Longevity with a Turtle

Chapter 143: Chapter 113: Blessings and Misfortunes Go Hand in Hand

Zhou Xiaoxuan was still naive to the ways of the world, but Zhou Miaoyun had left the family at a young age and climbed her way up from the very bottom. She knew the sinister nature of the world and could faintly guess what her niece would face by joining the Celestial South Sect as a disciple. However, she had no choice.

”Since you’ve made your decision, then come with me.” Liuu Zhining looked at Gao Peiyao and chuckled softly, ”Junior Sister, I will return to the Sect first.”

”Alright, take care, Senior Sister Liuu. We will meet again at the Sect.”

Liuu Zhining left with Zhou Xiaoxuan, showing no intention of staying to enjoy the lavish Spiritual Cuisine.

”Fairy Peiyao, Fellow Daoist Chen, please sit. The Spiritual Cuisine will get cold soon,” Zhou Miaoyun said, forcing a smile as she invited Gao Peiyao and Chen Jianghe to take their seats.

”Sister Miaoyun, you don’t need to worry about Xiaoxuan. Although the path is bumpy, she now has an added hope for Foundation Establishment. This was the exact path Senior Sister Liuu walked back then.

”Once Xiaoxuan achieves Foundation Establishment, she can also bring two hundred years of prosperity to the Zhou Family.”

Gao Peiyao glanced at Zhou Miaoyun and offered these words of comfort. She also did not take a seat, continuing, ”I still have some matters to attend to, so I won’t keep Sister Miaoyun and Brother Jianghe company anymore.”

With that, Gao Peiyao left the private room.

At this moment, Chen Jianghe also spoke up, ”Xiaoxuan has gained hope for Foundation Establishment. Doesn’t this far exceed what you were hoping for, Fellow Daoist? Why worry about the rest?

”I also have some trivial matters to handle, so I shall take my leave as well.”

Only Zhou Miaoyun remained in the quiet private room. At sixty-three years old, she was already an elderly woman, and now a few more wrinkles seemed to have been added to her face.

”SIGH...”

”Fellow Daoist Chen is right,” she murmured to herself. ”If Xiaoxuan can use this opportunity to reach Foundation Establishment, it’s still better than serving the five sons of the Yun Family.

”Besides, things might not necessarily be as I imagine.”

At this thought, the sorrow faded from Zhou Miaoyun’s face, replaced by a look of joy. No matter what, the Zhou Family now had a disciple in the Celestial South Sect. Even if she was just a servant disciple, the Zhou Family could now firmly establish its foothold at Jingyue Lake.

With a wave of her sleeve, she swept the entire table of Spiritual Cuisine into her Storage Pouch. These were Spiritual Delicacies made from Demon Beasts, containing abundant Spiritual Qi. Taking them back for the younger generation of the family to eat would help increase their Cultivation. And there was also that pot of High-Grade Immortal Spirit Wine, which she could save for her younger brother to infuse his own brews.

Chen Jianghe walked along Qing Street. Thinking about what had just happened, he figured this was an incredibly good thing for the Zhou Family. Zhou Xiaoxuan had inherently been in a fiery pit, nothing more than a tool for a family marriage alliance. Now that she had joined the Celestial South Sect, she had a chance at Foundation Establishment. If this wasn’t a good thing, what was? Therefore, Gao Peiyao had indeed gifted the Zhou Family a massive opportunity.

Before long, he arrived at the Beast Taming Workshop near the North Gate on Qing Street and stepped inside. The front hall wasn’t messy; on the contrary, it was very neat and clean.

”Senior, may I ask what you need?” A shop assistant wearing a short, coarse tunic walked up to him and asked respectfully. He was at the Second-Layer Qi Refining. ”We sell Beast Hides and Spirit Blood here. If you are buying in bulk, we offer discounts.”

Obviously, the assistant had mistaken Chen Jianghe for a traveling merchant cultivator from north of the Tongtian River.

”I’m not buying. Do you buy Demon Beast Hides and fur here?”

”Senior is here to sell? We do buy them, but we only acquire them at eighty percent of the market price.” Hearing that Chen Jianghe wanted to sell Demon Beast Hides, the smile on the assistant’s face grew even wider, as if he was happier than if he were making a sale. ”Could Senior take out the Demon Beast Hides you wish to sell so this junior can take a look?”

Chen Jianghe nodded and immediately took out all the Demon Beast Hides, beast claws, Beast Fangs, and Spirit Blood that Little Black and Fur Ball had cleaned up.

”EH?” The assistant was stunned, staring at the pile of junk Chen Jianghe had brought out. However, bound by the rules of doing business, he still reached out and poked through the Demon Beast Hides. He symbolically shook the bucket containing the Spirit Blood. He then picked up the beast claws and Beast Fangs, gave them a ’serious’ look, and put them down. Finally, he looked at Chen Jianghe and asked, ”Senior, do you really want to sell these?”

”Yes.” Chen Jianghe nodded. Seeing the assistant’s serious expression gave him the illusion that these items were incredibly precious, which was why the assistant was double-checking.

”HISS... This, well...”

”What? Are you not buying them?” Chen Jianghe sensed that something was wrong. It seemed it wasn’t that his goods were too precious, but rather that they were too low-quality.

”We do buy them, it’s just that the hide processing is too rough, and the inner skin is damaged. It’s obvious that the technique used is...” The assistant paused, not continuing his sentence. He picked up the Spirit Blood bucket again and sighed. ”Senior, it’s really not that this junior is being difficult. But take a look, isn’t this Spirit Blood filled with impurities? The method used to drain the blood is completely wrong!

”Look, there’s even fur inside. If we buy this, we’ll have to process it a second time.”

”It doesn’t matter, just tell me the price,” Chen Jianghe said, frowning. Although his goods were quite substandard, the assistant clearly seemed to be lowballing him as well.

”The claws and Beast Fangs are relatively intact, but the hide is damaged and the Spirit Blood is impure. I can’t give you the market price.” The assistant pondered for a moment, gritted his teeth, and said, ”How about this? I’ll give you a fixed price: two Spirit Stones.

”If you think that’s acceptable, you can leave them. If you feel it’s not suitable, you can take them away.

”Of course, if your goods are processed up to standard next time, we will still buy them at eighty percent of the market price.”

”Alright, they’re yours.” Chen Jianghe had no interest in haggling. Besides, it was already quite good that Little Black and Fur Ball could earn two Spirit Stones on their first try. This was a good start. In the future, once they became more skilled, they would naturally be able to sell them for a better price.

Chen Jianghe then took the Spirit Stones and prepared to leave, but was called back by the assistant.

”Senior, you must be a Demon Hunter. These Demon Beast Hides and Spirit Blood were probably processed by your family members. Their techniques will naturally improve over time.

”However, this junior still recommends that you purchase specialized extraction buckets for draining blood. This way, you can ensure there are no impurities in the drained Spirit Blood.

”Naturally, you’ll be able to sell it for a better price,” the assistant suggested sincerely.

”Oh! Where can I buy these extraction buckets?” Chen Jianghe asked, pleasantly surprised.

The assistant chuckled. ”Our Beast Taming Workshop sells extraction buckets. They cost one grain of Spiritual Sand each.”

Promptly, the assistant jogged over and brought a pile of so-called extraction buckets. They were just small buckets with lids, but they carried the aura of an Array. They were likely capable of filtering out impurities. But these buckets were far too small. The bucket of Spirit Blood he had just presented would probably fill over a dozen of these extraction buckets.

However, in order to sell for a good price in the future, he still decided to buy some. ”I’ll take fifty for now.” Chen Jianghe paid fifty grains of Spiritual Sand and placed the fifty extraction buckets into his Storage Pouch. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to buy more, but if he did, his Storage Pouch wouldn’t be able to hold them all. It seemed he would need to purchase a larger Storage Pouch in the future, which would also make trading Demon Beasts with Ruan Tieniu much easier.

He left the Demon Beast Workshop. Having sold the fruits of Little Black and Fur Ball’s labor, he now had an extra one Spirit Stone, fifty grains of Spiritual Sand, and fifty extraction buckets in his hands. Since arriving at the Qinghe Marketplace, this could be considered his first return on investment from Little Black.

The feeling was quite nice. As they gradually became more skilled in the future, Chen Jianghe felt that Little Black and Fur Ball had a promising future. Never mind earning massive amounts of Spirit Stones; pulling in an income of twenty or thirty Spirit Stones a year should be no problem at all.

Upon returning to his courtyard, Chen Jianghe gave Little Black a few instructions. He explained some important points to keep in mind when skinning and cleaning hides. He also taught him how to use the extraction buckets to drain Spirit Blood. Finally, he told Little Black that he would be given more responsibilities in the future, which made Little Black overjoyed.

Chen Jianghe realized that making empty promises to Little Black wouldn’t work anymore. He had to give him actual work, get him moving, keep him busy, and let him earn Spirit Stones through his own abilities. This was a sign that he was beginning to develop a sense of self-esteem. Chen Jianghe was naturally very happy to see this and tried his best to satisfy Little Black’s needs, which would also save him quite a few Spirit Stones.

After returning to his room, he first consumed a second True Spirit Pill and then began to circulate the Ten Thousand Waters Scripture to cultivate. With the assistance of the True Spirit Pill’s medicinal effects, he purified and liquefied the Magical Power within his Dantian.

Four hours later. He slowly withdrew his cultivation technique, got out of bed, and began drawing Spirit Talismans. These days were repetitive but not boring; on the contrary, they were very fulfilling.

When July arrived, Chen Jianghe finally received a letter from Yu Daniu. Picking up the letter that Fur Ball had placed on the desk, he saw the signature on it was indeed Yu Daniu’s. Anxious about Yu Daniu’s Foundation Establishment, he eagerly tore it open to read it.