“Squeak, squeak.”
Little Gray-Gray tugged at his sleeve, its front paws digging at the Spirit Stone in his hand. Mu Jiuxiao lowered his head and saw its actions, but instead he clenched his fist, only extending his index finger to press on its head. “You want a Spirit Stone too, do you?”
“Squeak, squeak.”
Seeing him grip the Spirit Stone even tighter, Little Gray-Gray called out anxiously. Mu Jiuxiao stopped teasing it and loosened his hand. Little Gray-Gray then used its claws to carry away the Spirit Stone from his palm, sat on the bed, and began crunching on it.
The Spiritual Qi in this Spirit Stone had already been used up by Mu Jiuxiao, leaving only an empty shell. But Little Gray-Gray still ate it with great relish. It had a pair of round ears and a furry short tail. The more Mu Jiuxiao looked at it, the more he felt it had delicate features, much better-looking than those digging rats.
Little Gray-Gray quickly finished eating the Spirit Stone shell. Mu Jiuxiao reached out his hand, and it jumped onto his palm. Mu Jiuxiao gently stroked its head, and it lay contentedly in his large palm, comfortably closing its eyes.
Rarely ending a day of cultivation so early, Mu Jiuxiao played with Little Gray-Gray for a while. Gradually, the sky brightened. He pushed open the window, and outside on the ground, frost had already formed.
Thinking of how the Meridian Opening Pills were gone again, a wave of discouragement washed over him. When would he be able to save up Spirit Stones to buy a self-defense weapon?
When would he be able to buy a Dharma robe impervious to water and fire, living like a true cultivator?
When would he be able to acquire more techniques? More talisman-drawing methods?
Before, as long as he could cultivate one more mu of land, thinking about harvesting several hundred more catties of spiritual rice next year would already make him overjoyed. But now, he had many more wishes.
And all these required Spirit Stones!
Instantly, carrying seven Spirit Stones, he suddenly felt his gains were rather insipid.
The Meridian Opening Pills were gone again, so he had to buy another bottle. Li Shuo had saved his life last time, and this time he was injured. He had promised to buy spirit wine and spirit meat to visit him, and he couldn’t forget just because his injuries had already healed.
Spirit wine and spirit meat would cost at least two Spirit Stones. Adding another four Spirit Stones for Meridian Opening Pills, he might as well use the remaining one Spirit Stone for talisman paper. Calculating like this, he would soon be two sleeves fluttering in the breeze once more.
No wonder Li Shuo and the others couldn’t even afford a Cold Iron Sickle after so many years-Spirit Stones truly didn’t last long!
Of course, this time Li Shuo went into the mountains and caught a Heaven-Swallowing Python, which meant he had struck it rich. He had even used a Storage Bag now. But that was exchanged with his life. Although he envied it, he didn’t plan to take such risks.
Who knew when he would get rich just by drawing talismans! This story is hosted at g.com.
Facing the sunlight, Mu Jiuxiao went out to practice Meteor Steps. This footwork technique was a mortal martial art, as well as the strongest footwork his father had left him, and he found it quite useful.
As someone who walked the path of caution, running away was essential. Running fast meant living longer. However, busy with cultivation recently, he hadn’t practiced the Meteor Steps for a long time.
He still needed to study diligently and practice hard. Anyway, he couldn’t afford cultivation-world techniques yet, so he could only use mortal martial arts to tide himself over for now.
After practicing the Meteor Steps for an hour, Mu Jiuxiao sprinted to the market using the footwork. Without these Meteor Steps, just traveling to the market would waste a significant amount of time.
Arriving at the market and buying what he needed, the few Spirit Stones on him were spent completely. He had returned to poverty once more.
Carrying the spirit wine and spirit meat, he arrived at Li Shuo’s doorstep and happened to see Li Xinyue following beside Li Shuo with a cheerful expression. Seeing him, she ran over, seemingly bearing some happy news. Her smile was brilliant. “Brother Jiu, are you here to find us?”
“Mn.” Mu Jiuxiao nodded. “Yesterday, Brother Ye Fan bought my Water Cloud Talismans, and I earned a few Spirit Stones. That’s why I specially bought spirit wine and spirit meat to come see you both.”
“Brother Jiu, when did you become so generous?” Li Xinyue looked at the items in his hand and laughed. “Before, when I asked you to help harvest spiritual rice, you insisted on charging me an extra half-sheng of spiritual rice.”
“Business is business. Next time you ask me to harvest spiritual rice, I’ll still charge you.” Mu Jiuxiao smiled and handed the goods over.
Li Xinyue took them, swept her hand across her waist, and the items vanished instantly. She looked up at Mu Jiuxiao expectantly. Mu Jiuxiao obliged her with a look of surprise. “Little Sister Xinyue, you bought a Storage Bag?”
“Is it just buying a Storage Bag?” Li Xinyue tilted her head, continuing to wait for his reaction.
“Ah, you’ve become a Qi Condensation cultivator!”
Mu Jiuxiao came to his senses. If she weren’t a Qi Condensation cultivator, she wouldn’t have been able to use a Storage Bag at all.
“At least you have some discernment.”
Li Xinyue untied the Storage Bag from her waist and tucked it inside her robes. “I just showed it to you on purpose, which is why I hung it at my waist. My brother says such good things must be kept close to the body to be safe.” The source of this chapter is novelping dot com.
“Wise.” Mu Jiuxiao nodded, feeling genuinely envious inside. “I didn’t expect you to become a Qi Condensation cultivator so quickly.”
“Of course. Now I know that as long as you have resources, becoming a Qi Condensation cultivator is actually such an easy matter.” Li Xinyue sighed with emotion.
“How so?” Mu Jiuxiao sensed there was more to her words.
“Let’s go inside to talk.”
Li Xinyue glanced around, led Mu Jiuxiao inside, and invited him to sit before continuing. “This time we had Brother Ye Fan take us to a genuine cultivator market. There are so many things inside! As long as you spend ten Spirit Stones, you can buy a Spirit Pill to help someone enter the Dao through martial arts!”
“Just one Spirit Pill can make someone enter the Dao through martial arts?” Mu Jiuxiao was genuinely surprised.
“It’s not necessarily just one pill for everyone. Some with poor aptitude have to take several, and taking eight or ten might not even guarantee becoming a Qi Condensation cultivator. But I’m different-I was born with talent, after all.”
It seemed that becoming a Qi Condensation cultivator had greatly improved Li Xinyue’s mood and boosted her confidence.
“Mn, if we’re talking about talent, that would be Brother Shuo. Brother Shuo managed to enter the Dao through martial arts without taking any Spirit Pills at all,” Mu Jiuxiao remarked.
“What talent do I have? I entered the Dao through martial arts when I was nearly thirty, whereas you’re so young and already a Qi Condensation cultivator without taking any Spirit Pills,” Li Shuo interjected from the side upon hearing them mention him.
“Today is my day of great joy. Instead of praising me, you two are sitting here flattering each other,” Li Xinyue said, putting on a feigned look of anger.
“Alright, alright, our mistake. Little Sister Xinyue is the best,” Mu Jiuxiao coaxed her, and only then did Li Xinyue smile with satisfaction.
In truth, Mu Jiuxiao still harbored many doubts in his heart. For instance, after taking such a Spirit Pill, were there any side effects? Would it superficially grant entry into the Dao while actually hindering one’s future prospects?
But upon a second thought, merely managing to become a Qi Condensation cultivator was already a tremendous stroke of fortune. People like them possessed virtually no cultivation aptitude to begin with, so even if they entered the Dao through martial arts, their upper limit would be exceedingly low. Since that was the case, what was the point of fearing hindered prospects?
Unsteady foundations and the like were not matters for people in their position to ponder. What they needed to consider was doing whatever it took to climb higher.
“Little Sister Xinyue, since you’ve experienced a double blessing today, it calls for an even greater celebration. Hurry and bring out the good wine and meat so your older brother can have a proper meal!” Mu Jiuxiao immediately laughed.