Lotus leaves gently swayed as lotuses blossomed in full glory.
Li Quanqing stood on the water's surface, scattering handfuls of feed into the pond with the breeze.
Thousands of fish jostled for food, causing the water surface to brim with their bamboo-green backs.
The sparkling ripples were a beautiful sight.
Despite the lure of the feed, a dozen or so stubborn adult blue fish kept spitting water arrows.
Each one did so with such gusto, their eyes seemingly expressing delight.
"Blimey, you're all turned upside-down. I'll sell you all in a couple of days and swap you for Spirit Stones!"
These big blue fish weren't worth much, just one piece of spiritual sand each.
A hundred pieces of spiritual sand could then be exchanged for one low-grade Spirit Stone.
The true star product of the Li Family was actually a type of Demon Beast known as the Green Jade Carp.
Moo! Moo!
A dull mooing resounded, and the school of fish suddenly became restless, parting the water as if an alpha had appeared.
Two Green Jade Carps leisurely surfaced, standing out like stars cupped in the moon's embrace, their scales gleaming under the sunlight like jade.
They were not very large, about the length of a small arm, but their scales were wrapped in threads of Demon Energy and brimmed with intelligence.
The difference between Green Jade Carps and big blue fish was like that between Cultivators and mortals.
They may look similar on the outside, but inside they are worlds apart.
Upon seeing the two Spirit Fish, Li Quanqing couldn't help but smile and took out specially prepared high-quality feed for them.
The Green Jade Carp was quite valuable, its flesh rich in Spiritual Energy and even tastier than Spirit Rice.
Its blood could be used to make spirit ink, while its bones and tendons could be processed into Bone Healing Ointment.
The thin yet hard scales with good Mana conductivity were natural materials for crafting Magic Artifacts.
A Qi Refining Early Stage Green Jade Carp could easily sell for a high price of 3 to 10 Spirit Stones.
These two, one male and one female, were part of the benefits provided by the Clan.
Every Li Clan member was given a pair of male and female fish fry for free upon reaching the age of fifteen.
After that, any more would cost Spirit Stones or Family Contribution Points.
Having fed the two young Green Jade Carps, Li Quanqing carefully stroked their scales.
[Optimistic and Cheerful]Green Jade Carp: "I feel even prettier, when can we have babies～"
[Maturity: 98%]
[Fish Life Slacking]Green Jade Carp: "Eat, eat, eat～ Sleep, sleep, sleep～ That was close, almost starved to death just now!"
[Maturity: 94%]
This was another function of Li Quanqing's Golden Finger.
As soon as he touched a Spiritual Beast, he could see their mental state and maturity.
The reason he didn't use it on the big blue fish was naturally because there were too many of them.
A bunch of worthless creatures, let them live wildly and grow on their own.
Watching the adult male Green Jade Carp devour the high-quality feed, Li Quanqing's fists involuntarily clenched.
Eat, eat, all you know is to eat!
You eat so much every day, why is your maturity still not going up!
As a stubborn Demon, you're banned from slacking!
If Spirit Fish don't work hard, how am I to save enough Spirit Stones to become an Artifact Refiner?
Li Quanqing then touched the beautiful female Green Jade Carp and suddenly found it much more pleasing.
Not only was it growing fast, but it also considered its master's needs everywhere.
When it finally spawns, there'd be no need to buy fish seeds from the Clan, saving a lot of Spirit Stones.
Feeding the twenty-acre fish pond was done, and over an hour had passed.
Li Quanqing understood the importance of Cultivation and wasted no time, beginning to cultivate with the Spiritual Energy from the fish pond.
Unfolding the Scroll!
He sat cross-legged on the Lotus Platform, his eyes slightly closed, his mind turned towards the heavens, and strands of Spiritual Energy entered his body one after another with each breath through his mouth and nose.
In this world, the Human Clan is born with Five Spirit Roots, but there is a difference in their strength and weakness.
Li Quanqing has a Middle Grade Water Attribute Spirit Root and Low Grade Gold and Wood Attribute Spirit Roots.
As for the Fire and Earth Attributes, they are negligible, undetectable even by the Spirit Testing Platform.
If all Five Spirit Roots are negligible and one also lacks any special physique, then they are ordinary people with no chance to tread the Immortal Path.
Gold generates Water; the Basic Cultivation Method Li Quanqing is practicing from the Li Family is the Golden Water Technique.
If he wants to succeed in Foundation Establishment in the future, he would have to switch to a more advanced Daoist Magic Spirit Formulas.
When the cultivation session ended, it was already way past dawn.
"Half a day's cultivation is merely equivalent to one-third of a Spiritual Energy Group."
Li Quanqing sighed inwardly as he took out the prepared dry rations to settle his lunch.
With his talent, if he doesn't cheat, Qi Refining Perfection would likely be his limit.
"Quanqing, are you having a meal just now?"
Outside the fish pond, someone shouted his name through the Array, with an all-too-familiar voice.
Li Quanqing raised his eyes and his heart sank immediately, a foreboding feeling arose.
Why has this guy come?
The visitor was a thin middle-aged man with a gloomy demeanor, holding two large Green Jade Carps by the bow of the boat.
The corners of his eyes and brows exuded a sense of deep dissatisfaction with life.
"The nephew has grown up and does not recognize his uncle?"
Li Yuheng touched the firm and cold Array in front of him, squeezing out a smile on his face.
The thought of that newly emerged Ancient Cave Mansion made his heart burn with impatience, wishing he could board the Spirit Boat and rush into it right now.
"Uncle, do you need something from me?"
Li Quanqing opened the Array to let him in, his expression indifferent, his smile cool.
The original owner's parents were both from the Li Clan. His father came from a common family and stepped onto the Immortal Path after discovering his Spirit Root.
His mother, however, was from the true Li Clan's Immortal Lineage; it is heard that their ancestors once had a Great Cultivator who achieved Foundation Establishment, although it has long since declined.
The man in front of him was his maternal uncle, with whom he had very little interaction since he had memory.
Li Yuheng slipped into the fish pond, rubbing his hands together, coughing: "You see, the fish catch has been bountiful recently, and your aunt specifically asked me to bring some for my nephew to try."
Looking at the lively Green Jade Carps, Li Quanqing sighed, "Uncle, just say what you want to say."
Li Yuheng's expression turned slightly awkward, revealing an embarrassed smile: "An Immortal Mansion has emerged offshore, your uncle wants to make a venture, but... I am a bit short on Spirit Stones..."
Exploring the relics of the ancients is no simple affair.
Magic Artifacts, Spirit Armor, Talismans, Elixirs...
Each requires a generous amount of Spirit Stones to acquire.
Those who are reluctant to spend Spirit Stones, are already lying at the bottom of the sea, feeding the fish.
Li Quanqing had thought of many possibilities, but it turned out to be the worst one.
He looked at his own maternal uncle, feeling the blood vessels at his temples throbbing violently: "My parents fell at the hands of Demon Beasts in the sea, their Storage Bags lost; from where am I supposed to lend you Spirit Stones?"
Li Yuheng laughed awkwardly twice: "What about the Family contribution points left by Yuru and the others? If you use those as a mortgage, you can also exchange them for a few hundred Spirit Stones."
It seems he himself felt shamelessly overboard, and he quickly added: "Nephew, rest assured, I'll put the deed to my Zone B fish pond as collateral, I won't let you suffer any loss!"
"Zone B fish pond?"
Li Quanqing became interested upon hearing this.
The Li Family divided the sea area of thousands of miles of the Green Jade Islands into eight concentric zones, from Zone A to Zone H, according to the concentration of Spiritual Energy.
The first four zones were occupied by the Li Clan themselves, while the latter four zones, including the waters and the islands within them, were rented out to those Loose Cultivators and small families.
"The Spiritual Energy in the fish pond of Zone B is abundant, enough to support the growth of the Green Jade Carp King in the middle to late stages of Qi Refinement, capable of breeding more Spirit Fish and sea beasts."
Li Quanqing's heart stirred slightly, "Show me the deed."