Chapter 26: Nine-Colored Celestial Fish

[Ding, Fame Value +5] A system notification sounded in Su Yuan's ears. Su Yuan paused mid-step, looking somewhat surprised. "Even without using my real name, I can still gain fame value?" Su Yuan fell into deep thought. After reconsidering, it made sense - a name was just an identifier. As long as it referred to him, the fame belonged to him! Clearly, this fame value came from Wang Jian. After walking some distance further, another notification sounded in his ears. [Ding, Fame Value +1] Su Yuan was puzzled - where did this come from? Had Wang Jian been telling others about him? As he walked, notifications sounded intermittently before finally stopping. Seeing no further activity, Su Yuan paid it no mind. Soon after, at a fish stall, Su Yuan stared at several swimming fish, conflicted. "How much for these?" "These are Falling Star Fish, very cheap! Only seven spirit stones per catty!" The stall owner smiled warmly. "How do they taste?" "Delicious! Extremely delicious!" "Then I won't buy them. I'm afraid someone might steal them." "Well... actually they taste quite ordinary." "Then I definitely won't buy them. If they're not tasty or pretty, what's the point?" The stall owner's expression stiffened, his gaze turning unfriendly. Su Yuan glanced sideways and noticed a separate tank containing a listless little fish. Despite its lethargy, its scales shimmered with three vibrant, shifting colors like neon lights, extraordinarily beautiful. "What fish is this?" Su Yuan asked. The stall owner composed himself. "This is an extremely rare ornamental spirit fish - the Nine-Colored Celestial Fish. Legend says each cultivation breakthrough adds another color! At nine colors, it ascends to immortality. Though this is just a fry, it was born with three colors, with potential to reach Foundation Establishment. Raise it well, and you'll have a Foundation Establishment spirit fish - a fantastic deal!" Su Yuan asked, "Why does it look so lifeless?" "Oh, just hungry!" The stall owner took out a fragment spirit stone and tossed it to the fish. The fish immediately perked up, swimming over to gulp down the fragment. Soon its belly swelled slightly, and it became energetic, its colorful glow intensifying as it swam about the tank. "See? Gorgeous, isn't it?" The stall owner smiled. A nearby talisman stall owner noticed this and subtly signaled Su Yuan with his eyes, but Su Yuan didn't notice. Su Yuan nodded repeatedly. "Not bad, not bad. How much?" "Very cheap! Just 200 spirit stones!" Su Yuan stood up and turned to leave. "Wait! We can negotiate!" Su Yuan turned back and haggled with the stall owner. Finally, he purchased the Nine-Colored Celestial Fish for 130 spirit stones. The little fish seemed to know Su Yuan had bought it, peering curiously at him through the tank while blowing tri-colored bubbles. After paying, Su Yuan carried the tank home - at least he hadn't returned empty-handed. After Su Yuan left, the talisman stall owner said, "Isn't cheating people like this wrong? Spirit-Devouring Fish are impossible to raise. Ordinary disciples would go bankrupt quickly!" "What Spirit-Devouring Fish? This is a Nine-Colored Celestial Fish!" The fish seller glared before packing up his stall. The talisman seller scoffed. "How could it be a Nine-Colored Celestial Fish? They may look similar, but the differences are vast! Spirit-Devouring Fish consume spirit stones without giving back, while Celestial Fish return high-quality spiritual energy. Even if it were a Celestial Fish, the bonding requirements are extremely high - they say it requires comprehension of the Heavenly Dao..." "Know-it-all!" The fish seller finished packing and left. Returning to his courtyard at nightfall, Su Yuan poured the fish into his pond. The tri-colored fry immediately began swimming, its radiant hues dazzling in the dark. Dozens of other fish soon circled it, and within moments the little fish became their leader. Su Yuan watched delightedly, but soon noticed the fish becoming listless again. "Hungry again?" Su Yuan wondered. "Didn't the seller just feed it?" The fish surfaced, giving Su Yuan pitiful puppy-dog eyes. Su Yuan laughed. "You've got quite the appetite!" He took out a low-grade spirit stone, crushed it, and scattered the pieces into the pond. The fish immediately pecked at the fragments. Su Yuan enjoyed watching it eat, but soon felt something amiss. One bite, two bites, three... dozens later, the entire spirit stone was gone. The fish surfaced again, gazing pitifully at Su Yuan. Something felt wrong. "Your appetite doesn't match your strength. You're barely a low-tier first-grade spirit beast, equivalent to Qi Refining first layer, yet you ate a whole spirit stone?" The fish stared blankly, blowing bubbles as if asking for more. "Alright, let's see how much you can really eat!" Su Yuan began feeding more crushed spirit stones. The fish devoured them all. Su Yuan watched in shock as it consumed ten whole low-grade spirit stones before finally satiated, swimming energetically while emitting faint tri-colored light into the pond. Su Yuan was dumbfounded. "Ten stones per meal? My monthly allowance is only thirty! At this rate, I'll go bankrupt fast! No wonder they call it a Celestial Fish - impossible to afford!" Shaking his head, he decided if it became too costly, he'd just release it into a river. As Su Yuan turned to leave, the fish surfaced, watching his retreating figure with thoughtful eyes. Next morning, the sun was high when system notifications woke Su Yuan. [Ding, Fame Value +1] [Ding, Fame Value +1] "What's going on?" Baffled, Su Yuan got up. Standing by the window, he gazed at the pond below, deep in thought. "How am I still gaining fame? Is Wang Jian's influence that lasting?" "Of course - helping him break through would naturally make him mention me... But will Wang Jian come looking? I used a fake name... Not that it matters - I did nothing wrong!" Comforted, Su Yuan relaxed. In the courtyard, he brewed tea and sat admiring his fish while drinking. Suddenly, he noticed "Little Color" (his temporary name for it) surfacing with those pitiful eyes again. "Not hungry again?" Su Yuan glared. The fish blinked innocently, blowing cute bubbles. Su Yuan's mouth twitched. "You..." He sighed. "Fine, since I bought you..." He tossed ten more spirit stones into the pond. Little Color happily ate. Su Yuan didn't mind - he wasn't urgently cultivating now anyway. He could earn more stones later. Every half-hour, another notification sounded, annoying Su Yuan. "Can these be turned off? So noisy!" To his surprise, the notifications stopped immediately. Much better. Su Yuan skipped fishing today, visiting Mysterious Extremes Peak's Scripture Pavilion instead. To his delight, it housed millions of books accumulated over untold years! Though many were useless, Su Yuan patiently read them one by one. That night, he fed Little Color ten more stones before sleeping. Thus, a month passed unnoticed. At Technique Extremes Peak, Ye Bufan looked displeased. "Why has this month's spirit stone profit dropped so much?" "Senior Brother, forgive us! A new shop appeared at Seven Extremes Market selling low-grade artifacts, pills and talismans cheaper than ours! We can't compete!" A junior disciple explained helplessly. "Why wasn't I informed earlier?" Ye Bufan demanded. "You were away from the sect! We couldn't reach you." Ye Bufan remembered - he'd blocked communications during his secret rendezvous with that demoness. "How can they undercut me? I already get the lowest prices!" Ye Bufan wondered. "They only take 10% commission from our sect's low-grade craftsmen, operating at a loss to build reputation! Naturally their prices are lower." "Who runs this shop?" "An inner disciple from Mysterious Extremes Peak named Su Yuan." "What? Su Yuan?" Ye Bufan was shocked to hear that name. "Su as in grass-head? Yuan as in distance?" "Yes!" The subordinate was surprised Ye Bufan knew him. Was he someone important? "Him? What's he playing at?" Ye Bufan mused. "Should we... take measures?" The subordinate suggested. Ye Bufan frowned. "No. His shop ostensibly benefits junior disciples. Any sabotage would damage my bid for Head Brother position!" Pausing, he narrowed his eyes. "Is he competing for Head Brother too? This strategy is impressive - if I'd thought of it, my chances would improve." He ordered: "Mobilize our people at Mysterious Extremes Peak to locate Su Yuan! I'll pay him a visit!" "Yes!"