At last, his goal had been achieved.
Cheng Buzheng didn't linger. Holding two jade slips in his hand, he headed toward the stairs.
Behind the counter, Martial Uncle was resting with his eyes closed, lying in a rocking chair that swayed gently back and forth. Judging by the look of him, he hadn't moved in quite some time!
Seeing this,
Cheng Buzheng bowed and said:
"Martial Uncle, I've made my selections!"
As he spoke, he reached into his storage pouch and took out his sect Identity Token, holding it up in front of him.
At this,
Martial Uncle opened his cloudy eyes and raised a withered right hand. With a slight beckoning gesture, the token flew into his palm. He examined it briefly.
A moment later,
After checking it, he flicked his sleeve, and the token flew back into his palm without the slightest deviation.
Then Martial Uncle lifted his withered right hand and flicked it. Two streaks of white light shot out, each winding around a jade slip. The slips glowed faintly, and the white light spun around once before shooting into Cheng Buzheng's brow.
The Purple Crystal Bracelet and Earth Escape Technique were imprinted in Cheng Buzheng's mind.
The two jade slips in his hands immediately began to fly about on their own, like radar-guided objects, returning precisely to their original places.
Cheng Buzheng suppressed his urge to examine them right away. He bowed once more to Martial Uncle behind the counter and said,
"Martial Uncle, I'll take my leave!"
A moment later,
Seeing that Martial Uncle didn't respond, Cheng Buzheng left on his own.
On the first floor of the Sutra Repository Tower, he took a book from the first bookshelf and began reading it carefully.
Time flowed slowly.
In the blink of an eye,
Night fell, and the Jade Rabbit frolicked in the Star River.
Cheng Buzheng set down the metal plate in his hands and glanced up at the sky beyond the tower entrance. He sighed wistfully:
"Time flows like water. In the blink of an eye, night has fallen!"
After leaving the Sutra Repository Tower, he said goodbye to the two Martial Brothers and strode away. To a cultivator, the pitch-black night was no different from the Golden Crow's巡天.
Even a cultivator who had only just stepped onto the path of cultivation wouldn't be hindered by night or day.
Cheng Buzheng flexed his hind legs slightly. The air cracked, and he vanished, leaving behind only a straight trail of compressed air.
Inside a house in the Canyon basin,
Cheng Buzheng sat cross-legged on the bed, placing all nine of his remaining Spirit Stones in front of him. He connected his will to the Small Plate and wrapped his Divine Sense around one of the Spirit Stones.
Deep in his Sea of Consciousness, the patterns on the Small Plate glimmered faintly. The panel floating above it changed.
Master of the Heavenly Jade Disc: Cheng Buzheng Realm: Qi Refining Level 1 Cultivation Method: First-order Mid-grade (Ordinary). Crimson Fire Technique (Beginner) Spells: First-order Low-grade (Ordinary) Purple Crystal Bracelet (Not yet learned), First-order Low-grade (Ordinary) Earth Escape Technique (Not yet learned) Spiritual Power Value: 1
Cheng Buzheng noticed that the Spiritual Power on the panel was no longer zero. It had become one. Though it was only a single point, it was still a change from nothing to something.
He calmed his mind and focused his intent into his Sea of Consciousness.
Memories of the Earth Escape Technique rolled through his mind. Cheng Buzheng extracted the complete set of memories and condensed them into a seed.
Then he placed it directly into the Recessed Nest at the center of the Small Plate. At a thought, the patterns on the plate glimmered faintly, then went dark.
Cheng Buzheng noticed that the Spiritual Power Value on the panel hadn't moved at all. It was still one.
He sighed softly, his face pinched with regret, but didn't stop. He connected his will to the Small Plate again and wrapped his Divine Sense around a second Spirit Stone.
Deep in his Sea of Consciousness, the patterns on the Small Plate glimmered faintly once more. In an instant, the Spiritual Power Value on the panel floating above it changed again, rising from one to two.
The Tricolor Soul Avatar appeared once more on the panel and lightly tapped Earth Escape Technique.
In an instant, the panel floating above the Small Plate changed, and its Spiritual Power Value dropped straight to zero.
The patterns on the Small Plate glimmered faintly as streaks of white light enveloped the seed in the Recessed Nest at its center.
As time passed, the white light surrounding the Earth Escape Technique seed gradually diminished. At last, a translucent Yellow Spirit Bead lay quietly in the Recessed Nest at the center of the Small Plate.
The Tricolor Soul Avatar reached out, and the Yellow Spirit Bead flew into its hand.
It examined the Yellow Bead. It was round, about the size of a pinky, and earthy yellow in color, with a faint glow. Words within it appeared and disappeared. It looked every bit like a priceless treasure from the immortal realm.
He lifted it, opened his mouth, and swallowed it in one smooth motion.
At once,
Countless yellow characters surrounded his soul avatar, eventually forming a round egg of yellow writing that enclosed him tightly.
Then an abstruse insight entered his soul, along with a flood of knowledge about cultivating the Earth Escape Technique and a wealth of experience.
In the outside world, yellow Spirit Light radiated from Cheng Buzheng's body. While immersed in comprehension, he shot toward the ground, then floated beneath its surface as naturally as a fish gliding through water.
Beneath the ground, Cheng Buzheng's eyes were closed. Like a fish, he swam freely through the earth—gliding sideways, swimming on his back, or frog-kicking, every motion coming to him with ease.
At that moment, Cheng Buzheng was like the earth's darling, playing to his heart's content under the care of Mother Earth.
Before long, he had fully comprehended the Earth Escape Technique and reached the Perfection Realm.
He was now one zhang below the ground, a clear smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
A moment later,
Inside the house, a yellow light enveloped a head as it emerged from the floor. Cheng Buzheng glanced around and saw nothing amiss.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, he realized that after the Small Plate had refined the Earth Escape Technique, much of its content had been removed, though a little had also been added.
After being refined, the Earth Escape Technique had become much more streamlined, and its speed had increased considerably. It had also gained a measure of concealment, an ability it hadn't possessed before.
With the Earth Escape Technique at the Perfection Realm, he no longer needed to use a Spell Technique. He could escape in an instant, greatly improving his chances of survival.
Then he calmed his mind and sent his consciousness into his Sea of Consciousness. The panel above the Small Plate had changed once more.
Master of the Heavenly Jade Disc: Cheng Buzheng Realm: Qi Refining Level 1 Cultivation Method: First-order Mid-grade (Ordinary). Crimson Fire Technique (Beginner) Spells: First-order Low-grade (Ordinary) Purple Crystal Bracelet (Not yet learned), First-order Low-grade (Fine) Earth Escape Technique (Perfection) Spiritual Power Value: 0
Seeing the Spiritual Power Value return to zero, he didn't feel the slightest sting. The two points of Spiritual Power had been well spent.
When Cheng Buzheng saw that upgrading an ordinary low-grade spell to Fine quality required two Spirit Stones, he realized that his purse would never grow fat. And he had no idea whether there were even higher qualities beyond that.
Each upgrade required at least two Spirit Stones, and that might not even be enough. There was a very good chance it wouldn't be.
Spending felt wonderful, but afterward, it hurt.
He knew that if he had Spirit Stones in the future, he would upgrade his spells without hesitation. But he would still regret the cost afterward—unless he had enough Spirit Stones not to care about spending a few.
Cheng Buzheng also knew that in the cultivation world, high-quality spells were generally never sold. Even in the Sutra Repository Tower, the spells available for disciples to choose from were all ordinary quality. Fine-quality spells were rarer still.
His thoughts raced, but he suppressed the distractions, calmed his mind, and silently recovered his magical power. His earlier swim through the earth had drained it completely.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Cheng Buzheng closed his eyes and circulated the Crimson Fire Technique along the Lesser Celestial Circuit. Wisps of spiritual energy gathered visibly around him, little by little.
Then they followed the Lesser Celestial Circuit's cultivation route, circulating over and over as his magical power slowly recovered.
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