At the entrance of Qingxuan Town, Li Mu descended with his sword. Amid the bewildered gazes of the guards, he paid the entrance fee of one Broken Spirit and stepped into the town.
As evening approached, the main street of Qingxuan Town saw considerably fewer passersby.
Familiar with the surroundings, Li Mu headed straight to the Spirit Plant Store to purchase spirit seeds.
Wind Spirit Grass seeds cost five Lower Spirit Stones per pound, while Spirit Rice seeds were ten Spirit Stones per pound. A bag of seeds was just enough to plant an acre of Spirit Field.
One pound of Spirit Rice seeds, five pounds of Wind Spirit Grass seeds; in total, 35 Lower Spirit Stones. Li Mu didn't haggle with the store owner and simply paid the 35 Lower Spirit Stones, took six cloth bags, and left decisively.
After leaving the Spirit Plant Store, Li Mu turned and headed to the Chen's Cultivation Technique Store across the street.
"Welcome, customer. What cultivation technique are you looking for? Hey! It's you! I already told you! We don't sell exorcism techniques for just a few dozen Spirit Stones." The shopkeeper quickly greeted the customer upon entry but immediately recognized the young man from before, who wanted to buy an Exorcism Technique for a few dozen Spirit Stones, and his face darkened.
"I know. Do you have any Gold Element Techniques? If the price is right, I'll buy it," Li Mu said, not in the best mood.
"Yes, 'Gilded Gold Technique,' Yellow-level Middle Grade, only 200 Lower Spirit Stones," the shopkeeper took out a book with a yellow cover from under the counter and placed it on the table, eyeing Li Mu.
Li Mu took out his last two Middle-grade Spirit Stones from the Spirit Stone Bag, ready to pay.
"Can I take a look first?" Li Mu asked with a smile.
Upon seeing the two Middle-grade Spirit Stones in Li Mu's hand, the shopkeeper immediately brightened up, "Of course, you can. However, you can only read the first three pages."
Li Mu smiled slightly and began reading the 'Gilded Gold Technique.'
After confirming it was the cultivation technique he needed, Li Mu tossed the two Middle Spirit Stones to the shopkeeper and left with the 'Gilded Gold Technique.'
He was left with two pieces after selling the 'Quenching God Technique' and getting ten Middle Spirit Stones from the old Daoist, and even Middle-grade Spirit Stones don't last long.
Li Mu sighed and walked to the adjacent Spirit Talisman Store, planning to buy some stacks of talisman paper to earn Spirit Stones by drawing spirit talismans.
With his Level 4 Talisman Making Technique, his talisman making efficiency and quality could greatly improve. Li Mu believed that as long as he wasn't too lazy, the Spirit Stones from selling talismans would suffice for his daily expenses.
Upon leaving the Spirit Talisman Store, Li Mu used his last two Middle-grade Spirit Stones.
He bought four stacks of talisman paper, and at the same time, he also bought a book called the 'Basic Talisman Drawing Strategy,' which recorded the drawing methods for ten basic talismans. After all, to earn Spirit Stones by selling talismans, he couldn't just draw Exorcism Talismans.
When Li Mu came out of the Spirit Talisman Store again, the sky had completely darkened.
The Spirit Shepherd Workshop in Qing'an Town should have closed by now, so Li Mu decided to return to Little Liang Mountain first and come back to sell Wind Spirit Grass tomorrow.
In less than half a quarter of an hour, Li Mu successfully landed with his sword in the courtyard, grinning brightly. The feeling of flying around with his sword was simply exhilarating. If his cultivation were higher, the flight speed could be even faster.
Li Mu didn't bother to cook and eat Spirit Rice; instead, he went back to his room, immediately used the Fire-igniting Technique to light a candle, took out the 'Gilded Gold Technique,' and eagerly began reading and cultivating.
The mana developed through the 'Gilded Gold Technique' contained the sharpness of gold.
Li Mu closed his eyes slightly, his Divine Sense inwardly observing his meridian network. He urged his spiritual power and began attempting to complete a full circulation according to the 'Gilded Gold Technique's' cultivation route.
The spiritual power cultivated from the Cyan Wood Technique, Profound Water Technique, Thick Earth Techniques, and Fire Manipulation Technique seemed to welcome the formation of the 'Gilded Gold Technique.' Not only did they not interfere, but they also propelled it forward.
In less than an hour, the 'Gilded Gold Technique's' first full circulation ended perfectly. Li Mu's spirits were lifted, and when he opened his eyes, a glimmer of golden light flashed through.
After Li Mu opened his eyes, he habitually looked at the character log on the virtual screen.
[You have successfully cultivated the 'Gilded Gold Technique,' Gilded Gold Technique proficiency +1.]
Seeing the 'Gilded Gold Technique' successfully recorded in the character attribute panel, Li Mu couldn't help but be pleased. He immediately began desperately adding points, allocating all the reserved free skill points to the 'Gilded Gold Technique.'
[Ding, you consumed one free skill point, Gilded Gold Technique proficiency +1.]
...
[Ding, you consumed one free skill point, Gilded Gold Technique proficiency +1, Gilded Gold Technique level upgraded to: Level 3, your cultivation has been partially enhanced, and your control over Gold Element Spiritual Power has seen slight improvement.]
...
[Ding, you consumed one free skill point, Gilded Gold Technique proficiency +1, Gilded Gold Technique level upgraded to: Level 4, your cultivation has been partially enhanced, and your control over Gold Element Spiritual Power has seen significant improvement.]
[Ding, you have mastered the Five Elements Techniques, Five Elements Mutual Generation. The spiritual power within you has undergone a qualitative change, greatly enhancing your cultivation, and you have broken through from the Qi Refining Sixth Layer to the Refining Seventh Layer.]
Li Mu exclaimed in surprise, and a powerful aura suddenly blasted forth from him. His cultivation leveled up twice in quick succession, skipping over the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, directly reaching the Refining Qi Seventh Layer. The spiritual true essence within him became incomparably robust.
"Hahaha! What an unexpected gain, fantastic!"
"Qi Refining Seventh Layer, uh-huh! At this rate, it won't be long before I can establish my foundation!"
Overjoyed, Li Mu waved his hand, gathering a ball of Wood Element Spiritual Power, followed by a burst of flame, transforming it into a fireball. Shortly afterward, the Wood Spiritual Power was incinerated to ashes, and the flame went out, birthing a crimson spiritual energy ball—Earth Attribute Spiritual Power.
Intrigued, Li Mu continued to output spiritual power.
Soon, a large amount of earth attribute spiritual power gathered in his palm. Its color gradually changed, moistening in nature, manifesting yellowish-gold spiritual power—Gold Element Spiritual Power. The gold spiritual power then morphed into a water vapor-like Water Element Spiritual Power.
Water generating wood, wood generating fire, fire generating earth, earth-born gold, gold generating water, ..., the spiritual power clusters suspended above Li Mu's palm continually changed colors, repeatedly and endlessly.
So interesting!
Li Mu clearly felt the spiritual power within his body, once it transformed into Five Elements Spiritual Power, became 'alive' in a sense. His Divine Sense could distinctly perceive the immense potential contained within Five Elements Spiritual Power. In the future, by further upgrading the levels of the Five Elements Techniques, there would undoubtedly be even more fascinating transformations.
"Gurgle, gurgle..." His stomach began rumbling with hunger.
Li Mu stopped his spiritual power testing and walked over to the hearth made of green stone bricks to start cooking Spirit Rice Meal.
Casually, Li Mu aimed a cluster of spiritual power under the hearth, transforming it into Fire Spiritual Power. In the next moment, with a "boom," a flame materialized from nowhere, igniting the wood inside the hearth. Under Li Mu's control through Divine Sense, the wood from the nearby rack flew piece by piece into the stove.
The pot lid lifted itself into the air, while water from the water jar followed an arc and fell into the boiler. The Spirit Rice Altar dispatched grains of spirit rice—...—under Li Mu's powerful Divine Sense control, not even needing his hands to cook Spirit Rice Meal by the fire.
Soon, the iron pot on the hearth was steaming, releasing the fragrance of Spirit Rice Meal.
Li Mu contentedly enjoyed a simple pot of Spirit Rice Meal before cleaning up the dishes.
Back in his room, Li Mu began to draw spirit talismans.