Longevity with a Turtle

Chapter 58: Chapter 57: Yu Daniu’s Opportunity

Chen Jianghe burst out of the lake’s surface. Using Qi Manipulation to hover in midair, he looked down at the layer of Little Cyan Fish and various aquatic creatures floating dead on the water.

”Look at that, they’re all dead, aren’t they? Hehe.”

Little Black bobbed on the lake’s surface, poking half of his turtle head out of the water. He winked mischievously at Chen Jianghe. ”Since everyone else’s three years of hard work also went down the drain, it doesn’t feel quite so bad anymore, does it?”

”What kind of logic is that?” Chen Jianghe rolled his eyes, so exasperated by Little Black’s words that he actually laughed. His own Little Cyan Fish were dead, rendering three years of labor completely futile. He was in an incredibly foul mood. Was he supposed to suddenly feel better just because the Little Cyan Fish raised by others were entirely wiped out, too?

”Master, it smells so good! Can we eat these Cyan-Scaled Fish?” Little Black sniffed the aroma wafting over the lake—a tantalizing blend of roasted fish and the sweet scent of boiled shrimp and crab. His beady Doudou eyes, barely open, stared unblinkingly at the thoroughly cooked Little Cyan Fish. The perfect fusion of savory fragrance and Spiritual Qi was overwhelmingly tempting, causing drool to leak from his mouth involuntarily.

”Let’s wait a couple of days and see.” Chen Jianghe did not understand why the Yun Family had not yet cleaned the lake. With so many dead fish and shrimp, a foul, rotting stench would soon sweep across the entire Inner Waters if they were not dealt with promptly.

Even so, he dared not let Little Black sneak a bite of the dead Little Cyan Fish. Among the top three strict prohibitions for a Senior Fisherman and Farmer in the Inner Waters were bans on embezzling Immortal Spirit Rice to feed personal Spirit Beasts, and on eating the Little Cyan Fish.

In fact, the Outer Waters had similar restrictions. Any Basic-Level Fisherman and Farmer caught eating Large Cyan Fish would have their Dantian crippled, their legs broken, and be banished from Jingyue Lake forever. A Fisherman and Farmer only held the rearing rights for the Cyan-Scaled Fish, along with the right to trade no more than ten of them with a White Egret. Other than that, every single Cyan-Scaled Fish—even the dead ones—had to be reported to the Yun Family. Furthermore, every corpse had to be strictly accounted for.

”Fortunately, my Upturned Boat is unharmed,” Chen Jianghe murmured. He returned to the cabin, took out a pen and paper, and wrote a letter to Yu Daniu, discreetly asking about the situation within the Yun Family. He did not mention Yun Bufan directly. However, if Yun Bufan had succeeded in his Foundation Establishment, Yu Daniu would definitely write about it in his reply.

After finishing the letter, he sealed it in a message tube. He walked to the bow of the boat and whistled, summoning a White Egret. Handing it a grain of Spiritual Sand, he instructed it to deliver the letter to Fumin Residence No. 32.

Much like the Black Crystal Profound Turtle, the White Egret possessed a First-Grade Bloodline. However, its intelligence was slightly higher than most beasts; with just some basic training from the Yun Family, it could understand human writing.

Despite this, the White Egret had much brighter prospects than the Black Crystal Profound Turtle. There were plenty of examples at Jingyue Lake of White Egrets earning vast amounts of resources by delivering letters, eventually reaching the Entry Tier to become true Spirit Beasts. Once a White Egret became a Spirit Beast, it earned the qualification to be served as a delicacy on a dining table.

The next day.

Chen Jianghe had assumed it would take a few days to receive Yu Daniu’s reply. To his surprise, the response arrived that very day. Joy flashed in his eyes as he finished reading the letter.

Yun Bufan had succeeded in his Foundation Establishment!

From now on, the Yun Family would be a Top-Level Immortal Race boasting two Foundation Establishment Ancestors, granting them absolute authority in the Eastern Domain of Celestial South. Their security factor had greatly improved, which alone was worth celebrating.

As for the day of Yun Bufan’s breakthrough, the Demon Lann Tianxiang had indeed come for revenge. However, numerous Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivators from the Yun Family had sacrificed their lives to stall for time. Ultimately, because Yun Bufan’s Foundation Establishment was a success, those four Foundation Establishment Ancestors had all turned their attacks toward Lann Tianxiang. Unfortunately, the Demon still managed to escape.

”An Elder at the Ninth-Layer Qi Refining, along with fifteen branch heads and Stewards at the Eighth-Layer Qi Refining... the Yun Family’s core strength has been practically wiped out.”

While Chen Jianghe lamented the heavy losses, he also felt happy for Yu Daniu. With the Yun Family’s core strength so severely depleted, they would undoubtedly pour all their resources into cultivating their younger generation to replenish their ranks in the shortest time possible.

A family’s prosperity depended on many factors. Resources, offspring, peak combat strength, and core strength—not a single one could be lacking. Having abundant resources but too few offspring wouldn’t work. Having many offspring but scarce resources wouldn’t work either. Possessing peak combat strength without a solid core strength was even worse.

The Yun Family occupied the eight-hundred-mile expanse of Jingyue Lake. The resources they controlled were enough to support the Cultivation of over two hundred clansmen. However, if the number of clansmen exceeded that, the family’s resources would struggle to keep up.

They had previously recruited live-in sons-in-law because they had suffered too many casualties among their Direct Descendants, forcing them to bring in fresh blood. Once the number of offspring reached a certain threshold, the family would control their birth rate. Only in this way could they maximize the family’s overall benefits.

Cook only as much rice as the pot can hold, and carry only the bowl your hands can manage.

Now that the Yun Family had gained another Foundation Establishment Ancestor, they would be able to claim an even larger share of resources in the Eastern Domain of Celestial South. The Yun Family’s metaphorical pot had just expanded by a size, allowing more offspring to cultivate without worry.

Therefore, since they currently lacked core strength, they would heavily focus on nurturing the younger disciples to step up.

Yu Daniu had five children, all boys, who fell perfectly into the category for the Yun Family’s intensive cultivation. Even Yu Daniu and his wife would likely receive focused support from the family.

”Now that Yun Bufan has succeeded in Foundation Establishment, everything in the Yun Family will return to normal operation. Yun Youniu will probably undergo Measuring Spirit Root in just a few days.”

As long as Yun Youniu was found to have a Spirit Root, and at least one of his third, fourth, or Fifth Brother was also found to possess one, the resources Yu Daniu needed to break through to Late-Stage Qi Refining would be entirely secured.

Amidst Chen Jianghe’s musings, a massive ship, a hundred zhang long, appeared on the lake. It was the very vessel used for distributing fish fry and harvesting fish. The great ship navigated the lake’s channels, making a brief stop at every aquaculture zone it passed.

About an hour later, it arrived at Chen Jianghe’s designated water area.

”Zone C No.12 Water Area, Chen Jianghe.”

”Greetings, Steward.” Chen Jianghe stood at the bow of his Upturned Boat, cupping his hands in response.

”Mm. Your boat is completely intact, so we will only distribute the fish fry. Come and collect your batch of one hundred.”

The Chief Ship Steward glanced at Chen Jianghe’s fishing boat, then ordered him to board the large ship to count and collect his quota of Little Cyan Fish fry.

Chen Jianghe did not say much. After verifying the count, he released the Little Cyan Fish fry into his breeding waters under the watchful eyes of the Chief Ship Steward and several Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivators.

Instantly, the Little Cyan Fish fry caught the scent of blood. The ferocity within them surged wildly, and they darted aggressively toward their dead kin, tearing and gnawing at the corpses in a feeding frenzy.

”With those dead Little Cyan Fish and the Spiritual Qi-infused aquatic creatures serving as food for the fry, they will be fully grown by the end of next year. We will return to collect the harvest then.” The Chief Ship Steward informed Chen Jianghe before ordering the ship to set sail for the next breeding area.

Realization dawned on Chen Jianghe. No wonder the Yun Family hadn’t bothered to clean up the charred aquatic carcasses. They were meant to serve as nutrients for the new batch of Little Cyan Fish fry.

It made sense. The Little Cyan Fish inherently harbored an extreme ferocity. Even when alive, they would cannibalize each other if they weren’t well-fed—let alone feast on their already dead companions.

”Master, come down here.” Little Black’s voice echoed across Chen Jianghe’s Spirit Platform, addressing him with an uncharacteristically obedient ”Master.” This immediately gave Chen Jianghe the uneasy feeling of being targeted by a thief.

SPLASH!

Chen Jianghe dove into the lake and swam over to Little Black.