NOVEL NEXT Ch. 50
Chapter 50: Jade Sword Fish
In the Immortal Alliance, gold was not considered valuable.
A single spirit stone could purchase hundreds or even thousands of catties of gold. What was truly expensive was the Purple Coral Stone.
The Purple Coral Stone was a dark purple color, its surface covered with fine ripple-like patterns and had a cool touch.
It was mostly found deep under the sea and was classified as a First-Tier water-attribute exotic material.
When consumed regularly by water-type spirit beasts, it could promote metabolism, nourish the bones, and shorten the growth cycle, making it quite pricey.
A single catty of Purple Coral Stone was priced at one Spirit Yuan on the Immortal Alliance Official Website, and a water-type spirit beast cub needed to consume at least three pieces a day to accelerate its growth.
By that calculation, the Golden Egg’s monthly food expense amounted to 90 Spirit Yuan, equivalent to half a year’s salary of his parents—completely unaffordable for ordinary cultivators.
Thus, the vast majority of cultivators would choose Blue Coral Gravel as a substitute.
Blue Coral Gravel was inexpensive, with a thousand catties costing only one lower-grade spirit stone.
However, this non-tiered stone was vastly inferior to Purple Coral Stone. It could neither nourish the body of a water-type spirit beast nor shorten the growth cycle—only barely enough to stave off hunger.
“Eat more.” Chen Beiwu stuffed half a catty of gold and two pieces of Purple Coral Stone into Golden Egg’s mouth.
A genius should be treated like a genius—how could one Purple Coral Stone be enough for Golden Egg’s development?
“Gulp.”
Under the guidance of Chen Beiwu’s divine sense, Golden Egg activated his innate spiritual art, Sea-Absorbing Spiritual Technique. A faint golden light radiated from his scales.
Before long, a quarter of an hour passed.
As the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged through the cave abode, Golden Egg’s belly puffed up, and his fish body visibly lengthened by half a foot.
“Not bad, gained another year of cultivation.” Chen Beiwu nodded slightly.
The spirit stones he had spent had not disappeared; they had been converted into Golden Egg’s cultivation years.
That was the power of spending money!
If he had Golden Egg feed on Blue Coral Gravel every meal, it wouldn’t increase cultivation—he’d probably be crying hunger every day instead.
The next morning.
Chen Beiwu opened his eyes, ending a night of cultivation, and returned to the Immortal Alliance.
He pulled out his phone and bought a ticket online for a Fuxi Train heading to Anyi County.
Taking the train via transfer at Pingchen Township to Anyi County took about two hours.
Anyi County wasn’t located in Fallen Dragon Mansion, but rather in the southern part of Wuyan Prefecture. It was a well-known spiritual material cultivation base within Tianyan Commandery, famous for producing numerous semi-wild spiritual materials such as Ganoderma, Dragon Head Dendrobium, and Yellow Tail Dendrobium.
After boarding the train, to pass the time, Chen Beiwu pulled out his phone and began browsing the Immortal Alliance Official Website for unpopular Mixed-Grade Cultivation Methods.
These Mixed-Grade Cultivation Methods would have been rare cultivation techniques during the ancient desolate era.
But in the era of the Immortal Alliance, their value was almost nil, as they couldn’t be cultivated alongside Companion Beasts, and no cultivator was willing to train in them.
Carefully picking out five relatively ordinary Five Elements of Foundation Establishment methods, Chen Beiwu suddenly heard the sound of high heels near his ears.
“Tap!”
“Tap!”
“Tap!”
As the sound drew closer, a mature figure with a slender frame suddenly came into Chen Beiwu’s view.
She had a slim waist and wore a dark-blue business suit. A badge was pinned at the collar. She had beige silk stockings on her legs and wore 5 cm matte black high heels.
‘That’s the scent of ebony agarwood.’
Chen Beiwu’s gaze flickered slightly and happened to meet a pair of slightly upturned phoenix eyes.
“Excuse me.” She smiled gently, dimples faintly appearing.
Chen Beiwu silently stood up and made way for her, watching as she sat next to him, then took his seat again and resumed browsing Mixed-Grade Cultivation Methods on the Immortal Alliance Official Website.
“Bzzz bzzz!” The phone rang.
“Understood. I’ll arrive this afternoon.”
Not paying attention to the woman beside him chatting, Chen Beiwu finished selecting the last cultivation method, closed his eyes, and gradually emptied his thoughts.
Soon, the train arrived. Chen Beiwu got off and checked into a hotel near Anyi County.
…
Biyuan Market, in front of Exotic Fish Studio.
“Senior, this is the Phoenix Yellow Dendrobium you requested.”
Seeing the familiar figure, Wanwan’s eyes lit up. She trotted over and pulled a burlap sack from her storage pouch.
Sweeping his divine sense over it, Chen Beiwu couldn’t help but twitch.
Inside the burlap sack, top-quality Phoenix Yellow Dendrobium was piled like cabbage, emitting a faint, elegant fragrance.
He reached out, broke off the stem of one, and slowly pulled it apart. The drawn fiber stretched over a foot.
This quality of Phoenix Yellow Dendrobium could be called Dragon Head Dendrobium back at the Immortal Alliance.
“Very good. Here’s the remaining payment.” Chen Beiwu nodded in satisfaction and tossed out three spirit stones.
“Thank you, Senior.” Wanwan beamed as she received the spirit stones, then tentatively asked, “Would you need more Phoenix Yellow Dendrobium?”
Chen Beiwu placed the burlap sack into his storage pouch and replied casually, “If I need more, I’ll look for you.”
Hearing this, Wanwan was delighted.
If Chen Beiwu came back with a few more orders, she could save enough spirit stones to buy the mid-volume of the Water Transformation Manual.
“Senior, would you like to browse Spirit Fish Studio?” she asked enthusiastically.
What was an Exotic Fish?
They were entirely different from ordinary river fish—fish bearing anomalies were considered Exotic Fish.
There were many types of Exotic Fish, generally divided into two categories.
One type had extremely fresh and delicious taste, beloved by food connoisseurs, and was moderately priced.
The other kind had remarkable effects, capable of assisting cultivators in Qi Refining, and were expensive.
Chen Beiwu nodded slightly without refusal.
Relying solely on Phoenix Yellow Dendrobium to earn spirit stones was too slow. He wanted to add another income source.
As Wanwan led him into Exotic Fish Studio, a faint scent of osmanthus greeted him—completely absent was the usual fish market stench.
Glancing sideways, Chen Beiwu saw that on both sides of the shop, dozens of fish of varying colors were swimming in glass tanks.
“The fish in the left tank are the more delicious types, with a wide variety.
The ones on the right are rare species that help water-attribute root cultivators improve their Qi Refining cultivation. Thus, they’re fewer in number and more expensive,” Wanwan explained.
Chen Beiwu swept his gaze toward the right and found those Exotic Fish were all common species within the Immortal Alliance. There was no profit to be made, so buying them would be a waste.
Just then, an Exotic Fish in the left tank caught Chen Beiwu’s eye.
It was a fully grown Jade Scale Fish, about two feet long, with semi-transparent dorsal and tail fins. Its entire body was covered in silvery-white scales, which from afar resembled a translucent jade sword.
[Species]: Jade Sword Fish
[Price]: Twenty Spirit Stones (per fish)
[Description]: Exquisitely fresh and delicious, a rare gourmet delicacy in the mortal realm.
Looking at the price tag annotated by Exotic Fish Studio, Chen Beiwu was slightly stunned.
So cheap—it was his first time seeing Jade Sword Fish sold by the piece.
In the Immortal Alliance, Jade Sword Fish were known as Jade Scale Fish and classified as First-Tier spiritual creatures.
Due to the difficulty of farming them and their exquisite taste, they were considered an irresistible delicacy by gourmets. Their price was so outrageous that even Chen Beiwu had heard rumors.
It was no exaggeration to say that a fully wild Jade Scale Fish in the Immortal Alliance started at one hundred lower-grade spirit stones per catty.
Some premium-quality specimens could sell for up to three hundred spirit stones per catty, placing their value near Second-Tier spiritual creatures—far beyond the reach of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators.
“Pack this one up for me. I want it alive.” Chen Beiwu said without hesitation.