Spirit Stones, Oh Spirit Stones

Yue Qianchou chuckled, tore off a chunk of meat, and chewed it in his mouth. After swallowing, his face froze as if he were choking. He patted his chest, and a pot of wine appeared in his other hand as if by magic. He gulped down a few mouthfuls and finally let out a satisfied burp and sighed. Grinning, he told the white fox about the golden bead, who listened with wide eyes, utterly surprised by the bead's ingenious use.

He teased, "Sister Bai! Don't you get tired of staying in this sunless place? Want to come to my territory? It's much quieter there, and absolutely no one will bother you."

The white fox glanced at Yue Qianchou noncommittally and said softly, "Brother Chou! Didn't you say you wanted to make a name for yourself in the cultivation world? I've noticed you haven't cultivated at all these past few days." After speaking, she continued to play her zither and sing.

Indulging in pleasures leads to a loss of ambition! Yue Qianchou thought about how he had spent the last few days indulging in fun, feeling a bit ashamed. He threw the half-eaten chicken leg in his hand far away. With a "snap," it fell into the pond and sank. The white fox, who was playing the zither, frowned slightly.

No sooner said than done. Yue Qianchou sat down cross-legged, two Spirit Stones appearing in his hands. He closed his eyes, circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill, and slowly absorbed the spiritual energy, converting it into True Qi and storing it in his body. He tossed the used stones into the water and produced two more. As he converted the spiritual energy into True Qi again, he found that his True Qi had already filled his entire body, and his Dantian could no longer hold it.

Yue Qianchou was inwardly shocked. These Spirit Stones were truly good stuff. He had only absorbed six mid-grade Spirit Stones, and the converted True Qi was enough to refine him to Qi Refining Level Five. How many years would it take to absorb spiritual energy from the air to match the equivalent of six mid-grade Spirit Stones?

Without further hesitation, he memorized the Level Five cultivation technique of the Mysterious Heaven Skill and began to cultivate. The cultivation from Qi Refining Level Five to Ten was actually quite simple; it was not as difficult as breaking through the extraordinary meridians and eight channels from Level One to Four. As long as one absorbed enough spiritual energy, there were generally no major problems.

Several days passed. When Yue Qianchou refined and infused the last wisp of True Qi in his body into his Dantian, he trembled all over, feeling as if every cell in his body had undergone a qualitative change. He thought to himself, "I've finally reached Level Five!"

He checked the changes in his Dantian and found that the Dantian, previously full of True Qi, was now empty, with only a few wisps of True Qi drifting about. However, the faint white misty True Qi was incomparable to this seemingly tangible True Qi.

With a slight movement of his mind, he drew a wisp of True Qi from his Dantian and guided it into his body. As this wisp exited the Dantian, it instantly transformed into thousands of True Qi, filling his entire body and making him feel explosive power. He circulated the corresponding attack techniques within the Mysterious Heaven Skill. Yue Qianchou's eyes snapped open, and he struck out with a palm towards the pond.

A loud "boom" echoed in the stone chamber, sending a spray of water several meters high before it cascaded down. The zither music behind him stopped abruptly. Yue Qianchou retracted his technique and turned around, his smiling face freezing. The white fox was staring at him with wide eyes, clearly annoyed that he had disturbed her playing.

He quickly got up, bowed, and pleaded for forgiveness. She gave him a sideways glance, too lazy to argue with him, and continued to play her zither and sing, "Yesterday, like eastward flowing water, it left me far behind and could not be held..." Yue Qianchou's teeth ached. He turned around, sat with his back to her, produced two Spirit Stones in his hands, and slowly closed his eyes.

"Hmm! The tangible True Qi in my Dantian is almost at one-third. Uh..." Yue Qianchou, who was sitting cross-legged in front of the pavilion, suddenly jumped up and cried out, "Damn it! Where are my Spirit Stones? Who stole my Spirit Stones?"

The white fox was startled by his sudden outburst and couldn't continue playing. She parted her red lips, about to scold him, when Yue Qianchou's figure vanished. Annoyed, she brushed her fingers across the zither strings, and a discordant note echoed in the cave...

"Spirit Stones, Spirit Stones, where have my Spirit Stones gone?" A sika deer was sleeping on the grass when suddenly a figure appeared out of thin air, squawking strangely and scaring the deer into fleeing desperately.

Yue Qianchou had arrived in the world within the golden bead again. At this moment, it was already filled with flowers and plants. A pair of colorful pheasants, one male and one female, were flirting. They were also startled by him and flew away. He couldn't bother with them. He found the cloth bag his Master had given him and rummaged through it. After a moment, as if he had realized something, he slapped his forehead and sat on the ground, wailing, "Alas! The Spirit Stones are all used up so quickly. This is a fatal problem!"

It should be known that Spirit Stones were not easy to obtain. The Qingguang Sect's territory also had several Spirit Stone mines, and the Spirit Stones mined each month were distributed uniformly by the sect. The elders living in seclusion in the back mountains could obtain two high-grade Spirit Stones each month. The Sect Master could obtain one high-grade Spirit Stone. Elders could obtain fifty mid-grade Spirit Stones. Core Formation stage disciples could obtain twenty-five mid-grade Spirit Stones. Foundation Establishment stage disciples could obtain ten mid-grade and two hundred and fifty low-grade Spirit Stones. And disciples at Qi Refining Level Four and above could receive five hundred low-grade Spirit Stones each month.

The Spirit Stones mined by the Qingguang Sect each month were not considered a small amount in the cultivation world, but with over a thousand people, it was impossible to satisfy everyone's needs. They could only be strictly allocated according to rank. Because it involved everyone's interests, even the Sect Master dared not show favoritism, otherwise, not only would he be unable to continue as Sect Master, but he might even be beaten to death.

Of course, only half of the Spirit Stones mined each month were distributed; the other half was the sect's public property. This was naturally for purchasing necessities or for rewarding disciples who had made contributions.

Logically, Yue Qianchou had already reached Qi Refining Level Four and above, so he was eligible to receive five hundred low-grade Spirit Stones each month. However, in order to conceal certain matters, he had not reported it, nor had he undergone the sect's assessment and registration. Since he hadn't reported it, he naturally didn't receive a salary. In fact, even Hao Sansi's fifty mid-grade Spirit Stones per month were not enough. The dozen or so that Yue Qianchou used were all "scraped" from his mouth.

"Alas! Without Spirit Stones, how can cultivation continue? Even if I could get five hundred low-grade Spirit Stones each month, that's only equivalent to five mid-grade ones. Currently, one-third of the True Qi in my Dantian has used ten mid-grade ones. To reach Level Six, I need another twenty mid-grade ones, which is equal to two thousand low-grade ones. It will take four months of low-grade Spirit Stones to reach Level Six. If I want to cultivate to Qi Refining Level Ten, how many Spirit Stones will I need?" Yue Qianchou felt dejected.

It only took six mid-grade Spirit Stones to reach Qi Refining Level Five, but it took nearly ten mid-grade Spirit Stones to advance from Level Five to Level Six. The True Qi in his Dantian hadn't even reached one-third. It was clear that the spiritual energy required for each level of advancement was increasing geometrically! If he were to cultivate to the late Tribulation stage, he would probably need a mountain-sized pile of Spirit Stones.

Yue Qianchou was truly worried. His name, if you remove the surname, is "Qianchou" (meaning a thousand worries). If he hadn't used Spirit Stones before, it would be fine. But now that he had tasted their benefits, how could he foolishly absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth like before? Relying on that to increase his cultivation would likely mean that even if he had the patience, he wouldn't have the lifespan to wait.

There was also something he didn't know: his Dantian's capacity was three times larger than that of ordinary people. This meant that when ordinary people took two days to fill their Dantian, his was equivalent to six days. In fact, ordinary people would only need one-third of the Spirit Stones he used to advance a level.

His Master, Hao Sansi, not knowing the full story, gave him Spirit Stones calculated based on one month minus the time it took to reach Level Four, plus half a month. In other words, the stones Hao Sansi gave him were, at most, enough for his disciple to advance one level.

"There's no other way. I'll have to wait for Master to return and figure something out." Yue Qianchou stood up dejectedly. A pheasant crowed in the distance. Judging by the sound, it was probably laying eggs. This was exactly what Yue Qianchou had intended when he caught them. He had specifically caught a male and a female, hoping they would lay more eggs so he could hatch more chicks. That way, he could eat roast pheasant anytime he wanted.

However, he wasn't in the mood now. He lazily looked up, then lowered his head again. "What?" His lowered head lifted again, and he exclaimed in surprise. Looking around, he saw that his territory had doubled in size from its original area, now spanning nearly a thousand meters.

Yue Qianchou closed his eyes and felt that although it had expanded, it was still under his control... Hmm! There were nine eggs in the pheasant nest. Before long, he understood the reason. This golden bead had become one with him. If he guessed correctly, for every level he advanced, the territory here would double in size.

Seeing a bit of good news, his worries about not having Spirit Stones were somewhat alleviated. He wandered around his territory and returned to the pavilion.

The white fox was already accustomed to his sudden appearance and disappearance. She looked up, stopped playing her zither, and asked softly, "A month has passed. Are you going back?"

"Yes, I have to go back. I've already exceeded the time limit, and I imagine Master has returned." After speaking, he turned around and waved goodbye elegantly, "Sister Bai, I'll come visit you often." The reply from behind him was 'Mandarin Duck Butterfly Dream'.

He returned to the courtyard and looked around. Strangely, his Master hadn't returned. If he had, the ground wouldn't be this clean. He pulled over a bamboo chair, wiped it with his hand, and found no dust. He had to admit that the air quality now was much better than in his previous life. In his previous life, even if he didn't clean his room for a few days, the dust would be thicker than it was now after a month. He then lay down and swayed back and forth.

"Huh? Why are so many people running towards the Qingguang Grand Hall?" Yue Qianchou, who was dozing, was startled awake. He slightly lifted his body. With his current cultivation, he could hear the sound of people running not far away. He paused, closed his eyes, and murmured, "It doesn't concern me anyway."

He had barely lain down when he heard someone outside the courtyard call out, "Is Martial Ancestor Uncle Yue here?" After calling out twice, Yue Qianchou responded, wondering why someone was looking for him. He walked outside the courtyard, and a strange disciple bowed and said, "Martial Ancestor Uncle Yue, the Sect Master requests your presence at the Qingguang Grand Hall immediately."

"The Sect Master wants me to go to the Qingguang Grand Hall? Is something wrong?" Yue Qianchou asked curiously. It was indeed strange. No one had ever sought him out, let alone the Sect Master, whom he hadn't seen since he was brought to the Qingguang Sect.

The disciple's expression was hesitant, as if he had something difficult to say. After a moment of silence, he finally stamped his foot and respectfully said, "Elder Hao led a team to the 'Newcomer Tournament'. On the way back, they accidentally discovered a spiritual herb, but due to the Daluo Sect's interference, a dispute arose. As a result, several elders were injured, and Elder Hao's injuries were too severe..."

Upon hearing this, Yue Qianchou's expression changed drastically. He no longer had the patience to listen and sprinted towards the Qingguang Grand Hall.

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