As Wei Songnian deftly packed up his stall, he said with a smile:
"Junior Brother, you're still only at the first layer of Qi Refining, yet your Minor Rain Technique has already reached the Small Accomplishment stage. I've worked the Bihai Market for over ten years and never once seen someone as gifted as you.
But I do have a question. You once said you only opened your immortal meridians a few days before the sect examination. By that logic, your mana reserves shouldn't even be enough to cast the third layer of Minor Rain, right? How about letting me see it with my own eyes, show me a rainfall?"
This senior brother's memory is that sharp?!
Ji An was caught off guard. He had tossed that line off casually at the time, not expecting the man to remember.
He realized this was a test. If his claims had been empty boasting, he'd be exposed here and now.
"Of course."
Ji An readily agreed. True gold does not fear the furnace. In fact, if Wei Songnian, with all his connections, spread word about his talent, it might cement his reputation as a spell prodigy.
In this world, appearances mattered; sometimes they could be leveraged for real benefits.
The only reason he was willing to show off now was because spirit stones were so hard to come by; otherwise, he would have preferred to keep a low profile.
The tallest tree in the forest is the first to catch the wind.
He had already decided: in the future, he would only display talent in three arts: Minor Rain, Thick Earth, and Withering-Bloom. Best to keep some cards hidden.
Once the stall was packed, the two of them crossed the square, leaving the marketplace and heading for the banks of Bihai Lake.
This time, Ji An was more careful. As he cast, he deliberately controlled the flow of his mana. When his reserves were nearly depleted to about ten percent, he shifted his hand seals and completed the spell.
White mist gathered, then heavy rain poured down over the fields. After half an hour, the clouds dispersed.
"Life in the sect is not easy," Wei Songnian praised sincerely, "but with ability like this, Junior Brother will have no trouble securing his place."
There was more honesty than politeness in his smile now.
"Come, let's have a proper meal. I'll treat you to some silver-scale fish once you taste it, and you'll never forget it."
He pointed toward a distant pier.
"Over there, Liangqiu Shan is a master fisherman and an even better cook. Normally, you'd have to book ahead to eat his spirit fish. But I know him well; no need for formality."
The sect had divided Bihai Lake into many ponds using formation arrays, and the Beast-Taming Hall maintained an entire branch dedicated to raising spirit fish.
Roughly eighty percent of the waters were open to the public. Many disciples fished there or harvested water-type spirit herbs to supplement their cultivation.
Of course, there was a tax. Any catch had to be registered at the fisheries, or else you'd be punished under sect law.
The two arrived at the lakeside taverns and stopped before a grand restaurant.
But instead of entering, they walked past, continuing another dozen paces to a smaller establishment next door.
Inside were only six square wooden tables, all packed with patrons.
"Ah Qiu! Bring us the largest silver-scale fish you've got. I want to share a proper drink with Junior Brother Ji."
A hearty young man with a ruddy face poked his head out from the kitchen.
"Senior Brother Wei! It's been a while. Come upstairs, I've even kept some fish-bladder gelatin aside for you."
"I'll weigh it after we eat," Wei replied with a grin.
Exchanging a few casual words, he led Ji An up to a small private room.
"One fish, four dishes. You won't find this anywhere else.
The head goes into a clear broth, the tail is fried crisp before stewing into a thick soup, the body is steamed with Ah Qiu's secret sauces… The flavor"
Wei Songnian swallowed audibly, eyes gleaming. "It's unforgettable."
He shifted into a comfortable position, leaning forward, his tone suddenly earnest.
"Junior Brother, if you want to advance quickly… forgive me for being blunt, but relying on low-grade pills is not the way."
"Junior Brother, the low-grade Yellow Sprout Pills in my hand aren't without effect. Two of them together can exceed the medicinal power of a single genuine pill.
But… it takes two to three times longer to refine the medicine and expel the toxins. The time cost is simply too high."
"I understand the reasoning," Ji An said with a troubled expression, "but the spirit stones I'm using are borrowed. I can't afford to rely on genuine pills all the time."
Wei Songnian slid a spirit stone across the table toward him.
"Take this spirit stone as a loan from me. You can repay it after your second harvest of spirit grain."
Ji An was silent for a few moments before pushing it back.
Wei Songnian frowned slightly. He hadn't expected anyone to push away a spirit stone being handed to them.
The Wei clan had risen from merchant roots. Their fortune came generations ago, when one ancestor supported a promising, poor cultivator. That cultivator later soared into the heavens, advancing all the way to the Origin Ascension stage. The Wei family reaped the benefits, transforming from an insignificant house of "two or three cats" into a prominent clan with hundreds of Qi Refining disciples and nearly a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators, seated atop a high-grade spirit vein.
That ancestor left behind a family maxim: "Supporting talented commoners is a more profitable investment than any trade."
Wei Songnian firmly believed this. Since joining the sect, he had already "backed" two such individuals.
Today, he meant only to form a good connection. If Ji An displayed more potential later, he would increase his stake.
Ji An coughed lightly, then pulled out the low-grade pills he had just purchased, pushing them forward as well. With a respectful bow, he said:
"Since Senior Brother shows such regard for me, I will accept this spirit stone, but please exchange the whole amount for Yellow Sprout Pills."
As someone who had lived a whole life before, Ji An approached cultivation like a competitive game: resources only mattered once converted into strength. What he needed most right now was rapid improvement.
Farming, practicing spells, earning crystals, and raising his cultivation meant more mana, which meant better farming and faster practice. A perfect cycle.
He even set himself a small goal: reach mid-stage Qi Refining within one year!
Still, something about this feels… off. Wei Songnian scratched his head.
He pulled out an unopened white jade vial, tipped out two pills, then pushed the bottle over.
"Ten pills in total, Junior Brother. Count them."
Ji An poured them out openly, counted, then put them back into the jade vial.
"Exactly ten. Many thanks, Senior Brother."
Wei Songnian then produced a handful of spirit crystals, counted out eighty, and after a moment's thought also pulled out a talisman bird with a dim, fading glow.
"This is eighty spirit crystals in change. And take this talisman bird as a gift. Don't refuse it, it still has about twenty to thirty hours of use left. But when the glow of the talisman starts to flicker, do not keep using it."
Ji An checked the number of crystals and bowed again in thanks.
As they chatted, the spirit fish was served, filling the room with fragrance.
Wei Songnian picked up his chopsticks. "Eat while it's hot, no need for courtesy. The bones have all been removed."
Ji An took a piece and placed it in his mouth. A delicate flavor bloomed across his tongue, and as the fish entered his stomach, a gentle warmth spread through his meridians. His immortal veins instinctively absorbed the hidden spiritual qi.
He didn't stand on ceremony; his chopsticks flew, and he ate heartily.
The fish wasn't large. Soon, the two of them had devoured it entirely.
"Hurry and run your cultivation method to refine the qi," Wei Songnian reminded with a smile.
Ji An obediently circulated the Clear Source Sutra.
After half a quarter-hour, he ended his meditation, a glint flashing in his eyes.
Even though half the mana was siphoned away by the stone turtle, refining just half of the spirit fish had raised his mana capacity by the equivalent of three or four days' effort.
He couldn't help but marvel at how enormous the difference was between cultivating with and without resources!
After some idle chatter, Ji An rose to take his leave.
Wei Songnian handed him a golden-brown flatbread from the kitchen, smiling:
"The fourth dish from a silver-scale fish bones fried till crisp, ground into flour, and baked into bread. This way, not a trace of the fish's spiritual qi is wasted."