Strength Surges!

"Then I shall take them all!"

Li Qingshan nodded, then pointed to a few pitch-black, unrecognizable scraps of ore in the corner. "What about these scraps? I'll take them back to weigh down my pickle jar."

The old shopkeeper was amused. "Hahaha, weigh down a pickle jar? Fine, fine, one spirit stone, take them all!"

Li Qingshan paid readily, tucking the small bronze shield, the stack of waste talismans, several offensive and defensive spirit talismans, and the scraps of ore into his storage.

This appearance of someone picking up bargains and buying junk failed to attract the slightest bit of attention from anyone.

Returning to his stone house, he bolted the door shut.

Li Qingshan took out everything he had gained today, his eyes burning with fervor.

He carefully placed the damaged small bronze shield, the stack of inferior talismans, and the seemingly useless low-level materials and broken jade slips he had accumulated earlier into the Wish-Fulfilling Gourd in batches.

Looking at the gourd resting quietly on the table, Li Qingshan's eyes were filled with anticipation.

"Tomorrow, I shall know the result."

He sat cross-legged, suppressing the excitement in his heart, and began his daily cultivation, waiting quietly for the dawn to arrive.

The next day, just as the horizon began to pale, Li Qingshan suddenly opened his eyes, ending his cultivation.

He had not slept deeply all night, his mind mostly tethered to the seemingly plain and unadorned Yellow-Skin Gourd on the table.

At this moment, he took a deep breath to steady his slightly racing heartbeat. Like a treasure appraiser about to unveil a peerless gem, he reached out his hand with solemnity and unconcealable anticipation.

As his fingertips touched the warm, smooth surface of the gourd, he carefully pulled out the stopper.

There was no earth-shattering phenomenon, but a mixed yet exceptionally pure and vast surge of spiritual energy—like long-sealed vintage wine suddenly uncorked—instantly permeated the entire cramped stone house!

The scent of medicine, the metallic tang of minerals, the fresh fragrance of vegetation, and some indescribable aura of the Dao... various scents intertwined, and a single breath was enough to make one feel invigorated, as if their magic power had become more active.

Li Qingshan held his breath, turned the gourd mouth downward, and moved his divine sense slightly.

"Clatter—"

A series of items fell onto the soft cotton cloth he had prepared, making crisp or dull sounds, and the spiritual light instantly illuminated the dim stone room in a riot of colors!

The first thing to catch his eye was the originally rusted small bronze shield.

At this moment, it had changed completely!

Its entire body now possessed a deep, dark gold luster, ancient and heavy, with a surface as smooth as a mirror. The original damage had been repaired as if new, or perhaps even better than before.

Complex and profound defensive patterns flowed naturally across the shield's surface, faintly revealing the shape of a dragon-turtle, radiating a formidable aura that felt indestructible and as steady as a mountain!

Held in his hand, it felt heavy, and a sense of mutual connection welled up from within.

"A top-grade defensive magic tool! No, this aura... it has almost touched the threshold of a spirit tool!"

Li Qingshan's heart hammered wildly. He stroked the shield surface, unable to put it down, feeling the astonishing defensive power contained within.

With this shield in hand, he feared that no one within the Qi Refining stage could easily break his defense!

Next was the stack of originally crude and inferior talismans.

Now, the paper had become as tough as jade foil, and the cinnabar runes upon them were bright and vivid, as if spirit liquid were flowing within, containing terrifying and stable energy.

The auxiliary talismans like the Water-Cleansing Talisman and Dust-Repelling Talisman were naturally brimming with spiritual energy, but the offensive Fireball Talismans and Golden Needle Talismans emitted fluctuations that made even him feel a palpitation, far exceeding the power of ordinary first-grade high-tier talismans!

"First-grade top-tier spirit talismans! And so many of them!"

Li Qingshan's eyes shone as he carefully sorted and stored them away.

These were consumable trump cards that could turn the tide of battle at a critical moment!

Then, there were the few pitch-black scraps of ore.

Now they had become crystal clear, like high-quality jade, containing pure and dense Five Elements spiritual energy within. They were excellent materials for refining high-level magic tools and were worth a fortune.

Finally, his gaze fell upon the few jade slips he had scavenged from the trash, which had originally been blurred or even incomplete.

They now glowed with a warm, lustrous light, their surfaces shimmering. He couldn't wait to pick one up and press it to his forehead.

Earth Essence True Qi, a top-grade defensive spell!

Cultivated to perfection, it could condense a layer of heavy, earth-like protective qi on the body's surface, with astonishing defensive power comparable to a peak-tier defensive magic tool!

He picked up another.

Light-Splitting Shadow Sword Technique, a top-grade offensive spell!

It was not a technique for a physical flying sword, but rather one that condensed Sword Qi with pure magic power. When cultivated to a profound level, it could split sword light, blending the real with the illusory, making it impossible to guard against, with immense power and extreme flexibility!

There was also one that recorded a secret technique called Blood Burning Escape. Although the aftereffects were severe, burning one's essence blood at a critical moment to boost speed exponentially made it an excellent life-saving escape technique!

"I've struck gold! I've really struck gold this time!"

Even with Li Qingshan's century-old state of mind, he couldn't help but tremble slightly with excitement, his face overflowing with irrepressible ecstasy and satisfaction.

The feeling that every single gain far exceeded expectations—as if he had gathered all the treasures in the world—was truly exhilarating!

The Wish-Furtilling Gourd was worthy of its name! It turned decay into magic and touched stone to turn it into gold!

After the immense surprise, Li Qingshan quickly calmed down.

Treasures are good, but they must be converted into one's own use to truly become strength.

He immediately decided to continue living in seclusion, mastering the newly acquired spells and thoroughly refining the Green Pattern Shield.

The first to be cultivated was the Earth Essence True Qi.

This technique draws upon earth-attribute spiritual energy to condense a protective aura, which perfectly matches the endless, heavy, and enduring characteristics of his Longevity Technique mana.

The cultivation process requires drawing upon the energy of the earth's veins to temper the body, which is exceptionally painful, but for Li Qingshan, who has experienced the agony of dissipating his cultivation and starting over, along with a century of vicissitudes, it was nothing.

Every day, apart from his routine duties, he devoted all his time to cultivation.

Inside the stone house, one could often see a layer of pale yellow halo covering his body, as if he were draped in a suit of earthen armor, his aura heavy and profound.

Occasionally, disciples passing outside the courtyard would feel a faint, elusive pressure, but they dismissed it as an illusion and paid it no mind.

Half a month later, the Earth Essence True Qi reached the introductory level; though not yet perfected, he could instantly form a solid, earth-yellow light barrier around his body with astonishing defensive power.

Next was the Light-Splitting Shadow Sword Technique.

This technique has extremely high requirements for mana control and divine sense.

With his Longevity Technique mana as a foundation and a divine sense far exceeding those of the same rank, Li Qingshan found the cultivation surprisingly smooth. He pointed his fingers like a sword, practicing in the room; streaks of emerald-green Longevity Sword Qi whistled and crisscrossed, sometimes solidifying like real swords to pierce, and sometimes splitting like rain to shroud all directions, incomparably sharp.

After another ten days or so, the sword technique was also initially mastered. Although he could not yet split into many sword shadows, its power was already beginning to show, and when used in conjunction with the Crimson Dragon Sword, they complemented each other perfectly.

During this period, he would hold the dark-gold Green Pattern Shield every night, slowly nourishing and refining it with his Longevity Technique mana.

Refining a top-grade magical artifact is not easy, but his mana was pure and vast, and he spared no consumption, so the progress was quite rapid.

The artifact patterns on the shield merged with his mana, the connection becoming increasingly tight, and the feeling of it being an extension of his own arm grew stronger.

At the same time, he did not set aside the cultivation of the Longevity Technique. Supported by a massive amount of top-grade pills, his cultivation continued to advance steadily from the eighth layer of Qi Refining, moving firmly toward the ninth layer.

With every cycle of circulation, he could feel his mana becoming more refined and his vitality more vigorous.

On this day, Li Qingshan finally finished refining the last core artifact pattern of the Green Pattern Shield!

"Hum—"

The dark-gold shield emitted a joyful hum, turning into a streak of light that submerged into his dantian, rotating slowly around the emerald-green vortex of Longevity Technique mana, shining in tandem with the Crimson Dragon Sword at its side.

With a single thought, the shield could appear instantly, changing size at will to protect his entire body.

Thus, he had offense with the Crimson Dragon Sword, Light-Splitting Shadow Sword Technique, Fire Arrow Technique, and numerous top-grade attack talismans; defense with the Green Pattern Shield, Earth Essence True Qi, and Diamond Talisman; escape with the Flying Rainbow Technique and the Blood Burning Escape secret art; and concealment with the Turtle Breath Technique...

Li Qingshan slowly opened his eyes, feeling the two top-grade magical artifacts in his dantian that were in perfect harmony with his mind, the many skilled and powerful spells in his sea of consciousness, and the surging, boundless mana within his body that rivaled that of a Great Perfection practitioner.

An unprecedented sense of power and security filled his heart.

A century of wasted time, and now, he had gained the upper hand. A hidden dragon in the abyss will eventually have its day to soar!

Now, he had absolute confidence that even if he faced a cultivator at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, he would be capable of defeating them.

With his many trump cards, it was even possible that he could escape from the hands of a Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator.

"Zhang Hongxiu... Spring Autumn Sect..."

Li Qingshan's gaze pierced through the stone wall, looking toward the distance, his eyes deep and calm. "When I take another step forward, it will be time for my return."

He gathered his focus and once again sank into cultivation.