Chapter 24: Thousand-Strike Longbow (Please add to favorites! Please keep reading!)

The longbow was suspended in mid-air by a pale white spiritual light, allowing visitors to observe every detail.

Its limbs were a pure cyan, appearing both like wood and jade, while the silver-white bowstring shimmered with a light reminiscent of moonlight flowing over water.

The bow limbs were carved with auspicious cloud patterns, filled with gold ink, making them exceptionally beautiful.

Shaoheng was somewhat proficient in various weapons—sabers, spears, swords, and halberds—but her favorite was the bow and arrow.

She loved that feeling of exerting her utmost strength while drawing the string, and then, once released, the arrow would fly forth, leaving her with nothing more to worry about.

She looked at the small identification plaque beside the longbow.

[Thousand-Strike Bow: Contains twenty-eight layers of Dao-trace restrictions; a masterpiece among First-Grade Dharma Tools. The cultivator's magic power serves as the arrow; if fully utilized, a single shot can trigger an explosive burst with the combined power of a thousand strikes.]

[Price: Ninety-nine spirit stones]

Shaoheng had already learned about the Four Arts of Cultivation: Alchemy, Arrays, Talismans, and Toolmaking.

The "Tool" referred to Dharma Tools.

Whether forged by a master craftsman or born from heaven and earth, the key to a Dharma Tool's power lay in the restrictions formed by Dao-traces. A cultivator could only unleash a tool's true potential by refining them.

Based on the number of Dao-trace restrictions, Dharma Tools were divided into grades one through nine, corresponding to the nine realms of a cultivator.

The upper limit for a First-Grade Dharma Tool was twenty-nine layers of Dao-trace restrictions; this Thousand-Strike Bow was indeed a top-tier specimen of its grade.

She reluctantly pulled her gaze away and found a male attendant, asking, "Does your merchant house carry Earth-element pills, such as the Thick Earth Pill?"

The attendant was handsome with a gentle smile. He extended his right hand in a certain direction, bowed slightly, and said respectfully, "This way, Fairy."

Shaoheng followed him to another counter. Through a crystal partition, she could see various pills arranged inside.

The attendant did not speak much, standing quietly to the side, waiting to answer any questions the customer might have.

Shaoheng quickly located the Thick Earth Pill.

[Thick Earth Pill: A First-Grade Spirit Pill containing a large amount of Earth-element spiritual qi. However, its quality is impure and unsuitable for human cultivators; it can be used to raise Earth-element demonic beasts or nourish spiritual fields.]

[Price: Twelve spirit stones per pill]

"I intend to buy them to nourish a spiritual field. Roughly how many pills are needed per acre?" Shaoheng asked the attendant.

The male attendant replied softly, "Fairy, one acre only requires half a pill. Simply crush the pill into powder, scatter it into the soil, and till it in. Generally, this will ensure the spiritual field remains fertile for at least five harvests."

"Good! Then I will take two Thick Earth Pills."

The attendant brought out two brownish-yellow pills, poured them into a jade bottle, and applied a magical seal to the mouth of the bottle to ensure the medicinal potency would not dissipate quickly. Only then did he lead Shaoheng to the manager's station in front of the counter to settle the payment.

"Wait, I'll take that Dharma Tool longbow as well."

Shaoheng's acre of spiritual rice had been grown by her own hands, bit by bit; she cherished every spirit stone she earned.

However, if spirit stones could not be converted into her cultivation and strength, they were utterly meaningless.

To be so frugal that one refused to spend was simply "starving oneself to death to avoid choking."

Steeling her heart, she decided to purchase the Thousand-Strike Bow.

First, the bow contained twenty-eight restrictions, meaning it was only two layers away from being a Second-Grade Dharma Tool. Even if she ascended to the Second Realm of Profound Understanding, this tool would not become a burden.

Second, Shaoheng wanted to learn graded Immortal Arts.

Currently, Immortal Arts could only be exchanged for with contribution points within the sect, and she had seen nothing of the sort for sale in the marketplace. Furthermore, she had visited the fifth floor of the Myriad Law Pavilion earlier, where even the cheapest scroll cost 1,800 contribution points.

Among sect missions, those involving hunting demonic cultivators offered the highest rewards, followed by capturing criminals or seizing demon cores.

To accumulate contribution points quickly, Shaoheng planned to undertake such missions once her cultivation progressed, which would inevitably involve fighting and killing.

A Dharma Tool would undoubtedly increase her combat strength.

Thirdly—well, it was simply because she truly liked it.

In truth, that alone was enough.

The male attendant's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he pitched his voice even softer: "Including the Thousand-Strike Bow, the total is one hundred and twenty-three spirit stones."

He brought out a circular tray, placed it on the counter, and retrieved the longbow.

Shaoheng took the still-warm spirit stones from her storage ring and placed them into the tray. The attendant then brought out a small tray with a single storage ring in the center.

"Fairy, both the pills and the Dharma Tool have been placed inside the storage ring. This ring is a gift from us."

Even this tiny storage ring would have cost two spirit stones.

As Shaoheng took the ring, the female manager in red smiled and said, "Fairy, our transaction is complete."

Shaoheng did not rush to leave. After buying the two items, she had only thirty-four spirit stones left, but she no longer felt a sense of urgency.

"Assuming two Thick Earth Pills allow me to sow ten times, and calculating based on a yield of 580 catties per acre with a harvest every three days, that would be 1,450 spirit stones a month."

Under normal circumstances, if a disciple grew spiritual rice that harvested every four months, they would complete three cycles a year. After deducting eighty spirit stones for field rent, they would only earn between three and four hundred spirit stones.

"Fortunately, I have [Green Emperor]... I suppose there's no helping it; Heaven simply won't let me live in poverty," Shaoheng thought with a smirk.

She asked the female manager, "Do you have any spiritual herb seeds? I'd like to take a look."

The manager clearly knew everything regarding the shop's affairs. She nodded and replied, "Fairy, we have six types of spiritual herb seeds in our shop. Xiao He, please lead the Fairy to see them."

The attendant named Xiao He stepped forward to lead the way. Shaoheng followed him, matching the herbs one by one with the information she had previously read, eventually selecting seeds for something called "Earth Dan Ginseng."

The attendant named He reminded her, "Fairy, although Earth Dan Ginseng is the most valuable among the six herbs, it requires over ten years to cultivate successfully. Would you like to reconsider?"

"No need."

Under her veiled hat, Shaoheng's eyes fixed on the Earth Dan Ginseng seeds in the cabinet. The tiny seeds were a somewhat translucent pale red and were sold in packets; a small packet cost two spirit stones.

A mature Earth Dan Ginseng was a high-grade First-Grade spiritual herb, capable of selling for over a hundred spirit stones per plant.

Furthermore, she had a suspicion: would higher-quality spiritual herbs be able to withstand more [Green Emperor] spiritual liquid?

For the White Jade Spiritual Rice, the liquid could accelerate growth fortyfold. What about this Earth Dan Ginseng?

"I'll take five packets."

After spending another ten spirit stones, Shaoheng left the shop. She wandered around, looking and buying to broaden her horizons, and returned home after half an hour of strolling.

Once she entered the sect and returned to her room in the disciple courtyard...

The golden-haired little monkey lying on the table heard the creak of the door and immediately let out soft whimpers, hopping toward Shaoheng as if to welcome her.

"So many treasures, look!"

She took a bunch of golden-yellow long bananas from her storage ring and placed them in front of it.

This was a variety specially cultivated by spiritual plant masters. It contained a trace of spiritual qi, so it wasn't quite a First-Grade spiritual fruit, but it was cheap—eighty catties could be bought for one spirit stone.

The taste was excellent—sweet, fragrant, and soft. Shaoheng had already enjoyed a couple of bunches on her way back.

Sensing the scent of the bananas, Duobao clapped its two nimble hands happily.

It used its clever hands to pluck one, peeled away half the skin, and then held it up to Shaoheng's mouth, looking at her with eyes like silver beads.

"Ying ying."

"Give to me, eat?"

"Ying!"