Wear Away

In the spirit fields, though some spirit farmers shouted fiercely, not many truly dared to keep watch through the night.

Zhou Changwang pulled Zhou Qiankun, who genuinely wanted to stay behind for the night watch, away. As for whether the others would be willing to remain, he naturally could not be bothered to care.

With grain in hand, the heart knew no panic.

He still had more than a hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones on him. Naturally, he would not risk his life for Spirit Grain Rice in the fields worth, at most, one hundred and fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

However, at his father's suggestion, he still set up several straw scarecrows in the spirit fields. They might not frighten people away, but they could effectively drive off some birds and beasts.

Night fell.

Zhou Changwang entered his room and almost impatiently took out a black cloth bag.

This cloth bag was precisely the Storage Bag his father had given him.

Since he had been busy with matters in the spirit fields during the day, although it had been on his mind the whole time, he had not dared to take it out and wear away the spiritual power imprint within.

Now that he was in his own room, he naturally had no more reservations.

With a thought, the spiritual power within his body slowly surged into the Storage Bag under his control.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...

At the same time, the foreign spiritual power within the Storage Bag was swiftly stirred, transforming into a ball of spiritual light that clung tightly to the Storage Bag and resisted the impact of Zhou Changwang's spiritual power.

The instant the two collided, they rapidly entangled, each consuming the other.

Like two millstones crashing together, grinding each other away.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

"No wonder it is the spiritual power imprint of a Qi Refining Realm fifth-layer expert. It is far too tough and condensed.

Even though it is only a tiny clump, it still takes a huge amount of my spiritual power to wear away."

Zhou Changwang clicked his tongue inwardly.

No wonder mid-stage Qi Refining Realm experts held such an enormous advantage over early-stage Qi Refining Realm cultivators.

Leaving aside everything else, the degree of spiritual power condensation alone was enough to prove it all.

The same spell, when cast with such condensed spiritual power, naturally could not be mentioned in the same breath.

Take the Fireball Art Zhou Changwang had mastered, for example.

When he cast the Fireball Art at the beginner stage, it could only form a fireball the size of a large bowl. He had to continue pouring in spiritual power for it to slowly grow larger.

When it struck the ground, it could only blast out a small pit and scorch the earth slightly.

But if a Qi Refining Realm fifth-layer cultivator cast it, the fireball could be as large as a millstone. When it smashed into the ground, it would be like a firestone rolling into magma—while blasting out a great pit, it could also send flames bursting outward, inflicting secondary burning damage on the surroundings.

Not to mention other spells of even greater power.

Thus, Zhou Changwang's spiritual power was consumed at an extreme rate.

In merely the time it took for one incense stick to burn, it had already been exhausted, yet the spiritual power imprint in the Storage Bag only appeared to have dimmed slightly.

Seeing this, Zhou Changwang was not disappointed.

Though that spiritual power imprint was condensed, it was ultimately rootless duckweed. Without replenishment, it would sooner or later be ground away completely.

Thus, Zhou Changwang immediately sat cross-legged and began circulating the Five Elements Formula to restore his spiritual power.

Then, after circulating it only slightly, he sensed the difference in the Five Elements Formula now that it had reached Minor Mastery.

"If the Five Elements Formula at the proficient level made my cultivation efficiency equivalent to that of an upper-grade cultivator with the Five Elements Spiritual Root, then the Five Elements Formula at Minor Mastery can directly raise my cultivation efficiency to a level comparable to a lower-grade, or even middle-grade, Four-Attribute Spiritual Root."

Zhou Changwang sighed with feeling.

Even if that comparison was not entirely appropriate.

After all, he was not a cultivator with the Four-Attribute Spiritual Root and could not truly experience the cultivation efficiency of the Four-Attribute Spiritual Root.

Yet he knew that his cultivation speed had indeed improved, and compared to before, it had increased by more than double.

With that, after merely two circulation cycles, the spiritual power within his body was fully restored.

Then, he continued using his own spiritual power to wear away the spiritual power imprint within the Storage Bag.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes...

When his spiritual power was exhausted once more, he began meditating again.

He repeated this over and over.

When he mobilized the spiritual power in his body toward the Storage Bag for the fifth time—

Boom!

At last, he felt his mind loosen.

That clump of spiritual power imprint had been completely worn away by him.

His spiritual power then swiftly circulated once through the Storage Bag and left an imprint of spiritual power belonging solely to him within one of the Storage Bag's rune formations.

"It is finally open."

Zhou Changwang was overjoyed.

At once, he sent his mind into the Storage Bag and began inspecting the treasures within.

"Spirit Stones—so many Spirit Stones.

Three hundred and twenty Low-Grade Spirit Stones. And these few pieces have clearly much greater spiritual energy intensity. Are they Mid-Grade Spirit Stones?"

Zhou Changwang immediately took out all the Spirit Stones.

At once, he noticed that three of them were not only much darker in color, but also held far stronger spiritual energy.

Of course, the greatest difference was their weight.

If an ordinary Low-Grade Spirit Stone weighed one hundred grams, or two taels, then a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone weighed around one kilogram, or twenty taels—ten times as much.

Of course, this did not mean the spiritual energy contained within a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone was merely ten times that of a Low-Grade Spirit Stone. Rather, due to its compressed concentration, it could reach dozens or even hundreds of times as much.

"Three Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, calculated at one Mid-Grade Spirit Stone being worth one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones, makes three hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Then the Spirit Stones alone in this Storage Bag amount to six hundred and twenty?

Adding the one hundred and sixty I originally had, that makes seven hundred and eighty Low-Grade Spirit Stones?"

Zhou Changwang gathered together all the Spirit Stones he possessed. Looking at that great pile of Spirit Stones glowing with a lustrous light, he felt as though it was unreal.

Had he become this wealthy?

And this was only the Spirit Stones.

Aside from them, there were talismans, spirit pills, several kinds of spiritual materials, some unused talisman paper, and one or two pieces of ore of unknown material...

"Wait, what is this?"

Suddenly, Zhou Changwang's body shook.

With a thought, he removed an object from the Storage Bag.

It was a sword.

A short sword! A small sword!

Its entire body was pale azure, yet it was as thin as a feathered wing. It had no hilt, only a blade. Faint runes densely covered its blade, and both edges were sharpened. The tip also appeared exceedingly sharp. When his gaze touched it, a faint cold gleam flashed out, forcing one to look askance.

"A magical artifact?

This is a magical artifact?

A Magical Flying Sword!"

Zhou Changwang's breathing immediately became rapid.

In truth, before this, he had wondered whether this Storage Bag might contain a magical artifact.

But according to his father, Zhang Fenghua's personal magical artifact had already been destroyed by that Icefire Two-Headed Wolf, so he had put down his expectations.

Yet he had never imagined that this Storage Bag truly concealed a magical artifact—and an offensive magical artifact at that, a Magical Flying Sword.

At that moment, the joy in his heart was truly beyond words.