Magic cores

Their quality was top-notch, and the quantities were exact.

"No need to count them. You're reliable, shopkeeper," Xiao Yuan said calmly, his voice still carrying a trace of hoarseness from the battle.

"Thank you for the praise, Young Master Xiao!" The shopkeeper hurriedly smiled, his reverence growing all the greater.

The young man before him was steady-minded and terrifyingly powerful. In the future, he would surely become a truly important figure in Wutan City.

Xiao Yuan said nothing more. He took a pouch of Gold Coins from his Storage Ring, weighed it in his hand, checked the amount, and tossed it to the Medicine Shop proprietor.

"There are eighteen hundred Gold Coins inside. Keep the extra as payment for your trouble."

Then, with a thought, he stored the entire bundle of medicinal ingredients safely inside his Storage Ring.

After putting the ingredients away, Xiao Yuan raised his eyes slightly and looked toward the still bustling, crowded streets deeper within the Market District.

He said softly:

"We've picked up the medicinal ingredients. Let's keep looking around."

His shopping was far from finished today. He had just broken through, and the Ten Thousand Transformations Source-Dividing Art consumed far more resources than an ordinary Dou Zhe's cultivation would. Whether pills or Spirit Herb, he needed to gather as much of anything useful as possible.

The two followed the crowd, walking slowly forward. As they passed a storefront, a powerful surge of Dou Qi seeped out from inside. Its pure energy even made the Dou Qi Vortex within Xiao Yuan spin a little faster.

Xiao Yuan raised an eyebrow, a flicker of astonishment passing through his mind.

After a night of conditioning with the Ten Thousand Transformations Source-Dividing Art, the Dou Qi Vortex within him barely reacted to ordinary Dou Qi energy.

What could possibly make his vortex accelerate just by his passing the doorway?

At that thought, Xiao Yuan strode into the shop, his gaze sweeping over the goods displayed on row after row of shelves.

This shop specialized in selling Magical Beast Corpse and related goods. Prominently displayed on its shelves were Beast Hide, Beast Bone, and... brought in from the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

"Magical Beast Crystal Core?!"

Xiao Yuan cried out in surprise. The original story seemed to have mentioned that Magical Beast Crystal Core were the manifestations of a magical beast's lifetime of cultivation. They contained extremely violent energy from heaven and earth that ordinary people simply could not absorb.

"How did I forget about these?"

A sudden gleam lit up Xiao Yuan's eyes.

The energy within Magical Beast Crystal Core was far too violent. As a result, ordinary people could not cultivate by directly absorbing magic cores.

At present, magic cores were most commonly used to refine pills, embedded in Weapons and Armor to enhance their power, or employed as energy sources to keep Formations running.

Very few people used magic cores directly for seated cultivation. If someone recklessly absorbed their energy, its wild rampage could easily rupture their meridians and leave them gravely injured.

But he was different. With the Ten Thousand Transformations Source-Dividing Art, he had no need to worry about such problems.

After a night of cultivation, Xiao Yuan could not claim to know this art like the back of his hand, but he had gained a basic understanding of it.

Much like the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Art created by the Ruthless Heavenly Emperor, it possessed two almost savage qualities when it came to cultivation: suppression and devouring.

No matter how impure or violent the energy, the Ten Thousand Transformations Source-Dividing Art could forcibly devour it, then separate and refine it, removing the dross and retaining only an energy akin to Origin.

The violent energy of magic cores, which made others turn pale at its mere mention, was instead a rare and potent nourishment for him.

Xiao Xun'er followed him into the shop. Following his gaze toward the crystal cores on the shelves, she knitted her delicate brows slightly.

"Are you... planning to refine pills?!"

She could hardly be blamed for thinking that. As far as she knew, Magical Beast Crystal Core were quite valuable. Ordinary people bought them only as ingredients for pill refinement or to enhance weapons.

And Xiao Yuan had not purchased any weapons. Instead, he had bought quite a few medicinal ingredients at the previous shop, so her first assumption was that he intended to purchase magic cores for refining medicine.

At her words, Xiao Yuan slowly shook his head. His gaze remained on the faintly gleaming crystal cores, and a slight smile curved his lips.

"Not exactly. I plan to use them directly for cultivation."

As soon as he said this, astonishment flashed across Xiao Xun'er's lovely face, and her beautiful eyes widened slightly.

"Directly for cultivation? Xiao Yuan, do you know how violent the power inside magic cores is? Even a Dou Wang wouldn't dare recklessly refine a magic core's Origin energy directly."

"If it goes out of control, damaged meridians would be getting off lightly. In a serious case, your body could burst apart and you'd die on the spot."

She knew very well that Xiao Yuan possessed outstanding talent, but directly devouring Magical Beast Crystal Core went far beyond the bounds of common sense.

Xiao Yuan naturally understood her concerns. He raised his hand slightly, and a faint thread of Dou Qi quietly circulated within him.

"Others naturally couldn't do it, but for me, it isn't much of a problem. The cultivation art I practice happens to be able to neutralize that violence."

Having said that, he offered no further explanation. The Ten Thousand Transformations Source-Dividing Art was his greatest secret. Even to Xiao Xun'er, he could not reveal everything.

Hearing their conversation, the shopkeeper emerged from the inner room. He was a slightly plump, middle-aged man, and he looked Xiao Yuan up and down several times.

He had heard something of the great battle at the street entrance earlier and knew that the young man before him was the Xiao Clan genius who had just severely injured Jia Lie Ao. His attitude immediately grew much more respectful.

"Young master, have our Magical Beast Crystal Core caught your eye?" the shopkeeper asked with a smile.

"We have both first- and Second Tier magic cores in stock. Which would you like?"

Xiao Yuan looked over the shelves. Several crystal cores of varying sizes lay quietly on display. The first-tier magic cores were smaller, with faint halos; the Second Tier cores were noticeably larger, their surfaces shimmering with a richer glow and faintly emitting waves of restless energy.

He had only just broken through to the peak of One-Star Dou Zhe, and his foundation was not yet stable. If he started with Second Tier magic cores, even with the Ten Thousand Transformations Source-Dividing Art as a safeguard, the enormous impact of their energy would place a considerable burden on his body.

"Bring me three first-tier Magical Beast Crystal Cores to look at first," Xiao Yuan said calmly.

The shopkeeper dared not delay. He hurried forward, carefully took three smooth, translucent first-tier magic cores from the shelves, and placed them on a wooden tray before presenting them to Xiao Yuan.

The three magic cores were of the Wind Attribute, Earth Attribute, and Fire Attribute, respectively. A cool sensation spread from his fingertips, while waves of restless energy continuously seeped outward.

Merely holding them made the Dou Qi Vortex within Xiao Yuan accelerate uncontrollably once again.

Xiao Xun'er stood beside him, her eyes fixed firmly on the magic cores in his hand. Her heart remained full of worry, and she stayed on guard against any mishap.

Xiao Yuan carefully examined them with his spiritual sense and nodded inwardly.

The energy intensity of first-tier magic cores was just right—enough to help him push toward Two-Star Dou Zhe without being too dangerous.

"I'll take all three of these first-tier magic cores. What's the price?" Xiao Yuan asked, looking up at the shopkeeper.