Cultivation Efficiency Improved Tremendously
Shen Jingchuan immediately began arranging accommodations.
The east wing room on the east side of the main hall in the second courtyard was where Yan Shuyao stayed when she visited the mansion. The room was spacious, sunny, and fully furnished.
He ordered a thorough cleaning, replacing the bedding and curtains with brand new ones, and even brought a full-length dressing mirror, as tall as a person, from the storeroom to place in the room.
Xiao Mingshu entered the room and looked around. Her gaze fell on the large, bright mirror. She leaned closer to look at her temples, her eyes full of smiles, and said "Good!" repeatedly.
It was already noon, and lunch had been prepared at the manor. A table was set up in the main hall, where Shen Jingchuan sat at the head of the table with Xiao Mingshu, while Lin Qingyao and Bai Ruoli sat on either side.
Xiao Mingshu's accompanying maid was no ordinary servant; she herself possessed the cultivation of the Qi Refining Third Layer. Both her figure and appearance were extraordinary, not at all inferior to Bai Ruoli, who was renowned as one of the Eight Beauties. She stood behind Xiao Mingshu, serving her.
Shen Jingchuan, unfamiliar with etiquette, rose and invited her to sit down and dine. The accompanying maid, standing beside Xiao Mingshu, bowed slightly and lowered her eyes, saying:
"This servant dares not; I will stand and serve Your Highness."
She spoke respectfully, but she was unwilling in her heart. With her Qi Refining Third Layer of Qi Refining, ordinary mortal officials were not qualified to sit at the same table as her, let alone these mortal women in the mansion.
Xiao Mingshu introduced with a smile:
"Her Xiaohuan, she's older than you, so you can call her 'older sister' from now on."
He then said to Xiaohuan, "Alright, stop putting on airs, sit down and eat with us."
The maid responded and reluctantly sat down next to Xiao Mingshu.
At the table were the sisters Su Qingshu and Su Qinghua, along with three maids: Qinghe, Ju'er, Yue'er. Although the Su Household sisters were Shen Jingchuan's adopted sisters, they were very proper today and did not eat at the table with him. Instead, they served food and tea with the maids, who took great care of them.
Xiao Mingshu's identity is ultimately special, and although they have just recognized each other as siblings, it is not appropriate for her to be too casual.
The dishes on the table were exquisite, accompanied by several kinds of soft drinks and juices. Xiao Mingshu only tasted two bites of the food and drank half a glass of ice-cold, sweet cola, and was once again amazed.
Born into royalty, she wasn't particularly favored, but she had seen plenty of delicacies. Yet, the taste of the banquet at the Shen Household was even more outstanding than the dishes served in the imperial kitchen.
Xiaohuan was only doing this out of respect for her master, casually picking up a bite of food, and then... and then she couldn't stop.
Xiao Mingshu was secretly puzzled, feeling that there was something strange about the Shen Household.
Despite being from the Aristocratic Clan cultivators, Shen Jingchuan, who clearly possesses the cultivation level of the Qi Refining Second Layer, has only a superficial understanding of market trends and the common practices among cultivators, making him seem completely unlike a scion of a noble Aristocratic Clan.
You could say they're just an ordinary Aristocratic Clan, yet they manage to create such exquisitely crafted everyday objects as glass mirrors and watches. The craftsmanship is so refined that even the master craftsmen in the market might not be able to replicate it; it's definitely not something an ordinary workshop could achieve.
After dinner, Xiao Mingshu told Shen Jingchuan that they would set off for Azure Cloud Market early the next morning.
We need to sell the goods quickly and exchange them for resources. Shen Jingchuan nodded in agreement and said he would send her out of the city first thing tomorrow morning.
When night fell, Shen Jingchuan didn't go back to the backyard to find his two wives. He knew that once Qi Refining Sixth Layer cultivator's Divine Sense was activated, no movement in the entire mansion could be kept secret. If he went back to his room to fight, even the slightest sound would be heard, which would be too embarrassing. So he went straight to the west courtyard, sat cross-legged, circulated his Cultivation Method, and honestly began to meditate and cultivate.
He glanced at his pocket watch; it was just past nine o'clock at night. After a moment's thought, he teleported back to the modern era. He drove straight to the warehouse and stored all four custom-made luxury carriages, along with a batch of goods, into his Storage Ring.
Back at West Mountain Separate Garden, he placed an order online for some more items. This time, he added one more item, finding a shop with online customer service on Pinduoduo.
Makeup bag + lipstick + makeup mirror + perfume +... have the shop assistant provide everything, and I placed an order for a thousand sets. I then returned to Yuxi Prefecture just before midnight.
He quietly went to the empty storeroom in the backyard, put the goods in the four carriages, and after finishing all this, he cast a Cleaning Technique on himself before returning to his room.
He sat cross-legged on the bed and opened the brocade bag that Xiao Mingshu had given him during the day.
He took it out and opened it. Inside were thirty-five Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and next to them were three small porcelain bottles with notes attached.
He uncorked the bottle and counted the pills one by one: a total of fifteen Qi Nourishing Pills; seven Qi Gathering Pills; and two Spirit Cleansing Pills.
Shen Jingchuan had never been to the market and knew nothing about the market price of these pills; he only noticed that there were quite a few of them.
Without lingering, he raised his hand and put all thirty-five Low-Grade Spirit Stones and pills into his Ring space.
He then heard Xian'er's voice ring out in his mind. "You brat, you've got another Spirit Stone!"
Before she could finish speaking, a flash of inspiration struck her, and the twenty Spirit Stones instantly transformed into pure Spiritual Qi, which was completely absorbed by her spiritual body.
"Phew, that feels good." Xian'er's tone was much more relaxed.
Shen Jingchuan was already used to this. With a thought, he allocated the remaining fifteen Spirit Stones to his Ring space for absorption, and then used his Divine Sense to issue a command—to upgrade the quality of all the pills in the space.
After everything was arranged, he asked in his mind, "Sister Xian'er, what is the purpose of this new pill called Spirit Cleansing Pill?"
"The Low-Grade Clear Spirit Pill is an auxiliary pill for beginners. It calms the mind and focuses the spirit. Taking one while meditating can suppress distracting thoughts and help you enter a state of tranquility more quickly."
Xian'er answered casually, her tone somewhat dismissive:
"It's only good for beginners who have just Qi Refining; it's not anything special. But if you upgrade it to mid-grade, then it's a different story."
"What's different?" Shen Jingchuan pressed.
"The Mid-Grade Clear Spirit Pill can nourish your Divine Sense and gradually strengthen your soul."
Xian'er slowly explained:
"You're currently at the Qi Refining Second Layer, so your Divine Sense can only scan a few feet away, not even covering the corners of the mansion. Once your Divine Sense improves, your perception range will increase, and you'll be more sensitive to external stimuli while meditating. This will make it easier for you to control Law Artifacts and cast Law Technique in the future."
Shen Jingchuan's heart stirred. He was worried that his Divine Sense was too weak, and he couldn't even detect the movements around him. This pill that nourishes Divine Sense could make up for this shortcoming.
Xian'er chatted with him for a couple more minutes, then went back to rest.
He took out the Mid-Grade Qi Gathering Pill he had been reluctant to use for practicing his skills and began to refine them. Now that he had access to purchasing pills, he no longer needed to be frugal.
The elixir melted upon entering his mouth, transforming into a rich Spiritual Qi that dispersed into his meridians. Shen Jingchuan practiced the "Five Phases Spirit Guiding Instruction," and the five strands of Spiritual Qi —metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—immediately began to circulate in the order of mutual generation within his Dantian.
Metal generates water, water generates wood, wood generates fire, fire generates earth, and earth generates metal, forming a complete small cycle. Once the medicinal power enters the meridians, it is carried along by this cycle of the five elements without any stagnation.
The Everlasting Spring Breathing Instruction he used to practice was so dazed when absorbing Spiritual Qi that six or seven tenths of the medicinal power would dissipate along his meridians, and the rest was impure and mixed, requiring repeated refinement before it could sink into his Dantian.
But this Cultivation Method is completely different. The Five Phases Spiritual Qi complement each other, like a fine net that tightly traps the scattered medicinal power, and even the impurities in the pill are circulated and washed away, leaving only the purest Spiritual Qi.
Shen Jingchuan had never been to the market town and didn't know what it was like for others to cultivate. He only felt that this Cultivation Method was exceptionally easy to use and was more than a hundred times better than the Everlasting Spring Breathing Instruction.
In just over two hours, the medicinal power of the entire pill was completely refined, with almost no loss.
As the first light appeared on the horizon, he slowly finished his practice. He felt his Dantian brimming with Spiritual Qi, and his cultivation at the Qi Refining Second Layer had clearly improved. Even his Divine Sense had become much clearer.