Translator: AnubisTL
On the final day of the trade fair, Li Qing began wandering aimlessly.
By the third day, the crowds had thinned considerably, and many stalls had already packed up.
Li Qing strolled around, hoping to strike it lucky and stumble upon a stall selling pills to enhance mana cultivation in the Qi Refining Realm.
Alas, such hopes were destined to be dashed.
Pills of that nature were usually snapped up on the first or second day, leaving none to be sold on the third!
After aimlessly wandering for half a day, just as Li Qing was about to give up and head home, a stall displaying a pile of peculiar sand and stones caught his eye.
"Hmm, what's this?" Li Qing's heart stirred slightly, and he asked curiously, "What is this?"
The stall owner, bored and listless, replied, "Water-Condensing Sand. It's a spiritual material used in artifact refinement. Want to buy some?"
Hearing this, Li Qing nodded inwardly. A name of a Mid-Grade Magic Tool immediately flashed through his mind: the Water Entangling Net!
This was one of the artifact refinement diagrams included in the artifact refinement inheritance he had received. Water-Condensing Sand was an essential material for crafting this particular magic tool.
"How much does this Water-Condensing Sand cost?" Li Qing asked.
Seeing that Li Qing was actually asking about the price, the stall owner, who was selling spiritual materials, perked up instantly.
"Hey, this Water-Condensing Sand was dug up near a dried-up Spirit Spring. It may look ordinary, but it's an essential material for artifact refinement."
Li Qing automatically filtered out the vendor's flowery sales pitch. The man was just trying to inflate the price.
"How about this? I'll sell you a pound of Water-Condensing Sand for thirty spirit stones. That's an absolutely fair price!"
At this price, Li Qing's lips twitched, and he nearly turned and walked away.
Did the vendor think he was an idiot? Thirty spirit stones per pound, and it took about three pounds of Water-Condensing Sand to craft a Water Entangling Net.
Adding in the other materials, the total cost to refine a Water Entangling Net would be over two hundred spirit stones!
Yet a Mid-Grade Magic Tool on the market would sell for no more than five hundred spirit stones at most. Factor in the risk of artifact refinement failure and material loss, and the refiner would be bankrupt!
Li Qing rolled his eyes and said, "Ten spirit stones per pound. No one's buying this stuff at such an inflated price anyway."
"Hehe, sir, you're joking. Where else could you find artifact refinement materials for ten spirit stones a pound? You probably couldn't find such a place anywhere in the world."
And so began a tense haggling match.
Li Qing stubbornly held his ground at fifteen spirit stones per pound, refusing to spend a single spirit stone more.
The other party refused to budge, demanding no less than twenty spirit stones. They flatly refused to sell for less.
Finally, after both sides had talked themselves dry, they settled on a price of seventeen spirit stones per pound.
Li Qing bought the six pounds of Water-Condensing Sand from the stall for a total of 102 spirit stones.
With the spiritual materials in hand, Li Qing didn't linger. He changed directions several times to ensure no one was watching before returning to his courtyard.
Just as he arrived, news suddenly spread through the C-Class District.
Of the two cultivators who had purchased Spirit Condensation Pills, only one had successfully broken through to the Late Qi Refining Realm. The other had unfortunately failed.
"Hiss! One of them failed!"
"Doesn't that mean they still have to repay the Liu Clan 200 spirit stones?"
"Hmm... It's hard to say whether it's a blessing or a curse."
"300 spirit stones down the drain like that... What a waste."
"Thank goodness it wasn't me. I'd be heartbroken! How long would it take to save up 300 spirit stones on such a tight budget?"
"..."
Li Qing listened to the murmurs of the crowd, but felt little satisfaction. Instead, he found himself worrying about Old Zhou.
"If there are only two of them, how will they deal with the Flying Eagle Bandits?"
Old Zhou had originally planned that if all three of them succeeded in their breakthrough, their chances of success would be quite high.
But with one failure, their odds plummeted.
Li Qing could do nothing about it. As a cultivator in the Early Qi Refining Realm, he could only silently pray for Old Zhou's success.
"Sigh, I hope the Liu Clan will lend a hand. After all, their young miss's sect mission is at stake. They surely wouldn't want it to fail."
Li Qing sighed and quietly cooked himself a pot of spirit rice.
With things as they were, he decided to eat first.
Savoring the crystal-clear, fragrant, and sweet spirit rice, Li Qing's appetite soared. He devoured the small pot in no time.
After feeding Fan Tong the Beast Taming Pellet, Li Qing sat cross-legged and began cultivating.
The trade fair ended, and life gradually returned to normal—for the other rogue cultivators, at least.
Old Zhou, who had successfully broken through to the Late Qi Refining Realm, couldn't help but curse in his courtyard upon learning of the failure.
The joy of his breakthrough was overshadowed by immense pressure.
The Flying Eagle Bandits were notorious. Facing them with only himself and another mediocre rogue cultivator meant a high chance of losing his life.
Old Zhou, unwilling to risk his life for nothing, finally lost his patience. He grabbed another rogue cultivator who had successfully broken through and made a request to the Liu Clan: he wanted them to send another Late Qi Refining Realm cultivator to support them.
This time, the Liu Clan surprisingly acted reasonably. After all, the matter concerned their young mistress's entry into the Foundation Establishment Realm, and they couldn't afford to be careless.
Thus, the Liu Clan dispatched Liu Cong, a Late Qi Refining Realm cultivator, to accompany them in their campaign against the Flying Eagle Bandits.
The mission deadline was six months. If they failed to complete it within that time, the Heavenly River Sect would send a Foundation Establishment Realm Elder to intervene to maintain order and peace in the Immortal Cultivator Market.
Failure would also significantly impact Liu Hanyue, potentially delaying her entry into the Foundation Establishment Realm.
While Heavenly River Sect disciples might appear aloof and superior outside the sect, competition within its walls was fierce. Even with the Liu Clan's support, this advantage meant little to those who had managed to enter the Heavenly River Sect. Some even had close ties to Core Formation Ancestors within the sect.
In the end, Old Zhou set off on his journey to eliminate the Flying Eagle Bandits.
As time passed, this matter would gradually fade from the memories of most rogue cultivators, with only a few remaining who would continue to follow its progress.
Li Qing, now living in peace, silently prayed for Old Zhou's safety before immersing himself in his quiet cultivation.
More than ten days flew by in an instant, and it was soon time for the Liu Clan's miners to descend into the spiritual mine once more.
News of Old Zhou's group's expedition to the Heavenly River Sect's Immortal Cultivator Market to hunt down the Flying Eagle Bandits had yet to return, but Li Qing had already encountered a minor bottleneck in his Early Qi Refining Realm cultivation.
"Logically, breaking through from Early Qi Refining to Mid Qi Refining should be achievable simply by grinding through with time. But this progress is unusually slow."
Li Qing shook his head, stopped cultivating, and began planning his future.
"Tomorrow, I'll be going down into the mine. With my experience of submitting seventy spirit stones before, I shouldn't be assigned to the poorest mining area again. My monthly mining income should increase significantly."
"The most pressing matter now is to break through to the Mid Qi Refining Realm. Only at that level will I have a modicum of self-preservation ability."
"Then there's the Artifact Refinement Technique. I need to find time to refine the Peerless Hammer into a Magic Artifact. As for the Wandering Dragon Dagger, it's a Mid-Grade Magic Tool prototype. I'm not yet capable of completing its refinement."
Li Qing pondered for a moment before retrieving a white jade token.
This token, suspected to be an Ascension Token from the Lingyun Sect, had been weighing heavily on his mind. Given his aptitude, it was likely his only path to joining a cultivation sect.
With an Ascension Token, one could enter the sect directly, regardless of cultivation level or age, and even receive a Foundation Establishment Pill!
For any rogue cultivator, the allure of a Foundation Establishment Pill was irresistible.
"It seems I have no choice but to travel south. Even if the odds are slim, I must verify whether this token truly is an Ascension Token!"
Li Qing's eyes narrowed slightly as he carefully put the white jade token away once more.
"But the journey to the Mu Kingdom is long and perilous. I'll need at least Mid Qi Refining Realm cultivation to barely survive the trip. I can't go anytime soon."
"Before then, I must focus on improving my strength as much as possible."
"Besides cultivating mana, I should also consider exploring the path of body cultivation. That way, my Grandmaster-level physique won't go to waste."
In an instant, Li Qing had clearly mapped out his future Dao path.
Short-term goal: Accumulate spirit stones! Improve my Artifact Refinement Technique!
Mid-term goal: Break through to the Mid Qi Refining Realm! Find time to visit the Heavenly River Sect's Immortal Cultivator Market!
Long-term goal: Maximize my self-defense capabilities, covering talismans, Magic Artifacts, and my own cultivation!
Finally, I must travel south to the Mu Kingdom to locate the Lingyun Sect and confirm whether the token in my possession is indeed an Ascension Token.
With his goal set, Li Qing once again immersed himself in his limited cultivation time, striving to refine his understanding and break through the bottleneck that held him back.
Time flew by, and the day of Li Qing's seventh descent into the mine finally arrived!
(End of the Chapter)
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