Chapter 37
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Chapter 37: Five Elements Golden Fruit
After the previous incident, Wen Xing could no longer stay in East City Market—it was simply too embarrassing.
However, his alchemy skills were still impressive and well-known among Qi Refining Period cultivators.
So, even if he could no longer sell pills openly, he could still survive by selling them through a merchant, though at a lower price and with some losses.
This was his deserved punishment.
Wen Xing’s Name Resurfaces
For two consecutive months, there was no news about Wen Xing.
Then, suddenly—
His name resurfaced through a bounty issued by the Nalan family of the Zhonghang Sect.
“We were all deceived by Wen Xing! He’s not as honest as he seems!”
“He’s in cahoots with Nalan Yan from the Nalan family. Their goal was to steal the Five Elements Golden Fruit!”
Lin Jiang raised an eyebrow.
“The Five Elements Golden Fruit?”
Someone next to him nodded excitedly.
“Do you know about it? It’s a treasure that can help a cultivator advance to the Nascent Soul stage!”
Another vendor chimed in.
“I remember! A few years ago, during the Centennial Celebration in Yunzhong City, one of these fruits appeared!”
“Yeah! Someone offered a million spirit stones for it—but the seller refused. It later appeared in a Nascent Soul-level auction, and even the details of the transaction were kept secret!”
Lin Jiang was intrigued.
“The Five Elements Golden Fruit… can it really be part of a Nascent Soul auction?”
“Of course! Almost every Nascent Soul ancestor has descendants—but not all of them have great potential.”
“This fruit increases the chances of forming a golden core by 50% for cultivators in the Building Foundation Period! It’s crazy, right?”
Lin Jiang nodded slowly.
The Nalan Family’s Fury
“The Nalan family must be going crazy right now.”
“Crazy? They’re beyond crazy!”
“Not only are they using the full power of the Zhonghang Sect to track down Wen Xing, but they’ve also issued a massive bounty—two hundred thousand spirit stones!”
Lin Jiang listened carefully as the vendors continued their discussion.
It turned out that the Nalan family possessed a Five Elements Golden Fruit Tree, which took two hundred years to bear a single fruit.
This tree was the greatest treasure of the Nalan family, ensuring they could consistently produce golden core cultivators and maintain the prosperity of their clan.
But Wen Xing—
He had kidnapped Nalan Yan and manipulated her into stealing the Five Elements Golden Fruit.
Whether he had planned this for a long time or acted on impulse, no one knew.
But one thing was certain—
The Nalan family was furious.
They had used their influence within the Zhonghang Sect to launch a comprehensive search for Wen Xing.
Even in Yunzhong City, bounty hunters were being encouraged to capture him—
With a reward of two hundred thousand spirit stones.
This became the biggest news in Yunzhong City.
The Guards Arrive
As the vendors gossiped, someone suddenly shouted—
“The guards are here!”
A large group of Yunzhong City guards had arrived, standing on both sides of the market.
They quickly blocked the crowd in the middle.
Silence fell.
A guard captain stepped forward, holding a list.
“Now, I invite the Taoist friends whose names I am about to read to come forward. We have some matters to discuss with you.”
A vendor spoke up cautiously—
“Sir, may we inquire about the reason for this?”
The guard captain responded calmly.
“This is regarding the case of the independent cultivator, Wen Xing. You need not worry—we are only gathering information. You will not be imprisoned.”
Lin Jiang remained still.
Then, the guard read the first name on the list—
“Lin Yu.”
Lin Jiang sighed internally.
So, it had finally come to this.
Questioning Begins
Lin Jiang stepped forward.
Even the lowest-ranked guards in Yunzhong City were at Qi Refining Late Stage.
Running away was not an option.
More than ten people were called forward.
They were all independent cultivators and vendors who had been associated with Wen Xing.
Each person was interviewed separately.
When it was Lin Jiang’s turn, he followed a guard to the side.
“What is your relationship with Wen Xing?”
Lin Jiang remained calm and answered truthfully.
“We weren’t very close. We treated each other with kindness, helped each other with small favors, and built a good rapport.”
“So, you weren’t particularly close?”
“That’s right.”
The guard nodded and continued.
“Do you know when Wen Xing left Yunzhong City? And how he left?”
Lin Jiang shook his head.
“I don’t know. For the past few months, I’ve been in the city—selling goods during the day and practicing at night. I rarely leave.”
The guard narrowed his eyes slightly but didn’t press further.
Lin Jiang chose his words carefully.
He didn’t mention his last conversation with Wen Xing.
That day, Wen Xing had asked Lin Jiang to help him escape—
But Lin Jiang had firmly refused.
Now, he truly had no idea how Wen Xing managed to flee.
But one thing was certain—
Wen Xing had vanished.
Wen Xing’s Fate
Wen Xing had offended many people.
In Yunzhong City, no one dared to act against him.
However, if he were to leave the city, he would surely die.
So, he must have used some special means to escape—
But Lin Jiang truly didn’t know how.
The Guards’ Investigation
The guards asked a few more questions, but since Lin Jiang couldn’t provide any useful information, they let him go.
Most of the other vendors received the same treatment, and in the end, the guards returned empty-handed.
Once the guards left, people began whispering among themselves.
Something felt off.
“Why are they making such a big deal out of this?”
“Yeah! Wen Xing’s crimes weren’t serious enough for the guards to put in so much effort.”
“After all, the Nalan family isn’t that important compared to the Zhonghang Sect.”
But these were just speculations.
As lower-class cultivators, they didn’t know much about the real secrets behind this matter.
Wen Xing Disappears
The Yunzhong City guards searched for over a month—
But there was no trace of Wen Xing.
It was as if he had vanished from the world.
Slowly, people began to forget about him.
After all, with millions of people in Yunzhong City, there was never a shortage of fresh news.
The public’s attention quickly shifted to other matters.
And Lin Jiang?
He had long stopped caring about it.
Lin Jiang’s Focus
Now, Lin Jiang’s main goal was:
Cultivation and saving money.
He had set a small goal for himself—
To reach the Foundation Building stage before he turned two hundred.
The Path to Breakthrough
Cultivation starts easy but becomes progressively harder.
It had taken Lin Jiang more than ten years to reach the eighth level of Qi Refining.
He estimated that it would take him over twenty more years to reach the ninth level.
Only then could he enter seclusion to attempt his Foundation Building breakthrough.
Financial Planning
Lin Jiang wasn’t worried about acquiring Foundation Building Pills.
After selling Green Rock Pills, he still had over fifty thousand spirit stones.
After his battles with Mo Lin, Jiang Feng, and He Yunwei, he had looted tens of thousands of spirit stones along with valuable resources that he hadn’t sold yet.
His total assets were no less than one hundred thousand spirit stones.
Foundation Building Expenses
The price of Foundation Building Pills in Yunzhong City ranged between twenty to thirty thousand spirit stones.
However, Lin Jiang knew his own aptitude.
To ensure a successful breakthrough, he planned to buy at least two or three pills as preparation.
In addition to the cost of pills, he also needed to find a cave with abundant spiritual energy.
Despite his current wealth, Lin Jiang was still short on money.
But he had time.
His income and expenses were balanced, allowing him to save a small amount each year.
With several decades of careful accumulation, he believed he would have enough resources for the breakthrough.
Returning Home
After four hours at his market stall, Lin Jiang returned home.
As soon as he entered the house, two Shadiao came running toward him, wagging their tails excitedly.
They were clearly trying to please him.
Lin Jiang chuckled, reached into his storage bag, and pulled out two pieces of dried meat.
He tossed the meat to the Shadiao, who devoured it instantly.
A Growing Affection
After the incident with He Yunwei, Lin Jiang’s affection for Big Shadiao and Small Shadiao had deepened.
After all—
They had fought together and experienced life and death moments side by side.
So, at home, Lin Jiang let them roam freely.
Although he couldn’t allow them to spread their wings and fly, at least it was better than keeping them locked in a Spirit Beast Bag.
Raising Spirit Beasts is Expensive
Big Shadiao and Small Shadiao finished their food in just a few bites.
But they weren’t satisfied—
They stepped closer, begging for more.
Lin Jiang sighed.
“Alright, alright, I’ll give you more. But today’s meat is finished. I’ll buy more tomorrow.”
Raising these two creatures had become more expensive than ever.
The dried meat he fed them was now made from first-grade premium monster meat.
One spirit stone could only buy fifteen kilograms of it—
And that was barely enough for a single day’s meal for one Shadiao.
As a result—
Their annual feeding cost had skyrocketed to seven or eight hundred spirit stones!
No wonder the Lin family had given up on keeping them as Foundation Building offerings.
They were simply too costly.
Yet, despite everything—
Lin Jiang couldn’t bear to get rid of them.
After all these years, he had developed an attachment to them.
Upgrading His Cultivation Formation
After playing with Big Shadiao and Small Shadiao for a while, Lin Jiang entered his cultivation chamber.
Immediately, he felt a surge of spiritual energy.
This was because he had recently upgraded to a Second-Level Spirit Gathering Formation.
Compared to the first level, this formation was significantly stronger—
It absorbed more spiritual energy and greatly enhanced the refinement of spirit stones.
Lin Jiang glanced at the formation—
The thirty spirit stones he had placed that morning had already turned gray.
He picked one up, pinched it lightly—
And it crumbled into dust.
Cultivation Costs Are High
Lin Jiang sighed.
“Thirty spirit stones per day… nine hundred per month… over ten thousand per year… Cultivation is too expensive!”
He did the math.
He normally drew three first-grade premium spiritual talismans per day.
If he sold them all, he could earn around twenty-five or twenty-six spirit stones daily.
That meant an annual income of roughly nine thousand spirit stones—
Just enough to cover rent and daily cultivation expenses, with a few hundred left over.
But now, with the increased expenses of the Spirit Gathering Formation—
He was starting to feel the pressure.
So, he reduced the number of spirit stones in the formation to ten per day.
Even then, he would still be running a deficit by year’s end—
Meaning he’d have to make up for it elsewhere.
Investing in Strength
“Keeping spirit stones is meaningless. Using them wisely is what matters.”
Lin Jiang knew he needed to invest his resources into enhancing his strength.
His cultivation level had natural limits, so instead—
He relied more on external power.
He had high-quality flying swords and armor.
His spiritual talisman reserves were fully stocked.
Then—
His gaze slowly shifted to the playful Big Shadiao and Small Shadiao outside.
A Worthwhile Investment
After decades of raising them, both Shadiaos had reached the peak of the first stage—
Equivalent to the perfect state of the Qi Refining Period.
They were on the verge of breaking through to the second stage.
Lin Jiang hesitated.
“How many resources would it take to push them to the early second stage?”
After a moment, he made his decision—
“I should find out the cost. If it’s reasonable, I’ll invest in Big Shadiao and Small Shadiao.”
