Chapter 497: Silver Spirit Stone! Poison Dragon Mountain! (3) |
Otherwise, 5,000 pieces of spirit stone would have to be carried away in a bundle.
“Not bad, these are two threads of Innate Qi, you check them,” Su Changkong, quite satisfied, took two threads of Innate Qi from his bosom and handed them to Tang Ming.
50 portions of herb material, one thread of Innate Qi, equal to 50 medium-grade spirit stones out of 5,000 lower-grade spirit stones, one thread of Innate Qi.
“It really is Innate Qi…”
With the Innate Qi in hand, Tang Ming carefully inspected it. He had encountered Innate Qi before and could confirm that this was indeed Innate Qi!
“The trade is complete, I’ll be leaving now.”
...Assured by Tang Ming’s confirmation, Su Changkong did not linger any longer. He packed all the herbs, hoisted them on his back, and turned to leave.
“It’s been a pleasant cooperation, Brother Blade, take care.” Tang Ming also stood up to see him off.
Su Changkong left Cangyun Pavilion without anyone stopping him.
For the Cangyun Sect, a few threads of Innate Qi were not worth tearing their faces over and provoking an obviously extraordinary opponent, as the consequences might not be worth the gains of a few threads of Innate Qi!
“The materials for 50 Spirit Containment Pills, if refining goes well, the pills produced should be enough to support my cultivation for a good half-year.”
Su Changkong was very satisfied in his heart.
Exchanging Innate Qi for cultivation resources was quite extravagant.
Back at the Spirit Taoist Sect, Su Changkong immediately set to work refining all those herbs into Spirit Containment Pills.
After opening the second Heavenly Pulse, Su Changkong’s body became even stronger, he could now refine about four Spirit Containment Pills in two months!
With enough Spirit Containment Pills, skipping the process of refining nature’s spiritual energy through the Heavenly Pulse, Su Changkong’s progress was incredibly fast!
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was half a year later. Su Changkong aged another year, now twenty-five.
In the cultivation room, Su Changkong sat quietly in meditation. The spiritual energy around him formed a vortex, and three translucent shadows of Heavenly Pulses appeared on the surface of his body, as if connecting heaven and earth, with a profound aura lingering around!
“The third Heavenly Pulse has opened…”
Su Changkong exhaled deeply, feeling another metamorphosis in his physical body, becoming more vigorous and energetic.
In half a year, Su Changkong consumed more than twenty Spirit Containment Pills and successfully opened the third Heavenly Pulse.
In less than a year, he made two major meridians undergo metamorphosis consecutively, such a rate of progress was extremely astonishing!
“I still have two threads of Innate Qi in my hands, but even if I use them all to exchange for spiritual medicine with Cangyun Pavilion, it still will not be enough for me to reach the level of condensing the Earth Flower… I can’t afford to deplete my resources, I need to acquire more Innate Qi to maintain my speed of progress!”
Su Changkong mused to himself.
His immediate goal was to elevate his Martial Arts Realm, preferably to step into the Two-Flower Stage with five awakened Heavenly Pulses, condensing both the Human Flower and Earth Flower.
Condensing the Earth Flower, much like the metamorphosis at each triplicate shift within the Qi-Blood Realm, would not only produce a qualitative leap in combat power but also increase lifespan to a certain extent!
This was a watershed, the difference between an average Innate Martial Artist and an elite one.
Generally, reaching the Two-Flower Stage would result in both essence and Qi growing stronger, with most being able to master the usage of nature’s spiritual energy in combat. Bai Yunhe, the Deputy Sect Master of the East Cloud Sect that he had encountered in the Chi Dragon Hall, was of this caliber, even managing to survive an explosion of a Divine Seed like Wind Sun Moon did.
And the method Su Changkong thought of to obtain Innate Qi was quite simple, extract it from the bodies of deceased Innate Martial Artists!
Su Changkong’s Turtle Breath Technique at the 10th Stage, reverting the acquired to the innate, not only could refine Innate Qi to enhance the strength of his Turtle Breathing True Qi but could also easily extract complete Innate Qi from the bodies of deceased Innate Martial Artists!
This was actually a quite terrifying ability, as the Demon Sect would pay a hefty price to procure the bodies of deceased Innate Martial Artists specifically because they mastered the method of extracting Innate Qi from the bodies.
Su Changkong did not know whether their methods were the same as his, but he could certainly purchase the bodies of deceased Innate Martial Artists with spirit stones or even Innate Qi and extract the complete Innate Qi from them!
One thread of Innate Qi was worth around 5,000 spirit stones. As long as Su Changkong kept his acquisition price below this, buying the bodies of deceased Innate Martial Artists and extracting Innate Qi would be a surefire profitable deal.
Of course, this sounds easy to do, but operational difficulties do exist, firstly because the bodies of Innate Martial Artists can’t be easily acquired by ordinary means, and it’s also very easy to step on other people’s interests and invite trouble.
But if Su Changkong wanted to maintain his rapid progress, not taking any risk was unrealistic, and with his current strength, as long as he did not provoke masters of the Five Qi towards the Yuan level, it would be nearly impossible for others to pose any real threat to him!
Having opened three Heavenly Pulses, Su Changkong chose to exit his seclusion and went to see Helian Yuan, hinting to him obliquely that he had some items inconvenient to sell on the market and inquired if Helian Yuan knew of a place to sell them.
Helian Yuan, as the Sect Master of the Spirit Taoist Sect and nearly a century old, was well-informed and experienced. He did not let Su Changkong down.
“When my elder brother was still alive, he liked to wander everywhere. I heard him mention that in the mountains of Poison Dragon Mountain in Central State, there is a stronghold. Many people from all walks of life gather there; it’s a very chaotic marketplace where you can sell anything… However, if you plan to go, you should be careful,” Helian Yuan advised Su Changkong, who said he had things that were not convenient to sell on the market. Helian Yuan did not ask what they were but cautioned him to be careful.
Su Changkong, being an Innate Martial Artist, would generally not encounter any danger as long as he did not provoke any untouchable figures on his own.
“Mm, I know.”
Su Changkong nodded, took note of Poison Dragon Mountain’s location from Helian Yuan.
Poison Dragon Mountain, just from the name one could tell it was a treacherous place. Within the mountain, dense forests and numerous swamps abounded, one misstep could lead to sinking into them, resulting in a fate of decaying into bones.
Moreover, Su Changkong found that the air in Poison Dragon Mountain was filled with a peculiar miasma. Ordinary people inhaling too much would feel dizzy and could even face mortal peril!