Sanjie
Three years later.
In the courtyard, Fang Yu suddenly opened his eyes, his expression gloomy.
"This bottleneck is actually this solid!"
In the Qi sea of his Dantian, the Law Power that had just battered against the bottleneck surged like waves. Every impact made Fang Yu feel as though rivers and seas were churning within him. Only after several hours did it slowly settle down.
After cultivating the Nine Transformations of the Flame Dragon, he had taken only two years to break through to the Qi Refining Third Layer. He had then sensed a very distinct bottleneck. He had been trying to break through it for over a year now, yet it still showed not the slightest sign of loosening.
"A low-grade fire Spirit Root really is inferior!"
Fang Yu sighed, rose, and walked outside.
For the past year, he had used Spirit Stones to aid his cultivation every day, all in the hope of breaking through the bottleneck. Now, it seemed that relying solely on the spiritual power provided by Spirit Stones would hardly be enough.
To break through this bottleneck, he would probably have to buy a suitable pill.
As soon as he pushed open the courtyard gate, a melodious sound of strings reached his ears. He looked toward the sound and saw a red lantern hanging at the entrance to a small courtyard not far ahead.
Is this a new neighbor?
When he had gone strolling through the market some days ago, he remembered that the courtyard had yet to be rented out. Now there was music coming from it, and a red lantern was hanging outside. Could it be...?
A few steps brought him to the entrance.
The courtyard gate stood wide open, rendering the restriction ineffective and allowing the sound to carry outside. Within, a shapely figure holding a pipa was looking toward him.
Fang Yu stopped at the entrance and smiled as he listened to the woman play. A moment later, the tune ended. She rose, glided over with her figure close to the ground, and bowed.
"This humble woman is Liu Sanjie. Greetings, fellow Daoist. Do you live nearby?"
"So you're fellow Daoist Liu!" Fang Yu cupped his hands in return. "I am Li Fei. I live nearby!"
As he spoke, he glanced at Liu Sanjie's prominent cleavage and praised her. "Your playing is truly lovely, fellow Daoist!"
"Hehehe!" Liu Sanjie laughed, her voice like silver bells, and invited him in. "If you have time to spare, fellow Daoist, you may come to my courtyard and listen to me play a solo. One tune costs just one Spirit Stone!"
Fang Yu's eyes lit up. "One Spirit Stone to hear you play a solo, fellow Daoist? Isn't that a little, a little too expensive?"
"Expensive?" Liu Sanjie took a step closer as she spoke, and waves of fragrance wafted into his nose. "Playing music isn't all this humble woman can do. I also know the secret arts of the bedchamber. Don't you want to try them, fellow Daoist?"
"Inhale..."
Fang Yu took a deep breath of her fragrance, reached out and stroked Liu Sanjie's waist, then turned and left. "I have things to do. When I have some free time, I'll certainly come and listen to you play!"
I didn't expect this man surnamed Li to be an old hand. A lecher like him surely won't be able to hold out for long. It seems I have my first patron.
Liu Sanjie watched Fang Yu's departing back, reached out to touch her slightly ticklish waist, and chuckled. Then she glided back into the courtyard and resumed playing.
Fang Yu rubbed his fingers together, feeling the faint warmth that lingered between them. The gloom caused by his prolonged inability to break through was swept away.
This newly arrived Liu Sanjie had a good figure and was a "kun cultivator" as well. When he had time, he would certainly go and experience it.
Though he often visited the Divine Maiden Pavilion, the girls who kept him company were all mortal women. He really had never tasted a "kun cultivator" before.
Fang Yu made his way to the market and entered a shop called the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
An old man looked over at him. "I am Huang An, the humble shopkeeper of this pavilion. What might you need, fellow Daoist?"
Sensing the powerful presence of the Qi Refining Late Stage coming from the man, Fang Yu cupped his hands and bowed. "Junior has been at the Qi Refining Third Layer for some years, but a low-grade Spirit Root has held me back, and I have yet to break through. So I came to ask whether you have a pill that can help me break through my bottleneck."
"Hehe!" Huang An smiled. "For someone with a low-grade Spirit Root, the bottleneck leading to the Qi Refining Middle Stage is indeed difficult. Without a pill, I'm afraid you might never break through in your lifetime. Our pavilion does have a pill called the Lesser Barrier-Breaking Pill, made specifically for breaking through bottlenecks. It's just a little expensive."
Fang Yu immediately asked, "How many Spirit Stones would it cost?"
Huang An held up one finger. "One thousand low-grade Spirit Stones!"
"That many?"
Fang Yu exclaimed in surprise.
He really was surprised, because the price exceeded his estimate. A first-tier superior-grade Law Artifact cost only 500 Spirit Stones in the market, yet a single Lesser Barrier-Breaking Pill for breaking through a bottleneck actually cost five hundred Spirit Stones. It was far too expensive.
The cave abode he rented cost only 12 Spirit Stones a year. A thousand Spirit Stones would be enough to buy it outright.
No wonder so many cultivators here spent their entire lives going in circles in the Early Stage of Qi Refining. The pill really was too expensive.
Even so, it was not beyond his means.
His divine sense swept over the ten Yellow Grade Flowing Flame True Fire Swords in his Storage Bag, and he looked at the shopkeeper. "Does your shop accept barter?"
Huang An nodded. "Naturally. As long as the goods you offer are worth a thousand Spirit Stones, that will do."
Fang Yu's face immediately showed conflict, reluctance, and hesitation.
The seven Flowing Flame True Fire Swords in his Storage Bag were what he had forged over the past three years.
Over those three years, he had obtained eighteen sets of materials from Tie Chanyi in exchange and forged fifteen Yellow Grade flying swords. He had given six to Tie Chanyi, leaving nine for himself. Adding the one he had kept from the first year made ten Yellow Grade Flowing Flame True Fire Swords in total. Each year, he also had to sell one to repay the "secret land loan," leaving him with seven.
He was actually somewhat dissatisfied with that success rate. After all, he had still wasted quite a few sets of materials and had been unable to achieve a 100 percent success rate.
Now, if he wanted to break through the bottleneck on the Dao of Qi Refining side, he had no choice but to bring one out for sale.
What made him hesitate was that he was unsure of the Flowing Flame True Fire Sword's true value on the Dao of Qi Refining side, or whether anyone would notice anything unusual about it.
Seeing the hesitant expression on the man before him, Huang An immediately smiled. "Whatever spiritual objects you have, fellow Daoist, feel free to bring them out. The Hundred Treasures Pavilion values its reputation above all else. We would never divulge even the slightest information about our customers, much less engage in the sort of Bandit Cultivator business that involves ambushing customers and robbing them of their spiritual objects."
Hearing this, Fang Yu hesitated no longer. He took the Flowing Flame True Fire Sword in the worst condition out of his Storage Bag. "I obtained this flying sword by chance. Please appraise it, Senior."
Of course, Fang Yu would not readily trust the shopkeeper merely because of his pretty words. Over the years, he had already made thorough inquiries. The Hundred Treasures Pavilion had a very good reputation, and there had never been any rumors of it ambushing customers. For a large shop like this, a deal worth a thousand Spirit Stones should not be enough to make it risk its reputation by attacking him.
"A flying sword!"
Huang An's eyes lit up. He took two steps forward and accepted the Flowing Flame True Fire Sword from Fang Yu. His Law Power stirred as he examined it closely.
He then took out several appraisal tools and shone lights of various colors on the Flowing Flame True Fire Sword. Only after quite a while did he look at Fang Yu, his face full of amazement.
"Fellow Daoist, this flying sword of yours must have been made by a master artifact refiner. Though it is first-tier superior-grade, it already possesses the quality of a first-tier supreme-grade artifact. It would be no exaggeration to call it a quasi-supreme-grade Law Artifact. At present, a supreme-grade Law Artifact sells for two thousand Spirit Stones on the market. This one should be worth fifteen hundred Spirit Stones-more than enough to exchange for a Lesser Barrier-Breaking Pill."