Exchange

With a thought from Lu Xiaotian, the mist churned. Several strands of it wrapped around his Primordial Spirit once more, shielding it. The instant he touched those lively green threads, Lu Xiaotian's spirits lifted. After his Primordial Spirit devoured them, he felt refreshed and clear-minded.

Just as he was about to devour the other green glimmers, a hoarse burst of laughter rang out. "Haha! This godforsaken place actually has spiritual energy to replenish me with. Wonderful!"

Hearing the voice, Lu Xiaotian immediately grew anxious. Though the mist shield protected him from the black-robed old man's sneak attacks, the gap between their realms was considerable. In the end, he could not match the black-robed old man's speed.

Could these green threads be the spiritual energy produced by the spirit herb he had just consumed? Lu Xiaotian guessed as much. He regained control of his body and swallowed another leaf from the spirit herb. Sure enough, aside from the portion his meridians could contain, the rest vanished again. Then more green threads appeared within the Green Fruit Barrier.

The black-robed old man's Primordial Spirit had been searching all around. Seeing green threads appear again, he was overjoyed and chased after them, swallowing them whole. His Primordial Spirit body, which had become faint and insubstantial from casting spells, now looked several degrees more solid.

"Stop eating! That spiritual energy is mine!" Having confirmed through experiment that this spiritual energy came from the spirit herb, Lu Xiaotian shouted furiously.

"Ownerless things belong to the worthy. Whoever eats them gets them. If you want them, come in and take them yourself." The black-robed old man gave a strange laugh.

"I swallowed purple grass, but I can't absorb all the spiritual energy from it at once, which is why it appeared inside the Green Fruit Barrier. If you use it all up, then at worst I simply won't consume spirit herbs anymore. I'll cultivate on my own, and not a wisp of spiritual energy will be born inside the barrier again!"

Lu Xiaotian's heart ached terribly. The purple grass he had painstakingly gathered was being wasted like this—and worse, falling into the mouth of his enemy. He had consumed spirit herbs and cultivated for over a year, yet he was still at the First Layer of Qi Refining. If he relied solely on cultivation, it would likely take him at least three years to break through to the second layer.

Cultivation would only become harder later on. Reaching the Third Layer of Qi Refining would likely take six or seven years, perhaps even longer. Yet after consuming spirit herbs, aside from the portion he could immediately digest and absorb, all the excess spiritual energy appeared inside the barrier. Entering the barrier meant he had to guard against the black-robed old man's sneak attacks at every moment. He had to resolve this problem, or future cultivation would be harder than climbing to heaven!

"You say it is, so it is? What proof do you have? And this place is called the Green Fruit Barrier?" The black-robed old man hesitated before asking. He had remained within this barrier for several months without encountering even a trace of spiritual energy. Now, two waves had suddenly appeared; there had to be a reason. Besides, this cage-like name seemed rather peculiar as well.

"If you don't believe me, name any time you like, and I'll make another wave of spiritual energy appear within the barrier." Lu Xiaotian snorted. As for the so-called Green Fruit Barrier, it was a name he had coined himself. This place had come into being because of the green fruit and possessed a barrier-like wall, so Green Fruit Barrier it would be.

"Fine. If another wave of spiritual energy appears in the barrier after the time it takes an incense stick to burn, I'll believe you." The black-robed old man nodded.

After the time it took an incense stick to burn, the green threads within the barrier became dense once more.

"Well? Do you believe me now?" Lu Xiaotian's Primordial Spirit appeared outside the barrier again and spoke.

The black-robed old man stared at the drifting green threads in the air, his expression shifting between light and shadow.

"So what if I believe you?"

"The spiritual energy born in this space will be divided twenty-eighty between us. I get eighty, you get twenty." Lu Xiaotian said.

"I can use this spiritual energy whenever I please. What difference is there between giving me twenty percent and giving me nothing? Your cultivation is so low that you can't use that much spiritual energy. I should get eighty and you get twenty." The black-robed old man sneered.

"I get seventy, you get thirty. Any more, and at worst we part ways with one clap. You can forget about getting even a shred of spiritual energy in the future."

"No. At most, I get sixty and you get forty!"

"I get sixty and you get forty!"

"Fifty-fifty. If not, forget it!"

"Then fifty-fifty it is. I only have two and a half stalks of purple grass left anyway." Lu Xiaotian agreed in frustration. Though he had to hand half of it to this sworn enemy for nothing, it was still better than relying solely on sitting meditation to cultivate.

The black-robed old man snorted. "Purple grass? How shallow your knowledge is. What you're talking about is Purple Spirit Grass. With your current cultivation, you can only absorb the spiritual energy of Purple Spirit Grass without bursting to death. If it is refined into a Qi-Gathering Pill, its effects will be at least three times greater than simply eating Purple Spirit Grass."

"If I knew how to refine pills, would I need you to tell me that?" Lu Xiaotian's eyes rolled. "How about this? We're grasshoppers tied to the same rope now. Teach me the method of refining Qi-Gathering Pills. Once I refine them, you'll receive more spiritual energy too."

The black-robed old man rolled his eyes. "Do you think refining pills is some trifling matter? Even if I teach you the method, you aren't even an alchemy apprentice right now. If you can successfully refine one furnace out of ten, that would already be decent. Two stalks of Purple Spirit Grass aren't even enough to cover your tuition."

"If you don't agree, then forget it. Don't expect any more spiritual energy replenishment in the future." Lu Xiaotian threatened.

"It isn't impossible. But if you manage to refine Qi-Gathering Pills, the spiritual energy from the first two pills goes to me. After that, we split things fifty-fifty."

The black-robed old man pondered briefly. Qi-Gathering Pills could only be used by cultivators in the Qi Refining Early Stage. The spiritual energy in one stalk of Purple Spirit Grass was far from enough for him. Now that he had fallen to the Eleventh Layer of Qi Refining, returning to the twelfth layer would require a great deal of time. If Lu Xiaotian remained deadlocked with him, it would not benefit him in the slightest.

"Deal!" Lu Xiaotian nodded in agreement. No matter what, learning to refine Qi-Gathering Pills meant gaining another skill in the future.

"A pill furnace forged from red copper is required?" Lu Xiaotian was somewhat annoyed that the black-robed old man stubbornly refused to give him his former pill furnace. By now, he was certain that the storage pouch he could not open belonged to the black-robed old man. Yet the old fellow would not loosen his lips, leaving him helpless. There had to be something extremely important inside that storage pouch.

Having obtained the Qi-Gathering Pill formula, Lu Xiaotian no longer had the heart to continue cultivating in the cave. He returned to Pingwu County Town and sold two more medicinal herbs. Then he visited several blacksmith shops. Only at the third shop did he find one capable of forging a red-copper pill furnace.

After paying the deposit, Lu Xiaotian left the blacksmith shop. He had just entered a quiet alley when he saw two groups confronting each other with swords drawn and bows bent. They were all boys and girls of twelve or thirteen, dressed in fitted martial attire. The smaller group had six or seven people, while the larger one had fourteen or fifteen.

"I was wondering which sect dared act so arrogantly in Pingwu County Town. So it's people from the Thunder Blade Sect. Running into our Black Tiger Gang this time means you're out of luck!" A slender youth in brocade on the opposite side said with a grim face.

"You're only relying on your numbers. If you have the guts, fight us one-on-one and see whether your Black Tiger Sect disciples have improved at all these past few years." Among the seven people with their backs to Lu Xiaotian, a slightly taller black-clad martial artist stepped forward and spoke disdainfully.

Lu Xiaotian had intended to turn and leave, but upon hearing that familiar voice, his steps halted. If they had been ordinary Thunder Blade Sect disciples, he naturally would not have cared. But he had not expected that after leaving Qingzhu County, he would encounter Shi Qingshan here again. The martial world was full of disputes; it seemed the Thunder Blade Sect and the Black Tiger Gang had formed a grudge before. Seeing Shi Qingshan become the leader of so many disciples, Lu Xiaotian felt sincerely happy for him.