Wu Family Market (Bonus Chapter)

Thus, the two of them temporarily settled down in a Mountain Cave.

They began absorbing Spirit Stones to raise their cultivation.

A single Spirit Stone could sustain a Foundation Establishment Cultivator's cultivation for an entire day, showing just how much spiritual energy it contained.

Three days later, the spiritual energy within one Spirit Stone had been completely drained.

The spiritual energy was refined within his body. After circulating once through his Meridians, it entered the seventh vortex and continued to settle.

Lu Xuanji was surprised to discover that his cultivation speed had increased slightly.

The spiritual energy contained in Spirit Stones was purer and could be directly absorbed and converted into true qi. The spiritual energy of the outside world, however, contained impurities and had to be repeatedly refined, with the impurities removed before it could become true qi.

His cultivation speed had increased by more than thirty percent.

At Ziyang Mountain, it took four years to advance one layer, but absorbing Spirit Stones required only three years.

The speed was a little faster, but it burned money.

Using one hundred and twenty Spirit Stones each year was far too extravagant.

Lu Xuanji, a Qi Refining Seventh Layer cultivator, only earned fifty Spirit Stones a year.

If he had not extorted ten thousand Spirit Stones from the old ancestor, he might not have been able to support such "extravagance."

Though it pained him, he quickly made up his mind to continue spending lavishly.

I'm a rich man.

As for using these Spirit Stones to buy resources at the market and raise their cultivation, forget it.

Buying too little would be of little use.

After all, there were already supplies in his storage pouch.

But buying too much would mean a large expense and make it easy to expose their wealth, perhaps even inviting a fatal disaster.

It was best to keep a low profile here.

He did not seek to hide until he became invincible beneath heaven before emerging. He only needed to hide until he reached Qi Refining Layer 9.

A year later, Ye Feixue encountered a bottleneck. She was stuck at the peak of Qi Refining Layer 5 and could not enter Qi Refining Layer 6 no matter how hard she tried.

"That's not right. Doesn't a Heavenly Spirit Root have no bottlenecks before the Nascent Soul stage? How could one appear at merely the peak of Qi Refining Layer 5?" Lu Xuanji sensed that something was wrong and carefully examined Ye Feixue's body. He soon discovered that the true qi in her dantian had weakened.

"Her true qi has weakened."

Uneasy, Lu Xuanji could only use his phone to search for an answer.

Ding-dong. According to a certain book, the spiritual energy in Spirit Stones is pure and can be directly absorbed to improve cultivation without tempering or purification. Yet because it lacks tempering and purification, its tempering effect on the Meridians is relatively weak. The true qi lacks sharpness and is comparatively weaker.

Taking Pills can increase cultivation speed, but Pill Poison enters the body. Absorbing Spirit Stones can increase cultivation speed, but it can make true qi comparatively weaker. Every shortcut comes with a corresponding price.

The phone chimed and gave him the answer.

Lu Xuanji froze slightly, then swiped through the pages. A certain book contained the answer.

His phone stored one hundred thousand books.

Lu Xuanji had only read a portion of those one hundred thousand books. After all, if he went through them one by one, even a hundred years might not be enough to finish them.

One of those books recorded the drawbacks of cultivating by absorbing Spirit Stones: the spiritual energy inside Spirit Stones was too pure.

When water is too clear, no fish can live in it.

It was like Earth in his previous life. Living in a sterile environment was not good, and drinking purified water every day was not good for the human body either. A proper amount of bacteria and viruses on the human body was beneficial to health, so long as it was not excessive.

The spiritual energy outside contained impurities and required repeated tempering and purification before it could be absorbed. Though the speed was slower, the Meridians were also tempered.

There were gains and losses alike.

"Xiao Xue, this is the price of taking shortcuts... but it can be remedied. You only need to continuously polish your true qi and use it to temper your Meridians. In just three months, you'll be able to break through the bottleneck." Lu Xuanji offered his advice and views.

Ye Feixue nodded.

She began polishing her true qi and tempering her Meridians, no longer deliberately pursuing a breakthrough.

About three months later, the bottleneck broke, and she naturally entered Qi Refining Layer 6.

She had saved nine months.

"Congratulations on entering Qi Refining Layer 6," Lu Xuanji said, though he was muttering inwardly.

Stupid little sister, your cultivation speed is far too fast.

At this pace, she would soon catch up to him and even surpass him.

"Brother, I don't want to cultivate anymore... I want to go out and look for the Lu Clan elders and Lu Family cultivators," Ye Feixue said.

"No. At the very least, we must cultivate to Qi Refining Layer 9. We're too weak. Outside, we may encounter Rogue Cultivators hunting us down or Lineage cultivators besieging us. Without Qi Refining Layer 9 cultivation as a foundation, there's no sense of security," Lu Xuanji said.

"But my heart is restless. I won't be able to cultivate in peace from now on."

Ye Feixue spoke, feeling somewhat stifled inside.

Lu Xuanji also fell silent.

It was not only Ye Feixue. Lu Xuanji himself was also somewhat restless and unable to cultivate quietly.

Inner demons were beginning to grow.

Secluded bitter cultivation carried dangers.

Many cultivators developed inner demons after long periods of secluded bitter cultivation and died from Qi deviation.

After cultivating bitterly for a period of time, cultivators needed to end their cultivation and enter the mortal world to gain experience, participate in battles, or cultivate their character and nature.

More haste, less speed. The more eager one was for quick success, the easier it was to suffer Qi deviation.

Originally, they had planned to cultivate bitterly for Five Years and become Qi Refining Layer 9 in one stroke.

Then they would descend the mountain.

But now, it seemed impossible.

Both of them were restless, plagued by distracting thoughts, and had developed problems with their state of mind. If they continued their secluded bitter cultivation, they might suffer Qi deviation.

"Fine, then we'll go out. Remember to keep a low profile. This is a Thunder God Talisman, this is a Teleportation Talisman, and this is an Adamantine Talisman. Keep them close. If you encounter an enemy you can't defeat, run immediately. Running isn't shameful. As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn." Before descending the mountain, Lu Xuanji handed her three talismans and repeatedly cautioned her.

In short, keeping a low profile came first.

And while keeping a low profile, preserving their lives came first.

Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, fleeing was the best.

As for fighting across ranks or battles of life and death, they should stay far away from such things.

Thus, the two of them left the Cave Mansion and headed toward a nearby town.

Qingshui Commandery lay near a plain. The climate here was warm, the sunlight abundant, and the land fertile, making it suitable for commoners to live. There were many towns here, where mortals lived their lives. Occasionally, Qi Refining stage cultivators appeared in mortal villages and towns to purchase daily necessities.

In the county seats, First-Grade Spirit Veins had been established, and some Mid Qi Refining Stage cultivators served as magistrates.

Around the plain stood Spirit Mountains, scattered throughout Qingshui Commandery.

Some of these Spirit Mountains belonged to cultivation lineages, while others housed cultivation markets. All were guarded by cultivators.

Scattered around like fortresses, they protected the mortals of Qingshui Commandery from being devoured by demonic beasts or harmed by demonic cultivators.

The Lu Clan's Ziyang Mountain was the strongest among the surrounding Spirit Mountains. Like a nail driven into the ground, it stood before the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains and served as one of the main strongholds resisting the Beast Tide.

Lu Xuanji and Ye Feixue passed through many mortal towns and headed south.

After about a month, they had taken many detours.

At last, at the edge of Qingshui Commandery, a cultivation market came into view.

This cultivation market was called Wu Family Market.

It was one of the Wu Family's markets. The Wu Family was a great clan of Qingshui Commandery. Though their strongest member was only at the Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer, they had a Purple Mansion cultivator in the Danyang Sect, making them a great clan second only to the Lu Clan.

They possessed Spirit Mountains and industries not only in Qingshui Commandery, but also in nearby Yong'an Commandery, Ping'an Commandery, and other places.

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