Body Tempering Art

To Wang Hong's surprise, he found a body-tempering cultivation technique, the Body Tempering Art, in Hu Qing's storage bag.

This technique did not have high requirements for spiritual roots but consumed a large amount of resources. Most cultivators primarily absorbed spiritual energy from heaven and earth through meditation, thus requiring higher spiritual root quality.

However, the primary source of spiritual energy for this technique was various elixirs and spirit herbs rich in spiritual energy, and even various foods.

The absorbed spiritual power was then channeled throughout the body using a special cultivation method.

Wang Hong was overjoyed, feeling that this technique was perfect for him. His spiritual root aptitude was poor, making cultivation through meditation extremely slow; he relied entirely on consuming elixirs to reach his current cultivation level.

He lacked many things, but with his Mysterious Space, he would never lack resources.

The technique mentioned two elixirs and their formulas: the Body Tempering Pill and the Golden Body Pill. It also listed several Spirit Fruits that could assist in improving body-tempering cultivation.

Wang Hong then instructed Zhang Chunfeng to arrange for people to search for the required spirit herbs and Spirit Fruits.

In fact, this body-tempering technique shared a similar principle with the Henglian Liuhe Gong he had cultivated in the mortal world.

The difference was that one cultivated Internal Energy, while the other cultivated spiritual power.

Wang Hong suddenly had an idea: if he combined these two techniques, integrating their strengths and compensating for their weaknesses, and reorganized them into a new set of cultivation methods, could it be used by mortals without spiritual roots?

He decided to test this idea immediately. He handed the Body Tempering Art to Zhao Ning and Luo Zhongjie, asking them to copy it and then to study and cultivate it to see the effects.

Wang Hong consumed a Qi Gathering Pill and activated the Body Tempering Art. The spiritual power generated from refining the elixir did not merge into his dantian vortex as usual. Instead, it flowed directly through specific meridians and then overflowed beyond the meridians into his muscles, bones, and internal organs, nourishing and improving these tissues.

An hour later, the medicinal power of one Qi Gathering Pill was fully absorbed. Wang Hong could clearly feel that his physical strength had increased, and his skin had become tougher.

Feeling he still had some capacity left, Wang Hong consumed another Qi Gathering Pill.

After the medicinal power of the second Qi Gathering Pill was exhausted, he felt soreness and swelling throughout his body, and several capillaries had ruptured, oozing a few drops of blood. He realized his body had temporarily reached its saturation point.

At his current cultivation level, the Body Tempering Art could help him refine a maximum of two Qi Gathering Pills per day.

This meant that, in addition to the one Qi Gathering Pill needed for normal spiritual power cultivation, he would consume a total of three Qi Gathering Pills daily. That would amount to over a hundred pills a month, an astronomical figure.

Even ordinary cultivation families could not afford such an expense. Lin Junjie, whom he had killed, only consumed two Qi Gathering Pills per month.

Three days later, Zhang Chunfeng reported that out of the medicinal ingredients for the two elixir formulas, only those for the Body Tempering Pill could be fully gathered. For the Golden Body Pill formula, only a small portion of the ingredients were found. Not a single spirit fruit was found.

Simultaneously, he brought news that in half a month, the Myriad Treasures Tower, in conjunction with several major businesses, would hold its annual Ten-Store Joint Auction. Many rare spiritual items would appear then.

The Ten-Store Joint Auction involved ten major businesses pooling their treasures for a centralized auction. Ordinary cultivators could also participate by consigning their items.

Wang Hong pondered attending the auction, as he had never participated in one before.

Wang Hong planted the Crimson Blood Ginseng and other spirit herbs he had collected for the Body Tempering Pill in his Mysterious Space, intending to let them propagate for a period before using them for alchemy.

In the following days, Wang Hong became even busier. Refining three Qi Gathering Pills daily took at least three hours.

The remaining time was spent refining several batches of elixirs. His alchemy skills had significantly improved, with a success rate of 20%.

In half a month, Wang Hong refined one hundred batches of Qi Gathering Pills, yielding a total of two hundred and thirty pills.

After half a month of cultivation, supplemented by a large number of Qi Gathering Pills, Wang Hong's cultivation of the Body Tempering Art showed significant results. His strength had increased considerably, and he could now lift a giant stone weighing eight thousand jin.

The Ten-Store Joint Auction was held annually, primarily targeting cultivators in the Qi Refining stage.

However, each auction would feature a few treasures suitable for the Foundation Establishment stage, as some items were useful not only for Foundation Establishment cultivators but also for Qi Refining cultivators.

On the side of the auction building, there was a small door where about a dozen people were queuing, specifically for accepting items for consignment auction.

Wang Hong joined the queue. He occasionally saw people emerging from the door, some with joyful expressions, others looking dejected, and some with faces tightly controlled, trying not to reveal any emotion.

Finally, it was Wang Hong's turn. He entered the small door and saw an old man sitting behind a red sandalwood desk.

"Fellow Daoist, what treasure do you wish to consign for auction? Items valued below five hundred Spirit Stones are not accepted."

Wang Hong quickly stepped forward and placed two jade boxes on the desk.

The old man opened one jade box, glanced inside, and his previously indifferent expression quickly turned to surprise. He then opened the other jade box, took a look, and his old face broke into a wide smile.

"Excellent! Excellent! Two three-hundred-year-old Crimson Blood Ginsengs." He then handed Wang Hong a token. "After the auction, you may settle your Spirit Stones with this token. The token is recognized, not the person. Additionally, the auction will charge a ten percent commission."

Wang Hong hastily took the wooden token and walked out of the small door with a dejected expression.

A cultivator queuing outside saw Wang Hong's expression and said to a companion, "Many people overestimate themselves. They try to bring all sorts of junk, dead branches, and wild grass here."

His companion replied, "Alas, ordinary rogue cultivators rarely have the chance to witness true treasures. Our family only has a few remaining treasures because a Foundation Establishment cultivator existed in the past. Selling them this time and exchanging them for Qi Gathering Pills might be enough for us to cultivate to the late Qi Refining stage."

Wang Hong left quickly in a somewhat disheveled manner, but inwardly he was filled with contempt for these cultivators who relied on their ancestors' legacy, yet had the mood to mock others.

At the auction house entrance, two cultivators in the late Qi Refining stage stood guard.

Each cultivator entering the auction had to pay a deposit of one thousand Spirit Stones to prevent malicious bidding followed by an inability to pay. If such a situation occurred, the deposit would be forfeited. This also served to raise the threshold for the auction.

Wang Hong paid one thousand Spirit Stones at the entrance. A guard handed him a tiger-head mask. This mask was a type of Magic Artifact that could block Spiritual Sense probes.

Upon entering, there was a long, dimly lit corridor. Wang Hong put on the mask in the corridor. At the end of the corridor, a guard handed him a bidding number.

It was a palm-sized wooden plaque with a set of numbers: "Six Nine Seven." He would simply raise the plaque once to indicate an increase in his bid. Of course, some people preferred to shout when excited, which was also acceptable.

Emerging from the corridor, he saw a large hall capable of holding several thousand people. Only a few hundred people had arrived so far, so Wang Hong casually found a seat.

It seemed there was still time. Wang Hong took two bunches of raspberries from his Mysterious Space and ate them while waiting. The raspberries were now as large as his fist, covered in finger-sized black beads. These were Wang Hong's favorite snacks; he ate a few whenever he had time.

He popped a few small beads into his mouth, and with a gentle push of his tongue, they dissolved into sweet juice, sliding down his throat. They were absorbed into his body and slowly transformed into spiritual power, flowing into his dantian without any need for deliberate cultivation.

Eating a whole fist-sized raspberry provided more spiritual energy than an hour of meditation.

By the time he finished the two bunches of raspberries, the hall was packed with several thousand people. The auction stage at the front was slowly rising and stopped at a height of twenty feet.

An old man with white beard and hair, exuding an air of immortal grace, slowly walked onto the auction stage.

He cleared his throat, and seeing that everyone's attention had shifted to him, he began, "Distinguished guests, welcome to this year's Ten-Store Joint Auction. I am Feng Qing, and I will be serving as your auctioneer for this session. This auction will feature eight hundred items and is expected to last for one day."