Chen Xiaoming kept his expression in check as he stepped inside the Scripture Pavilion.
He walked up to the goatee-bearded old man who was dusting the shelves, doing his best to look confident.
"Excuse me, sir. I'm looking to buy some spells. Mind if I ask you a few questions?"
"Hmm? Of course not! Our Scripture Pavilion carries plenty of spells and cultivation techniques alike. What would you like to know?"
Thankfully, the old man was incredibly friendly.
He acted as though Chen Xiaoming's worn, shabby clothes were completely invisible. It was warm enough to remind him of the customer service spirit back on Earth in his past life.
His expression brightened, and he got straight to the point.
"I heard that early-stage Qi Refining cultivators need to use a Breath Concealment Talisman to enter Crimson Sun Mountain."
"That's correct. You're quite knowledgeable, sir."
"In that case, are there any stealth spells that could substitute for the talisman?"
"Certainly. It's called the Breath Concealment Technique. It's one of the five essential spells for any Qi Refining cultivator. The price is 20 spirit stones."
"..."
Not spirit stone fragments. Twenty whole spirit stones. The outrageously steep price made him swallow hard without even thinking.
Back when he was an ordinary person, it would've taken sixty years of climbing Crimson Sun Mountain just to scrape together that kind of money.
When he went quiet, the shopkeeper gave a gentle smile.
"Sir, the Breath Concealment Technique is extremely popular. High demand naturally drives the price up."
The old man was still polite, but the message came through loud and clear.
He held back the groan that almost slipped out. Not that it really mattered, since he was flat broke either way.
He kept his face calm and said, "Well... would it be possible to take a look at it? I've heard there are a lot of fakes floating around the market."
"Ha! Those irresponsible rogue cultivators are always peddling sloppily copied fakes without a care in the world. But we're different here at the Scripture Pavilion. We only carry genuine articles, not a single character missing. Go ahead and take a look for yourself."
The goatee-bearded old man confidently handed over a booklet. Chen Xiaoming flipped it open and skimmed through the opening pages as though he were inspecting the quality.
'Breath Concealment Technique. The most fundamental stealth art. The principle involves closing one's pores to trap the spirit qi that naturally seeps out of the body. At full mastery, it works even against late-stage Qi Refining cultivators and sensitive 1st-rank demon beasts.'
Chen Xiaoming's eyes moved quickly. He pushed his concentration to its limit.
He desperately committed the core principles to memory.
He turned the page and memorized the key incantations as well, but then his breath caught.
'What in the world does this mean?'
The spell's underlying principles were logical enough and relatively easy to grasp. But when it came to actually learning the specific methods to execute it, it felt like he was hitting a wall.
No matter how hard he studied the incantations involving spirit qi manipulation, none of it was clicking.
It was like reading a foreign language.
'...Fine. Just focus on memorizing as much as possible.'
His eyes moved rapidly across the pages. Fortunately, his memory had improved since becoming a Qi Refining cultivator, so he managed to pull it off.
'Phew.'
About two minutes had passed before he knew it. He closed the book with a tinge of reluctance.
He couldn't go through the whole thing with the shopkeeper watching right beside him. The longer he spent flipping through it, the more the old man's expression had started to sour.
'Good enough. This'll do.'
Thankfully, he felt confident that he could use his Supreme Great Power to replicate the Breath Concealment Technique.
Testing it out after leaving the Scripture Pavilion would confirm it for sure.
He'd accomplished what he came for, so he could leave now, but he felt a little greedy.
He paid the goatee-bearded old man a compliment.
"Impressive! The Scripture Pavilion's reputation really is well-earned. Not a character out of place. By any chance, do you carry any spells for controlling water?"
"I'd recommend the Cloud-Gathering Rain Technique. It's a Tier 1 lower-grade water-attribute spell. It condenses moisture from the air to form mist and rain, and at full mastery, you can even ride the clouds through the sky. The price is 10 spirit stones."
The Cloud-Gathering Rain Technique!
He wanted it the moment he heard the name. If he could control water qi, he could naturally manipulate the spirit qi-laden dew as well.
Once he learned the Cloud-Gathering Rain Technique, harvesting dew on Crimson Sun Mountain would be so much easier.
Collecting every last one of the hundreds of dew drops covering a Dew Tree would no longer be just a dream.
"Could I take a look?"
"...Of course."
He quickly flipped the book open.
'Having spirit-infused water on hand when first learning this technique is helpful. Fill a vessel with spirit water, and once you succeed in distinguishing water qi from among the five elemental qi...'
He skipped the preface and turned the page.
He pushed his concentration to its absolute limit. He flipped through the pages quickly, grasping the spell's principles first.
He was just finishing memorizing the key incantations when, suddenly...
Slap!
The old man's age-spotted hand came down over the page.
"Sir? I'm sorry, but if you'd like to read any further, you'll need to purchase the spell."
The old man's eyes narrowed. That cold, suspicious gaze made it very clear what he was thinking.
Before things got any more tense, Chen Xiaoming came clean.
"I apologize. The truth is, I'm a little short on spirit stones right now. But! I'm expecting some to come in soon. I came to check out what spells to buy ahead of time."
The icy expression that had been spreading across the old man's face gradually softened.
"Ah, I see. Still, sir, browsing books without purchasing them can raise some eyebrows. Please be mindful of that going forward."
"Of course. I'll be back once I have the spirit stones."
Half-escorted out the door, Chen Xiaoming stepped out of the Scripture Pavilion and let out a quiet sigh of relief.
The Breath Concealment Technique and the Cloud-Gathering Rain Technique.
He'd figured out the principles behind both spells he needed to harvest dew on Crimson Sun Mountain.
'I pulled it off.'
Under normal circumstances, learning two spells in such a short amount of time was flat-out impossible.
Even a once-in-a-generation genius couldn't manage that.
But that wasn't what he was trying to do. He just wanted to reduce the consumption of his Supreme Great Power when it was mimicking a spell.
'Time to test it.'
He quietly ran through the key incantations for the Breath Concealment Technique he'd just memorized.
He focused his mind, drew his spirit qi inward, and regulated his breathing. Then he spent a bit of his Supreme Great Power and made his wish.
Crack!
The moment one golden bead crumbled to dust and vanished.
A mysterious pulse swept through his entire body. It coursed through his limbs and seeped into the spirit qi stored in his dantian.
'Hm...?'
It was a strange sensation.
Spirit qi is the lifeblood of a cultivator.
Even the tiniest trace of it carries the force of a thousand pounds. Naturally, spirit qi has an immense presence, almost like a volcano. But in this very moment, the spirit qi in his dantian had gone completely still.
As if it had disappeared entirely.
'That's incredible.'
Even when he concentrated his senses, he felt nothing. It was as if he'd gone back to being an ordinary person.
Whoosh!
He threw a test punch and felt an enormous surge of power.
'Oh?'
The spirit qi hadn't disappeared.
It was simply hidden beneath the mysterious pulse. He could tap into it whenever he wanted.
But there was one catch.
Using spirit qi while the Breath Concealment Technique was active caused a sharp spike in Supreme Great Power consumption.
To hold the concealment, he couldn't use spirit qi or cast any spells at all.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Chen Xiaoming moved around in all directions, marveling at the effect, then stepped out onto the street.
He stopped in front of a street stall run by a Qi Refining cultivator and loitered around. He even waved his hand right in front of the man's face, but there was no reaction.
'Works better than I expected.'
It felt like being invisible.
Just to be safe, he tested it on several more people, and the results were the same. Not a single Qi Refining cultivator noticed him.
He'd been wandering around for a while when the Breath Concealment Technique faded and the presence of his spirit qi came rushing back.
'So one bead lasts about an hour. Outside of the heavy Supreme Great Power drain, it's perfect.'
He was thoroughly pleased. It seemed even more effective than a regular Breath Concealment Technique.