Chapter 144 : Fish Exchange

Chapter 144: Fish Exchange

“You broke through to the Ninth Level of Qi Refining?”

Chen Qin’s steps halted, her eyes showing a trace of surprise. “Today is not the Shangsi Festival.”

“Qin-jie, do you think I would joke about something like this?” Chen Beiwu raised an eyebrow.

“Fine, I’ll admit you’re impressive.” Chen Qin’s expression grew complicated.

The world was unpredictable. The little brat who once followed behind her to catch fish had now become a cultivator at the peak of Qi Refining.

A seventeen-year-old cultivator at the peak of Qi Refining—what kind of concept was that?

If Chen Beiwu could enter the Thirteen Immortal Sects in the future, perhaps the entire Yuan-Kong County would feel proud of him.

“There are three music pavilions in Yuan-Kong County capable of playing the Cleansing Spirit Melody: Cloudsound Pavilion, Seven-Tone Hall, and Yayun Pavilion,” Chen Qin explained.

“Cloudsound Pavilion is the largest and most prosperous. Pavilion Master Su Miao is a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, a Second-Tier High-Grade Musician.

When she plays the Cleansing Spirit Melody together with her contracted Companion Beast, the Thousand-Voiced Illusion Fox, it can shake the Divine Sense, making listeners swiftly immerse themselves in the rhythm and gain enlightenment.”

“The only drawback is the exorbitant fee. To have Pavilion Master Su Miao personally perform the Cleansing Spirit Melody costs at least two thousand five hundred Spirit Yuan—equivalent to half a set of the Five Foundation-Establishment Spirits—and even then, an appointment isn’t guaranteed.”

“Of course, if you choose a First-Tier Musician at Cloudsound Pavilion, you won’t need to queue, and the price is only one hundred Spirit Yuan. But the effect is far weaker—no cultivator at the Ninth Level of Qi Refining has ever gained enlightenment through such a performance.”

“Seven-Tone Hall is average in scale and values a guest’s background more. Its owner, Qin Wuya, though a Second-Tier High-Grade Musician, has a contracted Companion Beast called the Soul-Breaking Flute, which specializes in lethal sound arts. I wouldn’t recommend you choose that place.”

“As for Yayun Pavilion, its chief courtesan never receives guests. The First-Tier Musicians inside vary in ability, so I don’t recommend it either.”

At this point, Chen Qin paused briefly before giving her advice: “If your budget is sufficient, it’s best to book Pavilion Master Su Miao. If not, just pick any musician within Cloudsound Pavilion.”

Chen Beiwu nodded slightly and thanked her.

If not for Qin-jie’s explanation, he truly wouldn’t have known that a single Cleansing Spirit Melody held so many intricacies.

“It’s nothing. Just don’t forget to lend me a hand when you make it big,” Chen Qin waved dismissively before turning back inside.

“Click.”

Closing the door, Chen Qin lowered her head, picked up the cup on the table, and drained it in one gulp, letting out a long breath.

“That little brat has finally grown up.”

After murmuring this, she pursed her lips, took a photo frame from her storage pouch, and revealed a picture of a happy family of three.

Behind them in the grass, a small head peeked out, giving the photo a mischievous feeling.

Wiping the glass of the photo with her fingertip, Chen Qin’s eyes flickered with a trace of complexity.

“Buzz buzz!”

Just then, the phone in her pocket vibrated.

Glancing at the screen, her expression shifted slightly, and her delicate ears suddenly transformed into furry fox ears.

…

Elsewhere, Chen Beiwu returned to the second-floor cultivation room of his home. Following Qin-jie’s advice, he downloaded the Cloudsound Pavilion app and began making a reservation.

【Respected customer, your booking request has successfully entered the waiting queue. Based on the current schedule, the estimated service period is 24 months. We will notify you of updates via your reserved contact information. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.】

“Just the waiting period for a reservation is two years.” Chen Beiwu clicked his tongue.

Considering his current cultivation progress, Chen Beiwu didn’t cancel the order.

Waiting was fine.

Two years would be enough for him to complete the Qi Refining Aperture-Consolidating Method and nurture both Spirit Seeds in his dantian to their limits.

If the Cleansing Spirit Melody was truly as miraculous as rumored, even if he couldn’t gain enlightenment from it, he could reasonably justify his rapid improvement in cultivation.

By then, if anyone asked, the answer would be simple—his talent was astonishing: one melody, one breakthrough!

That evening, as night fell, Chen Beiwu started a long-overdue livestream at Still Abyss West Lake.

【Half a year without streaming—has the host quit already?】

【Now that the popularity has dropped, you come back to stream? That’s a bit shameless.】

【This poor Daoist divined it—the reason Fish-Runner is streaming tonight is most likely to sell goods and scam us, brothers. Don’t fall for it.】

Glancing at the live chat, Chen Beiwu cast his fishing rod and began interacting with the viewers.

“The host is the Immortal Alliance’s future successor. I was away from streaming recently because I was in closed-door cultivation,” he explained.

【Immortal Alliance successor? What is the host, a Nascent Soul True Monarch or a Spirit Transformation True Venerable, to be so boastful!】

【Normal, normal. Fish-Runner always brags, everyone’s used to it.】

【Enough nonsense, can the host help me identify a fish?】

Seeing the last comment, Chen Beiwu chuckled. “I’m not a professional beast appraiser streamer. Daoist friend, did you enter the wrong channel?”

【Guess Who I Am has gifted the host a Sports Car ×1—Host, boldly identify it. Even if you’re wrong, it’s fine. That strange fish is terrifying—it can swallow three pigs in one bite.】

“Thank you, brother Guess Who I Am, for the Sports Car. You can click on the mic-link. The host wants to see what kind of fish has such an appetite.”

While activating the mic-link function, Chen Beiwu casually tugged his fishing rod.

“Whoosh!”

A three-foot-long fish leapt out of the lake, its scales shimmering silver, its eyes like jade, its dorsal fin resembling tri-colored coral. Under the moonlight, it glimmered with starlike sparkles.

【???】

【What a beautiful fish!】

【Silver scales, jade eyes, tri-colored fin—if I’m not mistaken, this should be a Second-Tier Spirit Fish, the Jade-Eyed Salmon!】

As Chen Beiwu reeled in the prize, the live chat instantly exploded.

“Calm down, calm down,” Chen Beiwu unhooked the fish, speaking indifferently. “The host has fished for ages. Spirit Fish are nothing new. A mere Jade-Eyed Salmon isn’t worth such fuss.”

【It’s over, Fish-Runner is acting smug again! He used to be infamous as the ‘corpse-fishing king’ of the fishing world!】

【Stop calling him Fish-Runner—those in the know already call him Brother Eternal, asking for fishing spots.】

【Damn, this Jade-Eyed Salmon must weigh at least twenty catties—worth over a thousand Spirit Yuan!】

【Low estimate, brother. The fish’s jade-like eyes can be used to cultivate unique secret arts of spiritual sight. Just a pair of eyes alone is worth a thousand Spirit Yuan.】

As more comments flooded in, the stream gained massive traction. The viewer count soared past three hundred thousand, with the hype remaining sky-high.

“Host, will you sell this Jade-Eyed Salmon?” the mic-linked fan asked.

“Sorry, I don’t plan on selling it for now.” Chen Beiwu carefully stowed away the Jade-Eyed Salmon.

This wasn’t a Spirit Fish caught through cheating.

He hadn’t even used Gold Egg to bait it—yet a Jade-Eyed Salmon had taken the hook voluntarily.

This proved that as long as he refrained from using the Nine-Breath Chaos Divine Ability to convert his fate into bizarre encounters, he wouldn’t end up fishing strange corpses.

“All right,” Guess Who I Am didn’t push further. He turned his phone camera toward the fish tank, revealing a strange fish. “Host, can you identify this one?”

The moment Chen Beiwu saw the fish, his pupils contracted, though he kept a smile. “Brother, what did you just say?”

“Host, can you identify this strange fish?” the fan repeated, puzzled.

“No, one sentence earlier,” Chen Beiwu prompted.

“Host, will you sell this Jade-Eyed Salmon?” the fan hesitated.

“Not selling—only trading.” Chen Beiwu proposed with a smile. “Brother, how about we exchange fish instead?”