Chapter 135 - 109: Daniu’s Letter

Chapter 135: Chapter 109: Daniu’s Letter

Three months passed quietly.

Chen Jianghe had consumed twenty-seven pieces of Spirit Blood Pig Hide to draw nine Middle-Grade Protection Talismans. His Talisman Dao Skills had improved, but not by much. However, his Soul Essence had seen a significant boost, and his Divine Sense could now extend to a distance of thirty-eight feet.

It should be noted that after reaching Late-Stage Qi Refining, even breaking through a Small Realm in Cultivation would not significantly increase one’s Soul Essence. When Chen Jianghe broke through to Eighth-Layer Qi Refining, his Divine Sense could extend to thirty-six feet. For an Eighth-Layer Qi Refining Cultivator who hadn’t practiced any Spiritual Technique, their Divine Sense usually only reached thirty feet.

Now, Chen Jianghe’s Divine Sense had improved once again, reaching thirty-eight feet. He had to admit that drawing Spirit Talismans was incredibly beneficial for enhancing Soul Essence.

"If my Talisman Dao Skills reach Tier One High Grade, my Divine Sense can probably extend to sixty, maybe even seventy feet," he thought happily.

With this progress, by the time he cultivated to Ninth-Layer Qi Refining and gained access to Spiritual Cultivation Techniques, his foundation would be much more robust. He had a great chance of achieving Spiritual Perfection. Reaching perfection in Soul Essence was one of the necessary conditions to increase the success rate of Foundation Establishment.

"Fur Ball, come in."

Chen Jianghe extended his Divine Sense and saw Fur Ball standing obediently outside the door, clutching four letters in its paws.

There were two post boxes for the Flying Post: one outside for sending letters, and one inside for directly receiving them. When the Flying Post dropped incoming mail into the exterior post box, it would automatically be transferred into the courtyard, making it extremely convenient. However, outgoing letters still required walking out of the courtyard gate to place them in the exterior box. This setup better protected the privacy of the Cultivator tenants.

"SQUEAK SQUEAK."

Fur Ball pushed open the door and waddled in, respectfully placing the letters on the desk.

"How’s the work going?"

"SQUEAK SQUEAK." Fur Ball hung its head, looking very dejected as it conveyed, "Turtle says... not good..."

"If Little Black thinks it’s not good, then you just have to keep working hard. Be more careful, don’t rush, and don’t be afraid. If you didn’t do well this time, there’s always a next time.

"Go on now," Chen Jianghe comforted.

"SQUEAK SQUEAK."

After it left, Chen Jianghe glanced over the four letters. Two were from Yu Daniu, one was from Jiang Ruxu, and the last was from Zhou Miaoyun.

"Huh? It actually worked."

Chen Jianghe opened Zhou Miaoyun’s letter first. As he read its contents, a look of astonishment crossed his face. He was quite surprised.

Zhou Miaoyun had taken up long-term residence in the Jingyue Marketplace with her niece and frequently went to visit Yu Daniu. However, Yu Daniu was far too busy. After several visits, they had only managed to see Yun Huizhen and Yun Xiaoniu.

But Yun Xiaoniu wasn’t interested in Zhou Miaoyun’s niece. After all, his current potential was immense, and his mind was entirely focused on Cultivation. It was impossible for him to spare any attention for such trivial matters. However, Yu Daniu’s Fifth Brother, Yun Wuniu, had taken a liking to her.

This left Zhou Miaoyun overjoyed. Yun Wuniu’s aptitude was much better than Yun Xiaoniu’s; he possessed a Four-Element Pseudo Spirit Root. In her eyes, Yun Wuniu also had a hopeful chance of attempting Foundation Establishment in the future.

"Wuniu has taken a liking to Zhou Miaoyun’s niece, Zhou Xiaoxuan. Heh, this kid doesn’t work hard on his Cultivation and only thinks about frivolous nonsense," he thought.

Yun Wuniu’s aptitude was higher than Yun Xiaoniu’s, and Yu Daniu had placed great hopes on him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have thrown him into Port No.1 to temper his character for five years. Yet, the fact that Yun Wuniu was distracted by romance was something Chen Jianghe couldn’t quite understand. Since he had returned from Port No.1, shouldn’t he be working hard on his Cultivation to catch up to his older brothers as quickly as possible?

"I’ll see what Daniu thinks. If he’s willing, there’s no harm in playing matchmaker for the younger generation," he thought, setting Zhou Miaoyun’s letter aside for the time being.

He then opened Yu Daniu’s letters, starting with the earlier one, which had arrived during the first month after Chen Jianghe went In Seclusion. It was likely about the matter of Foundation Establishment. After all, Yu Daniu was exactly sixty years old this year, and his Cultivation had reached Ninth-Layer Qi Refining. Although he hadn’t achieved Body Refining Perfection and hadn’t had the time to practice a Spiritual Technique, there was still a possibility he could succeed in Foundation Establishment. It all depended on whether Yu Daniu was willing to take the gamble.

In Chen Jianghe’s mind, taking such a risk was definitely a bad idea—the success rate was less than twenty percent. However, he couldn’t say that out loud. Sabotaging someone’s path to enlightenment was a deeper grudge than murdering their parents; how could he interfere? Besides, a twenty percent success rate still held a glimmer of hope. What if he got lucky and succeeded?

As Chen Jianghe read the contents of Yu Daniu’s letter, he breathed a sigh of relief, the heavy stone in his heart lifting slightly.

In the letter, Yu Daniu mentioned that one of Yun Huizhen’s cousins—Yun Yixuan, the biological cousin of Yun Bufan—was preparing to attempt Foundation Establishment in May of this year. Yu Daniu planned to wait until after Yun Yixuan’s attempt before making his own decision.

This was because Yun Yixuan was in a slightly better situation than he was. With the talent of a Four-Element Pseudo Spirit Root, Yun Yixuan hadn’t consumed a Misfortune-Breaking Pill when breaking through to Late-Stage Qi Refining. He had also practiced Body Refining Techniques, though, like Yu Daniu, he hadn’t reached Body Refining Perfection. He didn’t have a Foundation Establishment Pill, either.

In other words, even with the Yun Family activating their Tier Two High-Grade Gathering Spirit Array to aid his Foundation Establishment attempt, his success rate was only thirty percent. That was just ten percent higher than Yu Daniu’s.

"He actually dares to gamble on a thirty percent chance?" he thought, shaking his head. He completely failed to understand this gambler’s mentality. Even if he didn’t have his Golden Finger, he would never take such a risk. Without a Foundation Establishment Pill, failure meant certain death. What was there to gamble for? Wouldn’t it be better to just enjoy a few more years of life?

Subsequently, Chen Jianghe opened Yu Daniu’s second letter. To his surprise, the contents were purely a string of complaints. The letter was from February, arriving a month after the first one, and it was entirely dedicated to complaining about Yun Wuniu.

Yu Daniu expressed deep disappointment in Yun Wuniu, using harsh words like "animal," "bastard," and "sinful son" repeatedly throughout the text. After Yun Wuniu had returned from Port No.1, Yu Daniu assumed that Fifth Brother’s temperament had matured. Thus, he began pouring a massive amount of resources into him. However, he eventually discovered that Fifth Brother had secretly sold off a portion of those resources and gone to Yanyu Tower.

What kind of place was Yanyu Tower? Although Chen Jianghe had never been there, he had certainly heard of it. It was a place where Female Cultivators earned extra income on the side. An absolute money pit.

Chen Jianghe was somewhat dumbfounded. As the son of a Yun Family Elder and a Direct Lineage descendant of a branch family, how could he willingly sink so low? Was that a place he should be visiting? Not only did it waste Spirit Stones, but more importantly, it depleted his Essence Qi, which would be extremely detrimental to his future Cultivation.

"Daniu wants Wuniu to marry Zhou Xiaoxuan to help him settle down," he pondered.

Although Yun Wuniu was a huge disappointment to Yu Daniu, he was still his biological son; Yu Daniu couldn’t simply abandon him. Even though his resources would undoubtedly be drastically reduced from now on, and he would no longer be considered a key focus for the family’s nurturing, Yu Daniu’s status was still enough to support Yun Wuniu up to Seventh-Layer Qi Refining.

Zhou Miaoyun was likely completely unaware of Yun Wuniu’s true nature, still feeling immensely flattered that he had taken a liking to her niece.

For a moment, Chen Jianghe didn’t know how to reply. Yu Daniu was asking for his opinion on whether they should take Zhou Miaoyun’s niece as Fifth Brother’s wife. Zhou Miaoyun’s intention was even simpler: since the two youths were interested in each other, she wanted him to put in a good word and act as their matchmaker.

If Yun Wuniu’s character was decent—even if it was only half as good as Yun Xiaoniu’s—Chen Jianghe would have been more than happy to play matchmaker, especially since Yu Daniu was in favor of it. But under the current circumstances, how could he?

Although his relationship with Zhou Miaoyun wasn’t as close as his bond with Yu Daniu, he absolutely could not bring himself to push her niece into a living hell. Yet, convincing Yu Daniu to abandon the idea wasn’t realistic either. What if Yun Wuniu really did mend his ways after getting married? Who could predict the future?

"I’ll deal with this later," he decided.

Magical Power surged from Chen Jianghe’s hand, reducing the three letters to ashes. This was the only thing he could do—pretend he hadn’t seen the letters yet. He would stay out of the matter, let it develop naturally, and leave the final decision entirely up to Yu Daniu and Zhou Miaoyun.

Following that, Chen Jianghe picked up Jiang Ruxu’s letter. She must have come to visit him, seen the "In Seclusion" sign hanging on the courtyard gate, and left a note behind. He unfolded the letter and skimmed through it. The expression on his face shifted. His furrowed brows relaxed, and an intriguing smile touched his lips.

"Does Alchemist Zhuang really want to get closer to me this badly? Could his lifespan be nearing its end?

"It’s just that my relationship with Gao Peiyao isn’t nearly as good as he imagines.

"If something major really happens in the future, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to protect his granddaughter!" he thought.