"Right, she asked me to find a piece of refined black iron ore. I wonder if there are still any such mineral deposits here?"
Xu Yuan looked at Zhang Chao inquisitively. Zhang Chao's expression stiffened, knowing that Xu Yuan intended to eat his fill and pack some away besides.
But circumstances were stronger than any man. He could only nod with a smile. "Yes, yes. Brother Xu, just wait a moment."
With that, he hurriedly gave his subordinate a meaningful look. The man quickly entered the storeroom and, before long, came out carrying a chunk of refined black iron ore.
"Brother Xu, we can be considered newly acquainted this time. Take this ore as a meeting gift."
As he spoke, he directly handed the ore to Xu Yuan.
Xu Yuan nodded slightly and accepted the ore with a smile. This time, he did not raise any further demands.
Taking out Rong Ling's token, Xu Yuan knew he had already squeezed out nearly the greatest value possible. If he pushed things too far, he feared Zhang Chao would turn hostile.
After all, he only possessed a token that could prove his connection. He was merely a minor Qi Refining Level One cultivator, not Rong Ling herself.
Afterward, the two exchanged another round of mutual admiration, looking as though they regretted not having met sooner. Only then did Xu Yuan gather his belongings and return to the mine tunnel.
"Boss, do you think that token is real or fake?"
One of his subordinates edged closer and asked, drawing a rebuke from Zhang Chao. "Idiot, does that even need asking? Even if you gave him ten thousand times the courage, he would not dare falsely claim a connection. Besides, the aura on it cannot be faked. It belongs to that terrifying lady."
"He has such a connection, yet he is still mining..."
Another subordinate muttered under his breath. Hearing him, Zhang Chao gave another sinister chuckle. "Heh, do you think those great figures hand out those tokens because they intend to invest in poor wretches?"
"To them, those granted such a token do not even count as dogs. After all, even a dog must be given a bone. But those who receive that token, apart from gaining an identity, must go out and forage for themselves. And should anything happen, they must be the first to step forward and show their loyalty."
There was one thing Zhang Chao did not say. Compared with the poor wretches in Biyou Market who sold blood and flesh just to cultivate immortality, this token truly counted as something to rely on.
How many poor wretches wanted to become such lackeys but had no way in?
Night.
After returning home from mining, Xu Yuan cultivated as usual. Only after four hours, when the night had grown utterly still, did he sit on the floor in complete exhaustion.
After sharing a meal and drinks with Zhang Chao, the accumulation of cultivation within his body had sped up considerably. He should not be far from Qi Refining Level Two.
After resting for a while, Xu Yuan stood up again and took out the damaged mid-grade magic artifact longsword he had hidden away.
He placed spirit stones and the refined black iron ore before him, then gripped the sword. Xu Yuan silently confirmed it. In the next instant, all the spirit stones and refined black iron ore vanished, while the longsword in his hand began to shine brilliantly.
After quite some time, the intense light slowly faded. Xu Yuan brought the seemingly unchanged longsword closer for a look, only to discover a layer of golden-glimmering patterns had appeared on it.
He tried channeling a trace of spiritual qi into it. The patterns lit up one after another, and the entire longsword began to hum.
Feeling the sword's biting sharpness, Xu Yuan flicked a finger. The magic sword instantly shot out like lightning and, in the blink of an eye, split the miscellaneous ore he had chosen as a target into two halves.
"What a fine treasure."
With a delighted sigh, Xu Yuan recalled the longsword to his hand. Looking at the patterns, of which less than half were now lit, he wondered just how magnificent this mid-grade magic artifact would be at full power.
"Now I'm someone with a magic artifact too."
After playing with it for a while, Xu Yuan thought it over and hid it away again.
He truly had no use for it in Biyou Market. Carrying it around would only draw unwanted attention.
"Still, I'm far too weak."
After sighing over this, Xu Yuan lay down on his bed and let the day's exhaustion wash over him.
For the following period, thanks to the token bearing the character "Rong," he encountered no more trouble. His life gradually returned to its former steady, peaceful rhythm of cultivation.
Twenty days later, inside his room.
With a spirit pill he had bought in his mouth, Xu Yuan closed his eyes and circulated his cultivation. The Little Blue Mountain Essence-to-Qi Art, long since ingrained as instinct, activated again and again. Great quantities of vital blood were transformed into spiritual qi and poured into his spirit meridians.
Until, at a certain moment, the capacity of his spirit meridians reached its critical point. With a boom, an entire spirit meridian suddenly roared, setting off a resonance in the meridian beside it.
In an instant, an ocean of spiritual qi surged forth, becoming a rushing torrent that Xu Yuan guided toward the next spirit meridian.
There were no surprises. A breakthrough built on such steady foundations as Xu Yuan's encountered almost no obstruction. The spirit meridian was pierced through in an instant, and vast amounts of spiritual qi poured into it. He successfully stepped into Qi Refining Level Two.
The aura around his entire body nearly doubled. Xu Yuan opened his eyes, and a flash of light passed through them.
"This is only the beginning."
Xu Yuan lightly clenched his fist and murmured to himself. Powerful confidence already overflowed from him.
After entering Qi Refining Level Two, both the speed and methods by which he earned spirit stones could change. The second trait was drawing ever closer as well. Once he replaced these mixed spirit roots of his, that would be the moment of his true transformation.
Half a month later, in the Biyou Market marketplace, Xu Yuan carried twenty low-grade spirit stones in a cloth bag and headed for the spell hall.
Because of the cost of repairing the magic artifact longsword and breaking through to Qi Refining Level Two, he had only now saved enough spirit stones.
The spell halls were all built in the center of Biyou Market, numbering more than ten. But the liveliest ones were naturally the two that taught Blood Replenishment Art and Flesh Growth Art.
"Come look, come see! Today, Blood Replenishment Art and Flesh Growth Art courses are on sale! Their original price was thirty-three point nine low-grade spirit stones, but now they cost only thirty-two point nine! First come, first served—once you miss it, it's gone!"
"Are you still troubled by the weakness after selling blood? Are you still ashamed that you can only stuff straw into the holes left after selling flesh? Enroll in our courses now! In just three days, we'll teach you the Flesh Regeneration Art, so you can sell with peace of mind and sell without worry! The next Blood-and-Flesh King of Biyou Market could be you!"
Xu Yuan: "..."
His gaze shifted away from the bustling storefronts of those two establishments. Xu Yuan looked toward the spell hall before him, whose sign bore the words Spirit-Martial Unity.
It was not exactly deserted. There were still a few people there. When Xu Yuan arrived at the entrance, two or three people were waiting ahead of him.
But as he approached, the three quickly scattered. Once he reached the front, they swiftly returned and lined up behind him.
Xu Yuan: "..."
As expected of Biyou Market. Every day, it found some new trick to pull on him.
"Fellow Daoist, are you here to study?"
A table stood directly before the entrance. A cute little girl was copying something down. Seeing Xu Yuan, she looked up with a smile.
"Mm." Xu Yuan nodded. A spell hall that could remain open in Biyou Market for so long probably had some real substance, even if it had few customers.
Otherwise, someone would have smashed it long ago.
Handing over the cloth bag, Xu Yuan said firmly, "Student Xu Yuan, here to learn Spirit-Martial Unity."
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