The White Jade True Art

For more than three years, Lu Qingfeng had never slacked off.

First of all was the Azurewood Blazing Sun Scripture!

After four consecutive enhancements, consuming a total of 150 experience points, he had directly enhanced the Azurewood Blazing Sun Scripture to the exquisite grade.

An exquisite-grade cultivation technique was fundamentally different from a basic-grade cultivation technique.

First.

Basic-grade cultivation techniques could only be cultivated to the Foundation Establishment level at most, whereas exquisite-grade cultivation techniques were powerful arts that pointed straight to the Golden Core. Throughout the Myriad Forms City region, and even among the eight hundred mountains and twelve hundred cities under the jurisdiction of the Seven Swords Mountains, they were exceedingly rare!

Second.

The internal breath refined at each layer of an exquisite-grade cultivation technique was also worlds apart from that of a basic-grade technique.

When Lu Qingfeng cultivated the original version of the Blazing Sun Scripture, his total internal breath had been only 10 points when he reached the peak of the First Layer of the Embryonic Breath Realm.

But after switching to the exquisite-grade Azurewood Blazing Sun Scripture, enhanced four times, his total internal breath had reached 20 points at the same peak of the First Layer of the Embryonic Breath Realm. It was double what it had been before, equivalent to the total internal breath he would have had after cultivating the Blazing Sun Scripture to the peak of the Second Layer of the Embryonic Breath Realm!

The doubling of the internal breath accumulated at every layer did far more for one's strength than simply doubling it.

Both endurance and explosive power had been enhanced!

Moreover, the quality of his internal breath had risen from basic to exquisite, and the enhanced Blazing Sun Force trait had raised his combat power another notch!

"At the same First Layer of the Embryonic Breath Realm, even without using martial arts or techniques, with twice the internal breath, exquisite-grade internal breath quality, and the Blazing Sun Force trait, my current strength would let me defeat even three to five versions of myself cultivating the Blazing Sun Scripture!"

Lu Qingfeng seemed to have remained stuck at the same level, but in truth, he had never stopped accumulating his foundation!

The Blazing Sun Force sounded ordinary, but its effects were remarkably striking.

Internal breath containing Blazing Sun Force possessed greater might and stronger explosive power. It also greatly enhanced fire-attribute techniques and martial arts such as Fire Bolt Technique and Heartburning Palm.

With Fire Bolt Technique and Heartburning Palm working in tandem, coupled with the might of an exquisite-grade cultivation technique, Lu Qingfeng could even fight across several levels at the Embryonic Breath Realm!

"Fire Bolt Technique, Smoke-Wisp Step, and Heartburning Palm—with these three techniques working together, I have ways to deal with enemies at both long and close range. The only thing I lack now is a defensive technique."

Lu Qingfeng sat before the stall, pondering his combination of techniques.

Although he had a hundredfold time difference, he still treasured time immensely and was unwilling to waste it casually.

More than three years was not a long time for Lu Qingfeng, a good-for-nothing with a Root Bone of 1. Aside from the time delayed in reality, he had only been able to make use of two years.

In those two years, he had to process medicinal ingredients in exchange for Grain-Repelling Pills and Yellow Dragon Pills so that he could survive and cultivate. He also had to cultivate his techniques and study alchemy. There simply was not much time left for practicing techniques.

Thus, he could not cast his net everywhere and could only make targeted choices.

Among the low-grade techniques that could be mastered at the Embryonic Breath Realm, Fire Bolt Technique possessed relatively great power. After two enhancements and the amplification of Blazing Sun Force, it was even more extraordinary, making it suitable for long-range attacks.

Heartburning Palm was a fire-attribute palm art. After two enhancements and the addition of Blazing Sun Force, its close-combat power was impressive. When a palm struck out, it was like a red-hot branding iron, capable of shattering the heart and rending the lungs!

Smoke-Wisp Step was a lightness and movement technique. In combat, it was nimble and unpredictable. If he found himself outmatched, he could also rely on it to retreat calmly.

As for the final technique, Heaven's Eye Technique, it was a technique that every cultivator had to learn. It could observe a cultivator's cultivation level. Only by knowing an enemy inside and out could one remain invincible!

To master four techniques in such a short time was already the limit of what Lu Qingfeng could accomplish. Even so, the last two he had mastered, Smoke-Wisp Step and Heartburning Palm, were still not practiced enough and required a great deal of time.

"Brother Lu, two bottles of Grain-Repelling Pills."

As Lu Qingfeng was pondering, a middle-aged Daoist stood before the stall.

Lu Qingfeng gathered his thoughts and looked at the newcomer.

"So it's Brother Fang. Was your trip to Silverlight Mountain smooth this time?"

This "Brother Fang" was an old player Lu Qingfeng had met half a year ago. His name was Fang Jiu, he had a rugged appearance, and he was already over forty. He had been stuck at the Third Layer of the True Qi Realm for a full ten years.

Now he was searching everywhere for opportunities, hoping to raise his cultivation.

"It was so-so. I got a Blood Spirit Grass, so the trip wasn't entirely wasted." Fang Jiu claimed not to care, but his face had already split into a broad grin.

"Blood Spirit Grass?"

"That's a fine thing indeed. Congratulations, Brother Fang!"

Blood Spirit Grass was a spiritual herb resembling the ordinary medicinal herb red oil flower. But the difference between the two was far from ordinary.

Ordinary medicinal ingredients could at most be used to refine low-grade pills such as Grain-Repelling Pills and Yellow Dragon Pills, or mid-grade pills such as Golden Marrow Pills.

As for spiritual herbs and spiritual medicines, even the lowest-grade first-order spiritual herbs could serve as the principal ingredients of high-grade and top-grade pills. They were extraordinarily precious.

With just one Blood Spirit Grass, Fang Jiu's trip to Silverlight Mountain could already be considered a complete success.

Seeing his glowing face, it was clear that apart from the Blood Spirit Grass, he had probably obtained some other gains as well.

"Hahaha!"

Fang Jiu laughed heartily at his words.

His gains from this trip had been substantial, so his mood was indeed excellent.

After accepting the two bottles of Grain-Repelling Pills Lu Qingfeng handed him, Fang Jiu tugged a cloth sack from his waist and passed it to Lu Qingfeng. "There are three hundred portions of basic medicinal ingredients here. Why don't you count them, Brother Lu?"

"Brother Fang, you're joking."

"But next time, please treat these medicinal ingredients a little more gently. You stuffed them all together in a sack like this, really—"

Lu Qingfeng opened the sack and took a look. Hundreds of portions of medicinal ingredients, still stained with fresh soil, were mixed together. Their appearance was truly nothing to write home about.

"I make my living with my head on the chopping block. Silverlight Mountain is crawling with demonic beasts and savage beasts. Once I tore out the ingredients, I left immediately. Where would I have found the time to sort them?" Fang Jiu laughed heartily. He raised the two bottles of Grain-Repelling Pills in his hand and said, "I'll be going first. I still have some things to sell."

Seeing this, Lu Qingfeng hurriedly said, "Brother Fang, won't you replenish your stock of talismans?"

"Talismans?"

"Fine. For Brother Lu's sake, I'll patronize Old Huang's business!"

Fang Jiu stopped and actually bought a stack of Blazing Flame Talismans, a stack of Hundred Ice Talismans, and a stack of Golden Light Talismans from Lu Qingfeng's stall before leaving.

Still, calling it Lu Qingfeng's stall was somewhat inaccurate.

This stall belonged to Huang Luo—the very person Lu Qingfeng had encountered three years ago when he first came to the market.

After that, Lu Qingfeng came to browse the market every few months of game time. It served as a diversion from cultivation, and after doing so back and forth, he had become acquainted with Huang Luo.

Lu Qingfeng had studied alchemy for such a long time that he had roughly mastered the refinement of Grain-Repelling Pills.

As for the more complicated and precious Yellow Dragon Pills, when his luck was good, he could occasionally refine one or two inferior pills. When his luck was bad, he would ruin an entire batch of ingredients, losing everything. Such incidents were commonplace.

There was no need to mention Yellow Dragon Pills for now.

Lu Qingfeng used Grain-Repelling Pills to practice and hone his skills, but he himself could not use so many. Thus, he brought the surplus to the market to sell.

The rental fee for a stall in the market was exorbitant, and Lu Qingfeng had no capital to take one. Fortunately, Huang Luo was kindhearted. After learning of his situation, he agreed to let Lu Qingfeng use his stall while he secluded himself to draw talismans.

Daoist Huang Luo did not even charge Lu Qingfeng rent. He only asked Lu Qingfeng to hawk his talismans while selling the Grain-Repelling Pills.

Lu Qingfeng was naturally delighted and readily agreed.

Daoist Huang Luo's talismans were of decent quality, while Lu Qingfeng's Grain-Repelling Pills had already earned a modest reputation.

Alchemy Analysis had been enhanced twice, and the pill formula it produced was three parts more refined than those circulated by Luosheng Alchemy Workshop and in Black Sand Town.

An ordinary Grain-Repelling Pill could ward off hunger for six days, while a Grain-Repelling Pill refined by Lu Qingfeng with Alchemy Analysis could ward off hunger for eight days. Its price was only twenty percent higher, too.

The fair price naturally kept quite a few returning customers, and Fang Jiu was one of them.

Thus.

Lu Qingfeng's Grain-Repelling Pills, sold alongside Daoist Huang Luo's talismans, unexpectedly produced fairly good results.

"The normal price of ordinary Grain-Repelling Pills is ten portions of processed basic medicinal ingredients. An alchemy apprentice who has mastered the refinement of Grain-Repelling Pills can refine one pill at a cost of no more than five portions of basic medicinal ingredients, including the failure rate. That's a profit of more than double."

"My Grain-Repelling Pills come twelve to a bottle and sell for one hundred and fifty portions of basic medicinal ingredients. On average, each pill sells for 12.5 portions of basic medicinal ingredients, while the comprehensive cost is only four portions."

"That's a full threefold profit!"

Whether alchemy, artifact refinement, or talisman drawing, all were skills that burned money fiercely.

Take Lu Qingfeng, for example. Although he had now mastered the refinement of Grain-Repelling Pills and even earned a threefold profit,

before this, how many medicinal ingredients had he ruined? Thousands at the very least!

Even now, because he was studying the refinement of Yellow Dragon Pills, he ruined even more medicinal ingredients. The basic medicinal ingredients earned from Grain-Repelling Pills were not enough to fill this bottomless pit.

Apart from those with extraordinary talent, nearly every alchemy apprentice and alchemist had suffered through this bitter process. Those without sufficiently rich family fortunes simply could not afford to play.

This was also why, among Black Sand Town's population of five hundred thousand, with more than two hundred thousand cultivators, there were no more than a hundred alchemy apprentices!

Of those hundred, more than half were low- or mid-level alchemy apprentices. Only a very small number could reach the high or top level!

"My alchemy talent is ordinary. Fortunately, I have the Evolving Method function to enhance pill formulas, so I haven't ended up spending more than I earn."

Lu Qingfeng sighed, then closed his eyes and comprehended the Azurewood Blazing Sun Scripture.

In the blink of an eye, evening arrived.

"Qingfeng, I found the body-tempering martial art you wanted." Daoist Huang Luo arrived, bringing Lu Qingfeng good news as soon as he showed up.

"You found it?"

"Thank you, Brother Huang!"

Lu Qingfeng's face lit up with joy.

He now had long-range attacks, close-combat attacks, and lightness and evasive techniques. The only thing he lacked was a defensive method. Daoist Huang Luo was a high-level talisman apprentice with an extensive network of connections.

Thus, Lu Qingfeng had asked him to search on his behalf.

He had not expected results in just a few days.

Lu Qingfeng stared eagerly at Daoist Huang Luo. Seeing this, Daoist Huang Luo shook his head with a laugh. "You've only just entered the Primordial World, so you should still make cultivation your priority. Techniques and alchemy can be set aside for later. You must understand that cultivation cannot tolerate the slightest negligence. Fall behind by one step, and you'll fall behind at every step. By the time you—"

As he spoke, Daoist Huang Luo could not help becoming long-winded.

Then he looked up and saw Lu Qingfeng wearing an expression of earnest instruction. He casually tossed out a secret manual and said, "Forget it. You wouldn't listen no matter how much I said. This White Jade True Art belongs to a friend of mine. When cultivated to its limit, it can ignore attacks at the Embryonic Breath Realm, and it doesn't alter your body shape. It meets your requirements, doesn't it?"

Technique: White Jade True Art

Grade: Low-grade, three layers in total

Description: A body-tempering martial art. When cultivated to perfection, the body becomes like white jade, and all arts within the Embryonic Breath Realm cannot penetrate it!

"It does! It absolutely does!"

Lu Qingfeng hurriedly accepted the White Jade True Art.

With this martial art, the final weakness in his foundation had been filled.

"Brother Huang, how much did this White Jade True Art cost?" Lu Qingfeng asked, looking at Daoist Huang Luo.

"Martial arts at the Embryonic Breath Realm level aren't worth much. However, the White Jade True Art is a top-tier martial art at that level. Even after reaching the True Qi Realm, it can still increase one's strength somewhat. Five Spirit Stone fragments in total." Daoist Huang Luo spoke calmly, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

"Five Spirit Stone fragments?!"

Lu Qingfeng's expression froze.

As Daoist Huang Luo had said, ordinary techniques and martial arts at the Embryonic Breath Realm level were not worth much. Smoke-Wisp Step and Heartburning Palm, for example, had each cost less than one Spirit Stone fragment.

But this White Jade True Art was actually more than five times as expensive!

A single Spirit Stone fragment had immense purchasing power. It could buy a full hundred Yellow Dragon Pills, or ten Golden Marrow Pills.

The White Jade True Art!

Five hundred Yellow Dragon Pills?!

"All right, don't make that face."

"I already advanced the five Spirit Stone fragments for you. You can pay me back later. I can see that you truly have some talent for alchemy, but you still need to tighten your cultivation. After three or four years, you're still wandering around the First Layer of the Embryonic Breath Realm. I honestly don't know how you've been cultivating, boy!"

Daoist Huang Luo shook his head, his face full of helplessness.

"Thank you, Brother Huang!"

"Qingfeng will pay you back as soon as possible!"

Lu Qingfeng hurriedly thanked him. He was indeed short of money at the moment.

The failure rate when refining Yellow Dragon Pills was as high as ninety-five percent, and all his family assets had been poured into it. He currently had only a little over twenty Yellow Dragon Pills on him. Compared with the five Spirit Stone fragments—five hundred Yellow Dragon Pills—he was still far short.

"Go on, go on!"

"Stop milling around in front of me. You're giving me a headache!"

Daoist Huang Luo waved his hand.

Lu Qingfeng smiled and stayed with Daoist Huang Luo for a while before rising to leave.

Thank you to all my new and old friends for your support. I'll continue asking for recommendation votes. If any friends with reading lists think this book is decent, I hope you'll add it when convenient, so the book can have better results during its new-book period.