Chapter 83 - 81: Returning to Youth
Jiang Zuo led the three of them along the coastline.
Soon, they saw a small town by the sea.
The town was bustling with people, and numerous fishing boats sailed in and out of the coastal harbor, creating a sense of peace.
"What do you think? Do you want to settle down here? If you don’t like it, we can go somewhere else. It’s fine to take more time to decide."
Jiang Zuo looked toward Wen Shulin and Zhuang Ruying.
The two exchanged a look and made up their minds. "Let’s stay in this town. Living by the sea wouldn’t be bad at all."
They were both capable people who could make a living anywhere.
Their only regret was that it was so very far from Lizhou. On their own, it would be almost impossible for them to ever return.
But after hearing Jiang Zuo talk about the Cultivation Realm on their journey, the two of them had long since given up any thought of going back.
"Alright, take these silver taels. Don’t refuse. You were dragged into this because of me, and with the little money you have now, life will be a struggle. Even if you can endure it, you have to think of your child. Money doesn’t have much use for me anymore, so you don’t need to worry about it."
"I’ll see you to the roadside, but it’s not convenient for me to be seen with you after that. Once you get to the town, it would be best if you change your names as well."
"I’ll be living nearby for a while. If you run into any problems you can’t solve, I’ll help you, so you don’t need to worry too much."
Jiang Zuo said all this in one breath, then took out two stacks of silver banknotes and handed them to the couple. They were worth about twenty thousand silver taels.
Poverty puts a strain on any couple, and Jiang Zuo didn’t want any misfortune to befall them because they had been implicated by him.
The seven hundred thousand-plus silver taels in his storage pouch were practically growing mold; Jiang Zuo really couldn’t find a place to spend them.
...
His original body was too conspicuous. After bringing the three to a roadside not too far from the town, Jiang Zuo tied on the Red Fox Bracelet and transformed into the likeness of a little old man.
Even so, Jiang Zuo was determined to avoid showing his face whenever possible.
He planned to spend the next year completing the Sea Turtle Shell’s obsession, and then, after another year or so, he should be able to reach Great Perfection in his Inner Breath.
At that time, he would consider finding a place to reduce his age and start over.
This time, when he started over, Jiang Zuo planned to tame a Pet Beast and grind his Beast Taming Reputation.
It had been nearly fifty years since he left Red Fox Town. ’If I start over as a teenager,’ he thought, ’no one will ever guess that I’m the same Jiang Zuo from back then.’
With the money Jiang Zuo had given them, Wen Shulin and Zhuang Ruying quickly settled down in the small coastal town.
The town was peaceful, but it wasn’t some idyllic paradise; the usual troubles were never far away.
After moving into town, the couple encountered some minor problems, but they managed to resolve them on their own without Jiang Zuo having to intervene.
They arrived in the summer. Soon, autumn came to the town, and then winter began.
Not long after winter’s arrival, it started to snow. The Wen Shulins and their child were overjoyed to see the heavy snowfall, but they soon began to shiver from the cold.
Jiang Zuo was out in the wilderness, his clothes no different than usual.
An ordinary Inner Breath Grandmaster was already immune to heat and cold, let alone Jiang Zuo.
He sat in the snow, and the flakes around him would automatically melt after a short while.
From a high mountaintop, Jiang Zuo gazed at the snow-covered, frozen coast. From time to time, text notifying him of acquired Beast Soul Power would flash before his eyes.
The seasons turned, and in the blink of an eye, Wen Shulin and Zhuang Ruying had already lived in this unfamiliar coastal town for a year.
『The Turtle Shell Obsession has vanished!』
『Beast Pattern "Turtle Breath" acquired!』
──Turtle Breath: A first-tier Beast Pattern. A breathing method that, like a sea turtle’s hibernation, drastically reduces the body’s consumption by lowering the respiration rate.
’Another Beast Pattern, and my Beast Soul Power increased by 30 points!’
Jiang Zuo nodded.
The Turtle Shell Obsession was gone, but Jiang Zuo didn’t plan to leave just yet.
He would reach Perfection in his Inner Breath in a little over a year. He could change his appearance then and emerge from his seclusion directly, without having to worry about being recognized in his little old man guise.
Although the chances of that were infinitesimally small, Jiang Zuo couldn’t be bothered to rush just to save that little bit of time.
There were many wild beasts in these mountains. Jiang Zuo decided he might as well raise one of each kind to light up his Ten Thousand Beasts Atlas and gain some energy points.
Another year and a half passed.
"Great Perfection in Inner Breath... I’ve done it!"
As the one hundred and eighth acupoint broke open, Jiang Zuo opened his eyes and examined his body.
He felt his body brimming with an incredible power, giving him the sensation that he could ascend to the heavens in broad daylight.
Of course, this was just an illusion. Even an Innate Martial Artist couldn’t fly like an Immortal.
Jiang Zuo still didn’t leave. Instead, he spent another six months carefully familiarizing himself with his body, now that it had reached Cultivation Great Perfection.
After slowly committing these sensations to memory, Jiang Zuo finally opened his attribute panel and looked at the minus sign next to his age.
Not daring to click too quickly, Jiang Zuo reduced his age little by little.
His age slowly decreased from 71.
As his age fell, Jiang Zuo’s body underwent an astonishing transformation.
His white hair turned black, wrinkles faded away, and his skin gradually became smooth. At the same time, his bones and muscles quietly stretched and reshaped themselves.
By the time Jiang Zuo had lowered his age to just fifteen, he had completely transformed into a heroic-looking youth.
His physique also changed from a tall and burly frame to that of a merely well-built teenager.
"This is very different from how I was back in Red Fox Town."
Jiang Zuo took out a mirror and looked at his reflection.
Although he was fifteen again, there was a significant difference between his current self and the fifteen-year-old he used to be.
Even if he returned to Red Fox Town with this appearance, no one would think he was the same Jiang Zuo from back then.
Jiang Zuo knew a large part of the reason for this change was that after years of Cultivation, his body had unknowingly undergone a massive transformation.
"This is good. It saves me the trouble of having to use a disguise."
Jiang Zuo was very pleased with this.
’I’ve returned to my youth, but my strength seems to have decreased?’
Jiang Zuo tested his strength and found that the punches he threw were noticeably weaker.
Jiang Zuo couldn’t figure out the reason. Theoretically, he should have become stronger.
’Could it be that returning to youth consumes my own energy? Or perhaps my body was somehow altered in the process, causing my strength to drop?’
Jiang Zuo had a few theories.
However, on his attribute panel, his attribute values hadn’t changed at all, so Jiang Zuo couldn’t make a definite judgment.
Shaking his head, Jiang Zuo didn’t dwell on it any longer. Instead, he took out the Life Essence Returning Skill Jade Stone.
『Conditions met. The Life Essence Returning Skill can be cultivated!』
The voice echoed in Jiang Zuo’s mind once more.
Holding the Jade Stone, Jiang Zuo felt a mysterious aura begin to circulate quietly within his body.
It was just as Wei Jiemie had said; he didn’t need to actively cultivate it, as the Jade Stone would operate on its own.
’Those two said this Jade Stone is the key to a Secret Realm. At a time like that, it’s unlikely they were lying. This Jade Stone also comes with its own Cultivation Technique. Even if it can open a Secret Realm, it would most likely require the Life Essence Returning Skill. There’s no harm in cultivating it.’
’If I can find that Secret Realm in the future, there might be subsequent Cultivation Techniques inside for becoming an Immortal.’
After sensing the Cultivation Technique’s operation and confirming it wouldn’t harm his body, Jiang Zuo allowed it to continue circulating within him.
Jiang Zuo felt that the Life Essence Returning Skill was on a much higher level than the Blood God Skill.
But this was only from the perspective of Inner Breath Cultivation.
Looking only at the Cultivation before the Meridian Passage stage, the Blood God Skill wasn’t actually bad.
It simply lacked the techniques for the Inner Breath and Innate Martial Artist levels, which made the Blood God Skill seem inferior to the Life Essence Returning Skill.
’I’ll have to wait for a chance to visit the Bu Family in the future to judge for sure.’
Wen Shulin and Zhuang Ruying had already integrated into life in the coastal town. With his business here concluded, Jiang Zuo didn’t linger any longer.
Changing into a fresh set of clothes, Jiang Zuo headed toward a large coastal city farther away.
Zhao Li was dead. A brand new life as a person named Qianhai was about to begin.
...
「Wangxiang Sea City.」
This was the largest coastal city in the East Sea, bustling with people and extraordinarily lively.
Jiang Zuo entered the city riding in a horse-drawn carriage.
Wangxiang Sea City had no walls, and its gates were merely for show; anyone could enter and exit as they pleased.
There was a Government Office in the city, but it didn’t manage much.
Therefore, although Wangxiang Sea City was large, its public security was poor. Gangs ran rampant, and local factions were numerous.
According to legend, Wangxiang Sea City had developed from a remote little fishing village. Because it was located on the border between the two nations of Cyan Seagull and Flying Eagle, the village had not been incorporated into either country’s territory and didn’t have to pay taxes to either one.
Coupled with its abundant marine resources and lack of taxes, the fishing village quickly began to develop rapidly.
Once the fishing village started to prosper, both the Cyan Seagull and Flying Eagle nations claimed the territory as their own.
The two nations came to blows over it, but after many years, with victories and losses on both sides, a careful calculation revealed that continuing to fight would result in a net loss, even if they won the large fishing village.
In the end, the two nations sat down to negotiate and finally decided that the fishing village would belong to neither country. Instead, they would take turns sending people to manage and collect taxes every five years, but the tax rules had to be jointly discussed and could not be decided unilaterally.
Essentially, each nation got to collect taxes from this place once every five years. As for how much they could collect, that depended on their respective abilities.
What neither nation ever expected was that this unintentional move of theirs would allow this slightly larger fishing village to develop into one of the largest coastal cities in the East Sea.
By now, however, there was little the two nations could do besides collect taxes.
Moreover, the annual tax revenue was substantial. Forcing a change might even cause Wangxiang Sea City to decline.
The result was that Wangxiang Sea City became the strangest city in the East Sea.
Its public security was clearly not good, yet it was extremely prosperous.
Of course, besides its peculiar system, there was another very important reason for Wangxiang Sea City’s prosperity.
Following the ocean currents from Wangxiang Sea City, one could reach a massive island.
The waters around that island were teeming with exceptionally rich marine life, and fishing boats that went there could almost always return with a full load.
It was this island that Jiang Zuo had come for.
The island was not only famous for its surrounding seafood; it was also home to a species of giant sea eagle.
Legend had it that if raised well, these giant sea eagles could carry a person in flight!
After confirming this information, Jiang Zuo immediately decided to come to Wangxiang Sea City.
The sea eagles were said to be very difficult to raise, and only if they were raised exceptionally well was there a chance they could carry a person in flight.
This suited Jiang Zuo perfectly.
If he wanted to grind his Beast Taming Reputation, these sea eagles were the perfect choice!