Soothing Art, Fireball Art

"Ten spirit talismans and five bottles of spirit 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 through the talismans and pills.

Among the talismans, there were as many as five Mind-Awakening Talismans. Each cost one Low-Grade Spirit Stone, and they were highly useful—they could restore one's mind during cultivation and extend the time spent cultivating a technique.

He happened to have use for them.

The Lightness Talismans and Body-Protecting Talismans were just as their names suggested. One made a person light as a swallow, while the other, once activated, condensed a spiritual energy barrier around a cultivator's body, providing a certain degree of protection.

They also 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, one sold for three Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Most of the five bottles of spirit 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 techniques or spells they contain."

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

He solemnly picked one up and pressed it to his forehead. With a slight movement of his mind, a stream of information immediately poured into his mind.

"Qi-Eating Formula?"

Zhou Changwang froze, a trace of disappointment rising in his heart.

Like his Five Elements Formula, the Qi-Eating Formula was a basic cultivation method. It was no more profound than the Five Elements Formula, but because it was an unaligned technique suited to the vast majority of people, it was the first choice for many Rogue Cultivators in the early stages.

As for him, the Five Elements Formula he cultivated was currently the most suitable for him, so 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."

Joy rose in Zhou Changwang's heart.

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

He knew of 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 berserk rage and thereby preventing it from harming people.

After all, many spirit beasts were fundamentally demon beasts. Large spirit beasts in particular, such as Single-Horned Savage Oxen and Fangtooth Pigs, were violent, impulsive, and quick to anger. If they were not tended properly, they would ram their beast pens and attack people.

With the Soothing Art, one could calm their emotions and bring them peace, making them naturally much easier to tame and raise.

This spell was considered a beast-controlling 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, transforming 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 raising spirit beasts demanded such enormous initial costs that Zhou Changwang's father had sent him to the Spirit Plant Hall rather than a beast-taming workshop.

"As for this Fireball Art, it 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 one more option.

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

The Fireball Art, on the other hand, could genuinely increase his combat ability.

His safety would naturally be better guaranteed 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 packed up and hid all these things away.

The place was an underground hidden chamber beneath his bed.

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

The underground chamber was not large, and it held some miscellaneous items, but fitting those three large chests inside was not a problem.

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

As his thoughts stirred, he thought of his father.

Deep down, his feelings toward his father had always been extremely complicated.

In fact, in his eyes, his father absolutely deserved to be called a figure of tyrannical ambition.

Born to an ordinary farming family, he had only chanced upon the opportunity to take a martial master as his teacher. Yet he had steadily risen all the way to the Innate Realm, the pinnacle of martial arts, and eventually became the martial alliance leader of an entire nation. Both his martial skill and his methods had been exceptional.

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

He simply lacked spiritual roots, a lifelong regret. So he had soon turned his attention to the next generation, painstakingly approaching a female cultivator and caring for her attentively after she was injured. In the end, he moved her heart and won her love, and thus 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 wounds flared up and claimed her life.

And his father, an ordinary mortal, had raised a child in a place like Phoenix-Cry Cove Market, where cultivators gathered in droves. The hardships involved could well be imagined.

The fact that he had managed to raise Zhou Changwang and leave him a means of livelihood showed just how capable and resourceful he had been.

Thus, even though Zhou Changwang had transmigrated here, after merging with all the memories, when he heard that his father might already be dead, his mind had still gone blank for an instant.

"Tomorrow, I'll go ask around again.

No matter what, I need definite news."

Zhou Changwang steadied himself and swiftly made his decision.

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

After dozens of casts, the three Spirit Rice seeds showed not the slightest change. Zhou Changwang did not mind, and soon sat cross-legged on his bed to begin cultivating.

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

The bottle contained Vitality Pills.

Vitality Pills were spirit pills that could aid a cultivator's cultivation. Their effects were especially excellent for low-level cultivators like him.

Though every medicine carried some poison, compared with 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 swallowed it in a single gulp without hesitation.