Chapter 10: Mid-Stage Qi Refining
At first, Lin Jiang didn't take Lin Ying's words seriously, thinking, how much can two Shadiao eat? But a year later, when the two Shadiao started molting, their appetites grew dramatically. One Aurora Falcon could eat four to five kilograms of jerky in a day, even more than Lin Jiang himself.
And if they weren't fed enough, they would go to the fish pond and catch fish. One Silver Light Fish was worth fifteen spiritual beads, while a Silver Arrow Fish was worth thirty spiritual beads. Even with a slight lapse in attention, they could snatch away several. Lin Jiang felt so heartbroken that he would grab them and give them a good beating.
After getting beaten a few times, they realized they couldn't catch fish in the pond anymore, so they started causing trouble for the tenants in the estate by harming their poultry, such as chickens, ducks, geese, and rabbits. Lin Jiang was fair-minded and had to compensate the tenants for their losses.
After a year and a half, Aurora Falcon grew new feathers and learned how to fly. Its predatory features were fully exposed, and it could even hunt the goats on the ranch. Lin Jiang could hardly afford to feed them anymore, so he had to teach them how to hunt and harm the wildlife in the mountains.
"Sixth Brother, these two Aurora Falcons have become mythical creatures already. They should be at the lower first-grade level, similar to cultivators in the early stages of Qi Refining. If Sixth Brother trains them well, they will be able to assist you in future battles."
When Lin Die and Lin Ying returned to Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa, Lin Die looked up at the flying Aurora Falcons and said that she didn't expect Lin Jiang to have such patience and actually raise the Aurora Falcons.
"I hope so, but they eat too much. One Aurora Falcon can eat about ten kilograms of fresh meat in a day. If I have to feed them completely, I really can't afford it. They can eat a whole Iron-backed Pig in seven or eight days, which is not enough for them."
"Hehe, brother, now you understand the importance of listening to the advice of elders and avoiding immediate losses, right?"
Lin Ying put her hands on her hips and said in a bossy manner, "I've been telling you this for a long time, but you didn't listen. Whose fault is it?"
"So now I'm training them to hunt for their own food. The pressure is okay, and besides, I'm not poor anymore. This year, I developed fifty acres of spiritual land and plan to grow medicinal herbs with others."
Lin Jiang shrugged and pursed his lips. He didn't regret it. Although these two fellows ate a lot, they also brought him a lot of joy in the past two years and made his boring life more exciting.
"Can mortals like you cultivate spiritual herbs on your ranch?"
"Yes, I asked the elders in the tribe. I only plant the lower-grade Yellow Shoot Grass instead of those high-level spiritual herbs. I harvest once a year, and from one acre of land, I can earn around three pieces of spirit stone."
Lin Jiang said, "I have plenty of spiritual land, the area of Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa is very large. Within a radius of thirty li, it's all my territory. According to the elders, based on the spiritual veins of Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa, I can develop two thousand mu of spiritual land."
However, Lin Jiang didn't have enough manpower. Thirty mu of spiritual land was the limit for the current estate. If there was more, they'd have to squeeze the tenants like crazy. Lin Jiang was not that ruthless yet.
Yellow Shoot Grass was one of the main ingredients of the Qi Gathering Pill. It had a guaranteed market. Besides the seeds, Lin Jiang didn't spend any money on other materials. The income of three pieces of spirit stone per acre was a conservative estimate.
"Elder Huang in the family is a first-grade premium Spiritual Farmer. You should consult him and learn from him. If you succeed, your income can increase significantly. The higher your cultivation level, the more spiritual stones you need for your practice."
"I know that."
Lin Jiang nodded. Currently, he earned a little over five hundred spirit stones per year, but his expenses were actually quite low. He barely used money on his basic needs. The only thing he spent money on was buying Qi Gathering Pills.
However, Lin Jiang was too laid-back. He only practiced for two and a half hours a day. It took him three days to refine one Qi Gathering Pill, and then another three days to cleanse the impurities in his body. So, he only needed around five pills per month. One Qi Gathering Pill cost only two spirit stones. His annual consumption was only a little over a hundred spirit stones, so he could save money.
"When you reach the mid-stage of Qi Refining, you can buy some Energy Nourishing Pills to strengthen your foundation. Combined with Qi Gathering Pills, it will greatly improve your progress. Your cultivation speed is too slow."
Lin Die thought for a moment and said, "Lin Jiang is 38 years old and only at the third level of Qi Refining. He is the slowest in the Lin family in terms of cultivation speed. Little Nine is also five years younger than Lin Jiang and has already reached the fifth level of Qi Refining."
"Third Sister, the most important thing in life is to be happy. If practicing cultivation doesn't make me happy, then what's the point of doing it, right?"
"You have been protected by the family too well."
Lin Die said. Lin Jiang's primary focus in life was happiness, but hers was not. Just like Lin Batian, her top priority now was to ensure the safety and prosperity of the Lin family, to continue its legacy forever.
"For the country's life and death, we bear the responsibility of passing on the family legacy."
Lin Jiang had this sentence flash through his mind, but he didn't say it out loud. He quickly changed the topic. Every time they talked about cultivation, Lin Die always had a resentful attitude towards him, and Lin Jiang didn't really like it.
He knew Lin Die was looking out for him, but Lin Jiang had his own plans. His cultivation talent was poor, so he should focus on long-term planning. There was a saying, "Haste makes waste." If he became too impatient and rushed things, it would only lead to his aversion towards cultivation. He didn't know if he could improve his cultivation speed, but he was certainly afraid of losing control.
Lin Jiang really liked this kind of life now. No pressure, just spending each day practicing cultivation, tending to the fields, and feeding the birds. It was peaceful and there was no risk of losing control.
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Elder Huang was specially invited by Lin Batian as a Spiritual Farmer. Although his cultivation level was not high, he possessed various techniques in cultivation. The four major techniques in cultivation were Pill, Talisman, Item, and Formation. However, the other techniques were also important, such as spirit animal control and cultivating spiritual plants.
Originally, the required spiritual herbs for alchemy were collected from the wild. However, the production of wild spiritual herbs was very low and soon not enough for the cultivators. Therefore, the industry of Spiritual Farmers emerged, specializing in cultivating spiritual herbs and everything else needed for cultivation.
A skilled Spiritual Farmer was not inferior in status to an alchemist of the same level. In fact, due to their scarcity, their status could be even higher.
Lin Jiang wanted to grow spiritual herbs in the Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa, so he needed the help of a Spiritual Farmer. For this reason, Lin Jiang returned to Lin Jiang's sect and followed Elder Huang to learn the techniques of a Spiritual Farmer.
Lin Jiang was a person who respected knowledge and skills. Even though Elder Huang had promised to teach him generously, Lin Jiang still made great effort. He greeted Elder Huang every morning, brought him meals at noon, and hosted dinners in the evening, treating him to fine wine and delicious food, trying his best to please.
This attitude touched Elder Huang. Not only did he wholeheartedly teach Lin Jiang, but he also came to the Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa personally to help train the tenants, teaching them how to cultivate Yellow Shoot Grass.
After more than half a year of hard work, Lin Jiang finally learned how to cultivate Yellow Shoot Grass. In his fortieth year, Lin Jiang finally harvested his first batch of Yellow Shoot Grass. The income of the Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa this year also exceeded seven hundred spirit stones, bringing Lin Jiang great joy.
There was another happy event. In Lin Jiang's forty-first year, he finally broke through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining, reaching the fourth layer. The reason for his rapid progress was because since he went to Anhua City a few years ago, he had been buying high-quality Qi Gathering Pills from there. The price was more expensive, but the effect was better. Lin Jiang had enough money and had been using the pills from Anhua City.
The fourth layer of Qi Refining was a significant milestone in the cultivation world. With this cultivation level, one's spiritual power allowed them to fly on a sword and cast spells, no longer needing mortal techniques to fight and kill enemies.
Lin Jiang spent a month practicing swordsmanship until he became skilled. Then, he took his flying sword and went to the Lin Jiang Mountain Gate. It only took him a little over two hours to cover the distance of 800 miles.
"On the left, there's Big Shadiao, and on the right, Small Shadiao. Stepping on the flying sword, whee!"
Big and Small Shadiao flew alongside Lin Jiang and arrived swiftly at the Lin family mountain gate.
Lin Jiang couldn't afford to show any foolishness in front of Lin Batian anymore. After all, his shame as part of the Lin family had long been known outside. He came just to pay a visit to his dear mother.
Zhuang Rong, his dear mother, was getting close to sixty years old. She had been stuck at the ninth level of Qi Refining for many years, and she didn't have much motivation for cultivation anymore. Well, that's just how things were.
In recent years, Lin Jiang had been enthusiastic about finding a partner for himself. Either the women offered by the Lin family or the female cultivators from several other families that Lin family had good relations with were all potential candidates. He had already been on more than ten blind dates.
However, Lin Jiang always managed to mess things up every time. Well, succeeding in a blind date was difficult, but sabotaging it was easy. With his personality and image as a tough, macho man, he could scare away most women.
In this world, Lin Jiang had no intention of getting married, because he couldn't guarantee that his partner and their children would be able to stay with him forever. If he were to invest his emotions and eventually witness his partner and children growing old and dying in front of him, Lin Jiang believed it to be the cruelest thing in the world. So, he decided it was better to avoid it altogether.
As for physical needs, they were easily solved. There were countless servants in the manor who would gladly send their daughters to Lin Jiang's bed. However, Lin Jiang wasn't interested in them. Occasionally, he could easily spend some money and have an "hour-long romantic encounter" with a stranger female cultivator.
"Mom, I've come to see you."
Coming to Zhuang Rong's yard, Lin Jiang casually sat in front of Zhuang Rong. After so many years, Zhuang Rong had lost some of her enchanting charm and become dignified and elegant, with an air of nobility.
However, she hadn't aged at all. Not only did she take good care of herself on a daily basis, but she also spent a lot of money on the Appearance Fixing Pill to maintain her appearance in her thirties.
"Why are you so sweaty, child? Come, let me wipe off the sweat."
"Mom, I'm forty-one now, I'm not a child anymore."
"Even at forty-one, you're still a child to me, dear."
"Mom, today I came to discuss with you about living in the estate in the future. I want to take care of you."
"Um..."
"Mom, you have no one to socialize with now since Lin Ying is often secluded, either on missions for the Lin family or not seen for days or weeks. Mom, it gets so boring here. In Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa, I can accompany you every day."
Lin Jiang said sincerely, "Zhuang Rong has long stopped playing palace intrigue because she simply cannot compete. Lin Batian has a main wife who has been with him since the beginning, and he also has young and beautiful mistresses. How could Zhuang Rong ever be a rival?"
In the past, Lin Ying used to accompany her. But in the last few years, Lin Ying had become busier and busier. As one of the few Foundation Building Stage cultivators in the Lin family, Lin Ying had important duties to fulfill. Sometimes, she went into seclusion to cultivate, and other times she went on missions outside. She rarely visited the Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa anymore. As a result, Zhuang Rong couldn't help but feel a bit lonely.
And Lin Jiang truly wanted to be filial to Zhuang Rong. He was not a heartless person. Lin Jiang was well aware of Zhuang Rong's kindness towards him. On the other hand, his father barely visited once a year and had no emotional connection at all. So, he wanted to bring Zhuang Rong to Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa to spend her remaining years in peace.
Translator: Volume 2 has been translated and published on Amazon (https://amzn.to/3Ut5NRt).
Volume 3 will be translated within 2 - 3 weeks.
