Comprehensive Improvement

Even in Zhenjiang City, the Great Xia Trading Company was still the most eye-catching shop in the prefectural city.

It occupied a large area, with four floors, one more than the Great Xia Trading Company in Yuanshan City.

The fourth floor was for Nascent Soul cultivators.

After Lu Qingshan left the Cai residence, he headed straight for the Great Xia Trading Company.

Entering the Great Xia Trading Company, he saw that its first-floor facade stretched nearly a hundred meters, with dozens of young attendants in green inside, and many customers.

It truly lived up to its reputation as the largest and most trustworthy trading company in all of Zhenjiang City.

After killing the Cry Soul True Person and confiscating two storage rings, Lu Qingshan's wealth was unimaginably substantial.

In terms of spirit stones alone, Lu Qingshan currently had over twenty Fourth-grade Spirit Stones and over a hundred Third-grade Spirit Stones on him.

As for the remaining miscellaneous First and Second-grade Spirit Stones, Lu Qingshan no longer paid them any mind.

Spirit stones held little meaning if kept as they were; Lu Qingshan needed to convert them into his combat power.

This was because Yuanshan City was, after all, only a county city, and it was impossible to buy very good spirit artifacts, pills, or talismans there.

Therefore, Lu Qingshan had waited until he arrived in Zhenjiang City to prepare to spend generously.

Upon entering the Great Xia Trading Company, Lu Qingshan did not linger on the first floor and went directly to the second floor.

The items on the first floor no longer held much significance for him at this moment.

Compared to the first floor, the second floor was noticeably much quieter.

The second floor was for Foundation Establishment cultivators.

—Even in Zhenjiang City, Foundation Establishment cultivators were not found everywhere.

As Lu Qingshan, who was only at the Qi Refining stage, arrived on the second floor, he quickly attracted the sideways glances of some customers.

Who is this young master from a prominent family?

A cultivator muttered inwardly.

For a Qi Refining cultivator to come to the second floor to shop, it was usually the wealthy young masters from those prominent families.

"Young master, what do you need?" a green-robed attendant at the fifth level of Qi Refining respectfully greeted him.

Lu Qingshan glanced at the attendant and said indifferently, "I need to purchase spirit artifacts and some talismans and pills, but I want the best items on the second floor!"

The green-robed attendant was slightly taken aback, but after carefully observing Lu Qingshan and confirming that he was not joking, his face immediately broke into a wide smile.

A big spender! I wonder which young master he is.

"Young master, please come this way. Please have a seat inside first, and I will call the shopkeeper to discuss with you in detail." The green-robed attendant quickly led Lu Qingshan into a private room on the second floor.

Quite a few customers on the second floor had already noticed the situation with Lu Qingshan.

Seeing Lu Qingshan being led into the private room reserved for major patrons, some were quietly discussing something with their companions, while others' eyes gleamed with an unknown calculation.

Inside the private room.

The furniture, including the tables and chairs, was antique and elegant, decorated with tasteful simplicity, creating a comfortable and serene atmosphere.

In a corner of the room, there was an incense burner, with a stick of incense slowly burning within, filling the room with a faint scent of sandalwood.

Not long after Lu Qingshan sat down, a refined middle-aged man entered with a maid.

The maid was carrying a teapot and several teacups.

"I am the shopkeeper of the second floor of the Great Xia Trading Company. May I know your name, young master?" the middle-aged man asked with a smile.

"Lu Qingshan."

"So it's Young Master Lu." The middle-aged man turned and instructed the maid, "Quickly pour tea for Young Master Lu."

After the maid poured the tea, Lu Qingshan did not stand on ceremony. He picked up the teacup and took a sip, saying politely, "Excellent tea!"

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "I heard that Young Master Lu wishes to purchase the best spirit artifacts and talismans on the second floor. I have already instructed the attendants to retrieve some treasures that have been stored for a long time from the vault. I guarantee you won't be disappointed, Young Master Lu, please wait a moment."

Lu Qingshan nodded slightly.

After a while, six or seven attendants pushed open the door, each carrying a tray. On each tray was an ancient brocade box.

The middle-aged man placed the brocade boxes on the table and opened them one by one, introducing each to Lu Qingshan.

"Sealing Cavity Benevolent King Needles, low-grade spirit artifact, made from Ice Soul Cold Iron..."

"Skip it. I'm not interested in this spirit artifact." Lu Qingshan swept his gaze over the needle-shaped spirit artifact flashing coldly in the box and said indifferently.

He currently possessed the Cry Soul Sword and did not need offensive spirit artifacts.

Besides, what kind of sword cultivator would use needle-shaped spirit artifacts? Wouldn't that be embarrassing?

The middle-aged man's expression remained unchanged. He opened another brocade box, which contained a talisman.

Lu Qingshan's eyes lit up.

He recognized this talisman; it was a Beast Talisman!

Lu Qingshan picked up the Beast Talisman.

[Beast Talisman: Spirit Leaf Ape]

Rank: Second-grade Beast Talisman

Description: Refined by Talisman Masters, sealing the soul of a Demonic Beast onto a Talisman.

Talisman Effect: Can summon the soul of a Second-grade Demonic Beast, the Spirit Leaf Ape.

Duration: 30 minutes

Uses: 1/1

Spirit Leaf Ape Basic Attributes: Strength 20, Agility 5, ...

Talents: [Abnormal Strength] (HP +100), [Soul Body] (Physical Damage Reduction 20%, Spell Damage Taken +20%), ...

Skills: (Omitted)

Beast Talismans are considered one of the most practical and precious types of Talismans. After summoning the beast soul using a Beast Talisman, the beast soul will attack under the command of the cultivator, acting on instinct.

It's essentially a lower-tier version of a Demonic Pet.

This is why, despite being only a Second-grade Talisman, the Great Xia Trading Company would package it in a brocade box with such solemnity.

Without waiting for the middle-aged man to explain, Lu Qingshan directly stated, "I'll take this Beast Talisman."

The middle-aged man's face twitched slightly. "Young Master Lu is truly generous."

The middle-aged man opened another brocade box. Inside was yet another Talisman.

"This is a Breath Concealing Talisman, one of the few Third-grade Talismans we have on the second floor..."

[Breath Concealing Talisman]

Rank: Third-grade

Talisman Effect: Can conceal one's aura, making it difficult to be detected. It also has a significant shielding effect against the Spiritual Sense of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

After using this Talisman, even Foundation Establishment cultivators will find it difficult to detect you with their Spiritual Sense.

—A Talisman for the cautious path.

Lu Qingshan nodded inwardly.

"I'll take this Breath Concealing Talisman too!"

A long while later, Lu Qingshan emerged from the Great Xia Trading Company laden with goods.

This time, he felt as though he had armed himself from head to toe, inside and out, with Spirit Stones.

He felt like he was exuding the fragrance of a P2W tycoon.

In addition to the [Beast Talisman: Spirit Leaf Ape] and the [Breath Concealing Talisman], he also purchased numerous offensive Talismans inscribed with Second-grade Five Elements spells from the Great Xia Trading Company.

He didn't buy many elixirs. Common healing elixirs or Spirit Power recovery elixirs were already available in Cry Soul True Person's Storage Ring, so he didn't need to restock.

The only elixir he purchased was the [Snow Lotus Pill].

[Snow Lotus Pill]

Rank: Second-grade Elixir

Description: Refined from Snow Lotus, which can heal soul damage, thus providing certain enhancement effects to a cultivator's soul.

Elixir Effect: After consumption, the soul will gain a layer of protection for three hours, granting some resistance against soul attack secret techniques.

Anything related to the soul would have its value multiplied several times over.

This bottle of [Snow Lotus Pill] was no exception. Although it was only a Second-grade elixir, Lu Qingshan spent five times the usual price for a Second-grade elixir to acquire it.

But it was worth it.

Although at lower levels, few cultivators mastered soul attack methods, making it highly probable that this bottle of [Snow Lotus Pill] might go unused.

However, Lu Qingshan never relied on luck.

This was his preparation for defending against soul attacks.

Before he could learn soul secret techniques, he could only rely on these external items to deal with soul attacks from other cultivators.

He only purchased one Spirit Artifact.

[Water Cloud Eight Gates Shield]

Rank: Low-grade Spirit Artifact

Description: Precisely cut from a single piece of Water Cloud Stone into eight refined pieces, it is incredibly sturdy and unbreakable.

This Spirit Artifact consists of eight Water Cloud Shields. Once activated by a spell, the eight Water Cloud Shields can surround the user for defense.

Spirit Artifact Effect: Durability +4

Active Special Effect: [Eight Gates Shield Armor]

Commands the eight Water Cloud Shields to combine into a shield armor. The shield armor has durability.

Durability: 100/100

Supplement: Once durability is fully depleted, the [Eight Gates Shield Armor] can no longer be used, and its artifact effects will also become invalid.

With the Water Cloud Eight Gates Shield, Lu Qingshan's meager health finally felt a little more secure.

A +4 bonus to toughness meant even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would find it quite resilient.

As for the skill effect of the [Eight Gates Shield Armor], a simple translation would be equivalent to Lu Qingshan gaining an additional hundred points of armor.

Finally, Lu Qingshan spent a considerable sum to purchase thirteen small, pellet-sized purple Thunder Pearls.

[Thunder Pearl]

Description: Consumable item, condensed from heaven and earth lightning by Magic Cultivators using special methods, possessing immense power.

Effect: Unleashes compressed thunder power, erupting with massive damage.

The power of the Thunder Pearls was immense; a Foundation Establishment cultivator who carelessly took a direct hit would instantly turn to dust and ashes.

Furthermore, Thunder Pearls were simple to use, requiring only a slight mobilization of Spirit Power to detonate, essentially making them free to use.

Of course, there were drawbacks. While the Thunder Pearls were powerful, there was a brief three-second delay from activation to detonation.

For mortals, three seconds was nothing.

But for cultivators, this three-second delay was enough time for them to escape the Thunder Pearl's blast radius.

Each Thunder Pearl cost five Third-grade Spirit Stones.

The wealthy Lu Qingshan, without hesitation, bought all thirteen Thunder Pearls.

These thirteen Thunder Pearls could be kept as trump cards.

The gains were significant, but so were the costs.

Lu Qingshan's substantial Spirit Stone assets were almost completely depleted.

After organizing his acquisitions, Lu Qingshan turned his gaze to the status panel.

Without hesitation, he poured all his long-accumulated Experience points into it.

"[Qi Guiding Technique] upgraded to lv9, Spirit Power +10!"

"[Qi Guiding Technique] upgraded to lv10 (0/1000), Spirit Power +10!"

"[Qi Guiding Technique] upgraded to lv10 (1000/1000) max! This cultivation method has reached its highest level, granting a special effect: Spirit Power +50!"

"Detected that you have reached the level cap for your current stage, granted advancement quest [Foundation Establishment]!"

[Foundation Establishment]: Learn a Foundation Establishment Cultivation Method.

After half a month, he was finally about to attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm.

Lu Qingshan was filled with emotion.

It hadn't been easy.

Lu Qingshan (Human)

Profession: Sword Cultivator

Cultivation Method: [Qi Guiding Technique] Lv10 (max!) — [Spirit Power +150]

Stage: Qi Refining

Experience: 968

Spirit Power: 150/150

Talents: [Innate Sword Seed] (Legendary Talent), [Specialization], [Charge], [Sword Skill Affinity] (Beginner), [Thick Skin and Flesh]

Skills: [Heavenly Eye Technique] (General), [Falling Bright Sword Art] lv10 (max), [Secret Sword: Wind Cutter] lv1 (0/2000)

Factions:

Yuanshan Tower: Enthusiastic (200)

Zhishou Tower: Friendly (20)

Heavenly Mystery Temple: Friendly (10)

The next step was to obtain a Foundation Establishment Cultivation Method and then prepare for advancement to Foundation Establishment.