At this, Su Chen's heart stirred.
He searched through the memories in his mind about this pill shop, to see if he could find anything about the second floor.
From the fragmentary memories,
Su Chen learned that aside from special Qi and Blood Pills, the second floor of the pill shop also carried pills for the Innate Realm.
He had already entered the early stage of the Innate Realm and needed to buy some Innate Pills to consolidate his cultivation.
"Please register me."
Su Chen pulled a thousand-tael Silver Note from his robes.
The maid who had greeted Su Chen's eyes lit up, and she immediately went to register an identity card for him.
She didn't ask Su Chen anything else.
Su Chen wore a cloak, clearly not wanting anyone to know his origins. She had enough discernment to see that.
Besides, there were many people like Su Chen in their shop.
They were in business to serve customers, not to pry into where they came from. They had no need to know anyone's personal information.
A moment later,
The maid brought Su Chen a black card and said, "Sir, you may go up to the second floor now!"
"This is for you."
Su Chen pulled a silver ingot from his robes and gave it to her, then headed toward the second floor.
The maid's eyes shone at the sight of the silver ingot.
It was the first time anyone had ever given her a tip.
With the token, Su Chen entered the second floor without trouble.
Once he was upstairs,
a neatly dressed maid with pleasant features came up to him. She didn't seem to mind his bamboo hat or rough hemp clothes.
She guessed that Su Chen might be an ascetic martial artist.
Ascetic martial artists were different from those young masters in fine clothes. Sometimes, they spent a great deal.
"Sir, how may I help you?"
"I'd like to buy some Innate Pills,"
Su Chen said.
When the pretty maid heard that Su Chen wanted Innate Pills, delight appeared on her face.
There weren't many Innate martial artists in Qingcheng City, though there were certainly some.
Of course, the pretty woman was happy because Su Chen was buying Innate Pills.
Each Innate Pill cost a hundred taels, and she would earn a decent commission.
"How many would you like, sir?"
"Give me twenty to start."
He already had some Qi and Blood Pills, enough for the time being.
As for cultivating his innate qi, he wasn't in a hurry. He only needed to buy some pills to consolidate his cultivation.
In the Innate Realm, increasing one's inner qi was harder than strengthening the body.
When the woman heard Su Chen was buying twenty at once, she was delighted. Spending two thousand taels in one go was no small matter.
She quickly packed twenty Innate Pills for Su Chen.
"Is there anything else you need, sir?"
the pretty woman asked.
"Not for now."
Su Chen replied, then didn't linger and left the pill shop.
Watching the crowds stream past,
Su Chen couldn't help sighing.
Though this was a remote borderland, the streets were still bustling.
He no longer felt as if he were being watched.
Su Chen felt completely at ease. Besides, it had drizzled yesterday, leaving the air in Qingcheng City exceptionally fresh.
After strolling around the streets, Su Chen returned to the secret passage entrance and went back to the hidden room in Su Mansion.
He sat cross-legged, but didn't start cultivating right away. Instead, he examined himself.
Apart from the Vajra Primordial Force,
he knew four other techniques.
There was Mountain River Skill, the Mountain River Sect's internal cultivation method; Mountain River Fist; the Dusk Fine Rain Saber Technique taught to him by Su Mengbai; and the Golden Wind Fine Rain Force, an internal force.
The last two techniques were somewhat gentle and yielding.
The former Su Chen hadn't practiced them much.
As for the Mountain River Sect's two techniques,
Su Chen's cultivation had been mediocre. He had barely managed to get by in the Mountain River Sect.
"Looking at it this way, my predecessor only reached the Postnatal Realm because he had a good father. Otherwise, he wouldn't even have made it to the Postnatal Realm."
He cursed inwardly,
then began cultivating the Vajra Primordial Force.
From what he could tell, his martial experience was lacking.
So for now, he could only focus on strengthening his body to an extreme degree.
Overwhelm others with strength; break ten thousand arts with a single force.
He took out five Qi and Blood Pills and swallowed them.
A surge of qi and blood quickly welled up inside him, and the Vajra Primordial Force began circulating of its own accord.
Fueled by the abundant qi and blood,
the Vajra Primordial Force rapidly tempered his body.
As it did, Su Chen felt his physical strength growing steadily.
The first three levels of the Vajra Primordial Force only made the skin as hard as iron.
The fourth level not only tempered the body's strength but also increased his raw power.
With the Qi and Blood Pills and the circulating Vajra Primordial Force,
Su Chen was like a furnace, wild power surging around him. A fierce gale swept through the entire hidden room.
A layer of stone dust showered down from the walls near him.
After a while,
Su Chen began to rein in the Vajra Primordial Force, calming the fluctuations of power within him.
The Vajra Primordial Force was different from ordinary body-tempering techniques.
With normal body-tempering techniques,
under qi and blood of such intensity, the bones would inevitably grow, making the body burly.
But the Vajra Primordial Force was different. It was a method of tempering the body.
It took the essence and discarded the dregs, strengthening the body without changing its shape.
"My predecessor was truly useless. He cultivated so few techniques, and for now, the only fist technique I can use is Mountain River Fist."
Su Chen said in a low voice.
As for the Dusk Fine Rain Saber Technique, Su Chen only knew the basics.
He felt he might improve after using the 20-year Blade Cultivation Technique.
After meditating for a moment, Su Chen began to think.
His current predicament was that he knew too little.
Though he had trump cards, having trump cards didn't guarantee success.
He didn't even know who his opponent was, and all his strength had nowhere to go.
"Maybe I can visit Ling Tianhe tonight and see how his investigation is going."
Su Chen thought.
He had no one around him he could trust.
Ling Tianhe was useful, but he had plenty of schemes of his own.
If Su Chen gave him an opening, Ling Tianhe would definitely strike back.
"I'll go with Bai Tianyu tonight and completely subdue him, so he won't dare entertain a single thought."
That was what Su Chen had in mind. He meant to use Bai Tianyu's influence.
Then his attention drifted to the four White Draw Cards in his mind.
Su Chen had originally planned to wait until he had ten and exchange them for one Blue Draw Card, but his current body was too weak.
So he decided to use the four White Draw Cards and see if he could get something useful.
With a thought, he used all four White Draw Cards.
[Obtained: 3 Primary Enslavement Talismans, the body-tempering technique Vajra Demon Splitter Cultivation Method, 1 Primary Enhancement Card, and a set of God Concealing Robes.]
"Hmm!"
Looking at the information,
Su Chen's eyes lit up.
Of these, the Primary Enslavement Talismans were the most important to him.
He immediately examined them.
The Primary Enslavement Talisman had a one-hundred-percent success rate against anyone below the Innate Realm.
But it was more difficult to use on someone in the Innate Realm, and there was no chance of success against anyone above it.
"I got excited too soon. Still, three Enslavement Talismans should be enough to deal with one Innate martial artist."
Su Chen thought.
Then he couldn't help thinking of Ling Tianhe.
He had scared Ling Tianhe badly today.
If he used an Enslavement Talisman on Ling Tianhe, the chances of success should be higher.
Once Ling Tianhe was under his control, Su Chen would have a source of information.
When Bai Tianyu showed up,
Su Chen felt he could openly go after Lei Ao of Lei Hall.
The Vajra Demon Splitter Cultivation Method was an extreme body-tempering technique with five levels.
After completing all five, one could form the Vajra Demon Splitter Body.
The technique came with five moves: Vajra Form Shatter, Vajra Mountain Quake, Demon Splitter Heaven Incineration, Demon Splitter Sunburst, and finally the Vajra Demon Splitter Body.
Just from the description, it was clear that this was an incredibly domineering body-tempering technique.
It would inevitably consume a lot of qi and blood.
Su Chen set the technique aside for now.
He planned to wait until he had completed the fourth level of the Vajra Primordial Force before deciding whether to cultivate it.
As for the Primary Enhancement Card,
its purpose was clear: it could enhance a weapon once, improving its quality.
The God Concealing Robe he had obtained had a simple effect: when worn, it concealed his aura.
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