Letting Iron Egg study the Spell Art Blazing Flame Pull on its own, Chen Beiwu sat cross-legged on the cushion in the Cultivation Room. He formed the opening hand seal of the Nine-Breath Qi Ingestion Divine Ability and began his daily accumulation of Fortune.
First Breath: Knowing Heaven's Fortune.
As Chen Beiwu circulated the Magic Power in his Dantian, breathing in and out, wisps of faint light, like fireflies, suddenly appeared in his spiritual perception.
That was the power of Fortune that even Golden Core True Persons could not sense. Yet with the help of his Divine Ability's hand seals, he could clearly sense the power of Fortune permeating Heavenly Abyss Star.
Second Breath: Self-Binding Seal.
Chen Beiwu's hand seals changed, and his Spiritual Terrace immediately grew crystal-clear with each breath.
The reason the power of Fortune contained within Heavenly Abyss Star was harmless was that no one could see it.
Conversely, if a powerful cultivator tried to glimpse the Heavenly Secrets of Fortune, they would naturally be struck by the backlash of heaven and earth the moment they saw them.
By using the Self-Binding Seal to draw upon the power of Nine-Breath Chaos, Chen Beiwu could remain unharmed as Fortune washed over him.
The third, fourth, and fifth breaths were all for drawing in Fortune.
Looking at the Second-Tier Blue Fortune and sparse Orange Fortune (possibly Third-Tier) permeating the area around him, Chen Beiwu was very envious.
Unfortunately, his strength was currently too low. He could only draw White Fortune and Green Fortune toward himself, slowly gathering them.
Sixth Breath: Stealing Heaven's Fortune.
As Chen Beiwu completed the sixth breath in and out, Nine-Breath Chaos, which resided near his heart, still showed no reaction, as if it did not care at all about the White and Green Fortune he had gathered.
This treasure is great, but its only flaw is that it's picky and won't do what I tell it. If only it could actively devour Fortune, like it did on the day of the Great Sun Mutation! Chen Beiwu thought helplessly.
Seventh Breath: Nourishing Heavenly Fortune.
With each breath, Chen Beiwu stuffed all the Fortune he had gathered into Nine-Breath Chaos.
Soon, as wisps of Fortune continuously flowed into Nine-Breath Chaos, the Chaos Land also gave birth to a trace of pale blue Fortune.
Eighth Breath: Ascending Heavenly Fortune.
Chen Beiwu preferred to call it shearing a little wool from Nine-Breath Chaos.
As the energy within Chaos Heaven and Earth surged, that trace of blue Fortune, which had been drifting unsteadily, suddenly expanded. Then it split on its own into two traces of blue Fortune that were slightly deeper in color.
Ten traces made a wisp; ten wisps made a strand.
At his current rate of accumulating Fortune, Chen Beiwu could accumulate one strand of Blue Fortune in fifty days.
Clearly, after breaking through to the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining, his efficiency at accumulating Fortune had improved considerably.
Ninth Breath: Transforming Fortune into a Fortuitous Encounter.
Chen Beiwu had to draw on the power of Nine-Breath Chaos to condense a Fortune Golden Bell, then use the bell to turn his accumulated Fortune into Spirit Fish. After releasing the fish into the Fortune River, he would gain a Fortuitous Encounter sometime in the future.
Since two traces of Blue Fortune could trigger only a limited Fortuitous Encounter, Chen Beiwu did not circulate the Divine Ability to take the ninth breath. Instead, he let it roam freely through the Chaos Land and strengthen his own Fortune.
"Phew."
Chen Beiwu exhaled a breath of stale air and slowly opened his eyes.
"Woof!"
Iron Egg let out a low growl, seeming somewhat afraid to look Chen Beiwu in the eye.
During the eight breaths when Chen Beiwu had circulated his Divine Ability, Iron Egg had felt as if it were witnessing a heavenly god descend.
Let alone studying Blazing Flame Pull, it had not even dared to move.
"What's wrong? Don't you recognize me anymore?"
Only after Chen Beiwu smiled did Iron Egg relax a little.
"It's time to eat." He got up, opened the door to the Cultivation Room, and went downstairs. The enticing aroma of food immediately greeted him.
After walking a few steps, Chen Beiwu noticed that the Spirit Beast meat that had previously vanished from the ventilated area had returned, though its size had clearly shrunk by a large chunk.
Looks like the family's troubles are behind us. He felt relieved.
Seeing Chen Beiwu appear, Huang Xiaoling brought a plate of food out of the kitchen. "I made your favorite tomato and egg stir-fry today."
"Then it's bound to be delicious!" Chen Beiwu's eyes lit up.
After lunch, Chen Beiwu called his mother over, took a jade bottle from his pocket, and set it on the table.
"What's this?" Huang Xiaoling asked, taken aback.
"Frostfall Pills."
To Chen Beiwu's surprise, his mother did not look delighted as he had expected. Instead, her brows knitted even tighter.
"Did you fish these Frostfall Pills out of the Pearl River too?" she asked gravely.
"Of course not. How could the Pearl River possibly have Frostfall Pills?" Chen Beiwu said, pretending to be casual. "A classmate gave them to me."
A trace of bewilderment appeared in Huang Xiaoling's eyes, and her mind nearly short-circuited. "A classmate... gave them to you?"
As far as she knew, a Frostfall Pill had to be taken once a day for three consecutive days to completely eliminate the user's Cold Poison.
A single Frostfall Pill sold for eight hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones on the Immortal Alliance Official Website. Three pills would cost two thousand four hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
What kind of classmate had such deep pockets that she would give him a gift worth over two thousand Spirit Stones?
It would make more sense to say her son had fished them out of the Pearl River!
Huang Xiaoling took a deep breath. "Was the classmate a boy or a girl?"
"A girl." Chen Beiwu had no intention of hiding it, and he could not have kept it secret anyway.
Hearing this, Huang Xiaoling could not help looking at the Frostfall Pills, her thoughts wandering.
What this girl had given them was not just a bottle of pills, but Spirit Stones and a debt of gratitude that the Chen Household could never repay.
One pill, two benefits. That girl who gave the pills was truly clever!
"Which girl?" Huang Xiaoling pressed.
Chen Beiwu hesitated, then answered honestly. "Xu Lingling."
No wonder! Huang Xiaoling felt relieved.
She had met Xu Lingling once and remembered her very well.
By appearance, Xu Lingling was a pure-hearted, shy, and easygoing maiden.
By family background, she came from one of the three main branches of the Fallen Dragon Xu Household. Her father, Xu Tianguang, was the County Magistrate of Far Sky County and the head of the Xu Household branch.
The Fallen Dragon Xu Household had made its name through the Dao of Alchemy. It was a renowned Golden Core Aristocratic Clan in Fallen Dragon Prefecture and controlled nearly thirty percent of the medicine market across its six counties.
Although over two thousand Spirit Stones was a huge sum that ordinary cultivators could not earn even after decades of work, in the eyes of a scion of a prestigious household like Xu Lingling, it might be nothing at all-not even enough to pay for a meal.
Looking at Chen Beiwu's peerlessly handsome features, Huang Xiaoling said calmly, "Return the pills. We're just a small household. We can't afford to offend a Golden Core Aristocratic Clan."
"I tried to return them, but she wouldn't take them back," Chen Beiwu said helplessly.
A single pill from an aristocratic clan could save the life of a poor cultivator.
He knew his mother did not want him to owe anyone a debt of gratitude, lest he be unable to repay it in the future and have to risk his life to do so.
"Listen to me. Return them." Huang Xiaoling glanced at him, her tone firm.
"Use the pills as they should be used. It's only a thousand Spirit Stones. I can pay it back," Chen Beiwu said solemnly.
Huang Xiaoling's voice turned stern. "Only? What will you use to pay it back?"
"I'm confident I can break through to the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining during my second year of high school. Is that enough?" Chen Beiwu opened his palm, and a lifelike miniature clone appeared.
"Not enough." His mother's expression did not change.
"I'm confident I can break through to the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining before the College Entrance Examination and get into one of the Thirteen Immortal Sects. Is that enough?" Chen Beiwu said in a low voice.
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