Chapter 2: A Stroke of Luck
The usual price for an ordinary low-grade Spiritual Fish ranged between 8 to 15 low-grade spirit stones.
The reason why the Cold-Blooded Perch was so valuable was because its blood contained a special cold attribute, making it a top-quality material for crafting talismans.
Ji Yuan had not expected that this time, upon upgrading, the only Semi-Spiritual Fish in his Fish Pond had actually evolved into a true Spiritual Fish.
It seemed that this was most likely a bonus brought by the Fish Pond upgrade, resulting in a critical hit.
But no matter what, with this Cold-Blooded Perch in hand, his current predicament could be considered resolved.
Although Ji Yuan was unwilling to resort to taking high-interest loans, he was even more unwilling to die… After all, having crossed over once and arriving in this cultivation world that all men dreamed of, no one would want to die easily.
Since that was the case, the issue now was to get this Cold-Blooded Perch to the fish market and exchange it for spirit stones.
Ji Yuan sat by the Fish Pond, staring at the Spiritual Fish trapped in the shallow pool… Taking it straight to sell was definitely not an option. If someone with ill intentions happened to see it, it would most likely raise suspicion.
Having arrived in this treacherous cultivation world, until he had the strength to secure his position, caution was undoubtedly the top priority.
Therefore, the best solution was to first make a trip to Yunyu Marshlands, pretending that he had just caught it.
No sooner thought than acted.
Had this been the vast Yunyu Marshlands, a single flick of the tail from this Cold-Blooded Perch would have left Ji Yuan far behind, never able to catch up again. But unfortunately for it, it was now trapped in this tiny Fish Pond.
So Ji Yuan, using the "Water Arrow Technique" that he had yet to fully master from the original owner, easily shot the Cold-Blooded Perch to death with a single arrow.
After the Spiritual Fish died, he hurried to drag the body ashore, even applying Blood-Stopping Powder to prevent further loss of its precious blood.
Afterward, he went to check the entrance again.
Seeing no one around, he finally carried the Spiritual Fish corpse onto the old black-roofed boat, hiding it in the water compartment.
He used to have a beginner-level artifact-grade fishing boat at home, but that too had been lost along with everything else in Yunyu Marshlands.
After thinking it over, Ji Yuan went to knock on the gate of Old Huang's courtyard next door.
"What, have you come around and decided to go find Liu the Leper?" Old Huang asked with a toothless grin.
"I’ve come around. I’ll try my luck in Yunyu Marshlands again. Please help look after the house for me, Old Master Huang. If anyone comes looking, just tell them I’ve gone fishing."
"Alright then, try to stay alive."
Upon hearing that Ji Yuan wasn’t going to Liu the Leper, Old Huang immediately lost interest.
"Mm."
Ji Yuan turned around, boarded the fishing boat, and with both hands pushing the oars, the old black-roofed boat drifted into the vast Yunyu Marshlands.
Old Huang leaned against the doorframe, watching his departing figure, and let out a long sigh.
"Heartless Yunyu Marshlands… looks like there’s going to be another drowned ghost."
"……"
After a while, Ji Yuan glanced back.
Only when the shoreline had completely disappeared from view did he find a small island nearby, where he cultivated for half a day before steering the boat straight to the fish market in Zengtou Market.
If one were to ask where the liveliest place in Zengtou Market was, first would be the brothels that drained the essence of male cultivators.
The second would be this fish market.
Especially this particular fish market located by the shore.
Fishermen returning from their trips would almost always come here.
Even though Ji Yuan had returned relatively early—around three or four in the afternoon—the place was already packed with people.
"Brother Ye, not bad at all! You actually caught a Sword Yellow Fish. That’s another ten spirit stones in the bag. How about treating the brothers tonight?"
"I heard there was a mid-stage first-rank Spiritual Fish at Hui Shui Bay. Quite a few people got hurt."
"Did you hear? Han Feiyu has broken through to the eighth layer of Qi Refining. He’s definitely getting into the Water Dragon Sect this time. Another talent from Zengtou Market!"
"……"
With all the chatter around, Ji Yuan dared not delay. He carried the Cold-Blooded Perch directly to the Water Dragon Sect disciple responsible for purchasing fish and placed the Spiritual Fish into the fish basket.
As soon as the Cold-Blooded Perch appeared, the surrounding chatter noticeably quieted down.
"A Cold-Blooded Perch? Haven’t seen one of these in ages."
"Dammit, it was caught by a mere second-layer Qi Refining cultivator? Must’ve stepped in shit the whole way here!"
"……"
Seeing that it was a Cold-Blooded Perch, the Water Dragon Sect disciple also showed some interest. "Not bad quality, and the blood has been well preserved. I’ll give you eighteen low-grade spirit stones for it."
What?!
Eighteen!
This price surprised Ji Yuan a little. He had thought that fifteen low-grade spirit stones would already be more than enough, but he hadn’t expected to get three more on top of that.
It wasn’t until the Water Dragon Sect disciple placed that small handful of spirit stones into his hand that Ji Yuan snapped back to reality and quickly asked,
"I need to pay my Immortal Residence fee. Can I pay it here?"
Both the fish market and the Immortal Residence fees were officially managed by the Water Dragon Sect.
In the past, whenever fishermen planned to venture into the deeper waters of Yunyu Marshlands, they would typically prepay their next month’s residence fee here.
"You can."
The Water Dragon Sect disciple replied with an expressionless face.
"Room B-16."
Ji Yuan reported his residence number. The disciple took out a jade slip and scanned it briefly, saying,
"You’ve already fallen two months behind. That’ll be six spirit stones in total."
"Here."
Without hesitation, Ji Yuan handed over one-third of the spirit stones he had just received, not feeling the slightest bit of heartache.
On the contrary, he felt unburdened, as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
At least now, he didn’t have to worry about being kicked out of Yunyu Marshlands and ending up homeless.
After settling the rent, Ji Yuan cupped his hands with a smile toward the surrounding onlookers, who had gathered to watch the commotion.
"Just luck, just luck."
With that, he slipped into the crowd, weaving left and right a few times until he disappeared from sight.
Not until he had walked a fair distance from the fish market did he look back.
Confirming that no one was following him, he let out a long sigh of relief.
Fortunately, the market was relatively safe, especially during daylight hours.
Touching the spirit stones hidden in his clothes, Ji Yuan glanced at the panel again. If he only wanted to upgrade buildings, his current wealth was enough to upgrade several of them.
However, upgrading buildings alone wasn’t enough without other supporting resources.
Take the Fish Pond, for example.
It required a sufficient number of Semi-Spiritual Fish to truly maximize its benefits.
As for the Pigsty, which promised to increase muscle mass by a hundred jin in seven days and even strengthen the body, that also required Spiritual Pigs… and that would be another expense.
For now, the best course of action seemed to be purchasing some Semi-Spiritual Fish first, so he could make full use of the Fish Pond.
After all, even if they couldn’t evolve into Spiritual Fish, the twenty-percent boost in growth speed was enough to ensure he wouldn’t suffer a loss.
As for buildings, Ji Yuan planned to upgrade the Chicken Coop next.
By buying a few Green-Yellow Chickens, the Spiritual Eggs they produced could sustain his daily cultivation needs and even allow him to go without eating.
That would save him a significant amount of expenses.
No sooner thought than acted.
If it had been before, these spirit stones would most likely have been spent on purchasing talismans or pills needed for life-risking ventures into Yunyu Marshlands.
As for now… Ji Yuan thought to himself,
"You guys can keep risking your lives. I’ll stay home raising fish and feeding chickens."
Not long after, Ji Yuan returned to his doorstep on that old black-roofed boat, carrying five Semi-Spiritual Fish and three Green-Yellow Chickens that carried traces of demonic beast blood.
Old Huang, who had been sitting at the doorstep smoking his dry tobacco pipe, stood up in shock and asked,
"Kid, did you sell your ass?"
Sell your ass? Your whole family sells their ass… Ji Yuan tugged at the corner of his mouth and replied,
"Just lucky, found a severely injured low-rank Spiritual Fish."
"You really did step in dog shit luck."
Even Old Huang’s voice carried a hint of envy.
Such things had happened before in Zengtou Market, but they were rare.
Watching Ji Yuan carry the fish and chickens into the house, Old Huang sneered silently…
So young, still too young.
With a bit of money, all he thinks about is eating and drinking, without saving up for next month’s Immortal Residence fee.
Did he really think he could get this lucky every day, finding a severely injured Spiritual Fish every month?
But when he turned to look toward the mist-covered Yunyu Marshlands, Old Huang couldn’t help but entertain a bold idea.
Should I… try my luck in Yunyu Marshlands too?