Shen Xuan circulated his Spiritual Sense, condensing spiritual power step by step according to the Cultivation Technique Jade Slip.
Before long,
a crescent-shaped Ice Blade formed in Shen Xuan's hand. Chilling mist swirled around it, and the temperature nearby dropped sharply.
"Go!"
At Shen Xuan's shout, the Ice Blade shot from his hand, streaking through the air like a bolt of lightning. In an instant, it struck the Black Iron Dummy two zhang away with a metallic crash.
Shen Xuan rose to his feet and stared intently at the Black Iron Dummy.
A narrow gash, half a chi deep, had appeared on it. The cut was smooth, and frost was spreading from the gash across the surrounding surface.
Hiss—
At the sight, Shen Xuan couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath.
That was a dummy made of black iron!
Faced with the Ice Blade from the Water Condensation Edge Shaping Art, it was as fragile as a block of tofu!
If that hit a cultivator, wouldn't it punch straight through them and leave a bloody hole?
What would happen if he applied his Water Control Talent to the Water Condensation Edge Shaping Art?
No sooner thought than done!
A dozen breaths later, an even more terrifying Ice Blade appeared in Shen Xuan's hand.
It was over a zhang long!
Guided by his Divine Sense, the Water Control Technique instantly enhanced the Ice Blade formed by the Water Condensation Edge Shaping Art.
Vmmm!
The Ice Blade quivered with a ringing hum.
It sounded like a sword singing!
At that moment, the Ice Blade in Shen Xuan's hand seemed to transform into a living divine dragon, harboring a force vast enough to topple mountains and overturn seas. It felt as if it might break free and fly away at any moment!
Shen Xuan looked at the Black Iron Dummy and slowly released his grip.
In an instant,
a streak of light radiating a terrifying aura of destruction shot straight toward it.
It was impossibly fast.
As it flew, the Ice Blade continued to devour and absorb the spiritual energy around it.
To Shen Xuan's utter astonishment,
the Water Condensation Edge Shaping Art, enhanced by the Water Control Technique, had transformed its Ice Blade into a winding, swimming Ice Divine Dragon. It continuously devoured the spiritual energy nearby, its icy gleam glinting fiercely.
In the blink of an eye,
the Condense Water Into Edge Technique cleaved the Black Iron Dummy cleanly in two, then continued hurtling toward the far wall without slowing.
"Boom!"
The stone walls of the training room were reinforced by a defensive formation.
Even so, a slash over three cun deep appeared in the wall.
The Water Condensation Edge Shaping Art, enhanced by the Water Control Technique, had such terrifying might!
The ancient golden characters on the Mysterious Jade Talisman shimmered.
[Talent: Water Control Proficient (83/200)] [Water Condensation Edge Shaping Art: Proficient (2/200)]
Shen Xuan pondered to himself.
One use of the Water Condensation Edge Shaping Art enhanced by the Water Control Technique—
the Water Control Technique's Proficiency had increased by one point.
The Water Condensation Edge Shaping Art had jumped straight from the Entry Stage to the Proficient Stage.
Judging from what he had just seen, his Water Control Talent let his Spell Techniques absorb spiritual energy, amplifying their power.
And this was only the Proficient Stage of the Water Control Technique.
As expected, talent mattered far more than hard work!
With talent, cultivating compatible Spell Techniques was not only faster; their might increased dramatically as well.
"Talent really is essential!"
Shen Xuan sat back down.
After using the Water Condensation Edge Shaping Art twice, he had also expended thirty percent of the spiritual power in his dantian.
That meant he could only use the Water Condensation Edge Shaping Art enhanced by the Water Control Technique six or seven times.
However, Shen Xuan discovered that when he circulated the Divine Treasure Canghai Technique, the spiritual power in his dantian recovered extremely quickly.
The Five Elements flowed in a cycle, their vitality endless and unceasing.
He realized that his Water Control Talent also significantly enhanced the Divine Treasure Canghai Technique.
His recovery was several times faster than an ordinary cultivator's.
Moreover, as his spiritual power circulated, it continually refined itself, washing away impurities and growing purer.
"It's time to get a Spirit Gathering Array!"
Shen Xuan discovered that he had absorbed nearly all the spiritual energy in the training room, leaving it extremely thin.
These training rooms were all connected to the Market's Spirit Vein. The concentration of spiritual energy depended on the grade of one's residence.
Shen Xuan lived on the outskirts of the Market, in a D-grade Residence. The spiritual energy in its training room was only suitable for cultivators in the Early Qi Refining Stage.
Generally, cultivators in the Mid Qi Refining Stage rented C-grade Residences, which cost thirty-six spirit stones a year—three times the rent of a D-grade Residence.
Above those were B-grade Residences for cultivators in the Late Qi Refining Stage, and A-grade Residences for Foundation Establishment Grand Cultivators. Each grade cost more than the last.
"Wealth, Companions, Dharma, and Place"—these were the four essentials of a cultivator's path.
"Place" referred to one's cultivation Dao Field.
Without a cultivation Dao Field, cultivation was water without a source, a tree without roots.
His current training room couldn't meet Shen Xuan's cultivation needs.
He could either move to a C-grade Residence or purchase a Spirit Gathering Array.
Shen Xuan decisively chose the latter.
The area was full of low-level Rogue Cultivators, which actually made it safer.
However, he was short on funds right now.
His top priority was to earn spirit stones.
Over the next few days, Shen Xuan finished refining the Water Cloud Shield. He cultivated the Water Condensation Edge Shaping Art while making Water Control Talismans.
His Water Control Talisman Crafting had reached the Mastery Stage, and his Talisman Completion Rate steadily climbed to forty percent.
From one hundred and twenty sets of talisman materials, he made fifty Water Control Talismans, including around ten high-quality ones.
His costs came to thirty spirit stones, and his earnings totaled sixty.
As his Talisman Crafting improved, he grew faster at making talismans, too.
Now, Shen Xuan could go through eight sheets of Talisman Paper in a day.
In a month, he could earn sixty spirit stones!
To avoid arousing the Ding Family's suspicions, Shen Xuan deliberately held back.
He kept the high-quality Water Control Talismans and earned only twenty spirit stones a month.
Even that was enough to make Shopkeeper Ding envious.
"Talisman Master Shen, you've kept your Talisman Completion Rate above thirty percent for months now. You're a bona fide Mid-grade Talisman Master!"
"How could I compare with Shopkeeper Ding? You just sit here, and you earn over a thousand spirit stones every month!"
"Not that much! The Shop belongs to the family. I'm only a hired hand. I get a salary of just eighteen spirit stones a month!"
Shen Xuan chuckled without arguing.
Every snake had its own path; every rat had its own hole.
He didn't believe Shopkeeper Ding was honestly earning only that little salary.
"Let me have a look at your Spirit Gathering Arrays."
Half a year had passed. Adding in his previous savings, Shen Xuan now had another one hundred and thirty spirit stones in his Storage Bag.
Shopkeeper Ding brought over several brocade boxes, each containing Spirit Gathering Array Banners of a different quality.
The Formation Flags were easy to carry and set up.
They couldn't be used to deploy powerful restriction formations, but they were perfectly adequate for setting up a First-rank formation.
Made by a sect, so the quality was guaranteed.
Shen Xuan examined the Formation Flags and their instructions.
He had to admit, they were expensive!
A decent set of Spirit Gathering Array Banners started at one hundred spirit stones.
They required spirit stones to operate, and a single spirit stone lasted only two hours.
However, compared with cultivating directly with spirit stones, a Spirit Gathering Array converted the spirit stones into spiritual energy and kept it within a ten-chi radius around the array's master, making it more efficient.
After some bargaining, Shen Xuan bought the Small Spirit Gathering Array's Formation Flags for ninety-five spirit stones.
When he got home, Shen Xuan immediately installed the Spirit Gathering Array in his training room.
The next morning,
Shen Xuan slowly opened his eyes.
As expected of a Spirit Gathering Array. After he inserted a spirit stone, his cultivation speed increased dramatically.
It worked far better than holding a spirit stone in his palm.
One spirit stone lasted two hours and yielded as much progress as four hours of cultivation had before!
It had doubled!
Having money really was wonderful!
With the Spirit Gathering Array, the air within ten chi of him was thick with misty spiritual energy. Even his breathing stirred faint ripples of light.
Now this was cultivation!
At this rate, he would need another year to break through to Qi Refining Level 5.
Before you continue