“They really are generous!”
Leaving the Wufang Artifact Pavilion, Su Xuan felt the storage bag tucked into his robes. Inside, besides the pill recipes and ingredients, was a pill furnace that looked to be of exceptional quality.
Coming out this time, he had originally only intended to exchange some Spiritual Stones. He hadn’t expected such a windfall, and he was feeling quite prosperous.
He felt the pouch at his chest. In addition to one High-grade Spiritual Stone, he had 100 lower-grade ones. That was enough to accomplish quite a bit.
Seeing that the sun was at its peak, Su Xuan’s mind turned. He decided he might as well solve the issue of his disciples’ cultivation while he was at it.
The first person he thought of was Lu Zhiyi.
That girl didn’t seem to need to cultivate at all. In fact, her cultivation level soared even when she was just sitting there eating.
‘What kind of heaven-defying constitution is this?’
He felt a bit speechless as he fell into a slight contemplative silence.
‘No, I have to find a way to keep her busy. From the look of things, a cultivation method that requires twice the effort for half the result is most suitable for the current situation. Ideally, it should be something where she can’t achieve anything at all, or maybe even has the risk of regressing!’
Su Xuan’s eyes lit up as he thought of a solution. He turned and headed toward the Qinxiu Building. There were plenty of strange and eccentric cultivation methods there; he might find something exactly like that.
***
“Shopkeeper, can we close early since no one is coming?”
Inside the Qinxiu Building, a young clerk rested his chin on his hand, looking at the empty shop with utter boredom.
When it came to cultivation methods, those with high cultivation and plenty of Spiritual Stones didn’t lack them, and those with low cultivation couldn’t afford them. Consequently, business was always mediocre.
It was no wonder the Qinxiu Building used that gold-digging marketplace style to attract customers.
Recently, with the marketplace conscription, the number of low-level Loose Cultivators had dropped by more than half. They hadn’t seen a single bit of business for several days.
“Are you dreaming? Stay at your post even if no one is here!”
The old shopkeeper also had a face full of worry. He had calculated the accounts back and forth several times and simply couldn’t bear to close and rest. He was stubbornly holding on.
‘Keeping people from resting even when nobody’s here… you’re a real cheapskate,’ the clerk grumbled to himself, pouting.
“Isn’t that a customer? Go, quickly!”
Suddenly, the old shopkeeper looked up at Su Xuan entering the door and gave the clerk an order.
Seeing someone finally arrive, the clerk was about to force a trademark smile, but his expression cooled the moment he saw Su Xuan’s face.
He remembered this guy. He was the poor wretch who had come last time to chase a dream with a single Spiritual Stone.
“Is it the same as last time, friend?” the clerk asked.
“No, no. I have specific requirements this time.”
Su Xuan waved his hand. Without a system prompt, he didn’t dare rely on luck. If he accidentally scouted a good manual for Lu Zhiyi, it would be a disaster.
“Oh? What requirements do you have? Is it regarding aptitude or realm?”
The clerk’s lethargy vanished instantly. He straightened up and asked respectfully.
Even the old shopkeeper grew interested. He stopped clicking his abacus and looked over.
“Do you have anything… that requires twice the effort for half the result? Something where you can’t really accomplish anything, and it’s ideally better not to practice it at all?” Su Xuan whispered.
“Huh?”
Both the clerk and the shopkeeper were stunned.
“Are you… joking?”
The clerk snapped out of it, frowning. Thinking Su Xuan was there to cause trouble, his tone became impolite.
“I’m serious,” Su Xuan said with a solemn expression, then added, “It should preferably look very impressive on the outside, like it’s something significant.”
“This…”
The old man and the youth looked at each other, completely baffled.
“We only have top-quality cultivation methods here. We don’t have what you’re describing. You should probably—”
The clerk lost his patience and was about to send him away.
“Wait!”
The old shopkeeper interrupted him and walked out from behind the counter.
“We do have one cultivation method that looks profound but can never be mastered. However, as for the price…”
Since they hadn’t had business in days, he didn’t want to let any opportunity slip by.
“Go and get the one from the cabinet upstairs,” he ordered the clerk.
“I won’t hide it from you, friend. I spent a great deal to acquire this manual back then. But later, I found that besides looking profound, it simply cannot be practiced. I was blind back then.”
The old shopkeeper let out a long sigh.
“Then how many Spiritual Stones will it be?”
‘Isn’t this exactly what I want?’ Su Xuan was slightly taken aback and asked hurriedly.
“Ninety Spiritual Stones. I’ll take the loss.”
The old shopkeeper quoted a price with a look of intense physical pain.
“Forty. You’re just holding onto it for nothing anyway. That’s all I’m offering. Not a stone more.”
Su Xuan didn’t fall for the act and immediately cut the price by more than half.
“Oh, fine! Take it, just take it…”
The old shopkeeper looked as if the loss was devastating. Once the clerk brought the manual down, he waved his hand, enduring his heartbreak.
‘I still paid too much…’
‘None of these old geezers are honest,’ Su Xuan grumbled silently as he took the manual.
“Heaven-Mending Art? What a bold name!”
The cultivation method was engraved on a Jade Slip; one had to sink their divine sense into it to see the contents.
The moment he saw the name, he felt a profound and primordial aura.
“Shopkeeper, are you sure this method is…”
He looked again, unable to believe this thing was useless.
“Sigh… if it were truly useful, would I sell it to you so cheaply?”
The old shopkeeper sighed again and continued, “Rest assured, friend. I even sought help from several Golden Core masters. They all said it is absolutely impossible to cultivate!”
Hearing such a guarantee, Su Xuan finally nodded. He accepted the Jade Slip, counted out forty Spiritual Stones from his storage bag, and handed them over.
“You certainly were hiding your wealth, friend.”
The old shopkeeper took them with a smile. Seeing the storage bag, he was a bit surprised and asked tentatively.
“Your cultivation is already at Rank 3, isn’t it? I have some excellent cultivation methods here that you could have for just a few High-grade Spiritual Stones. Are you interested?”
“I’m not. Goodbye!”
Su Xuan was already feeling the sting of his Spiritual Stones flowing away like water. Seeing this old codger trying to scam him again, he replied crossly.
With that, he took the Jade Slip and walked out the door quickly.
“Shopkeeper, that manual looks extraordinary. Can it really not be practiced?” the clerk asked once he was gone, seemingly unwilling to believe it.
“What’s the use of it looking good? I’ve asked those big shots. The type of constitution that could practice that thing were all geniuses in the ancient era. They’ve been gone for a long time!”
The old shopkeeper counted the Spiritual Stones one by one, feeling incredibly excited.
That manual had been rotting in his hands. He hadn’t expected some young fool to specifically ask for it.
‘If only there were more fools like him.’
***
“This thing is quite primitive.”
Su Xuan walked while using his divine sense to check the contents of the Jade Slip.
Unlike modern methods that pursued speed and breaking through realms, the first few sections of the *Heaven-Mending Art* in the Jade Slip focused on the foundations needed before cultivation could even begin.
First, one had to use various medicinal ingredients for medicinal baths to nourish the bones and muscles.
Then, one needed to regularly clear the Meridians to ensure that not a single bit of impurity would cause an obstruction.
And then…
He looked at the later sections. They were like a heavenly script; the characters were arranged in a bizarre way that was completely incomprehensible.
‘If even I can’t understand it, then with Lu Zhiyi’s brain…’
Thinking of his younger disciple, the corners of Su Xuan’s mouth curled up. He almost burst out laughing.
He would prepare the medicinal bath materials for his younger disciple and find a broken sword for his eldest disciple. That would complete this trip.
Humming a little tune, he walked toward the Outer Market.
While Su Xuan was out shopping, a figure in black stealthily approached the entrance of his home.