Cultivating Immortality: Starting from Ferrying Passengers

Chapter 11: Cleft-mouthed Catfish
The split-mouthed catfish is a relatively common water-based monster. A fully grown split-mouthed catfish is only of the lower first grade, and its highest strength is only equivalent to the middle and late stages of Qi Refining.

Moreover, the split-mouthed catfish lays a large number of eggs each time, up to tens of thousands at a time. However, among these tens of thousands of eggs, perhaps not a single one can survive and grow up to become a monster.

It is not just a grown-up split-mouthed catfish, it is a monster. Only when certain conditions are met can it absorb the spiritual energy between heaven and earth and embark on the path of cultivation.

However, fish like the split-mouthed catfish have a special habit, which is cannibalism. If tens of thousands of young fish devour each other, the one that survives in the end is most likely a monster, which can be used to contract and become a spiritual pet.

Fang Jingxuan learned all this knowledge from the jade slip given by Huo Cang.

Fang Jingxuan arranged this simple refining place according to the contents of the jade slip.

This is a pool of about 20 square meters in size, with a waterfall injecting fresh water into it.

The water flow above will wash various small fish and shrimps into the pool, saving Fang Jingxuan the trouble of feeding them.

However, this amount of food may be enough for the young catfish to eat in the early stage. But once these young catfish grow to the size of a palm, the food delivered by the flowing water will not be enough.

By then, lack of food and hunger will cause these young fish to eat each other, and the one that survives will most likely become a complete mutant of the slit-mouthed catfish.

Fang Jingxuan carefully observed these thumb-sized catfishes. Although these little guys were still cubs, they had already shown strong aggressiveness.

I saw a grass carp washed in by the current. Although it was as big as a palm, it could not withstand the bite of these catfishes. In a moment, no trace of its body was left.

The catfish that got the flesh and blood had bulging stomachs, while the catfish that didn't get the food huddled aside and didn't move much.

From now on, the competition among these bony catfishes has begun. They are getting faster and faster. Within half a month, these bony catfishes will usher in the first wave of battle royale.

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After collecting the Moonlight Jade Dew and taking protective measures for the catfish cubs, Fang Jingxuan waited quietly until dawn.

Although he was under Tuyuan's supervision, Fang Jingxuan still chose not to take the risk of meditating in such a place in the wild.

The monks' meditation and practice have replaced the drowsiness of ordinary people, but correspondingly, during the practice, their own defense capabilities are greatly reduced. Once they encounter danger, even a few breaths of loss can be fatal.

Therefore, Fang Jingxuan usually chooses to meditate and practice in the market town. There are market guards patrolling all night, so the safety is much higher than in the wilderness.

After waiting until dawn, Fang Jingxuan took Tu Yuan and set off on his journey home.

We went downstream and arrived at the Hongye Market. The number of people in the market gradually increased.

Today was not Fang Jingxuan's shift, so he went straight back to the yard, ready to rest for a while and see if he could get some work done around noon.

However, not long after Fang Jingxuan returned, someone came to visit him.

"Brother Fang, I'm here to collect the spirit manure. I've saved enough for another month."

The visitor was a skinny middle-aged man in his forties named Mo Guinong, a spiritual plant husband.

The spiritual fields he planted needed fertilizer, so he collected spiritual manure from everywhere to fertilize the fields.

Tuoyuan, the cat raised by Fang Jingxuan, was very big and ate a lot, so it produced a lot of feces. Therefore, Mo Guinong was very happy to see the prey, and he took all the feces of Tuoyuan in the past few months.

"Lao Mo, Tuoyuan has grown a bit bigger this month, and he's produced more manure than last month. You can't just keep charging the same price as before."

Fang Jingxuan leaned against the door frame to discuss with Mo Guinong, while Tuoyuan, in the animal pen, also cleverly defecated a large amount, clearly showing off his ability. Mo Guinong walked towards Tuoyuan and said:
"Don't worry, as long as the stool quality is up to standard, I'll give you a little more."

After saying that, Mo Guinong stretched out his hand and grabbed Tuoyuan's fresh and hot shit, opened it up and looked at it, and started commenting on it.

"Yeah, there are some undigested fish bones and shells. That saves me from having to buy bone meal. The quality is quite high."

The corner of Fang Jingxuan's mouth twitched slightly. When this spiritual plant husband saw feces, it was like a pervert seeing a beautiful woman, and he just wanted to find a suitable taste.

"I weighed it. This is a fresh lump. There are two spirit stones and five broken spirit stones. Here, these are the spirit stones. Please count them."

Fang Jingxuan took the spirit stone and felt that it had a smell of manure. It seemed that Old Man Mo had not washed his hands before ordering the spirit stone.

Finally, Mo Guinong asked someone to pull a large cart back. Before leaving, Fang Jingxuan remembered his own mission and asked:

"Lao Mo, do you have any spiritual plants like cypress trees in your yard?"

Mo Guinong hesitated for a moment, then said:
"Cypress spiritual plants? I don't have any here. This kind of spiritual plant grows too slowly, is hard to sell, and is in low demand. Ordinary spiritual plants don't know how to cultivate them.

But the Dan Ding Sect should have some. They cultivate a wide variety of spiritual plants, mainly for medicinal purposes. The needles, bark, and sap of cypress trees are all good materials for medicine. They will prepare them."

Mo Guinong gave Fang Jingxuan such a suggestion. After hearing it, Fang Jingxuan just smiled. It is rare to find a fellow practitioner, and the price is even more expensive, not to mention going to Dandingmen to make a move.

As a casual cultivator, I'm afraid I can't even enter the gate of Danding Sect.

"Brother Mo, everyone knows your skills. If I find a cypress plant, would you be able to cultivate it for me?"

Mo Guinong is a first-class mid-grade spiritual plant husband, and he can handle most of the spiritual plants at the Qi Refining level.

Fang Jingxuan was planning to ask Mo Guinong to tailor a cypress spiritual plant for him. He felt a little out of place when he used the jade cypress to activate the Moonlight Jade Dew last night.

This may be because the jade cypress is a dead object. If it were a living spiritual plant, it is possible that it could condense more than 20 drops of jade dew after one activation.

"Oh, then the price will be high. Brother Fang, I won't cheat you. If you really get a cypress spiritual plant, I will cultivate it for you at cost price. Well, first prepare a hundred low-grade spiritual stones as a base."

Fang Jingxuan smiled and sent Mo Guinong away, saying that since they hadn't even started dating yet, it would be too hurtful to mention money.

But Mo Guinong just responded with a look of contempt and left with a large cart of spiritual manure. It seemed that he couldn't wait to fertilize his precious spiritual plants.

After sending Mo Guinong away, Fang Jingxuan touched the newly acquired spirit stone and looked at Tuyuan with increasing favor. A companion beast that could pull people, haul goods, fight, escape, and even sell its feces for money was simply perfect.

Tuo Yuan seemed to have sensed Fang Jingxuan's mood, and he immediately raised his head high with a proud expression.

Fang Jingxuan laughed and reached out to take out a secret rice ball. In an instant, Tuoyuan lowered his noble head, came in front of Fang Jingxuan, and rubbed his sleeve in a flattering manner.

Fang Jingxuan patted Tuoyuan's head and instructed:
"Work hard, and when I get a new colleague next year, I will definitely treat you well. Your good days are still ahead!"

Tuoyuan nodded seriously. He didn't care what Fang Jingxuan said. At the moment, the only thing in his eyes was the fragrant meatball...

(End of this chapter)