Asking Someone to Buy on His Behalf

Try to break through and gamble on it?

Continue cultivating, consolidating his cultivation and grinding technique levels to raise the odds of a breakthrough?

Push the remaining ninety Gathering Spirit Grass plants in the Spirit Field to maturity?

If the breakthrough failed, he would have to accumulate his cultivation all over again.

Would he have to start from zero?

Or would some of his cultivation remain? He was not sure. After considering it, he decided not to gamble on luck for now.

After all, he did not believe anyone could remain at the peak of good fortune forever.

When he was two years old,

surviving a life-and-death calamity once

had already been an unimaginably lucky stroke.

As for pushing the Gathering Spirit Grass to maturity while Gu Jiu's movements were restricted, so he could save up some assets unknown to outsiders?

The thought made Yue Shuo's heart stir for an instant.

But...

On further thought, he felt there would be even more trouble.

First, it would be difficult for him to ripen these one-year Gathering Spirit Grass plants into ten-year plants within three days. At most, he could bring them to four years.

Second, he did not plan to visit any black markets or auctions anytime soon.

If he did not go to black markets or auctions,

he could simply wait for Gu Jiu to recover before having him make another trip to the market for him... Of course, whether that Lineage disciple Qin Feng would cause further trouble remained uncertain.

But according to what Yue Shuo had learned,

Qin Feng was only at Qi Refining Level Three.

Even if the other party refused to let the matter rest,

Qi Refining Level Three did not actually possess much combat power. Qin Feng had relied entirely on his martial servant to make a move and "teach" Gu Jiu a lesson.

If Gu Jiu could attain the strength of a First-Class Martial Artist,

his safety factor would be much higher.

Thinking of this, Yue Shuo still felt a nameless fire rising within him.

Though this matter had not been caused by him, Gu Jiu had encountered this unmerited disaster only because he had been running errands for him.

Yue Shuo examined the spells under his command once more.

His attention lingered on Thousand Waves Slash and Golden Light Slash for a while before he suppressed a certain restless impulse.

"Although, with proper arrangements, spells really can ambush a body of flesh and blood..."

But if his martial servant had just been injured, only for Qin Feng or Qin Feng's martial servant to meet with an accident, regardless of whether others believed it was related to him,

they would definitely investigate him!

He really could not withstand much investigation.

"Calm down. At least not in the short term..."

Yue Shuo adjusted his emotions and quickly calmed himself. In the end, he decided to take the more prudent path.

Going alone to a black market was simply too risky!

At the very least, did he have such an urgent need right now?

No. So why take a risk?

Grow through conflict?

He could clearly grow more steadily and smoothly. Why create difficulties for himself when there were none?

After searching his heart for a long while,

Yue Shuo settled on his upcoming schedule.

Cultivate!

Rather than risk buying and selling supplies or seeking other unknown methods to improve himself and break through, he might as well cultivate quietly!

It was not as if he had no direction left for improvement.

Cultivate, cultivate!

This time, Yue Shuo continued cultivating in the Spirit Field.

He completed one cultivation session every hour.

His cultivation did not rise.

But it had indeed consolidated somewhat, and his chances of breaking through rose with every cultivation session.

Moreover, the Gathering Spirit Grass closer to him grew better.

Yue Shuo therefore moved to the center of the Spirit Field and continued cultivating the Wood Essence Art until midnight.

After midnight, sleep could efficiently restore Divine Sense.

Therefore, he could not waste the hours after midnight cultivating. He had to plan his time wisely.

Yue Shuo fell asleep quickly and rose three hours later.

His Divine Sense had fully recovered.

[Cultivation: 500/500 (Breakthrough Available)]

[Breakthrough Chance: 58%]

[Divine Sense: 15/15]

[Wood Essence Art (Tier One): 137/200 (Proficient)]

Cultivating techniques at night was naturally not cost-effective. After three sessions of Wood Essence Art cultivation, dawn had arrived.

Yue Shuo still chose to grind spell proficiency.

As for which spell?

His thoughts brushed past the Thousand Waves Slash and Golden Light Slash that tempted him so strongly, before he resolutely cast the Lesser Cloud-Rain Technique!

Rustle, rustle, rustle!

A thin spiritual rain appeared over the Spirit Field.

It fell evenly across the patch of land covered by Yue Shuo's intent.

Enveloping ten Gathering Spirit Grass plants.

Next, he cast the Lesser Mastery Qi-Replenishing Technique to restore his spiritual power once, then continued casting the spell, repeating the process.

When only one point of Divine Sense remained, he quickly fell asleep.

He woke two hours later.

With eleven points of Divine Sense, he began casting again with his spiritual power once more at full capacity.

Casting spells after midnight was no different from usual.

He focused on irrigating those ten Gathering Spirit Grass plants. After ten rounds, he irrigated the remaining Gathering Spirit Grass.

The Gathering Spirit Grass he had focused on needed another eight days to mature.

After silently calculating,

Yue Shuo went to sleep again when his Divine Sense dropped to one point. This time, he woke a little later than usual.

Silently, he cultivated his technique for another round.

Only after consuming his Divine Sense until around ten points remained did he inspect the Gathering Spirit Grass Spirit Field, then rise and head out of the stream valley.

He first made a trip to the External Affairs Pavilion.

Regrettably, just as Uncle Tong had said, there might indeed be no one there outside the beginning of each ten-day period.

However, the absence of cultivators on duty did not mean there were no martial artists standing guard.

Yue Shuo asked the guarding martial artists.

He then learned the residences of Tian Wan, Zou Chongying, and the other Prospective Disciples, and headed there.

Other than a minor incident along the way,

there were no provocations or conflicts. He smoothly learned where Tian Wan's small courtyard was and prepared to knock on the door.

Someone inside the small courtyard promptly opened it.

It was Tian Wan's martial servant.

"Young Master Yue! Did something happen to Gu Jiu?"

The martial servant was clearly worried about Gu Jiu, and he did not have Gu Jiu's excessively respectful attitude toward Yue Shuo.

"He's much better. Thank you for asking. Is Ah Wan here?"

"I'm here! Little Shuo, why have you come?"

"Come in quickly!"

Tian Wan's small courtyard was not large, so their conversation at the gate could probably be heard clearly inside.

Yue Shuo entered Tian Wan's room and looked around.

Tian Wan smiled. "Much smaller than your place, isn't it? But small as it is, it still has all the organs of a sparrow!"

As he spoke, he gestured Yue Shuo toward the study.

After the martial servant served tea,

Tian Wan lowered his voice and asked, "Little Shuo, did something happen?"

Yue Shuo paused. Did he never visit unless something had happened?

Of course, it seemed he really did not!

Yue Shuo reflected on himself for two seconds before answering,

"Ah Wan, Gu Jiu is injured right now. I told him to rest and recover for a while longer. I want to ask you for a favor..."

"Go ahead!"

Tian Wan agreed without the slightest hesitation.

Yue Shuo thought for a moment.

He took out a Spirit Stone and asked Tian Wan to buy him some basic Yellow Talisman Paper and Talisman Ink for practice.

Basic Yellow Talisman Paper and Talisman Ink were not expensive.

Of course, that was for immortal cultivation disciples who could already earn Spirit Stones.

Yue Shuo had asked Gu Jiu to inquire about prices.

High-grade Yellow Talisman Paper cost one tael of gold per hundred sheets, while Talisman Ink required high-grade cinnabar and poultry blood.

Altogether, it would not even cost one tael of gold.

"I only need eight hundred sheets of Yellow Talisman Paper, and one tael of gold's worth of cinnabar and poultry blood. Specifically, I need these types..."

Yue Shuo did not dare be too generous, but neither was he unwilling to part with a single hair.

He left a ten-percent service fee. Naturally, it was not for Tian Wan himself; Tian Wan understood what he meant as soon as he spoke.

Tian Wan wanted to refuse, but after considering certain circumstances,

he nodded.

"Alright! I'll arrange for Huang Sunming to handle it for you today! If you need any daily necessities, I'll have him deliver those to you as well!"

"For the next few days, I'll have Huang Sunming visit you every day at noon..."

Hearing this, Yue Shuo hurriedly refused.

"No need!"

"Gu Jiu's injury..."

Tian Wan had originally wanted to say that with Gu Jiu injured, no one was there to look after Yue Shuo, and perhaps there would be work in the Spirit Field that no one could help him with.

At that moment, a voice familiar to both of them sounded from outside the small courtyard.