Didn't Catch a Fish, How Did I End Up With This Thing

Although there were many items, most of them seemed useless at the moment, and Chu Xingchen couldn’t think of any occasion where they might come in handy.

Especially those pots, pans, bowls, and utensils. Chu Xingchen was afraid they might have been made from the ashes of some high monk. After all, he wasn’t in the habit of using someone else’s skull as a rice bowl.

So, under Chu Xingchen’s strict orders, those oddly shaped pots and pans were banned from the kitchen.

As for the other items, Li Yingling took what she wanted back to her room, and the rest were thrown into the unused side room.

As for the wooden fish left behind by the high monk after his passing…

Chu Xingchen really couldn’t tell if it was a good or bad item.

He left it to Li Yingling to deal with, as every time he saw it, he felt the urge to grab the wooden fish mallet and give her a light tap on the head.

So, despite the large pile of items, after sorting through them, very few were actually useful.

Thankfully, the quilt wasn’t some sacrificial offering from a high monk or a powerful cultivator.

It was just an ordinary silk quilt.

Otherwise, Chu Xingchen would probably feel like someone was pressing down on him every night while he slept.

After organizing everything, most of the items ended up in the side room.

Since there was no need to clean up, the three of them quickly gathered in Chu Xingchen’s bedroom, ready to hold a full sect meeting.

Chu Xingchen took out a blood-tainted spirit stone from his spatial ring and placed it on the table:

“All the spirit stones from the mine have been contaminated with blood qi and turned into this.”

Li Xingtian frowned slightly. The spirit stones he had used for teleportation at the mine were of this type. He had initially thought there were only a few, and that his master had simply taken them for immediate use.

“What’s wrong with it?” Li Yingling picked up the blood-tainted spirit stone and examined it closely. “It doesn’t seem like a big deal, right?”

Li Yingling was a complete novice when it came to cultivation. After all, she hadn’t been practicing for long, and her rapid progress was purely due to her innate talent. Her knowledge of cultivation mostly came from reading novels and storybooks.

To her, the spirit stone was just a different color. She could still sense that the spiritual energy inside hadn’t diminished.

At most, it was just an unattractive shade.

Chu Xingchen gave a vivid example: “Imagine if you took this thing out in front of the Demon Suppression Bureau. If you could walk out of there alive, it would only be because those guys are completely useless.”

Li Yingling immediately understood:

“So, Master, is that why we came to Yuzhou City? To deal with the spirit stone problem?”

“Exactly. I’ve already asked someone to help resolve it,” Chu Xingchen nodded lightly.

“For now, just focus on your cultivation. Once the spirit stone issue is resolved, we’ll find a better place to settle.”

Li Xingtian nodded to show he understood.

Li Yingling, however, had her own little plan. She pouted and looked at her master with pleading eyes:

“Master, the Yuzhou City Lantern Festival is coming up… I’ve never been to one before.”

Li Yingling came from a wealthy family, but as a child born out of wedlock, she wasn’t particularly favored.

Her mother had been ill for many years, and Li Yingling had spent most of her time by her side, rarely leaving the estate, let alone going out to enjoy festivals.

Back at the estate, Li Yingling could only gaze at the high walls and listen to the sounds of laughter and celebration from outside.

Perhaps only Li Yingling herself knew just how much she longed to see the lanterns and festivities beyond those walls.

“Alright… We’ll go out and enjoy the Lantern Festival for a day,” Chu Xingchen agreed with a nod. He understood his disciple’s situation. Her childhood hadn’t been easy, and spending a day at the festival wasn’t a big deal.

Li Yingling wasn’t a troublemaker either.

She was considerate and reliable when it mattered.

“Thank you, Master!” Li Yingling’s face lit up with a bright smile. “You’re the best master in the world!”

After being crowned “the best master in the world” by Li Yingling, the meeting came to an end.

The blood-tainted spirit stones weren’t suitable for Li Yingling’s cultivation, as the blood qi within could easily disrupt a cultivator’s progress.

Those with higher cultivation and stronger mental fortitude could handle it, but Li Yingling certainly didn’t fall into that category.

So, she was assigned to focus on practicing her divine abilities, aiming to improve further.

Li Xingtian, on the other hand, could use the blood-tainted spirit stones for cultivation. His cultivation technique seemed a bit… dark.

After all, it allowed him to directly absorb blood qi from others. It was hard not to associate it with demonic cultivation.

Li Xingtian didn’t ask too many questions about the technique, and Chu Xingchen didn’t offer any explanations either.

The technique was given by the system, and Chu Xingchen couldn’t fully explain it himself.

But since it came from the system, it was guaranteed to have no side effects. It shouldn’t turn him into a demonic cultivator… right?

Although it might seem a bit sinister, its essence probably wasn’t too… sinister.

Thanks to absorbing the blood qi of a Golden Core cultivator, Li Xingtian’s cultivation had already reached the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, catching up to his senior sister.

With the blood-tainted spirit stones available during their stay in Yuzhou City, it wouldn’t be long before Li Xingtian surpassed Li Yingling.

As for Chu Xingchen?

Well, he was naturally… slacking off.

After all, his eldest disciple was a prodigy. Whatever she comprehended, he would benefit from.

His second disciple was diligent in his cultivation. Whatever spiritual energy he absorbed, Chu Xingchen would also gain.

Thanks to the system’s rewards, one spirit stone was effectively used as two. If Chu Xingchen were to use spirit stones for his own cultivation, it would be a complete waste.

So, after setting up a shielding array in Li Xingtian’s room to prevent any spiritual fluctuations from drawing attention, Chu Xingchen’s work was done.

In the past, he had to cook to satisfy his disciples’ appetites, but now that they were in Yuzhou City, they could just go out and eat whatever they wanted.

While he might be poor as a cultivator, as a mortal, Chu Xingchen had plenty of silver and gold.

This was the reality of Chu Xingchen’s life: a destitute immortal, but a wealthy mortal.

A few days later, with nothing else to do, Chu Xingchen decided to engage in some mental cultivation—fishing.

Since fishing wasn’t allowed within Yuzhou City, he had to go outside the city walls.

So, not far from Yuzhou City, by the side of a large river, Chu Xingchen lounged in a chair, leisurely holding a fishing rod.

Every now and then, a surge of pure spiritual energy would flow into his body—this was the feedback from Li Xingtian’s cultivation.

It was like automated cultivation.

And through this feedback, Chu Xingchen could also monitor how much Li Xingtian was slacking off. It was like remote surveillance.

While he could remotely catch any slackers among his disciples, both of his current disciples were quite diligent.

Li Xingtian, in particular, stood out, dedicating almost all his time to cultivation.

Chu Xingchen often received rewards from the system as a result.

“Ah… another day of catching nothing,” Chu Xingchen muttered as the sun began to set. He decided to pack up and head home. He hadn’t caught a single fish in the past few days.

In his previous life, he hadn’t fished much, and in this world, he had been too busy traveling around to recruit disciples to have time for fishing.

But there was no way he was going home empty-handed.

Even if he had to drain the river, he wouldn’t return without a catch and let his disciples laugh at him.

Just as Chu Xingchen was about to reel in his line and teach those disrespectful fish a lesson with a bit of Golden Core cultivator intimidation, the rod suddenly felt heavy.

Chu Xingchen’s eyes lit up, and he yanked the rod with all his might.

Finally, he had caught something!

As the fishing line emerged from the water, a large figure leaped out.

Chu Xingchen glanced over—what a big fish!

Then he frowned and took a closer look.

Damn it! It wasn’t a fish! It was a huge corpse!

This had to be Li Yingling’s fault. That cursed wooden fish must have brought bad luck!

What kind of monk’s merit causes someone to catch a corpse instead of a fish?

As soon as he got back, he was going to make Li Yingling burn that damned wooden fish!