Along the road back to the fishing port mansion of He Wa, Yu Lou noticed immediately that the old ancestor Xian Zhou's face a satisfied smile.
"Grandfather, what is it that makes you so joyful?"
Wang Xian Zhou inspected Yu Lou for a while, and with a teasing smile, praised him.
"Yu Lou, your yuan Yang effect is really good, Xiaoyu broke through the practice in one night, hahaha."
Wang Yulou's expression immediately became odd, but he did not explain. Matters of the bedchamber are best kept implicit.
As for Xiaoyu's breakthrough, it is actually not difficult to understand. She has already reached the perfect stage of Qi cultivation, but she is limited by the rules of the heaven and earth and unable to use magical medicines to break through. Even with assistance, it still couldn't be done, which is why she has been delayed.
The great cultivators have gone to great lengths to calculate and prevent future generations from progressing.
However, with the right opportunity, breaking through to the Qi cultivation stage from the Perfection stage is just a matter of half an hour.
Breaking through the cultivation realm in the midst of life and death combat, dual cultivation, or even consuming large amounts of spiritual food for those with insufficient foundation can all lead to a breakthrough.
If one really cannot break through, there is also a breaking realm Dan made from precious stones.
The rules of heaven and earth restrict the consumption of spiritual pills by Qi refiners, but whether the Golden Stone Breakthrough Dan is truly a spiritual pill is still questionable. Regardless, it can indeed help cultivators break through the practice stage.
However, after using the Golden Stone Breakthrough Pill, the cultivator's path is definitely ruined.
"Now that Xiaoyu has achieved mastery in Qi cultivation, her position as a guardian cultivator should be arranged. What do you think of Jing Yi Laozu and Rong Jiang Laozu?"
Yu Lou asked.
At that time, after Cui Dingyi died, the cultivator leading the investigation from the Huachi Palace was Wang Youhai, the palace's patrol inspector. He had once been a small team leader of the patrol team at the Drip Water Cave Heaven, and had had several encounters with Yu Lou.
Through using his connections, Yu Lou put off the appointment of the new guardian cultivator and kept the vacancy open for Bai Xiaoyu, who would breakthrough to the practice stage after training.
Now that Xiaoyu has successfully broken through, but this position of guardian cultivator is not something Yu Lou can arrange with a single word. The personnel arrangement process of Huachi Palace needs to be formally gone through, and these things require some proper activity.
Although it's a bit troublesome, as long as Bai Xiaoyu becomes the guardian cultivator at He Wa Fishing Port, for many years to come, the port will be an entirely controlled foothold for Yu Lou within the Drip Water Cave.
Since the yield of spiritual fish can be increased from seven to more than twenty per day, there will naturally be opportunities for further increase in the future.
With the clan taking eight, and with Bai Xiaoyu and Wang Yulou working together, after Zhang Xuewu's departure, the new guardian cultivator from Huachi Palace with other backgrounds, came to be a willing recipient of the overflowing benefits under Wang Yulou's leadership.
By then, Yu Lou's daily income solely from his position as a guardian cultivator will be at least twenty spiritual stones, which will be enough to sustain his cultivation expenses for a long time.
Same amount of spiritual stones, 1000 to be consumed monthly, considering the constant income factor, it may last for 1 year and 3 months, and then it will be depleted after a year and a half.
But if there are several hundred spiritual stones in the monthly income, a total of 10,000 spiritual stones can last for years, with at least a doubling difference.
Even with this, we've only calculated the profits from He Wa Fishing Port.
If the Exchange Conference can be successfully held, in addition to the basic 'ticket' profits, Yu Lou can also sell magical artifacts to acquire cultivation resources through this market he himself has developed.
Combining these several items of income, here, Yu Lou's eyes carried a hint of sympathy when looking at the Old Ancestor.
Live a few more years, Grandfather! Only then will you be able to see the moment I achieve the Foundation Establishment stage!
"They went to the Exchange Conference of the Foundation Establishment in Drip Water Cave and gained some insights into cultivation. However,
What's with that look of yours?
Wang Xianzhou needs no pittance like you to pity. Come on, since you think I'm old, let's have a contest of cultivation.
Coincidentally, these few years, you have made significant progress in your fighting skills. This time, I will only suppress the realm of cultivation and not the strength and means. Let's check out your cultivation results!”
Wang Xianzhou stepped forward immediately, reaching out to grab Yu Lou's arm to take him away to properly 'test the cultivation results'.
Oh no, I'm going to get beaten up!
Yu Lou was scared and rushed to Bai Xiaoyu's room. After their marriage, she and Xia Qin naturally moved into Yu Lou's mansion.
The Old Ancestor likes Bai Xiaoyu very much, and as long as Yu Lou hides in her room, the Old Ancestor will definitely give him some face.
It's not that Yu Lou is lazy and doesn't want to fight. It's just that he fought a few days ago. The meaning behind what Wang Xianzhou said is clearly to teach him a lesson.
"Grandfather, I'll talk to Xiaoyu about her entrance into Huachi Palace. Let's fight another day! Another day!"
Leaving a plea for mercy in the air, Yu Lou closed the door to Xiaoyu's room.
In fact, if the Old Ancestor really wanted to pursue, not even Wu Jinyan coming would be spared.
Seeing Yu Lou enter Xiaoyu's room, Wang Xianzhou's serious face relaxed. He first smiled satisfactorily, and then, as if he had remembered something, his eyebrows and eyes had a hint of sorrow.
————————
"Hmm? Husband?"
Bai Xiaoyu did not seem to have the common fervor that newly initiated Qigong practitioners usually get. When Yu Lou entered, he happened to see her fiddling with the little turtle.
This pitiful little turtle was placed on the round table by Bai Xiaoyu, trying to escape. Every time it crawled a little further, it was pulled back by Bai Xiaoyu.
Playing, the human was having a lot of fun, while the turtle was suffering terribly, wanting to die. Fortunately, Yu Lou came, temporarily relieving its difficult situation.
"Xiaoyu, may I borrow your room to hide for a bit?"
Sitting down next to her, Yu Lou still pretended to ask in a serious tone.
Initially, Bai Xiaoyu subconsciously pulled back her body away from Yu Lou's direction, but soon, she put her small hand on Yu Lou's large hand and said.
"Dear husband, it's fine whenever you come. Xiaoyu will always wait for you."
Xiaoyu will always wait for you.
This was a very gentle statement, yet it seemed like a fire that had been lit in Yu Lou's heart.
Yu Lou realized that the people in this world were not that different from those in his former world. Bai Xiaoyu was like this, and so were the countless others he had encountered.
In the past, he always felt a sense of alienation from this world.
Sometimes, he would even think that with his smooth journey of cultivation and the innate mysterious object as an aid, he might be receiving the same treatment as the protagonist and the son of destiny in legends.
Of course, when his thoughts drift in this direction, Yu Lou quickly reminds himself of things like Mengxiang's Unforgettable Favor, Drip Water Cave's Gratitude, Great Sage Transforming the Heaven and Earth, and the like. These reminders help to arouse his spirit and keep his cultivation intentions humble.
But regardless, there is still a degree of alienation between Yu Lou and this world in his heart.
Perhaps, this also has something to do with his early loss of his parents in this world.
Now, looking at the beautiful woman in front of him, Yu Lou thought of many things.
Perhaps, that is the meaning behind Wang Xianzhou's intention of letting me marry?
Suddenly, he was startled to discover that the bottleneck he had been grinding at for a long time had finally been broken through.
Using spiritual vision, Yu Lou quickly confirmed again - he had reached the fourth level of Qi cultivation!
Looking up, Yu Lou found that Xiaoyu was also full of astonishment. He laughed heartily and kissed the beauty in his arms.
"Xiaoyu, you broke through to the fourth level of Qi cultivation in one night, and I broke through four layers in an instant. Hahaha, why don't we get a divorce and get married again tomorrow?"
"Breakthrough every week, reach the third level in three days, both of us achieve Foundation Establishment in a month, both of us achieve the Purple Palace in two months, both of us achieve the Golden Pill in three months. Hahaha!"
Initially, Bai Xiaoyu was surprised and shy due to her husband's sudden attack.
But when she heard Yu Lou say they should divorce, her heart twisted instantly.
But after hearing Wang Yulou's nonsense, she instead burst out laughing.
My dear husband, you are really able to stretch the truth! You say such absurd things, and you're not afraid that people will laugh at you.
"How could that be? You were stuck at this bottleneck for the past two months, and I was stuck at the bottleneck of drawing in Qi for a year before. That's why we had our breakthroughs now."
"What if... what if this world has some hidden rules, like getting married once and both of you can breakthrough once. Maybe it's true."
When we become Golden Pill, we can also have the title of an Immortal Respecter. What do you think, Xiaoyu Immortal?”
Wang Yulou took Xiaoyu in his arms with a serious expression, studying her future title of Immortal Respecter.
"I don't want it, Xiaoyu Immortal. The title of Xiaoyu Immortal sounds weak and vulnerable, like a watermelon. It's easy to be bullied."
Xiaoyu shook her head vigorously, like a rattle, and the hair on her temples moved up and down, making Yu Lou itch terribly.
Leaning his chin against the beauty's head, Yu Lou teased and asked back.
"Then call me 'Slaughter Fish Immortal'?"
"Have you and fish had it in for each other? And besides, the girl already has a name!"
"Oh, are you saying that you've also thought of your own title of Immortal Respecter?"
Alright, alright, my wife even has the aspiration to become an Immortal Respecter.
"That's great! Very spirited!"
It's a compliment, but no matter how Bai Xiaoyu listens to it, she feels that "very spirited" is not a suitable phrase to praise a wife, nor is it suitable for praising a cultivator.
In short, no matter how you hear it, it just doesn't sound right. It's like jumping back and forth between nonsense and seriousness, leaving her unsure if she should be happy or confused.
In fact, poor Xiaoyu didn't realize that she was already confused.
The husband from a different world gave her a little bit of an innovative shock.
"So, my dear Xiaoyu, what title did you come up with for yourself?"
Alright, the shock is still ongoing.
How could he say such sentimental things so easily?
Bai Xiaoyu pinched her reddened cheeks, shyly asking.
"Is my face now very red and red?"
The girl's thoughts are indeed unique, and I can't figure out how she came up with this sudden topic twist.
"Ah?"
Seeing that the beast was clueless, Xiaoyu giggled foolishly.
"Wang Yulou, you are sometimes incredibly smart, and sometimes you act like an idiot. What am I going to do about you in the future?"
Yu Lou confidently replied.
"With my wife by my side, I don't need to worry about things in the River Bay Fishing Port. Let's focus on cultivation and achieve foundation as soon as possible."
"When we achieve foundation together, you and Xia Qin will also become foundation cultivators. Once our family has three or four foundation cultivators, no problem will be insurmountable!"
"Just now, I was confessing to you, and you told me you want to bring Qin Churán to achieve foundation cultivation as well, and even aim for having three or four foundation cultivators in our family!"
"Husband, do you think it's appropriate?"
Oh no! Yu Lou realized that Bai Xiaoyu was much smarter than she appeared.
"Not appropriate, I was overbold."
Yu Lou replied humbly, "It's not appropriate. I was a bit carried away due to my joy in breaking through to the fourth level."
Bai Xiaoyu caressed Yu Lou's neck. She found that the texture of his Adam's apple felt quite unique, much like raw ox tendon.
"All right, husband. Xiaoyu knows she has no right to say much about your search for a spiritual partner, but Xiaoyu also has a request."
"Don't mention those things in front of me. If you mention them, I will be unhappy. Xiaoyu just wants to be happy."
What a wonderful girl! Yu Lou felt that he might have been manipulated.
"All right, I promise!"
After a while of intimate ear-to-ear contact, Yu Lou got back on his cloud horse and left the door.
The woman's tender embrace was too good, but Yu Lou's aspirations were much greater than that.
He had to secure the position of the guardian cultivator in Xiaoyu's River Bay Fishing Port town before he could go further.
Lao Cuī did not assign his own dog as the police dog of the River Bay Fishing Port, but Yu Lou has.
Even Xiaoyu, the Old Crane No. 3, and Little Tortoise, Yu Lou was thinking about how to give them both an 'official' position.
It seems that Wang Yulou is undermining the Drip Water Cave, but in fact, he is truly undermining the Drip Water Cave.
However, if Wang Yulou doesn't dig, will he just watch while others like Yuan family, Zhu family, and Lin family dig?
To speak more broadly, Master Mengxiang (prefect) isn't also digging into the walls of Red Light Hall and numerous factions under its umbrella?
Why would one stroke of Wang Yulou's digging be any more contemptible than others' strokes?
There is no way out; one can either become fish and game, become a sacrifice, or rise to the peak where no one can manipulate their destiny anymore.
-
As the administrative body of the outer-disciple of the Drip Water Cave, Huachifeng Palace appears to be a lower tier than the Bishuipalace.
In fact, the standards here are the same as those of the Bishuipalace, and the same goes for Qingquan Palace.
In the Bishuipalace, the supervisor Wu Faxian was a Cultivator of the Perfect Yuan Qi, and in Huachifeng Palace, the inspector Wang Yao Haigao was also a Cultivator of the Perfect Yuan Qi. They have equal status in terms of rank, and are one level higher than Yu Lou, the guardian cultivator of River Bay Fishing Port.
Of course, compared to Lin Ying who is guarding the eighth-grade Spirit Object-producing cave called Xinguo Dong, the three of them are not much better - there are also gaps between the disciples of Bishuipalace.
After all, Lin Ying is a direct descendant of an Foundation Establishment family, while Wang Yao Haigao is just a disciple of an Foundation Establishment master, and Wu Faxian is someone who slowly climbed up relying solely on his seniority.
Many people may think that hierarchical succession is not good, but the existence of such a system actually ensures the interests of those with shallow foundations.
Age and experience are the most fair things. Compared to other selection criteria, the Drip Water Cave allows disciples to mix up based on seniority, which is even one of the most fair and just points within the sect.
After all, Wu Faxian and Wang Yao Haigao clearly cannot compare with Lin Ying in terms of background. And for cultivators like Lin Ying, once they have a background, they will be the most outstanding no matter how they are selected - except for seniority waiting.
Of course, there is no selection in Drip Water Cave, nor in Red Light Hall. This is why Yu Lou and Lin Ying can seemingly obtain very good positions in an unfair and unjust manner.
