivator at the mid-stage of Qi Refining.
After all, no matter how good your martial arts were, if the opponent used Artifact Manipulation Technique to summon a flying sword, they could directly kill you from hundreds of meters away.
Therefore, the vast majority of cultivators only focused on cultivation and would not take the time to temper their bodies.
But Ji Yuan did not think that way.
Physical strength was also a part of one’s power… To put it bluntly, with better physical strength, even dual cultivation could last longer, and one could plow more spiritual fields.
Besides, who would refuse the opportunity to improve their strength just by eating and drinking?
Later, when Ji Yuan returned to his small home by the shore of Yunyu Marshlands carrying four semi-spiritual fish again, he saw Old Huang and Lin Youwei squatting at his doorstep, seemingly whispering about something.
Seeing Ji Yuan return, Lin Youwei first glanced at the semi-spiritual fish he was carrying, then waved and said, “Ji Yuan, come over and have a chat.”
At this moment, what else could they want to discuss? It was most likely about the Foundation Establishment Immortal Residence that had shaken the entire Zengtou Market… Ji Yuan nodded. “Alright, I’ll go put the fish away first and then come out.”
Not long after, Ji Yuan squatted down beside Lin Youwei.
“You went to Zengtou Market, so you must have heard about what happened on Maple Leaf Island?” Lin Youwei asked.
“I’ve heard about it.”
Old Huang grinned with his toothless mouth and said, “What do you think, kid? Are you interested? How about the three of our families join forces and try our luck on Maple Leaf Island?”
Seriously? Even late-stage Qi Refining cultivators were fighting over that Foundation Establishment Immortal Residence, and you two, who were just at the fourth level of Qi Refining, wanted to go and deliver yourselves to death… Ji Yuan gave a slight smile.
“I’m only at the early stage of Qi Refining, so I’d better pass.”
“You can’t say that.” Lin Youwei immediately rebutted, “Opportunities like this are hard to define. Besides, we aren’t planning to actually go onto the island. We’re just staying on the outskirts to try our luck.”
Old Huang took out his old smoking pipe and stuffed some tobacco leaves into it.
“Let’s be honest here. We’re not going there to fight for the Immortal Residence. We’re going there to profit from the dead.”
“Not just us from Zengtou Market, people from Taian Market and Jingde Market will be there too. Who knows how many Qi Refining cultivators will gather, and many will die. We’re going there to make money off the dead.”
“Without at least eighth or ninth level Qi Refining strength, who would really dare to fight for that Immortal Residence?”
That sounded more reasonable… After hearing this, Ji Yuan’s expression showed some hesitation, but after a brief struggle, he still shook his head.
“I’m timid, and I’ve just advanced to the third level of Qi Refining. I don’t know any offensive techniques, nor am I good at fighting. I’d better pass. I don’t want to drag you guys down.”
After saying that, Ji Yuan stood up, cupped his hands to the two of them, and turned around to head back inside.
He didn’t even give them a chance to persuade him.
What they said was true.
This kind of chaotic battle was indeed a good chance to make money off the dead, but who was the living one, and who was the dead one, was still uncertain.
Since Ji Yuan could upgrade buildings himself, there was no need to risk his life for this.
Outside the door.
Lin Youwei and Old Huang exchanged glances. “What should we do?”
“We’ll just take the whole family! With more people, others might be more cautious.”
Lin Youwei gritted his teeth and finally made up his mind.
“That’s fine too. More people mean more help.”
The fact that the Lin family was mobilizing the whole family to go to Maple Leaf Island to seize opportunities naturally couldn’t be hidden from Ji Yuan, who lived right next door.
Lin Youwei and Old Huang even came to knock on Ji Yuan’s door, asking him to help look after their home.
Such a small favor was naturally not something Ji Yuan would refuse.
So he leaned against his own door frame, watching as Old Huang summoned his Mantis Boat, and Lin Youwei summoned his Black Wood Boat.
In the end, Lin Youwei carried Zhou Ling and Wu Qin, while Lin Hu boarded Old Huang’s fishing boat.
The group of five set off grandly, disappearing into the vast Yunyu Marshlands.
Ji Yuan watched the misty lake surface, deep in thought for a while, before quietly closing the door and returning to the backyard. He took out a spiritual egg and began his cultivation routine for the day.
Ever since he learned about what was happening on Maple Leaf Island, Ji Yuan had become even more reclusive.
He spent his days hiding in the backyard cultivating.
With the neighbors away, he even practiced his techniques at home. After days and nights of hard cultivation, he had not been without gains.
For example, he had completely stabilized at the third level of Qi Refining, and he could even attempt to break through to the fourth level at any time… which was the mid-stage of Qi Refining.
Ji Yuan hadn’t tried yet because he knew he didn’t have enough spirit stones.
Relying solely on spiritual eggs might not be as effective.
Breaking through was something that needed to be done in one go, so he planned to sell another spiritual fish and use the spirit stones he earned to attempt the breakthrough to mid-stage Qi Refining.
Aside from that, he had completely mastered all the techniques the original owner knew.
Even Water Arrow Technique could now be cast instantly.
It could hit wherever he pointed.
Five days later, the four semi-spiritual fish Ji Yuan had bought for the second time had once again failed to evolve to the next stage, but their bodies had grown to their limit. He had no choice but to take them to the fish market to sell.
He earned four spirit stones.
He spent three of those to buy more semi-spiritual fish, still managing to make a small profit of one spirit stone.
On this trip, even though Ji Yuan hadn’t gone out of his way to gather information, he still heard quite a bit about what was happening on Maple Leaf Island.
For example, many fishermen from Zengtou Market, Taian Market, and Jingde Market had gone there, and several battles had already broken out even before anyone had set foot on the island.
There had been casualties on all sides.
Most of the dead were mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators.
There was also news that a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator from Taian Market had tried to force his way onto the island, only to be killed on the spot by a strand of unknown sword energy on the island.
This caused the other fishermen who were seeking opportunities to calm down a little.
Additionally, because of this large-scale battle, the price of offensive supplies like pills and talismans in Zengtou Market had increased slightly.
But all of this had nothing to do with Ji Yuan. He was like an outsider now, just sitting back and watching the tides of Yunyu Marshlands rise and fall.
However, what he did not expect was that just as he returned home with the semi-spiritual fish and was about to toss them into the 【Fish Pond】, he suddenly noticed that there was a black shadow the length of an arm in the 【Fish Pond】.
One of the semi-spiritual fish… had evolved!