Longevity with a Turtle

Chapter 134: Chapter 109: Daniu’s Letter

”Fellow Daoist, you wish to purchase this magazine?”

The clerk in the Cultivation Technique District on the third floor took the jade scroll from Chen Jianghe’s hand. With a sweep of his Divine Sense, he discovered it was the ”Demon Beast Processing Methods and Parts Price List”.

It wasn’t that no Cultivator ever bought it, but the vast majority who did were bottom-tier Early-Stage Qi Refining Cultivators. Observing that Chen Jianghe’s Magical Power fluctuations were no weaker than his own, the clerk knew the man before him was also a Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivator. Why would he choose to buy a basic skill manual essential only for the Demon Beast Workshop?

”Yes. Please unlock the restriction on the jade scroll for me,” Chen Jianghe said with a nod.

He had only learned upon reaching the Hundred Treasures Tower’s third floor that jade scrolls were not actually precious. They were merely a special type of jade stone capable of recording text and images. Furthermore, they were mined by mortals, unlike Spirit Stone Mines which strictly required Cultivators to excavate. Therefore, the jade scrolls themselves were very cheap. The two Spirit Stones he was paying were for the contents recorded within; a blank jade scroll alone only cost ten grains of Spiritual Sand.

Moreover, while the jade scrolls in the magazine display area could be browsed with Divine Sense, one could only read a brief summary. The rest of the content was sealed by an Array, requiring a clerk to lift the ban before the full text could be viewed.

”Two Spirit Stones.”

The Late-Stage Qi Refining clerk did not pry any further. He accepted the two Spirit Stones Chen Jianghe handed over, then took out an Array Disc to unlock the restriction on the jade scroll. In his mind, Chen Jianghe was likely buying it for a family member.

Having obtained the jade scroll, Chen Jianghe headed downstairs. He had no interest in the annual reports recording the major events of the Celestial South Domain. At two Spirit Stones a copy, the price was enough to buy a Qi Nourishing Pill.

Arriving at the first floor, he glanced at the corridor scenery by the river channel and noticed that Alchemist Zhuang and Ruan Tieniu had already left. They had probably finalized the price, though he wondered how much it was. Not wanting to interfere in their transaction, he naturally wouldn’t ask too many questions. As long as Ruan Tieniu helped him sell Spirit Talismans every year and brought him two Late-Stage Tier One Demon Beast flesh bodies in return, that would be enough.

Returning home, Chen Jianghe hung up an ”In Seclusion” sign and shut the courtyard gates tightly. After that, he let Little Black and Fur Ball out.

”Out with it. What do you need the two of us to do?” Little Black asked with the mindset of a dedicated wage slave, looking up at Chen Jianghe and awaiting instructions.

”Hold on, let me study this first,” Chen Jianghe said as he took out the jade scroll. Sweeping his Divine Sense over it, he read through the unlocked content and immediately felt that the task was somewhat difficult.

They had to clean the hide, drain the Spirit Blood, and wash the internal organs without damaging the Heart Marrow. When cleaning the hide, they had to ensure it remained whole and that the Demon Beast’s fur suffered no damage. This was meticulous, time-consuming work. Draining the Spirit Blood took even more time—it would take at least half a month to drain it completely. As for washing the internal organs, it seemed simple but was actually far from easy. While washing them clean, one had to keep the organs intact and avoid harming the Heart Marrow.

Fortunately, they weren’t professionals doing this for a living; they just needed to separate the hide, claws, and Beast Fangs.

”Little Black, you only want the Demon Beast’s Spirit Core, right?”

”Yeah.”

”And Fur Ball eats the blood and flesh, internal organs, and Heart Marrow, right?”

”SQUEAK SQUEAK!”

”Alright then. Before either of you takes a bite, you must perfectly remove the Demon Beast’s hide and properly preserve the claws and Beast Fangs. Can you do that?” Chen Jianghe asked.

”I can’t.” Little Black bluntly waved his short, stubby claws, then pointed at Fur Ball. ”But I can make Fur Ball do it.”

”Uh... that works. Just don’t rush. Take it slow. There needs to be a learning process.”

This was primarily directed at Little Black. Chen Jianghe was worried that when Fur Ball first started, he would be clumsy and end up ruining the hide, which would result in a beating from Little Black. If Little Black struck too hard, he would just have to spend Spirit Stones to buy Healing Spirit Liquid later.

”Don’t worry, we have to believe in Fur Ball.” Little Black walked up to Fur Ball and patted his arm with a thick, stubby claw, his beady eyes filled with trust. ”Fur Ball, make a pledge to the master and solidify our resolve.”

”SQUEAK SQUEAK!” (I’ll do my best!)

”Alright, good luck to both of you.”

Chen Jianghe placed the two Demon Beasts by the edge of the pool. He didn’t ask how they planned to skin the carcasses; after all, he lacked experience himself. It was better to let Little Black and Fur Ball figure it out on their own. The processing methods suitable for Cultivators might not necessarily suit them anyway.

He had purchased the ”Demon Beast Processing Methods and Parts Price List” mainly to understand the market prices and know which parts to preserve.

”One Demon Beast costs twenty-three Spirit Stones, which is equivalent to one bottle of Red Mist True Dew and five Spirit-Encompassing Flowers.

”A bottle of Red Mist True Dew costs twelve Spirit Stones, and five Spirit-Encompassing Flowers cost twenty. This means that using the Demon Beast flesh body to feed Little Black and Fur Ball is equal to spending twenty-three Spirit Stones to buy thirty-two Spirit Stones’ worth of resources!

”I’m effectively saving nine Spirit Stones,” Chen Jianghe calculated, a sly grin spreading across his face.

An intact Late-Stage Tier One Demon Beast hide was worth anywhere between two to eight Spirit Stones. The claws and teeth weren’t highly valued, fetching around two Spirit Stones in total.

In other words, while the annual resource expenditure for Little Black and Fur Ball had originally been forty Spirit Stones and had now increased to forty-six, the actual cost-effectiveness exceeded seventy Spirit Stones. It was a beautiful, incredibly lucrative deal.

Putting these thoughts aside, he took out the Black Pig Hides and cut them down to the size of Spirit Talismans. From the five hides, he managed to cut out one hundred and fifty pieces of Spirit Blood Pig Hide. After that, he began drawing Spirit Talismans.

For the next two years, he needed to work hard at drawing Middle-Grade Protection Talismans to accumulate enough Spirit Stones to buy a Body Refining Technique. Ideally, he wanted a more expensive one. A higher-tier Cultivation Technique would have lower requirements for auxiliary Body Refining Spiritual Objects, ultimately saving him more Spirit Stones in the long run.