NOVPUB
Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Body Refinement Realm
Li Quanqing picked up the Longevity Turtle, which, although newly hatched, was already comparable in size to an ordinary sea turtle.
Its appearance was more similar to that of a land turtle, its emerald-green shell as translucent and glistening as jade, with surfaces covered in clear and exquisite golden patterns.
Its four sturdy and powerful limbs were clad in dark green scales, with its head slightly round and blunt, resembling that of a python, and its pitch-black eyes were bright and spirited.
No matter how you looked at it, it gave off a lazy vibe.
He placed the Longevity Turtle on the reef, ready to take out food to feed it.
Crack crack!
Suddenly, a Copper-armored Crab nearby approached, brandishing its pincers and clamping onto the turtle’s shell, making loud banging noises.
Hiss hiss!
On the other side, Azure Water Pythons were also watching the commotion with interest, coiling their slender bodies, flicking their tongues, and enjoying the spectacle as if they never shied away from a bit of drama.
The Longevity Turtle, still unfazed, pulled its head and limbs into its shell, lying motionless there.
"Have these Copper-armored Crabs reached their rebellious phase, wanting to clamp down on anything they see?"
Li Quanqing, helpless, picked up the crab youngsters one by one and tossed them far into the water.
Faced with the food placed before it, the Longevity Turtle still remained indifferent, its eyes half-closed, as quiet as a stone.
On the other hand, those Azure Water Pythons smelled the fragrant food and were eager to move.
Li Quanqing decided to go feed the school of fish first and come back later to check.
He caught 8 Azure Water Pythons in his hand, each one prettier than the last, cool to the touch, coiling in a particularly comfortable way.
"Aw aw~"
While enjoying the master’s massage, the Azure Water Pythons lay in the crook of his arm, eating and drinking heartily, reaching the peak of snake life.
After feeding all the fish, the night had fallen and the stars shone brilliantly.
Li Quanqing looked towards the reef and noticed not only the food was gone, but also the Longevity Turtle was nowhere to be seen.
In a hurry, he searched and finally found the creature at the bottom of the water, lying in the mud without a move.
Seemingly aware of the prying eyes, the Longevity Turtle peeked at him through the gap in its shell and then continued to rest with its eyes closed.
"Really... what a peculiar Demon Beast!"
Li Quanqing shook his head and couldn’t be bothered to interfere anymore, deciding to just let it be.
It seemed easy enough to raise anyway; after all, it’s not like he could overfeed a turtle to death, right?
...
[Harvested an adult Green Fish, rewarded with four pieces of Spirit Sand!]
[Harvested an adult Green Fish, rewarded with a Low Grade Water Arrow Talisman!]
[Harvested an adult Green Fish, rewarded with a miniature Spiritual Energy Group!]
Li Quanqing sailed through the fishpond, continuously scooping up Green Fish, his expressionless face cold like that of a butcher who had slaughtered fish for ten years.
Although they had suffered through a bug invasion, fortunately, five to six hundred adult Green Fish remained, now collectively entering their maturity.
[Harvested a Qi Refinement Realm Green Fish, rewarded with a Water Element Shield Experience Group!]
Li Quanqing suddenly raised his eyebrows, obtaining a light group reward he had never seen before.
Had a Green Fish become a Demon Beast?
The youth crushed the light group, experience after experience flooded his mind, fully comprehended, and then pointed with his hand.
With the surge of the waves, five layers of Water Element Shields condensed, one after another, wrapping around the Green Fish.
This Green Fish was vibrantly colored, its body significantly larger, and amidst its scales, streaks of Demon Energy circulated and blossomed; it had indeed become a Demon Beast.
It was now very similar to the Green Jade Carp.
"Indeed worthy of a B rank fishpond, brimming with Spiritual Energy, allowing Green Fish to cultivate into demons."
Li Quanqing was very satisfied, touching all the Green Fish, and harvested two that had undergone Monster Transformation, both experience groups.
He then looked towards the twenty Green Jade Carps: "Line up, let me touch you all, have you been slacking off again?"
Over a hundred little Green Jade Carp surfaced and blew bubbles, already grown to the size of a palm, spreading out into a large mass and looking quite crowded.
[Fish Life Slacking]Green Jade Carp: "Cultivate? Cultivate my ass! Never in this lifetime—every day I wake up to good food, why push myself to suffer?"
[Cultivation: Qi Refinement First Layer (9.9%)]
Li Quanqing watched, grinding his teeth; very good, one reserved seat in Zone C’s comfortable fishpond!
[Boss is Mighty]Green Jade Carp: "When the boss cultivates, I cultivate; the boss is my god!"
[Cultivation: Qi Refinement First Layer (35%)]
Not bad, a promising material, you’ve passed!
In the end, after careful selection, together with Ao Qing, six Green Jade Carps were left to continue cultivating in the B rank fishpond until the Qi Refinement Middle Stage.
Moo Moo!
The Green Jade Carps that failed to make it through the trial stared with their foolish and innocent dead fish eyes, still oblivious to what was about to happen.
Their days of lying flat and slacking were about to come to an end.
Carrying the fish basket to Zone C Sea Area, Li Quanqing had just opened the Array when he saw several pitch-black little loaches frolicking among the reefs.
Upon seeing a stranger intruding, the loach fry, like startled rabbits, zoomed into the water and disappeared in an instant.
Could these be the fry of the Stone Spirit Loach?
Li Quanqing’s heart leapt with joy. He hadn’t expected these critters to give him such a big surprise without making a peep.
Taking out a Water-Repelling Pearl, Li Quanqing scoured the entire pond floor clean, ultimately capturing 49 Stone Spirit Loach fry. 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝔭𝖚𝖇.𝔠𝔬𝖒
Due to the pond’s vast emptiness and large area, with no competing life forms, each one grew shiny, fat, and long.
He collected these loach fry, planning to raise them in Zone B ponds for convenient feeding and management.
Moo Moo~
With their living environment suddenly becoming so harsh, the Green Jade Carps immediately began to protest, vigorously spitting out Water Arrows with ’pfft pfft’ sounds.
"Resistance is futile, the first to break through to the second layer of Qi Refinement will be allowed to return!"
Li Quanqing, heartless, directly closed the Array, deciding to feed them every few days.
With Spiritual Energy nourishment, they wouldn’t starve anyway, and it was even enough to support the Green Jade Carps’ cultivation.
As time passed day by day, the newly acquired Zone B pond gradually transformed into a familiar shape.
The fastest to grow were still the Copper-armored Crabs.
Demon Beasts of the crab family naturally have short growth cycles, coupled with various precious ores and fragments of Magic Artifacts poached from the Artifact Hall.
These Gluttonous Crabs were fed until they became plump and domineering.
The growth rate of the Azure Water Pythons was also not slow. With their naturally cold reptilian nature, they followed the Green Jade Carps every day, swallowing Moonlight, also scraping up quite a few benefits.
The Longevity Turtle was the slowest, only gaining 1% Maturity each month, rendering one speechless and choking back words.
Six months later, in the depths of the Artifact Refining Hall.
Li Quanqing’s hands formed Seals, like butterflies flitting through flowers, placing the last Rune on the surface of the Sword Embryo in front of him.
Clang Clang!!
A Green Carp Sword leaped out of the fire, its robust Spirit Light flickering ceaselessly, finally all retracting, returning to simplicity.
A Mid Grade Magical Artifact!
"Junior brother’s talent in Artifact Refining is truly astonishing!"
Next to him, the sole audience member, Li Quanlin, could not help but exclaim in amazement.
He handed over a High Grade Magical Artifact, the "Green Scale Shield," which had been prepared well in advance, to the young man.
Li Quanqing received the Green Scale Shield, his final weak point for competing in the family clan competition finally filled in.
"Did I hear right that senior brother has also signed up for the competition?"
"Yes, while I may not be skilled in duels of magic, I have to put up a fight in the Artifact Refining competition."
The Li Family’s clan competition featured many events, not just the most common duels of magic, but also Cultivation Hundred Arts and various other smaller competitions.
"This time the Hall Master has really invested a lot, specially requesting a Tonghua Pill from the family as the prize for the champion of the Artifact Refining competition."
Li Quanlin smiled and said, "If Junior Brother is not skilled enough, don’t blame Senior Brother for taking this Elixir."
Li Quanqing was astonished. The Tonghua Pill could assist cultivators at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement to make their breakthrough to the later stages. It was precious and scarce.
Was the Hall Master preparing it especially for him?
Returning to the fish pond, Li Quanqing hugged the Green Scale Shield, carefully examining it and pondering over the embedded Artifact Refining techniques.
Only Cultivators under the age of thirty were eligible to participate in the competition.
He was well aware of the level of those Artifact Refiners; only his senior brother Li Quanlin was his biggest adversary.
"Senior brother has long been a First Rank Middle Grade Artifact Refiner, are you preparing to break through to High Grade now?"
Li Quanqing stroked his chin.
To win the championship, the Mid Grade Green Carp Sword was simply not up to par; only by refining a Top Grade Magical Artifact could he securely take first place.
The pressure was truly mounting.
Another month passed, and only half a month remained until the competition.
The Green Jade Islands were abuzz with excitement, and all the Li Clan members were eagerly discussing the event during their off time.
Yet the fish pond remained as quiet as ever.
On a night as tranquil as those of the past, a Copper-armored Crab quietly reached maturity.
[Harvested a Copper-armored Crab at Qi Refining Early Stage, rewarded with the Body Refinement Technique ’Glazed Jade Bone Body’!]
