Enter My Daoist Gate, Sever Emotions and Extinguish Nature

Carrying the thirty spirit crystals he had earned from mining, Xu Yuan left the mine. There was still a little time before nightfall, so he took another stroll through the market.

After entering the Qi Refinement realm, the Little Blue Mountain Essence-to-Qi Art circulated more smoothly. Correspondingly, the consumption of qi and blood within his body had also accelerated. He needed to find better nourishing food.

He watched the stall selling spirit rice for a while, but the prices displayed above made Xu Yuan wisely look away. One low-grade spirit stone for a pound of spirit rice—why not just rob people outright?!

Afterward, he entered a shop that sold demon beast meat.

He spent ten spirit crystals on two pounds of cooked meat, wrapped it in oil paper, and carried it in hand as he headed straight for Bi Qiong's door, intending to first repay the spirit crystals he owed her.

He knocked, then waited outside for a while longer, but there was no response. Xu Yuan was rather curious where she had gone.

After returning home, he first put away his coat and mining pick before taking the two pounds of demon beast meat into his hands.

[Casually Prepared Demon Beast Meat]

[Status: Still Edible]

[Current Trait: None]

[Traits That Can Be Added: 0/1]

[Selectable Trait: Carefully Prepared (Green): Fine demon beast meat carefully selected and processed through complex methods with various medicinal ingredients. The meat's flavor is improved, while the medicinal effects contained within it are also stronger. Cost Required: Ten Spirit Crystals]

The enhancement was complete. Xu Yuan caught the scent of the demon beast meat in his hand, its faint fishiness now giving way to a rich aroma of meat and medicine. He knew the green trait had slightly altered the fundamental nature of this piece of demon beast meat.

Looking at the meat in his hand, he briefly considered making spirit crystals this way. But after thinking it over carefully, he abandoned that dangerous notion.

His ability to add traits was simply too heaven-defying. If someone ever traced it back to him and discovered his ability, the best possible outcome would be imprisonment by some powerful expert, turning him into a tool for enhancement.

Besides, other than that Buddhist amulet, he had never let anyone else use something he had added traits to. He had no idea what the result would be.

So it was better not to do anything dangerous. Enhancing himself and the things in his possession was enough.

He bit into the demon beast meat and felt the qi and blood in his body begin to surge and churn. Xu Yuan immediately cast aside all distracting thoughts.

Whatever. Cultivate, cultivate.

The night passed quickly. Qi Refinement cultivators generally only needed two hours of sleep at night. Xu Yuan had compressed that to an hour and a half, using all the remaining time for cultivation.

He stretched lazily, feeling his cultivation grow another sliver stronger, and a satisfied expression naturally appeared on his face. The feeling of becoming stronger step by step truly was addictive.

"At this pace, I should break through to the second layer of Qi Refinement in about three months. Still a bit slow."

Xu Yuan murmured inwardly. In truth, by Biyou Market's average standards, breaking through to the second layer of Qi Refinement in three months was absolutely considered fast. And that was all thanks to Xu Yuan's highly proficient Little Blue Mountain Essence-to-Qi Art.

The main reason he felt it was slow was that he had been spoiled by the Jade Marrow Crystal.

Pushing open the door, he saw that Bi Qiong's door was still shut. Xu Yuan did not knock again and headed straight for the busy streets.

As he planned out his expenses, a shrill, miserable cry suddenly drew Xu Yuan's attention. Looking up, he discovered it was the gaunt man he had encountered in the mining area yesterday.

But now the man's face was deathly pale as he lay collapsed on the ground, his eyes unfocused. He was clearly taking more breaths out than in. Beside him stood a half-grown boy. What drew the eye was that one half of the boy's once fairly handsome face was wreathed in grim ghostly qi, the flesh seeming to rot as it took on a vermilion-red hue.

With that appearance, even Xu Yuan, who had seen quite a few strange people in Biyou Market these past days, could not help but give him several extra looks.

The half-grown boy was now sprawled before the man, and the shrill, miserable cries from earlier had come from him.

"Hey, let me make this clear. This poor bastard ignored our warnings and secretly drew more blood. His death has nothing to do with us. Even if you report it to the Enforcement Hall, that'll be the conclusion."

A disciple of the Blood Hall stood nearby, looking at the father and son with disgust, afraid they would try to pin something on him.

But the half-grown boy did not answer. He only kept crying, until the gaunt man's hand, which had rested on him, lightly fell away, and he closed his eyes in despair.

"Alright, everyone disperse."

The Blood Hall disciple waved at the crowd, preparing to return to his business.

"Wait." At that moment, the half-grown boy stood up. The grief in his eyes slowly faded, leaving behind only utter resolve.

The Blood Hall disciple felt a chill in his heart, thinking the boy was about to vent his anger on him. But then he saw the boy suddenly point to the ground and say earnestly, "My dad just died. The corpse is still fresh. Does your esteemed shop want his blood?"

The Blood Hall disciple's expression plainly froze for a moment before he nodded. "We do, but the price will be lower."

"Dad, you're dead anyway, and I've cried my tears. Burying you in the ground would be a waste, and I'd even have to worry about someone stealing your corpse. Better let your son borrow this body of yours and walk a little farther down the path of immortality. This was what you'd always hoped for as well. I think that if you know this in the underworld, you'll be comforted."

Xu Yuan in the distance: "..."

In the end, his moral bottom line was still too high. Why could he never blend into the cultivation atmosphere of the Hidden Moon Sect?

Taking a deep breath, Xu Yuan pretended he had not seen any of it. In just that short time, the half-grown boy had already carried the corpse over to a butcher's shop nearby to haggle over the price.

Xu Yuan hurried back to the mine and began the day's work.

With the aid of the detection pick, his earnings were once again plentiful today. And his luck was good: he actually dug up a piece of refined black iron ore. On top of the original thirty spirit crystals, he received an additional reward of fifty spirit crystals.

As usual, Xu Yuan bought another two-pound piece of demon beast meat, but he still could not bear to spend heavily on spirit rice.

After deducting the spirit stones for rent, the deposit for the mine, and enhancing the detection pick, he only had five left on him. Over these past two days, even with good luck, he had only managed to save up one low-grade spirit stone. How could he dare spend money on something so expensive?

Besides, he had other uses for the spirit stones he was saving. Biyou Market not only had shops of every size for buying and selling goods, but also technique halls specifically devoted to teaching arts. Among them was instruction in the unity of spirit and martial arts.

Xu Yuan possessed the Innate Martial Bone Trait and cultivated the Little Blue Mountain Essence-to-Qi Art. If he did not try walking this path, it would truly be a pity.

"Twenty low-grade spirit stones. If I save up, I'll get there eventually."

Muttering to himself, Xu Yuan carried his pick along the street. Then, he suddenly felt the surroundings grow quiet. Immediately afterward, a faint, barely audible song began to ring out, spreading into every corner of the long street.

One of the Hidden Moon Sect's ten great perils: if you hear singing at night, you must pretend not to have heard it and continue doing whatever you were doing.