Chapter 237 - 168: Denglai City
"Heh, it's been many years since I've seen a young man with such guts." An amiable smile spread across Commander Liu's face.
"It's just that most people with guts meet a bitter end. I'll leave you with one last piece of advice: the unbending branch is the first to break."
After delivering this lukewarm lecture—or rather, a threat—Commander Liu turned and left the deck.
This left Fang Yue slightly stunned. 'I thought he'd keep making trouble.'
After embarrassing the man, it would have been perfectly normal for him to start calling for blood.
'Isn't that how it always goes in the stories?'
'But for him to just leave after a single threat... it seems he's a crafty and calculating one.'
However, Fang Yue wasn't worried.
He wasn't planning on making a living in Denglai City; his destination was the much more distant Yujing City. After today, he might never see this Commander Liu again.
As if he'd let a threat like that scare him.
At this thought, Fang Yue lost all interest in continuing to fish.
He picked up his fish basket, turned, and went back to his cabin.
...
'This Silver Thread Spirit Fish seems to be a local specialty of this river. Its flesh is exquisite, and it contains Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. It's somewhat similar to an Elemental Stone, but its Primordial Qi is much gentler and can be directly absorbed by Secret Medicine Martial Artists. It's even useful for Martial Masters.'
That's why a Spirit Fish like this costs several hundred taels of silver on the market.
And that was for one under three pounds. Any heavier, and the price would multiply several times over.
A true luxury item, by any measure.
This was all information Fang Yue had gathered from a boatman afterward.
That evening, a Spirit Fish soup was, of course, added to the Fang Family's dinner table.
One of the benefits of making a soup with this kind of wild fish was that, once diluted, even ordinary people could consume it.
It had the effect of supplementing one's Primordial Qi, and for those with weaker constitutions, it was an excellent tonic for nourishing the body and restoring vitality.
Thus, the entire Fang Family was all smiles, and the meal felt exceptionally delicious.
After dinner, Fang Yue chatted with his family for a while before returning to his room.
***
In his room, a full bowl of Spirit Fish Flesh was waiting for him. This was the real deal; what they had at dinner was only the diluted soup.
'This fish meat is worlds more fragrant and delicious than the diluted soup! No wonder that old man with the important-looking air was so shamelessly desperate to buy this Spirit Fish.'
The moment the fish entered his mouth, Fang Yue felt an exquisitely savory flavor slide down his throat.
As the flesh settled in his stomach, a warm sensation rose up, just as if he had taken a Secret Medicine, but the effect was far more potent.
To his surprise, the fish flesh also contained faint wisps of Primordial Qi. Unlike the Primordial Qi from an Elemental Stone, this type was easy for his body to process through Refinement.
With a single thought, Fang Yue guided the wisps of Primordial Qi from every corner of his body into his Dantian.
'No wonder a single Spirit Fish costs hundreds, even thousands, of taels of silver. This one mouthful alone has the same effect as dozens of taels' worth of Secret Medicine.'
Sensing the slight increase in his cultivation base, Fang Yue knew the fish had been well worth it.
Qi Refiners were forbidden from using Secret Medicine to accelerate their cultivation, but Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects were not subject to this restriction.
Realizing this, Fang Yue understood.
The path of a Qi Refiner was truly a money-burning one. While Secret Medicine was expensive, its price was still far lower than that of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects.
Furthermore, upon becoming an official, one could receive a monthly stipend of Cultivation Secret Medicine.
This greatly eased the financial burden on Secret Medicine Martial Artists.
But someone like him, who had chosen the path of a Qi Refiner, couldn't enjoy such a perk.
All told, the resources required for a Qi Refiner's cultivation far surpassed those needed by a Secret Medicine Martial Artist.
More importantly, many of these resources were scarce; money alone couldn't guarantee you could buy them.
It was no wonder the path of the Qi Refiner had fallen into decline.
Soon, Fang Yue had devoured the entire two-plus-pound Spirit Fish, meat and soup alike.
HAH!
The moment he finished, Fang Yue's face flushed bright red.
The Primordial Qi was gentle, but the qi and blood in his body began to churn restlessly.
It felt like a pot of boiling water, ready to erupt at any moment.
Fang Yue hurriedly circulated his Earth Element True Skill, suppressing the turbulent qi and blood before turning his focus to absorbing the surging Primordial Qi.
RUMBLE!
The Primordial Qi coursed through Fang Yue's body. Every drop of his blood seemed to boil, suffused with incomparably pure Primordial Qi.
Fang Yue's face grew even ruddier, and his aura climbed steadily higher.
「An hour passed.」
Fang Yue slowly opened his eyes.
'I can't believe it. I've finally moved from the introductory level to mastery in the Earth Element True Skill. And my cultivation... I've successfully broken through to the Qi Sensing realm!'
Fang Yue's eyes sparkled with joy.
The Qi Sensing realm was the second stage of cultivation. Only now could he be considered to have truly stepped through the main gate.
He had surpassed the Foundation Establishment stage and crossed the true threshold of cultivation.
At this moment, Fang Yue's aura was completely restrained, yet a formidable power was continuously condensing within him, as if about to take physical form.
Fang Yue could feel the changes within himself and couldn't help but marvel.
'I never thought this cultivation session would be so successful.'
Fang Yue mused that Hui Hengli had once judged his cultivation path to be a dead end, claiming he would struggle his entire life just to cross the threshold into Qi Sensing.
In truth, that judgment had been based on Fang Yue's perceived Talent and family background.