The vendor looked to be in his thirties or forties, dressed in a grey-white Daoist robe. His cultivation base was completely concealed, making him look just like an ordinary secular peddler. Yet Lu Qingfeng knew without guessing that anyone able to pull out so many talismans to sell must have a cultivation base far surpassing his own by an unknown margin.
Perhaps he had already reached the True Qi Realm.
"Junior Lu Qingfeng greets Senior. Is this place off limits?" Lu Qingfeng cupped his fists toward the vendor and asked out loud.
His understanding of the various rules within the market was superficial, so he truly did not know.
"Senior is too much. I am Huang Luo, a few years older than little Daoist friend. If you don't mind, just call me Elder Brother Huang."
Seeing that Lu Qingfeng had a kind face, Daoist Huang Luo shook his head and said, "Aside from the stalls which require rent, anywhere else in the market is free to stay. It's just that laxity is most harmful at the start of cultivation. I watched little Daoist friend wander the market for half a day and then stare blankly here for a long while, and I couldn't bear to watch."
This was indeed one of the reasons.
Of course.
There was another point. His stall was not large, and with Lu Qingfeng sitting down like this and refusing to move, it was tantamount to occupying nearly half of his small stall, which also affected his business.
"Many thanks for the reminder, Elder Brother Huang."
Lu Qingfeng caught his meaning and immediately shifted a bit further back.
"No matter. I only hope little Daoist friend won't lament in vain when your cultivation path proves hopeless." Seeing that Lu Qingfeng seemed to have only taken half of his words to heart, Huang Luo could not help shaking his head.
He simply assumed this rotten wood could not be carved.
He immediately closed his eyes in a half-slumber, unwilling to speak further with Lu Qingfeng.
"Junior takes his leave."
Lu Qingfeng still wanted to converse a bit more with this first senior who had taken the initiative to speak to him, but he never expected to be politely refused before it even began. He smiled awkwardly, then cupped his fists and departed.
The bustling market formed a stark contrast with the silent Bluestone Talisman.
Inside the Bluestone Talisman, there was a space only several zhang wide.
The workbench for processing medicinal herbs stood right in the middle. The surroundings were empty, devoid of tables, chairs, beds, and the like.
Every day after finishing his processing of medicinal herbs, Lu Qingfeng cultivated and rested here.
Ordinary players could not endure the silence within the Bluestone Talisman, finding it oppressive. Lu Qingfeng had spent sixteen years in Blackwood Village, so he was accustomed to it instead.
A hundredfold time difference.
A month passed in the game while less than four double-hours passed in reality. Lu Qingfeng logged out of the game, ate dinner together with Lu Qingyu, and was pestered by her to teach her characters for a while before re-entering the game.
This time he was prepared: he swallowed a Grain-Repelling Pill before logging off and timed his logout well. When he logged back on, exactly six days had passed in the game.
"Continue cultivating!"
Cultivate the "Azure Wood Blazing Sun Scripture"!
Study the "Alchemy Analysis"!
Process batches of basic medicinal herbs!
Time slipped away unnoticed.
In the blink of an eye.
Another two months passed.
Ever since he reinforced the "Alchemy Analysis", Lu Qingfeng processed medicinal herbs at a much faster rate.
Previously, it took about eight days to exchange for one Yellow Dragon Pill, which was already much stronger than ordinary novice players. After a single reinforcement, it only took about four days to exchange for one Yellow Dragon Pill.
Lu Qingfeng pressed on with his efforts.
After cultivating his level back to level 3, he reinforced the "Alchemy Analysis" once more.
As the saying goes, sharpening the axe does not delay the work of chopping wood. Lu Qingfeng currently relied entirely on the "Alchemy Analysis" to complete the tasks of processing medicinal herbs for the Luo Sheng Alchemy Workshop, thereby exchanging them for Yellow Dragon Pills to cultivate.
For him, reinforcing the "Alchemy Analysis" had a cost-effectiveness that even surpassed reinforcing the "Azure Wood Blazing Sun Scripture".
After the secondary reinforcement, the quantity of medicinal herbs Lu Qingfeng processed each day reached two hundred portions, and his passing rate remained stable above ninety-five percent.
On average, he could obtain the reward of thirty portions of basic medicinal herbs every day, and in two days' time he could exchange for one Yellow Dragon Pill and one Grain-Repelling Pill!
"Two reinforcements have pretty much completely excavated the potential of the "Alchemy Analysis". Even if I continue to reinforce it, the processing speed and passing rate for medicinal herbs won't increase drastically."
"I wonder what kind of changes there will be if I upgrade the "Alchemy Analysis"."
For a cultivation method like the "Azure Wood Blazing Sun Scripture", upgrading it would increase its tier—meaning it would branch out into subsequent cultivation methods based on the original one.
As for the "Alchemy Analysis", he really had no idea what kind of changes would appear.
"Will more medicinal herbs appear?"
"Or will it be similar to reinforcement?"
Lu Qingfeng glanced at his experience bar and discovered that before he knew it, his level 3 experience value was full again.
"First upgrade the "Alchemy Analysis" once, then reinforce the "Azure Wood Blazing Sun Scripture" once!"
Going from level 1 (0/5) to level 3 (15/15) was precisely thirty points of experience.
"Alchemy Analysis" deducing, reinforcement: 0/40; upgrade: 0/10; fusion: 0/10
"Upgrade: 10/10."
Secret Manual: Alchemy Analysis
Grade: Elementary
Evolving Method: Secondary reinforcement, primary upgrade
Annotation: Basic alchemy manual, recording the processing methods of forty-nine kinds of medicinal herbs; attached: Grain-Repelling Pill Formula
"The Grain-Repelling Pill Formula?!"
Lu Qingfeng examined the upgraded "Alchemy Analysis" and found that on top of the original foundation, there were neither extra medicinal herbs nor reinforcements—simply an extra Grain-Repelling Pill Formula.
"Upgrading the "Alchemy Analysis" will yield pill formulas?"
Thinking carefully, the content of the "Alchemy Analysis" consisted of forty-nine basic medicinal herbs including their processing methods. This was fundamentally the foundation for refining pills. After being deduced and upgraded, wasn't it the most normal thing in the world to undergo subsequent deduction on this basis and obtain a pill formula?
This actually saved Lu Qingfeng the trouble of searching everywhere for pill formulas. Even for a simple pill formula like the Grain-Repelling Pill, wanting to acquire one without ten or twenty Yellow Dragon Pills was out of the question.
Now it only cost two or three Yellow Dragon Pills, plus some time.
It was entirely within his acceptable range.
"Since it can deduce the Grain-Repelling Pill Formula, it might even be able to deduce the Yellow Dragon Pill Formula!"
A thought stirred in Lu Qingfeng's heart. He immediately abandoned reinforcing the "Azure Wood Blazing Sun Scripture" and instead upgraded the "Alchemy Analysis" once more.
His level plummeted all the way back to level 1, but the result of the deduction made Lu Qingfeng overjoyed!
Secret Manual: Alchemy Analysis
Grade: Elementary
Evolving Method: Secondary reinforcement, secondary upgrade
Annotation: Basic alchemy manual, recording the processing methods of forty-nine kinds of medicinal herbs; attached: Grain-Repelling Pill Formula, Yellow Dragon Pill Formula
"The Yellow Dragon Pill Formula!"
Sleep had truly arrived just as he wanted to nod off!
With this pill formula, Lu Qingfeng could study the art of alchemy in advance! Once he mastered the methods for refining Grain-Repelling Pills and Yellow Dragon Pills by then, his cultivation base in reality could also advance in leaps and bounds!
However, calculating the time, he had spent a total of three months in the game since his transmigration and rebirth, and a full day and night had already passed in reality. It was almost time for him to get up.
"Log off first, and start researching tonight."
Life in reality still had to go on.
At least until Lu Qingfeng did not yet possess enough strength to contend against or evade the Return to Truth Sect, he still had to utilize some superficial efforts to cover for himself.
The crops in the fields could not be neglected either. Judging by his current cultivation progress, before the food at home ran out, he would not be able to accumulate sufficient strength.
Without crops, learning to refine Grain-Repelling Pills might keep him from starving to death, but failing to pay the tribute to the Return to Truth Sect would spell trouble!
Starting from this day.
Lu Qingfeng labored every morning, and in the afternoon he split off two double-hours to cultivate the "Azure Wood Blazing Sun Scripture" as well as gather and process herbs.
Doing this meant he had to enter the game every half-double-hour or so to eat a Grain-Repelling Pill to sustain himself. It looked somewhat troublesome, but in reality, once he memorized the timing, entering and exiting the game did not delay even a single breath.
It was only a pity that when the game character lacked Lu Qingfeng's control, it could not automatically circulate the "Azure Wood Blazing Sun Scripture". Otherwise, leaving the character to idle and level up to gain experience would have increased his efficiency by at least thirty to fifty percent!
Even though he could not idle and level up, however.
Lu Qingfeng entered the game every night at six o'clock and stayed until he logged off at eight o'clock the next morning, allowing him to spend a full two months in the game every single night.
In the blink of an eye, a ten-day period passed in reality.
Three years and four months had already passed in the game. Lu Qingfeng had intermittently spent a full two years of time right inside the game!
Name: Lu Qingfeng
Race: Human
Faction: None
Title: None
Cultivation: First Layer of the Later-Heaven Embryonic Breath Realm
Level: Level 1 (3/5)
Internal Breath: 4/4 (Quality: Refined Grade)
Lifespan: 19/68
Root Bone: 1
Merit: Unknown
Karmic Power: Unknown
Cultivation Method: Yellow Court Scripture First Layer (Initiation) | Traits: Law Derivation (First Layer); Reign Over All Laws (First Layer); Karma Elimination (First Layer); Azure Wood Blazing Sun Scripture Second Layer (Consummation) — Available for Derivation Spells: Fireball Spell (First Layer); Heavenly Eye Spell (First Layer); Smoke-Whorl Step (First Layer); Heart-Scorching Palm (First Layer) Divine Powers: None Equipment: None Alchemy: "Introductory Alchemy Primer" (Minor Accomplishment) — Available for Derivation; "Pharmacology Analysis" (Minor Accomplishment) — Available for Derivation
West City Market.
Lu Qingfeng sat behind a stall and brought up his attribute panel.
Though his level remained stagnant after more than three years in the game, his "luxurious" attribute panel was still a sight to behold!
Cultivation Technique: Azure Wood Blazing Sun Scripture (Incomplete)
Grade: Refined Grade, nine layers in total
Evolving Method: One fusion, four enhancements
Cultivation Requirements: None
Technique Characteristic: Blazing Sun Force
Description: Formed from the fusion of the Azure Wood Art and the Blazing Sun Scripture
Manual: Alchemy Analysis
Grade: Primary
Evolving Method: Two enhancements, three upgrades
Annotations: A foundational alchemy manual recording the processing methods of forty-nine medicinal herbs; Appendix: Grain-Repelling Pill Formula, Yellow Dragon Pill Formula, Clear Spirit Powder Formula
Technique: Fire Bolt Technique
Grade: Low tier, four layers in total
Evolving Method: Two enhancements
Description: Contains terrifying high temperature, indestructible and capable of burning anything.
Technique: Heaven's Eye Technique
Grade: Low tier, two layers in total
Evolving Method: Two enhancements
Description: Allows the user to observe the cultivation level of practitioners not exceeding their own realm/tier by one, and can inflict mental deterrence on ordinary people, causing them to panic and lose their composure.
Technique: Smoke-Wisp Step
Grade: Low tier, two layers in total
Evolving Method: Two enhancements
Description: Lightness skill, consumes stamina, extremely fast.
Technique: Heartburning Palm
Grade: Low tier, two layers in total
Evolving Method: Two enhancements
Description: Palm technique, containing extreme yang palm force, capable of splitting boulders and burning the heart with a single strike.
Note: Technique grades are divided into low tier, middle tier, high tier, and transcendent grade.
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