Chapter 38: Pigsty lv2
The Ghost Island Lord was dead, and the formation flag naturally became a masterless object.
Ji Yuan grabbed it and refined it in an instant… As the formation flag slightly trembled, it finally acknowledged its master.
“Hmm?”
When Ji Yuan sensed the state of the Yin Ghost Flag clearly, he was a little surprised.
With a thought, two ghostly heads shrouded in black mist immediately flew out from the formation flag and began circling around him.
“There are actually two Yin Ghosts still sealed within this Yin Ghost Flag!”
This was beyond Ji Yuan’s expectations.
He had originally thought that after killing those two Yin Ghosts, the flag would be nothing more than an ordinary formation tool.
But now that the Yin Ghosts still remained, it meant the flag could still be used as a magical artifact.
Having obtained part of the Yin Ghost Sect’s legacy, Ji Yuan naturally knew that with these two Yin Ghosts, it was equivalent to gaining two additional helpers at the mid-stage of Qi Refining.
Just like how the Ghost Island Lord had used them when they fought earlier.
Both Yin Ghosts could directly latch onto that mid-grade flying sword.
After examining the Yin Ghosts, Ji Yuan immediately recalled them back into the flag… There had originally been four Yin Ghosts. Who knew how many people the Ghost Island Lord had slaughtered over the years?
His actions today could be considered a small contribution to eliminating evil for the people.
Ji Yuan didn’t rush to test the power of the Yin Ghost Formation.
Instead, he first completely refined the Black Wind Boat.
Once he could operate it without the slightest obstruction, he stabbed the Yin Ghost Flag into the ground among the reeds and activated it with a thought. Instantly, black mist spread over an area of about a mile.
Previously, when Ji Yuan was trapped inside the formation, he couldn’t tell direction.
But now that he was controlling the formation, every detail within it was laid bare to him.
The pure Yin Ghost Formation was actually just a maze formation.
Ji Yuan had been trapped inside earlier, and if it hadn’t been for the chicken blood from the Red-Crested Chicken, he might still be stuck in there now.
However, with the addition of the Yin Ghosts, the Yin Ghost Formation gained an extra layer of lethal power.
The Yin Ghosts, when using the formation to kill enemies, were as agile as fish in water.
Its power also increased significantly.
However, the corresponding energy consumption was enormous.
Otherwise, the Ghost Island Lord would have already used this formation to kill Ji Yuan earlier.
But… weren’t formations supposed to be powered by Spirit Stones? Why did this Yin Ghost Formation require his own spiritual energy to operate?
Ji Yuan reviewed the memories in his mind and quickly realized… the formation was incomplete!
“Damn!”
The fact that the Yin Ghost Formation could be powered by spiritual energy at all was thanks to the Ghost Island Lord’s own attempts at patching it.
To say the Ghost Island Lord lacked talent didn’t seem right, since he had managed to patch the formation himself.
But to say he had talent… he had modified a Spirit Stone-powered formation to consume his own spiritual energy instead… Ji Yuan wasn’t sure if he had this kind of "talent."
But even if he didn’t, it didn’t matter. Ji Yuan decided that once he returned, he would prepare to build a Dao Comprehension Room for himself.
He put away the formation flag with a wave of his hand, dispersing the black mist, and leaped out of the reed marsh.
Just as he was about to fall into the water, the Black Wind Boat appeared.
Ji Yuan slapped a Water Repelling Talisman onto himself, leaned forward, and guided the boat into the water, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.
Traveling underwater was as easy as walking on flat ground.
While observing the underwater scenery of the Yunyu Marshlands, Ji Yuan soon spotted a Spiritual Fish resting among the water plants.
Water Drop Finger, go!
He flicked his finger, and the Cold-Blooded Perch immediately sensed it.
With a flick of its tail, it stirred up clouds of mud and sand.
“Trying to escape?!”
Ji Yuan turned the boat to give chase.
In just a moment, he was holding the Cold-Blooded Perch in his storage pouch, feeling a touch of amazement.
It truly was a world where the big preyed on the small, and the strong remained strong.
For a fisherman with a mid-grade magical boat, fishing in these waters wasn’t much different from picking up Spirit Stones, while those early-stage Qi Refining fishermen struggled endlessly, risking their lives.
But then again, how many fishermen in all of Zengtou Market actually owned a mid-grade magical boat?
After traveling underwater for another hour, Ji Yuan finally surfaced again. He confirmed his bearings and headed straight toward… Huaiyin District.
Although the Ghost Island Lord was dead, there were likely still many valuable items left on Black Mist Island.
For instance, the unharvested Bone-Corroding Flowers, or materials used to cultivate Yin Ghosts, among others.
Since no one else knew the Ghost Island Lord was dead yet, this was the perfect opportunity to collect treasures. If word got out, it would be too late.
However, Huaiyin District was quite far.
Even though Ji Yuan traveled as quickly as he could without any delays, by the time he returned to Zengtou Market, five days had already passed.
He had reaped a bountiful harvest—over sixty Bone-Corroding Flowers, plus a large bag of Bone-Corroding Flower seeds.
And some filthy materials for cultivating Yin Ghosts.
As for other items, there were none. Everything else had already been stored in the Ghost Island Lord’s storage pouch.
It was dusk when Ji Yuan, from a distance, squinted toward his own shore.
Seeing that the three households showed no signs of change, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Having been away for so long, his greatest concern was the buildings at home.
Just as he had landed and put away the magical boat, before he could even open the courtyard gate, someone from the neighboring Lin family came out.
“Brother Ji?!”
Seeing Ji Yuan return, Lin Hu was obviously overjoyed. He rubbed his hands excitedly and said, “Where have you been these past few days? You… you’re alright, that’s really great.”
Being cared for by others was always a good feeling.
Ji Yuan could tell that Lin Hu was genuinely concerned for his safety, nothing more.
“I took a trip to the deep-water area and got delayed a bit.” Ji Yuan smiled. “Everything at home alright?”
“Nothing much happened. Oh, right, someone came looking for you two days ago, asking if you were still buying Cold Iron Sand. I told them you weren’t and sent them away.”
With the Bone-Corroding Flowers he had gathered, the Pigsty could be upgraded.
As for the Fish Pond, Ji Yuan planned to continue using it as is.
He definitely wouldn’t be purchasing Cold Iron Sand anymore. If he really needed it, he’d rather dig for it himself—it would be much safer than buying it.
“Good, thanks for that.”
Ji Yuan nodded and pushed the gate open, stepping into the courtyard.
Everything inside was just as he had left it. He then activated the effects of the various buildings, and the slightly dusty house was instantly restored to its original cleanliness.
Before leaving, he had only activated the Chicken Coop, leaving the others deactivated.
So the Semi-Spiritual Fish hadn’t advanced, only the Chicken Coop… When Ji Yuan opened the coop door and saw the thick pile of Spiritual Eggs inside, he was initially pleased.
But then he subconsciously gagged.
Thirty eggs a day, eight days away—that was two hundred and forty Spiritual Eggs. Just how long was it going to take to eat all of these?
If he weren’t worried about attracting attention, he would have dumped them all at the Fish Market and sold them in one go.
After collecting all the eggs, he noticed that another layer of Spiritual Soil had formed beneath the coop.
He collected that as well, then, without bothering to rest despite the late hour, he headed straight for the Pigsty.
He first summoned his White Water Flying Sword, adjusted it to a suitable size, and began carving a series of Filth-Dispelling Runes onto the gate of the pigsty.
After a while, Ji Yuan put away the sword and examined his work.
Perfect!
Only then did he summon the Panel.
【Pigsty: LV2 (Upgradeable)】
【Effect: Produces half a tael of Blood Essence daily; enhanced blood and flesh quality】
【Upgrade Requirements: 50 Low-Grade Spirit Stones, 3 Bone-Corroding Flowers, Filth-Dispelling Runes (Completed)】
After running around for so long, even brushing past death, Ji Yuan finally had the chance to upgrade the Pigsty.
He didn’t hesitate.
As he activated the upgrade with a thought, the entire pigsty was enveloped in a faint red glow under the evening sky.
The pigsty, which had previously been dirty with Spiritual Pig droppings, was instantly restored to its pristine state thanks to the Filth-Dispelling Runes.
Before Ji Yuan could even check the effects of the level 3 pigsty, his eyes were drawn to a ball of Blood Essence that had appeared out of thin air, floating in the air inside the pigsty.