The Mid-Grade Spell, Heart Piercing Drop

Compared to District One, there were far fewer merchants in District Four. Jiang Liu scrolled from the top of the page to the bottom and found barely over a hundred.

With no particular shop in mind, he randomly clicked on one. He left after just a minute.

The shop had only one item listed: a set of black lace lingerie. The photo showed a gorgeous woman wearing it, and the note underneath said, "Add me as a friend for a special offer."

A scam. A complete scam.

Opening a shop in Cultivation Era to peddle smut? Did they really think cultivators had never seen the world?

He opened another shop. It also had photos of beautiful women in swimsuits, but this time the note said they accepted Spirit Stones.

Good grief, were there no merchants selling cultivation items?

Jiang Liu clicked through several more shops, but they were all empty. Only then did it dawn on him: it was only the second day since the district opened. Who would be willing to sell magical artifacts or spells?

The magical artifacts and spells people got from Cultivation Era weren't even enough for themselves. Who'd have enough to sell them?

He had eight magical artifacts on him, but that didn't mean everyone else did.

"This is a bit awkward."

Jiang Liu sighed and started opening the shops one by one from the top of the page.

Some sold materials, some sold Spirit Stones, and some sold small quantities of Qi Refining Pills. He could hardly find any selling magical artifacts or spells.

He searched dozens of shops, his disappointment growing more obvious by the minute. Was he going to come away empty-handed?

At last, when he'd scrolled past more than eighty shops, his eyes suddenly lit up. An image of a light blue book appeared before him.

[Heart Piercing Drop]: Mid-grade spell. Condenses water spirit energy into a single drop, capable of piercing stone. Price: 2,000 Spirit Stones.

He'd finally found a spell he could use!

And it was mid-grade!

Jiang Liu perked up and hurriedly contacted the merchant.

[Jiang Liu]: You there? I don't have any Spirit Stones. Would you take a mid-grade magical artifact instead?

Before long, the other party replied.

[Qianxin Jingxiu]: Send me your game name. I'll add you as a friend so we can discuss it.

[Jiang Liu]: Jiang Liu.

After sending his game name, Jiang Liu switched straight back to Cultivation Era.

A few seconds later, he saw a friend request from someone named Shi Jingxiu and accepted it.

[Shi Jingxiu]: Send it over so I can take a look.

Jiang Liu sent over the Wind Swirl Banner.

[Shi Jingxiu]: Wind Spirit Root? What's that?

[Jiang Liu]: A special Spirit Root. This is a special-type magical artifact, extremely rare. I wouldn't trade it if I weren't in a hurry. You're getting a great deal.

[Shi Jingxiu]: I don't even have a special Spirit Root, so what good is it to me? Don't try to fool me. I'll trade if you offer a mid-grade fire-type magical artifact.

[Jiang Liu]: You might not have one now, but that doesn't mean you never will. The next limited banner will feature the Wind Spirit Root. Save up and pull for it, and you'll be set!

[Shi Jingxiu]: Really? How do you know the limited banner will feature the Wind Spirit Root?

[Jiang Liu]: I'm guessing. Why else would they put out a wind-type magical artifact? Makes sense, doesn't it?

[Shi Jingxiu]: Actually, it does. I'll think about it.

Damn, another rich player. They could just pull for a special Spirit Root whenever they felt like it.

Jiang Liu grumbled to himself. But then again, who else could afford a mid-grade magical artifact besides a rich player?

A dozen seconds later, he received a trade request, and his heart leapt with joy.

He lost the Wind Swirl Banner and gained Heart Piercing Drop.

Another message came through the Chat Box.

[Shi Jingxiu]: If the limited banner doesn't feature the Wind Spirit Root, well, you know what'll happen.

[Jiang Liu]: Is this your first time playing a game?

[Shi Jingxiu]: No. I play AAA games.

[Jiang Liu]: Oh. Just think of it as a lesson learned. Don't listen to random people online next time. And here's one more piece of advice: close your online shop.

[Shi Jingxiu]: ?????

[Shi Jingxiu]: What do you mean? You tricked me?

Close the Chat Box. Block friend.

"Sorry, buddy. Just think of it as a lesson learned."

Jiang Liu shook his head. If someone believed everything they heard, why even go online? They were just asking to be scammed.

Hopefully this little wake-up call would make the other guy more cautious.

He wasn't worried about the other guy tracking him down in real life. District Four had over twenty cities across three provinces. The odds of them being in the same city were tiny, and even one city had millions of people.

Besides, even if there was a one-in-a-billion chance they met, what could the other guy do to an eighth-layer Qi Refining cultivator like him?

Trading a mid-grade magical artifact for a mid-grade spell was a fair deal. It was just a question of when he'd be able to use it. Even if he couldn't, he could always sell it to someone else. Special-type magical artifacts were definitely worth a high price.

He was happy with the deal. Hopefully the other guy was too.

Jiang Liu quickly forgot about the little incident and happily learned the mid-grade spell, Heart Piercing Drop.

After learning it, he went straight into Story Stage 1-1 and activated Immersive Experience.

His vision shifted, and three petty thieves appeared in front of him.

[This mountain is mine]

[Skip]

"Heart Piercing Drop!"

Jiang Liu cast the spell according to the skill information flooding his mind. His right palm made a circling motion, and water spirit energy gathered above it. A light blue, translucent droplet no bigger than a fingernail appeared.

Once the drop had formed, he swept his palm through the air. Heart Piercing Drop shot forward in a straight line invisible to the naked eye. It moved so fast that in the blink of an eye, it pierced one of the thieves' chests and vanished without a trace.

There was almost no visible wound, just a thin trickle of blood running down from the thief's chest. Then he crashed to the ground.

"So fast!"

Jiang Liu was taken aback. After Heart Piercing Drop shot out, he could barely make out a straight ripple in the air before it pierced the thief's chest in the blink of an eye.

Even an eighth-layer Qi Refining cultivator couldn't see how fast Heart Piercing Drop was!

It was still slower than a bullet, though.

"Tsk, tsk. A killing technique, pure and simple. What a bargain."

Jiang Liu was very satisfied with Heart Piercing Drop's performance. He turned and dove into Stage 1-7.

There wasn't much to learn about using Heart Piercing Drop against petty thieves. To practice spells, he needed the old man in Stage 1-7.

[You dare!]

[Skip]

"Heart Piercing Drop!"

Before the Lingyun Sect elder in Stage 1-7 could leap at him with his sword, the drop in Jiang Liu's palm had already shot through the man's chest.

It didn't kill him!

He'd missed!

Jiang Liu took a closer look. The drop had struck the center of the Lingyun Sect elder's chest, but it hadn't hit his heart.

So he still had to aim!

Jiang Liu pursed his lips. Heart Piercing Drop, Heart Piercing Drop, Heart Piercing Drop!

It wasn't until his fourth cast that he pierced the Lingyun Sect elder's heart.

His aim was so bad even he couldn't bear to watch.

"I don't have to hit the heart. The head or the groin should work too, right? Any vital spot will do."

Jiang Liu's eyes shifted as he began exploring the hundred ways to kill the Lingyun Sect elder.

Through the head, through the neck, through the groin, through the heart.

After killing the Lingyun Sect elder five times, the spiritual energy inside him ran out.

"Twenty-one casts of Heart Piercing Drop. After getting the top-grade gold Spirit Root, my spiritual energy capacity has doubled too."

"There's no cooldown. As long as I have enough mana, Heart Piercing Drop is basically a fully automatic pistol!"

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