Ji Yuan's gaze fell on the fish pond; this time, the spirit fish that leveled up were the "Doghead Catfish" and the "Blood Spirit Carp."
The Blood Spirit Carp should fetch at least 1 more Spirit Stone.
"Two spirit fish, at least 35 Spirit Stones. The remaining 5 half-spirit fish together should also sell for around 8 Spirit Stones."
"That's another 43 Spirit Stones coming in. Even after subtracting the cost for buying more half-spirit fish, there should still be 30 left."
Ji Yuan couldn't help but look at the system panel.
Level 2 [Fish Pond] upgrade requirements: Low-grade Spirit Stones ×30, Cold Iron Sand ×5 catties, and engrave an Ice Condensation Talisman.
Maybe it's heaven being kind, or maybe it's because he's a fisherman by trade, but the level 2 [Fish Pond] doesn't require 50 Spirit Stones to upgrade unlike [Pigsty] and [Cave Mansion].
It only takes 30 Spirit Stones, which is enough.
Most importantly, after the fish pond is upgraded, it will yield 1 drop of Water Dew worth 8 Spirit Stones every day... That's steady income, way more reliable than waiting for half-spirit fish to level up or spirit pigs to grow.
8 per day, that's 80 in a week, 8000 in a month...
Just thinking about this "calculation," Ji Yuan was already grinning to himself.
Upgrade!
Must upgrade!
As for spells, he wasn't lacking right now, and even if he learned more, his cultivation at Qi Cultivation layer four wouldn't let him use them effectively.
Put simply, his mana bar is limited.
One "Artifact Manipulation Technique" to control a magical artifact, plus Water Drop Finger for normal attacks, is already enough.
Same goes for magical artifacts.
So, at the moment, the best use for these Spirit Stones is clearly to upgrade the [Fish Pond] and get steady Spirit Stone income.
This way, whatever he wants to do later will be much easier.
Just not sure how much this Cold Iron Sand costs, and on top of that, do I have to actually engrave the Ice Condensation Talisman myself... If I stick one on, would that work?
Or does it have to be hand-engraved?
If he has to do it himself, wouldn't that mean he needs to learn Talisman Painting?
Either way, I'll go ask about Cold Iron Sand at Zengtou City tomorrow.
After all, it's nearly dusk, and as night falls, the spiritual qi in the room gets thicker. With such good cultivation conditions, Ji Yuan isn't about to waste them.
The next morning, after a whole night of hard cultivation, Ji Yuan got up early.
First, he casually killed those two spirit fish with two fingers, then went to the door and summoned his White Boat Dharma Ship by the shore with a thought.
Finally, he didn't have to sit in that old black boat to sell fish anymore. Ji Yuan couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic.
It's a real upgrade from a shoddy gun to a proper cannon.
But before he could even board and get the fish onboard, a yawning middle-aged man came walking up the little path nearby—eyes bloodshot, dark circles under his eyes, even his walk was a bit unsteady, but there was no whiff of alcohol. Guess he just stayed up too late.
He first saw the Dharma Ship by the lake and his eyes lit up. Then, looking at Ji Yuan holding two spirit fish, he stopped in his tracks.
"Ji... Daoist Ji, off to sell fish?"
Deng Yunliang's eyes instantly cleared up a bit.
If the exquisite Dharma Ship made him a little envious, the two spirit fish in Ji Yuan's hands really woke him up.
In Zengtou City, anyone who can kill spirit fish is, without question, a mid-stage Qi Cultivator.
And not just any mid-stage—has to be one of the stronger ones. Not to mention Ji Yuan, who can kill two spirit fish in one go... A real badass, no doubt about it!
Deng Yunliang had buttered up plenty of those mid-stage Qi Cultivators in Zengtou City, but little did he know there was one hiding right by his side.
And so young too!
"Yeah, Daoist Deng, just got back from Zengtou City?"
Ji Yuan remembered Wu Qin's question from last time and wondered what Deng Yunliang had been up to.
"Yes, yes."
Deng Yunliang hurriedly nodded with a smile.
Ji Yuan just responded and didn't ask more. He wasn't really curious about others, as long as it didn't affect him. Then he went back inside to grab several more half-spirit fish—he planned to sell out the whole fish pond today.
Deng Yunliang, after entering the house, seemed to remember something, clenched his fist, turned around several times, and finally gave up.
"Forget it, I'll try again tonight!"
"I'll definitely turn the tables!"
As he mulled it over, another name popped into his mind... Lin Hu.
"..."
Ji Yuan went to the Fish Cage and sold off all the catch, earning even more than he'd expected—a full 44 Spirit Stones.
Nearby, quite a few fisherman turned to stare.
But this time he didn't hide his cultivation; letting out the aura of a mid-stage Qi Cultivator (even if it's only layer four) was enough to make those fishermen quietly back off.
Everyone's just here to make money—not worth risking their lives.
Then Ji Yuan didn't hurry to buy more fish, but first went to Hundred Treasures Tower.
"Cold Iron Sand?"
The Water Dragon Sect cultivator on duty looked Ji Yuan up and down with a half-smile.
"Yes."
"Do you have any Cold Iron Sand?" The Water Dragon Sect cultivator shot back.
"Uh..." Ji Yuan frowned. What a grumpy bastard, not like the kind old guy he met last time buying spells.
"Alright, if you don't have any, stop messing around here. Off you go."
The square-faced cultivator waved him away impatiently, so Ji Yuan could only leave with a cupped-fist salute.
But a blue-robed middle-aged woman from the nearby Talisman Area explained, "These days, Cold Iron Sand is in short supply at Water Dragon Sect. It's not even enough for the sect's own use, so how could there be any left on the market?"
"Here at Hundred Treasures Tower, we only buy, not sell. If you find any, you can bring it in—we'll buy at a premium, 15 Spirit Stones per catty."
"That expensive?!"
Ji Yuan couldn't help but stare in surprise.
15 Spirit Stones a catty… Even if he could buy it, five catties would cost 75 Spirit Stones, plus the 30 Spirit Stones needed to upgrade the [Fish Pond], that's 105 Spirit Stones altogether... Enough to trade for a mid-grade Spirit Stone!
A mid-grade Spirit Stone.
That's something only Foundation Establishment cultivators would have, right?
"What did you expect?"
The square-faced cultivator finally replied, "There's a Coldwater Area in the northwest of Zengtou City, called Qingbo Pond. You can find Cold Iron Sand near there. If you gather any, no matter how much, the Water Dragon Sect will buy it."
"Understood."
Ji Yuan cupped his hands to both of them and left Hundred Treasures Tower.
Before leaving, he asked around nearby and found out that as of half a year ago, Hundred Treasures Tower stopped selling Cold Iron Sand. Back then, it was much cheaper, only 5 Spirit Stones a catty—now the price has tripled and there's still not enough.
'Damn, what weird thing is Water Dragon Sect up to, needing so much Cold Iron Sand?'
The sudden change derailed Ji Yuan's plans, so he just bought 8 half-spirit fish and returned home.
The path to upgrading the fish pond is a no-go for now.
Unless he wants to go check Qingbo Pond himself, but Ji Yuan isn't looking for adventure at the moment.
For stable income, upgrading the pigsty works too—its daily Blood Essence output is even more valuable.
Just, that upgrade needs 50 Spirit Stones, plus 3 Corpse Rot Flowers, and has to engrave a Purification Rune.
He asked around about Corpse Rot Flowers while he was at it.
The answer: Zengtou City doesn't have them at all, would need to look in other markets, and if he could even find them, the price wouldn't be cheap.
[Fish Pond] and [Pigsty] both aren't options for now.
So... does he just have to put his plans on hold?
Ji Yuan looked at his system panel—maybe not.
The panel is called the Building Upgrade Panel. The current buildings available are just ones the original owner pretty much already had, but that doesn't mean the panel is limited to these upgrades.
For example, what about [Alchemy Room], [Artifact Refining Room], and the like?