Soothing Art, Fireball Art

"Ten spirit talismans and five bottles of spiritual pills.

Of the talismans, there were five Mind-Awakening Talismans, two Lightness Talismans, two Body-Protecting Talismans, and one Black-Ice Talisman. The pills were Rejuvenation Pills, Life-Creation Pills, Detoxification Pills, Vitality Pills, and Yellow Spirit Pills... altogether, they were worth at least twenty or thirty Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

Zhou Changwang counted the talismans and pills.

Among the talismans, the most numerous were the Mind-Awakening Talismans—five in total. Each was worth one Low-Grade Spirit Stone, and their effects were considerable. They could restore one's mind during cultivation and extend the time one could spend practicing techniques.

He happened to have use for them.

As their names suggested, Lightness Talismans could make one light as a swallow, while Body-Protecting Talismans, once activated, could condense a spiritual energy shield over a cultivator's body, offering a certain degree of protection.

They too cost one Low-Grade Spirit Stone each.

As for the Black-Ice Talisman, once activated, it could summon a streak of black ice to attack an enemy. It was a rare offensive spirit talisman.

At Six Directions Pavilion, it sold for three Low-Grade Spirit Stones apiece.

Most of the five bottles of spiritual pills contained only a few pills each: five Rejuvenation Pills, three Life-Creation Pills, one Detoxification Pill, three Vitality Pills, and two Yellow Spirit Pills... That was rather characteristic of Rogue Cultivators. With limited Spirit Stones, few people bought entire bottles at a time.

Of course, they might also have been used already.

"Next are these three Jade-Slip Eyes.

I wonder what cultivation techniques or spells are recorded inside them."

What Zhou Changwang looked forward to most were these three Jade-Slip Eyes.

He solemnly picked up one of them and pressed it against his forehead. With a slight stir of his mind, a stream of information immediately poured into his head.

"Qi-Eating Formula?"

Zhou Changwang was taken aback, a trace of disappointment rising in his heart.

Like his Five Elements Formula, this Qi-Eating Formula was a basic cultivation method. It was no more profound than the Five Elements Formula, but being an attribute-less technique, it suited most people and was the first choice for many Rogue Cultivators in their early stages.

As for him, since he cultivated the Five Elements Formula, which currently suited him best, there was no need to change techniques.

Unless he reached the next stage.

Foundation Establishment!

Or unless he found a more profound technique to choose from.

Then, he picked up the second Jade-Slip Eye, followed by the third.

Two streams of information immediately surfaced in his mind.

"Soothing Art, Fireball Art."

Zhou Changwang's heart leaped with joy.

Both were new spells, perfectly suited for him to cultivate and use.

He also knew about the Soothing Art. It was the preferred spell for raising spirit beasts. With it, one could directly soothe a spirit beast, calming it from a violent rage and preventing it from harming people.

After all, many spirit beasts were essentially demon beasts. Large spirit beasts in particular, such as Single-Horned Savage Oxen and Fangtooth Pigs, possessed violent, impulsive, and easily angered temperaments. If they were not tended properly, they would ram the beast pens and attack people.

With the Soothing Art, one could calm their emotions and settle them into tranquility, naturally making them easier to tame.

This spell could be considered a beast-taming spell. Its counterpart was the Taming Technique.

Yet compared to it, the Taming Technique was naturally far more profound. It could directly tame demon beasts and turn them into spirit beasts that cultivators could raise.

Of course, turning demon beasts into spirit beasts suitable for large-scale breeding was a long and complicated process. The Spirit Stones required were counted in the thousands... It was precisely because the initial costs of raising spirit beasts were so enormous that Zhou Changwang's father had sent him to the Spirit Plant Hall rather than the Beast Taming Workshop.

"And this Fireball Art is quite good as well.

It is an offensive spell and can increase my means of attack."

Overall, Zhou Changwang was quite satisfied.

The Soothing Art was one thing; he had little use for it at present, but it gave him another option.

Perhaps he could buy one or two spirit beast cubs and raise them?

As for the Fireball Art, it could truly and tangibly increase his combat ability.

His safety would naturally be better assured as well.

"These two spells are priced outside at ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones for the Soothing Art and five for the Fireball Art.

Not bad, not bad. I've saved another sum."

Zhou Changwang was delighted.

He quickly gathered up and hid all these items.

The place was the underground chamber beneath his bed.

His father had secretly dug it when he first rented this house, spending an entire month on the work.

The underground chamber was not large, and it held some miscellaneous items, but storing those three large chests there was no problem.

Only after climbing out of the underground chamber did Zhou Changwang regain his calm.

As his thoughts churned, he thought of his father.

Deep down, his feelings toward his father were exceedingly complicated.

In truth, in his eyes, his father absolutely qualified as a figure of heroic ambition.

Born into an ordinary farming household, he had only gained the chance to study martial arts through a fortuitous encounter. Yet he had risen step by step, cultivating to the Innate Realm at the pinnacle of martial arts. In the end, he had become the martial alliance leader of an entire nation. His martial prowess and methods had both been exceptional.

Even after entering the cultivation world, he had adapted extremely well and quickly put down roots.

He simply lacked a Spirit Root, a lifelong regret. Thus, he soon placed his hopes on the next generation. He painstakingly drew close to a female cultivator and, while she was injured, cared for her with constant thoughtfulness until he finally moved her heart and won her love. That was how Zhou Changwang came to be...

But unfortunately.

His mother's injuries had ultimately been too severe. Only a few years after giving birth to him, her old afflictions flared up, and she died.

And for his father, an ordinary mortal, to care for a child in a place like Phoenix-Cry Cove Market, where cultivators gathered like clouds—the hardship involved was easy to imagine.

That he had managed to raise him and still leave behind a livelihood for him spoke volumes of his capability and resourcefulness.

Therefore, even though Zhou Changwang had transmigrated here, having fused with all the memories, when he heard that his father might already be dead, his mind still went blank for an instant.

"Tomorrow, I'll go ask around again.

No matter what, I need a definite answer."

Zhou Changwang steadied himself and quickly made his decision.

Then he took out the three Spirit Rice seeds once more and cast the Growth Technique again and again.

After dozens of castings, the three Spirit Rice seeds showed no change whatsoever. Zhou Changwang did not mind, and soon sat cross-legged on the bed to begin cultivating.

But this time, Zhou Changwang did not immediately enter meditation and cultivate the Five Elements Formula. Instead, he pulled a pill bottle from his robes.

Inside the bottle were Vitality Pills.

Vitality Pills were spiritual pills that could aid a cultivator's training. Their effects were particularly excellent for low-level cultivators like him.

Though every medicine carried some poison, compared to the growth of one's cultivation, it was hardly worth mentioning.

He had not been able to afford them before.

After all, one bottle cost twenty Low-Grade Spirit Stones, while individual pills sold for three Low-Grade Spirit Stones each.

Now that he had gained this windfall, he naturally could not resist trying one.

He opened the pill bottle, poured out one pill, and without hesitation, swallowed it in a single gulp.