Mental-Type Pills

Li Ping'an was overjoyed. He tucked the pill into his clothes and continued tapping.

One layer, two layers, three layers, four layers...

Before long, he had tapped all five Qi-Replenishing Pills into second-tier high-grade pills and pocketed every last one.

He did not intend to sell all of these pills.

After being consumed, Qi-Replenishing Pills could raise one's spiritual energy and increase cultivation. They were indispensable pills for cultivators in their everyday training.

After finishing all this, Li Ping'an quietly rested and waited for Nan Zhi to wake up.

Who knew how much time had passed? Only when the sun was already high in the sky did a soft, delicate moan come from the bed.

Nan Zhi gave a lazy hum, then sat upright, her snow-white skin exposed to the air.

Li Ping'an glanced over and nearly got a nosebleed.

Yet Nan Zhi noticed none of this. Rubbing her little head, she said lazily,

"Ah, it still hurts a little."

As she spoke, her cheeks reddened.

She had only meant to repay Li Ping'an by giving herself to him, but she had never expected him to be so terrifying. He had ravaged her so thoroughly in one night that she had nearly been unable to bear it.

Master was actually this formidable. Then again, one could not judge cultivators by their appearance.

Only then did she notice that her bare skin was completely exposed to the air, and she could not help letting out a shriek.

She hurriedly pulled the blanket over her chest. Then she saw Li Ping'an staring at her without blinking, and her cheeks immediately flushed crimson, as though they might drip water.

"Master, you woke up so early."

But before she could say anything more, she froze.

Li Ping'an had suddenly vanished from where he stood.

"W-Wha... what's going on?"

Nan Zhi rubbed her eyes, unable to believe what she had seen.

How had Master, who had been standing there perfectly fine, suddenly disappeared?

Startled, Nan Zhi forgot all about being naked. She leaped out from under the covers and went to where Li Ping'an had been standing. Sure enough, he was gone.

"Th-This... what is going on? Master just left like that?"

Seeing Li Ping'an suddenly disappear, Nan Zhi unexpectedly felt a sense of loss.

But this was far too miraculous. He had actually vanished from the spot as lightly as a feather.

Yet in the next instant, Li Ping'an suddenly reappeared before Nan Zhi.

This frightened Nan Zhi so badly that she screamed.

"Ah! Y-You..."

She retreated several steps in a row. Only after confirming that it was Li Ping'an did she let out a breath of relief.

Still pale with fright, she asked,

"Master, what was that? Why did you disappear just now, then appear again?"

Li Ping'an smiled faintly and said calmly,

"No, I didn't. You must have seen wrong. Did you just wake up? Are your eyes playing tricks on you?"

"No, they aren't!"

Nan Zhi protested coyly.

"I absolutely did not see wrong. Don't deny it."

"Heh heh."

Li Ping'an chuckled, his gaze unconsciously drifting toward beneath Nan Zhi's waist.

Only then did Nan Zhi realize that she was completely naked. Ashamed and angry, she immediately shrieked and rushed back beneath the covers to put on her clothes. She emerged again with her face bright red.

Meanwhile, Li Ping'an wore a broad smile. He was extremely satisfied.

The instant Nan Zhi had called his name, he had immediately activated the Great Dream Soul-Drawing Art.

The results had been obvious. Nan Zhi truly had not been able to see him; he had vanished right before her eyes.

It seemed the Great Dream Soul-Drawing Art was truly as miraculous as the book had claimed.

If he encountered a powerful enemy in the future, he would have an absolute means of preserving his life.

As long as he immediately activated the Great Dream Soul-Drawing Art, controlled the other party's mind, and made them unable to see him, would that not be perfect?

It could be used not only for defense, but for attack as well.

The only problem was that the Great Dream Soul-Drawing Art had one tiny flaw...

Li Ping'an let out a heavy breath and rubbed his head.

It consumed an enormous amount of mental energy!

He had only used it for a dozen seconds or so, yet he already felt that more than half his mental energy had been depleted. Using it again now would be extremely difficult.

No, he needed to rapidly increase his mental energy as soon as possible.

Otherwise, he simply would not be able to sustain the consumption required to operate the Great Dream Soul-Drawing Art.

Li Ping'an muttered to himself as Nan Zhi was about to ask more questions.

Li Ping'an said sternly,

"All right, Nan Zhi. It's about time. I should return to the sect. Next time..."

At this point, he paused slightly before continuing,

"Next time, I'll come help clear the cold poison from your body again."

At once, both of Nan Zhi's cheeks turned red. Nestling into Li Ping'an's arms, she said,

"Master, Nan Zhi will wait here for you every moment, waiting for you to come draw out my cold poison."

By the time she spoke the last sentence, her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, almost too faint to hear.

Li Ping'an felt as though his heart were about to melt. He could not help wanting to press Nan Zhi onto the bed again and punish her fiercely.

But he drew a deep breath and forcibly held himself back.

Women would only slow the speed of my sword draw!

He had to increase his strength as quickly as possible. He could not indulge himself in beauty.

After bidding Nan Zhi farewell, Li Ping'an walked through the streets, making calculations in his heart.

He now had five Qi-Replenishing Pills on him. He could go to the market to ask about their price, then stop by a major apothecary to see whether they had any pills capable of increasing mental energy.

He headed straight to a pill shop. When the shopkeeper saw Li Ping'an enter, he was briefly stunned, then his eyes lit up as he said,

"Oh, sir, it's you!"

He remembered that Li Ping'an had sold two Body-Tempering Pills here last time.

"Mm, it's me."

Li Ping'an replied in a muffled voice. He directly set a Qi-Replenishing Pill on the counter and said,

"A Qi-Replenishing Pill. Just buy it from me at the current market price."

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up the moment he saw the Qi-Replenishing Pill. He said in shock,

"Th-This is a second-tier pill! Sir, where did you get this?"

"Don't concern yourself with that. Just tell me, do you want it or not?"

Li Ping'an said impatiently.

"Yes, yes, yes! Of course we want it! At the market price, a Qi-Replenishing Pill is worth five hundred spirit stones. This one is high-grade, so how about I give you six hundred spirit stones?"

Li Ping'an tapped the counter with his fingernail, putting on a profound air as he looked the shopkeeper up and down.

The shopkeeper's scalp prickled under his gaze. Gritting his teeth, he said,

"How about this? You're an old customer, so I'll add another twenty spirit stones. That's my limit."

"All right."

Li Ping'an finally relented.

"Then six hundred and twenty spirit stones. It's yours."

"Wonderful!"

The shopkeeper was overjoyed. He took the pill and quickly handed Li Ping'an the spirit stones.

Li Ping'an took the spirit stones and weighed them in his hand. They were quite heavy. Luckily, he had a storage bag; otherwise, they would have been difficult to carry.

From the shopkeeper's reaction just now, he believed that this was probably the pill's true value. At least he had not been cheated too badly.

"By the way, do you have any pills here that can increase mental energy?"

Li Ping'an asked as though it were merely an idle question.

The shopkeeper was briefly stunned before saying,

"Pills that increase mental energy? Sir, those are quite rare. The herbs needed for such pills are extremely difficult to cultivate. Ordinary people can't grow them."

"Just tell me whether you have any or not?"