bookbashuk Chapter 7 Comprehensive Enhancement
Chapter 7 Comprehensive Enhancement
The young apprentice led Zhang Lin through the shop, pushed open the back door, and entered a small courtyard.
The courtyard was small, with a few green bamboos planted in it. In the corner of the wall stood a furnace, the charcoal fire still burning and emitting a faint smoke.
Sun He was sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard, holding a yellowed ancient book in his hands. When he saw Zhang Lin come in, he put down the book, stood up, and smiled kindly.
"Young friend, you've arrived. Please have a seat."
Zhang Lin bowed respectfully, sat down on the stone bench, took out the wooden box, opened the lid, and presented the spirit orchid.
Sun He took the wooden box and looked down to examine it closely.
A moment later, he looked up, his eyes filled with admiration.
"Excellent medicine! Twenty-year-old Linglan grass, in such good condition. I've run a pill shop in Qingyun Town for twenty years, and I've never seen anything like it before."
He carefully placed the spirit orchid back into the wooden box, looked at Zhang Lin, and said, "That brat Liu Wenyuan gave you forty spirit stones yesterday?"
"Yes."
"I'll also offer forty coins," Sun He said with a smile. "However, I have a deal to make, young friend. I wonder if you'd be interested?"
Zhang Lin said, "Please speak, senior."
Sun He stroked his beard and said, "If you have any more such good medicines, young friend, you might as well supply them to this old Daoist for a long time."
"The old Taoist has been running a shop in Qingyun Town for twenty years. Although he can't be said to have a large business, he has some influence in this area of several hundred miles."
"Young friend, your medicine is excellent. This old Daoist will accept it all, at a price ten percent higher than the market price. How about it?"
Zhang Lin pondered for a moment.
Supplying Sun He in the long term is indeed a stable sales channel.
But he can't just sell one kind of medicine, Linglan grass, otherwise it would be too conspicuous.
"I appreciate your kindness, senior," Zhang Lin said. "However, I only occasionally find good herbs in the mountains; I don't have them in stock all the time."
"If there are any more in the future, we will definitely give priority to our seniors."
Sun He nodded without pressuring him, took out a cloth bag from his sleeve, counted out forty spirit stones, and pushed it over.
Zhang Lin took the spirit stones, counted them one by one until they were correct, and put them into his pocket.
Sun He suddenly asked, "Young friend, if this old Daoist may be so bold as to ask, from which mountain did you gather this spirit orchid?"
Zhang Lin felt a chill run down his spine, but his face remained calm: "It's the back mountain of Shangqing Temple."
Sun He glanced at him, smiled, and didn't ask any further questions.
"If you're not in a hurry to leave, young friend, why not take a look around the shop and see if there's any pill you need? I'll give you a discount."
Zhang Lin thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Then I will trouble you, senior."
The two returned to the front shop. Zhang Lin paced slowly in front of the medicine cabinet, his eyes scanning over the labels one by one.
The Qi Cultivation Pill is a commonly used auxiliary cultivation pill for Qi Refining stage cultivators. A bottle contains ten pills and costs five low-grade spirit stones.
Qi-restoring pills are pills that quickly restore true qi. One pill costs two low-grade spirit stones.
Healing Pill, used to treat internal and external injuries, costs three low-grade spirit stones per pill.
Foundation Building Pill...
Zhang Lin's gaze fell on the top drawer, which was labeled with the words "Foundation Building Pill". However, the drawer was covered with a thin layer of dust, indicating that it had not been opened for a long time.
Sun He noticed his gaze and sighed, "Foundation Building Pills? I don't have any here, and I don't have any in the entire Qingyun Town."
"Within this radius of several hundred miles, there are probably only a handful of alchemists who can refine Foundation Establishment pills, and they all have backgrounds in major sects and do not sell to the public."
Zhang Lin nodded without asking any further questions.
Sun He hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Young friend, although Qingyun Town is small, it is not peaceful. As a young man in the early stage of Qi Refining, it is inevitable that you will attract the attention of others if you have such good medicine."
"You were selling medicine in the market yesterday, so you should know that someone is already watching you."
Zhang Lin's heart skipped a beat: "What does Senior mean?"
Sun He lowered his voice: "After you left yesterday, some people were asking about your background, asking which sect you belonged to, where you lived, and how many good medicines you had."
Zhang Lin remained silent for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "I will remember your great kindness, senior."
Sun He waved his hand: "It's nothing, just a small favor."
"I've run a shop in Qingyun Town for twenty years and have seen too many rogue cultivators end up losing both their wealth and their lives because they flaunted their wealth and were targeted by others."
"Young fellow Daoist, you possess exceptional talent and remarkable potential. Your future is limitless. There's no need for you to falter in this small place."
Zhang Lin felt grateful, but said nothing more. He simply clasped his hands in greeting again, turned around, and left Heming Hall.
As I stepped out of the shop, the morning light was already bright.
The streets were gradually filled with pedestrians, some carrying baskets to sell breakfast, some leading donkey carts to transport goods, and some carrying children to visit each other's homes, creating a lively and noisy scene.
Zhang Lin mingled in the crowd, not rushing back to the mountain. Instead, he strolled around the town for a while, and only after confirming that no one was following him did he take a small alley to the outskirts of the town and walk back along the mountain road.
It was already past 9 AM when we returned to the temple.
Zhang Lin locked himself in his room and poured the forty spirit stones he had obtained onto the bed.
The spirit stones were piled up, and their milky white light shone like a small galaxy in the dimly lit room, making the whole room shine.
He sat down cross-legged and summoned the system light screen.
He picked up the iron sword from beside the bed.
"Immersed in spiritual energy, this iron sword is made of ordinary iron. It can be enhanced, requiring eight spirit stones. Enhancement effect: the material is upgraded to the level of a low-grade magic weapon, and its sharpness and toughness are greatly improved."
The iron sword was over three feet long, with a dark gray blade and several fine cracks on the edge, left by the original owner when he practiced swordsmanship at home.
The hilt of the sword was wrapped with hemp rope, which had turned black from being soaked in sweat. The guard was made of ordinary brass and had no decorations.
This is just an ordinary iron sword, which would be considered only mid-to-low-grade even in a mortal martial arts school.
"Reinforce the iron sword."
With a thought from Zhang Lin, the system screen flickered slightly.
"Eight low-grade spirit stones consumed; iron sword quality is being upgraded..."
The eight spirit stones transformed into eight thin beams of spiritual light, flowing from Zhang Lin's palm into the iron sword.
The iron sword trembled violently, emitting a buzzing sound, as if a long-dormant soul had been awakened.
The cracks on the sword gradually healed, and the dark gray blade slowly became brighter, as if an invisible hand had wiped away the rust covering the blade, revealing the silvery-white metallic luster beneath.
The blade became sharp, with a faint, cold light flowing through it, like a clear spring flowing over the sword.
The brass on the sword guard became warm and lustrous, with several fine lines faintly emerging, like some kind of ancient runes. Although incomplete, it already had a hint of the aura of a magical artifact.
The whole process took only a few breaths.
When the tremors stopped, Zhang Lin looked down and saw that the iron sword in his hand had been completely transformed.
The sword is long and slender, as white as snow, with a blade as thin as a cicada's wing and a point that gleams with cold light. With a gentle swing, a soft "hiss" sound is heard in the air, as if the sword is being torn apart by invisible sword energy.
"Iron Sword (Enhanced): Low-grade magic weapon. Sharpness and toughness are greatly improved. It can withstand the infusion of true energy, and its power is doubled."
Zhang Lin gripped the hilt of the sword and channeled a wisp of true energy into the blade.
The silver-white sword body suddenly glowed with a faint fluorescent light, as if it had been ignited. The cold light on the blade intensified, and a faint sword aura seemed to emanate from it.
With a casual wave of his hand, a thin wisp of sword energy shot out from the tip of the sword, striking the blue bricks in the corner of the wall and leaving a deep cut.
Zhang Lin gasped.
This is the power of a magical artifact.
He was only at the early stage of Qi Refining, and his true Qi was not very strong. He could leave cut marks on the blue bricks with just a casual strike.
If he were to use his full strength, he could probably split this blue brick in two with a single sword strike.
And this is only a low-grade magic weapon.
If one were to obtain a medium-grade, high-grade, or even top-grade magic weapon in the future, how powerful would it be?
Zhang Lin dared not think about it, nor dared he slack off.
He sheathed the iron sword and placed it beside him, then counted out three spirit stones from his cloth bag and picked up the gray Taoist robe.
"Strengthen the Taoist robe."
The three spirit stones transformed into three beams of spiritual light, which flowed into the Taoist robe.
The Taoist robe trembled slightly, and the rough gray cloth became delicate and soft, like silk that had been repeatedly pounded, warm to the touch.
The color changed from a dull grayish-brown to a light bluish-gray, with a faint shimmering light flowing across the fabric's surface, like morning mist shrouding a lake, hazy and indistinct.
"Taoist Robe (Enhanced): Low-grade magic weapon. Slightly improved defense, can withstand a small amount of true qi infusion, and has a certain degree of protective ability."
Zhang Lin put on the Taoist robe and felt as if it were nothing, comfortable and fitting perfectly.
He then placed his hand on the futon beneath him and counted out a spirit stone.
"Strengthen the meditation cushion."
A spirit stone transformed into a beam of light and flowed into the futon.
The cushion warmed slightly, and the originally withered cattails became plump and elastic, emitting a faint fragrance of herbs.
As you sit down, a warm sensation emanates from the cushion, flowing through the perineum into your body and converging into your dantian, allowing your vital energy to circulate more smoothly.
"Pusan (enhanced): Low-grade ritual implement. Aids in entering a meditative state and increases meditation efficiency by approximately 20%."
Zhang Lin nodded in satisfaction.
All three items and twelve spirit stones have been fully enhanced.
With the enhancements to his physical body and cultivation techniques, his overall strength has increased by more than one level compared to three days ago.
Although his cultivation level is still at the early stage of Qi Refining, the purity of his true qi, the strength of his physical body, and the enhancement of his magical artifacts mean that his overall combat power is probably no less than that of a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator.
Of course, this is just his estimate; its accuracy still needs to be tested in actual combat.
Zhang Lin put the remaining spirit stones into his pocket, thirty-two in total.
Thinking of what Manager Sun said, if he was really being targeted, strengthening his iron sword, Taoist robe, and futon would not be enough. He would also need to quickly advance to the mid-stage of Qi Refining and master a technique for self-protection.
Zhang Lin took a deep breath and suppressed those distracting thoughts.
You have to walk one step at a time, and eat one bite at a time.
It can't be rushed.
He stood up and pushed open the door.
The afternoon sun shone warmly into the courtyard, dispelling the dampness from the mountains.
Several senior brothers were practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard, their swords flashing and the sound of them cutting through the air was deafening.
Qi Yuntian stood under the corridor, hands behind his back, watching his junior brothers practice swordsmanship with a calm expression.