Fleece the Sheep

Cheng Buzheng stealthily followed underground. During this time, the Cultivator surnamed Li collected Spirit Stone Raw Ore several more times.

He continued until he walked up to a Stone Cave and handed his Back Basket to a Guard for inspection. He then discussed charging matters with another cultivator.

Afterward, he took the Back Basket back and entered the Stone Cave.

Not long after, he came out again. After greeting the two cultivators who were acting as Guards outside the Stone Cave, he turned and left.

Cheng Buzheng no longer followed the Guide. He knew this must be the storage point for the Spirit Stone Raw Ore.

Without hesitation, he directly tunneled into the Stone Cave.

Three feet underground, a Yellow Spirit Light entered the area three feet below the Stone Cave in the blink of an eye.

Arriving underground at a corner of the Stone Cave, Cheng Buzheng extended a wisp of his Divine Sense. Seeing that there was no one inside, he did not appear directly in the cave, as there were still two Guard cultivators outside.

He tunneled again to the area below the pile of Spirit Stone Raw Ore. Suddenly, a hand emerged from the Rock Ground, grabbed a piece of Spirit Stone Raw Ore, and began loading it into the Back Basket.

This magical scene repeatedly played out inside the cave, while the two cultivators standing outside the door remained completely unaware.

Cheng Buzheng only stopped after he had filled about half of his Back Basket.

He then descended to a depth of three feet within the Rock Layer and stopped further descent. The deeper he tunneled, the greater the Magic Power consumption. This depth was already safe enough.

Afterward, he directly traveled to the junction of the Fourth Branch Path and the Fifth Branch Path before stopping.

Cheng Buzheng did not linger in place. He tunneled a full ten feet underground and confirmed there were no small side tunnels around.

He flipped his right hand, and the Purple Crystal Bracelet appeared in his hand. With a casual wave, the Purple Crystal Bracelet immediately grew to the size of a millstone.

Not long after.

A Secret Chamber, two Zhang square, appeared before him. The surrounding rocks were tightly compressed by the Purple Crystal Bracelet, eliminating any danger of sudden collapse.

Cheng Buzheng threw the Spirit Stone Raw Ore from his Back Basket into a corner, sat down on the ground, closed his eyes slightly, and silently began to recover his Magic Power.

The surrounding spiritual energy quickly gathered, forming a thin Spirit Energy Layer.

Half an hour later.

He opened his eyes and sensed that his Magic Power had recovered to its peak.

Cheng Buzheng extended his right hand. From the pile of Spirit Stone Raw Ore in the corner, an irregularly shaped piece flew into his palm.

"I never expected to reach a point where I'm so extravagant that I use Spirit Stones for cultivation.

Now... a few points of Spiritual Power Value won't make a difference. I'll upgrade the 'Crimson Fire Technique' technique first. My cultivation efficiency will significantly improve in the future."

Cheng Buzheng did not delay. His Divine Sense enveloped the pile of Spirit Stone Raw Ore, and his will connected to the Small Plate deep within his Sea of Consciousness. The patterns on the surface of the Small Plate glowed slightly.

In an instant, the panel suspended above the small plate changed...

Master of the Heavenly Jade Disc: Cheng Buzheng

Cultivation: Qi Refining Level 2

Cultivation Method: First-order Mid-grade (Normal) Crimson Fire Technique (Beginner)

Spells: First-order Low-grade (Premium) Purple Crystal Bracelet (Mastered), First-order Low-grade (Premium) Earth Escape Technique (Mastered)

Spiritual Power Value: 34

Cheng Buzheng saw his Spiritual Power Value change from zero to thirty-four. Never having been so well-off, he finally experienced the feeling of becoming rich overnight.

If it weren't for the fact that these Spirit Stone Raw Ore still needed further processing and compression, this small pile of spirit stones would be worth much more than thirty-four points of Spiritual Power Value.

He didn't hesitate. All the memories regarding the Crimson Fire Technique surged forth. He immediately extracted the complete memory of the Crimson Fire Technique and condensed it into the shape of a seed.

Then, he directly placed it in the recessed nest at the center of the small plate. The Tricolor Soul Figure, formed from his soul, floated above the small plate. He extended his index finger and gently pressed on the Crimson Fire Technique cultivation method on the panel.

Instantly.

The Spiritual Power Value on the panel decreased by two points, and the patterns on the small plate below lit up slightly. Waves of white light enveloped the seed within the recessed nest.

The seed was wrapped in white light. As the small plate deduced, the white light slowly faded, eventually forming a crimson bead.

This crimson bead looked no different from before, emitting a fiery red glow. Vaguely, one could see countless crimson characters swimming within the crimson bead.

Cheng Buzheng glanced at it and then, without hesitation, swallowed it directly.

Instantly.

A fiery red light emanated from his soul, as if a god of fire had descended upon the world, burning everything.

His consciousness entered a vast white world, where he cultivated the Crimson Fire Technique day and night, without rest, from beginner to familiar.

After an unknown amount of time, time lost all meaning. He ran the Crimson Fire Technique day after day until his comprehension of the cultivation method was comparable to its creator's.

In the outside world, Cheng Buzheng, while in comprehension, also circulated the Crimson Fire Technique with his body, following his mind. From normal cultivation at the beginning, the speed of circulating the spell technique eventually became twice as fast as before.

He opened his eyes and found that after the deduction, the Crimson Fire Technique had many parts of its spell technique removed, but some were also added. Overall, it had been refined.

However, the effect truly surprised him. The Crimson Fire Technique, after its quality was improved, increased its Spirit Energy absorption effect by a full three times, and its circulation efficiency was also twice as fast as before.

From this, one could see why cultivators with good aptitude, good cultivation methods, and sufficient alchemical pills cultivated so quickly. With bonuses in all aspects, it was hard not to advance rapidly. In the end, cultivation was still about resources.

Cheng Buzheng didn't plan to improve the Crimson Fire Technique further for now. It was sufficient. Moreover, he had a crazy idea, but the time was not right, and the conditions were lacking.

Afterward, he decided to upgrade his two spell techniques to the ultimate level of First-order Low-grade.

He didn't consider First-order Mid-grade Spells, not because his Spiritual Power Value was insufficient, but because he didn't have enough Magic Power to support normal combat.

Mid-grade Spells would deplete his Magic Power after only one or two casts, leaving him at the mercy of others. Therefore, upgrading his spells to First-order Mid-grade would become a burden.

Moreover, a First-order Low-grade Spell, when upgraded to its peak, could rival the power of a First-order Mid-grade Spell. However, he wasn't entirely sure of the specific extent of this power.

With this thought, Cheng Buzheng didn't hesitate.

Memories of the Earth Escape Technique surged. He immediately extracted all memories related to the Earth Escape Technique, condensed them into a seed, and placed it directly into the recessed nest at the center of the Small Plate.

The Tricolor Soul Figure, formed from his Three-Colored Soul, extended a finger and gently tapped it.

Instantly, his Spiritual Power Value decreased by four points.

Simultaneously, the patterns on the surface of the Small Plate glowed faintly. Countless white lights enveloped the seed. As the Small Plate deduced, the patterns on its surface flickered incessantly.

After a short while.

The white light slowly dimmed, eventually forming a Yellow Bead.

Cheng Buzheng didn't take it out to consume. Instead, he glanced at the panel suspended above the Small Plate.

Master of the Heavenly Jade Disc: Cheng Buzheng

Cultivation: Qi Refining Level 2

Cultivation Technique: First-order Mid-grade (Fine) Crimson Fire Technique (Mastered)

Spells: First-order Low-grade (Fine) Purple Crystal Bracelet (Mastered), First-order Low-grade (Peerless) Earth Escape Technique (Mastered)

Spiritual Power Value: 30

He saw that after the deduction, the quality of the Earth Escape Technique had improved again. Although he was unsure of the specific effects, the outcome after further deduction would undoubtedly be even better.

The Tricolor Soul Figure, formed from his soul, gently tapped on the Earth Escape Technique again.