"Welcome to the Qianfeng Merchant Association. My name is Xu Ya, and I'm the steward here. May I ask your surname, esteemed guest?"
The woman smiled warmly at him, making him feel as if a spring breeze were washing over him.
There had long been rumors that all the stewards of the Qianfeng Merchant Association were beautiful women.
Because he had been short on money, Lu Yang had never visited before. Seeing one for himself today, he found the rumors were true.
Xu Ya's looks were merely above average, but she had a faint, elusive charm about her that set one's heart swaying.
"Charm Arts?"
Lu Yang silently raised his guard.
He had only a limited amount of money, and he had to spend it where it mattered.
If that woman used Charm Arts to lead him into buying something he didn't need, he'd be in trouble.
"My surname is Lu," he said.
It didn't take long for Lu Yang to realize that his worries had been completely unnecessary.
The Qianfeng Merchant Association had its stewards practice Charm Arts not to bewitch customers, but to let them use it within very limited bounds and thereby win customers' favor.
As for low tactics like luring customers into buying goods, nothing of the sort was going on.
"What are you looking for, esteemed guest?" Xu Ya seemed to notice Lu Yang's wariness. She smiled and stepped back, and the faint charm about her quietly faded somewhat.
"I'm looking for a Yellow-grade Cultivation Method," Lu Yang said.
Xu Ya gave a slight nod. "Please follow me, Young Master Lu."
They crossed the hall and arrived at the cultivation-method section. The woman pointed to the antique bookshelves behind her. "This is the Yellow-grade Cultivation Method section. Each method has a detailed description of its properties and price. Please feel free to look around."
Lu Yang noticed that the shelves held at least a hundred Yellow-grade Cultivation Methods. A booklet about the size of a palm hung from a thin string beneath each one.
The properties of each method were recorded in those booklets.
He didn't hurry to look through them. Instead, he asked directly, "May I ask how much the cheapest Yellow-grade Cultivation Method here costs?"
Xu Ya showed not the slightest hint of disdain or contempt at Lu Yang's question. Her smile remained as warm as ever.
Even Lu Yang had to admit that there was a reason the Qianfeng Merchant Association had managed to spread its business throughout Great Jun.
Xu Ya strolled to the other side of the shelf and pointed to an ancient scroll. "This method is called the Kuai Lei Technique. It's a lower-tier Yellow-grade cultivation method with the Earth Attribute. Once mastered, it produces True Qi that is rich and heavy, as steady as a mountain. A second-order martial artist who practices it can generate eighteen strands of Kuai Lei True Qi with each layer of cultivation. It costs 1,500 taels."
Lu Yang frowned slightly at her words.
After practicing an ungraded method, a second-order martial artist could nourish no more than ten strands of True Qi with each increase in cultivation.
As a lower-tier Yellow-grade method, the Kuai Lei Technique could nourish eighteen strands per layer. That was genuinely impressive.
But Lu Yang couldn't afford its price of 1,500 taels right now.
Even if he went to borrow from the constables under his command, he couldn't scrape together three hundred taels in a short time.
"Ah, if only I'd known, I wouldn't have hurried back."
Lu Yang felt a little regretful.
If he had stayed in the woods earlier and hunted a few more little demons, digging out a Demon Treasure or two, he wouldn't be in such a bind now.
But that was just wishful thinking.
For a first-order little demon, the odds of finding a Demon Treasure were extremely low. He'd already struck it lucky that once. Who knew how many more little demons he'd have to kill before he found another?
For Lu Yang as he was now, that clearly wasn't a realistic option.
Demons weren't fools, either. If someone kept hunting demons in a particular area, they would surely swarm together to attack him, or even summon a Second-Order Demon that had gained sentience to hunt him in turn.
Whatever happened, Lu Yang had no way to deal with it right now.
Lu Yang gave a wry smile. "I'm embarrassed to say this, but I only have 1,200 taels on hand. I can't afford the Kuai Lei Technique. I'll have to come back another time."
He shook his head and prepared to leave.
The cultivation methods at the Martial Arts School were ungraded, but right now, he seemed to have no other choice.
As for the small amount of True Qi he'd lose when switching methods in the future, he could only console himself that he could make up for it by hunting a few more little demons then.
"Please wait, Young Master."
A clear, pleasant voice rang out behind him, and Lu Yang's steps paused.
Xu Ya said, "If you have 1,200 taels, I do have a cultivation method I can recommend."
"Oh?"
"What method?" Lu Yang's interest stirred.
Xu Ya moved a few steps to another shelf, bent down, and took out a scroll covered in dust.
"This is the Gui Yuan Technique, a lower-tier Mystic Grade technique without an attribute. Once mastered, it makes one's True Qi vast and mighty, balanced and harmonious."
"When a second-order martial artist practices it, each increase in cultivation produces ninety-nine additional strands of True Qi."
Lu Yang was delighted at first, but quickly calmed down.
A Mystic Grade technique selling for less than a Yellow-grade one—he didn't need to think hard to know there had to be a catch.
"Miss Xu, does this technique have some kind of flaw?" Lu Yang asked.
"You have a keen eye." Xu Ya nodded with a smile and admitted it openly.
"The Gui Yuan Technique is actually only a fragmentary scroll. It was obtained by chance by one of the elders of our Qianfeng Merchant Association's Black Mountain County Branch, and its precise grade is unknown."
"According to that elder, if the technique were complete, its quality would be at least high-tier Mystic Grade."
"Unfortunately, the fragmentary scroll the association has is missing most of its contents. It contains only the portion for the Houtian Realm. If you practice it, you'll have to change methods when you advance to the Xiantian Realm, and your cultivation will suffer."
Lu Yang frowned. "Is that all?"
A method that could produce ninety-nine additional strands of True Qi with every increase in cultivation shouldn't sell for less than a lower-tier Yellow-grade method, even if it was only a fragment.
After all, even if he lost some cultivation when he changed methods, the enormous total amount of True Qi the Gui Yuan Technique could produce would be enough to outweigh that drawback.
Xu Ya said, "To practice the Gui Yuan Technique, you must consume the flesh and blood of the Demon Race and use a secret method to guide demonic energy into your body, tempering your blood and qi and opening the thirty-six major apertures within you. The process is extremely perilous. The slightest carelessness could leave you dead or injured."
"In the hundred years since this method was put on the shelves, dozens of people have tried to practice it. More than half of those martial artists have either died or been crippled."
Lu Yang raised his brows. "So that means half of them succeeded?"
Xu Ya nodded. "That's right. Though this method uses unorthodox means to pursue the righteous path and takes a dangerous, unconventional route, it isn't impossible to master. On the contrary, once mastered, it's practically invincible among those of the same rank!"
She paused again. "It's just that the process is extremely difficult. Of the martial artists who managed to master it, only three advanced to the Xiantian Realm in the past hundred years. But after breaking through, every one of those three became a leading figure in Black Mountain County."
"Oh?" Lu Yang asked with great interest. "Could you tell me who those three were?"
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