Heavenly Works Tower, Part One

Time flowed like a stream, slipping quietly away. In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.

After returning from the Yellow Maple Valley Market, Jing Wen had begun a life of arduous cultivation in the mountains behind the Seven Mysteries Sect.

He remained in seclusion, working tirelessly day and night.

By day, he refined pills and controlled flames; by night, he regulated his breathing and drew in qi.

His life was as austere as that of a monk in an ancient temple, yet it had its own unwavering rhythm, as though the clamor of the outside world no longer had anything to do with him.

Early one morning, faint sunlight filtered through the window lattice. Jing Wen slowly ended his cultivation session and examined his dantian.

His sea of spiritual energy surged, his spiritual power dense as mercury, condensed and undispersed, far more substantial than before.

"Qi refining level twelve..." he murmured. His voice was calm, but it could not conceal the keen edge deep in his eyes.

Only one step remained between him and the thirteenth level, qi refining great perfection.

His gaze darkened slightly as his thoughts returned to that nerve-racking transaction half a year ago.

To obtain something that could save his life, he had been forced to reveal two millennium spirit medicines. Though he had returned with treasures, it had been like dancing on the edge of a blade.

He had not dared linger then, leaving many necessities unpurchased: superior Pill Formulas, high-grade talisman paper, basic Array Disks...

Above all, he still regretted not obtaining a breath-concealing technique that could completely mask his cultivation and fluctuations in spiritual power.

Now that half a year had passed, the storm should have subsided.

Though the Cultivation World prized treasures as dearly as life itself, people cared even more about the benefits before their eyes.

Over those six months, rumors of new secret realms, newly discovered spirit medicines, fresh struggles and slaughter... all should have diluted the old news of the "spirit medicine seller at Yellow Maple Valley."

Jing Wen tapped his fingertips lightly against the table, a glint flickering in his eyes.

As long as I disguise myself properly, conceal my aura, and avoid the Myriad Treasures Pavilion...

The risks of this trip can be controlled.

He rose and pushed open the wooden window. Mountain wind swept into his face.

It was time to visit the Yellow Maple Valley Market again.

In late spring, warm sunlight gilded the Yellow Maple Valley Market. Stalls stretched on like waves, while hawkers' cries, chatter, and laughter intertwined into the bustle of a thriving marketplace.

Dressed in a plain-colored robe, a jade pendant swaying lightly at his waist, Jing Wen entered the Market for the second time.

He appeared to stroll leisurely, but his eyes were sharp as a falcon's, missing nothing. His ears were pricked as well, trying to catch the slightest whisper about millennium spirit medicine.

Jing Wen walked slowly along the flagstone street. As he passed a weapons stall, its owner was enthusiastically extolling the sharpness of a sword to a customer, spittle flying.

Strange fragrances wafted from a spice stall, drawing passersby to stop.

But Jing Wen had no desire to linger. His sole objective was news of millennium spirit medicine.

He threaded through the crowd, occasionally slowing and pretending to admire the wares at a stall, while straining to distinguish the conversations around him.

"There's been more progress with the spirit mine lately..."

"I hear a certain sect is holding a gathering to discuss the Dao..."

"...Fine talisman paper, three Spirit Stones a bundle..."

"...Only two Azure Edge Swords left! Hurry if you want one..."

"...I hear the Black Mountain Old Demon has taken another disciple..."

Amid the noisy cries and conversations, Jing Wen keenly sifted out key words.

Yet after making a full circuit, he had heard nothing about millennium spirit medicine.

Rounding a corner, he found several cultivators gathered in lively conversation.

Jing Wen slowed, pretending to take an interest in the magical artifacts on a nearby stall.

"...The Myriad Treasures Pavilion is holding an auction next month. They say there'll be Foundation Establishment Pills!" a sharp-faced cultivator said mysteriously.

Jing Wen's heart gave a leap.

Foundation Establishment Pills?

An auction of that caliber might well feature high-grade spirit medicines too.

He edged closer without betraying his interest.

"Really?" another cultivator, a stout man, asked with wide eyes.

"Aren't Foundation Establishment Pills monopolized by the major sects?"

"I hear they were dug out of some ancient cultivator's cave abode..." The sharp-faced cultivator lowered his voice.

"And there's not just one. There are three!"

Jing Wen inwardly shook his head.

Precious though Foundation Establishment Pills were, they were of little use to a Black Fiend Cult member like him.

What mattered was whether anyone mentioned millennium spirit medicine.

Unfortunately, the group soon moved on to other subjects.

Continuing through the Market, Jing Wen scanned stall after stall.

Spirit herbs, ores, talismans, magical artifacts... a dazzling array of wares filled his vision, while countless voices rang in his ears.

To his surprise, however, he heard not even a scrap of rumor about millennium spirit medicine.

"Fellow Daoist, care to look at some spirit herbs? Freshly picked from the mountains!"

A hoarse voice came from beside him, stopping Jing Wen in his tracks.

He turned to see a wrinkled old man sitting beneath an old locust tree by the roadside, his back slightly hunched. A coarse cloth washed almost white lay before him, with dozens of medicinal herbs separated by small wooden dividers. Each herb still carried the dampness of morning dew, clearly having been tended with care.

Though small, the stall was rather tidier than several of its neighbors.

An idea stirred in Jing Wen's mind, and he walked over.

As he crouched, his fingertips casually brushed a small, entirely green herb whose leaves bore fine down. "How much for this azure spirit grass?"

"You have a good eye, fellow Daoist!" The old man's cloudy eyes brightened, and he leaned forward slightly.

"This azure spirit grass is thirty years old, with plenty of medicinal potency. Just five Spirit Stones."

Holding the azure spirit grass by its roots, Jing Wen gently turned it over. His brows knitted as he feigned dissatisfaction. "A little too young. It hasn't quite matured enough. Do you have anything older?"

The old man first glanced warily around. Seeing that no one was paying attention, he slowly drew a palm-sized wooden box from his robes. Simple moisture-repelling runes were carved on it. "If you truly know your goods, fellow Daoist, I have a treasured reserve here-an eighty-year-old blood ginseng."

The moment the wooden box opened, a faint medicinal fragrance drifted out.

Jing Wen looked closely. A ginseng root as thick as a thumb lay quietly on the velvet lining, its body faintly amber, fine blood-red veins spreading across it like a spiderweb. It was indeed a superior specimen of blood ginseng.

Without giving anything away, he sent a thread of Divine Sense into it. After confirming that its medicinal potency was well preserved and that nothing about it was false, he formed a plan.

"Not bad." Jing Wen nodded and gently pushed the wooden box back. He leaned a little closer with feigned casualness, lowering his voice almost to a whisper.

"Since you have such fine goods, fellow Daoist, do you know where I could buy older spirit medicines?

"For instance...

"Millennium spirit medicine?"

As he spoke the words "millennium spirit medicine," his eyes fixed firmly on the old man's face. His fingers quietly closed around the bottle of antidote pills in his sleeve-this was the most crucial probe of his trip.

The old man froze, then drew back slightly and let out an incredulous chuckle. "You must be joking, fellow Daoist!

"How could little stalls like ours ever see millennium spirit medicine?

"Even the Heavenly Works Tower, the finest establishment in the Market, might not acquire a whole specimen in ten years.

"Why ask about that all of a sudden?"

His eyes held genuine bewilderment, without the slightest trace of concealment.

Jing Wen's heart sank, but he mustered a smile and waved a hand, half joking. "A fellow disciple mentioned it a few days ago. He said millennium spirit medicine could help someone break through a cultivation bottleneck. My master happens to have been stuck at one for a long time, so I thought I'd ask on his behalf.

"You often sell here in the Market, fellow Daoist. Have you heard of anyone trading millennium spirit medicine recently, or any rumors about it?"

The old man scratched his head, his wrinkles bunching together. "I haven't heard anything!

"If millennium spirit medicine had really appeared, the whole Market would have boiled over by now. These old ears hear more news every day than anyone else's. I couldn't possibly have missed something that big.

"Fellow Daoist, could that fellow disciple have been pulling your leg?"

Jing Wen fell silent for a moment.

Was he disappointed? Yes.

But more than that, he felt a burden quietly lift.

The transaction he had thought would raise towering waves had instead sunk like a stone into a deep pool, without stirring even a ripple.

Those two millennium spirit medicines might have caused a stir within the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, but they had not unleashed the uproar he had imagined across the Yellow Maple Valley Market.

"Perhaps." Jing Wen smiled in agreement and asked no further questions. He pointed at the blood ginseng in the wooden box.

"I'll take this blood ginseng, along with the azure spirit grass from earlier. How many Spirit Stones altogether?"

Jing Wen would have liked to buy all the older medicinal herbs on the stall, but his means would not allow it. He could only settle for these two.

His Storage Bag held fewer than twenty Spirit Stones.

As for trading pills?

Better not. There were too many people around and too many loose tongues. Who knew what trouble that might stir up?

They chatted a little longer. Jing Wen deliberately asked about recent everyday happenings in the Market, and the old man answered each question without any inconsistencies.

After bidding the old man farewell, he turned toward the Heavenly Works Tower.

Sunlight fell across him through gaps between the stalls, and his steps were much lighter than when he had arrived.

The Heavenly Works Tower was one of Yellow Maple Valley's core enterprises. The entire building had been carved from a single block of ringing gold stone. Not only was its form imposing, but clear sword chimes occasionally rang from within.

Worthy of the largest shop in the area... Jing Wen marveled inwardly.

Ringing gold stone was an excellent material for refining flying swords. Ordinary cultivators would treasure even a fist-sized piece, yet the Heavenly Works Tower had extravagantly used it to construct a building!

The moment Jing Wen stepped into the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, a wave of noise swept over him.

The main hall teemed with people, Rogue Cultivators gathering around glass display cases and discussing the wares.

Someone held up a newly purchased flying sword to show off to a companion. Several female cultivators whispered together in the cultivation technique section, while the mingled scents of spirit herbs and talisman paper filled the air.

He frowned slightly, then gave the approaching attendant a small nod. "The second floor."

"This way, fellow Daoist." The blue-robed attendant immediately bowed and led the way, gold-thread array patterns embroidered on his cuffs shimmering beneath the lights.

The stairs were also made of ringing gold stone, each step producing a crisp echo.

The second floor was entirely different. Private rooms lined both sides of a spacious corridor. Carpets made from spirit beast pelts covered the floor, and landscapes painted by renowned artists hung on the walls.

The attendant led Jing Wen into a private room bearing the words "Pine Wind."

The furnishings were elegant, and sandalwood incense burned in a censer, calming the mind and focusing the spirit.

A middle-aged cultivator with a short beard rose to greet him.

"My surname is Liu, and I am a second-rank steward of the Heavenly Works Tower. How should I address you, fellow Daoist?"

"Jin Guang." Jing Wen casually invented a name and sat opposite Steward Liu.

Spirit tea had already been prepared on the table, its fragrance rising in wisps.

Steward Liu poured the tea with practiced movements. "What would you like to see, fellow Daoist Jin Guang?

"Techniques, pills, magical artifacts-we have them all."

"Let me look at the techniques first." Jing Wen sipped the tea, its refreshing fragrance suffusing him. It was actually fine cloudmist spirit tea; this single cup was worth one Spirit Stone.

That alone showed the lavish hospitality of the Heavenly Works Tower.

Steward Liu took a green jade slip from his sleeve and offered it with both hands. "This is our catalog of techniques. Please take a look, fellow Daoist."

Jing Wen accepted the jade slip and sent his Divine Sense inside.

An enormous amount of information immediately flooded his mind, listing various cultivation techniques and secret arts by category:

"Vajra Art"-a metal-attribute Foundation Establishment technique,

"Crimson Sun True Scripture"-a fire-attribute Foundation Establishment technique,

"Mysterious Water Art"-a water-attribute Foundation Establishment technique,

A cursory glance revealed five or six Foundation Establishment techniques.

Farther down, there were even more qi refining stage techniques.

There were also several specialized secret arts.

Suddenly, a technique called the "Breath-Concealing Art" caught Jing Wen's attention.

The words "Breath-Concealing Art" were archaic and understated, without brilliance or splendor, yet like a faint gleam in the dark, they struck directly at what his heart sought.

His Divine Sense lightly touched the description attached to the jade slip, and a line of small text appeared:

"It can conceal one's aura. Mastering the first level allows one to evade the scrutiny of qi refining stage cultivators; mastering the second makes it difficult even for Foundation Establishment cultivators to discern one's true nature."

Jing Wen's gaze sharpened slightly. Exactly what I need.

"Steward Liu." He pointed toward the jade slip, his tone calm. "Could you explain this Breath-Concealing Art in more detail?"

Steward Liu paused, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes before he offered a measured smile. "You have a fine eye, fellow Daoist.

"This art has two stages. Mastering the first makes it difficult for qi refining cultivators to distinguish truth from falsehood.

"As for the second..." His fingertips brushed the surface of the jade slip, sending ripples across it.

"It requires Foundation Establishment cultivation to comprehend. If you master it fully, even Foundation Establishment cultivators will be unable to gauge your true strength."

He paused and lowered his voice, as though offering a warning. "However, cultivating this art is extremely taxing on the mind, and results come slowly. Few people in the Market ask about it."

Yet waves had already begun to rise in Jing Wen's heart.

If he mastered this art, he would no longer have to worry about others noticing how rapidly his cultivation had advanced when he returned to the Black Fiend Cult.

When facing enemies, he could also hide his strength and catch them unprepared.

"How much?" he asked without revealing his feelings.

"Ten Spirit Stones for the first level, one hundred for the complete art," Steward Liu answered promptly, then added with slight hesitation,

"However... forgive me for speaking out of turn, but this art is of little use to most fellow Daoists."

Jing Wen naturally understood what he meant.

In this cultivation world where the weak were meat for the strong, cultivators took pride in displaying their cultivation-the powerful intimidated petty troublemakers, while the weak sought powerful patrons.

Who would willingly hide the spiritual pressure earned through a lifetime of arduous cultivation?

Unless...

They wanted to play the pig to devour the tiger, or-

Possessing a precious jade made them guilty, leaving them no choice but to hide it.

The corners of his lips rose slightly, and he spoke lightly. "Just something to study at my leisure. A way to pass the time."

Jing Wen brushed the matter aside and asked instead,

"How does Sword Flight... compare to the Wind-Riding Technique?"

At his question, a keen glint flickered in Steward Liu's eyes. His tone was admiring. "The Wind-Riding Technique excels at ever-changing maneuvers, letting you dart and dodge like lightning. It is indeed an excellent technique for combat;

"Sword Flight, on the other hand, specializes in covering great distances at speed-a Foundation Establishment Cultivator equipped with this technique and a Flying Sword could roam the northern sea at dawn and reach Cangwu by dusk. That is no idle boast."

He paused and lowered his voice a little. "However... this art costs five hundred Spirit Stones."

"Five hundred?" Jing Wen's brows shifted slightly, but he showed no surprise, merely nodding slowly.

That price far exceeded that of an ordinary Qi Refining Stage cultivation method, even rivaling the cost of a mid-grade Magical Artifact.

Precisely because of that, its value stood out all the more.

"Could you give me a demonstration?"

Steward Liu looked troubled. Bowing slightly, he said apologetically, "There is a flight-prohibiting formation within the building, so flying techniques are rather difficult to demonstrate... however-"

Changing tack, he took a crystalline Image Recording Stone from his Storage Bag, tapped it lightly with a fingertip, and released a trace of spiritual power.

Hum!

A shaft of azure light rose, and an image coalesced in midair, revealing a cultivator in blue robes standing on a Flying Sword as he pierced clouds and cleaved through mist.

The Flying Sword streaked across the sky like a rainbow, swift as lightning yet without the slightest jolt.

Air currents flowed in orderly spirals around the blade, faintly resonating with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. It was clearly some exquisite method of channeling spiritual power.

Jing Wen's pupils contracted slightly as his Divine Sense quietly simulated the paths along which that spiritual power flowed-

Just as I thought!

Compared with the haphazard method of flight he had previously cobbled together using the Wind-Riding Art, this technique's control of spiritual power was so seamless that not a drop could escape. Every strand of spiritual power went where it mattered most, without a trace of waste.

No wonder it could cover thousands of miles a day without running dry.

"With a superior Flying Sword, its speed can be increased by another thirty percent." Steward Liu spoke at just the right moment, his tone carrying a carefully measured hint of salesmanship,

"Our establishment happens to have just received a new batch of Azure Rainbow Swords. Light, nimble, and keen-edged, they are ideally suited to Sword Flight. If you are interested..."

"There is no hurry about Magical Artifacts." Jing Wen waved a hand,

"I would like to look at the other cultivation methods and secret arts first."