Chapter 123 - 104: Foundation Establishment Celebration

Chapter 123: Chapter 104: Foundation Establishment Celebration

In the middle of the twelfth lunar month, Chen Jianghe stored Little Black and Fur Ball into the Spirit Beast Space in case of sudden visitors.

As New Year’s Eve approached, Chen Jianghe walked out of his home, arrived at the Hundred Treasures Tower, and sold the Spirit Talismans he had drawn over the past four months or so.

Nine Middle-Grade Ice Talismans sold for thirty-eight Spirit Stones and twenty-five Spiritual Sands. Combined with his previous savings, he now had one hundred and fifty-two Spirit Stones and seventy-five Spiritual Sands.

It looked like a lot, but in a few days, after buying the required resources for the new year, he would have very little left in his hands. Before his Talisman Success Rate for drawing Middle-Grade Spiritual Talismans reached forty percent, it was very difficult for him to save up Spirit Stones.

Now, he had started drawing other types of Middle-Grade Attack Spirit Talismans. If he only drew Water Arrow Talismans, his Talisman Dao Skills would improve too slowly. Once the Talisman Success Rate for Middle-Grade Attack Spirit Talismans reached forty percent, he planned to draw Middle-Grade Protection Talismans. As long as his Talisman Dao Skills improved, his speed of earning Spirit Stones would still be very fast.

On the fifth floor of the Hundred Treasures Tower, Gao Peiyao listened to her subordinates’ reports about Chen Jianghe’s sale of Spirit Talismans. She revealed a thoughtful expression; if he only relied on the Talisman Dao, she truly didn’t believe Chen Jianghe could attempt Foundation Establishment.

Chen Jianghe was six years older than her and would soon reach the age of sixty. By then, his vitality would decline, and his success rate of attempting Foundation Establishment would be halved. In other words, assuming all Foundation Establishment conditions were met, Cultivators under sixty could achieve a hundred percent success rate. But after sixty, there was only a fifty percent chance.

Of course, if one consumed a Lifespan Extension Pill, the decline of vitality could be delayed by about ten years. However, Lifespan Extension Pills were extremely rare and generally only appeared at auctions. Based on her understanding of Chen Jianghe and her recent observations, he was not involved in the Alchemy Dao. Therefore, it was completely impossible for him to obtain a Lifespan Extension Pill.

"Could it really just be a coincidence? If that’s the case, his ceiling is just the Ninth-Layer Qi Refining, plus being a High-Grade Talisman Master," Gao Peiyao muttered to herself.

A Ninth-Layer Qi Refining Cultivator couldn’t provide her with much help. As for a High-Grade Talisman Master, to her, their status was about the same as a Ninth-Layer Qi Refining Cultivator. At her level, she no longer lacked High-Grade Spirit Talismans or low-level Cultivation Resources.

"Looking at it this way, Yun Xiaoniu might be of some help to me in the future."

Meanwhile, Chen Jianghe didn’t know about Gao Peiyao’s attention to him over the past few months, much less that in Gao Peiyao’s eyes, his hopes for Foundation Establishment had begun to diminish. Even if he knew, it wouldn’t matter. He didn’t like to show off, nor did he like to be competitive. Keeping a low profile and operating steadily was his style.

Upon returning to Qingping Lane, he bumped right into Ruan Tieniu, who was returning from an outing. They smiled and nodded at each other, then returned to their respective homes. Since there was no alignment or conflict of interests between them now, naturally they wouldn’t spend time together. They were just nodding acquaintances, exchanging a smile when they met.

Returning home, Chen Jianghe didn’t continue drawing Spirit Talismans. There were still a few days left until New Year’s Eve, which would be the day of Gao Peiyao’s Foundation Establishment Celebration. Yun Xiaoniu would likely arrive soon.

Sure enough, the very next day, someone knocked on Chen Jianghe’s courtyard door. Upon opening it, he saw it was indeed Yun Xiaoniu. He had arrived at the Qinghe Marketplace three days in advance, clearly not daring to be negligent regarding Gao Peiyao’s Foundation Establishment Celebration.

"Xiaoniu, have you started Body Refining?" Chen Jianghe felt the icy aura emanating from Yun Xiaoniu’s body, which was remarkably similar to the aura Yu Daniu had back then.

"I dare not hide it from you, Uncle. I have indeed started cultivating the Cold Pond Body Tempering Technique." Yun Xiaoniu respectfully added, "My mother saw that I had a lot of free time while preparing to break through the bottleneck of Late-Stage Qi Refining, so she proposed to the family to let me start Body Refining early and granted me Body Refining Resources.

"Although this does not conform to the family’s cultivation process, it was still approved at the family meeting."

Chen Jianghe nodded. Of course it would be approved!

In the past two years, Yun Zhonghou and Yun Zhongyong had passed away one after another. The Yun family now only had five Elders, and Yun Huizhen’s branch alone had two. Yun Xiaoqian was also the Great Elder. Moreover, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Yu Daniu had brought Yun Xiaoniu to have a small gathering with Gao Peiyao, which he definitely would have publicized extensively within the Yun family. An Inner Sect Disciple of the Celestial South Sect having a deep personal friendship with Yu Daniu undoubtedly increased Yu Daniu’s voice in the Yun family. Even the Yun Family Ancestor and Yun Bufan had to take it seriously.

"That’s good too. By cultivating Body Refining Techniques early, you can save time during your Late-Stage Qi Refining cultivation in the future. At that time, you will have enough time to cultivate a Spiritual Technique.

"Your father and mother have high hopes for you, so you must not disappoint their expectations," Chen Jianghe advised in the tone of an elder.

"Rest assured, Uncle. I will definitely cultivate hard and not disappoint my father and mother," Yun Xiaoniu said solemnly.

Subsequently, Chen Jianghe booked a top-tier room for Yun Xiaoniu at the Qinghe Inn; he was always very generous to his juniors. Besides, Yun Xiaoniu wouldn’t be staying in the Qinghe Marketplace for too long. After Gao Peiyao’s Foundation Establishment Celebration, he would leave the Qinghe Marketplace.

After all, Yun Xiaoniu was the child upon whom Yu Daniu and his wife pinned their high hopes. How could they let him stay outside for a long time? This time, to ensure Yun Xiaoniu arrived safely at the Qinghe Marketplace, Yu Daniu and his wife had dispatched three Yun family Stewards, five Seventh-Layer Qi Refining clansmen, and twelve Late-Stage Qi Refining Guardian Guest Elders.

The day before New Year’s Eve.

Yun Xiaoniu sought out Chen Jianghe and asked what would be an appropriate congratulatory gift for Gao Peiyao. This question completely stumped Chen Jianghe. He had actually forgotten about this matter! For Gao Peiyao’s Foundation Establishment Celebration, it was naturally impossible to go empty-handed.