Purple Cloud Furnace

[Rune Mastery (Tier 1): Master most Tier 1 runes.]

[Solidification Condition: Master the production of five types of talismans. (5/5)]

Half a month later, Zhou Er successfully mastered the production method of the Immobilization Technique, completing the final piece of the Rune Mastery attribute solidification puzzle.

[Name: Zhou Er]

[Cultivation: Qi Refining Fourth Layer (53.9%)]

[Equipment Slots (3/3): Talisman Making Insights, Spirit Gathering Pill, Bigu Pill.]

[Unsolidified Attributes: Spirit Gathering, Taotie.]

[Solidified Attributes: Rune Mastery (Tier 1), Self-Healing, High-speed Reaction, Wondrous Brush, Fire Attribute Amplification, Spirit Qi Purification, Qi Induction, Strength Increase, Five Animal Health Fist (Perfected), Longevity.]

The Talisman Making Insights could be removed from the equipment slot and replaced with other items.

The most suitable would be the Purple Spirit Pill, but the Spirit Condensing effect brought by the Purple Spirit Pill was only useful during cultivation, and it wouldn't have much effect at other times.

To maximize the development of the equipment slots, Zhou Er needed to have enough items in hand to equip.

"It's time to go to Wanbao Pavilion."

Zhou Er thought, he now had seventy Low-grade Spirit Stones, so he could go shopping.

Zhou Er used the Godly Travel Technique all the way, jogging to the front of Wanbao Pavilion. Looking at the magnificent seven-story building, he directly felt the grandeur of Wanbao Pavilion.

Wanbao Pavilion did business in various fields, selling everything.

The first floor had low-level talismans and pills.

[Tiger Bone Pill: Body Tempering pill. After consumption, it can increase strength and strengthen muscles and bones.]

[Equipping grants the attribute: Bone Strengthening.]

[Bone Strengthening: Bone density increases by 30%.]

[Solidification Condition: Consume the bone marrow of four beasts: cow, sheep, pig, and tiger.]

[Equip?]

Zhou Er saw a pill called Tiger Bone Pill. Its effect was very good, directly increasing bone density by 30%.

Bones bore an important defensive capability for the physical body. If the bones were strong, the defensive ability would naturally be strong.

Those Body Tempering cultivators practiced diligently every day, just to strengthen their muscles and bones a little.

With the Bone Strengthening buff, Zhou Er was equivalent to having achieved minor success in Body Tempering.

This is something countless body cultivators dream of.

Although Zhou Er (he) wasn't currently fighting anyone, having more strength meant having more confidence, especially in this perilous Cultivation World where strength was the foundation of survival.

Any Attribute that could increase one's own strength was naturally the more, the better.

"Fellow Daoist, this Tiger Bone Pill is a commonly used medicinal pill for body cultivators, with first-class body tempering effects. After finishing your training, taking one can quickly replenish Qi and Blood, strengthening the Qi, Blood, Muscles and Bones."

A man wearing a Wanbao Pavilion uniform approached Zhou Er (he) and introduced the pill.

The reason he didn't call Zhou Er (he) Senior Brother was simple: he wasn't a disciple of Xiayun Sect, so he didn't need to address Zhou Er (he) as Senior Brother.

Most other Xiayun Sect shops were run by Xiayun Sect themselves, and their employees were mostly Servant Disciples of Xiayun Sect, hence they all addressed him as Senior Brother.

"How much is this Tiger Bone Pill?"

Zhou Er (he) asked.

"One pill costs only one Low-grade Spirit Stone."

The man said, holding up one finger.

"Then give me one."

Zhou Er (he) nodded and said.

"Alright! Fellow Daoist, try this one first. If the effect is good, you can come back for more. I guarantee your satisfaction."

The man put one pill into a small gourd for Zhou Er (he) and then asked:

"What else would Junior Brother like to see?"

"Can you take me to see magical artifacts? And Storage Bags."

Zhou Er (he) said.

"Of course, magical artifacts are displayed on the third floor. Fellow Daoist, please follow me."

The man extended his hand, pointed out the direction of the stairs to Zhou Er (he), and led the way.

Arriving on the third floor, the magical artifacts here were dazzling, but they were all protected by special magic formations and couldn't be easily taken out for viewing. Zhou Er (he) needed to inform the man, who would then retrieve them from the display formations.

"Fellow Daoist, what Attribute of magical artifact are you looking for?"

The man asked at this time.

"Any Attribute is fine. However, could you show me the Storage Bags first?"

Zhou Er (he) said.

"Of course, fellow Daoist, please wait a moment."

The man smiled and nodded, then whispered a few words to his colleague, who went to fetch the storage bags.

There were two models, one with half a cubic meter of storage space and another with one cubic meter.

[Storage Bag: Contains half a cubic meter of storage space.]

[Equipping grants the attribute: Void Breaking (White).]

[Void Breaking (White): Shatters space, allowing instantaneous transfer to any location within ten meters. Can only be used once per day.]

[Solidification Condition: Kill one hundred Tier 1 Demonic Beasts.]

[Equip?]

Looking at the attribute's effect, Zhou Er was immediately stunned.

The attribute effect of this storage bag after equipping was too heaven-defying; it was Blink.

Zhou Er had played games in his past life, so he naturally knew how important Blink was.

Whether for escaping, avoiding fatal damage, or ambushing and killing enemies with a surprise effect, it was extremely useful.

Even though it could only be used once a day, the effect of Void Breaking was astonishing enough to become Zhou Er's trump card.

"How much does this storage bag cost?"

Zhou Er asked.

"This half cubic meter storage bag is worth one hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones, and the one cubic meter one is three hundred."

Both storage bags had the same final equipped attribute. Zhou Er only needed the half cubic meter storage bag, but he currently only had seventy Spirit Stones, making him truly short on funds.

"Fellow Daoist, I'll look at other things first!"

Zhou Er waved his hand and said.

"Of course."

The man put away the storage bags and continued to lead Zhou Er around.

Whatever Zhou Er wanted to see, the man could bring it out for him.

Many magical artifacts had good attributes, but Zhou Er couldn't afford them right now and had to put them aside for the time being.

As he was about to leave, Zhou Er suddenly remembered something: an Alchemy Furnace.

Lin Shiyu had been longing for an Alchemy Furnace but hadn't had the chance.

Zhou Er was just looking anyway, so he asked:

"Do you have a Purple Cloud Furnace? I'd like to see it."

Hearing this, the man was already a little impatient. Zhou Er only looked and didn't buy, and he no longer wanted to waste time on Zhou Er.

However, professional ethics made him still smile and say:

"Certainly! Fellow Daoist, I'll take you there."

Arriving in front of the Purple Cloud Furnace, Zhou Er got closer and saw the Purple Cloud Furnace's attributes.

[Purple Cloud Furnace: An Alchemy Furnace with purple cloud patterns carved on its body.]

[Equipping grants the attribute: Refining (White)]

[Refining (White): Increases own digestion ability by fifty percent.]

[Solidification Condition: Taste a hundred herbs, refine one hundred types of medicinal materials.]

[Equip?]

Looking at the effects of the Purple Cloud Furnace's attributes, Zhou Er's eyes immediately lit up.

This Refining attribute perfectly complemented the Taotie Attribute.

Taotie could convert food into cultivation, while Refining enhanced Zhou Er's digestion ability, directly increasing the effect of the Taotie Attribute by fifty percent.

Zhou Er's cultivation had always primarily increased through the Taotie Attribute.

Now that the Taotie Attribute's effect was increased by fifty percent, it was equivalent to his cultivation speed also increasing by fifty percent.

In comparison, other attributes seemed less important.

"Fellow Daoist, what is the price of this Purple Cloud Furnace?"

Zhou Er quickly asked.

"Five hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones."

This price was the same as Zhou Er knew, still so expensive.

He could only say "never mind," and Zhou Er left Wanbao Pavilion dejectedly.

"If I had obtained this Refining attribute earlier, my cultivation speed could have been faster!"

Zhou Er knew he couldn't wait any longer. He had to find a way to get this Purple Cloud Furnace.

Time waits for no one.

Zhou Er's first thought was of Lin Shiyu. Although Lin Shiyu's income was meager, she saved up every Spirit Stone she earned. Zhou Er was familiar with her and roughly knew she had accumulated about eighty Low-grade Spirit Stones.

The two amounts added together would be around one hundred and fifty.

However, this was far from enough; they were still short by three hundred and fifty.

Fortunately, Zhou Er also knew some Talisman Master friends.

These friends were all at the Late-stage Qi Refining cultivation level, so they definitely had more Spirit Stones than him. He could borrow from them one by one, trying to raise the funds.

Of course, Zhou Er wanted to get his hands on Lin Shiyu's Spirit Stones first.

So, like a scumbag, he waited for Lin Shiyu after she got off work.

"Shiyu!"

Zhou Er said affectionately upon seeing Lin Shiyu.

Their relationship was now as close as siblings, and Zhou Er had upgraded his address for her to two characters.

Lin Shiyu had recently broken through to the fifth level of Qi Refining. She was a little surprised that Zhou Er was waiting for her.

Zhou Er had been incredibly busy these past few months, and she hadn't seen him in a long time.

Of course, she had also been inspired by Zhou Er's diligent efforts and had also cultivated diligently, not slacking off at all. Otherwise, she wouldn't have broken through so quickly.

"Senior Brother! You're waiting for me, is something the matter?"

Lin Shiyu asked.

"I'm ashamed to say, but I need to borrow some Spirit Stones from you again, Shiyu."

Zhou Er said helplessly.

However, he wasn't completely taking advantage of Lin Shiyu. Once he solidified his Attributes, he wouldn't need to hold onto the Purple Cloud Furnace. If he didn't want to refine pills, he could lend the Purple Cloud Furnace to Lin Shiyu for her use.

"Senior Brother, how much do you want to borrow this time?"

Lin Shiyu was already accustomed to Zhou Er looking for her whenever he needed to borrow Spirit Stones.

"The more, the better."

Zhou Er said.

Lin Shiyu returned to her room to get the Spirit Stones for Zhou Er. She took out half, hesitated for a moment, and then took out the other half.

Just as Zhou Er had guessed, it was exactly eighty-one.

Although it pained her, Lin Shiyu still handed the two small bags of Spirit Stones to Zhou Er and said:

"Senior Brother, this is my savings from these past few years. It's all for you."

"Thank you, Junior Sister. I will definitely repay you."

Zhou Er said quickly, then bid farewell to Lin Shiyu and left.

Lin Shiyu wanted to say a few more words to Zhou Er, but seeing how busy he was, she didn't dare to disturb him. She simply said goodbye with a sense of disappointment.

After obtaining the Spirit Stones from Lin Shiyu, Zhou Er immediately went to find other Talisman Master friends.

Excluding Zhu Shunyang and Fu Qiu, he borrowed twenty to thirty each from everyone else, still short by two hundred and fifty.

As for Xia Songting, Uncle-Master Xia, Zhou Er felt it was inconvenient to bother him.

Therefore, he only had Zhu Shunyang and Fu Qiu left from whom he could borrow more.

This was also part of his plan. He had the closest relationship with Zhu Shunyang and Fu Qiu.

One was his guide on the path of talisman crafting, and the other was a sort of partner.

Zhou Er found Fu Qiu first and said:

"Senior Brother Fu! I need to ask a favor!"

This was the first time Fu Qiu had seen Zhou Er so anxious. He immediately became serious and said:

"Junior Brother Zhou, please speak."

"I was hoping to raise some Spirit Stones from Senior Brother Fu."

Zhou Er said.

Hearing this, Fu Qiu breathed a sigh of relief. He thought it was something else.

"It's a small matter, a small matter. How much does Junior Brother want to borrow?"

Fu Qiu said.

"Two hundred and fifty."

Zhou Er directly stated a large number.

If he could gather enough Spirit Stones from Fu Qiu, he naturally wouldn't need to trouble Zhu Shunyang.

"Two hundred and fifty, that's not a small sum! What does Junior Brother intend to use it for?"

Fu Qiu frowned.

A hundred Spirit Stones was not something he could easily produce.

Zhou Er knew that if he wanted to borrow spirit stones, he couldn't be secretive, so he said:

"I plan to buy a Purple Cloud Furnace, and I'm still short by two hundred and fifty Low-grade Spirit Stones."

"Purple Cloud Furnace? Junior Brother, don't you think making talismans isn't profitable, and you want to start alchemy again!"

Fu Qiu frowned upon seeing this.

If that were the case, his family would lose a Talisman Master who could provide talismans.

Zhou Er's talismans now had guaranteed quality and had generated considerable income for their family.

"No, no. Senior Brother, don't worry, I'm not someone who is easily distracted. It's just that I have a sworn sister, who is a Fire Control Attendant under Elder He Lin, and her dream is to become an Alchemist. But her income is meager, only saving seventy to eighty Low-grade Spirit Stones a year. It would take at least six to seven years to save enough for a Purple Cloud Furnace. I can't bear to see her waste time and squander her youth, so I want to lend her a hand."

Zhou Er had already prepared his story and told it with fluctuating emotions, speaking with passion.

If anyone else had said this, Fu Qiu would have surely mocked and lectured them.

After all, who among them hadn't worked hard for years, even decades, before finally succeeding?

There weren't that many overnight geniuses who became successful at a young age; most relied on perseverance and slowly endured.

Zhou Er was already better than ninety-nine percent of people.

However, since the person in front of him was Zhou Er, Fu Qiu immediately put himself in his shoes and empathized, wiping away a tear and saying:

"The bond between siblings is deep, truly deep! Junior Brother Zhou is such a good brother!"

Although he said this, Fu Qiu was thinking that Zhou Er was willing to spend a lot of money just to impress a girl.

With an annual income of only a few hundred spirit stones, he dared to buy a Purple Cloud Furnace worth five hundred spirit stones to make a beauty smile.

"Senior Brother Fu, are you willing to lend it to me?"

Zhou Er asked nervously.

"Junior Brother, don't worry, I will definitely help your sister."

Fu Qiu patted his chest and guaranteed:

"It's just that two hundred and fifty is still too much. I need two days to gather it. Junior Brother, please wait a moment."

"Of course, of course."

Being able to borrow the spirit stones, Zhou Er was relieved and let out a big sigh.

Two days later, Fu Qiu prepared the spirit stones and found Zhou Er, saying:

"Junior Brother, here are two hundred and fifty Low-grade Spirit Stones."

"Thank you, Senior Brother Fu!"

Zhou Er repeatedly expressed his gratitude.

After giving the Spirit Stones, Fu Qiu took out an IOU and said:

"Junior Brother, these two hundred and fifty Spirit Stones are not a small matter after all. I had to borrow them from other people in my family. Please sign an IOU, so I have something to show when I go back. There's no interest on this IOU, so you can sign with peace of mind."

"It's only right, it's only right."

Zhou Er could naturally understand that large loans required an IOU.

After Zhou Er signed the IOU, Fu Qiu started talking about repaying the Spirit Stones:

"Junior Brother Zhou, regarding the repayment of the Spirit Stones, I have a plan. Half of your income each time will be deducted to repay the debt first, leaving the other half for you."

Hearing this, Zhou Er felt a sense of familiarity, but it was also reasonable. Zhou Er nodded and said:

"We'll do as Senior Brother says!"

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