Druid Fairy

Chapter 70 Breakthrough
"A festival? The Flood Dragon Immortal?"

Li Pingcan was taken aback. He hadn't expected to hear such important news. Could the creature that Bao Yuer called an "immortal" be a spirit beast like the White Snake?
Forget about the secret recipe for cultivating red algae for a moment, and hurriedly asked Xiao Jin for information.

"The Immortal Jiao is a dragon... very powerful and intelligent, the most powerful creature in this area, often protecting us... and fighting with the bandits to the east."

"The festival...it's held when the tide comes in..."

"A gift? It doesn't have to be anything special, as long as it's the thought that counts. Immortal Jiao is very easy to talk to."

……

Xiao Jin's hesitant yet reverent words gradually pieced together the image of the Flood Dragon Immortal, revealing the image of a righteous flood dragon protecting the weak to Li Pingcan.

'If I create an alternate account, disguised as a fish, can I still participate in the festival?'

To put it simply, according to Xiao Jin, the festival is very lively, with many treasure fish. If you encounter a friendly treasure fish, you can exchange it for resources; if it's not friendly, then the treasure fish becomes a resource.

The underwater animal world isn't full of twists and turns. If they don't like you, they'll fight you to your face, just like the red fish. You don't have to worry about being stabbed in the back.

If the Flood Dragon Immortal is truly as friendly as Xiao Jin says, then we can try to develop a deeper relationship.

"Never mind, I'll max out the Water Manipulation skill and generate its special abilities before the tide comes in."

A sense of urgency followed Li Pingcan.

Mushrooms can't grow underwater, so you have to anticipate them by observing the water flow. Therefore, the higher your [Water Manipulation] level, the better.

After obtaining the Water Spirit, the difficulty of [Water Manipulation] drops significantly. With some intense grinding, you can reach the maximum level!

…………

Xiao Jin can secrete a special kind of mucus that nourishes the red algae fields, which means that Li Pingcan cannot cultivate it on a large scale, which is somewhat disappointing.

According to Xiao Jin, although Qingjiang is rich in resources, competition is fierce; otherwise, it wouldn't be confined to one area to cultivate grass for survival. They frequently fight for treasure, and if they're unlucky, they'll still end up like the snipe and the clam fighting, while the fisherman benefits.

Fighting and killing, how can it compare to the peace and tranquility of farming?
Li Pingcan agreed in his heart, but at the same time he was reminded that when traveling, one should never fight.

For example, today's "shifting the blame eastward" is a good strategy, allowing for easy offense and defense, and preventing harm to oneself.

After taking the spoils, I bid farewell to Xiao Jin, transformed into an eagle, and soared into the sky, returning home unnoticed.

Eight red algae plants were soaking in the water. They looked like reddish-brown kelp and smelled slightly salty and fishy.

Qin cooked an egg with seaweed to make soup. She took a small sip and found it to be smooth and quite sweet.

As she processed the fish, she couldn't recognize where she had come from and exclaimed in surprise, "The scales of this strange fish are quite beautiful."

"We can make jewelry for Yuanyuan."

Li Pingcan suggested that fish scales, with their iridescent colors, are indeed very suitable as jewelry materials.

Normally, treasure fish have special organs that can be used to make weapons, such as fishbone swords, but this treasure fish is too small and there are no suitable materials. Its scales are too soft to be made into armor.

Qin readily accepted the suggestion and collected the scales, while the fish meat was steamed.

The main problem is that the small goldfish bites too aggressively, leaving the meat mushy, making it unsuitable for buying and selling. The price drop is too high, so it's better to eat it at home.

In the evening, exhausted Li Rongzhou and Li Pingfu returned home, their eyes narrowing as they looked at the dinner.

In recent years, the father and son have frequently visited the black market, where most of the items sold are treasures that cannot be found in ordinary markets. They recognized the extraordinary nature of the red fish.

Li Pingfu looked at his younger brother in surprise: "Where did this come from?" He and his brothers could handle the treasure beast, but catching something in the water was much more difficult than catching something on land.

"Finding a bargain".

Li Pingcan chuckled. It was indeed true. Thanks to Xiao Jin, he was able to easily win the case and avoid any trouble.

Li Rongzhou pushed the steamed fish plate in front of his son, "Can'er, you can share it with Pingfu and Yuanyuan."

The young man makes it sound so easy, but "picking up a bargain" requires both skill and luck.

With only average martial arts talent, there's no need to waste this hard-won treasure fish.

As the pillar of the family, he once sheltered us from the wind and rain, providing a safe haven.

But as the new seedlings grow stronger, he also tries to fold up the leaves, letting the sunlight shine and allowing the roots to receive nutrients so that the children can grow stronger. Xie Yuan stood gracefully serving rice, smiling sweetly, "Brothers, eat up, I don't want to eat fish today."

She had a decent foundation in martial arts, but she had no desire to compete. Saying she was indifferent to fame and fortune wouldn't be accurate, but she truly had no ambition for martial arts. She preferred to learn embroidery and cooking from Madam Qin in her spare time.

The Qin family divided the precious fish in two.

Li Pingfu did not refuse. In recent years, he had felt the impasse in martial arts. If he could break through to the Divine Fiend Realm, he would be happy to buy a few treasure fish for his younger brother. He enthusiastically handed the fish tail to his brother.

Li Pingcan was speechless.

When he was a child, his family would always give him the belly of the fish, and he would deliberately say that he loved to eat tender fish fillets, which made his family think that he had a special taste and loved to eat fish fillets.

But eating fish and fish fillets every time can get boring.

But because of his older brother's expectant gaze, Li Pingcan took a bite of the fish tail. It had no bones, was smooth and tender, and tasted sweet. He couldn't help but say, "Delicious."

The whole family laughed heartily.

…………

The red algae soup was too diuretic, and the Li family members got up frequently that night.

The next day, Li Pingfu sold the remaining red algae on the black market for 120 taels of silver.

After eating the treasure fish, the two brothers' qi and blood increased greatly. In the following days, Li Pingcan felt as if his Ren and Du meridians had been opened. With proper breathing techniques, he maintained a steady and long internal breath, and his meridians were unobstructed. He successfully broke through to the second transformation of qi and blood—the realm of qi and blood wolf smoke.

After finishing his practice, he calmed his breathing and blood, and the red mist that had enveloped his body like smoke slowly dissipated.

The improvement in my level of understanding was natural and effortless.

"Big brother, have you reached a bottleneck?"

Li Pingcan looked at Li Pingfu, who was doing his morning exercise.

The elder brother's increase in qi and blood was not as exaggerated as mine. The elder brother was already at the peak of qi and blood, accumulating power, waiting for an opportunity to break through.

Generally speaking, for ordinary martial artists to break through, there are several key factors. The first is aptitude and physical constitution; the second is age and physical condition, and whether their qi and blood are vigorous; and the third is precious medicinal resources.

The younger you are and the earlier you break through, the greater your potential.

Zhou Enxian is too old, his martial arts have no hope of reaching the Divine Fiend Realm, and his blood and qi are declining year by year, so he has no choice but to have the idea of ​​"getting married and having children to carry on the family line".

The Li brothers are young and hardworking, and they have no shortage of martial arts talent, physical constitution, and medicinal materials, so breaking through the minor realm of Qi and Blood is very easy for them.

"The breakthrough in realm not only changed my physique, but it also seems to have accelerated the progress of the [Tree Breathing] technique, and it is estimated that it has extended my lifespan by another five years."

The Breathing of the Tree becomes increasingly difficult to master, and every few years of lifespan gained is a cause for celebration.

After finishing a set of Black Tiger Kung Fu, Li Pingfu was drenched in sweat and lowered his head in thought.

"Once I break through to the Divine Fiend realm, perhaps I should learn a new martial art."

Black Tiger's skills are powerful and heavy, but its movements are far less agile than White Crane's. As one's skill level increases, most of the techniques will conflict with each other, but with careful searching, one can still find matching martial arts that complement each other and unleash even greater power.

However, a suitable martial arts manual is expensive, often costing hundreds of taels of silver, which is the foundation for many martial arts schools to survive. It is not so easy to learn.

"If only I could combine the Tiger and Crane skills, or create my own martial art."

Li Pingfu suddenly had this thought, and then gave a self-deprecating laugh.

Creating a martial arts technique is simply outlandish; it's something only a martial arts genius with extraordinary comprehension could accomplish.

Thinking of this, he subconsciously looked at Li Pingcan.

"Big brother, what's wrong?" Li Pingcan felt that his older brother's eyes were a little strange.

"It's nothing," Li Pingfu shook his head.

My younger brother has been very busy lately, leaving early and returning late. I shouldn't cause him any trouble with my own wild ideas.

(End of this chapter)