Hearing the words "keep people safe," Ji Yuan seemed to see Old Man Huang's broken soul on this Dharma Ship cursing and swearing.
Ji Yuan wasn't sure if the cultivator in front of him was the one who killed Old Man Huang.
But since even his Dharma Ship had ended up here, the man... was most likely dead and gone.
Ji Yuan rummaged through his pockets, gave a bitter smile, "Kinda broke these days, so I'm just browsing."
The long-faced cultivator didn't look down on him, instead he smiled, "Look all you want, looking doesn't cost Spirit Stones. If you don't buy, nobody cares. Take your time browsing."
It was rare to meet a Fisherman with this kind of personality, so Ji Yuan really squatted down for a good look.
"My name's Feng Yidao. What's yours, friend?" Daoist Feng cupped his fists and tried to make conversation.
"Just Ji Yuan, nice to meet you, Daoist Feng."
Ji Yuan watched for a bit, then got up and left.
It was almost time to pay the Immortal Residence fee again, and even though Ji Yuan had Spirit Stones, he still preferred to be cautious.
Back home, he did a quick check to make sure the Fish Pond and Pigsty were all fine, then put away the Spirit Stones and headed to the neighboring Lin Family.
Ji Yuan didn't mention Old Man Huang was dead, just said he'd seen his Dharma Ship being sold off.
Lin Hu just threw his head back and let out a furious roar.
"Heaven has eyes!!!"
The next day, people from the Water Dragon Sect came to collect the Immortal Residence fee. Unlike last time, Ji Yuan actually paid next month's fee in advance.
This way, they wouldn't be coming to bother him again next month.
As for Spirit Stones, Ji Yuan produced some every day, but he was afraid of getting targeted by the sect cultivators.
So the less he interacted with them, the better.
For the next few days, he devoted himself entirely to training the Water Drop Finger. To be honest, it wasn't hard to get started—Ji Yuan managed to learn the basics in a single day.
But what was hard was everything after that.
Every time he used Water Drop Finger, it felt like his ten fingers were being pinned to a cutting board and stabbed with needles over and over. When the technique was about to take shape, it was like the needle went straight into his nail beds.
Yet after the technique dispersed, his fingers showed no sign of injury at all.
No wonder nobody bothered with this crappy technique... Ji Yuan had no choice but to put it aside for now. He'd have to wait until the Spirit Pig matured, temper his body, and then come back to it.
Five days passed in a blink.
Ji Yuan dealt with a batch of failed Half-Spirit Fish and bought a new batch of Spirit Fish.
While he was at it, he bought a blue-yellow chicken from a Chicken Cultivator.
This way, he could eat seven Spirit Eggs a day. After his cultivation breakthrough, his refining ability naturally shot up as well.
The old six-eggs-a-day routine was no longer a chore.
On that same day, Ji Yuan looked at the Spirit Pig in the Pigsty—almost two hundred pounds—and felt... the urge to kill.
The best move would be to send it to Luo Tong for processing—convenient and less wasteful.
But Ji Yuan didn't dare; he'd have to handle it himself. Standing next to the Pigsty in the backyard, he stared at the unmoving Spirit Pig.
He raised his hand—a dark blue Water Arrow appeared in his palm.
"Go!"
He gave a soft shout, tossed his right hand forward—the Water Arrow sliced neatly through the Spirit Pig's neck. It struggled a bit, then went completely still.
Ji Yuan quickly grabbed a wooden bucket he'd prepared and jumped into the Pigsty to catch the blood.
After that, things were easy. This was just a pig slaughter—for his own meal, so as long as it was clean, it was fine.
That morning, he specially cooked himself a big pot of Spirit Pig meat. As for the blood, he didn't dare drink it raw—made blood tofu instead.
The flavor? Frankly pretty good.
At first he felt nothing, but halfway through eating, he suddenly started to feel hot all over.
It was like being boiled alive—scalding.
Pearl-sized drops of sweat poured out.
At first it was just heat, but soon the whole body began to sting. Ji Yuan struggled to eat through it.
After three or five breaths, he couldn't take it anymore—he slipped from his chair and collapsed on the floor, curled up.
"Fuck!"
"So this is Body Tempering? Jesus, this is not a life fit for humans."
For a while, Ji Yuan seriously regretted this path, but for the sake of power, there was no other option—he could only grit his teeth and soldier through.
Hurt for a while, eat for a while, eat for a while, hurt for a while.
Soon after, he noticed a foul stench—looking at his arm, he saw it was covered in a layer of sludge-like grime.
"Is this... Washing Marrow?"
Ji Yuan knew it happened during Foundation Establishment, but he'd never thought Body Tempering could do the same. Clenching his fists, he felt a burst of raw power.
He couldn't care about cleanup—rushed off to wash himself and put on a fresh set of clothes. Only then did he stand before the Water Mirror to examine the changes.
He looked even more handsome, his skin smoother and paler.
If before he still looked a bit like a Fisherman weathered by sun and wind, now he was straight up a pampered rich kid.
In other words, he finally had a bit of that Cultivator style.
Having tasted the benefits, for the next four or five days Ji Yuan didn't go anywhere—not even to process the Half-Spirit Fish that evolved into Spirit Fish.
He stayed home to eat meat, and as long as it wouldn't kill him, he just kept eating for all he was worth.
Luckily, being a Cultivator plus the fact that the Spirit Pig was imbued with Spiritual Qi meant the cultivation technique could refine it.
Day after day, Ji Yuan ate up that entire two-hundred-pound Spirit Pig by himself, and the results of Body Tempering became clear.
The physical boost was one thing—more importantly, take Water Drop Finger for example.
Now he could use it painlessly; one flick and a powerful sword finger shot out. He'd tested it on the water outside his door.
The Water Drop Finger hitting the surface would send a wide spray of water.
If that landed on someone, it'd make a big hole with just one hit... And compared to the obvious Water Arrow Technique, this one barely used any power and was easy to conceal.
Perfect for surprise attacks.
After finishing a Spirit Pig, Ji Yuan didn't want to touch another one for a while—just thinking of the taste made him want to puke.
He rested at home for a day, then took a Spirit Fish to Zengtou City.
As expected, he sold it for eighteen Spirit Stones, bringing his total to a nice round twenty. With plenty of techniques on hand, Ji Yuan decided to save the Spirit Stones for now.
Later he could decide whether to upgrade the Fish Pond to level 2, or buy a Magical Artifact for protection.
Before heading home, he suddenly heard a crowd in Zengtou City spreading some news.
The battle on Maple Island... was over!
Zengtou City, Taian Square, and Jingde Square all got nothing; in the end, all the Foundation Establishment Immortal Mansion's rewards went to one Foundation Establishment cultivator who came from Water Dragon Sect.
The other Fishermen had just gone for nothing.
For folks like Lin Youwei and his wife... they died for nothing.
Ji Yuan heard the news and stood there for a long while before walking back to his shack by the water.
High-level cultivators see lower ones as ants; Sect Disciples also see Loose Cultivators as ants... Ji Yuan couldn't help recalling a line he'd read in his last life.
The real Cultivation Realm has no complicated ranks—only three titles.
Senior, Daoist Friend, and Ant.
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