Moonlight Vast Cold Scripture

"Even sixth-grade Purple Mansion cultivation methods belong only to the Luo Clan in all of Linhai Commandery, and you're asking me if I have one?"

"Even if I did, a sixth-grade Purple Mansion cultivation method would cost tens of thousands of Spirit Stones. Could a Fetal Breathing Rogue Cultivator like you afford it?"

The slovenly old man was so angry that his beard bristled and his eyes bulged.

Asking such a rash question was simply looking for trouble.

"Uh..."

Xu Fan smiled awkwardly.

"I was discourteous, senior."

He rose apologetically and cupped his hands, intending to look at the other stalls.

"Wait."

"I do have a Purple Mansion cultivation method, but..."

Putting on an air of mystery, the slovenly old man took a Jade Slip from his storage ring and casually tossed it over.

"The Moonlight Vast Cold Scripture. It's a genuine sixth-grade cultivation method. I'm not lying to you, kid."

"One thousand Spirit Stones, and it's yours."

Xu Fan raised a hand to catch it and swept it with his spiritual sense. It was indeed a sixth-grade cultivation method, and one of the Great Yin path at that.

Even so, he feigned anger.

"Senior, do you think I don't know that Great Yin Spiritual Qi has vanished without a trace?"

"This Moonlight Vast Cold Scripture is indeed a Purple Mansion cultivation method, but now it can only be cultivated to the Fetal Breathing Peak."

As he spoke, he discreetly studied the slovenly old man before him.

Wasn't this too much of a coincidence?

He did need to collect Great Yin cultivation methods for deduction, but he hadn't expected to run into one right away.

Had the old man seen through his cultivation of the Plain Luminary Supreme Yin Wondrous Instruction?

But if you dare offer it, I dare swallow it.

At worst, I'll die right in front of you.

"Hehe, you never said you didn't want a Great Yin cultivation method."

The slovenly old man scratched his head awkwardly, but still talked tough.

"Only Purple Mansion cultivation methods of the Great Yin path can fall into the hands of Rogue Cultivators like us. Isn't that perfectly normal?"

Xu Fan rolled his eyes. He had already decided that the old man was some hidden powerhouse, though he didn't know when the man had set his sights on him.

Even if he wasn't, Xu Fan would treat him as an imagined enemy, a reminder to himself.

He didn't want to be killed now. Otherwise, if he returned to Peach Blossom Spring Lake and ran into a Great Grandmaster, he would be finished.

"Just give me two bottles of Spirit Essence Pills and a Golden Sword Talisman instead."

Tossing the Jade Slip back, Xu Fan picked up two jade bottles and a talisman.

He took out two hundred Spirit Stones, set them down, and walked away without looking back.

After making a round of the inner city and finding no one following him, he returned to his cave abode.

"Improving my cultivation is what matters."

He poured out a Spirit Essence Pill, swallowed it, and circulated the Plain Luminary Supreme Yin Wondrous Instruction to refine it.

Only after an hour had passed did he finish refining and absorbing it.

"This pill's effect is quite a bit better than the treasure fish's?"

Xu Fan was surprised by the pill's effect.

But on reflection, he could understand it.

Compared with taking pills, his previous way of eating treasure fish had been crude. Only after finishing the fish had he refined the Heaven and Earth spiritual essence his body hadn't absorbed.

Naturally, it couldn't compare with pills made specifically for a particular realm.

"At this rate, as long as I have a steady supply of Spirit Essence Pills, I can form a Spirit Beginning Wheel in two months."

"There are ten pills in a bottle, and I need three or four bottles a month. It really burns through money."

He calculated how many Spirit Stones he had and realized that cultivating by popping pills like this would exhaust them in three months.

If he didn't have treasure fish to sell, he really wouldn't know how to cultivate normally in the Land of Wu's immortal cultivation world.

"No wonder most Rogue Cultivators are forced to join one faction or another. They simply can't get by without joining one."

He shook his head slightly, reflecting on it, then took out another Spirit Essence Pill and swallowed it.

"Does he really want to switch cultivation methods?"

At the foot of the mountain where cave abodes were rented out, the slovenly old man looked up at the rows of cave abodes and couldn't help frowning.

With his cultivation, he had seen at a glance that the other party was cultivating the Plain Luminary Supreme Yin Wondrous Instruction, a fifth-grade Great Yin cultivation method.

That was why he had deliberately taken out the Moonlight Vast Cold Scripture to test him.

As things stood, the young man did fit the picture of a cultivator who had reached the Fetal Breathing Peak with a Great Yin cultivation method and was forced to switch methods.

Great Yin cultivation methods lacked Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, and over the past several thousand years, only a very few cultivators had obtained Great Yin Spiritual Qi.

The most recent was Lu Qingyun, who cultivated the Plain Luminary Supreme Yin Wondrous Instruction.

He had even quietly attempted to break through to Purple Mansion, but ultimately failed.

Had he succeeded, who knew what might have happened in Linhai Commandery?

"But this kid is going to form his Spirit Beginning Wheel in less than a year. He's truly gifted, a real talent."

"That old thing from the Luo Clan had Zhang Yaozu cultivate his Joint Cultivation method, hoping to use it to master a second Divine Ability."

"With the Luo Clan's support, Zhang Yaozu has only just managed to form Jade Capital. He can't compare to this kid's cultivation speed."

"Let's see who masters a second Divine Ability first."

"And then there's the Red Pine Demonic Sect..."

The slovenly old man narrowed his eyes. Something occurred to him, and he snorted coldly.

"Since you want a Purple Mansion cultivation method, I'll give you one."

"Next time, I'll use a Divine Ability to establish a connection and have the kid seek me out of his own accord. Then I'll give him an incomplete Purple Mansion cultivation method. It only needs to be enough to cultivate an immortal foundation."

To be safe, he made another calculation on his fingers.

A cultivator progressing so quickly with the Plain Luminary Supreme Yin Wondrous Instruction might have some important figure backing him.

That would be terrible.

Now, the Immortal Lord of the Supreme Yang Dao Lineage had ascended beyond the heavens.

Those two from the Buddhist Land and the Sword Sect were itching to make a move and had even long since made arrangements in secret. He didn't want to run into them.

There were also the Great Yin remnants who might rise from the ashes. None of them were people he could afford to offend.

If he failed to catch a fish and became the bait instead, he might not even have a chance at reincarnation.

"A decent young man from a respectable family, with the right roots and upbringing, and not the reincarnation of a True Person or a True Lord. Excellent."

Seeing no fog shrouding him and that he was a first-rate talent, the old man was overjoyed.

"In this age of great upheaval, it was only right that I should meet him."

The slovenly old man smiled with satisfaction.

Rogue Cultivators qualified for Joint Cultivation were exceptionally rare.

They were either already spoken for or had ties that ran too deep, and one careless step would drag him in.

When he learned that the old thing from the Luo Clan had acquired Zhang Yaozu as a Joint Cultivation partner, he had been unable to rest all night.

Linhai Commandery lay right next to Nanyue Commandery. Friction had persisted between them for two hundred years, and their struggles had never ceased.

If that old thing from the Luo Clan mastered a second Divine Ability, it would be very disadvantageous to him.

"I need to give him the cultivation method sooner, then guide the kid out of Yishan City and to Nanyue Commandery, so he doesn't run into that bunch of madmen from the Sword Sect."

Thinking of those sanctimonious madmen gave him a headache. Fortunately, they had come to Linhai Commandery rather than Nanyue Commandery.

Otherwise, who knew how many cultivators would die miserable deaths, only to slave away for the Sword Sect in their next lives and be grateful for it?

If this kid ran into that bunch of madmen from the Sword Sect, he would most likely be sent to reincarnate early and join the Sword Sect as a slave.

"The Sword Sect and the Buddhist cultivators have both come to Linhai Commandery. Could there be something special here? Or..."

The thought left him vaguely uneasy. He again used a Divine Ability to establish a connection, lightly planting the intention to come to him and buy a Purple Mansion cultivation method before forming a Spirit Beginning Wheel.

"Hm? What's going on?"

In the cave abode, the Taiji Dao Evolution Diagram appeared deep in Xu Fan's eyes, dispelling the inexplicable thought in his mind.

"Why do I want to go to the slovenly old man and buy a Purple Mansion cultivation method again?"

"The Taiji Dao Evolution Diagram didn't stir before. Was it because I consciously wanted to collect Great Yin cultivation methods for deduction that it didn't react, and only made me lessen the influence, so I noticed something was wrong with the slovenly old man?"

"Such a thought came to me involuntarily. Is someone guiding me by some means?"