Qi Gazing Technique

"Grand Unity Qi Gazing Technique!"

The Green Robe Old Man was exhausted, just like Wei Suo after he had finished refining talismans in the past. It looked as though the depletion of his vital energy would require at least ten days to half a month of recuperation, with daily doses of Fire Scorpion Blood, before it could possibly be restored. Meanwhile, Wei Suo once again gazed in immense amazement at the technique recorded within this azure jade talisman.

The Qi Gazing Technique could be cultivated by any cultivator at the Second Level of Sea of Consciousness Realm or above. Once cast, it allowed one to see the True Essence cultivation and approximate technique grade of cultivators whose cultivation was within two levels of one's own.

Originally, Wei Suo had hoped that this Azure Jade Talisman contained another technique of Lin Daoyi's—the White Water Shield, which appeared to have quite impressive defensive properties. After all, Wei Suo had yet to cultivate a single defensive technique, relying solely on defensive talismans to protect himself.

Wei Suo's Earth Shield Treasure Talisman had already been used for the last time and was now useless. The only defensive artifacts he had left were the Spirit Heaven Jade Pendant, which could be used twice more, and the Wind Lord Jade Talisman he had obtained from Lin Daoyi, which could probably still be used five times. But defensive talismans were consumables, after all. If they were depleted and he had no defensive technique, things would become rather dangerous.

Yet he had not expected this other azure jade talisman of Lin Daoyi's to record another one of his techniques: the Grand Unity Qi Gazing Technique.

Though it was not the defensive technique he had hoped for, and though this Qi Gazing Technique could not compare to some of the top-tier qi-gazing arts on the Tianxuan Continent, it was already exceedingly useful to Wei Suo.

After all, anyone whose depth he could not discern with this Qi Gazing Technique was certainly more than two levels stronger than him. When the time came, he simply had to avoid provoking them. If he could take a detour, then a detour it would be.

With such a technique added to his arsenal, he had invisibly gained another measure of protection for his life.

Since he no longer lacked Spirit Stones for cultivation, and since a cultivator's cultivation and techniques were the foundation on which they stood—the things that mattered most—the white jade box suspected to be a Treasure Origin Jade Box could wait. Its effects could not be determined for the moment; at the very least, he would have to wait until tomorrow to see whether the Silver Candle Grass placed inside remained as fresh and tender as it was now. After briefly tidying the miscellaneous items scattered across the bed, Wei Suo began cultivating these two techniques.

"Second Level of Sea of Consciousness Realm. Heh heh, seems like it's only a Yellow-rank technique."

"Third Level of Sea of Consciousness Realm. About the same as me. Damn it, but his technique seems a bit stronger than mine."

"Holy crap, this guy's a beast—at the very least, he's a Circulation Realm cultivator!"

On the evening five days later, Wei Suo headed toward the northern market of the city. As he walked, he sneakily eyed the cultivators passing by him.

Each time he stole a glance at someone walking past, an almost imperceptible gleam of spiritual light flickered in his eyes.

The Golden Snake Lightning Art he had obtained from Lin Daoyi was somewhat harder to cultivate. After spending five days on it, Wei Suo had only become familiar with the first layer, barely able to release three snake-shaped bolts of lightning around two feet long. This Qi Gazing Technique, however, was comparatively much easier, and Wei Suo could now use it proficiently.

More importantly, this technique consumed very little True Essence, so Wei Suo was having a thoroughly enjoyable time peeking at people.

Whenever Wei Suo cast the Qi Gazing Art, he could faintly see the radiance of the other person's sea of consciousness within their body. From the number of seas of consciousness they possessed and the brilliance of their radiance, he could basically judge how they measured up against him. But it was indeed impossible to discern the exact depth of cultivators more than two levels above him. The person who had just passed Wei Suo was at least a Circulation Realm cultivator. At a single glance, Wei Suo felt as if the person's entire body was wrapped in an aura like flowing water, sharp enough to make his heart shudder.

As for Wei Suo's Purple Profound True Art, like all True Essence cultivation arts, the higher one's cultivation became, the harder it was to advance. In the past, Wei Suo had lacked sufficient Spirit Stones. Now that he had enough, he had naturally cultivated with all his might over these five days. Yet after consuming forty Low-grade Spirit Stones, the three seas of consciousness in his body had only expanded slightly. By Wei Suo's estimation, he would need at least another ten days or so to break through to the Fourth Level of Sea of Consciousness Realm.

This was because his Purple Profound True Art was of relatively low grade, and because he had enough Spirit Stones to cultivate without interruption. Otherwise, with a higher-grade True Essence cultivation art, even with sufficient Spirit Stones, breaking through from the Third Level of Sea of Consciousness Realm to the Fourth Level of Sea of Consciousness Realm might take at least several dozen days, or even several hundred.

The key was that even in most major sects like the Tianyi Sect, aside from a few core disciples with decent talent, ordinary disciples could never receive an allowance of more than eight Low-grade Spirit Stones a day. Thus, the time required for cultivation had to be extended by several times at minimum. This was precisely why Wei Suo had only broken through to the Third Level of Sea of Consciousness Realm after refining his first batch of Fireball Talismans all those years later.

The reason Wei Suo was now heading toward the northern market was that when he had broken through to the Third Level of Sea of Consciousness Realm last time, he had discovered that his usual talisman refining also considerably tempered his divine sense. Moreover, refining Fireball Talismans was his most reliable means of earning Spirit Stones at present. Since he now had enough Spirit Stones, he had put out a long-term purchase notice through several northern shops, offering one Low-grade Spirit Stone for every four Fire Scorpions.

This price was outrageously high to other cultivators, but one Fire Scorpion provided enough materials for four Fireball Talismans. With Wei Suo's success rate, four Fire Scorpions could yield at least a dozen Fireball Talismans. In other words, one Low-grade Spirit Stone could earn him six Low-grade Spirit Stones—a tremendously profitable trade.

Because the price was high for other cultivators and the purchase was long-term, quite a few low-level cultivators had begun specifically hunting and killing the previously ignored Fire Scorpions. Over these five days, Wei Suo had come out once a day to collect Fire Scorpions from those shops. On the first day, the shops had received twelve Fire Scorpions. Over the next four days, they had received an average of sixteen or seventeen per day.

Throughout these five days, Wei Suo had focused wholeheartedly on cultivating the Purple Profound True Art and those two techniques. He had merely collected the useful Fire Scorpion Blood and had not refined any Fireball Talismans.

Wei Suo's original intention had been to wait until he cultivated the Lightning Shuttle of the second layer of the Golden Snake Lightning Art, then begin cultivating and refining Fireball Talismans each day. Once he had accumulated enough Fireball Talismans and nearly used up the Spirit Stones on hand, he would head to the markets again to accept some safe jobs and earn more Spirit Stones. With his current cultivation and so many Fireball Talismans, dealing with second-level demonic beasts and demonic beasts below the middle stage of the third level would be as easy as turning over his hand.

"An auction..."

After secretly using the Qi Gazing Technique for a while, Wei Suo arrived at the entrance to the northern market and saw many people gathered before a stone notice wall used for announcements. When he stepped closer to look, he paused in surprise. The most conspicuous notice on the wall stated that a small auction hosted by the Golden Jade Pavilion would be held three days later. Previously, Shopkeeper Tian of the Golden Jade Pavilion had told Wei Suo and the others that the auction would be held within ten days at the latest, but the date had now been moved forward by two days.

Three days from now... I should go see how much that piece of cold jade can sell for. And while I'm there, I can see whether there are any good defensive techniques up for auction. As Wei Suo looked at the notice, the image of Nangong Yuqing, that long-legged beauty with the scorching figure, surfaced uncontrollably in his mind... especially the half of her snowy-white, round fullness exposed beneath that torn soft armor...

(Since the book officially began on the 14th, it has already passed seventy thousand characters. Seeing as I've averaged over ten thousand characters a day for seven straight days, everyone, please toss in more red votes and the like. I'll also do my best to keep up a scheduled minimum of three updates a day.)