Chapter 41: Qi Refinement Fourth Layer (Seeking Collections)
Chapter 41: Qi Refinement Fourth Layer (Seeking Collections)
The next day.
Inside the shed's cellar.
Fang Xi sat cross-legged, gazing at a small black jade bottle in his hand.
This was a bottle of 'Wood Origin Pill', suitable for Qi Refinement cultivators in the early and middle stages who practiced wood-attribute cultivation methods, helping them advance their cultivation and possessing a slight effect in stimulating breakthroughs at bottlenecks.
"Di Qi is still quite trustworthy, but a monster's meat and bones only sold for twenty Spirit Stones, a bit of a loss. . . This person must have skimmed quite a bit off the top. . ."
This was within Fang Xi's expectations; what he truly wanted was to save trouble and complete the transaction quickly.
After all, he didn't have much time here.
In Da Liang, Fang Xi had left the caravan directly under the pretext of wanting to act alone.
If he couldn't catch up. . . then he couldn't catch up!
After all, he had done his utmost; there was nothing more to say.
"What a pity, I can't go to the Hundred Arts Tower, and I can't sell Taisui meat anymore. . . Next time I hunt a monster, I'll have to disguise myself as a Rogue Cultivator and sell it at the market. . ."
"Compared to Di Qi, the Pill Cauldron Pavilion is truly ruthless! A bottle of pills sells for thirty Spirit Stones. . . and I even subsidized a lot myself. . ."
Thinking of the various pills in the Pill Cauldron Pavilion and their exorbitant prices, Fang Xi felt an impulse to grit his teeth and draw a sharp breath.
Was it easy for him to painstakingly act as a merchant transporting goods between two worlds? The result was that all the profits were taken by these monopolists!
"Sigh. . . look on the bright side, cultivation is everything."
Fang Xi calmed his emotions and poured out a single 'Wood Origin Pill' from the black jade bottle.
The pill was entirely emerald green, yet it carried a pungent, spicy scent.
He considered for a moment, then swallowed it directly, closing his eyes to refine it.
Not long after, Fang Xi's expression stirred as he felt a vast and gentle spiritual energy burst open within his Dantian Qi Sea, stirring the Eternal Spring Art to restless movement.
He instinctively began to circulate the third layer of the Eternal Spring Art, over and over again.
By the time Fang Xi returned to his senses, he had, unknowingly, circulated the cultivation method for a full three hours.
And when he performed an internal scan, his face immediately lit up with joy: "I've actually reached the peak of the third layer of Qi Refinement! This truly wasn't easy. . ."
Heaven help him, he was already at the third layer of Qi Refinement when he transmigrated, and he hadn't seen the peak even after more than a year!
Now, he had finally cultivated this layer of his cultivation method to its peak, and could now charge at the bottleneck of the middle stage of Qi Refinement!
"The power of pills is not bad!"
Fang Xi happily caressed the small black jade bottle; there were still two 'Wood Origin Pills' inside, which he estimated should be enough for him to break through the bottleneck of the middle stage of Qi Refinement!
"Sure enough, mindlessly meditating and cultivating is too foolish; popping pills is the true path!"
"Moreover, these spirit pills contain spiritual energy within them. Consuming them primarily involves refining the spiritual energy and medicinal properties for cultivation. Therefore, even over in Da Liang, one can still cultivate and make progress. . ."
For a moment, Fang Xi even thought of immediately returning to Da Liang to capture monsters on a large scale, then exchanging them for pills to cultivate.
But soon, he severed this delusion!
Cultivation advancing too quickly could lead to an unstable foundation!
Moreover, pills suitable for increasing spiritual power and breaking through bottlenecks in the middle and late stages of Qi Refinement were even more expensive!
Not to mention, consuming large quantities of pills would lead to issues with pill toxins, which would definitely affect breakthroughs to higher realms later on!
"Selling large quantities of monster meat, not to mention suppressing the market price, would be counterproductive and easily expose me. . ."
"Still, stability is key. I'm only seventeen, almost eighteen. . . No rush, no rush. . ."
Fang Xi gazed at the Wood Origin Pill in his hand, falling into contemplation.
One day later.
Fang Xi walked out of the shed, a trace of melancholy on his face.
Originally, he had thought that one more Wood Origin Pill would be enough to break through the bottleneck.
However, he hadn't expected that a single pill wasn't nearly enough. He had to consume the very last Wood Origin Pill just to barely break through the bottleneck of the fourth layer of Qi Refinement, becoming a middle-stage Qi Refinement cultivator at the fourth layer.
"Aptitude, ah!"
Fang Xi vaguely sensed that his lower-grade spiritual root aptitude would become an increasingly large obstacle on his path to longevity.
During the Qi Refinement stage, it was still manageable. While various pills for increasing spiritual power weren't common, as long as one was willing to throw Spirit Stones at it, they could always be bought.
However, pills for increasing spiritual power required by Foundation Establishment Grand Cultivators could only be seen at the Green Bamboo Mountain market's decade-long auctions.
Not to mention, once one reached the Core Formation level, both pill recipes and spiritual herbs hundreds of years old would become incredibly scarce and rare.
Attempting to advance purely by the power of pills, even without the problem of pill toxins, was simply unrealistic!
"Spiritual root. . . spiritual root. . . I wonder if there's a way to improve one's spiritual root?"
Fang Xi fell into contemplation.
According to the spiritual root theory of the cultivation world, every cultivator possessing a spiritual root must inherently have all five elements. It's just that one or several spiritual roots are more prominent, and the 'longest plank of wood' determines the cultivator's aptitude.
Fang Xi himself possessed a lower-grade, wood-biased spiritual root, meaning that among his five-element spiritual roots, his wood spiritual root was the strongest, but it only reached the lower-grade level.
Above lower-grade spiritual roots were middle-grade and upper-grade spiritual roots, and even the legendary Earth Spiritual Root and Heaven Spiritual Root — these were all within legend. Once they appeared, they would inevitably cause super sects to contend for them as Core Formation seeds! They were reserves for future powerhouses!
"But. . . I don't seem to have heard of any methods that can enhance spiritual roots? Perhaps this is due to my predecessor's low cultivation and limited knowledge?"
"If spiritual roots could be improved later in life, why would sects still strive to recruit disciples with excellent spiritual roots? Therefore, even if such a method exists, the price must be enormous. . ."
"Sigh. . . one word: difficult!"
Fang Xi quietly worried about his cultivation path.
He walked into the courtyard, and a tiny seed suddenly appeared in his hand.
This was a seed from a weed he had casually collected while serving as a Spirit Farmer here—an Iron Luo Grass seed!
This type of weed offered no benefits; it was simply extremely tough, comparable to steel.
Fang Xi took out this seed, but it was for practicing a spell!
After his cultivation advanced to the middle stage of Qi Refinement, he could finally escape the awkwardness of only knowing how to perform the Spirit Farmer's weed removal and rain-making spells during the early Qi Refinement stage, and could now practice first-order, middle-grade spells!
The spell he was about to practice was called—'Entanglement Art', a minor spell recorded in the 'Eternal Spring Art' cultivation method.
Its main purpose was to use spiritual power to rapidly grow seeds into vines to entangle and bind enemies!
As for common cultivation methods having common supporting spells. . . their power was just about this much.
Fang Xi recalled the incantation while channeling his spiritual power and throwing out the seed.
Thwack!
The seed landed on the ground, remaining motionless for a long time. . .
"Spell failed. . ."
Fang Xi sighed.
He had never been a genius on the path of cultivation.
Fortunately, spellcasting could be mastered through repeated practice.
Since Fang Xi didn't require immediate combat application, he could pronounce the incantation slower, and perform the spell hand seals likewise, in order to reduce the difficulty.
Half a day later.
Accompanied by a series of complex and tongue-twisting syllables, Fang Xi formed hand seals with both hands and threw out the Iron Luo Grass seed.
"Eternal Spring's command, myriad trees flourish!"
The next instant, Fang Xi felt the spiritual power within him gush out like a breached dam, pouring forth instantaneously!
The Iron Luo Grass seed that landed on the ground rapidly burst open, unfurling dark, roughly ten-foot-long leaves with sharp serrated edges, which immediately coiled around a wooden stake.
Crack! Crack!
The Iron Luo Grass, like a giant python, continuously tightened its coils. The wooden stake within instantly shattered, sending countless wood splinters flying.
"This power. . . it's just okay, I guess."
"In a crucial moment, I'll still have to rely on my fists!"
Seeing this scene, Fang Xi wasn't particularly disappointed.
"Haha. . . a fine wood-element spell!"
Just then, a voice of admiration suddenly came from beyond the wall.
Fang Xi looked over and saw his next-door neighbor Chen Ping, and couldn't help but smile: "Not at all. . . it's incomparable to the agility and destructive power of your fellow Daoist's fire-element spells."
Perhaps only this person could engage in such mutual commercial flattery with him.
Chen Ping's cultivation method was even worse than his, and his signature spell was merely a Fireball Art. He had truly immersed himself in it for many years, mastering the Fireball to an astonishing degree.
"But, this Entanglement Art is a first-order, middle-grade spell. Could it be, Fellow Daoist Fang, that you. . . ?"
Chen Ping suddenly looked at Fang Xi in surprise.
"Haha. . . By chance, I finally broke through to the middle stage of Qi Refinement!"
Fang Xi had originally not intended to conceal his cultivation progress.
What he truly wanted to conceal was his Body Cultivation.
"So that's how it is. My sincere congratulations, Fellow Daoist."
Chen Ping bowed solemnly, envy in his eyes.
His aptitude was indeed mediocre, making both cultivation and breakthroughs extraordinarily difficult.
At this moment, Chen Ping continued: "I just happened to meet Fellow Daoist, so I'll let you know. . . I'm moving."
"Oh? Why?"
Fang Xi was startled.
Was Chen Ping no longer a Spirit Farmer?
"To be honest, after receiving the inheritance of Talisman Master Zong, my talismanship has made some small progress. I am now a first-order, middle-grade Talisman Master. . ."
Chen Ping replied proudly.
This time, it was Fang Xi's turn to envy Chen Ping.
A first-order, middle-grade Talisman Master was far more valuable than a middle-stage Qi Refinement cultivator.
'Damn it, there's no justice. . . Talisman Master Zong was only barely at this rank, and Chen Ping previously struggled even to draw first-order, lower-grade spirit talismans. How did he suddenly gain enlightenment? '
Fang Xi was completely bewildered.
Chen Ping rubbed his head, then revealed a simple, honest smile: "Also. . . Fellow Daoist Lu saw my diligence and was moved by my talent in the Dao of Talismans. She's willing to stay and guide me for a few days, so she won't be leaving anytime soon. . ."
". . . " Fang Xi was even more speechless, forcing himself to suppress a twitch at the corner of his mouth as he congratulated: "Congratulations, Fellow Daoist! Your sincerity has moved even stone and metal!"
In the cultivation world, first or second marriages held no importance. Even female cultivators could keep three thousand male companions and be flattered by everyone.
This was because, in terms of 'power', female cultivators could also cultivate and break through, not yielding in the slightest to male cultivators.
Equality in power was the true root of equality!
And Lu Zhi had high cultivation, good looks, and a large inheritance. . .
At this moment, Fang Xi felt a little sour.
After his sigh of emotion, Fang Xi suddenly recalled the interactions between Yun Meng and others with Chen Ping: 'Perhaps. . . this Fellow Daoist Chen. . . truly possesses a unique charm? '
However, no matter how he looked, he still couldn't tell. Besides, if there really was a secret, how could Chen Ping have fared so poorly before?
"Haha. . . when Fellow Daoist Lu and I become Daoist Companions, Fellow Daoist Fang will surely not miss out on a cup of spirit wine!"
Chen Ping laughed heartily, brimming with high spirits.
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