Chapter 114 - 100: Successful Foundation Establishment

Chapter 114: Chapter 100: Successful Foundation Establishment

"Thank you?"

Chen Jianghe’s mouth twitched, rendering him somewhat speechless. It was as if he had been the one to give the two Spirit-Encompassing Flowers to Fur Ball.

Why was Fur Ball thanking Little Black instead?

Not dwelling on it any longer, he entered his room, sat cross-legged on the bed, and continued his Cultivation of the *Ten Thousand Waters Scripture*.

When the Magical Power in his Qi Sea Dantian was completely imbued with the unique characteristics of the *Ten Thousand Waters Scripture*, his transition to the new Cultivation Technique would be considered complete.

After practicing the *Ten Thousand Waters Scripture*, Chen Jianghe finally realized that a Superior Cultivation Technique was not as simple as just amplifying Magical Power.

Every Superior Cultivation Technique possessed a profound and mysterious characteristic.

For instance, aside from providing a thirty percent amplification to Magical Power, the Magical Power cultivated through the *Ten Thousand Waters Scripture* could also enhance the strength of any Water Element Magic.

The Qi Refining Chapter of the *Ten Thousand Waters Scripture* could enhance the power of Water Element Magic by twenty percent.

In other words, his cast of the Water Arrow Technique would now be twenty percent stronger than that of Cultivators in the exact same realm.

Take the Water Escape Technique, for example.

Other Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivators who practiced a Water Element Cultivation Technique could, at most, escape a distance of ten miles when they brought their Water Escape Technique to Perfection.

However, he could escape for twelve miles.

There were also other Water Element Magic spells like the Water Binding Technique, the Small Cloud Rain Skill, and the Overlapping Waves Technique. As long as they were cast using the Magical Power cultivated from the *Ten Thousand Waters Scripture*, their power would be similarly amplified.

To Chen Jianghe, this felt somewhat redundant. After all, he disliked engaging in Magical Combat with others; he only wanted to practice Cultivation in peace and stability.

And eventually achieve immortality.

"Uh, wait. That’s not right," Chen Jianghe thought. "It’s actually very useful. When I cast the Water Escape Technique to run for my life, I can go twenty percent further than the absolute maximum distance."

"I wonder what kind of characteristics the Yun Family’s *Nascent Essence True Water Scripture* has?"

He stopped letting his thoughts wander and calmed his mind.

Activating the *Ten Thousand Waters Scripture*, he guided his Magical Power through a Grand Circulation within his body.

While circulating the *Ten Thousand Waters Scripture*, ambient Spiritual Qi gathered at the Shenque above his Qi Sea Dantian, forming a vortex that rapidly absorbed it from the outside.

Then, it was converted into Magical Power by his Spirit Root, purified through the *Ten Thousand Waters Scripture*, and imbued with its profound and mysterious characteristics.

Once his transition was successful, the total volume of Magical Power in his Qi Sea Dantian would exceed that of someone in the same realm by thirty percent. This was likely the reason why.

Upon reaching Late-Stage Qi Refining, one’s total volume of Magical Power basically ceased to increase. Improving one’s Cultivation instead meant making the existing Magical Power purer.

Until it completely underwent Liquefaction into droplets.

Three years passed in the blink of an eye.

It was New Year’s Eve once again in Courtyard 512 of the Southwest District.

Chen Jianghe sat cross-legged on his bed, surrounded by a faint mist manifested from Spiritual Qi.

Following a muffled RUMBLE from his Qi Sea.

The mist floating around his body was instantly sucked into his Shenque. It was then converted into Magical Power, which entered his Qi Sea Dantian and merged perfectly with the partially liquefied Magical Power inside.

At this moment, his Magical Power transitioned from its previous dark gray color to a pure, deep black.

"PHEW."

Chen Jianghe opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of stale air.

"Three years and four months. I’ve finally finished transitioning to the new Cultivation Technique," he muttered to himself.

Transitioning to a new Cultivation Technique typically took three to five years. The more superior the Cultivation Technique, the shorter the time required.

Judging by the thirty percent amplification of Magical Power, one could easily tell that the *Ten Thousand Waters Scripture* was an excellent Superior Cultivation Technique.

"With a thirty percent amplification to my Magical Power and a twenty percent enhancement to my Magic’s power, if I had a High-Grade Flying Sword in hand, I should be able to deal with an Eighth-Layer Qi Refining Cultivator, right?"

Chen Jianghe couldn’t help but think of the Eight-Character Moustache Robber Cultivator from back then. With his current strength, if he chose to run away, Eight-Character Moustache wouldn’t necessarily be able to catch up to him.

A twenty percent enhancement in Magic power made this the absolute best Cultivation Technique for escaping.

This boosted Chen Jianghe’s sense of security just a bit more.

"SQUEAK, SQUEAK!"

Fur Ball seemed to sense that Chen Jianghe had finished his secluded Cultivation. It hopped into the room, holding two envelopes in its paws.

"Alright, go on."

Chen Jianghe waved a hand at Fur Ball.

He picked up the two letters and glanced at them. One was from Yu Daniu, and the other was from Zhou Miaoyun.

Two years ago, Chen Jianghe had sent a letter to both Yu Daniu and Zhou Miaoyun to inform them of his current address.

This had formally restored their correspondence.

However, he still hadn’t reestablished contact with Gao Peiyao, nor did he know whether she had successfully reached Foundation Establishment yet.

He opened Zhou Miaoyun’s letter first.

It turned out that the Zhou Family had already relocated to Jingyue Lake, though not to Shixia Town, which was situated between Jingyue Lake and Qiyun Mountain.

After all, that was the Chu Family’s territory; how could they possibly give it up to the Zhou Family?

Even if Gao Peiyao pleaded on their behalf, Yu Daniu wouldn’t do such a thing. Furthermore, the Yun Family Master wouldn’t allow something like that to happen anyway.

The Zhou Family had instead relocated to a small settlement at the very edge of the Jingyue Lake boundary. It was named Luohe Town, a Cultivation Town built right alongside the water.

It was one thousand and one hundred miles away from Jingyue Lake, but not too far from the Qinghe Marketplace—only a little over nine hundred miles.

The river running through Luohe Town was the Xingyue River. Twenty miles further west, the Xingyue River’s name changed to the Youxian River.

Yu Daniu had exerted quite some effort behind the scenes to make it possible for the Zhou Family to move to Luohe Town.

However, their land rent wasn’t reduced by a single cent.

After all, for a family that historically fled at the first sign of trouble, it was already an immense act of mercy for the Yun Family to allow them to return at all.

There was no way their land rent would be lowered.

"They want me to act as a matchmaker?" Chen Jianghe looked entirely astonished.

Zhou Miaoyun wrote in the letter that her younger brother had broken through to Late-Stage Qi Refining and had succeeded as Patriarch Zhou.

His youngest daughter was eighteen years old, possessed a Four-Element Pseudo Spirit Root, and had a Third-Layer Qi Refining Cultivation. They wanted Chen Jianghe to play matchmaker so she could marry the eldest son of Yu Daniu’s family.

"If I remember correctly, Xiaoniu should be thirty-two this year," Chen Jianghe thought. "But as a key Cultivator being groomed by his family, how could he so easily marry and have children?"

In a major clan like the Yun Family, the key Direct Descendants who were heavily groomed usually didn’t marry until they were around forty.

This was because forty was the dividing line for breaking through to Late-Stage Qi Refining.

If they successfully broke through, they would receive tremendous continued support from the family.

If they hadn’t broken through by then, their resources would be cut, and they could finally marry and have children to expand the family’s lineage.

Of course, even if they did break through, they could still marry and have children. However, with the faint hope of reaching Foundation Establishment, who would willingly waste their time on such trivial matters?

"It’s practically set in stone that Daniu will become a Yun Family Elder. His children will definitely be among those receiving focused grooming."

Furthermore, Yun Xiaoniu was his eldest son. Even though he only had a Five-Element Mixed Spirit Root, to the Yun Family, there wasn’t much functional difference between a Five-Element Mixed Spirit Root and a Four-Element Pseudo Spirit Root.

He read to the end of the letter.

The Zhou Family was willing to offer two hundred Spirit Stones as a dowry.

Looking at it this way, the Zhou Family was showing genuine sincerity. Not only were they waving off the customary betrothal gifts, but they were also proactively offering a dowry.

Yet, upon closer consideration, one could easily guess the Zhou Family’s true underlying intentions.

They wanted to use their daughter’s marriage to deepen their ties with Yu Daniu, thereby securing a firm foothold in Jingyue Lake.

With the Yun Family currently thriving, the Zhou Family naturally wanted to hitch a ride on their coattails.

Chen Jianghe set Zhou Miaoyun’s letter aside. He would read Yu Daniu’s letter first before drafting a reply.

Yu Daniu’s letter was incredibly concise.

It contained only one short sentence.

"Peiyao successfully reached Foundation Establishment. Let’s gather at the Qinghe Marketplace after the new year, during the Mid-Autumn Festival."

Joy spread across Chen Jianghe’s face upon reading the letter. Just as he had anticipated, Gao Peiyao had indeed successfully reached Foundation Establishment.

Yu Daniu’s letter clearly indicated that Gao Peiyao had already written to him, suggesting a small gathering at the Qinghe Marketplace.

"With Peiyao successfully reaching Foundation Establishment, I’ve gained another powerful connection. That’s quite nice," he thought.

Although his relationship with Gao Peiyao wasn’t as profound as the one he shared with Yu Daniu, they were still better off than ordinary friends.

"Why didn’t Zhou Miaoyun mention Gao Peiyao reaching Foundation Establishment in her letter? Could there be a time difference in the mail delivery?"

Given Gao Peiyao’s personality, she wouldn’t simply inform Yu Daniu while giving Zhou Miaoyun the cold shoulder. She wasn’t foolish enough to do something so short-sighted.

On the path of Cultivation, worldly affairs were unpredictable, and it wasn’t impossible to stumble upon fortuitous encounters and Immortal Fates.

Yu Daniu himself was a prime example of this.

Therefore, a time delay in the mail was the only logical explanation for why Zhou Miaoyun’s letter didn’t mention Gao Peiyao’s successful breakthrough to Foundation Establishment.

After all, letters from Luohe Town first had to be sent to the Jingyue Marketplace, and then dispatched all the way to the Qinghe Marketplace via the Flying Post.

The same applied to receiving letters; mail from other marketplaces would first arrive at the Jingyue Marketplace before eventually making its way to Luohe Town.

Chen Jianghe penned a swift reply to Zhou Miaoyun.

He told her that if she truly wanted her niece to marry Yun Xiaoniu, she would have to personally bring the matter up with Yu Daniu.

It would be best if she first took her niece to visit Yu Daniu at the Jingyue Marketplace, allowing the two youngsters to meet in person.

If Yun Xiaoniu was interested, Yu Daniu definitely wouldn’t object.

Afterward, Chen Jianghe wrote a letter to Yu Daniu.

The content was simple and straightforward.

It contained only four words: See you at Mid-Autumn.