Back home, Lin Feng laid out all the items and began taking stock.
The seventy-seven low-grade spirit stones he had taken out were all spent. In total, he had acquired eighteen low-grade magic tools, ten mid-grade magic tools, one high-grade magic tool, three second-tier chain talismans, and a large pile of materials needed for repairs.
Tools at the magic tool level were the lowest and most common artifacts, and they suffered the highest attrition. Cultivators who went out hunting demon beasts often damaged their magic tools easily.
Lin Feng had mostly acquired the materials needed to repair this pile of magic tools. Still, he was disappointed that he hadn't managed to buy the 'first-grade fire-attribute demon core' required to repair the luminous-class treasure. He had specifically inquired and learned that demon cores were basically never sold in the free market. Cultivators who obtained them usually took them to the city's Quest Guild to exchange for spirit stones or other rewards.
Moreover, demon cores were generally not cheap. If one wanted to buy one back from the guild, even a first-grade core would cost nearly a hundred spirit stones—equivalent to the price of a brand-new high-grade magic tool.
After learning this, Lin Feng couldn't help but feel greatly disappointed. He could only set the matter aside for now. He planned to wait until he was stronger and had more spirit stones before going to the Quest Guild to take a look.
"Alright then… time to 'get to work'!"
After organizing the treasures and materials, Lin Feng cracked his knuckles and muttered to himself with great enthusiasm.
...
...
In the following period, Lin Feng lived a life unlike any he had experienced in his previous 'two' twenty years—unbelievably fulfilling and relaxed.
He spent two days repairing that entire batch of treasures. Afterwards, however, he did not take them to the Treasure Pavilion to sell. Instead, he divided them into three batches and sold them to three other smaller treasure shops in the city.
He knew that attracting too much attention could invite unnecessary trouble, especially given his current lack of strength. It was best to minimize the possibility of such 'trouble' as much as possible. So, he acted extremely cautiously; even when going out to sell the treasures, he disguised himself before taking action.
After selling that batch of treasures, Lin Feng made a hefty profit of over four hundred low-grade spirit stones.
After obtaining this large sum of spirit stones, he did not immediately go out to acquire more discarded treasures. Instead, he shut himself in at home and devoted himself wholeheartedly to one thing…
Cultivation.
Frenzied cultivation!
In the past, without spirit stones, sustained cultivation using them had been a mere luxury. But now it was different—spirit stones were abundant, and he could use them freely.
Lin Feng had not yet reached the realm of 'fasting', something only possible after the Golden Core stage. He still needed to eat three meals a day, and adequate sleep was essential. Apart from these daily requirements, he spent virtually all his remaining time on cultivation.
Spirit stones were consumed one after another. Lin Feng finally experienced what cultivation felt like with ample resources—it was like heaven and earth compared to his past cultivation.
With him cultivating like this, the rate of spirit stone consumption was astonishing. In just ten days, he used up two hundred low-grade spirit stones. However, it was worth it: his cultivation level was already approaching the fifth layer of Qi Refining.
...
For the sake of 'sustainable development', Lin Feng once again went out, taking the remaining two hundred low-grade spirit stones with him. This time, however, he didn't go to the free market to set up a stall for acquisitions. Instead, he directly approached two treasure shops and 'swept through' their stock of discarded treasures.
Previously, due to insufficient funds, he had gone to the free market to set up a stall in order to acquire as many treasures as possible. Now that he had enough spirit stones, naturally, he didn't need to go through that hassle anymore. Even though it might be a bit more expensive, it didn't matter.
After purchasing dozens of magic tool-level treasures, Lin Feng then went to the free market to buy the materials needed for repairs. Buying materials wouldn't attract attention because not all cultivators bought entirely new treasures when theirs broke. When a treasure was damaged to a certain extent, it could be repaired—of course, the 'repair' mentioned here was different from Lin Feng's skill-based Repair; it was done by genuine Artifact Refiners.
For example, the Treasure Pavilion accepted such treasure repair business. If one provided their own materials, the cost was much cheaper. So, cultivators who didn't want to replace their accustomed treasures would buy the materials themselves and take them to the Treasure Pavilion for repairs. (Of course, this generally only applied to magic tools and treasures. Artifacts at the spirit tool level and above were not so easily repaired by just anyone, as higher-level treasures required various specific materials and unique refining techniques. Unless it was the original crafter or someone who had obtained the specific crafting details for that particular treasure, outsiders were basically unable to repair them.)
Although Lin Feng bought a lot of materials, he bought them scattered across various stalls, so he didn't attract anyone's attention.
That same day, Lin Feng repaired a portion of the treasures first and took them to another treasure shop to sell. After earning another batch of spirit stones, he once again embarked on arduous cultivation.
However, from then on, every day, besides cultivating with spirit stones, Lin Feng would also repair a fixed number of treasures. And when his true qi was nearly depleted, he would immediately begin cultivating again—he discovered that cultivating in this manner was much more effective than conventional cultivation.
Just like that, alternating between repairing and cultivating, Lin Feng spent another 'monotonous' yet fulfilling month or so…
Over the entire two months, Lin Feng consumed several times more spirit stones than he had used in the previous five years combined. With the help of his Repair technique, his cultivation broke through two layers consecutively, reaching the sixth layer of Qi Refining.
Going from the fourth layer to the sixth layer of Qi Refining in just two months—this cultivation speed couldn't be called heaven-defying, but it was absolutely above the average level. Of course, this wasn't due to any exceptional talent in cultivation Lin Feng possessed; rather, his cultivation resources were simply too good—an average consumption of twenty low-grade spirit stones per day. This was something most ordinary cultivators simply couldn't afford. Probably very few people in the entire Bluecloud City had such conditions.
...
One morning, two months later, Lin Feng finally ended his dozens of days of frenzied cultivation and decided to take a breather.
With ample spirit stones and the help of his Repair Technique, he had reached the peak of the sixth layer of Qi Refining. He was just one step away from advancing to the seventh layer—the late stage of Qi Refining. However, after cultivating tirelessly for three days and consuming dozens more low-grade spirit stones, he still failed to break through to the seventh layer. The spirit stones were wasted, and his cultivation level didn't increase at all.
This was a 'bottleneck'. Although only a minor one, it couldn't be forcibly broken through with spirit stones alone. Lin Feng understood that haste makes waste. After several unsuccessful attempts, he temporarily stopped cultivating.
After two months of near-seclusion and frenzied cultivation, he was mentally exhausted. While it was said that cultivation knew no passage of time—and those powerful cultivators often went into seclusion for years, even decades, or longer—Lin Feng was nowhere near comparable to those powerhouses. He was merely at the Qi Refining stage. Two months of arduous cultivation was already his limit. Pushing further might be counterproductive.
Ending his cultivation session, Lin Feng tidied up and left his residence, heading towards the northern part of the city.
Today, he decided to go take a look at that Quest Guild.
Along the way, Lin Feng stopped by a treasure shop and sold the remaining batch of repaired treasures he had, earning another two hundred low-grade spirit stones—currently, he had nearly a thousand spirit stones in 'massive' savings. Among Qi Refining cultivators, he was absolutely 'wealthy'.
Over these two months, he had repaired hundreds of treasures. Most were sold, but he had, of course, kept some for himself. Right now, beneath his clothes, he wore a high-grade magic tool inner armor. On his hands were black half-finger gloves, also two high-grade magic tools. On his left forearm was a mid-grade magic tool bracer, similar to the Rebound Armguard. Even on his right calf, there was a mid-grade magic tool greave. Furthermore, stored in his spatial ring were several attack-oriented magic tools and over a dozen various types of second-tier chain talismans.
Most of these chain talismans were ones he had acquired as discarded talismans and then repaired; another portion he had bought directly from talisman shops. Since this type of talisman could be used 'infinitely' by him, buying new ones outright wouldn't be a loss either. Such simple yet powerful talismans were naturally the more, the better, kept for unexpected needs.
It could be said that Lin Feng's current assets were absolutely top-tier among Qi Refining cultivators. Probably some Foundation Building cultivators weren't as 'rich' as he was.
Now, with his cultivation at the sixth layer of Qi Refining and numerous treasures for protection, Lin Feng's confidence was solid. So, he decided to go to the Quest Guild and look around, primarily to search for the 'first-grade fire-attribute demon core' needed to repair the luminous-class treasure.
Moreover, Lin Feng had always been curious about the Quest Guild. If possible, he also wanted to try firsthand what it felt like to go out and hunt demon beasts…
After all, cultivation wasn't just about secluded meditation behind closed doors. Only through experiencing real combat could one become truly stronger.