Chapter 10: Breakthrough! Third Level of Qi Refining
Leaving the Azure Cloud Sect's mountain gates, Lin Mo did not take the official road leading straight down the mountain. Instead, he kept close to the edge of the forest, specifically choosing secluded paths where the wild grass grew past his knees.
He maintained his hunched posture, shrinking himself into his baggy, worn clothes. His pace was neither fast nor slow. He constantly monitored his surroundings; whenever a traveler appeared in the distance, he would immediately dodge behind a tree, waiting until they were far away before continuing his journey.
The Azure Cloud Sect was built deep within the mountains. Even the location of the mountain gates was dozens of miles of rugged mountain trails away from the plains below. Lin Mo walked for a full half-day. It wasn't until the sun dipped to the west that he finally emerged from the continuous mountain range and stepped onto the flatlands at the foot of the mountains.
Standing at the foot of the mountain and looking back, the mountain range where the Azure Cloud Sect resided was majestic and continuous, wreathed in clouds and mist, isolating it from the mortal world.
Yet, the scene unfolding before him was entirely different. Here, without the nourishment of the spirit veins occupied by the sect, the spiritual energy in the air was dozens of times thinner than in the Alchemy Pavilion.
It wasn't even as dense as the Servant Quarters. To a cultivator, this place was practically a "barren wasteland."
However, without the obstruction of the mountains, the terrain ahead was extremely open, stretching endlessly as far as the eye could see.
A massive river, dozens of zhang wide, flowed from west to east. It surged mightily around the mountains, its muddy waters washing day and night, forcefully carving out a vast, boundless river valley plain to the south of the mountain's base.
Ridges of fields crisscrossed the plain, with occasional villages scattered throughout. Curling smoke from kitchen chimneys drifted over on the wind, carrying the heavy scent of mortal life. On the opposite bank of the great river, across the wide expanse of water, a city built of blue bricks could be clearly seen.
The city walls were not exceptionally towering, but they stretched for several miles. Soldiers could be faintly seen standing guard on the gate towers. People came and went at the city gates, with an endless stream of carriages and horses.
Presumably, nourished by this great river and plain, it had developed over hundreds of years from a tiny ferry settlement into the considerably sized small city it was today.
Lin Mo stood in place, his gaze falling upon the small city across the river, his eyes calm.
He was in no rush to cross the river and enter the city.
The matter of his breakthrough could no longer be delayed.
The spiritual energy in his Dantian had long been compressed to its absolute limit. Even though he had been circulating his technique to suppress it along the way, now that he was outside the sect's territory and free from the ubiquitous gazes of cultivators, the spiritual energy remained restless, threatening to shatter the barrier of the second level of Qi Refining at any moment.
The city was a mixed bag of dragons and snakes, crawling with people and prying eyes. If he broke through there, the spiritual energy fluctuations would inevitably draw the attention of those with ulterior motives.
For him, the safest choice was to complete his breakthrough here at the desolate foot of the mountain before entering the city.
Having made up his mind, Lin Mo immediately turned and walked several miles upstream along the riverbank until he found a river bend completely concealed by a reed marsh.
The bend was sheltered from the wind and hidden, completely devoid of human presence. There was only the sound of the river washing against the shore.
Even if there were spiritual energy fluctuations, they would be masked by the sound of the flowing water. It was an absolutely perfect place to break through.
Pushing aside the man-high reeds, he slipped into the deepest part. Only after confirming there was no sign of human life for miles around did he sit cross-legged on the dry riverbank.
He meticulously inspected his surroundings and his body. Confirming there were no hidden dangers, he slowly closed his eyes.
Free from the omnipresent restrictions of the sect and the constant risk of exposure, Lin Mo no longer suppressed the restless spiritual energy in his Dantian. He circulated the Top-grade Mortal Tier Qi Drawing Mantra with all his might.
The spiritual energy, which he had long since polished until it was as dense as liquid, surged through his unobstructed meridians. Like a flood that had been building power for a long time, it charged straight at the barrier of the second level of Qi Refining.
The realm barrier that had trapped him for months met almost zero resistance against the foundation he had accumulated over three years of thick accumulation and slow release. It was violently shattered.
Early stage of the third level of Qi Refining!
The spiritual energy didn't stall in the slightest. It continued to rapidly circulate along the technique's routing path. The thin surrounding spiritual energy was frantically drawn in, seeping through his pores, merging into his body, and pouring entirely into his Dantian.
Mid stage of the third level of Qi Refining!
Late stage of the third level of Qi Refining!
It wasn't until the spiritual energy was about to charge toward the peak of the third level of Qi Refining that Lin Mo abruptly halted his technique. Forcefully reciting the incantations, he locked the restless spiritual energy tightly within his Dantian, no longer allowing his realm to climb.
He knew very well that biting off more than he could chew was dangerous. Breaking through all the way from the peak of the second level to the late stage of the third level in a mere half-hour was already the absolute limit of what his solid foundation could handle.
Breaking through any further would inevitably result in a superficial foundation, leaving behind hidden dangers. More importantly, the higher his realm, the harder it was to conceal his aura. In this unfamiliar mortal city, a cultivation base at the late stage of the third level of Qi Refining was enough to handle the vast majority of risks without being too conspicuous. It was just right.
Lin Mo slowly ceased his practice, exhaled a long breath of turbid air, and opened his eyes.
Following the breakthrough, his five senses had become even sharper. The chirping of insects in the reeds miles away and the leaping of fish in the river could be heard with crystal clarity.
The density of the spiritual energy within his Dantian had multiplied by more than three times compared to before the breakthrough.
He immediately circulated the Qi Drawing Mantra, suppressing his aura to the absolute limit, barely managing to lock his outwardly projected aura at the appearance of the early first level of Qi Refining.
However, without a proper aura-concealing technique, this suppression could only fool ordinary mortals or cultivators below the third level of Qi Refining. Once he encountered someone with a slightly higher cultivation, his true foundation would easily be seen through.
He had to obtain an aura-concealing technique as soon as possible.
Lin Mo stood up, dusted off his clothes, and walked out of the reed marsh. By now, the sky was already turning dark. The small city across the river lit up with scattered lamplight. Pedestrians were still moving in and out of the city gates, showing no signs of closing.
He walked downstream along the riverbank until he found the ferry crossing. Spending two copper coins, he boarded a ferry boat, successfully crossed the river, and arrived at the city gates.
Carved above the gates were two archaic characters: Qinghe City.
The guards at the gate merely glanced at him casually. Seeing him dressed in coarse cloth and carrying a tiny bundle—looking for all the world like an ordinary village youth—they didn't even bother to question him, simply waving him through.
"Selling steamed buns! Freshly baked steamed buns!"
"Come in and take a look, dear customer! I guarantee we have something you'll like inside!"
"Candied hawthorn! Candied hawthorn for sale!"
Entering the city, most of the shops lining the streets were still open. The sounds of vendors hawking their wares and people chatting and laughing rose and fell. Compared to the cold, strict Azure Cloud Sect, there was far more of the vibrant warmth of mortal life here.
But Lin Mo had no mood to stroll, nor the money to do so. He only had a meager few copper coins on him. Although spirit stones could be exchanged for mortal money, he had spent his last stones bribing Steward Liu before coming down the mountain.
Still keeping his head down and his shoulders hunched, he walked along the street. He first found the most remote, cheapest general store and spent a single copper coin to buy the most inferior clay pill bottle available.
The bottle's craftsmanship was crude, and the stopper didn't even seal tightly. It couldn't store even the most basic pills and was the most unwanted item in the store. But in Lin Mo's eyes, it couldn't be more perfect.
Clutching the pill bottle, he found a small inn tucked away in an alley. He rented the most secluded room—a converted woodshed in the backyard. It was cheap, well-hidden, and no one would disturb him.
Closing the door and sliding the bolt into place, Lin Mo took out the crude clay bottle and focused his mind. A line of clear text surfaced in his consciousness:
[Item: Inferior Clay Pill Bottle]
• [Quality: Mortal Waste Product]
• [Flaws: Extremely poor sealing, unable to lock in pill aura, fragile.]
• [Status: Enhancable. Current Enhancements: 0]
• [Cost to Enhance: 10% of total Qi capacity at the 1st level of Qi Refining.]
"Enhance."
A negligible sliver of spiritual energy was drawn from his Dantian and merged into the pill bottle. In the span of a single breath, the incredibly crude clay bottle underwent a transformation.
Its exterior didn't change at all—it was still a dusty, inferior-looking object. Yet, the body of the bottle became dense and hard, the stopper fit perfectly without a single gap, and an inner layer of spirit-locking glaze formed, capable of perfectly sealing in pill aura without letting a single trace leak out.
Lin Mo focused his mind and looked at the pill bottle.
[Item: Basic Spirit-Locking Pill Bottle]
• [Quality: High-Grade Mortal Tier]
• [Traits: Good sealing, easily locks in the medicinal properties of ordinary pills.]
• [Status: Enhancable. Current Enhancements: 1]
• [Cost for Next Enhancement: 100% of total Qi capacity at the 2nd level of Qi Refining.]
"That's enough!"
Lin Mo nodded in satisfaction and did not continue to enhance it. Placing the pill bottle on the table, he carefully took out the oilcloth-wrapped Qi Gathering Pill slag and spirit herb dregs from the lining of his clothes.
The Foundation Establishment Pill slag remained untouched, firmly sewn into the lining.
He understood the principle of 'possessing a treasure is a crime' all too well. The medicinal power of the Foundation Establishment Pill was too majestic. Once enhanced, not only would there be violent spiritual energy fluctuations, but it would also emit an extremely dense pill fragrance.
Even with a spirit-locking bottle, it was inevitable that the aura would leak before he could put the pill inside. It could easily attract Foundation Establishment stage cultivators.
In this unfamiliar Qinghe City, that was practically inviting disaster. He only took out five pieces of ruined Qi Gathering Pills and the dregs of ten spirit herbs.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Mo picked up a piece of ruined Qi Gathering Pill, focused his mind, and silently commanded the enhancement.
A sliver of spiritual energy was drawn out. The scorched, pockmarked ruined pill instantly became round and plump. The pill fragrance was internalized, transforming it into a Top-grade Mortal Tier Qi Gathering Pill.
He didn't dare delay; he immediately opened the pill bottle, dropped the pill inside, and tightly shoved the stopper back in, refusing to let a single trace of fragrance escape.
He didn't dare enhance multiple pills at once. He could only take it slow, one by one. The moment one was enhanced, he immediately locked it in the bottle.
It took him a full half-hour to finish enhancing all five ruined Qi Gathering Pills and the ten spirit herb dregs.
Five Top-grade Qi Gathering Pills were entirely locked within the pill bottle, not a single trace of their aura leaking out.
Chapter 11: Top-Grade Qi Gathering Pill
Lin Mo tucked the pill bottle securely close to his body and meticulously inspected the remaining Foundation Establishment Pill slag.
Only after confirming there were no anomalies did he let out a long sigh of relief.
But after the relief, a harsh reality immediately presented itself.
Before coming down the mountain, he had practically spent every last low-grade spirit stone he had saved up to bribe Steward Liu. Now, he only had a few copper coins left on him—barely enough to pay for one night's stay and a single meal.
His living expenses for the next two months, the funds needed to ask around for an aura-concealing technique, and even the travel expenses for his eventual return to the sect... he needed spirit stones for everything.
And the most valuable, reliable thing he had on hand to exchange for spirit stones were the Top-grade Mortal Tier Qi Gathering Pills he had just enhanced.
Qi Gathering Pills were the most commonly used auxiliary pills for Qi Refining cultivators.
They were highly liquid in the market; he didn't have to worry about not being able to sell them. However, he had never traded pills outside the sect's internal market and was completely ignorant of Qinghe City's current market rates. If he sold them rashly, not only might he get scammed and lowballed, but he was even more likely to expose the pills' anomalous quality, drawing fatal disaster upon himself.
The night passed without incident.
At the first light of dawn the next day, Lin Mo got up and left the inn.
Still wearing his washed-out, coarse cloth garments, he suppressed his aura to the appearance of the early first level of Qi Refining.
Hunched over, he blended into the crowd of farmers entering the city for the morning market. Walking along the streets and asking around, he eventually found the largest and most legitimate merchant guild in Qinghe City—the Wanbao Merchant Guild.
The guild was situated on Qinghe City's most bustling main street. It boasted a blue-brick storefront, massive vermillion doors, and two imposing stone lions standing guard outside. It was incredibly grand. Even though it was early morning, there was already a steady stream of people going in and out.
Lin Mo stood across the street and observed for quite a while. Only after confirming that the customers coming and going were mostly rogue cultivators and wealthy locals, with nothing seemingly out of the ordinary, did he lower his head and quickly walk inside.
The interior of the guild was extremely spacious.
The counters were categorized, displaying all sorts of goods: pills, magical artifacts, spirit herbs, and more. Uniformed clerks were busy attending to customers.
Lin Mo walked straight to the pill counter. A clerk with a small mustache cast a glance at him.
Seeing his coarse clothes, the enthusiasm on the clerk's face instantly faded by several degrees.
"What is the customer looking to buy?" he asked coolly.
"I... I want to buy Qi Gathering Pills."
Lin Mo suppressed his voice, pretending to be a timid, inexperienced countryside rogue cultivator who had just entered the world of cultivation.
He asked apprehensively, "I wanted to ask, what are the prices for Qi Gathering Pills?"
Hearing this, the clerk lost whatever little patience he had left and casually rattled off the prices: "Low-grade Qi Gathering Pills are 10 low-grade spirit stones a piece. Mid-grade are 30 low-grade spirit stones. High-grade are 100 low-grade spirit stones. Which kind do you want, and how many?"
Lin Mo silently memorized the prices. Feigning curiosity, he quietly followed up, "Then... what about Top-grade Qi Gathering Pills? What is their price?"
The moment these words left his mouth, the clerk's eyes widened.
He looked Lin Mo up and down several times as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world. He let out a scoff, the contempt in his voice practically overflowing.
"Top-grade Qi Gathering Pills? Let me tell you, you country bumpkin, you've probably never even touched a High-grade pill, and you dare ask about Top-grade here?"
The clerk crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, his tone caustic.
"I'll tell you straight: the entirety of Qinghe City might not see a single Top-grade Qi Gathering Pill in a whole year!"
"That is the absolute pinnacle of Mortal Tier pills. Zero pill toxins, flawlessly complete medicinal power! A master could ruin ten furnaces of High-grade pills and still might not produce a single Top-grade one! They are treasures that the local grand families and high-level rogue cultivators fight tooth and nail over. How is that something a person like you can even ask about?"
Hearing the commotion, several customers browsing nearby cast mocking glances their way. They pointed at Lin Mo and began to snicker in low voices.
Lin Mo's face displayed a perfectly timed look of embarrassment and terror.
He quickly bowed his head, waving his hands repeatedly in apology. "Sorry, sorry, this disciple doesn't know the rules. I was just asking casually. I'm leaving now, I'm leaving."
Pretending to have been scared witless by the scene, he hunched his back and quickly retreated from the Wanbao Merchant Guild.
Throughout the entire exchange, he didn't say another word, nor did he show the slightest intention of taking out his pills.
It wasn't until he walked out of the guild and turned into a deserted alley that the terror on Lin Mo's face instantly vanished, leaving behind only a pool of absolute calm.
He leaned against the cold brick wall, his fingertips lightly tapping the pill bottle hidden in his robes. He now had a solid grasp of the situation.
If a High-grade Qi Gathering Pill cost 100 low-grade spirit stones, the scarcity of a Top-grade pill far exceeded his expectations. Its value would only be exponentially higher.
But it was precisely this scarcity that made him realize he absolutely could not sell them at a massive establishment like the Wanbao Merchant Guild. The guild was full of people and prying eyes.
Once he took out a Top-grade Qi Gathering Pill, people would inevitably dig deeply into its origins. With his current cultivation at the third level of Qi Refining, he couldn't possibly protect this secret.
The slightest misstep would bring a fatal disaster upon his head.
Since the large merchant guilds were out of the question, he could only turn to the black market stalls where rogue cultivators gathered.
Qinghe City sat in the shadow of the Azure Cloud Sect, so low-level rogue cultivators constantly traveled through it. In the northwest corner of the city, there was a spontaneously formed rogue cultivator market.
It was a chaotic mix of dragons and snakes where all trades were entirely voluntary, and no one would ever ask about the origins of the goods. It was the absolute perfect place for someone like him, who only wanted to sell quietly without attracting trouble.
Having made up his mind, Lin
Mo didn't rush straight to the market. Instead, he first returned to the inn. From his bundle, he dug out an old bamboo hat he had prepared in advance, large enough to obscure most of his face. He changed into an even baggier set of coarse clothes and deliberately hunched his spine further.
He disguised himself as an elderly, crippled rogue cultivator with a pathetic cultivation base. Only after confirming that he looked like an entirely different person compared to his appearance at the Wanbao Merchant Guild did he leave the inn once more.
The rogue cultivator market was even livelier than he had imagined.
The narrow street was lined on both sides with all sorts of small stalls. Some sold low-grade magical artifacts, others sold herbs and pills, and some even sold fragmented jade slips of cultivation manuals.
Most of the people coming and going were rogue cultivators in the Qi Refining stage. The sounds of hawking wares and haggling over prices rose and fell continuously.
It was a chaotic mess, but that was exactly what he needed to perfectly conceal his tracks.
Lin Mo didn't squeeze into the crowded areas. Instead, he navigated to the most remote corner of the market. Finding an empty spot, he laid down a piece of coarse sackcloth.
From his pill bottle, he took out exactly one Top-grade Qi Gathering Pill and placed it dead center on the sackcloth. Aside from that, there was nothing else.
He didn't shout or hawk his ware.
Wearing his bamboo hat, he simply squatted quietly in the corner, keeping most of his face hidden in the shadows. Only a pair of calm eyes were visible, keeping a close watch on his surroundings.
He suppressed his aura to the absolute minimum, looking exactly like a destitute rogue cultivator who didn't have any good merchandise and was just trying his luck by setting up a stall.
At first, absolutely no one looked his way.
It wasn't until the time it takes an incense stick to burn had passed that a bearded, heavily intoxicated rogue cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining staggered by. He had only cast a casual glance, but his footsteps instantly halted.
He crouched down abruptly and snatched the Qi Gathering Pill off the sackcloth.
"Hm?"
The bearded cultivator pinched the pill. Exerting a slight pressure with his fingertips, he focused his mind to sense the plump, warm medicinal power within.
His previously drunken eyes instantly widened to the size of saucers, his intoxication vanishing by more than half.
"This... this is a Top-grade Qi Gathering Pill?! There isn't a single trace of pill toxins?!"
The moment these words left his mouth, several rogue cultivators running nearby stalls instantly swarmed over.
One by one, they craned their necks to stare at the pill, their faces painted with shock.
"It really is! The pill fragrance is completely internalized, the medicinal power is flawlessly rounded, and there isn't the slightest sluggish feel of pill toxins. It's a genuine Top-grade Mortal Tier pill!"
"Good heavens, I've lived in Qinghe City for five years, and this is the first time I've ever seen someone sell a Top-grade Qi Gathering Pill on a street stall!"
The bearded cultivator snapped back to reality. He immediately clutched the pill tightly in his hand, looked up at Lin Mo, and lowered his voice.
"Old brother, this pill... 80 low-grade spirit stones. I'll take it!"
As soon as he spoke, a chorus of boos erupted from the surrounding crowd.
"Old Hu, you're too damn greedy! A High-grade Qi Gathering Pill goes for 100 spirit stones, and you're offering 80 for a Top-grade one? Are you trying to rob him?"
Old Hu's face flushed red. Just as he was about to raise his bid, a pale-faced, middle-aged cultivator dressed in brocade robes suddenly squeezed into the crowd.
He cast a single glance at the pill and stated flatly, "200 low-grade spirit stones. I will take this pill."
The middle-aged cultivator possessed a steady aura—he was unmistakably at the peak of the fifth level of Qi Refining.
The moment he spoke, the surrounding chatter instantly died down.
Old Hu's expression changed, and he gritted his teeth. "I bid 220!"
"250."
The middle-aged cultivator didn't even bat an eyelid.
His gaze fell upon Lin Mo, his tone absolute.
"Fellow Daoist, this price is already the ceiling in Qinghe City. Furthermore, I can guarantee that after this transaction, no one will dare chase after you to ask about the pill's origins."
Hearing this, Old Hu's face completely fell.
He begrudgingly loosened his grip—250 low-grade spirit stones for a single Qi Gathering Pill had exceeded what he could afford. Fighting any further was pointless.
Throughout the entire exchange, Lin Mo hadn't uttered a single word. He simply raised his eyes to look at the middle-aged cultivator, then looked at the pouch of spirit stones being handed over.
After confirming that it contained exactly 250 low-grade spirit stones—no more, no less—he nodded, accepted the pouch, and handed the pill over.
With the transaction complete, he immediately gathered his coarse sackcloth, stood up, and prepared to leave.
"Fellow Daoist, please wait!"
The middle-aged cultivator hastily stopped him, his tone laced with urgency.
"May I ask, Fellow Daoist, do you have any more of these Top-grade Qi Gathering Pills? However many you have, I will buy them all. I will give you 300 low-grade spirit stones apiece!"
A zero-toxin Top-grade Qi Gathering Pill was perfect for the younger generation in his family to cultivate with.
There would be absolutely no need to worry about the accumulation of pill toxins ruining their foundations. Even if the price was a bit higher, it was undeniably a bargain.
In all of Qinghe City, absolutely no one could provide a stable supply of Qi Gathering Pills of this quality. Naturally, he didn't want to let this opportunity slip by.
But Lin Mo merely shook his head. Suppressing his voice into a deliberately hoarse, aged tone, he replied, "I only had this one. I obtained it by chance from a senior's cave dwelling. There are no more."
Having said that, he didn't wait for the middle-aged cultivator to ask any more questions.
He immediately ducked into the adjacent crowd, his footsteps incredibly fast. After twisting and turning through the alleys, he vanished into the flow of the market in mere moments.
He didn't go straight back to the inn. Instead, he circled the narrow alleys of Qinghe City for over an hour. Only after repeatedly confirming that absolutely no one was tailing him did he quietly slip back into the inn through a remote back-alley door.
Today's events made it even clearer to him: Top-grade Qi Gathering Pills were far too eye-catching. Even in the rogue cultivator market, a single pill had instantly sparked a bidding war.
If he took out too many at once, he would inevitably be targeted, leading to endless trouble.
He could not easily sell the remaining Top-grade Qi Gathering Pills anymore—at least, absolutely not in Qinghe City.
Chapter 12: Dust Concealment Mantra, Scoring a Hidden Treasure!
Closing the door, sliding the bolt dead, and using the previously prepared torn cotton wadding to tightly plug the cracks in the door and windows, Lin Mo confirmed that this guest room—converted from a woodshed—was completely isolated from the outside world.
Only then did he slowly let out a sigh of relief, take off his old bamboo hat, and sit on the cold earthen bed.
He emptied the spirit stone pouch from his robes, the clinking sounds exceptionally clear in the silent room.
Two hundred and fifty low-grade spirit stones formed a small pile on the table. The dusty surfaces of the stones emitted a faint spiritual luster; this was the most widely accepted hard currency in the cultivation world.
Yesterday at the rogue cultivator market, a single Top-grade Qi Gathering Pill had sold for the high price of 250 low-grade spirit stones, far exceeding his expectations.
But looking at these spirit stones, Lin Mo's brow furrowed slightly.
Low-grade spirit stones contained impure spiritual energy and had a limited capacity.
Whether for buying techniques and herbs in the future or for his own cultivation, he would have to carry a massive sack of them. Not only was it inconvenient, but it was also highly conspicuous.
More importantly, large transactions in Qinghe City were mostly settled using mid-grade spirit stones. Paying with low-grade stones for expensive items would inevitably cause unnecessary trouble.
Right at that moment, a thought suddenly popped into his head.
Techniques, pills, axes, and pill bottles can all be enhanced. Can spirit stones be enhanced?
Once this thought arose, it could no longer be suppressed. Lin Mo's heart beat a little faster. He reached out, picked up a low-grade spirit stone with slightly worn edges, gripped it in his palm, and focused his mind to probe it.
Almost instantly, a line of clear text surfaced in his consciousness:
[Item: Low-grade Spirit Stone]
* [Quality: Low-grade Mortal Tier]
* [Spiritual Energy Purity: 72%]
* [Fixed spiritual energy capacity.]
* [Status: Enhancable. Current Enhancements: 0]
* [Cost to Enhance: 5% of total Qi capacity at the 3rd level of Qi Refining.]
It really can be enhanced!
A faint glimmer flashed deep in Lin Mo's eyes, his heart skipping a heavy beat. He forcefully suppressed his excitement and listened closely to the sounds outside the room.
After confirming there was no one next door and the inn's backyard was completely quiet, he silently commanded in his heart: "Enhance."
A negligible sliver of spiritual energy was drawn from his Dantian and slowly merged into the spirit stone in his palm.
There was no blinding light, no miraculous phenomenon, and not a single ripple of spiritual energy leaked out. Only an almost imperceptible soothing warmth radiated from his fingertips.
In the span of a single breath, the enhancement was complete.
Lin Mo looked down at his palm.
The originally dusty low-grade spirit stone with a weak aura had become translucent and pristine white, its surface gleaming with a warm, jade-like luster. The previously impure spiritual energy had become incredibly pure and condensed.
Holding it in his hand, a continuous stream of gentle spiritual energy surged through his palm into his meridians; the physical sensation was exponentially better than holding a low-grade stone.
He focused his mind once more, and the stone's information immediately surfaced:
[Item: Mid-grade Spirit Stone]
* [Quality: Mid-grade]
* [Spiritual Energy Purity: 95%]
* [Spiritual energy capacity equivalent to 100 Low-grade Spirit Stones.]
* [Status: Enhancable. Current Enhancements: 1]
* [Cost to Enhance: 30% of total Qi capacity at the 3rd level of Qi Refining.]
It can still be enhanced?
Lin Mo's pupils contracted slightly, his fingertips subconsciously tightening.
According to the exchange rate in the cultivation world, it took 100 low-grade spirit stones to exchange for a single mid-grade spirit stone.
Yet, by consuming just a microscopic sliver of his spiritual energy, he had directly transformed one low-grade stone into a mid-grade stone worth a hundred times more.
What shocked him even more was that this mid-grade stone could be further enhanced into a high-grade spirit stone.
One must know that it took 100 mid-grade spirit stones to exchange for a single high-grade spirit stone.
High-grade spirit stones possessed an incredibly high purity of spiritual energy. They were typically found deep within spirit veins, formed after being baptized and compressed to the absolute limit by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, containing an unimaginably dense concentration of Qi.
They weren't just the hard currency used by Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators; they were also precious materials used to set up high-tier arrays and refine top-tier pills. In the entirety of Qinghe City, it was incredibly rare to see a high-grade spirit stone in circulation.
As long as he wished it, he only needed to consume thirty percent of his spiritual energy to turn this mid-grade stone into a high-grade spirit stone worth ten thousand low-grade stones.
Faced with such a massive temptation, Lin Mo's breathing grew slightly ragged.
But in the span of just a few breaths, he forcefully crushed the greed bubbling in his heart.
No.
I absolutely cannot enhance it right now.
Mid-grade spirit stones, while uncommon, weren't exactly rare in Qinghe City.
Rogue cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage and local cultivation families had plenty in stock. If he used them in the future, he could easily fool people by claiming he stumbled upon a senior cultivator's cave dwelling.
But high-grade spirit stones were different.
The entirety of Qinghe City might not see more than a handful of high-grade spirit stones circulate in a whole year. Only Golden Core cultivators or the high-ranking elders of the Azure Cloud Sect possessed the qualifications to hold them.
If a destitute-looking rogue cultivator like him, with a cultivation base of only the third level of Qi Refining, were to take out a high-grade spirit stone, he would be instantly targeted.
When that time came, they wouldn't just interrogate him about the stone's origins; his enhancement ability and all his secrets would be stripped bare. The fate awaiting him would be far worse than being exposed in the Azure Cloud Sect.
Furthermore, the spiritual energy within this mid-grade stone was already dense enough.
Whether for his daily cultivation or for buying techniques and supplies later, it was completely sufficient. There was absolutely no need to risk his life to enhance it into a high-grade stone.
Having thought this through, the greed in Lin Mo's heart completely dissipated, leaving behind nothing but extreme clarity.
He carefully tucked the mid-grade spirit stone securely in his robes. Then, he picked out the nine best-looking low-grade spirit stones from the pile on the table. Along with the remaining spiritual energy he had planned to use, he enhanced all of them into mid-grade spirit stones.
Ten mid-grade spirit stones were equivalent to one thousand low-grade spirit stones. This was more than enough to cover all his expenses for the next two months, leaving plenty to spare even after buying an aura-concealing technique.
He wrapped the ten mid-grade stones in oilcloth and sewed them into the deepest layer of his clothes lining, leaving exactly 240 low-grade spirit stones outside for small, daily expenses.
Only after doing all this did he let out a long breath of turbid air. Leaning against the dirt wall, he slowly outlined his next steps.
With the spirit stone issue resolved, the most crucial and urgent matter at hand was finding a reliable aura-concealing technique.
Although he had broken through to the late stage of the third level of Qi Refining, relying solely on the exquisite control of the Qi Drawing Mantra could only fool cultivators below the fifth level at best.
Once he encountered someone at the tenth level or higher, if they probed him intently, they would instantly see through his true cultivation.
A two-month leave would vanish in the blink of an eye. When he returned to the Azure Cloud Sect, the Alchemy Pavilion had Steward Liu at the tenth level of Qi Refining, the passing Outer Sect disciples were frequently at the fifth or sixth level, and he might even bump into Zhang Long at the peak of the tenth level again.
Without a proper aura-concealing technique, the exposure of his cultivation would only be a matter of time.
He had to get his hands on one immediately.
At the crack of dawn the next day, Lin Mo rose and left the inn.
He changed back into his baggy coarse clothes, wore the old bamboo hat that covered most of his face, and hunched his spine. Suppressing his aura to the early first level of Qi Refining, he blended into the farmers entering the city and walked toward the rogue cultivator market.
Large establishments like the Wanbao Merchant Guild mostly sold complete mid-to-high-tier techniques. Not only were they exorbitantly priced, but they also registered the buyer's information.
The slightest misstep would leave a trail, making them entirely unsuitable for him.
The rogue cultivator market, however, not only had cultivators setting up stalls to sell fragmented techniques, but it also had small shops specializing in buying and selling second-hand manuals.
It was a chaotic mix where no one asked about a technique's origins or registered buyers. It was perfect for someone like him who just wanted to buy a technique quietly without attracting trouble.
Entering the market, Lin Mo didn't find an empty spot to set up a stall like last time. Instead, he walked down the street at a leisurely pace, his gaze sweeping over the stalls on both sides while his ears tuned into the surrounding chatter, silently scouting for shops selling techniques.
After wandering for a full hour, he grasped the layout of the market. In the most remote northwest corner, he found a tiny, incredibly inconspicuous shop. A peeling wooden sign hung above the door with three crooked characters: Hundred Treasures Pavilion. It looked like a general store on the verge of bankruptcy.
But Lin Mo knew this was the most famous second-hand technique shop among Qinghe City's rogue cultivators.
He stood at the door and observed for a good while. Only after confirming there was no one staking out the shop and nothing out of the ordinary did he lower his head and quickly step inside.
The interior wasn't large. Rows of wooden shelves lined the walls, filled with all sorts of bamboo slips, beast skins, and jade slips. Most were incomplete low-tier techniques, ranging from basic Qi Refining breathing mantras to crude martial arts routines. They had everything.
Sitting behind the counter was an old man blind in one eye. He was leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, resting.
Hearing someone enter, he merely lifted an eyelid, swept his remaining eye over Lin Mo, and spoke in a raspy voice, "What do you want to buy? Look for yourself. Prices are clearly marked, no haggling."
"I... I want to buy a technique that can hide my cultivation." Lin Mo suppressed his voice, using his deliberately altered aged tone.
Maintaining his facade as a timid, inexperienced countryside cultivator, he added apprehensively, "I want... a better one."
Hearing this, the one-eyed old man scoffed. He casually tossed a yellowed beast skin from beneath the counter, landing it in front of Lin Mo.
"This is the only one. The Dust Concealment Mantra. It can hide cultivation at the tenth level of Qi Refining and below. Do you want it?"
Lin Mo was surprised. He noticed that the Dust Concealment Mantra appeared to be a fragment; the tear marks were very obvious, indicating a large portion had been ripped away.
The one-eyed old man noticed his gaze and added,
"Don't underestimate it. Even though it's only a third of the complete manual, it can evade the probing of cultivators below the Foundation Establishment stage."
Lin Mo picked up the beast skin. The moment his fingertips touched it, a line of clear text surfaced in his mind:
[Item: Dust Concealment Mantra (Fragment), Quality: Low-grade Mortal Tier, Flaws: The technique is incomplete in 4 places; can only conceal cultivation at the tenth level of Qi Refining and below; the aura-concealing effect is weak and easily seen through; prone to causing spiritual energy stagnation when circulated. Enhancable. Current Enhancements: 0. Spiritual Energy Required for Enhancement: 20% of maximum spiritual energy at the third level of Qi Refining.]
It really is a fragment, riddled with flaws. But for him, it couldn't be more perfect.
As long as it was an item that could be enhanced, even a piece of trash could become a top-tier treasure in his hands.
"How many spirit stones for this?"
"Two hundred low-grade spirit stones."
Lin Mo's face displayed a hint of hesitation.
Gripping the beast skin, he asked in a small voice, "B... Boss, can it be a bit cheaper? I only have 150 low-grade spirit stones on me. I've been saving this up for years..."
The one-eyed old man glanced at him. Seeing his shabby, destitute appearance, he couldn't be bothered to haggle. He waved his hand impatiently. "Fine, fine. 150 it is. Pay up and take it, stop holding up my business."
Saved another 50 low-grade spirit stones. This leaves me with 10 mid-grade stones and 90 low-grade stones.
A look of deep gratitude immediately washed over Lin Mo's face.
He quickly fished out 150 low-grade spirit stones from his robes, handed them over, and carefully tucked the Dust Concealment Mantra beast skin into his shirt.
Just as he turned to leave, his gaze inadvertently swept across the corner of the counter.
Piled there was a mound of heavily damaged, bug-eaten, and rat-chewed bamboo slips. They were all waste techniques, fragmented beyond repair, so useless that even the boss couldn't be bothered to organize them, leaving them there to gather a thick layer of dust.
His footsteps paused. He focused his mind and swept his perception over the pile of slips. It was meant to be a casual glance, but in the next second, his gaze locked onto a scorched, broken bamboo slip.
[Item: Heavenly Derivation Blazing Fire Mantra (Extremely Fragmented)]
* [Quality: Waste Product]
* [Flaws: Missing 109 sections. Only the first half of the basic Fire Arts remains. Fire energy is violent and prone to meridian backlash. Lacks subsequent routing paths.]
* [Status: Enhancable. Current Enhancements: 0]
* [Cost to Enhance: 100% of total Qi capacity at the 3rd level of Qi Refining.]
Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat.
What kind of trash Fire-attribute attack technique requires my entire cultivation base to enhance?!
Something isn't right! This might be an unnoticed treasure!
Enhancing the Dust Concealment Mantra only cost 20% of his cultivation. Even a high-grade spirit stone would only cost him 30%.
Yet enhancing this piece of trash required 100% of his cultivation!
In his three years at the sect, aside from the Qi Drawing Mantra, he had never come into contact with a single attack technique.
Whenever he faced bullying, he could only endure and hide, completely powerless to fight back.
This Heavenly Derivation Blazing Fire Mantra perfectly covered his biggest shortcoming.
More importantly, in the boss's eyes, this pile of bamboo slips was nothing more than useless garbage.
Lin Mo suppressed the excitement in his heart. Keeping his timid facade, he pointed at the pile of slips and asked quietly,
"B... Boss, how much for these useless bamboo slips? My little brother back in the village just started learning to read, and we lack things for him to practice writing on. I wanted to buy them back for him to play with."
The one-eyed old man glanced at the pile of garbage, not even bothering to lift his eyelid fully. "Just give me five spirit stones and take them."
"Ah, okay! Thank you, Boss!"
A look of pleasant surprise immediately blossomed on Lin Mo's face.
He quickly pulled out five low-grade spirit stones, handed them over, and scooped up the pile of bamboo slips, ensuring the fragmented Heavenly Derivation Blazing Fire Mantra was wrapped up inside.
Bowing in thanks, he turned and walked briskly out of the shop, without arousing the slightest bit of suspicion from start to finish.
Leaving the shop, he still didn't head straight back to the inn. Instead, he wound through Qinghe City's narrow alleys, twisting and turning for a full hour. Only after repeatedly confirming he wasn't being followed did he quietly slip back into his inn room through the remote back alley.
Closing the door and sliding the bolt dead, Lin Mo dumped everything in his arms onto the earthen bed.
He first picked up the Dust Concealment Mantra beast skin, a faint glimmer flashing in his eyes. With this technique, he could completely resolve the hidden danger of his aura being exposed.
Without a moment's delay, he focused his mind on the beast skin and silently commanded: "Enhance."
Twenty percent of the spiritual energy in his Dantian was instantly drawn away and merged into the skin. There were no visual phenomena, no fluctuations. In the span of a single breath, the enhancement was complete.
The yellowed, damaged exterior of the beast skin remained exactly the same, but the technique recorded within had undergone an earth-shattering transformation.
The four missing sections had been completely filled in, the sluggish routing paths thoroughly corrected, and its originally weak concealment effect had been magnified dozens of times over.
[Item: Dust Concealment Mantra (Complete Volume)]
* [Quality: Top-grade Mortal Tier]
* [Traits: Can perfectly conceal all cultivation up to the 10th level of Foundation Establishment. Retracts one's own spiritual energy fluctuations and blood vitality without a trace. Unless a Golden Core cultivator intently probes, it is absolutely impossible to see through.]
* [Status: Enhancable. Current Enhancements: 1]
* [Cost for Next Enhancement: 100% of total Qi capacity at the 5th level of Qi Refining.]
"It can still be enhanced?"
Lin Mo was surprised. It seemed that, just like the Qi Drawing Mantra, techniques were deduced by predecessors and could continue to be enhanced further.
Unlike pills, which had fixed qualitative limits and could not be enhanced indefinitely.
Filled with joy, Lin Mo immediately sat cross-legged and slowly began to circulate the spiritual energy in his body according to the brand-new Dust Concealment Mantra.
A gentle, internalized power flowed through his meridians. His previously surging spiritual energy was instantly retracted and sealed tight; not a single trace of his aura leaked out.
He deliberately unleashed the full extent of his late-stage third-level Qi Refining cultivation, then circulated the Dust Concealment Mantra.
The aura surrounding his body instantly plummeted, locking firmly at the early first level of Qi Refining. It was flawless. Even if a cultivator at the tenth level of Foundation Establishment stood right in front of him, it would be absolutely impossible to see through his true cultivation.
Lin Mo slowly ceased his practice and let out a long breath of turbid air. The heavy weight that had been hanging over his heart for months finally landed.
The threat of his aura being exposed was completely resolved.
His gaze then fell upon the scorched, fragmented bamboo slip of the Heavenly Derivation Blazing Fire Mantra.
This was his biggest unexpected windfall of the day.
He reached out and picked up the bamboo slip, his fingertips tracing the damaged grain.
Focusing his mind to probe it once more and confirming the spiritual energy required for the enhancement, a flash of determination crossed his eyes.
With an attack technique, he would no longer be that servant who could only endure beatings without any power to strike back.
In the future, if he ever ran into Zhang Hu, Zhang Long's lackeys, or anyone else who tried to bully him, he wouldn't have to rely solely on hiding and enduring.
He now had a trump card to defeat his enemies in a single blow.
Except right now, he couldn't rush the enhancement. Having just enhanced the Dust Concealment Mantra, the spiritual energy in his Dantian hadn't fully recovered.
Lin Mo sat cross-legged and began to circulate his cultivation technique. His current Qi Drawing Mantra was incredibly efficient at absorbing spiritual energy.
Even though the ambient Qi here was scarce, it wouldn't take him the time it takes an incense stick to burn to recover completely.
Chapter 13: Low-grade Earth Tier! Heavenly Derivation Fire Seal
After the time it takes an incense stick to burn had passed, Lin Mo slowly opened his tightly shut eyes.
Relying on the terrifying Qi conversion efficiency of the Top-grade Mortal Tier Qi Drawing Mantra, even within this Qinghe City inn where spiritual energy was scarce, the depleted spiritual energy in his Dantian had been completely replenished.
It was even a bit denser than before, resting firmly at the absolute peak of the late stage of the third level of Qi Refining.
He was in peak condition.
Lin Mo took a deep breath, his solemn gaze falling upon the scorched, broken bamboo slip resting on the low table. It was the Heavenly Derivation Blazing Fire Mantra—a piece of garbage so ruined that even a scrap collector would turn up their nose at it.
Merely enhancing the fragmented Dust Concealment Mantra had consumed twenty percent of his spiritual energy to push it to Top-grade Mortal Tier. Yet, this ruined slip, its characters nearly burned beyond recognition, required the entirety of his full Qi capacity at the third level of Qi Refining.
His intuition told him the origins of this item were absolutely extraordinary.
"Since the Heavens have delivered this fortuitous encounter into my hands, there is absolutely no reason to shrink back."
Lin Mo's eyes narrowed. Gripping the scorched bamboo slip tightly with both hands, he focused all his willpower and roared silently in his heart:
"Enhance!"
BOOM—!
The instant the thought formed, Lin Mo felt as if a terrifying vortex had materialized out of thin air deep within his Dantian.
The abundant spiritual energy filling his Dantian became like a breached dam. With an incredibly violent speed that threatened to tear his meridians apart, it surged madly toward the bamboo slip in his palms.
"Ugh—!"
Lin Mo grunted, his face instantly draining of color.
The speed at which his spiritual energy was being siphoned was too fast, too vicious! It far exceeded the commotion of any item he had previously enhanced.
In the span of just two or three breaths, seventy percent of his massive spiritual energy reserves at the late stage of the third level of Qi Refining had been drained.
A throbbing, tearing agony radiated from his shriveling meridians, and his vision swam with black spots.
Yet, the terrifying suction force showed no signs of stopping.
Eighty percent... ninety percent... one hundred percent!
Only when the very last microscopic trace of spiritual energy in his Dantian had been squeezed completely dry did the terrifying suction finally come to a screeching halt.
Lin Mo collapsed weakly onto the earthen bed. His entire body looked as if he had just been dragged out of a river; cold sweat had soaked completely through his coarse clothes.
He gasped heavily for air, lacking the strength to even twitch a finger. Yet, his bloodshot eyes remained fixedly glued to the bamboo slip in his hands.
The bamboo slip's exterior remained scorched and broken. Even the bug-eaten chips along the edges hadn't changed in the slightest.
But the moment Lin Mo's consciousness touched the bamboo slip, a massive, boundless torrent of information—carrying a blazing aura that felt capable of incinerating the heavens and boiling the seas—crashed explosively into his mind.
[Item: Heavenly Derivation Blazing Fire Mantra (Complete Volume)]
* [Quality: Low-grade Earth Tier!]
* [Traits: Utterly Yang, utterly fierce; capable of incinerating rivers and boiling seas. Contains the secret technique 'Heavenly Derivation Fire Seal,' which compresses violent Fire-attribute spiritual energy to the absolute limit for instantaneous detonation, yielding peerless destructive power. Includes the movement technique 'Flowing Fire Steps.']
* [Status: Temporarily Unenhancable. Current Enhancements: 1]
* [Cost for Next Enhancement: 100% of total Qi capacity at the 3rd level of Foundation Establishment.]
Low-grade Earth Tier!
Staring at those five words floating in his consciousness, Lin Mo's heart violently constricted, and his breathing stopped entirely.
The Azure Cloud Sect was a third-rate sect in the Eastern Wastelands, and its very foundation was merely a High-grade Spirit Tier technique, which only the Sect Master and a few Grand Elders were qualified to practice.
Yet the ruined slip in his hands, originally sold by the pound as garbage, was actually a Low-grade Earth Tier technique!
This was a supreme treasure capable of plunging not just the Azure Cloud Sect, but several surrounding cultivation empires, into a storm of blood and slaughter!
A commoner is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime...
Lin Mo bit down hard on the tip of his tongue. The metallic taste of rust and blood bloomed in his mouth. Using the sharp pain, he forcefully suppressed the surging ecstasy and tremors wracking his mind.
This item was too hot to handle! If even a whisper of this leaked out, forget thugs like Zhang Long and Zhang Hu—even the lofty Nascent Soul patriarchs of the Azure Cloud Sect would end their seclusions without hesitation to rip out his soul and refine his spirit!
With trembling hands, he pressed the bamboo slip tightly against his chest, closed his eyes, and began to meticulously sort through the newly acquired technique inheritance in his mind.
The Heavenly Derivation Blazing Fire Mantra wasn't just an attack spell; it was an entire set of extremely domineering Fire-attribute killing arts.
The part that made Lin Mo's heart pound the hardest was the secret technique called the "Heavenly Derivation Fire Seal."
Ordinary Fire-attribute spells mostly consisted of fireballs or fire snakes, pursuing grand, sweeping movements and massive displays of power.
But the "Heavenly Derivation Fire Seal" did the exact opposite. It required the cultivator to compress violent Fire-attribute spiritual energy to the absolute limit hundreds of times over, eventually condensing it into a dark red fire seal no larger than a fingernail, with absolutely zero aura leaking out.
Once driven into an enemy's body, or detonated at point-blank range, the maximally compressed Fire spiritual energy would instantly expand and release.
The resulting destructive power was enough to heavily injure or even instantly kill a powerful enemy across cultivation realms!
This was a killing move tailor-made for an "insidious bastard" like him—someone who needed to hide his strength and loved striking when the enemy least expected it!
"What a domineering technique."
Lin Mo swallowed half of an enhanced Top-grade spirit herb. Using the medicinal power to quickly recover a sliver of spiritual energy, he couldn't wait to try circulating it according to the routing paths of the Heavenly Derivation Blazing Fire Mantra.
The medicinal power of the Top-grade Qi Gathering Pill transformed into wisps of spiritual energy.
The moment they entered the specific meridians, they instantly became scorching and violent, as if a ball of fire were roaming through his blood vessels.
If he hadn't been practicing the Top-grade Mortal Tier Qi Drawing Mantra, which had long since widened and tempered his meridians to be incredibly tough, an ordinary third-level Qi Refining cultivator attempting to rashly circulate an Earth Tier technique would have had most of their meridians instantly incinerated.
The night passed without a word.
It wasn't until the early morning sun filtered through the window cracks into the secluded guest room that Lin Mo slowly opened his eyes.
The moment his eyes opened, a dark red glint of fire flashed through his pupils. The temperature in the entire room seemed to spike several degrees in that instant.
He raised his right hand, pressing his index and middle fingers together. With a mere thought, the air around his fingertips began to distort slightly.
A terrifying, heart-palpitating heat was madly compressing. As long as he wished it, a Heavenly Derivation Fire Seal could take form at any moment.
Lin Mo looked at the battered wooden table in front of him. Just as the thought of testing its power arose in his mind, he forcefully snuffed it out, rapidly dispersing the spiritual energy at his fingertips.
No.
This was Qinghe City, surrounded entirely by mortal inns and densely packed wooden houses.
If a "Heavenly Derivation Fire Seal" detonated here, even using just ten percent of his spiritual energy, it would be enough to level half the inn.
Causing such a massive commotion would immediately draw the local cultivation families and stationed cultivators.
"Practiced all night, and I've only barely scratched the surface."
Lin Mo muttered to himself.
His Spiritual Roots were too poor.
The problem now was that the speed at which he absorbed ambient spiritual energy wasn't slow.
Massive amounts of Fire-attribute spiritual energy entered his flesh and blood through his skin! Then, through his flesh, it entered his meridians and Spiritual Roots.
But it was at the Spiritual Roots where the problem occurred.
Because his Fire-attribute Spiritual Root was too thin, it simply couldn't accommodate a large amount of spiritual energy passing through at once.
It didn't matter how fast he absorbed it; his Spiritual Root was only so big, and the spiritual energy had to queue up to pass through for conversion.
To put it another way: the spiritual energy was like traffic flow. The volume of traffic was massive. Obviously, a five-lane highway would be vastly more efficient than a single-lane road.
Someone with a Single Spiritual Root had a five-lane highway, while his Five-Element Spiritual Roots meant he was stuck with a single lane.
This was his current state of cultivation.
No wonder Single Spiritual Roots cultivated so fast. By looking inward, he finally gained a far more intuitive understanding.
Merely having an incredible technique wasn't enough. No matter how amazing the technique was, it only determined how fast spiritual energy was refined! But if the speed at which spiritual energy entered was too slow, or if no spiritual energy entered at all, what use was a good technique?
But on the other hand, was it truly impossible for someone with Five-Element Spiritual Roots to cultivate?
Not necessarily!
If there was a way for spiritual energy to enter the meridians without passing through the Spiritual Roots, the speed of refinement would still be very fast.
What kind of spiritual energy could enter the meridians without passing through the Spiritual Roots?
Pills! And various external heavenly materials and earthly treasures.
After a cultivator consumed these items, unlike the ambient spiritual energy of heaven and earth which had to be filtered through the pores, flesh, and Spiritual Roots before entering the meridians, their energy entered the meridians directly after digestion.
This perfectly bypassed the drawback of having poor Spiritual Roots.
This raised the question: wouldn't this mean a cultivator with no Spiritual Roots at all could also cultivate using pills?
The answer was: No!
In cultivation, the so-called meridians and Dantian were not the same as the blood vessels of the human body; they were derivatives of the Spiritual Roots.
Without Spiritual Roots, there were no meridians.
Therefore, mortals born without Spiritual Roots couldn't cultivate even if they had pills.
Furthermore, ordinary pills contained pill toxins. Even a wealthy cultivator with Spiritual Roots wouldn't dare pop pills constantly. Unless, of course, they had a steady, continuous supply of Top-grade pills.
This was precisely why the Top-grade pills Lin Mo had offered were so highly sought after.
...
"I have attack methods, and I have a concealment technique, but I am currently severely lacking in actual combat experience."
Lin Mo hopped off the earthen bed, stretching his slightly stiff joints.
He had spent three years getting beaten in the Servant Quarters. He knew how to protect his vitals and how to endure, but he had never once experienced a true life-or-death battle between cultivators.
Holding an Earth Tier technique without knowing how to use it meant that if he met a truly ruthless opponent, he would still end up dead.
He had nearly two months of leave left.
He absolutely could not waste these two months cooped up in an inn. He had to find a place where he could test his techniques without restraint, while also honing his killing arts through actual combat.
A thousand miles west of Qinghe City lay a continuous, primordial mountain range known as "Black Wind Ridge."
It was a paradise for demonic beasts, fraught with peril at every turn, but it also grew all sorts of spirit grasses and herbs. It was the favorite place for rogue cultivators to go "gold panning."
The number of people who died inside was uncountable; even their bones would be gnawed clean by the beasts.
A place like that, devoid of any rules or prying eyes, was the absolute perfect proving ground for him to sharpen his blade.
A flash of decisiveness crossed Lin Mo's eyes. He immediately categorized and secured the Heavenly Derivation Blazing Fire Mantra bamboo slip, the porcelain bottle containing the Top-grade Qi Gathering Pills, and the ten mid-grade spirit stones close to his body.
As for the enhanced, iron-cleaving inferior woodcutting ax, he wrapped it tightly in a piece of rag and tucked it into the back of his belt, right where it was easiest to draw.
Having done all this, Lin Mo donned the battered bamboo hat and silently circulated the Dust Concealment Mantra.
In an instant, the spiritual energy fluctuations of his late-stage third-level Qi Refining cultivation—and even the sharp vitality of a martial artist—were perfectly retracted into his body.
From the outside, he appeared to be an absolutely ordinary, scrawny country bumpkin without a shred of cultivation.
Pushing open the wooden door of the guest room, Lin Mo blended into the noisy morning crowds, walking toward the west gate of Qinghe City without looking back.
Chapter 14: Walking in Brocade at Night, Heavenly Derivation Shows Its Edge
Emerging from Qinghe City's west gate, the official road suddenly opened up.
To the west lay a broad thoroughfare leading deep into the mountains, its end point being the continuous, thousand-mile primordial mountain range—Black Wind Ridge.
To the south, however, was a winding, rugged, overgrown dirt path leading to the remote villages under Qinghe City's jurisdiction.
Lin Mo stood at the fork in the road. The gaze hidden beneath his bamboo hat lingered on the direction toward Black Wind Ridge for a moment.
Then, pivoting on his heel, he stepped onto the southbound dirt path without hesitation.
He had changed his mind.
He wasn't going to head straight for Black Wind Ridge. Before that, he was going to make a trip home.
Lin Mo's home was Qingshui Village, over two hundred miles away from Qinghe City. It was an extremely remote and backward village with about a hundred households.
For generations, they had relied on a few acres of poor farmland and hunting in the mountains to make a living; times were always tight.
His parents were honest farmers at the very bottom of society. Facing the yellow earth with their backs to the sky, they had toiled for the better half of their lives.
Their hands were covered in calluses, and their backs had long been bent by the heavy burden of life.
Three years ago, an Outer Sect Steward from the Azure Cloud Sect happened to pass through Qingshui Village and, on a whim, tested the Spiritual Roots of the village children of appropriate age.
It was then that Lin Mo was found to possess mixed Five-Element Spiritual Roots.
Although in the cultivation world, mixed Five-Element Spiritual Roots were universally acknowledged as trash aptitude, in the eyes of the mortals in Qingshui Village who had never seen the world, "having Spiritual Roots" meant being able to summon the wind and rain, to live forever—it meant a carp leaping over the dragon gate.
To this day, Lin Mo still remembered the sensation his departure caused the day the Steward took him away.
The village chief beat gongs and drums, slaughtered pigs and sheep, and hosted a continuous banquet for three full days.
The wealthy squires and landowners from dozens of miles around caught wind of the news and practically trampled his family's dilapidated wooden threshold carrying heavy gifts.
His parents, wearing heavily patched coarse clothes, had sat uneasily in the seats of honor, surrounded by those normally high-and-mighty lords who now addressed them respectfully as "Old Master" and "Old Madam." The two elders had trembled with excitement, their cloudy eyes brimming with tears, watching Lin Mo's retreating back with nothing but pride and absolute glory.
In the eyes of everyone in Qingshui Village, Lin Mo had gone off to cultivate immortality; he had become a lofty "Immortal."
A father's status rises with his son's. Because of Lin Mo's identity, even though he hadn't sent word for three years, the villagers of Qingshui Village still treated his parents with the utmost respect.
The best paddy fields in the village were allocated to the two elders, and even the town tax collectors would politely detour around their house, absolutely not daring to collect a single copper of exorbitant taxes.
But only Lin Mo knew just how miserable his three years as an "Immortal" had been.
There was no summoning the wind and rain, no soaring on the clouds and mist. There was only endless firewood to chop, endless beast dung to sweep, arbitrary beatings and scoldings from the stewards, and punches and kicks from senior servants fighting over rations.
In the Azure Cloud Sect, he was treated worse than a dog.
"Father, Mother... your son has been a pathetic Immortal."
Walking on the deserted dirt road, a bitter smile touched the corners of Lin Mo's mouth. For three years, he hadn't dared write a single word home.
He was afraid he wouldn't be able to hide the grievance between the lines, and he was even more afraid that if he died one day at the bottom of the back mountain's cliff, his parents would lose all hope.
But things were different now.
Not only had he survived, but he had also broken through to the third level of Qi Refining, holding in his hands fortunes that would make even Nascent Soul old monsters red with envy. He finally had the confidence, and the ability, to repay his two aging parents.
Venturing to Black Wind Ridge for tempering meant his life and death would be unpredictable. Before tying his head to his belt and gambling with his life, he had to make a trip home.
He needed to leave his parents enough mortal wealth for them to live out their twilight years in peace and become the wealthiest in the region, completely severing all his lingering worries.
A journey of over two hundred miles would take a mortal at least three or four days on foot.
But for the current Lin Mo, this was an absolutely perfect cultivation journey.
He didn't hire carriages along the way; instead, he specifically chose to travel through desolate, uninhabited deep mountains and old forests.
As he walked, he repeatedly deduced the movement technique attached to the Heavenly Derivation Blazing Fire Mantra in his mind—the Flowing Fire Steps.
This movement technique was incredibly domineering. It required the cultivator to pour Fire-attribute spiritual energy into specific major acupoints in the meridians of their legs, using the explosive thrust of the Fire spiritual energy to instantaneously boost speed.
"Rise!"
Deep within the dense mountain forest, Lin Mo let out a low shout. Following the technique's routing paths, he carefully drew out a sliver of Fire-attribute spiritual energy from his Dantian and violently poured it into the Yongquan, Zusanli, and other acupoints in his legs.
Boom!
The instant the spiritual energy flooded in, Lin Mo felt as if his legs were being roasted over a furnace. A scalding, aching sensation tore through his meridians.
But he gritted his teeth, endured it, and forcefully launched himself off his legs.
Swoosh—!
His body shot forward like an arrow leaving the bowstring, instantly covering a distance of several zhang! He left behind only a faint wisp of blue smoke and two slightly blackened, scorched footprints on the ground.
"What incredible speed! And this is just the introductory level!"
A brilliant light erupted in Lin Mo's eyes.
This "Flowing Fire Steps" not only possessed shocking explosive power, but it was also exceptionally suited for small-scale dodging and maneuvering in complex environments.
Over the next two days, Lin Mo completely transformed into a tireless ascetic monk.
During the day, he madly executed the Flowing Fire Steps to travel through the mountain forests, allowing the violent Fire spiritual energy to scour the meridians in his legs over and over again.
Whenever the spiritual energy in his Dantian was squeezed dry, he would immediately stop, sit cross-legged, and rely on the Top-grade Mortal Tier Qi Drawing Mantra to swallow the surrounding spiritual energy like a whale, recovering rapidly.
Through this extreme cycle of depletion and recovery, his newly broken-through late-stage third-level Qi Refining realm was thoroughly stabilized. The slight feeling of superficiality vanished entirely, and his spiritual energy became even more condensed and heavy.
By noon on the third day.
Lin Mo halted his steps in a desolate valley filled with jagged rocks. He had grasped the basics of the Flowing Fire Steps. Next, he was going to attempt the absolute core, and most terrifying, killing move of this Earth Tier technique—the Heavenly Derivation Fire Seal.
In the valley of jagged rocks, the scorching sun hung high in the sky.
Lin Mo stood before a massive Qingshuang boulder, as tall as three men and weighing tens of thousands of pounds. This type of rock was incredibly hard; an ordinary mid-Qi Refining cultivator striking it with a sword at full strength could, at most, leave a white scratch.
Huuu—
Lin Mo took a deep breath, cleared his mind of distractions, and slightly closed his eyes.
The Heavenly Derivation Blazing Fire Mantra circulated madly. The spiritual energy in his Dantian, originally as calm as water, instantly boiled, transforming into violent Fire-attribute spiritual energy that surged madly along the meridians of his right arm toward his palm.
Ten percent, twenty percent, thirty percent...
He had drawn a full fifty percent of his spiritual energy into his palm. Lin Mo's right hand had turned bright red; even the surrounding air was visibly distorting under the terrifying heat.
"Compress!"
Lin Mo's eyes snapped open, a burst of firelight shooting from his pupils. He gritted his teeth so hard his jaw ached, veins bulging on his forehead. Relying on his powerful divine sense and willpower, he forcefully compressed inward the mass of violent flames in his palm—flames capable of instantly reducing a house to ash.
This sort of compression was extremely dangerous. It was like forcefully stuffing a ton of gunpowder into a tiny firecracker. The slightest carelessness, and the backlash would blow his own right hand into bloody mist first.
The size of a fist... the size of an orange... the size of a walnut...
As the flames were continuously compressed, the originally crimson color began to rapidly darken, turning dark red, and finally emitting a heart-palpitating black-red hue.
The chaotic, scorching heat actually vanished, entirely locked tightly within the core of this flame, without a single trace leaking out.
"Condense!"
When the flame was compressed to the size of a fingernail, Lin Mo felt a piercing pain in his mind; his divine sense had reached its absolute limit. Unable to control this terrifying power any longer, his right hand thrust forward violently, slapping that black-red "Heavenly Derivation Fire Seal" ruthlessly against the Qingshuang boulder before him.
There was no deafening explosion.
There was no sky full of flying debris.
It was unexpectedly quiet.
The moment that fingernail-sized black-red fire seal touched the Qingshuang boulder, it was like a drop of water falling into a sponge, silently melting into it.
Gasping for air, Lin Mo stared fixedly at the massive boulder.
One breath, two breaths, three breaths.
Just as the third breath ended, a scalp-numbing crackling sound echoed from deep within the boulder.
Immediately after, countless dense, spiderweb-like cracks suddenly surfaced across the entire face of the three-man-tall Qingshuang boulder. From within every single crack, a blindingly bright, dark red magma-like glow pierced through!
Boom—Melt!
Accompanied by a muffled, strange sound, this incredibly hard Qingshuang boulder, weighing tens of thousands of pounds, actually melted entirely from the inside out!
The outer layer of rock crumbled away like weathered sand, while the core had long since been incinerated by the maximally compressed heat into a puddle of dark red magma, burning a deep, massive crater into the ground.
"This..."
Looking at the magma crater before him, Lin Mo gasped, his back instantly drenched in cold sweat.
Is this the terror of an Earth Tier technique?!
If that seal just now hadn't hit a rock, but instead hit Zhang Hu, or even that tenth-level Qi Refining Zhang Long... the opponent wouldn't even have the chance to scream before their internal organs were instantly incinerated to ash!
And this was only the Heavenly Derivation Fire Seal at its most rudimentary stage of compression, executed with his third-level Qi Refining cultivation. If his cultivation were higher and he could compress it even smaller, the power would be simply unimaginable.
"With this trump card, my chances of surviving the trip to Black Wind Ridge have increased by at least fifty percent!"
Lin Mo forcefully suppressed the shock in his heart, a flash of ruthlessness and confidence glinting in his eyes.
He swallowed half a spirit herb, regulated his breathing for half an hour to recover his spiritual energy, and then executed the Flowing Fire Steps once more, speeding toward the direction of Qingshui Village.
The sun set in the west, painting the evening clouds the color of fire.
A few wisps of curling smoke rose slowly from the quiet, dilapidated village nestled in the mountain hollow. A few barks from dogs, accompanied by the laughter of children playing at the head of the village, broke the evening tranquility.
Qingshui Village. He had arrived.
Lin Mo halted his steps beneath an old locust tree at the village entrance.
He took off his battered bamboo hat and dusted off his clothes. Over a dozen miles away from the village, he had already found a stream to wash his face and changed into a relatively decent and clean coarse cloth robe he had bought in Qinghe City.
That washed-out, heavily patched servant's uniform had been buried deep at the very bottom of his bundle.
He couldn't let his parents see him looking destitute. Since the villagers thought he was a lofty Immortal, today, he would play the part of the Immortal returning home in glory.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Mo stepped forward, walking into the village along that familiar mud path he could navigate with his eyes closed.
"Oh my? Is that... is that the Lin family's eldest boy?!"
Just as he entered the village head, an old man carrying water rubbed his eyes. The wooden bucket in his hands hit the ground with a clatter, his face full of shock as he pointed at Lin Mo.
"Good heavens! It's Brother Mo! The Lin family's Brother Mo who went off to cultivate immortality has returned!"
A single shout was like a massive boulder thrown into a calm lake. The entirety of Qingshui Village instantly boiled over.
Women holding bowls of rice set down their utensils; barefoot children ran to fetch the adults. In just a few moments, both sides of the village path were crowded with awestruck and curious villagers.
They looked at Lin Mo in his clean, crisp clothes, noticing how much taller he had grown compared to three years ago, and his steady, internalized aura. Their eyes were filled with nothing but heartfelt awe.
"Greetings, Immortal Master!"
It was unclear who started it, but with a whoosh, the surrounding villagers fell to their knees in a large swathe.
Lin Mo was slightly taken aback. Seeing these uncles and aunts who had watched him grow up kneeling on the ground, his heart felt inexplicably sour. He didn't put on the airs of an Immortal. Instead, he quickly stepped forward and raised his hands in a lifting gesture.
"Uncle Zhang, Aunt Li, please get up quickly, you're shortening my lifespan. I am still the Lin family's Mo'er, what Immortal Master?"
While gently dealing with the villagers, his footsteps grew faster and faster, heading straight for the low adobe house at the very back of the village.
The wooden fence of the yard was just as dilapidated as it had been back then.
In the yard, a white-haired old woman with a hunched back was struggling to scatter rice bran into a chicken trough by the dimming twilight. Hearing the noisy footsteps outside the yard, the old woman turned around somewhat sluggishly.
When her cloudy eyes clearly saw the youth standing outside the fence, the wooden bowl in her hand fell to the ground with a smack.
"Mo... Mo'er?" The old woman's voice trembled, her eyes instantly turning red, almost unable to believe her own eyes.
"Mother..."
Lin Mo's eyes instantly welled up with moisture. He pushed open the creaking wooden gate, walked quickly up to the old woman, and with a heavy thud, dropped to both knees in the dirt-filled yard, his voice choking with emotion.
"Mother, your unfilial son... has returned to see you and Father."