bookbashuk Chapter 21 Bone Rune Spirit Body
Chapter 21 Bone Rune Spirit Body
Three months later.
Cold Spring Peak.
"rise!"
As Elder Tianding gave a soft shout, grains of blue light emerged from the bottom of the cold spring at the very top, sparkling like gemstones.
"combine!"
With a change of hand seals, nine water dragons suddenly appeared from the bottom of the icy pool, spewing out icy mist that froze the grains of blue light into fist-sized ice blocks that floated to the surface.
"The Foundation Establishment Pill... has finally been refined."
At the foot of the mountain, the group of mid-stage Qi Refining disciples, even though they could occasionally meditate to recover their energy, were now extremely exhausted and emaciated.
Only Xu Wusu mustered his spirits and sent out a transmission talisman.
Not long after, the transmission talisman returned. After listening to a few words, a smile appeared on his face: "This time, Elder Tianding has refined twenty genuine Foundation Establishment Pills..."
"Hmm, compared to last time, Elder Tianding's alchemy skills have improved quite a bit."
"This alchemy session was truly exhausting; we'll need to rest for a few days when we get back..."
The disciples all took their leave.
Fang Qing was also about to leave, but Xu Wusu stopped him and said a few words.
"This person... is probably trying to win me over?"
Inside the cave, Fang Qing recalled his interactions with Xu Wusu, and a thought suddenly struck him:
"Is my alchemy skill really that valuable?"
Or is he an enemy of the Fuyunzi lineage?
"Forget it, thinking about all this is useless. Tomorrow I need to go to the General Affairs Hall and prepare the Golden Fire Talisman and all sorts of spiritual items in advance..."
"After reaching the mid-stage of Qi Refining, the cultivation speed slows down considerably, and the aid of elixirs becomes necessary."
The following day, Fang Qing summoned the Azure Leaf Boat and went to the nearest Pill Island Pill Palace to accept several tasks for refining Jade Flower Spirit Water.
This spiritual water is more suitable for cultivators in the early stages of Qi Refining. After reaching the middle stage of Qi Refining, he will need to consume a higher-grade first-tier medium-grade "Ginseng Green Spiritual Water".
The main ingredient of this spiritual water is "Azure Ginseng," which is not only more expensive, but also more difficult to refine. Fang Qing is not yet capable of handling it.
Therefore, he could only refine "Jade Flower Spirit Water" first, then exchange it for contribution points, and then exchange it for "Ginseng Green Spirit Water", suffering another layer of exploitation for nothing.
"I'll just have to endure this for a while. Once I've made a few more trips to Ancient Shu, I'll definitely buy a large quantity of Azure Ginseng to improve my proficiency with 'Ginseng Green Spirit Water.'"
Fang Qing made up his mind and went to the General Affairs Hall of Wanbao Island again, only to find a scene of utter devastation.
"Oh? It seems the sect's mandatory missions have already been issued, and everyone's scrambling to buy life-saving magical artifacts, elixirs, and talismans?"
Fang Qing wandered around, quite leisurely and carefree, and even managed to pick up a bargain.
Of course, it's not really fair to call it a bargain. These disciples from the immortal sects are all incredibly cunning. They charge exorbitant prices for items they can't even understand, and they exaggerate their abilities to the skies, even daring to claim they possessed some kind of Nascent Soul treasure.
Fang Qing's bargain hunting simply involved taking advantage of the drop in prices of several raw materials to start purchasing them.
"In the ancient Shu lands, metal and fire are the dominant elements, and there are many spiritual objects imbued with the virtues of metal and fire... Of course, there are still not as many as on Jade Island..."
"If you want to trade spiritual items between the two realms, sell those with earth, wood, or water attributes (like those found in both realms) there and exchange them for metal or fire attributes to bring back... You can make a considerable profit from the price difference."
"Of course, there are valuable ones too, like 'Great Sun Purple Qi.' If you collect one here, it might fetch an astronomical price over there! But the problem is, you might have the life to collect it but not the life to enjoy it... I don't have the cultivation method to obtain Great Sun Purple Qi..."
Furthermore, although the Great Sun Purple Qi is easy to collect, requiring only the gathering of the Great Sun's vital energy and combined energy in the east at the time of sunrise, it takes at least several years to collect a complete batch.
"Isn't this Junior Brother Fang Qing?"
Just as Fang Qing was strolling around and occasionally made a move, a voice came from behind him.
He turned around and saw Hua Lian.
Hua Lian from Flying Fish Island is a disciple of Wanbao Island and works in the General Affairs Hall, which is considered a lucrative position.
Furthermore, he knew many secrets about the mission, was very good at dealing with people, and maintained constant contact with Fang Qing.
"I recently heard that Junior Brother Fang has successfully advanced to become a first-grade low-level alchemist. I wonder if you've come to buy medicinal herbs? I know a few stalls where the raw materials for Jade Flower Spirit Water are the best quality and cheapest..."
Hua Lian wore a warm and welcoming smile.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Hua. I'd also like to purchase some talismans with metal and fire attributes for protection. Do you know of any channels you can recommend?"
Fang Qing did not let this local bully off the hook and made his demands.
"Gold and fire attribute talismans? The gold attribute is fine, but fire attribute talismans are naturally weaker in the ocean, and even weaker when encountering water attribute cultivators... There are very few of them in our sect."
Hua Lian frowned, then thought for a moment: "I remember an inner disciple who happens to have a mid-grade fire spirit root and a physique suitable for drawing talismans, so he has to study this art. His stall is not far away. Because some items are not selling well, the price is relatively cheap."
"Thank you, senior brother."
Fang Qing wanted cheap fire-attribute talismans.
Although it was defeated by the fire attribute talisman in this small world, it became very powerful in a different environment.
He had a deep impression of the golden blade talisman that had displayed its power last time.
"I see that Senior Brother's magical power is quite profound. He is probably about to break through to the fifth level of Qi Refining, right? In the battle of true disciples ten years from now, he might as well give it a shot."
Fang Qing said the nicest things, since lying doesn't cost anything.
"I have no confidence at all in the True Disciple Competition ten years from now... but perhaps I can give it a try twenty years from now, when my cultivation should have broken through to the late stage of Qi Refining."
Hua Lian, however, knew his own limitations and answered with a wry smile.
"Isn't there still a position for the true successor of the myriad arts of immortal cultivation?"
Fang Qing asked the question she most wanted to ask.
This Senior Brother Hua Lian comes from the Foundation Establishment Immortal Island and is also a disciple of Wanbao Island. He is well-informed and may have more information.
"A disciple skilled in all arts of immortal cultivation? That's probably even harder than a magical duel..."
Hua Lian shook his head: "Whether it's formations, alchemy, or talisman drawing... it requires hundreds or thousands of failures to make progress. If you don't have a strong family background, how many times can you try? Therefore, those who can be devoted to cultivating immortality and various arts must have a powerful force supporting them... To put it bluntly, it's still the private domain of those big shots. We outsiders should just compete in magical duels."
"Is this infighting really that severe? Even Hua Lian, a Foundation Establishment disciple from a powerful family, thinks his family can only obtain the true teachings of combat?"
Fang Qing was taken aback and quickly inquired about the details.
"Even among the various arts of cultivation, there are levels of skill. Can a plant cultivator and an alchemist be compared?" Hua Lian sneered. "For an array master, a near-second-tier level is enough to pass the assessment. An alchemist needs a second-tier level, and even a low-grade second-tier talisman maker is somewhat risky... A plant cultivator? At least a high-grade second-tier is needed to have a chance of passing the assessment... And the assessors are elders of our sect. The standards are all in their hands. Unless you outshine everyone else and there's no controversy, otherwise..."
"So, does that mean that we disciples with no background or power can only truly compete for the ten spots in the martial arts contest?"
Fang Qing murmured.
"Hehe... Although some of our sect's Foundation Establishment descendants have also studied combat techniques, they are still a step behind us when it comes to risking their lives..."
Hua Lian said casually, "We've arrived."
"This Senior Brother Hua is also a Foundation Establishment family disciple, huh? Why does he have the air of a desperado? He's even more of a rogue cultivator than a regular cultivator..."
Fang Qing silently complained to himself as he looked at a stall in front of him.
The stall was run by a young man with red eyebrows. There were more than a dozen fire-attribute talismans on his stall. Judging from the fact that there weren't many people around, business wasn't very good.
"Tier 1 Low-grade Fireball Talisman, Mid-grade Blazing Fire Talisman, High-grade Fiery Cloud Talisman?"
Fang Qing took a look and was immediately tempted.
"This Senior Brother Huo Tianhuo is an inner disciple with the 'Bone Talisman Spirit Body'. His talisman-drawing skills are so good that even the Foundation Establishment elders praise him highly."
Hua Lian explained.
"Senior Brother Huo, I'd like to buy a few talismans."
Fang Qing quickly bowed and then began his shopping spree: "Give me a Fire Cloud Talisman, a Blazing Fire Talisman, and a few Fireball Talismans too..."
"A big customer, huh..."
Senior Brother Huo's face lit up with joy: "I'll give you a discount, Junior Brother..."
After chatting for a few more minutes, Fang Qing inquired, "Does Senior Brother sell any second-tier talismans here?"
That desolate place, Ancient Shu, is too dangerous; I wouldn't feel at ease without a powerful trump card to protect myself.
"A second-tier talisman?" Huo Tianhuo chuckled. "That's equivalent to the power of a single strike from a Foundation Establishment elder... How powerful are Foundation Establishment elders? A single drop of their mana is equivalent to all the mana of a Qi Refining Perfection cultivator like us. Therefore, their strikes are incredibly powerful. Even with a second-tier talisman, you, at the fourth level of Qi Refining, wouldn't be able to unleash it even if you drained your mana... If you were at the late stage of Qi Refining, you could still try, but if you haven't cultivated divine sense, it's easy to injure yourself or others, or even perish together..."
"Divine sense? Isn't divine sense unique to Foundation Establishment cultivators?"
Fang Qing didn't mind showing his ignorance, as long as he could hear more useful information.
Furthermore, he possesses a talent for eloquence; his words are sincere, making it easier for people to tell him information.
"Divine sense is naturally unique to Foundation Establishment cultivators, but some Qi Refining cultivators with exceptional talent or fortuitous encounters can also condense divine sense during the Qi Refining stage... Otherwise, how did those true disciples who master second-tier skills during the Qi Refining stage come about?"
Huo Tianhuo smiled and said, "If one can cultivate divine sense during the Qi Refining stage, there are many benefits. Not only can it help one master the various arts of cultivation faster, but it will also increase the chances of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage by one or two percent... However, this method is too difficult and there is no fixed path. In order to prevent most mediocre Qi Refining disciples from wasting their time, the sect usually does not talk about it."
"So... to master a second-tier skill ahead of time, one must possess divine sense?"
Fang Qing immediately gave up his plan to buy the second-tier talisman. According to Huo Tianhuo, even if he had the second-tier talisman, Fang Qing couldn't afford it now.
"A first-tier high-grade talisman... should be enough."
After leaving the General Affairs Hall, Fang Qing let out a long breath: "Next... it's about continuous accumulation, striving to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining, and simultaneously cultivating divine sense! And body tempering..."