Oyster Farming (3)

'Is this what they call the feeling of Bone, Flesh, Vessel, and Tendon went through a cleansing process?' Chen Xuan's appearance revealed a hint of satisfaction from the warmth that coursing inside his body.

The feeling was like multiple bubbles of hot air traveling all over his skeleton. From his Core located slightly below his navel area, they traveled through his spine, four main limbs, slowly moving towards his ribcage, and so on.

Even his "extra" bone received a hint of blessing as he felt the blood flowing there seemed to be more confident than ever. Unfortunately, the current Chen Xuan had no other choice but to keep his lust in control.

Although the feeling of a minor breakthrough was not as apparent as cultivation improvement, the slight changes still can be felt. And to someone as responsive as Chen Xuan, the feeling is more transparent.

Perhaps to the others, what happened to Chen Xuan is just a minor improvement in his Lesser Yang Maturing Technique. Still, to Chen Xuan, the differences between levels 0 and 1 can be observed from the water temperature.

It was evident that the water temperature inside his wooden bucket was stabler than before. Compared to his previous attempt, the constant changes in the water temperature were the most notable mistake Chen Xuan can make while cultivating the Minor Brilliance Oysters.

To the Minor Brilliance Oyster, a consistent lukewarm temperature is what the shellfish needed to produce grains known as Yang Yuan Sand. Without the warmth being projected into the water consistently, it would be akin to trying to a piece of meat without keeping the fire in check.

That was also why Chen Xuan failed yesterday.

For the next two remaining hours, Chen Xuan focused on directing the flow of Yang energy from his surroundings into the Core before redirecting them into the water. This process continued as it increased his familiarity with how the Lesser Yang Maturing Technique works.

His concentration went on until a bellman came to ring the nearest bell along the river.

The bell would run three times before the sun sets and nothing after that. Whenever this bell made a sound, it was the sign that everyone would have to leave before the sky turned dark.

No matter how unwilling he was, Chen Xuan knew he had to stop here today before the Yang Energy around them was completely gone. Because when that happened, all their surroundings would be a sanctuary for Jiangshi to run wild.

After patiently waited for the water to cool, the Minor Brilliance Oysters in the wooden bucket finally regurgitate all the sand out. The shellfish then clamped itself firmly without a gap in between, seemingly like it had fallen asleep after throwing up all the sand.

Chen Xuan was grinning on his own when the sand and dirt in the water settled down. After painstakingly concentrating on cultivating the shellfish today, he was greeted by a result as dazzling as the setting sun.

The time he sacrificed today without eating or drinking allowed the three Minor Brilliance Oysters to regurgitate out seventeen shining grains in total. It was considered a splendid result for his second attempt.

And as he was collecting the Yang Yuan Sand into his System's Inventory, the bell rang for the second time. Only one more bell was left before they abandoned this place. And when that time comes, the lives of those who stayed here will be up to their own.

Gently returning the Minor Brilliance Oysters back into the river, Chen Xuan threw the wooden bucket back before he sprints and followed the group of people leaving altogether.

It seems that a few daredevils were still wasting their time along the river when Chen Xuan took a quick glance as he left.

The third bell came not long after Chen Xuan left.

Queuing outside the western entrance for his turn, Chen Xuan was unsure if it was lucky or unlucky to witness the battle between the Jiangshi and Jiangshi Hunters. There were all kinds of exorcism tools in their hands, along with weapons and talismans.

The live-action battle was breathtaking as he witnessed how valiantly the Jiangshi Hunters fought for the safety of those waiting to enter Fenghuang Town.

And the number of Jiangshi coming to the settlement was not low. Even Chen Xuan was surprised by the number of bloodsucking, hopping vampires that came in a group.

Soon, it was his turn to have his body searched before he was allowed to walk through the western entrance. And after the procedure was done, Chen Xuan made his way into the town as quickly as possible, before he ended up as a bonus meal to the lucky Jiangshi sneaking around.

Furthermore, he has to make his way back to the inn before the food provided for the guest is finished. If that were to happen, Chen Xuan would be forced to fork out some money of his own to pay for his meal.

On his way towards the inn, Chen Xuan suddenly remembered that there were still a few oyster cultivators back in the King Wen's River. But they didn't even show up during the fight between the Jiangshi and Jiangshi Hunters.

Chen Xuan had no idea that King Wen's River was already under the bloodsucking vampire's sight for a long time.

On this exact day, six unfortunate townsfolk lost their life for returning to town late. Out of the six, one of them was the cultivator Chen Xuan seen during the morning as he learned how to select the correct Minor Brilliance Oyster from.

But by the time the Jiangshi Hunters reaches King Wen's River, the corpses nor Jiangshi was nowhere to be seen. Only trash was left on the ground, with broken wooden buckets and some personal belongings.

They had no idea these corpses were taken away by the bloodsucking vampires after feasting on their blood. And as the few Jiangshi left, a hint of evil mist followed as it covered their trails.

-----

"Kid, you're back. I thought you either found somewhere to stay or joined the coalition of Jiangshi Hunters." the chef that used to work in the kitchen had the leisure to come out today. It seems he still remembered Chen Xuan's look.

"How can I join the coalition of Jiangshi Hunters with my little strength? I'm just a little slow today and ended up as the last group of people to enter the town." Chen Xuan humbly denied what the cook said.

"Youth like you shouldn't be too underachieving. Or else, how can you get the qualification to join the Guangming Sect on the eastern side of the town?"

"Come here and eat this here. Or else, there'll be nothing left for you!" the cook brought a bowl of bone broth out from the kitchen and placed it before Chen Xuan's table. Although it was the same menu as yesterday, the meal today had more meat in it.

It's likely come personally from the cook himself since Chen Xuan was quite a good listener two a day before this. Furthermore, his friendliness and eloquent speech are likened to many who worked and stayed in this inn.

Two bowls were all he could have before Chen Xuan felt he was stuffed to the brim. This was also the first time he had that much meat in his bowl, almost more than the broth itself.

Knowing that he could fall asleep right away if he returned to his room, Chen Xuan decided to walk around the pond swimming with Yinyang Worldly Kois. It was a sight to behold as the fishes in the water seemed to have a mild calming effect that made him feel at ease.

Chen Xuan soon realized that the fight between Jiangshi and Jiangshi Hunters unintentionally affected him mentally and physically.

Soon, Chen Xuan made his way back to his room. A hint of him was anticipating the surprise awaiting him in the system.

And instead of going for the chair today, Chen Xuan comfortably sat on the bed. It would be more convenient for him if he decided to lay down when he got tired.

'System! Inventory!' Chen Xuan softly whispered.

Then System's Inventory was opened right away as soon as he was done with his words. Like yesterday, six items were in his inventory, with the number of Yang Yuan Sand now grown into twenty.

Chen Xuan's attention went straight to the scroll with Lesser Yang Maturing Technique without looking at anything else.

== == == == ==

(Standard-Tier) Lesser Yang Maturing Technique

-Introduction: An introductory Maturing Technique for Yang Element. Had minor effectiveness in increasing the practitioner's external Yang Force.

-----

-Current Level: 1

-Experience: 12 / 20

-Yang Force Capacity: 100 / 1,200

== == == == ==

He unconsciously grinned when the description appeared on the panel. It seems that his guesses were right on the spot regarding the amount of Yang Force and experience gained per hour.

Each hour of his cultivation will increase his experience by a single point and ten for the Yang Force. As he had used twenty points to measure the shellfish this morning, he only ended up with a hundred Yang Force in his body right now.

And after the clarification, Chen Xuan chose to return to the main menu and entering the Crafting Option.

*Ding!*

The pleasing sound of a bell came when the crafting panel appeared.

Words slowly appeared on the box, which required eight Yang Yuan Sand to craft. It was the recipe he's been dreaming of day and night.

-----

No. 001 - Yang Yuan Pearl

Material Needed: 20/8 Yang Yuan Sand

-----

'It's really the recipe for Yang Yuan Pearl. But the question is, how can it only cost eight Yang Yuan Sand instead of ten as recorded in the Standard-Tier Record?' Chen Xuan's gaze landed on the option to craft the Yang Yuan Pearl.

Based on the requirement of eight grains for a single pearl, Chen Xuan could craft two of them right away. But the habit of a careful conman quickly appeared in him as Chen Xuan worried about any mishap.

'I should start with making one Yang Yuan Pearl first...' Chen Xuan spoke to himself and selected the option. But there was no response for the next few minutes, and the lack of response from the system almost made Chen Xuan worried if it was broken.

'Don't tell me it's broken? How can a system given by the god be broken?' Chen Xuan chose the option again. But it was the same. And since the system was a plain and direct one, it couldn't communicate with him either.

The ignorance made Chen Xuan withdraws the Standard-Tier Record again. Re-reading the entire page related to how Yang Yuan Sand was refined into a pearl made Chen Xuan realize where he did wrong.

'No wonder the crafting doesn't work. Looks like a flame source is a must to start crafting on my own. Although I could use the flame source for free when daylight, I would have to sacrifice my time in the morning to stay inside the Town's Forge.' Chen Xuan unconsciously pinched his own nose.

'Or, I could get the material to ignite my own flame source. Choosing this option would be more convenient as I can refine the Yang Yuan Pearl anytime I want. Of course, this option would be more expensive.'

'Based on what was stated on the record, the nearest one that fits my needs would be the Standard-Tier Maplewood found in the southern side of Fenghuang Town...' Chen Xuan sighed as he closed the Standard-Tier Record in his hand.

Precisely like what was stated in the book, he'll need a good flame source to refine the Yang Yuan Sand he had into a pearl. And the easiest one for him to get was the charcoal made from drying the Maplewood.

And as a matter of fact, the Maplewood Tree was actually the tree back then where Chen Xuan fought against the first Jiangshi in his life. Only managed to know about it now made Chen Xuen feeling regretful for not bringing a few of the thick branches along with him.