Chapter 201 - 138: Bad News Arrives, Daniu’s Situation

Chapter 201: Chapter 138: Bad News Arrives, Daniu’s Situation

By late March, Yu Daniu wrote again, asking if he needed any help with resources.

Chen Jianghe held Yu Daniu’s letter, a mix of complex emotions welling up within him as he read its contents. The better Yu Daniu treated him, the more deeply moved he felt. He possessed a long lifespan, and once Little Black broke through again, his maximum lifespan would surge even higher. Because of this, he didn’t dare interact too much with others or form overly deep bonds. Once feelings grew deep, the pain of parting through life and death became unavoidable.

He was already sixty-nine years old. Yu Daniu was the same age. If Daniu failed to reach Foundation Establishment, he would live for another fifty years at most. Yet, in fifty years, Jianghe would still be in his prime.

"If the opportunity arises in the future, I must acquire three Lifespan Extension Pills for Daniu," Chen Jianghe decided in his heart.

In the blink of an eye, it was late October.

In the courtyard, Little Black and Fur Ball had finished processing the Demon Beast and were both engaged in diligent Cultivation. Chen Jianghe held a piece of Tidal Essence. He circulated the Tidal Body Refining Technique, guiding the Spiritual Power contained within the essence through the meridians of his entire body to nourish his Physical Body.

After completing a set of forms associated with the Tidal Body Refining Technique, the remaining Spiritual Power from the Tidal Essence flowed into his Shenque. At the same time, pale yellow impurities with a pungent odor seeped from Chen Jianghe’s skin. He cast a Purification Technique to wash away the filth.

"In a year at most, I can elevate my Physical Body Cultivation to Late-Stage Body Refining. However, to reach Physical Body Perfection, I’m afraid the resources I have on hand won’t be quite enough," he pondered.

Chen Jianghe currently had eight pieces of Tidal Essence left, along with eight each of Meridian Opening Pills, Qi Blood Pills, and Body Refining Pills. It was enough for four years of Cultivation. He was confident he could reach Late-Stage Body Refining next year, but achieving Physical Body Perfection would be somewhat difficult. Without the aid of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects, he would need at least seven or eight years to refine his body to that level.

Fortunately, time was the one thing he didn’t lack. Cultivating his Spiritual Technique also required time, so he could use this period to grind through his Physical Body’s bottleneck. When the time came, he would only need to purchase Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects that enhanced his Soul Essence. This would save him the Spirit Stones needed to buy the Spiritual Objects for Body Refining. Calculating it this way, he could save at least another thousand Spirit Stones, which was quite a good deal.

Thinking of this, Chen Jianghe nodded in satisfaction and muttered to himself, "This is how life should be lived; it only gets better as time goes on."

He glanced at the post box. With a thought, he summoned the letters inside into his hand. There were three in total, from Yu Daniu, Zhou Miaoyun, and Chen Ping.

Chen Jianghe opened Yu Daniu’s letter first. It revealed that at this year’s Elder Council meeting, the Yun Family had approved a Foundation Establishment cultivation plan for Yun Xiaoniu. The Yun Family intended to pour in a massive amount of Spirit Stones to purchase Nourishing Spirit Pills and Spirit-Encompassing Spirit Liquid for Yun Xiaoniu. Not only that, but they were also searching for the primary ingredients to refine a Foundation Establishment Pill for him.

It was clear the higher-ups of the Yun Family weren’t fools. Knowing Yun Xiaoniu had a high chance of reaching Foundation Establishment, they recognized the need to focus on nurturing him. No matter what, he still possessed the Yun Family bloodline. Of course, this was likely also due to pressure from the Yun Family Ancestor; otherwise, the Yun Family Patriarch wouldn’t have compromised so quickly.

Upon reaching the end of the letter, Chen Jianghe’s expression shifted slightly, revealing a look of concern.

"Yun Xiaoqian is dead? And Huizhen is failing fast!" he thought in alarm.

Yu Daniu wrote at the end of the letter that three days after the Elder Council meeting, Yun Xiaoqian had reached the end of his lifespan and passed away. Furthermore, even Yun Huizhen was showing signs of extreme weakness and might not have much time left.

Chen Jianghe frowned. He felt nothing regarding Yun Xiaoqian’s passing, but Yun Huizhen was different. He valued Yu Daniu highly and treated him as a brother, making Yun Huizhen family to him. More crucially, Yun Huizhen was Yu Daniu’s pillar of support. If anything unexpected happened to her, Daniu simply wouldn’t be able to control the situation. The excellent position their branch currently enjoyed would quickly collapse, unless Yun Xiaoniu successfully reached Foundation Establishment in a short period.

"Yun Huizhen is a bit older than Daniu, but she’s only seventy. For a Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivator, this shouldn’t be happening!" Chen Jianghe sighed.

Soon, he realized the reason. In her earlier years, Yun Huizhen had given birth to too many children too frequently—five children in seven years—causing her Physical Body’s qi and blood to decline prematurely. Moreover, during the period from pregnancy to childbirth, a Female Cultivator’s Cultivation not only stagnated but could even drop in realm.

"This won’t do. I have to find a way to help Yun Huizhen hold on for a few more years, at least until Yun Xiaoniu succeeds in Foundation Establishment," he resolved.

Chen Jianghe worried that if Yun Huizhen passed away now, Yu Daniu’s situation in the Yun Family would become truly difficult. While it might not lead to the cancellation of Yun Xiaoniu’s cultivation plan, it would likely result in most of the males in their branch being sent to the Yunmen Mountain Mine.

"I need to pay Alchemist Zhuang a visit," he murmured.

Chen Jianghe put Yu Daniu’s letter away and then read Zhou Miaoyun’s, which also spoke of the Yun Family’s affairs. Zhou Miaoyun was currently in the Jingyue Marketplace. She had learned that Yun Xiaoqian had passed away from old age. When she went to pay her respects, she noticed the severe decline of Yun Huizhen’s qi and blood; she even saw signs of Death Qi. Clearly, this was the result of an approaching lifespan limit.

The purpose of Zhou Miaoyun’s letter was to ask Chen Jianghe to convey the Zhou Family’s support for Yun Xiaoniu’s attempt at Foundation Establishment. As long as Yu Daniu needed it, the Zhou Family was willing to pool together a thousand Spirit Stones to assist Yun Xiaoniu’s breakthrough.

"It seems Zhou Miaoyun has also seen that Yu Daniu’s situation in the Yun Family is very precarious. Only Yun Xiaoniu’s successful Foundation Establishment can break this deadlock," he mused.

Having managed her family for many years, Zhou Miaoyun naturally understood the so-called interests within a clan. Everything had to revolve around the main branch; a side branch becoming stronger than the main branch was absolutely forbidden. Yun Huizhen had managed things aggressively for many years, her momentum faintly overshadowing the main branch, but she had had no other choice. If she hadn’t acted that way, Yu Daniu wouldn’t have received so many resources, let alone Yun Xiaoniu and the other children.

Now that Yun Xiaoqian had passed away, and Yun Huizhen didn’t have long to live, the Patriarch’s branch would naturally begin to dismantle the foundation of Yun Huizhen’s branch. Furthermore, they would do so using perfectly legitimate reasons, leaving their targets unable to utter a word of protest and forcing them to suffer in silence.

Zhou Miaoyun and Yu Daniu were bound as family by marriage. Stepping forward to support Yu Daniu at this time carried great risk, but the greater the risk, the higher the reward. Once Yun Xiaoniu successfully reached Foundation Establishment, the Zhou Family’s status at Jingyue Lake would rise with the tide.

At once, Chen Jianghe wrote a reply to Yu Daniu, offering comfort and stating that he would find a way to procure a Spirit Pill in the Qinghe Marketplace to nourish her Physical Body. He also relayed Zhou Miaoyun’s intentions. Afterward, he wrote back to Zhou Miaoyun, expressing gratitude on Yu Daniu’s behalf and confirming that her message had been passed on.

After finishing the two replies, he placed them into the post box. Only then did he open Chen Ping’s letter to take a look. This one was from July. It mentioned that Spirit-Encompassing Spirit Liquid would be up for auction at the Mid-Autumn Auction.

"It seems large marketplaces like the Qinghe Marketplace have no shortage of Nourishing Spirit Pills and Spirit-Encompassing Spirit Liquid up for auction," he reflected.

He still had three years before reaching Ninth-Layer Qi Refining Perfection, giving him plenty of time to purchase the Nourishing Spirit Pill and Spirit-Encompassing Spirit Liquid. Furthermore, Ji Wujin had likely already gone to fetch the goods. There might be news soon. When that happened, the price would certainly be cheaper than at the auction.

Because Nourishing Spirit Pills and Spirit-Encompassing Spirit Liquid were both Spiritual Pills and Elixirs refined by the Celestial South Sect, they were monopolized resources. Individuals were not allowed to put Nourishing Spirit Pills or Spirit-Encompassing Spirit Liquid up for auction at the Hundred Treasures Tower. Since Ji Wujin had already achieved Spiritual Perfection, he naturally had no use for these two items. Thus, he could only sell them privately; otherwise, he’d be stuck with them.

Two days later.

Little Black and Fur Ball both woke from their Cultivation. They wanted to continue devouring Spirit Cores and Blood and Flesh to cultivate, but Chen Jianghe stopped them. He needed to head out. Yu Daniu was his brother, so he naturally took the plight of Daniu’s wife to heart.

Alchemist Zhuang was now a Tier Two Alchemist. Although he hadn’t encountered many Tier Two Pill Formulas, he was highly experienced and knowledgeable. Chen Jianghe planned to visit Alchemist Zhuang to ask for advice and see if he could find any Spiritual Pills and Elixirs to nourish Yun Huizhen’s Physical Body and replenish her qi and blood.

He walked out of the courtyard gate and headed toward Fushou Lane. Just as he stepped out of Qingping Lane, he spotted Ruan Tieniu. The man was beaming, his face radiant with unconcealable joy, unable to suppress the upturned corners of his mouth.