Lu Qinghe had no idea that Zhou Tong had gone to great lengths to tamper with the restrictions on his courtyard.
He sat cross-legged in the Black Soil Space, two Magical Artifacts laid out before him. The first was a small white sword-the Spirit Wind Sword, a Middle Grade Magical Artifact forged from spiritual bamboo, its blade inscribed with Spirit Wind restrictions.
In use, it struck fast as lightning. Taking a head from a hundred meters away would pose no difficulty.
The second was a defensive soft armor-the Black Tortoise Armor, a Middle Grade defensive Magical Artifact refined from the shell of a deep-sea spiritual turtle. Impervious to water and fire, it could withstand blows from late-stage Qi Condensation cultivators.
What Lu Qinghe needed now was to refine both artifacts, binding them to himself so he could wield their full power as naturally as his own limbs.
He picked up the Spirit Wind Sword, imprinted his spiritual mark upon it, and began slowly refining it with spiritual power.
It took a full month before he completed the refinement of both the Spirit Wind Sword and the Black Tortoise Armor.
Lu Qinghe directed the Spirit Wind Sword through the air, guiding it in sweeping arcs. He could already drive it to attack at will.
He recalled the sword to his hand, a self-satisfied smile spreading across his face.
Middle Grade Magical Artifacts were treasures that even Outer Sect Disciples could only dream of encountering. Most of them made do with Low Grade artifacts at best.
As for High Grade Magical Artifacts-those simply did not appear in the hands of mid-stage Qi Condensation cultivators. Even late-stage cultivators struggled to obtain one.
A single Middle Grade Magical Artifact was worth between a hundred and eighty to three hundred and fifty Spirit Stones. High Grade artifacts multiplied that value several times over-the cheapest demanded eight hundred stones, and finer ones exceeded a thousand.
He now held one for offense and one for defense, both Middle Grade. The Black Tortoise Armor could block strikes from mid-stage Qi Condensation cultivators, and the Spirit Wind Sword could shatter their spiritual Qi shields.
Lu Qinghe was confident: his strength now rivaled that of a mid-stage Qi Condensation cultivator.
This was the power of Magical Artifacts. Every cultivator on the immortal path dreamed of possessing a strong artifact at their side.
But artifacts were not without flaws. At the third layer of Qi Condensation, Lu Qinghe still could not achieve flight by controlling objects.
More critically, his spiritual power at the third layer was far too shallow.
Once his reserves ran dry, the artifacts would become dead weight-and he would become a lamb awaiting slaughter.
Lu Qinghe rested for two days, then took out a bottle of pills. Spirit Gathering Pills.
He intended to test their effects.
He tipped a milky-white pill from the bottle. A rich medicinal fragrance rushed toward him, dense and heady.
Compared to the Spirit Awakening Pill he had taken before, this fragrance was several times stronger.
The Spirit Awakening Pill, like the Hundred Herbs Pill, was merely the lowest grade of pill. The Spirit Gathering Pill was a genuine Low Grade pill-a different class entirely.
Lu Qinghe swallowed it in one gulp.
Two hours later, he had fully absorbed a single Spirit Gathering Pill. His cultivation had grown noticeably-but not as much as he had hoped.
Lu Qinghe ran the numbers. The effect of one Spirit Gathering Pill was equivalent to roughly one-fifth of a fifty-year Blood Ginseng.
Five pills-one full bottle-matched the effect of a single fifty-year Blood Ginseng.
But that did not make the Spirit Gathering Pill useless. For Lu Qinghe, its advantages far surpassed Blood Ginseng.
The pill’s medicinal power was far better suited to cultivation than raw Blood Ginseng.
He could absorb one pill per day. Five days to finish a bottle.
Compared to the half-month needed to refine a Blood Ginseng root, that was three times faster.
In other words, with a steady supply of Spirit Gathering Pills, the time to reach the fourth layer of Qi Condensation would shrink by two-thirds.
Then there was cost. One fifty-year Blood Ginseng was worth twenty-five Spirit Stones. One bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills cost only ten.
No matter how he looked at it, Spirit Gathering Pills were cheaper, faster, and more efficient for cultivation.
Lu Qinghe made his decision. From now on, Spirit Gathering Pills would be his primary cultivation resource. He was confident he could push the third layer to Perfection within four months.
His gaze swept across the Black Soil Space. Dozens of Blood Ginseng plants formed a lush patch, and the oldest among them was on the verge of reaching a hundred years of medicinal age.
At that point, its value would leap several grades beyond a fifty-year root.
Ten-year Blood Ginseng counted as low-grade spiritual medicine. Fifty-year was medium-grade. Hundred-year Blood Ginseng was high-grade spiritual medicine-exceptionally precious.
Once a root reached three hundred years, it became Earth-grade spiritual medicine. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators would come to blows over such a thing.
Lu Qinghe resolved that going forward, he would not only cultivate but also make full use of the Black Soil Space. Not just Spirit Rice and Blood Ginseng-he would plant other spiritual medicines too, preferably rarer and higher-grade varieties.
Beyond that, a half-formed idea stirred in the back of his mind. But for now, there was no way to act on it.
Lu Qinghe extended his spiritual sense outward, sweeping the surroundings. Detecting nothing unusual, he left the Black Soil Space and reappeared in his courtyard.
His eyes shot to the ground.
New footprints. Again.
His expression darkened. He cursed himself silently for being careless.
From now on, he absolutely could not enter the Black Soil Space so recklessly. If someone caught him vanishing and reappearing-that would be the end of everything.
This time, however, Lu Qinghe did not flee the menial disciples’ quarters. He intended to wait for Zhou Tong to come.
If Zhou Tong dared raise a hand against him, Lu Qinghe would show no mercy. Old grudges and new-he would settle them all at once.
He began sweeping the courtyard, cleaning every corner until it was spotless.
Then he stepped outside and walked to the neighboring courtyard, calling out: “Wang Shan! Are you there?”
He called several times. No answer came from within.
Unease crept into his chest. He did not know whether Wang Shan had simply left for a task and not yet returned-or whether something had happened to him.
Two years ago, Wang Shan had told Lu Qinghe he was heading to Artifact Refining Peak for a menial assignment.
Lu Qinghe decided to wait a while longer. If Wang Shan did not return, he would ask around about the man’s whereabouts.
He went back to his own courtyard. Zhou Tong never came.
Instead, word reached him: Zhou Tong of the Affairs Hall had been taken away by the Enforcement Squad for reasons unknown, stripped of his authority over the hall’s affairs.
Where the Enforcement Squad had brought him, no one could say.
Such matters were not for menial disciples to know.
Lu Qinghe hardly knew whether to laugh or sigh. He had been wondering why Zhou Tong failed to appear after his return.
He never imagined the man had already been dragged off by the Enforcement Squad.
Whether it was for destroying the Spirit Fields or for lining his pockets with menial disciples’ Spirit Stones-Lu Qinghe could not guess.
Either way, it spared him a great deal of trouble.
He was no longer afraid of Zhou Tong. He had the strength to kill the man.
But striking within the Sect-killing an Outer Sect Disciple, no less-if even a single trace were discovered, he would be executed on the spot.
The Sect dispatched a new disciple to manage the Affairs Hall. Lu Qinghe could now accept menial assignments again if he wished.
But he had no intention of inviting fresh trouble. Who knew what disaster might follow?
Once bitten, twice shy.
Lu Qinghe considered the situation. With Zhou Tong’s threat temporarily gone, he could cultivate in peace using Spirit Gathering Pills.
He took out a pill, swallowed it, and began to refine.