“What?
Alchemist Su?” “What was he doing in your spirit field?” Cai Old Jiu asked, completely baffled.
Qin Ming had no choice but to patiently explain the whole story of how Alchemist Su had come to request Crimson Spirit Dew.
“You actually managed to cultivate Beast-Tooth Rice?!” Cai Old Jiu stood jaw-dropped, his entire worldview shattered once more.
He had been here for over a decade and had also tried his hand at cultivating Beast-Tooth Rice in the past.
Yet without exception, every attempt had ended in failure.
At one point, Cai Old Jiu had even suspected whether the spirit vein in this location was simply unsuitable for growing Beast-Tooth Rice.
He tried his absolute hardest to convince himself that kid Qin Ming was just pulling his leg.
That was until he walked over to the back of the mountain and gazed upon the half-grown Beast-Tooth Rice stalks rising inside Qin Ming’s spirit field.
For a long while, he was left speechless.
That’s right.
He was jealous.
This time, he truly envied Qin Ming!
“Qin Ming, you little rascal, you’re so unbrotherly!
To think I even gave you wine for free!” “You grew Beast-Tooth Rice and didn’t even tell me?” Saying so, he didn’t forget to walk over and enthusiastically greet Alchemist Su.
Immediately after, he leaned in right next to Qin Ming’s ear and secretly whispered, “Where did you even get Beast-Tooth Rice spirit seeds from?” Qin Ming looked at him, slightly dazed: “Bought them from Shopkeeper Liao.” “It was a desperate gamble, betting my entire life and net worth on it.” “You little rascal are truly blessed with dog-shit luck to actually grow it successfully.” “I really don’t even know what to say about you.” Qin Ming gave a faint, sheepish smile: “Alright, once the Beast-Tooth Rice matures, I’ll treat you to a meal at Gathering Pavilion.” “You said it!” Only then did Cai Old Jiu let the matter drop.
…
Two days later.
The turbulence of the demonic beast raid subsided, and the Spirit Feather Sect installed a few additional protective measures around the perimeter of the spirit fields.
However, owing to the sheer size of the area, they merely set up a few basic alarm-triggering array formations.
Having gone through this ordeal, the desire to boost his own strength grew ever more intense in Qin Ming’s heart.
Without trump cards, there was no sense of security.
At any moment, he could face the peril of death and the end of his path.
Qingyang Marketplace.
Qin Ming arrived at the Ruan family compound once again.
Knock, knock, knock!
He knocked on the red-painted wooden gate.
Before long…
A middle-aged cultivator opened the door.
He possessed a cultivation level at the Fifth Layer of Qi Condensation, with a somewhat haggard expression, his hair bound by a wooden crown with streaks of gray at his temples.
“Daoist, who are you…
looking for?
What business brings you here?” Qin Ming cupped his hands in a respectful greeting and cut straight to the point: “Are you Daoist Ruan?
My surname is Qin, introduced by Shopkeeper Liao.
I heard you have a body-refining technique you wish to sell, so I came to pay a visit and inquire about it.” Daoist Ruan froze for a moment before welcoming Qin Ming inside the Ruan family compound.
Upon stepping into the courtyard…
A scene of sheer desolation met his eyes; apart from Daoist Ruan standing before him, not another soul was in sight.
“Since Shopkeeper Liao introduced you, I assume he already explained the conditions to you?” “Unless you possess pills or spirit materials that enhance qi and blood, I’m afraid you’ll leave disappointed, Daoist.” Daoist Ruan sized up the young cultivator before him—unremarkable and plain, revealing nothing out of the ordinary.
“Naturally.” “May I ask Daoist Ruan to introduce this cultivation technique?
It would help me consider the matter properly,” Qin Ming asked.
“Sigh, speaking of which, I must apologize for making a fool of myself in front of you.” Daoist Ruan let out a long sigh.
He pointed around the courtyard, his voice thick with vicissitude.
He then spoke without reserve: “My grand family estate falling to such a state today is all thanks to this very cultivation technique.” He then retrieved a sheet of animal hide from his storage pouch and displayed it briefly for Qin Ming before continuing: “This technique is named the Hundred-Treasures Glazed Scripture, passed down in my family generation after generation all the way to me.” “Successive ancestors treasured it above all else, though its precise origins have long been lost to time.” “However, cultivating this technique comes with a rather harsh prerequisite: one must rely on natural treasures that enhance qi and blood as auxiliary aids to even practice it…” As Daoist Ruan went into deeper detail, Qin Ming gradually formed an assessment of the technique.
This Hundred-Treasures Glazed Scripture was entirely different from any body-refining technique Qin Ming had ever seen before.
The body-refining path it took wasn’t focused on tempering the physical flesh, nor on blasting open acupoints, nor on the conventional regimen of toughening tendons and bones.
Rather, it was— Blood Replacement!
‘Hundred-Treasures’, true to its name, specifically referred to those natural spirit materials of heaven and earth that enhanced qi and blood, and they had to be ranked materials with proper grades.
The higher the grade, the better.
And the so-called blood replacement meant that by circulating one’s qi and blood until it reached a certain threshold, one entered the marrow-refining stage, purging one’s old blood to transform it into new blood.
By continuously enhancing one’s qi and blood, when compressed to the absolute limit, the qi and blood could even reach a consistency as dense as liquid mercury.
Transcending human limits, it allowed one to break through toward an entirely different plane of existence.
‘Glazed’ referred to the state after completing the blood transformation—the qi and blood underwent a complete metamorphosis, rendering the physical body crystal-clear like glazed jade.
Once the Hundred-Treasures Glazed Scripture was cultivated past the Fifth Level, after multiple blood transformations, the practitioner could condense a ‘Glazed Treasure Garb’ outside their body using their own formidable qi and blood.
It warded off all evil, rendered the body immune to a hundred toxins, made one indestructible, and even possessed a degree of spell-repelling effectiveness against magic spells.
‘Spell-repelling effect?’ Qin Ming was secretly astonished.
Cultivating this technique to a profound realm would render the entire body leakless and faultless, glowing with treasure radiance, bestowing physical strength of sheer, utter terror.
Ultimately achieving the legendary Flawless Glazed Body!
However, those were merely records written in the manual; no one had ever actually reached that realm.
“Precisely because of this, the amount of spirit materials required to cultivate this technique is an absolute horror of a figure,” Daoist Ruan said at a unhurried pace.
“Calling it a bottomless pit would not be an exaggeration in the slightest.” “Without a steady, long-term supply of sufficient spirit materials, I strongly advise you to give up, Daoist.” “The sheer amount of wealth and resources spent on this would be more than enough to purchase multiple top-tier cultivation manuals.” “And even after paying such a heavy price, success is far from guaranteed, making it somewhat of a white elephant.” “Furthermore, this technique is merely an incomplete manuscript.
The Hundred-Treasures Glazed Scripture has twelve levels in total, but on this sheet of animal hide currently in my hands, there are only the first nine levels corresponding to body cultivators of the Qi Condensation realm.” Having listened to the man’s explanation, Qin Ming fell into deep thought.
Spirit materials were the one thing he didn’t lack—he could simply ripen them.
What seemed like astronomical costs to others was, on the contrary, his greatest advantage.
In short: As long as he had enough spirit materials to boost qi and blood, the body-refining speed of this Hundred-Treasures Glazed Scripture wouldn’t be slow in the least.
“Forgive me for asking, but which level has Daoist Ruan cultivated to by now?” Asked this question, Daoist Ruan replied with a wave of deep emotion: “Sigh, over the years I spent my entire family fortune, throwing in several thousand spirit stones, traveling far and wide to hunt for spirit materials that boost qi and blood, yet even now I’ve only managed to cultivate to the Third Level…” “Then has anyone in your family ever cultivated this technique to the Fifth Level?” “None.
Currently, the one who reached the highest level is none other than myself.” “…” Qin Ming instantly understood why he was willing to sell it at a bargain.
After careful consideration: Qin Ming stated decisively: “One hundred spirit stones, plus 10 catties [5 kg] of Beast-Tooth Rice—how about trading your scripture for that?” “What?!
You actually have Beast-Tooth Rice?!” Upon hearing this, the despondent look Daoist Ruan had maintained all along vanished without a trace.
His entire spirit instantly perked up, his eyes suddenly lighting up with a sharp gleam.